"home"
well, i arrived. things are more or less how i imagined them to be, which has caused me to believe that this can't be real. yesterday was a blurry mess, so i'm hoping today will be better. the flight to Glasgow went well enough. then the very(!) long train journey from Paisley Gilmour Street to York was agonizing. all i wanted to do was sleep! i woke up in Burlington at 8:30, left the house at 1:30, flew at 5:30, arrived in England at 4:30 (11:30pm), and got to York at 12 (7am). arrived at the house with Chris, then got my room a little sorted, took a shower, and napped for several hours.
our house is a strange one. there are some things about the UK i'm not too pleased about, stuff i'd forgotten since living here. but mostly it's alright and we'll make do. there is:
- a sliding, translucent bathroom door which doesn't lock
- a shower and a stove you need to "switch" on
- a tiny fridge
- a Welshman sleeping in (what is not yet) Jack's room
- a greasy take-away place next door
- a fresh vegetable store, a Spar, an Indian take-away, and a taxi company all across the street
- a shoebox instead of my room
- no sockets in the bathroom, and only two in my room
- my closet is outside my room
- two televisions, neither of which are working
- two microwaves
Chris is convinced that i'm miserable, even when i'm not. it just takes getting used to. receiving sweet emails from friends and family back home doesn't necessarily help either. nor does the fact that i've got to go out today and start spending money here! need groceries, a hair dryer, a decent mirror, and an extension bar. i don't feel as though i live here yet - it will take some time. it's as if i'm going to wake up back in the basement at home any time now, and none of this will have happened.
i did see Dutchie yesterday too, incidentally. along with Vicki and Harriet - yay. it was nice to give her a big hug, but it felt more natural than surreal that she was sitting in front of me. i wish we had more time to kind of really talk, but she's leaving soon. i'll have to take what i can get. Lee was at the house too, naturally, and i got lots of hugs. oh, and of course Arthur and Hannah. my English social life is slowly forming, but i suppose it'll take awhile to feel as comfortable as it used to.
right now? all i want to do is crawl back into bed. but as it is, i've got to finish breakfast and get into the shower. tonight i'm going into town with the girls to do god knows what (hopefully rediscover my love for this city) and later in the evening everyone's gathering to watch the Netherlands v. Uruguay game (it's on at 7:30 here!) at some pub or other. a lady on the train asked me if i was going to have a big celebratory night out, but i answered, quite honestly, no. this is not some holiday, it's the rest of my life. i want to ease into it peacefully.
our house is a strange one. there are some things about the UK i'm not too pleased about, stuff i'd forgotten since living here. but mostly it's alright and we'll make do. there is:
- a sliding, translucent bathroom door which doesn't lock
- a shower and a stove you need to "switch" on
- a tiny fridge
- a Welshman sleeping in (what is not yet) Jack's room
- a greasy take-away place next door
- a fresh vegetable store, a Spar, an Indian take-away, and a taxi company all across the street
- a shoebox instead of my room
- no sockets in the bathroom, and only two in my room
- my closet is outside my room
- two televisions, neither of which are working
- two microwaves
Chris is convinced that i'm miserable, even when i'm not. it just takes getting used to. receiving sweet emails from friends and family back home doesn't necessarily help either. nor does the fact that i've got to go out today and start spending money here! need groceries, a hair dryer, a decent mirror, and an extension bar. i don't feel as though i live here yet - it will take some time. it's as if i'm going to wake up back in the basement at home any time now, and none of this will have happened.
i did see Dutchie yesterday too, incidentally. along with Vicki and Harriet - yay. it was nice to give her a big hug, but it felt more natural than surreal that she was sitting in front of me. i wish we had more time to kind of really talk, but she's leaving soon. i'll have to take what i can get. Lee was at the house too, naturally, and i got lots of hugs. oh, and of course Arthur and Hannah. my English social life is slowly forming, but i suppose it'll take awhile to feel as comfortable as it used to.
right now? all i want to do is crawl back into bed. but as it is, i've got to finish breakfast and get into the shower. tonight i'm going into town with the girls to do god knows what (hopefully rediscover my love for this city) and later in the evening everyone's gathering to watch the Netherlands v. Uruguay game (it's on at 7:30 here!) at some pub or other. a lady on the train asked me if i was going to have a big celebratory night out, but i answered, quite honestly, no. this is not some holiday, it's the rest of my life. i want to ease into it peacefully.