First Impressions

As most of you probably know, I have not just arrived in Belfast.  That actually happened about 2 weeks ago (on August 31, to be exact).  I’ve just been a bit delayed in getting this blog up and running.  I know what you’re thinking: the words Allison and delayed in the same sentence?  Impossible.  That’s about as ridiculous as saying that I’m slow or late. 

Ha.

But I digress.  Two weeks ago, I arrived in Belfast with my fellow Young Adult Volunteers (hereafter to be referred to as “The Dream Team”): Joan, Adrienne, Miriam, Edward, and Moses (the 7th member of the team, John, arrived a few days later after working out some visa difficulties).  To be honest, after a week of intense orientation in New York, a seven-hour flight, roughly four hours of sleep, and an over-buttered croissant, I felt like I had been hit by a train.  This feeling persisted throughout the next couple days, so I wasn’t in much of a state to reflect or record my observations.  Sorry to disappoint.  However, now that I’ve successfully emerged from the fog of jetlag, I can piece together some of my first impressions:

Early morning sunlight on green fields.

Bricks and steeples, yellow cranes and scaffolding.

The door to my house is red.

Narrow streets make for creative driving—especially when hauling a van full of Americans and their luggage.

Frozen pizza makes a curiously satisfying first dinner in Belfast.

Word of the Day: Craic (n., pronounced crack)—good fun, excitement; as in, “I went to the game this afternoon—it was good craic.”

My 3rd-floor room.

No, the fireplace does not work.  I may regret that in a few months.

The view from my skylight window.

The Family at 11 Bathgate:
(clockwise) Miriam,  Me,  Joan, and Adrienne