SEDA is moving to a beautiful new home

In January 2013 SEDA will move to a large new building located on Capel Street, in the heart of Dublin’s Northside. Measuring 14 000 square feet, the school’s new home is more than twice the size of the current premises. The new SEDA will have a large library and a spacious student area with comfortable sofas, 50-inch TV screens and computers lining the walls, video games and other types of entertainment. And it is also planned that the school will have its own can-teen!

The new location is just a 5-min-

ute walk away from the Spire. Also in the immediate vicinity is Cineworld – Dublin’s biggest multiplex cinema, Henry Street shopping area and the Luas tram line as well as a huge se-lection of restaurants and pubs. The building was previously home to the engineering faculty of Dublin Institute of Technology, one of Ireland’s highest ranking colleges.

The new premises will have from 12 to 20 classrooms, with two of them specially fitted out for degree courses which SEDA plans to introduce in the future. All the classrooms have

large double glazed windows facing the street and plenty of natural light. There will be an eleva-tor in the reception so from next year SEDA will have disabled access. It is envisaged that up to 800 students will be able to attend classes in the school’s new premises every day.

SEDA management said it hoped that the first class of 2013 – due on Jan-

uary 7 – would take place in the new building, but the process of moving premises could take one or two weeks longer. What’s certain however is that from January 2013 life in SEDA is set to become much more exciting!

Issue 13, December 2012. Copyright: Skills & Enterprise Development Academy

SEDA students and teachers wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! More photos on pages 10 & 11.

SEDA will start the New Year in a new building, which is more than double the size of the current one!

SEDA INTERNSHIPSSEDA’s in-t e r n s h i p programme is in full swing as six students get work in Irish companies. You can take part too!

Page 3

YOUR STORY

F a b i a n a Hernandez, who came to Dublin from Venezuela, talks about her love of f l a m e n c o and the arts. Page 6

NOLLAIG SHONA!

Ever ything you need to know about C h r i s t m a s and New Year’s Eve in Ireland as well as fun events in Dublin

Page 8

TEACHER ROSA

At the age of 25 she got a Mas-ter’s degree and wants to study for a PhD, but teacher Ma-ria Rosa has a fun side too Page 5

2 NEWS

This month SEDA News is getting ready for Christmas and we are also celebrating the fact that SEDA is moving to a beautiful new building on Capel Street. There are some unique traditions connected to Christmas in Ireland and these are all explained for you on page 8. Christmas is the biggest holiday here and on December 25 the whole country takes a day off. But every year there are foreign-ers who think they can go out on Christmas Day or travel by public transport to see their friends, and end up having a big disappointment as the whole country shuts down completely. We want you to avoid this situation so we’ve collected all the main facts about Christmas (in-cluding Christmas sales!) in Ireland on page 7 – read on! This year Dublin made it into Lonely Planet’s Top 5 cities in the world to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The Irish capital is preparing a large festival on December 31 - we’ve got all the details as well as information about other fun stuff to do this time of year. As usual SEDA News has got stories of our students from various parts of the world. This month we inter-viewed Wonhee Lee from South Ko-rea whose “long holiday” in Dublin is about to end. We also chat to Fabi-ana Hernandez from Venezuela who tells us of her love for flamenco and the arts.SEDA News is not big on competi-tions this month, but you can try and find the right answers to our Christmas quiz on page 12 – it won’t be that easy! Congratulations to Ve-ronica Bellido for winning the quiz competition last month and well done to Mayerling Marquez who won 2 free tickets for a trip to the Cliffs of Moher.

As usual, have a pleasant read and you can always contact us on: news@seda.ie

A word from the editor

SEDA News, copyright: Skills & Enterprise Development Academy (SEDA). EDITOR AND LAYOUT: Viktor Posudnevsky. FINAL REVIEW: Carol Cregg. CIRCULATION: 1000 copies. ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL: news@seda.ie

SEDA marketing staff took part in the BMI Europosgrados student fair in Venezuela last month. Some 3500 young Ven-ezuelans attended the event, which took place in the capital Caracas. SEDA was the only academic in-stitution from Ireland taking part. School staff held a special seminar about education in Ireland. They also met the Honorary Consul of Ireland in Venezuela, representa-tives of the bank Mercantil and CADIVI, the government body responsible for currency exchange which all Venezuelan students have to go through if they wish to study abroad.

“It was great to be able to pro-mote Ireland,” said SEDA’s market-

ing executive Tiago Mascarenhas. “Venezuelans are good students and we expect good results from this fair”.

Schools from France, Spain, England, Germany and the Neth-erlands also took part in the event.

Tiago Mascarenhas said: “It’s quite difficult for Venezuelans to travel abroad because they have to get approval from their gov-ernment to buy foreign currency. From this point of view Ireland is a very attractive option because Venezuelans don’t need a visa to come here and the prices in this country are much more affordable. If you compare Ireland with Cana-da, Australia, USA or England we are really the best option for them”.

Ireland is “the best option” for Venezuelan students

Ireland sends education mission to India

Ireland is seeking to increase its share of 200,000 Indian stu-dents who study abroad each year. Minister for training and skills Ciarán Cannon led the country’s largest ever education mission to India last month. He visited New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai seeking to highlight Ireland as a centre for international study. Over 60 leading academics from 16 higher education institutions took part in the mission to pro-mote Ireland as a hub for global education and global business. The Minister highlighted the eco-nomic benefits of international students for the country: “In addi-tion to being future ambassadors for Ireland, international students also help to generate jobs. It is es-

timated that every 100 additional international students who come to Ireland support the creation of 15 local jobs, through spend-ing on tuition, accommodation and other living expenses.” There are currently almost 1,000 In-dian students studying in Ireland, mainly in post-graduate degree courses in Engineering, Pharma, Business, Accounting, Computer Sciences and Hospitality Manage-ment.

A new organisation formed last month will look after qualifi-cations and quality assurance in Ireland’s education sector. Qual-ity and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) was created by a merger of four bodies: the Further Educa-tion and Training Awards Council (FETAC), the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC), the National Qualifica-tions Authority of Ireland (NQAI) and the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB). The new author-ity will assume all the functions of these four organisations and will also get new responsibilities.

One of QQI’s tasks will be to develop and introduce the Inter-national Education Mark (IEM).

IEM will only be granted to schools that provide quality educa-tion to European and international students. QQI has also taken over from NQAI as the body responsi-ble for the administration of the Internationalisation Register – a list of education and training pro-grammes approved for non-EU students.

QQI is also charged with de-veloping a new register of educa-tion providers, programmes and awards, which will include a list of education establishments holding the IEM. It is expected that in time the new register will replace the current list of ACELS-recognised English language schools.

New body to oversee quality of education in Ireland

SEDA marketing staff at Venezuelan student fair

3NEWS

SEDA student Andre Gonzaga and E-Celtic director Brian Martin in the company’s offices in Dublin

SEDA internships are in full swing as 6 students get work in Irish companies

The cost of registering with Ire-land’s immigration service doubled last month from €150 to €300. Ire-land’s naturalisation and immigration service (INIS) announced the price hike just five days before it took effect. The decision to increase the price pay-able for a new GNIB card was taken without consultation with immigrant and international student organisa-tions. A number of bodies have spoken

out against the doubling of fees. For example, the Immigrant

Council of Ireland called the price hike “an attack on low income migrant families” and pointed out that im-migration registration fee in Ireland was now one of the highest in Europe. Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland and the Irish Council for International Students have both launched public campaigns against the hike. They call

on everyone who is unhappy about the fee increase to send a letter of complaint to Min-ister for Justice Alan Shatter. You can join the campaign online on:

http://www.mrci.ie/take-action/3876/

Students fight GNIB registration fee hike

Last month SEDA began an in-ternship programme which allows stu-dents to get work experience in Irish companies within various sectors of the economy – from information tech-nology to the hotel industry. Some 11 students have signed up to take part in the programme so far, with the majori-ty of them already working. Up to now six students have been placed with Irish IT, logistics, distribution and ca-tering companies.

One of the successful candidates is Andre Gonzaga, an IT expert from Brazil, who is now working in a Dub-lin-based company called E-Celtic. Andre studies in SEDA in the after-noons and comes to work every morn-ing. His job in E-Celtic is to help set up a Linux server.

“I like working here very much because I am doing something in my

area and learn-ing English at the same time,” the student told SEDA News. “The job is easy because I did the same thing at home. But the work culture here is different and it is good to get to know it. I also learned some new techniques which I have never used before. It’s been a great experi-ence and I’m very grateful for the op-portunity that SEDA gave me!”

E-Celtic employs about 10 people in its Dublin office. It also has a de-velopment centre in India and a sales operation in London. The company’s main business is in search engine opti-misation, digital marketing and appli-

cation development. Its director Brian Martin said E-Celtic regularly takes on interns:

“We’re a rapidly growing company so we always need people to come on board. Internship is good because it gives people a training period and then they can get a full-time role with the company. We’ve had a couple of people like that just recently. They started out as interns for a few months,

but we were very impressed with them and offered them full time positions”.

Speaking of SEDA student Andre Gonzaga, Martin said: “Andre’s got great expertise and so he can do things quite quickly. He’s been a really good help to us since he joined. So far he’s doing really well and we’ve got more projects for him. He’s a great guy!”

He added that since joining E-Celtic Andre’s English improved as he got more confidence: “I think it’s the main thing about learning any language: you need to be confident to speak it. Andre is working in a real en-vironment and none of us here speak Portuguese, so he has no choice but to speak English”.

Other students have also been quite happy with SEDA’s new pro-gramme. For example, an intern, who recently got a placement in the Dub-lin office of Kuehne + Nagel, a global logistics company, said it was “like a dream come true”.

If you want to get an intern-ship through SEDA send your CV to: internship@seda.ie

SEDA’s internship programme al-lows SEDA students to learn English and gain work experience in an Irish company at the same time. The work placements are unpaid and gener-ally last for 4-6 weeks (though they can be longer if the student wishes and the employer is OK with that). The students can choose companies where they want to work from a list of Irish businesses. Currently there are opportunities in IT, business ad-ministration, marketing, advertising, customer service, catering, tourism, architecture and others.

In order to take part in SEDA in-ternship programme you need to be

over 18 years of age and your course has to be for at least 6 months. Most positions are only for students with in-termediate or higher level of English, but there are some opportunities for beginners too. Students will also need private medical insurance (at least for the duration of the internship).

The work placements are either part-time or full-time. Part-time in-ternships can be done in the student’s free time (for example, if you study in the morning you can work in the afternoons) or during holidays. Full-time internships are only available during holidays.

If you would like to take part in the programme send your CV and a cover letter indicating the area where you would like to work to intern-ship@seda.ie. SEDA’s Internship pro-gramme coordinator will then get in touch with you and introduce you to the positions that are currently on of-fer. After you choose the roles that in-terest you we will arrange interviews with the respective companies. If the interview is successful then you can start your internship.

To apply for the programme just send your CV to:

internship@seda.ie!

SEDA internship programme, which was

launched last month, is operating suc-

cessfully, with 6 students already placed

in Irish companies.

How does the programme work?

Prices for bus and train tickets increased by up to 18% from De-cember 1 – this is already the second price hike this year. The cheapest Dublin Bus ticket now costs €1.65 instead of €1.40 (up 17.9%). A short trip on the DART has increased to €1.65 and LUAS fares rose by 10 cent. Prices increased across the board – both for those who pay for their tick-ets by cash and for Leap Card users. However, Leap Cards still provide significant discounts. The National Transport Authority has said it had no option but to raise fares because of a shortage of funds. The last price hike was in September this year, and prices also rose in 2009 and 2011.

Public transport fees rise again

Ireland is getting warmer

and wetterIreland’s climate has got wet-

ter and warmer, according to a new report by the European Environ-ment Agency. The Agency has found that global warming is affecting the country along with the rest of north-ern Europe as average temperatures continue to rise. For example, the last decade (2002–2011) was the warmest on record, with land tem-perature 1.3° C warmer than the pre-industrial average. The report also states that Ireland is experi-encing higher amounts of rainfall. Authors of the report predict that Ireland could be 2.5–4° C warmer in the later part of the 21st century, compared to the 1961–1990 average. An increase in storms along the west and east coasts of Ireland – but not the south – is also predicted. But it’s not all bad news as rising sea tem-peratures off the coast Ireland may lead to an influx of new fish species.

More than 60% of the Irish pop-ulation is now overweight or obese, a report by Safefood into The Cost of Overweight and Obesity has found. And Irish people’s weight problems are a significant burden on the coun-try’s finances. The direct healthcare costs of treating obesity-related con-ditions is €399 million. However, the indirect costs amount to €729 million a year – this is mainly re-lated to absenteeism from work and premature death, the report found. For example, weight problems con-tribute hugely to time missed at work because of lower back pain. Meanwhile, another report, Grow-ing Up in Ireland, found that almost a quarter of Irish 13-years-olds are overweight or obese.

More than 60% of population

overweight

4 NEWS

Ireland may allow abortion in limited circumstances

More than 60 SEDA students went on a school trip to the Cliffs of Moher last month. The trip, organized by a lo-cal tour operator Xtreme Ireland, also included Limerick City, the vil-lage of Doolin, Galway Bay and the Burren. Unfortunately, when the tour bus reached the main attraction a thick cloud of fog descended on the coast and completely blocked the world-famous Cliffs from view. But the weather got better by the time the group reached the Moon-like landscapes of the

Burren, and students had much fun exploring the stony plains. SEDA tours may continue next year – check out January edition of SEDA News to find out!

Well done to Mayerling Marquez who won 2 tickets for the trip!

85% of Irish people would support laws allowing abortion when the mother’s life is at risk, according to a poll conducted by the Sunday Business Post newspaper. Currently abortion is illegal in Ireland, but there has been a clamour for reform after the death of a pregnant woman in a hospital in Gal-way. Savita Halappanavar, who came to Ireland from India, died of blood poisoning after suffering a miscar-riage. Her husband, Praveen Halappa-

navar, has said that the woman asked the doctors repeatedly for an abortion, but they refused, saying that Ireland was “a catholic country”. Mr Halap-panavar is confident that if the doctors terminated his wife’s pregnancy she would still be alive.Following the woman’s death thou-sands of people protested against Ire-land’s abortion laws in Dublin, Cork, Galway and London. The pro-choice protesters are asking for abortion to

be allowed, at least in cases where pregnancy poses a risk to the preg-nant woman’s life or health. However, the pro-life movement is asking the government to keep the ban on abor-tion. The government has said that it is committed to reforming abortion laws and will introduce clear guidelines on this issue by the end of the year. How-ever, the reform would not mean that there will be “abortion on demand” in Ireland.

Although abortion is illegal in Ireland Irish women are free to terminate their pregnancies in another country. Last year more than 4000 Irish women travelled for abortion to England or Wales.

SEDA students travel to the Cliffs of Moher, but fog blocks the view

Dublin has been named one of the top five places in the world to cel-ebrate New Year’s Eve. The city was singled out by travel guide Lonely Planet as preparations get under way for a special New Year’s Eve festival to launch The Gathering – a year-long celebration of all things Irish. Dublin is ranked alongside Prague in the Czech Republic, the New South Wales coast of Australia, Chiang Mai in Thailand and the French Alps. The Irish capital was singled out for its planned fireworks display and torch-lit procession of floats, firebreathers, stiltwalkers and, in particular, for this year’s extended festival. Thousands of expats are expected to visit Ireland throughout next year.

Dublin in Top 5 for New

Year’s Eve

Ryanair brings in new credit

card feeRyanair has introduced a new

2% credit card fee on bookings. The airline said it would impose the new charge as well as its €6 administra-tion fee, Irish Independent reports. However, the administration fee will be scrapped in two months’ time. Ry-anair said it was making these changes under pressure from the Office of Fair Trading in the UK, which is making it illegal to add surprise debit card charges at the end of the booking process. The airline said that the €6 administration fee would continue in place until February 1, after which it would be scrapped and the €6 would be absorbed into higher flight fares. However, the 2pc credit card charge will be a permanent fixture, and the only way to avoid it will be to pay by debit card, including but not limited to the Ryanair Cash Passport.

Students before the start of the trip. Photos by Juliana Trocoli

I r e l a n d ’ s Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gil-more has said he would like to see a referendum on the issue of

same-sex marriage “as soon as possible”. Mr Gilmore said his own view was the “time has come” for marriage of same-sex couples. “I don’t believe we should postpone what is a human right,” he told RTE radio. The politician, who is also Ireland’s current Tánaiste (deputy prime minister), added that same-sex

marriage will be one of the first issues examined by the constitutional conven-tion, which convened this month for the first time. Advocacy group Mar-riage Equality welcomed the call by Mr Gilmore for a referendum. “Now is the time for marriage equality, and we want Ireland to lead this movement for

equality along with countries like Spain and Portugal, and not fall behind,” said a spokesperson.

Since 2011 same-sex couples in Ire-land can register a civil partnership – this status gives the partners rights and responsibilities similar, but not equal to civil marriage.

Minister wants referendum on same-sex marriage

5SEDA STAFF

Pole fitness and heavy metal: discover teacher Rosa’s fun sideDancing and heavy metal – these are just some of the things that SEDA teacher MARIA ROSA DA SILVA

COSTA gets up to in her free time. But as she tells SEDA News, Rosa has no ambitions of becoming a

professional dancer: in fact, she recently got a Masters degree in teaching English and now wants to

do a PhD course. And she’s only 25!

Tell me about yourself and how you started working in SEDA?

I am originally from Teresina in Brazil. I decided to come to Ireland after graduating from col-lege in 2008. A year after I arrived here I came to SEDA looking for a business course and I mentioned that I was an English teacher. Back then the school had just opened and they needed teachers. So I was asked to join the school and I’ve been here ever since – three years altogether!

What did you study before coming to Dublin?

I have a degree in English lan-guage and literature. After finish-ing this course I decided to come over to Ireland for a new experi-ence. I felt that I needed to live in an English speaking country to see how the language actually works and what the culture is like. So I came over to Ireland and got a job in my area which is lovely.

At the moment you speak with a very Irish accent. Are people surprised when you tell them that you’re not from Ireland?

Yes, a lot of them are. I suppose when you work with a lot of Irish people you can’t really avoid get-ting the accent. That was the case

with me: I spent most of my time speaking English with the Irish and that’s where my accent comes from.

Are you studying here as well?Before I came over I always had

the idea of doing a Masters course, but when I arrived I realised there was no scholarships or anything like that between Ireland and Bra-zil. To do a Masters was quite ex-pensive, so I decided to work hard and save money for it and then fi-nally last year I applied for a course in UCD. I was offered a place and I graduated a few months ago. So now I got a Masters degree in TESOL – teaching English to speakers of other languages.

What was studying here like for you? Were you the only non-Irish person in your class?

I was. There were only four of us and I was the only non-native speaker. The others were Irish and they were also a bit older than me. Studying in UCD was a great ex-perience and I really enjoyed it! It was quite hard, but it’s done now!

I remember when we started the course people were asking me: why are you doing this? And I said, first of all, I really like my job. I know that this is what I really want

to do in life: I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. And I also want to be qualified and really be the best I can be in my area.

Doing that course was great for me be-cause you learn so much about the culture of a country when you’re studying in a national university like UCD. And it’s also the best university in Ireland for the kind of course that I did.

What are your plans now?I don’t really know. To be hon-

est, I need a break right now be-cause it’s been a very tough year as I was working full time in SEDA and doing my course at the same time. So at the end of the year I am going to Brazil to spend a couple of weeks with my family.

But hopefully next year I will continue my studies. I’ve had some contact with the University of Limerick and they’re coming up with a new programme which is a PhD in TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages). If that goes ahead I might do a PhD with them. If not I may have a look at a PhD course in Applied Linguistics which is available from Trinity College. Getting more qualifications – that’s my target right now!

Are you going to stay in Ire-land?

Everything’s going well so far for me in Ireland so yes, I intend to be here for a while. But I don’t real-ly know. I’d say I will do a PhD and then see where to go from there. If I go back to Brazil I can get a fairly good job there. I would probably teach in a college and that would fulfil me. But if I stay in Ireland I will be getting loads of experience and obviously it’s a good extra on my CV.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like meeting up with my friends, and obviously as you are in Ireland you can’t really avoid going to the pub for a few drinks. I also love going to the cinema or for a walk on the beach or in the mountains.

Is it true that one of your hob-bies is pole fitness?

Yeah, it is! I have a friend who works in SEDA and she did pole dancing before so she encour-aged me to join her class. We did a 6-week course and I thought it was very interesting and really liked it! I don’t go the gym or ex-ercise much so it was a great way for me to get fit. But then I had to stop training because I had so much to do with my course. I went back to pole dancing some months ago and am still doing it. It’s really good! You have to be very strong and forget about being sexy or an-ything like that. You’re just killing yourself for an hour there, that’s what it is! But it’s good fun. I didn’t think that it would be that hard. When you see the teacher doing the moves it seems easy, but when you get up there you realise it’s a lot more than that. It’s very simi-lar to gymnastics. I do it mostly for fitness and it does make you really really fit.

Would you see yourself per-forming in a competition?

Oh god, no! I have no inten-tion of becoming a professional dancer, I’m OK with just being an English teacher, thank you!

Do you practice at home?

No, not yet. But I wouldn’t mind to. It’s my dream to have a home with a pole and a walk-in wardrobe, like music stars you see on TV. Hopefully I’ll get there eventually!

What sort of music are you into?

I’m quite an eclectic person, I like most types of music. But I listen to a lot of heavy metal, all sorts of metal. I like many bands, but some of my favourites are Iron Maiden, Haggard and Metallica. Next year I’m going to Wacken, a big heavy metal music festival in Germany. Yeah!

What kind of food do you like?

To be fair when I arrived in Ire-land I couldn’t really cook because it was the first time I had ever lived on my own. The way I cook nowa-days – it’s a mixture of Brazilian and Irish cuisine. I like Irish food, but I do miss Brazilian food a lot and definitely need to go home every now and then to eat it!

What places would you recom-mend students to visit in Dublin and around Ireland?

I would say go to the country-side, but not for a day trip. Go to Galway or Cork and stay there for a few days to get to know the peo-ple and the culture. Talk to locals, try traditional food – you’ll have lots of fun and improve your Eng-lish at the same time!

Teacher Rosa and her class in SEDA

6 YOUR STORY

Wonhee is “not ready” to end her long Irish holiday, but there’s work to do in Korea

SEDA student WONHEE LEE from South Korea spent nearly two years in Ireland – a time that she describes as her “long holiday”. But in January she will finish her course and go back to Korea where plenty of work is waiting for her.

Fabiana outside SEDA

Wonhee (pronounced Wonie) Lee says she chose Dublin because it was a good place to learn Eng-lish and also a convenient location to travel all around Europe. As it turns out, Ireland is quite famous in South Korea. “Koreans know quite a lot about Ireland,” she told SEDA News. “It’s not really a pop-ular tourist destination yet, but it’s getting popular”.

In her home town, Seoul, Won-

hee works as an events planner, or-ganising festivals, conferences and various international meetings. But she took a break from her busy job when she got the plane to Dub-lin. Now the South Korean student spends her days relaxing, travelling and socialising with friends.

“In Dublin I’m not working, just relaxing and being lazy,” Won-hee said. “Sometimes I would go to pubs and have a drink with my

friends who are from all over the world – Irish, Japanese, Thai, Pol-ish, German... It’s kind of like a long holiday for me. But it’s already my second year in Ireland and I’m going back to Korea next January. So I have to prepare to start work again, but I feel that I’m not ready yet!”

Thanks to cheap flights from Dublin Wonhee was able to travel all over Europe while she was liv-

ing in Ireland. The student has been to Germany, England, Tur-key, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and other countries. But, she says, it is Ireland that will stay in her heart forever.

“I like everything here espe-cially the Irish people – they are so funny, very helpful and friendly. Except crazy teenagers every-thing’s nice here!”

Fabiana Hernandez and her flamenco class in Venezuela

The talented student also performs as a mime

Fabiana Hernandez grew up in a small town in Venezuela where eve-rybody knows each other and has al-ways wanted to get out. She says she loves her people and their traditions, but even more than that she loves the arts and that is clearly something that her home town lacks. The SEDA stu-dent is an avid painter and actor and she is also a great dancer: at the age of just 16 Fabiana was ranked number 6 flamenco performer in the whole of Venezuela.

“I have danced flamenco for about 11 years starting at the age of 5, and I was also a flamenco teacher,” she said. “In Venezuela I went to school from 7

am till 1 pm, then I taught flamenco from 2 to 5 pm, and after that I went to the gym – it’s very important to have strong muscles. And then after 8 pm I would go to my class, which is very advanced, to learn from the best teachers. Sometimes I would finish only at 1 am... I had to be very organ-ised because there was never time for anything! Every day was like this. At weekends my friends would call me to parties or to the cinema, but I couldn’t go because I had flamenco shows and so much to do!”

She was well on course to becom-ing a professional dancer, but Fabiana’s dream was shattered a year ago: while executing a complicated dance move

at an audition she fell and seriously hurt her leg. Her injury means she cannot perform on stage anymore and can only dance for fun...

Despite the setback Fabiana is still full of love for the arts. In her free time she paints – mostly surrealist paint-ings reminiscent of her favourite art-ist Salvador Dali. The Venezuelan student says she is very happy to be in Europe, close to all the famous museums and art galleries. “I love my country: it’s beauti-ful and the people are happy and open, but maybe it’s not the right place for me because I like arts and the people in Venezuela don’t appreciate arts so much”, she said. “I’ve always thought Ireland is a very inter-esting country and I really like it here!”

F a b i a n a adds that her English has im-proved a lot in SEDA and cred-its her teach-ers especially Graham whom she calls “super-good”.

It was hard for the Ven-ezuelan girl, who is just 17, to come to live in a new country, but she is adapt-ing. Fabiana says she has grown very attached to her Irish host family who live in Ballyfermot. Still, her father is irreplaceable.

“Me and my daddy are very close – my daddy is my hero and I love him!” she said. “I miss him very much and call him every day. He is coming to Ire-land in March next year when he will have a holiday. And I think my sister may be coming with him as well”.

In her free time Fabiana likes to take long walks in Phoenix Park, chat with her Venezuelan friends and go shopping. And though she’s only 17 she has already sampled Dublin’s fa-mous nightlife. “When you go to the pubs the trick is to come early when they are still empty. Then security let you in without ID,” Fabiana says.

But her Irish host family always make sure she gets back home early, she adds.

Arts lover Fabiana finds a world of culture in DublinSEDA students come in all shapes and sizes and their age varies from 18 to 68! Previ-ously we interviewed 68-year-old Luis Salazar about his experience in Ireland, but this month we spoke to FABIANA HERNANDEZ from Venezuela, who came to study in SEDA and is still in her teens. It is Fabiana’s first time living away from home and she misses her family. But the Venezuelan girl is happy in Dublin as it is an arts para-dise compared to her small home town.

Some of Fabiana’s art“My daddy is my hero!”

7LIVING IN IRELAND

Coombe Health Care CentreDept Of General Practice Ucd, Dol-phins Barn, Dublin 8Tel.: +353 1 4730893

Rialto Medical Centre478 South Circular Road, Rialto, Dublin 8Tel: +353 1 4532147www.rialtomedical.com

Inchicore Family DoctorsPrimary Care Centre, St Michael’s Estate, Dublin 8www.inchicoredoctors.ie

Dr Emer Loughrey & Associates15 Grattan Crescent, Inchicore, Dublin 8Tel: +353 1 4734030www.inchicoremedical.ie

To find doctors near you log on to http://www.icgp.ie/go/find_a_gp

GPs near SEDA

I’m not feeling well – what do I do?

If you feel unwell your first port of call is the local GP or General Practi-tioner. A GP is a doctor who provides health services to people in his or her surgery or in the patient’s home. If you do not have a Medical Card or a GP Visit Card you will have to pay for the service. There are no set fees in Ireland for GP services so if you wish to check costs, contact the surgery directly. But

most GPs charge about €50-€60 per visit. However, with some private medi-cal insurance policies, you may see a GP for free so check the terms and condi-tions on your policy.

A GP can examine you and give a medical diagnosis based on your symp-toms. He or she can also give you a pre-scription for a medicine that you need. If your condition is serious or you need further medical attention a GP can refer you to a specialist doctor (a consultant) who works in a hospital.

If you are feeling only slightly un-well you can try and get help in a phar-macy. A pharmacist can advise you what medicine to use. He/she can also sell it to you if that medicine is available without prescription. Simple medicines like anti-cough tablets or nasal spray are sold without prescription.

But in order to buy more serious drugs you will have to get a prescrip-tion from a GP.

What if I have an accident or become seriously ill?

Anybody in Ireland with a medical emergency has the right to attend the Emergency Department in a hospital. A patient visiting the Emergency De-partment will either be treated and sent home or will be admitted to a hospital ward as an in-patient. It’s important to note that different hospitals in Ireland treat different sicknesses and emergen-cies, for example, maternity hospitals only treat maternity related emergen-cies while general hospitals will treat

most emergencies.

What is the difference be-tween “out-patient” and “in-patient”?

Out-patient services include Emergency Department services and planned services, for example, spe-cialist assessment by a consultant or diagnostic assessments such as x-rays, laboratory tests and physiotherapy. If you are referred to out-patient services by a GP then you do not have to pay to use them.

If you stay in a public ward in a hos-pital under the care of a consultant for treatment and you remain overnight, then you are receiving in-patient ser-vices. If you do not remain overnight you are receiving day services.

How much do hospital ser-vices cost?

There are different fees for out-pa-tient and in-patient services.

Out-patientIf you go to the out-patients or

Emergency Department of a public hospital without being referred there by your GP, you may be charged €100. This

charge does not apply to people receiv-ing treatment for prescribed infectious diseases, people who are entitled to hospital services because of EU Regula-tions, women receiving maternity ser-vices and some other groups.

In cases of excessive hardship, the hospital may provide the service free of charge. If you have to return for further visits in relation to the same illness or accident, you do not have to pay the charge again.

In-Patient/Day Service The charge for in-patient/day ser-

vices is €75 per day up to a maximum of €750 in a year. The charge does not apply to people receiving treatment for prescribed infectious diseases, people who are entitled to hospital services because of EU Regulations, women receiving maternity services and some other groups.

In cases of excessive hardship, the hospital may provide the service free of charge.

For more information log on to: www.livinginireland.ie or www.citizensinformation.ie

Help! I need a doctorIt is fairly easy to get sick in an Irish winter and plenty of people do every year. So what do you do if you fall ill? And how much can seeing a doctor or going to the hospital cost? Read on – SEDA News has got all the answers.

• IfyouhaveaNightsavertar-iff (which means you pay less for elec-tricity consumption at night) make sure you use your washing machine from 11 pm to 8 am (or from midnight to 9 am in the summer) – this will save you a lot of money. The same goes for using a tumble dryer if you have one.

• Use the timer on your im-mersion heater. This should supply you with enough hot water when you need it and save energy when you don’t.

• Takeashowerratherthanabath. A typical shower uses only one fifth of the energy of a full bath.

• Configure your computerto “energy saving” mode. Remember: turning your computer off at night in-stead of leaving it on will save on av-erage 25% of its annual energy bill. So turn off your computer whenever you are not going to use it for more than an hour.

• Don’t let frost build up inthe freezer as this increases energy consumption. Remember to defrost and clean the inside of your refrigera-tor and freezer at least every 6 months.

• Check that the refrigeratordoor closes tight. To do this insert a 5 euro note in your fridge halfway through and close the fridge – the door should hold it in place. If it doesn’t you may have to change the door seal or get a new fridge...

• When cooking put lids onpots and turn down the heat when the water starts to boil. The lids not only keep heat in the pot but also reduce condensation in the kitchen.

• The oven is expensive touse – so try using it for more than just one item. Remember: you can cook at a higher temperature at the top of the oven, and simultaneously at a lower temperature at the bottom.

• Donotopentheovendoorto check cooking – every time you do so you lose 20% of the accumulated heat!

• The washing cycle selectedon a washing machine should have the lowest water temperature required for the items being washed. A full load of washing is more energy efficient that two half loads. Use a cold rinse for your clothes.

For more tips check out: www.seai.ie/Power_of_One/

Can I go out on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

In general, on the evening of Christmas Eve (December 24) and on Christmas Day (December 25) the whole country takes a day OFF, which means that nearly everything is closed. That includes pubs, restaurants, night-clubs, public offices and most shops (but not churches!). Most of these places only stay open until about 5 pm on Christmas Eve and then reopen on December 26. So make sure you stock up on food and other necessities be-cause otherwise you’ll be stuck with nowhere to go! Also bear in mind that in Ireland it is illegal to sell alcohol on Christmas Day so even if you find a shop that is open you won’t be able to buy any drink.

What about public trans-port?

The same goes for public trans-port. After about 9 pm on Christmas

Eve there are no services until Decem-ber 26. Most taxis also take a day off so if you need to get somewhere on Christmas Day make sure to arrange your own transport (or try hitchhik-ing!)

Where do I find Christmas sales?

Christmas sales with offers of up to 70 and 80 per cent off usually kick start on the morning of December 26 in big stores like Brown Thomas, Marks&Spencer, Next, River Island, PC World and so on. The shops usu-ally announce sales a few days before Christmas. The sales go on until start of January or even further, but by the end of December 26 most of the best bargains will have been snapped up. Some people start queuing late on Christmas Day and spend all night in front of the shop to get the stuff cheap!

Can I go out on New Year’s Eve?

Yes, you can! Most pubs and nightclubs in Dublin will be open on New Year’s Eve and they will be more than happy to have you! There will also be a festival called NYE Dublin in the city centre, with a colourful pa-rade, fireworks display and an open-air concert. Check out page 9 for more details. January 1 is a public holiday, but most shops will be open on that day, so there’s no need to worry about buying food in advance.

Can I light fireworks on New Year’s Eve?

In many countries it’s hard to im-agine a New Year’s Eve celebration without people lighting fireworks, but in Ireland all fireworks are illegal (ex-cept those used by professionals). So if a Garda officer sees you with a fire-work (or even suspects you have one)

you can be arrested and fined, or even jailed for up to 5 years. If you do like fireworks, though, head to St Stephen’s Green on New Year’s Eve – there will be a special show on at 8 pm.

I partied really hard on New Year’s Eve and don’t remember anything... what’s going on?

That’s OK! All you need to know is that classes in SEDA start on Mon-day, January 7. When you come in, just grab the January edition of SEDA News and you’ll find out all the rest!

Energy saving tipsSome handy advice to help you drive down those electricity bills

Surviving Irish Christmas

8SHOWS & GIGS

THE RUBBERBANDITSThe Academy (57 Middle Ab-

bey Street, Dublin 1) Friday, 14 December

The famous Limerick rappers/comedians who perform with plastic bags wrapped around their heads (check out their video Horse Outside on You-Tube!) will play a show in Dub-lin’s Academy. Tickets 20 euro.

HORSLIPSDublin, Olympia Theatre

December 14 & 15Legendary Irish band will play two dates in Dublin this De-

cember. Tickets: €33.50.

GLEN HANSARDVicar Street Venue, Thomas

Street, Dublin 8December 17 & 18

Irish musician and star of the movie Once will play an in-timate gig in Dublin’s Vicar

Street. Tickets from €30.

ASLANVicar Street (Dublin 8)

December 27thThe Irish band Aslan are cel-ebrating 30 years together this year and they will play mate-rial from their new album as well as old hits such as Crazy

World. Tickets from 25 euro.

THE DUBLINERSVicar Street (Dublin 8)December 28, 29 & 30

The legendary Irish tradi-tional/folk band will perform in Dublin as part of their 50th anniversary tour. Tickets from

€39.50.

GARY BARLOWDublin, Olympia Theatre

January 7, 2013The British star singer will per-form in Dublin this coming January with special guests.

Tickets from €49.65.

DROPKICK MURPHYSVicar Street, Dublin 8January 12&13, 2013

American band famous for their song “Shipping up to Boston” is coming to Dublin’s Vicar Street in January. Tickets:

€26.90.

GOING OUT

Tickets to all these shows are avail-able from Ticketmaster outlets.

To book by phone call: 0818 719 300Online booking:

www.ticketmaster.ie

Nollaig Shona!Do you want to celebrate Christmas like the Irish? Then read on – SEDA News has got all the most important local traditions collected for you on the one page – from the traditional Christmas dinner to Christmas Day swim and the so called Women’s Christmas. But be-fore you begin you should learn the words Nollaig Shona – Happy Christmas in Irish!

For more information about Irish Christmas log on to::

www.irishcentral.comwww.irish-genealogy-toolkit.comand www.dochara.com

Christmas decorations

The Christmas season in Ireland normally begins on December 8 and finishes on January

6, a day known as Little (or Women’s) Christmas. Wreaths made of holly – a green plant with red ber-ries – are very common at this time of the year, as is another plant called mistletoe. Many people also

buy a Christmas tree and decorate it with tinsel, lights and festive ornaments. Families with young children often go even further and

surround their houses with figurines of Santa Claus, reindeer, snowmen

and elves...

The candle in the window

On Christmas Eve many Irish families place a lighted candle in the window of their house. The candle is a symbol of welcome to

Mary and Joseph as they travelled looking for shelter. Centuries ago, when Catholicism was

repressed by Ireland’s English overlords, the candle also meant that the house was

a safe place for a priest to perform mass.

Christmas dinner

The feast of Christmas is celebrated in Ireland with a large meal fit for a king. It is the biggest meal cooked in a family house-hold out of all meals throughout the year.

Preparations for Christmas dinner usually start on Christmas Eve with the slow cooking of the turkey and preparation of the vegetables and any other goodies that may come with the large feast. An Irish Christmas dinner

consists of turkey, ham, chicken, stuff-ing, potatoes, Brussels sprouts and

various vegetables.

Midnight Mass

If you’re looking for a Church packed to the rafters look no further that any

Church in Ireland at midnight mass on Christmas Eve. This is a huge social gathering where family, friends and neighbours who you may not have seen all year come together and celebrate Christmas. With Christmas carols being sung and often live music midnight

mass in Ireland is a great place to catch up with old friend and get in touch

with the local community at Christmas.

Christmas Day swim

On Christmas Day, December 25, many people in Ireland like to do something active in order to burn some

of the calories gained the day before during Christmas dinner. One of the traditions is Christmas day swim. The swims take

place all over Ireland on Christmas morning but probably most famously at the Forty Foot Rock, just south of Dublin. On Christmas

Day hundreds of people can be seen jumping off the rock into the Irish Sea wearing only their bathing suits.

The water in the Irish Sea on Christmas Day is usually around 10C (freezing!!!). Unfortunately the temperature outside the water is

usually about half of this making the experience bracing to say the least. This is certainly not for the faint hearted but

is a proven hangover cure and is participants often receive sponsorship for charities.

Little Christmas

The Christmas season in Ireland finishes on January 6, the day known as Little Christmas or Women’s Christmas

(Nollaigh na mBean). Tradition has it that women get the day off and the men of the house get to do the housework, cooking and take down the Christmas decora-

tions. Women meet up have a day out and treat themselves.

9GOING OUT

SHOWS & GIGSTWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB

The O2, DublinJanuary 19, 2013

Popular Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club are coming to the O2 next year to present their new record Bea-

con. Tickets from €28.00.

TNA IMPACT WRESTLINGNational Stadium (South

Circular Road, Dublin 8)Monday, 21 January, 2013

TNA Impact wrestling return to Ireland for the “Road to Lockdown” tour. Worldwide wrestling stars announced for the tour include Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, Bobby Roode, James Storm, AJ Styles, Mr. Anderson, Rob Van Dam, Vel-vet Sky and Gail Kim. Tickets

from 45 euro.

JIMMY CARRDublin, Olympia Theatre

February 8 & 9, 2013Popular British comedian Jim-my Carr is coming to Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. Tickets from

€33.

BLOC PARTYDublin, Olympia Theatre

February 12&13, 2013British indie rock outfit Bloc Party will play songs from their new album FOUR. Tickets

from €33.50.

EXAMPLEThe O2, Dublin

February 21, 2013British rapper Example and special guest Benga will per-form in Dublin’s O2 next year.

Tickets €35.00.

STEVE AOKIDublin, Olympia Theatre

February 22, 2013USA DJ some of whose fa-mous tracks include “No beef” and “Turbulence” is coming to Dublin next year. Tickets:

€33.50.

THE SCRIPTThe O2, Dublin

February 28, 2013Due to popular demand The Script have added a third date in Dublin. The two other concerts are sold out. Tickets:

€39.05.

Tickets to all these shows are avail-able from Ticketmaster outlets.

To book by phone call: 0818 719 300Online booking: www.ticketmaster.

ie

Docklands Christmas MarketGeorge’s Dock, IFSC, Dublin 1December 7 – 23

The Docklands Christmas market in Dublin’s docklands is open noon to 8 pm daily and from 10 am to 8 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Entry is completely free. Over 80 traders are taking part so a good selection of original Christ-mas presents is guaranteed. There will also be stalls selling food and

sweets as well as drink. You can have some hot chocolate with marshmallows, roasted chestnuts or mulled wine. There will also be carousels and other fun rides as well as carol singers and live bands.

http://www.dublindockland-schristmasfestival.ie/

Christmas fun in DublinChristmas is the season to be jolly and SEDA News brings you a summary of the main festive events and things to do in Dublin this December.

Ice Skatingi-Skate (The RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4) and Dundrum On Ice (Pembroke Square, Dundrum Town Centre)Open until mid-January 2013

There are two ice rinks in Dub-lin where you can skate on real ice – i-Skate located in the RDS in Balls-bridge and Dundrum on Ice which is just beside Dundrum shopping centre. I-Skate is the biggest ice rink in Ireland and it has a separate area for beginners with “skating penguins” who can help you learn to skate like a pro! It is open from 3 pm to 9 pm Monday to Fri-day and from 10 am to 9 pm at the weekend. Prices start from 12 euro for a session (but every Wednesday night is student night and you can skate for just 10 euro).

Dundrum on Ice is open from 3 pm to 9 pm Monday to Friday and from 10 am to 9 pm on Saturdays and Sun-

days. Prices start from 12 euro per session and tickets can be booked online.

www.iskate.iewww.dundrumonice.ie

This year Dublin is taking New Year’s Eve preparations seriously. One reason is that the festival on December 31 will kickstart The Gathering 2013 – a year-long cel-ebration of all things Irish. So the New Year’s Eve party in Dublin is supposed to rival celebrations in such famous cities as Edinburgh and Prague... Festival organizers say the city will be transformed into a massive outdoor playground with music, dance, fireworks, pag-eantry, and heaps of fun.

NYE Dublin will start with a People’s Procession of Light (6.30 pm) which will be a bit like the St Patrick’s Day parade. The main difference is that the proces-sion will consist of festival goers themselves, who will slowly weave through the streets of Dublin hold-

ing LED lights and lanterns (hundreds of theatre charac-ters, stilt walkers and musicians will guide them along the way). Everyone can join the procession, but if you register on www.nyedublin.ie you can get a free LED light.

The People’s Pro-cession will be followed by The Big Bang, a free fireworks display in St. Stephen’s Green (8.00 pm). Music and street acts will keep everyone entertained as the fuses burn.

To round the night off, an open-air countdown concert will be held in College Green (8.30 pm – 1 am). The line up has not been announced yet, but organis-ers say “internationally renowned Irish acts” will be performing on the night. 3D visuals will be pro-jected on the walls of Trinity Col-lege during the concert and there will also be a colourful countdown to celebrate the beginning of the New Year. Tickets for the concert are priced at 15 euro and can be booked on:

www.nyedublin.ie

Dublin City Centre31 December – 1 January, 2013

Dublin New Year’s Eve Festival

FunderlandRDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 426 December – 13 January, 2013

A big fun fair and theme park is coming to Dub-lin’s RDS right after Christmas. Funder-land has everything from rollercoasters and a giant Ferris wheel to more mod-ern attractions such as 3D Cybervision and Bounce World. Thrills and plenty of fun guaranteed!

There are two payment op-tions: you can either pay 2 euro en-try charge and then pay for every individual ride, or you can buy an Unlimited pass (a wristband) for 22.95 euro, which allows you to go

on any ride within a 3 hour period. If you book the wristband online you can get it a little cheaper and you will also get an extra hour free. Funderland will be open daily from noon until 10 pm.

www.funderland.com

10 PHOTO ALBUM

Ceres and teacher Graham

Joao Paulo Martins and friends in Budapest

Rafael Muniz Teixeira and friends

SEDA marketing staff are busy at work as usual!

Filipe Santiago and friends

Amelia Souza and her furry friend

Fernando and Maria Ángeles enjoying the sun on the Cliffs of Moher

Raissa Carvalho travel-ling with friends

Marcelo Adriano as Christ the Redeemer Guilherme Coelho in Kylemore Abbey

11PHOTO ALBUM

Richard Matute is lost in Greystones Mayerling Marquez in BelfastMarcus Leo with friends celebrating

Tarcila Lopes and Marcela on the Cliffs of Moher

12

Congratulations to VERONICA BELLIDO! She won last month’s quiz and can claim her prize in Carol’s office.

Here are the answers to November’s quiz:

1. Venice has canals instead of streets.2. Brussels has a famous statue of a

peeing boy.3. The original Heineken brewery is

located in Amsterdam.4. Geneva in Switzerland was named

the most expensive European city this year.5. Berlin was once divided in two by a

wall, which famously fell in 1989.6. Moscow, with a total population of

about 14 million people, is officially the big-gest city in Europe.

7. Chistopher Columbus was born in Genoa.

7. Rome is known as “the eternal city”.

8. You can see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.

9. The London Eye gives the best view of the British capital.

Desperate = bad, needing attention.This place is in a desperate state – why don’t you call the builder?

Gaff = house, homeThat’s a nice gaff you have there! Come over to my gaff on Saturday for a few drinks.

So it is – many Irish people end a sentence with the phrase “so it is” (or “so I did”, “so he did” etc – depending on the sentence). The phrase does not really mean anything and is only used for emphasis. That’s a really nice car, so it is!I went up to that fella and told him to stop, so I did.Jim won 100 000 euro in the lottery, so he did!

Now – some Irish people use “now” at the end of a phrase, for example “bye now”. It does not really mean anything and is only used for emphasis.Bye bye now! Careful now! Drive safe now.

Slag – make fun of someone in a good-natured wayDon’t take it seriously, I’m only slagging you!

IRELAND & THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The SEDA Christmas quiz

The Craic-tionarySEDA News guide to Irish slang words and expressions

In this section we will attempt to make your life in Ireland easier by explaining some of the most common Irish slang words and expressions.

1. What mode of transport does Santa Claus use?

a. Jet planeb. Helicopterc. Sleighd. Snowboard

2. What is the name of the film that many Irish families traditionally watch on Christmas Day?

a. The Wind that Shakes the Barleyb. It’s a Wonderful Lifec. Bad Santa

d. Shindler’s List

3. Which of the following phrases does NOT mean Merry Christmas?

a. Gëzuar Pashkët!b. Счастливого Рождества!c. Nollaig Shona!d. Frohe Weihnachten!

4. Which Irish county still observes the tradition of Wren Day every Decem-ber 26 with groups of people dressing up in masks, straw suits and colourful clothing and marching through the streets?

a. Dublinb. Kerryc. Wicklowd. Wales

5. Which one of Santa’s team of rein-deer has a red nose?

a. Paddyb. Dancerc. Prancerd. Rudolph

6. Which plant is NOT traditionally used as a Christmas decoration in Ireland?

a. Mistletoeb. Orchidc. Hollyd. Fir tree

7. Different leg-ends have Santa Claus live in different places, but where does Santa Claus NOT live?

a. North Poleb. Laplandc. Siberiad. Greenland

8. On Christmas Day many Irish peo-ple like to do something active to burn off calories gained at Christmas dinner. What is one of the traditional activities?

a. A Christmas Day skib. A Christmas Day swimc. A Christmas Day skated. A Christmas Day parachute jump

9. At Christmas many Irish house-holds serve a “flaming pudding” by pour-ing a certain alcoholic drink over a pudding and lighting it up before eating the pudding. What is that drink?

a. Whiskeyb. Sambuccac. Guinnessd. Brandy

10. January 6 is known as “Women’s Christmas” in Ireland. Why?

a. Men do all the housework, while women get the day off

b. All the women in the house get an extra Christmas present

c. Women clean the house and take off Christmas decorations

d. Men treat their wives and girlfriends to a romantic dinner

Send your answers to news@seda.ie, or cut the quiz out and give it to your teach-er. If you get the answers right you can win a prize!Your name:_____________________________________Your e-mail: ____________________________________