Hello everyone! So sorry for the delay in posting; as it's turned out, I haven't had internet for the past few days. I hope to rectify that tomorrow. For now I'm posting from McDonalds (!?!) because it's the only place that has free wifi open on a Sunday.
My time here so far has been AWESOME. I guess I should start on Thursday night. I got on the plane in Newark at about 9:00. My seatmates were an older couple on a tour on the UK; they were really sweet and talkative. The husband sat next to me and kept making sure I was comfortable; he maneuvered my air conditioning for me, passed me all my food and drinks, and made sure I had enough room (even though he was just as squished as I was.) His wife loaned me a pen for my landing card, since all of mine were packed in the bag in the overhead compartment, and I was in the window seat.
Customs was the most nerve wracking part. 97 days is a long time to ask to stay somewhere, but since I had checked with the embassy before I embarked, I wasn't too concerned. I had printed off letters from SFU, from the hospital and also financial statements to prove I wouldn't be a drain on the government. The official asked me lots of questions, like what I planned on doing, where did I plan on traveling to while I'm here, and do I know anyone in the UK. But my answers were satisfactory, and he stamped me in!
My friend met me at the airport and we got on the bus to Belfast proper (since the actual airport is outside the city). Once in the city, it turns out you have to walk about six blocks to find somewhere that has lockers; the bus station doesn't, but the tourist center has a closet you can rent for three pounds/bag. So I rented a spot for my two big pieces so we could wander a little bit.
My main memory of Friday is the kindness of strangers. The map that the gentleman at the bus depot gave us was... well, rather useless. There are almost no street signs in Belfast, so we got lost FAST. A lady on the street realized we were really confused and gave us directions back to the bus depot. From there we got directions from ANOTHER stranger, and this time we found it! After checking my bags, food was next in order. Unfortunately, by that point I was so tired that I couldn't even think about eating. I got a bottle of water, and we wandered Victoria Square a while, but we were both so tired that we decided it was time to head home.
At the bus depot I found a bus to Downpatrick that left at 1:30; we got there just in time. After my friend left (her bus left before mine), ANOTHER stranger asked about my bags. When I told him I was headed to the hospital, he said he worked there as a nurse and volunteered to make sure I got there. Loading my bags onto the bus, ANOTHER stranger grabbed one of them for me, so I didn't have to lug them all myself.
When we got off the bus in Downpatrick, my nurse-friend took one of my bags and walked me to the taxi kiosk. But the next taxi to the hospital would have been a while, so he walked me to the bus depot in Downpatrick. When we got there, he said to the girl working the booth "My friend here just got in from America, she's knackered. Can you make sure she gets on the right bus?"
So the girl came out and got me loaded, and the drivers teased me. I was the only person to get on at that stop, though a few more got on later. When I reached the hospital, I went in the main doors to get directions. A gentleman who worked there saw how many bags I had and drove me up to the old hospital, where I'm staying. It wasn't very long before I had my room key and got placed.
That was about when I passed out; I lay down to rest for a second at about 4:00 and woke up at 7:35 the next morning.
Saturday I didn't do much; I didn't have much food, but I was still too knackered to go into town, so I ate chips and granola bars and wandered around a little bit. Not necessarily a good life decision, but there it is.
This morning I got up at about 9:00 and decided I needed to come into town. However, there aren't any buses that run on Sundays up to the hospital, so I had to walk. There also aren't any stores open on Sundays, really. I found a BP for granola bars and milk that I ate while walking. I found St. Patrick's grave (How cool is that, that I'm randomly in the town where St. Patrick is buried?? Photos to come.), wandered the grave yard where St. Patrick is buried ( most of the graves there are 200+ years old) and found a place where John Wesley once preached.
Now it's about 12:15 and I'm eating my lunch in McDonalds. I found an ASDA, which is Walmart here, and I'm hoping they're open. If not, I found a grocery store that is open at 1:00. I'm going to get my phone card (and hopefully a cell phone) so I can call home today. Then I'm going to walk back up to the hospital and get some more reading in before fieldwork starts tomorrow!
I'm so excited!!
I'll talk to you all as soon as I can (even if that means eating nasty McDonalds once a week so I can use their wifi.)
Pax!
TT
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