Promises

Some promises are hard to keep (like the promise to blog after not sleeping for a ridiculous amount of time. Really. I don't know when it was I last slept because I'm having trouble processing information because I'm so tired because I haven't slept in so long and...you get the point.). 

 

So here's a quick recap that I'll fill in later (post-sleep):

Made friends with Canadians! In Heathrow we sat near two lovely Canadian girls; one is an ER nurse, the other is an EMT on an ambulance and they'd just been in India for a wedding. 

 

Remember the friend I made in Newark who is from Belfast? We had a wee snack picnic with our girls by the gate in Heathrow. We also went through Heathrow with another couple from the plane and talked a lot about Belfast and schools and the cold. 

 

Here's the thing: it's not really cold here. Neither Viv nor I bothered with a coat. So if this is cold, I'm all for it. I'm not sad to leave inches of ice behind in Pennsylvania. 

Lauren Allison, my awesome Fulbright Friend (really-  she's my Fulbright Friend. We were assigned one another and totally hit it off. I love this girl!), was at the Belfast airport with her mom, Diane, to welcome us and pamper and spoil us. 

 

First it was tea at their gorgeous 1920s house that has fantastic doorknobs that are at about shoulder level. And really great gutters. 

Then we went to the accommodations office to pick up keys. Marguerite, the lovely woman there, noticed how tired I was and followed us to the flat so she could show me how to do the gas card and electric card. 

Everyone who knows me already knows I had trouble with the doors. Sigh. Locks and doors. Not my forte. 

Diane, Lauren, Viv, and I went to Tesco, a local grocery store, after we spent a while squealing over the flat. At Tesco I picked up some essentials, like yogurt and fbshcyhdjcidjdbcnnnnnnnnnkdjfjdjdd...oh my gosh. I just fell asleep a little. Quick! Look at pictures before I fall asleep again!

 

 

 

Lauren's phone is set to take a picture when the person is smiling. Viv figured that out pretty fast.