Dia daoibh a chairde!. Juliet is ainm dom, agus beidh mé ag dul isteach 3ú bliain go luath. Cónáim i mBaile Átha Cliath, agus tá me cúig bliana déag d'aois.( I would continue to type in Irish, but I am tired, and want to get my point across.) I have loved the Irish language my whole life, particularly in school, and teachers have always remarked how good my Irish was in comparison to everyone else, particularly my current secondary school teacher, who has remarked repeatedly that I possess great enthusiasm for the language, and that I a very talented at the language. My classmates and my parents have also stated that I am very good at it also. I have always had a flair for languages, I must admit. This summer, I attended a Gaeltacht summer course, going with my male cousin, who had been twice before. This was a fatal mistake, I believe, going without a friend. To summarize it, I didn"t enjoy my time there one ounce. I couldn"t click with anyone, and I found it socially isolating, and the coláiste itself very tedious and derelict in terms of facilities,teachers, classes, and activities. My béan an tí was lovely, and seemed to be found of me, and told me my Irish was very good, as did 2 of the teachers there. However, I didn"t like the girls in my house, particularly as I was initially placed in a room with a bitchy girl around my age, and a girl entering first year who had very basic Irish. Luckily, we were moved, as the príomhoide and the student in charge in the house had heard a lán Béarla á n-úsáid among them. ( They tried to blame me, but I insisted I didn"t). I didn"t shower for 4 days there, and I found the whole system army like, and very restrictive ( ie timed showers/phonecalls,continuous timed activities etc.). So, after a few teary phonecalls to mo mo thuismitheoirí, my mum brought me home after a week. The principal didn"t even say goodbye, he just turned his back, and claimed I "isolated myself". I came home, bitterly disappointed by the whole experience, and quite ashamed at myself, for my failed attempt. None the less, I"m determined to not let it deter from my love of the Irish Language!. I can"t express how much I love Irish, I would live and breathe it every day of my life if I could. I regularly listen to Irish language radio stations, and watch TG4 the odd time. I have heard stories of people returning early from the gaeltacht, but I"ve come to the conclusion that the only way people my age certainly achieve fluency is by attending a gaeltacht residential course. I was assured that maybe I had just had a bad experience by a staff member who had helped me pack my bag, and that there was always other options but I"m skeptical of wasting my parents money any further. Is anyone aware of any Irish language clubs/organizations who provide services for classes/language learning?. I would love to become fluent in Irish, as it is beautiful, and I simply marvel at it"s rich history. Is there any other ways I could improve my Irish?. I"m a hardworker, and would be willing to try anything!. Slán go fóil.

I'm very glad to see a teenager like you who loves Irish
Too bad you've been disappointed by your Gaeltacht course, but such things happen, I guess, but this has nothing to do with the language itself.
Maybe you'd find courses in Oideas Gael (mmm did you go to Donegal?), maybe someone else here will know if they are such courses for teenagers.

If you want to practice Irish, you can subscribe to the group Gaeilge Amháin on Facebook, even though most people there don't fully master the language (I mean, don't consider everything you'll read there as a model to follow, most members are learners who are there to practice, which is cool) but it's a nice way to communicate through Irish only

You can also write on this forum and ask the questions you want

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

It's a shame you had such a bad experience. Ending up with bad roommates can sometimes happen, but the classes should have been FUN! And the fact that you, a person who is enthusiastic about Irish, found the classes tedious suggests there was a problem with the curriculum, not you.

Here are a few sites that might list some activities as Gaeilge that you might enjoy:

http://www.gaeilge.ie/Home.asp
http://www.gaelchultur.com/
http://www.gaelport.com/
http://www.cnocadoiri.com/

Ádh mór!

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賢いふくろぐま
Seans Eile - free software to help you practice your Irish
Scéala na Wombait - Muddle-headed Memes and Musings

I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience in the Gaeltacht.
Not all Summer Colleges are the same quality. Some are excellent others are crap.
It's also likely that the other girls in your house were there for the craic only, not learning Irish, and were jealous of your standard of Irish.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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Fáilte chuig ILF!

You may find Ógras a useful organisation to join - a youth club for those aged 8 - 19. There may be one in your locality. Check it out: http://www.ogras.ie/index_eng.php

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It is a breath of fresh air to hear a young person so enthusiastic about our language.
I do hope you go to a better place in the Gaeltacht next time and enjoy your stay.
Tá ár dteanga sábháilte a fhad as atá duine óg mar tú féin thart, bail ó Dhia ort - agus tá súil le Dia agam nach fada go dtí go mbíonn líofacht bhreá bainte amach agat, a ghrá.

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Bí cinnte de go nglacfaidh triúr le gach aistriúchán a thabharfar.
Be sure to get three in agreement with a translation given.