I arrived the 15th Nov. Two of my new teammates were there at the airport to pick me up and it was great to be done traveling for awhile! I slept in that morning (I arrived about 2am) and got unpacked and settled that weekend. Right now I’m staying with my friends who I met in Connecticut in 2004 who have been out here about 2 years. My first week was spent exploring the city, going to meet the students that R hangs out with, learning the important phrases that will get me through at least the ‘hello’ bit, and phrases for buying bus tickets and getting off the bus. Things didn’t feel too terribly different really. It feels like a city that I don’t speak the language or know my way around. No surprise there! I was surprised how tired I got during my days. I mean I’m just watching all day but it wears me out.
My second week I spent mornings studying language and afternoons trying to use it and exploring the city some more. I also went to the radio station and pretty much just listened to people talking and someone was kind enough to quiz me on numbers. So I’m learning numbers and some more small bits of useful phrases to get me around town. There are a few different language schools in town and I visited them and asked other foreigners what they liked and didn’t. Since there is a family who is willing to have me live with them I am going to go for the language classes that are more grammar focused, hopefully I’ll get the conversation at home with the family.
For Thanksgiving we had a big meal Wednesday night for some students and a big meal on Saturday with some locals. They don’t usually eat Turkey and the pumpkin soup was a novelty. Oh, it was two good meals. Thursday I went to Starbucks to indulge a bit of my American-ness and we had burritos for dinner. One day for Thanksgiving really isn’t enough. Friday I had a good video chat with my family who were all together (except the bro-in-law) and we even took a family photo with my sister holding the laptop with my live picture on it. It was quite silly.
So things feel normal here. I think they will until I move in with the local family. I’m glad to have found a place so quickly- it’s not common for local people to have foreigners stay with them. I am looking forward to it and being able to learn language in real-life situations instead of just classroom stuff.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
North Africa Revisited
Two weeks absolutely free landed in my lap. How does that happen? I had all my plans nicely laid out and then, well life happened. I’m really, really glad it turned out the way it did though. Let me start from mid-October.
The plan was to go to Egypt and do this event for two weeks then go on to the country I was moving to. The nature of the event was going to be quite hectic and stressful (as far as I could tell anyway) but it was going to be my first experience and I am interested in how these types of events run. So I bought a plane ticket to Egypt, then the next day I found out the whole event had been postponed until months later. Hmm. So I had a plane ticket I didn’t need.
The Egypt event was going to be right after my UK visa expired and quite convenient really because the team in the country I was moving to had other visitors during those two weeks so I would arrive after their visitors. Now I had to leave the UK but couldn’t arrive to my new country until two weeks later when visitors had left. I had a plane ticket to Egypt but didn’t see how that would work out with where I’d stay and what I’d do for two weeks. Sometimes I feel adventurous and sometimes I don’t I guess. (I recovered the cost after a long phone call and some drama that I’ll spare you.)
My friend was doing some work in North Africa where I visited last November and it worked out that I could visit her for the two weeks. It was bliss. I left the UK the day my visa ran out with all my bags packed (and some in storage) and had everything sorted for my big move, so these two weeks I didn’t have to worry about anything. My friend described it like the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, which was exactly what it was. The two weeks of in-between time doing lots of nothing, lots of hanging out, lots of thinking about issues I’d face in my new country, doing some mountain walking, chatting with others who were new not too long ago in North Africa, reading in the sunshine on the roof, sleeping in. I went with a nasty cough but it was gone within a few days. I got much needed rest that I didn’t realize I needed. I was grateful that it worked out the way it did- I was up late packing to leave for Africa, but packing up and leaving after my two week visit in Africa I only had so much to pack and I knew it all fit!
So it became mid-November without me even realizing it really. I am thankful I didn’t go to Egypt (sorry guys!) because I would have landed even more tired and stressed and that just would not have been a good way to start my next chapter!
The plan was to go to Egypt and do this event for two weeks then go on to the country I was moving to. The nature of the event was going to be quite hectic and stressful (as far as I could tell anyway) but it was going to be my first experience and I am interested in how these types of events run. So I bought a plane ticket to Egypt, then the next day I found out the whole event had been postponed until months later. Hmm. So I had a plane ticket I didn’t need.
The Egypt event was going to be right after my UK visa expired and quite convenient really because the team in the country I was moving to had other visitors during those two weeks so I would arrive after their visitors. Now I had to leave the UK but couldn’t arrive to my new country until two weeks later when visitors had left. I had a plane ticket to Egypt but didn’t see how that would work out with where I’d stay and what I’d do for two weeks. Sometimes I feel adventurous and sometimes I don’t I guess. (I recovered the cost after a long phone call and some drama that I’ll spare you.)
My friend was doing some work in North Africa where I visited last November and it worked out that I could visit her for the two weeks. It was bliss. I left the UK the day my visa ran out with all my bags packed (and some in storage) and had everything sorted for my big move, so these two weeks I didn’t have to worry about anything. My friend described it like the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, which was exactly what it was. The two weeks of in-between time doing lots of nothing, lots of hanging out, lots of thinking about issues I’d face in my new country, doing some mountain walking, chatting with others who were new not too long ago in North Africa, reading in the sunshine on the roof, sleeping in. I went with a nasty cough but it was gone within a few days. I got much needed rest that I didn’t realize I needed. I was grateful that it worked out the way it did- I was up late packing to leave for Africa, but packing up and leaving after my two week visit in Africa I only had so much to pack and I knew it all fit!
So it became mid-November without me even realizing it really. I am thankful I didn’t go to Egypt (sorry guys!) because I would have landed even more tired and stressed and that just would not have been a good way to start my next chapter!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
