Mundane Monday

 Selfie in the apartment. I grew ears

A diversion from what? Life?? And don't forget to go to Room 240 if you have Chemistry Queries. I find myself saying strange things. Today I told one of our instructors that I was going to have a swim at lunch. She thought nothing of it but when did I stop going for swims and start having them instead?

The highlight of the day was Cristopher's lego camp! He loved it. They built towers and then the teachers put them on a cart and shook them to see if they would withstand a volcano (perhaps he meant an earthquake but I report it like he tells it). His tower withstood the test. Cristopher did notice that the teachers did not shake some of the structures very hard (there's no tricking this kid).

Third Level Education
We learned all about the Irish university system today. There are 7 universities in Ireland. In 1993 the government made it free (yup, no fees, no cost). Since the recent recession there are some fees that are creeping back into the system but 3,000 Euros per year does not compare to the $40,000 or more that it costs at many universities in the United States. We also heard talks about the adult education system and community education in Ireland and how they are trying to pull non-traditional and disadvantaged students back into the system. There is a highly dedicated group of individuals who are working hard to provide education to the masses regardless of their ability to pay. The Irish system provides funding in the form of grants and subsidies to individuals who wish to return to the system. This group does not seem to mind that there are not very many jobs for these individuals when they finish and a lot of the younger students end up immigrating to other countries.