Day one is pretty much in the bag! The trip began at 3:00 on Saturday when I arrived at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. It was difficult leaving home behind but promise of adventures ahead helped to ease the premature homesickness. After arriving at the gate, the group just hung around until it was time to board. The plane seemed kind of small for an international flight but it was booked full up. We sat on the plane for an hour after boarding before actually taking off. Other than that, the flight went off without a hitch! There was some mild turbulence early on but the remainder of the flight was as smooth as butter. The flight didn't seem too awfully long, even though it took 7 hours. I was only able to doze, even though the Dramamine made me feel like really conking out!
We got into Manchester at a little past 7 am. We then piled into a van and headed to Liverpool Hope University. The van only had room for 14 passengers but we have 18 in our group so the others had to get a taxi--hardly a setback at all! Needless to say, it was SO strange to drive on the opposite side of the road! I tried to take in some of the scenery but was in such a daze from the flight that hardly anything stuck. I do remember seeing sings that said "Queuing Likely." Welcome to the UK!
When we got on campus, our liaison Paul ("Call me Uncle Paul") gave us the low-down on our accommodations. The dorm is 4 stories tall and each floor is divided into clusters that have about 5 "flats" or room in them and a communal kitchen. I was surprised to see that each of us has our own bathroom too! My single room here is larger than the room that Mieke and I shared last year! After unpacking and getting a much needed shower, I was able to take a little nap before supper. The bed is quite horrible. It is reminiscent of something that may have been soft in a former life but has instead converted itself into a cinder block topped with cardboard. Also, there is no top sheet, just a duvet cover. Thankfully I brought layers that I can sleep in!
We went to a local pub, called the Childwall Pub, for the evening meal. It was only a short walk from campus. The scenery here is just what I imagined Britain would be like! There are many quaint little homes that are squished right up against each other. Each of them has a cute little fence with lots of flowers and wild ivy growing everywhere. The lots are SO tiny that there is hardly enough room for a car to park between the house and the road. (PS. the turned around traffic patterns add a whole new level of difficulty to crossing the street). There are many little shops and corner stores downtown. Most were closed since it was Sunday. I was able to go into a little convenience shop and got some Starburst and was surprised to see that they have different flavors! There are lime and grape flavors instead of cherry and lemon. There was a plethora of odd foods there, like canned hot dogs, barley water, and bacon, cheese and onion, and Worcestershire sauce flavored chips! I ordered a risotto at the pub since I was not feeling up to any creepy, meaty, fatty, oil-drenched British foods while trying to defeat jet lag.
All in all, the people in Liverpool are very friendly. It's easy to strike up a conversation with them and they don't seem to be too judgmental of us Americans. Tomorrow we go to our field placement schools just to get a tour. Other than that we are pretty much on our own. The real work begins on Tuesday! Hopefully this gloomy weather will make way for some sunshine some time this week.
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