SedaNews, July 14

SEDA News, Issue 32, July 2014

Copyright: SEDA College | www.news.sedacollege.com

How to stay out of trouble on Irish roads?

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Diary of an intern: all you wanted to know about SEDA’s internship programme PAGE

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Our students enjoying a trip to Dublin Castle last month. See pages 6 and 7 for more photos.

Happy birthday SEDA! SEDA is turning five years old this year and there will be a massive event to celebrate the anniversary on August 1.

On August 1 SEDA College will celebrate its fifth anniversary. The school was established in 2009 and made an impressive progress since then, going from a total start up with only a business course to offer, to one of the biggest English language colleges in Dublin, boasting a huge campus located in the heart of the city centre. There are currently over 500 students enrolled for courses at SEDA, and thousands of people from all over the world have graduated from the college so far.

To celebrate, SEDA is throwing a big party on August 1. First there will be a Special Achievement Awards ceremony where best students and members of staff will be recognised. The ceremony will take place in SEDA’s new spacious student lounge and will include live performances, delicious food and drinks and an appearance of as yet unannounced VIP. Entrance will be by invitation only.

After the formal ceremony all SEDA students – as well as their friends and family – are invited to

the 5th anniversary party in one of Dublin’s biggest nightclubs – the Lost Society on South William Street. There will be drinks and food promotions and a raffle with prizes like free trips to Manchester and Paris. Entrance for SEDA students will be absolutely free and everyone is cordially invited to the college party.

SEDA was established in March 2009, but first classes began in the subsequent months. The college was initially located at 7a Dolphin’s Barn, Dublin 8 and it was set up

as a Business school. However it soon started offering English language courses which later became its main speciality.

In 2011 SEDA College students launched SEDA News – Ireland’s first newspaper for international students. In March 2012 SEDA gained ACELS – the highest quality mark for English language schools in Ireland, which was an important milestone for the school. Throughout the years SEDA College continued to grow and soon the building at 7a

Camden Town Market: London’s hidden gem PAGE

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Dolphin’s Barn became overcrowded with students. In January 2013 the college moved to a much larger premises in the heart of Dublin city centre – 6872 Capel Street. The building was previously home to DIT’s (Dublin Institute of Technology) Faculty of Engineering.

The new campus measures over 14 000 square feet and it allowed SEDA to develop a whole range of extra courses and extracurricular activities for the benefit of its students.

SEDA students donate their prize to children’s hospice

SEDA College’s Elementary Class, which won the Culture Day competition in May, donated their prize – a check for 150 euro – to the LauraLynn children’s hospice foundation. Two students – Iris and

Mayra – went along with SEDA staff to the hospice in order to present the prize last month.

Accompanying them was another student – Raúl, who wanted to make a donation of his own.

L a u r a Ly n n is a hospice for children with lifelimiting conditions and residential care for young adults with disabilities.

It employs approximately 80 staff within its teaching, fundraising and care provision departments.

Being safe on Irish roads is your responsibility More than 80 people died this year in Ireland as a result of road accidents. The number is too high, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA) – a body that is tasked with keeping Irish roads safe.

RSA representatives were in SEDA last month to educate students on how to keep out of danger.

By Taís Auler One afternoon last month Justine Trout from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) came to SEDA College to give some tips about staying safe on the road – about 30 students turned up to listen to her presentation.

She explained that the RSA has four main jobs. One of them is education and Justine’s job is to go around and talk to people in primary schools, secondary schools, universities, colleges, English schools, companies and so on. She is also involved in TV road safety campaigns. “So we provide education for all members of the community”, she told me.

The RSA collect information about every single crash that happens in the country. Every time there is a crash they put together all the details: why did the crash happen?

How many vehicles and people were involved?

How many people survived, how many people died, ages of the victims…

Were drugs or alcohol involved?

Were the victims wearing seatbelts?

All this information is necessary to learn from the mistakes. The information is provided by the Garda, Justine said.

She also gave some statistics about traffic accidents. In 2014, 83 people have so far been killed on Irish roads. In a total of 79 collisions 20 pedestrians, 33 drivers, 16 passengers, five cyclists and nine motorcyclists have died.

The most vulnerable users of the road, according to RSA, are pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, children and older people. “Who is responsible for pedestrian safety?” Justine asked during her presentation. “The answer is everyone is equally responsible.

It’s not the driver’s fault all the time, it’s not the pedestrian’s fault all the time. Everyone has to work together and look after their own safety”.

How to stay safe?

TIPS FOR PEDESTRIANS 1) Always stop, look and listen before crossing the road.

2) Don’t cross the road between parked cars because they might move any time.

3) Cross the road only in designated places 4) Don’t cross the road on the bend because you can’t see the car and the driver can’t see you.

5) Increase your visibility, so that the driver can see you very well.

Statistics show that more than two-thirds of fatal pedestrian collisions happen at night.

TIPS FOR CYCLISTS 1) Use a helmet and wear a high visibility vest. You can get one for free at the RSA website, www.rsa.ie (the Online Orders section).

2) Make arm signals when you turn or change direction.

3) Be extra careful with vehicles turning left: three-fourths of cyclist fatalities in Dublin happen as a result of left turns: “If you can’t see the driver, the driver can’t see you, remember that”.

4) Never cycle against the flow of traffic.

5) Stay at a safe distance from doors of parked cars: you never know when someone might open the door.

6) Never overtake large vehicles, such as buses and trucks. Stay behind them, so they see you.

SEDA News: Ireland’s first newspaper for international students. Circulation: 1000 copies. Editor: Viktor Posudnevsky Design: Felipe Martins SEDA College,68-72 Capel Street, Dublin 1.Ph: 01 473 4915; news@seda.ie; www.news.sedacollege.com; http://www.facebook.com/mySEDA.Ireland

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STUDENT FOUND A HAPPY LIFE IN IRELAND The first student to be registered in SEDA College back in 2009 was Maria Lapoule Marsh from Mauritius – she attended the school from 2009 to 2011. After leaving college Maria settled down in Ireland and is now happily married to an Irishman. The SEDA graduate has nothing but fond memories of her teachers and fellow students, and she misses her college times greatly, she tells SEDA News.

“My name is Maria Lapoule Marsh, I am from Mauritius and I am now working as a cleaner in Our Lady’s Children Hospital in Crumlin. At the same time I am doing a Special Needs course.

I studied in SEDA for two years from 2009 to 2011. At that time SEDA was a small college, some renovation work was still going on... It was a nice and welcoming place. I still remember my first day: the excitement of living in a new country and being in a new environment, meeting new friends, but at the same time being homesick.

It was a little hard in the beginning to adjust myself as a student, to make new friends as I had not been in college for years.

It was awesome and weird at the same time as I was a couple of years older than most of the people in the class. But no matter how big the age gap was I always felt accepted by the students.

My teachers were Eddie Collins and Fabricio. I was impressed by their passion about the subject and the quality of teaching. The teachers always tried to help and motivate us in so many different ways.

Since I left college my life has changed in a positive way. I settled down in Ireland and married a loving and caring Irish man.

Some of my brightest memories from SEDA are of the teachers and students bringing their life experiences, stories and cultures into class.

My recommendation to current students would be to spend your time in SEDA wisely: the memories you make at SEDA will remain with you forever and give you an entirely new perspective in life.

It’s been great getting to share my experiences with you. Good luck to all of you, SEDA students!”

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New visa will allow Chinese and Indian tourists travel freely between Ireland and the UK Ireland’s Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, announced a new visa scheme between Ireland and the United Kingdom that will start this autumn.

The scheme is aimed specifically at Chinese and Indian tourists and business visitors. It will allow them to travel between Ireland and the UK on a

single visa. The current situation means even those travelling between the Republic and Northern Ireland need two separate visas.

Fitzgerald said that the ‘British Irish Visa Scheme’ will provide a major boost to tourism. She added that the scheme “marked an historic development in the relationship between Ireland and

My internship in Ireland Tais Auler is one of the many SEDA students who applied for an internship via SEDA’s internship programme. She recently got a placement in Muzu.tv – a global online music video site with offices in Dublin and other parts of the world. Tais is sharing her experience with SEDA News readers.

I arrived in Dublin from Brazil about six months ago and I decided to apply for SEDA’s internship programme because I wanted to find an opportunity to work in Social Communication, my professional area in Brazil.

The process to apply for internships with SEDA is fairly simple: you send your CV to the coordinator at internship@seda.ie. If you satisfy the rules of the programme (your attendance rate has to be 80% or more) then the coordinator will send you some documents that you need to sign or fill out. After you do the paperwork SEDA starts to search an internship for you! All you need to do is wait.

After a while I was invited to do an internship interview with Muzu.tv. It’s an online music service that has offices in Dublin and four other countries.

They gather, disseminate and share music videos and information about musicians, bands and DJs. I was very happy with the news because it could be the chance to further my experience in another country, but the position was not

mine yet – I would have to pass the interview first. I was a little nervous, but I went there determined to get this internship.

When I arrived at the office of Muzu.tv I was welcomed by the director – his name is Keith. The office was based in the city centre, near Grafton Street, and it had a large room with about 5 desks and a number of smaller meeting rooms. Overall I thought it would be a very nice place to work.

I was a little bit apprehensive that I may not be able to understand my interviewer, or that he would not be able to understand me. But after the interview started I realized that my English wasn’t too bad: I could understand about 90% of the conversation!

Keith had my CV in his hands.

He asked me about my experience in Social Communication and I told him what kind of work I did in Brazil.

He also asked me if I already knew something about the company. We talked about the role and what my schedule at SEDA was.

About 20 minutes into the interview Keith asked me when I would be able to start working. At that moment I realised that I got the position. He was very understanding, saying that I would work for just three days per week: this way I would have plenty of time for my studies and I could even get another part-time job if I wanted to.

I left the office happy and full of expectations to acquire new knowledge in Social Communication.

I was very optimistic about the role because I know that professional experience in another country is great for your CV.

If you are interested in my story and want to know how my internship developed, stay tuned and check out the next edition of SEDA News! In it, I’ll tell you more about my experience.

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the UK and in the operation of the Common Travel Area which has existed between the two countries since 1922”.

Arrangements to allow for this scheme are being processed in the UK Home Office, but Fitzgerald’s department said that Irish authorities are also working with the authorities of the countries concerned on the

practical implementation.

Irish and UK authorities already operate a Visa Waiver Scheme which allows nationals of 17 designated countries travel to Ireland on foot of a UK tourist visa. Countries that are covered include Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, India and China.

Ireland is the most expensive country in EU for drink and cigarettes Ireland has the fifth highest consumer prices in the EU, new figures from Eurostat show. And when it comes to alcohol and tobacco, Ireland is a massive 78% more expensive than average.

Overall Irish consumer prices in 2013 were 18% above the EU norm, behind the most expensive EU country: Denmark, where prices were 40% above average. Apart from Denmark only Sweden, Luxembourg and Finland are dearer than Ireland.

Norway and Switzerland – both outside the EU – are also more expensive with prices around 55% above average, and alcohol and cigarettes costing nearly three times more in Norway than elsewhere.

In Ireland, one of the few things that is cheaper than the EU average is furniture (15% below average), while household appliances are 6% cheaper.

But still, now Irish prices are comparatively lower than they were at the end of the boom in 2007 when they

soared to almost 30% above average.

The cheapest country in EU is Bulgaria, with prices 52% below average, although Macedonia, also in Eastern Europe, but not a part of the EU, is even cheaper.

Internship programme grows even more popular with 20% rise in applications SEDA College’s internship programme keeps growing in popularity with students and has attracted over 101 applications so far this year. This is 20% more than the number of applications received in the first 6 months of 2013.

Overall around 170 learners – or 7 people per week – expressed an interest in the programme and contacted SEDA’s internship programme coordinators. Some of those interested in the programme were writing in from other colleges, or had too low an attendance rate to apply for internships. Only long-term SEDA students whose attendance rate is 80% and above are eligible to take part in the programme. Upper Intermediate or above standard of English is required for most positions.

The majority of those who completed their internship applications got a placement. Around 15% of applications were still being processed as no suitable internship opportunity has come up. Some 20% of applicants dropped out of the programme because they found a job or were not available to do the internship.

Companies that got the biggest number of interns from SEDA so far this year were Maldron Hotels, Suntico, Team.ie and Bentley Systems. By June 2014 SEDA College established contacts with 86 employers in the Dublin area that are interested in getting interns.

The vast majority of internships offered through SEDA’s programme are unpaid. Their purpose is to help

students improve their English in a real work environment and get new skills.

To apply, students can send their CV to internship@seda.ie The programme coordinator will then review the candidate and get back to them with additional documents necessary to complete the application.

Some internship opportunities that are available at the moment include: Well-known Irish brand trading both in Ireland and abroad is seeking multilingual interns for its E-Commerce department. The work would involve preparing product range for distribution in online marketplaces, some IT and admin duties.

- A hotel chain is seeking a marketing and administration intern for the busy summer period. The intern should be available full time and have good English as they will have to take calls and deal with English speaking customers directly.

- An Irish engineering business, operating internationally, is seeking a graphic design intern to help develop its promotional materials and website.

5 years of great memories The last five years have been great and full of happy memories – that’s according to staff who were in SEDA since day one (or started soon after the college’s opening in 2009). SEDA News caught up with some of the school’s senior management who shaped SEDA into what it is today.

“In 2010 I came back from Spain: I’d been teaching there for three years. I saw a job on the internet for Director of Studies at an English school called SEDA, so I applied. In the beginning my job was very different to what it is now. There were only five classes in the morning and three in the afternoon in 2010, so it was much easier to manage students. I remember that when we did the progress tests I used to correct them all myself – I couldn’t do that now!

My job is very different now because I don’t talk to students so much – Ashleigh does that part of the job now. I spend a lot of time reviewing courses and reading books about education. I like my job because even though it has changed a lot, I still learn new things every day and for me that’s the most important part of a job…

The best moment in my time in SEDA has definitely got to be when we got our first quality mark – ACELS. We had all worked very hard to make the school better and when we got our certificate I felt like it was the recognition of all that hard work. After that, moving to the new building on Capel Street. I was so happy about all the new facilities in the new school – and of course having my own office was great! Most of my other favourite moments are when I’m teaching a class and a student says: “Ah! Now I get it. I never understood that before.” That’s always the best moment for any teacher.

My biggest personal achievement at SEDA was probably writing all the syllabuses. I had to do a lot of reading and I learned a lot in the process, even though it felt very painful at the time.

I was lucky when I came to SEDA because I have had a lot of flexibility to design things my way.

You can’t do that in other schools which are part of a big chain and like to do everything the same way.

To me, it’s the people that make SEDA great. All together they create SEDA’s best point, which is the atmosphere. At SEDA there are always students and teachers laughing and joking, people hanging around, people bringing chocolates, people asking questions, watching movies, dancing, acting. It’s a fun place to work! The year you study abroad, for most people, that’s one of the best of their lives, so I get to work with 500 people who are having the best year of their lives. I like the energy that has!

In future I would like SEDA to just keep on improving! I would like more specialist classes like English for hotels, or medical English. I’d like students to have even more time to talk to their teacher one-on-one. I’d like more students from different countries. And I’d like more books – a library as big as Trinity College – that’s my dream.”

“I began at SEDA in April 2010 and my role has changed a lot since then. It started as a very basic job, doing day to day administration, dealing with teachers and students. But since we moved to Capel Street my role has become more complicated. My main role at the moment is to ensure the college meets all the necessary criteria to be a great school, recognised by the Irish government. So I work a lot on policies and procedures. For example, we are currently drawing up a new set of procedures to comply with the 2012 Education Act. Moving into the new building in Capel Street was a very bright moment for me. I went travelling when we started moving and then I was away for a few weeks. When I came back the building was already functioning: that was a big thrill! Getting the ACELS accreditation was also a big moment.

As concerns my biggest achievement, I’d like to think that I was able to change the culture of the organisation without destroying what’s good about SEDA – its friendly and informal atmosphere. I think we adopted a more professional culture and ways of doing things, but at the same time we’re still a friendly school.

I think what makes SEDA great are the people who work here – they create a happy environment, and the students are – generally – quite content. It’s a welcoming, relaxed, good learning environment. The teachers are relatively happy in it and the staff are happy. I think we strike a good balance between being a professional, proper school and also being good from a social aspect of things.

We’re working on a number of projects at the moment which will see SEDA develop into the future. First of all, there is the accreditation with EAQUALS which is at an advanced stage and which we hope to get soon. We are also planning to apply for FETAC which will improve our business courses.

In future I’d like to see SEDA with a more developed business school because business is my background. I’d like to think that SEDA will be recognised as not only one of the biggest language schools in Dublin, but also as one of the best. We’re also thinking about introducing foundation courses for students who want to progress to higher level courses. And we might look at the possibility of exporting the brand and franchising out.”

“I’ve been working in SEDA since day one when the school was still in 7A Dolphin’s Barn. At that time I had no single job – I did a bit of everything: admissions, accounts, quality assurance and so on, even some marketing. It was no easy job and I would spend more than 12 hours a day at the office. I had to work very hard in the beginning, but at the moment my work is more relaxed because there are other people looking after things and I do not have to focus on everything. I am now one of the school’s senior managers, working as director of finance.

My happiest day in SEDA was probably when we got the ACELS accreditation back in 2012. I will always remember the moment when Carol showed me the certificate. ACELS is the highest quality mark for English language schools in Ireland and that’s why it meant so much.

We are now pushing for EAQUALS accreditation and I hope we will get it soon. EAQUALS is a European framework and it is recognised all over Europe, unlike ACELS which is only recognised in Ireland. Only a few schools in Ireland have EAQUALS accreditation and if we get this it will probably be an even bigger achievement for us than getting ACELS. As concerns my biggest personal achievement at SEDA, I think it’s getting lots and lots of experience since we started in 2009. I am also proud of some of the hiring decisions I made over the years – the people I hired have all made a great contribution to SEDA. I believe SEDA is a great college because of its location and the staff.

All of our staff are very good, I never complain about anybody. All of them are honest, hard working, decent people.

Right now our main project is establishing degree courses at SEDA and applying for FETAC and HETAC accreditation. In five years I hope that SEDA will be one of the biggest colleges in Dublin, on a par with Dublin Business School or American College Dublin.”

“I started working at SEDA in September 2009 and I was only supposed to cover for another person during his holidays, but then I did a great job and the college decided to hire me. In the beginning I worked in the Student Support team and nowadays I am the supervisor of the Brazilian Marketing and Student Support team.

My happiest moments at SEDA have got to be the days when the college got ACELS accreditation and when we moved to our current building.

I think my biggest personal achievement is gaining the trust of the students: I like being known as someone the students can count on. I feel really proud of myself when students come to me looking for any sort of help and I can do something good for them. I know how difficult it is to be away from home and it is always good to know there is somebody you can trust and someone to help you if you are in need.

I think everyone who works at SEDA loves the work they do and that changes everything. The quality of the classes is important, but at the end of the day what the students really want is to know somebody cares for them and that they can rely on us.

We are already one of the biggest English schools in Dublin, but we want to be THE biggest! We are trying to work more on the mix of nationalities to create an even more international atmosphere inside the school and I can really see that we are going to achieve it!”

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Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Arctic Monkeys

Tycho

July 12 @ Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin British band will rock Marlay Park this month.

Jake Bugg, Miles Kane and Royal Blood are opening the show. Tickets: €61.50

UFC

Dirty Dancing

July 19 @ The O2, Dublin The biggest MMA promotion is coming to Dublin for a night! Among the many exciting fights will be a match featuring rising UFC star, Dubliner Conor McGregor, performing before a home crowd. Tickets: €50.

Soulfly 11 July @ Whelan’s, Camden Street, D2.

Max Cavalera’s famous heavy metal band will perform a show in Whelan’s venue.

Tickets: €24

23 July @ The Button Factory, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 American DJ will bring his blend of sunkissed electronic tunes to Dublin’s Button Factory this month.

Tickets: €14

Longitude Festival

8-26 July @ Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 4 Written by Eleanor Bergstein, script writer and co-producer of the phenomenally successful 1987 film, the production features all the muchloved characters and original dialogue from the iconic film with exciting extra scenes added in.

Tickets: €25-60.

July 18-20 @ Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin This is Ireland’s biggest music festival this summer, with Massive Attack, Disclosure, Haim, Chvrches, Ben Howard, Bastille and many other bands performing in the beautiful Marlay Park in South Dublin. Tickets: €59.50

The Minutes

July 14 @ The Sugar Club, Leeson Street, D2 To celebrate Bastille Day Dublin’s Sugar Club will host a show

by Irish singer Jeanette Byrne who will perform Edith Piaf’s best songs.

Tickets: €15

August 1 @ The Button Factory, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 LEGEND are seven great musicians and singers dedicated to the life and music of the late, great Bob Marley. If you like Marley’s music that’s one show you shouldn’t miss! Tickets: €15.

Derek Ryan

July 17 @ Whelan’s, Camden Street, D2 Local indie/rock band Leaders of Men (it was formed in Tallaght in 2011) will present their new material in Whelan’s next month.

Check out their YouTube channel and you will want to see the show! Tickets: €5.

17 July @ The Olympia Theatre, Dame Street, Dublin 2 The Carlow born songwriter is bringing his brand of country music to Dublin’s Olympia Theatre this month. Tickets from €23.

Laya Healthcare’s City Spectacular Formerly known as Street Performance World Championship Where: Various venues across Dublin When: 11-27 July

Dublin City Soul Festival Where: Merrion Square Park, D2 When: 26-27 July Dublin Soul Festival is Ireland’s “feel good” festival celebrating the very best live music in the heart of Dublin City since 2007.

This unique music festival showcases the very best of live music in the beautiful surroundings

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LEGEND

Leaders of Men

(The Music of Edith Piaf)

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon is a crazy race planned for the August bank holiday. The course will begin and end in Dublin City centre, and take you through historical and key tourist areas as well as local neighbourhoods and beautiful parks. Local bands and entertainers will provide music every mile along the course. Rock ‘n’ Roll is the theme but there will also be plenty of local flavour to the music! A celebratory atmosphere at the finish line includes a free concert and great entertainment, sponsor activities, food vendors and VIP hospitality. So if you want to have fun and get fit at the same time – sign up for the race! It’s only 13.1 mile. www.rocknrolldublin.com

July 19 @ The Sugar Club, Leeson Street, Dublin 2 Mulêketú are widely regarded as the best samba reggae band outside Brasil. Based in Paris, with over 50 percussionists, they have brought the heartbeat of Bahia to the streets of Paris for over a decade.

And now they’re coming to Dublin! Tickets: €10

(The Bob Marley Experience)

August 9 @ Whelan’s, Camden Street, Dublin 2 (rescheduled) Dublin rock ‘n’ roll band will play songs from its new album Live Well, Change Often. Since releasing their debut album 3 years ago The Minutes have toured all over the world and played with the likes of Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon. Tickets: €15.

Where: Dublin city centre When: Monday, 4 August

Mulêketú and Forró da Ilha

Mobb Deep 1 August @ Voodoo Lounge, Arran Quay, American hip hop band will perform a show in Dublin’s Voodoo Lounge. Tickets: €25.40

Jeanette Byrne

Rock’n’Roll Dublin Half Marathon

July 10 @ Marlay Park, Rathfarnham, American hip hop duo famous for their song Can’t Hold Me will perform a show in Marlay Park alongside Ellie Goulding and other acts. Tickets: €49.50

of Merrion Square Park in the heart of Dublin City. Although the Soul Festival is free to attend, organisers ask for a minimum €5 donation for their children’s charity, The Musical Youth Foundation, which helps at risk young people in Ireland access free music education.

The line-up includes: Halleluia Gospel Choir, Jason Clarke, Sal Vitro, The Eskies and Mary Stokes Band.

Get ready for plenty of action at Laya Healthcare’s City Spectacular – a free festival of street performance coming to Dublin this month. The festival, which has been taking place every summer for the last several years, was formerly known as the Street Performance World Championship. The name changed, but the idea didn’t – the organisers will bring the best international street performers to compete for the World Champion title in Dublin. All the shows are free and you only pay tips to the performers – if you liked their

shows.

Full to the brim with jawdropping jugglers, awe-inspiring acrobats and spine-tingling sword swallowers, this is an event not to be missed! In addition to Street Performance, the festival programming also showcases music, visual arts, artisan food, street art, spoken word, a burlesque show and much much more. Check out the full events programme at: www. cityspectacular.com

Camden Town Markets: London’s hidden gem Big Ben, London Eye, Houses of Parliament and Madam Tussaud’s…

What’s next? When you’re in London make sure you visit Camden Town and its huge open air markets. The markets are perfect for eating, shopping and sight-seeing, and everything is so cheap! Full of style, Camden welcomes everyone.

My first impression of Camden was that it is a place where everything happens at the same time. You will see families walking around in between groups of punks or people singing Hare Krishna…

You will see people wearing the craziest types of clothes and hairstyles alongside perfect British gentlemen in suits and bowler hats.

The style and the arts

define this place for me. If you like street art, then, you absolutely HAVE to go and visit Camden town. Graffiti artists, buskers, painters, dancers… all in one place.

And if you are the type of tourist who loves souvenirs, then forget about all the shops in central London, and do all your shopping in Camden Town. Everything here is much cheaper – and the souvenir are exactly the same as the ones you come across near Big Ben or Madame Tussaud’s.

And it’s not just souvenirs that are available at bargain prices –

you can also buy clothes, vintage products, gadgets and tech stuff... you name it.

Make sure you arrive in Camden Town hungry! It is also an interesting (and cheap) place to eat. You will be spoilt for choice: Chinese, Mexican, Arab, Italian and many other types of cuisine are there, so it’s very hard to decide what to eat... especially when

people are singing and dancing to get your attention and your custom.

Pick up something tantalising and perch yourself on one of the fake motorbike seats by the canal to enjoy the delicious food. And trust me – you will want to go back to Camden Town after your first visit!

Johnny Fox’s pub Known as the highest pub in Ireland, Johnny Fox’s is located in Dublin mountains, about a half an hour’s drive from the city. But don’t let the distance put you off – visiting this place is an absolute must even if you have to walk all the way to it!

Johnny Fox’s is not just a pub – it’s a pub, a restaurant, a live music venue, a museum and a comedy show all under the one roof! It is the sheer abundance of detail that is amazing about the place. You can spend literally hours walking around the pub, studying the various memorabilia and reading messages that were left here by various guests, which include

politicians from all over the world, famous musicians, actors and sports stars.

Exploring the place is really fun as you always stumble upon little plaques with Irish saying such as “Hard work never hurt anyone, but why take the chance?” or “I don’t wear glasses, I empty them”.

If it is food you want there is a variety of menus with such local favourites as

Irish stew, Dublin coddle and sea food chowder (there are also Italian and other European dishes).

The bar has live shows of Irish music and dance every night.

The pub is open from 11 am to 11:30 pm (00:30 on Saturdays). Live music starts at 9:30 pm every day (Sundays from 6:30 pm). There is also another live show on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30 pm.

You can get to the pub by an Express Bus which leaves from Dublin City Centre daily (return ticket – €10).

Call: 01 - 8 22 11 22 or log on to www.expressbus.ie. E-mail: info@expressbus.ie

Climbing Sugarloaf So you want to be active and are looking for something to do these warm summer days? Then why not go climbing? Sugarloaf is one of the highest mountains in the Dublin area (its summit is 501 meters above sea level) and it offers spectacular views of the Irish Sea, Bray, Dublin and the Wicklow mountains. It’s also very accessible as you can do the climb in just a couple of hours or evens less. So what are you waiting for? Get your hiking boots on and head for the hills!

The short route – by car If you’re driving there is a car park at the foot of Sugarloaf where you can park and then head up the mountain. The path is clearly marked and it leads all the way to the summit. This is the so called “short route” and it takes about an hour there and back. This walk is very simple (and you need a car), so let’s have a look at the alternative.

The longer route – by bus If you’re not driving you can reach the foot of Sugarloaf by bus, however finding your way up is going to be a little more difficult. But don’t worry: SEDA News has prepared a handy guide for you!

1. Take bus 145 and go to the final stop at Kilmacanogue village. The bus leaves from Heuston station and passes through the city centre, including the quays of the river Liffey, Nassau Street and Leeson Street.

You can hop on at whatever stop is nearest to you. The journey from Heuston Station to Kilmacanogue takes about one hour and a half.

2. Get off at Kilmacanogue village (last stop) and walk around Glencormac Inn pub, an orange coloured building just behind the petrol station, which is next to the stop. Then enter a small lane on the left hand side – you will see the entrance beside a clothes bank with GAA markings.

3. Follow the laneway until you reach Kilmacanogue GAA pitch – there is a small car park in front of the gate. If you face the gate to the GAA grounds, you will see a small unpaved path to your right, leading towards the shoulder of the Sugarloaf mountain. Follow the small path and turn right at the first fork.

4. Keep following the narrow path up the mountain through the tall grass for another 30 minutes or so. If you have a GPS device (or a phone with good GPS signal) you can track your way as the path is clearly marked in Google Maps.

5. You should now exit onto a much larger pathway on the shoulder of the mountain. Turn left and walk towards the white summit of Sugarloaf looming above you.

6. Another half an hour or so and you should be at the top – enjoying the breathtaking views. Take your time, take plenty of pictures and then get down the same way. The alternative is to turn left when going down and then circle the mountain, coming back to the GAA pitch from the opposite direction.

7. Don’t forget to send your pictures to SEDA News – on news@seda.ie!

You can find more ideas for great walks in Dublin and Wicklow mountains on www.wicklowwalks.com, www.visitwicklow.ie and www.dublinmountains.ie

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My first day of class with James Joyce starts off on the right foot

By Savana Caldas

Last month, on June 16, I started my classes at SEDA, and I think I started them off on the right foot, as they say. Let me explain: June 16 is a day of celebration in Dublin, known as Bloomsday. In fact, the commemorations and tributes to the acclaimed Irish writer James Joyce begin a week earlier and they reach a culmination on this date.

So what is Bloomsday?

In 1914 Joyce started writing Ulysses, a 900-page book that chronicles a day in the life of the

Dubliner Leopold Bloom and this day is June 16, 1904. It is believed that this was the day that Joyce had his first date with his future wife, Nora. Ulysses has become a classic of literature and is celebrated with great pride by Dubliners.

watching plays and public readings of Joyce’s text. Accompanied by teachers Alba and Teresa, we met several peculiarities of the area and learned about the traditions of the past century.

Back to Class On that day we had two hours of class and ... SURPRISE! The other half of learning would be on the streets of Temple Bar, doing a literary walking tour, passing by the places that appear in the book and

To make things even better, it was a sunny day with fresh summer breeze.

I think it was the most beautiful day I’ve seen since I arrived in Dublin but, as the law of Murphy does not abandon me, I was without a camera.

We passed groups of people wearing vintage clothes and hats, and we visited beautiful places such as St. Stephen’s Green Park.

And I only had my smartphone to take pictures with…

It was a very interesting day, which made me curious to learn more about the history of Dublin.

Further information about

Bloomsday can be found at The James Joyce Centre website (http://jamesjoyce.ie) Savana is writing a Portuguese-language blog about her experience in Dublin – check it out on www.savanaindublin.com

Leaving Ireland with a bag of memories and fantastic English Josue Vera from Venezuela finished his course with SEDA last month and is about to leave for his home country. The student wrote an article for SEDA News where he talks about everything that he learned at SEDA. We are happy to publish Josue’s story and we also wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors!

By Josue VERA My feelings about this experience I’ve always wanted to learn another language – especially English because I think nowadays it’s totally necessary. In my case when I decided to come here I was finishing my high school, but I didn’t want to go to the university immediately. For that reason I was looking for a college where I can learn English, but actually I wanted to go far away from my country.

So another thing that I had to decide was which country would be the perfect choice for me. In the beginning I was thinking about going to the United States because most people like travelling to that country, but finally I am here in Dublin.

Dublin is not a big city, but actually it’s a quiet and beautiful

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city and I really liked it! I had the chance to travel around Ireland and it was so beautiful: now I can say that Ireland is a totally green country. At the moment I have to go back to Venezuela, but I am so happy because I could travel to other countries around Europe.

For example I have family in Italy and last year I went there and travelled all around Italy. I also went to Switzerland for my birthday and I saw snow for the first time in my life. Together with my Venezuelan friends I went to Paris and London and I made lots of new friends – from South Korea, Brazil, Ireland

and Venezuela as well. But the most important thing for me is that I improved my English a lot.

Will English be a part of my career in the future?

I really want to carry on studying English and improving my skills every day, so at the moment I don’t know if I am going to start studying for a career in English in Venezuela, but actually I would like to do it because I would like to be a professional in this area.

The most important thing that happened to me in Ireland was being able to improve my English a lot. I remember that when I arrived in Dublin last year I couldn’t speak and understand anything! Actually in the beginning it was so frustrating for me.

I also remember how I had to go to the Bank of Ireland one day to open my student bank account. I couldn’t speak and the person who attended me couldn’t understand

me, and I had to ask for help.

However six months later I went to the bank again and I went looking for the same person. I told her that now we could speak and that I was ready. Fortunately we talked for a long time and I could speak well and understand everything – I was so happy!

I started my course in SEDA at the Elementary level and then progressed to Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate level and finally I finished my course in the Upper Intermediate group. My pronunciation is so much better now, my grammar has improved a lot and my vocabulary is much bigger.

How has SEDA helped improve my English?

I started my course in Elementary level and every I woke up so early because

me the day the

house where I lived before was so far. I’m a hard working student: when I really want to achieve something I try to do it in the best way. And I am happy to say that the hard work has definitely paid off!

Another thing I like about SEDA College is that it has different activities where you can improve your English, for example meet ups or the internship programme.

I also made friends with several SEDA teachers, for example Padraic, Owen, Denise – they are really good friends and I won’t forget them because I learned so much from them.

Finally I’m going back to Venezuela with fantastic English language skills. I will never forget my wonderful experience in Ireland!

For more puzzles log on to www.learn-english-today.com

Find out if you know the English names for countries and nationalities!

Congratulations to MARIANA USECHE GARCIA who won the previous month’s puzzle! You can pick up your prize in the Marketing Office on 2nd floor.

Send your answers to news@seda.ie, or cut this page out and give it to your teacher. If you get the answers right you can win a prize!

Your name:_______________________________ __________________________________________ Your e-mail:_______________________________ __________________________________________

Sudoku

Solutions (April)

Here are the answers to last month’s crossword puzzle:

Down 1. Pink 2. Scarlet 4. Beige 6. Silver 7. Grey 8. Violet 9. Brown 10. Cherry 14. Lemon 17. Light 19. Deep 20. Dark

Across 3. Lilac 4. Black 5. Crimson 11. Orange 12. White 13. Blue 15. Yellow 16. Purple 18. Red 21. Navy 22. Gold 23. Green 24. Pale 25. Bright

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