Life in Belfast

So, I have officially been gone from home for a month now! I can't believe how time just flies by! I was having computer difficulties, and thanks to my wonderful parents, they sent me a new computer. I was without one for twelve days, which is a very long time if that is your main means of communication and entertainment. I have really appreciated this new computer and it is just absolutely wonderful :)

I have always wanted to live in a city for a short amount of time, just to have the experience and to know what it's all about. I have now realized that I love living in the country. This city is dirty, and disgusting. There are many beautiful buildings, but the streets and the sidewalks are just gross. I have decided I will be sick with a cough, itchy throat and runny nose until I get home, because the air is just so unclean here. Every time I walk outside, I know I am just inhaling exhaust fumes and all the other dirty smells a city has. I hate walking to class for twenty minutes along the most disgusting sidewalks you have ever seen. Anything that looks nice has graffiti on it. Everything in the city is just not to my liking!

I have learned to appreciate the country more. Last weekend I went into the countryside with another American who is here. We had an amazing time, and I will be posting a blog and pictures later :) The air was so clean and fresh. I didn't have a cough, and I didn't have a runny nose all day, and that was wonderful!

I feel much better about being here, I'm adjusting now, and am in it for the long haul! That's much easier to say now that my trip is a fourth of the way over. I have several assignments coming up in my three measely classes, and none of them are worth very much in the overall scheme of things. After the next two weeks, I won't have any work to do until finals! I can't believe how little work they do for their classes here. I feel like I'm in kindergarten!

I am also more appreciative of the fact that America is a service society. Everything is just very inconvenient here. The shops open late and close very early. The people working in them are rude, because they don't have to satisfy their customers like we do in the US. At the grocery store, which is called Tesco, the cashiers sit down to ring up your groceries, and they do not bag them. They just put them on another belt wich feeds the groceries to the end of a countertop and will keep the belt running and your groceries piling up until you bag all of them. Also, they do not provide you with bags unless you ask and pay for them. I just bring a big bag with me and fill it up. And when you give them your money, they won't put out their hand to reach for it, you have to lean over the counter in front of them to hand it to them! They're just so rude!!

Another really rude thing, which I find very weird, is that you cannot expect to be waited on at a restaurant. They just simply don't do that here. The waiter/waitress will come and get your order and will get your drinks sorted out for you, but after that you're on your own! They do not come back to the table, and at every restaurant I've been to, we've had to personally track down the waiter and ask for our bill! But the plus side to that is you're not expected to leave a tip here like you are in America. So, that saves us a lot of money in the long run!

I haven't seen a proper parking lot since I've been here, and people just park their cars along the side of the street, with one side's tires on the sidewalk. Speaking of cars, the price for gasoline here is astronomical! They sell gasoline for around 90p/liter...which is equivalent to $5.50/gallon!!! Unbelievable! Everything here is just so much more expensive than it is at home, but the minimum wage here is about twice as much as it is at home, and people do not have to pay for healthcare, because it is provided to them.

I have been very frustrated lately when I am washing dishes...as I've mentioned before, they do not have regular sinks here. Each sink has two faucets. One faucet has hot water and one faucet has cold water. So either the water coming out is freezing, or boiling, and it is very frustrating to wash your hands or do the dishes because the water is never a normal warm temperature....

I have two new favorite dessert items that I will have to make for everyone back home! Banoffee pie and honeycomb ice cream! Banoffe pie is delicious...it's a banana and toffe pie!!! It is absolutely amazing! Honeycomb ice cream is now my new favorite ice cream! It is just regular vanilla ice cream with lots of honey and actual honeycomb in it! Since the honeycomb is frozen, it is crunchy and very tasty in the ice cream. I might just have to go get some tonight :)

I have booked my flights to Germany and back! I will be leaving April 4th and returning the 18th. On the 19th, I will be traveling with my Marine Ecology to a marine biology labs in Portaferry. I am very excited for my Spring Break plans, and am only 5 weeks away from being on break!

I can't believe I've been here for a month already, I've had ups and downs, but I am generally having a great time! I have enjoyed all the people I am living with, and I have enjoyed learning about a different culture! I am planning fun weekend trips, and will post my past two weekend adventures soon! The picture was actually taken in Strangford Lough, but right now, these flowers, called Snowdrops are everywhere and in all different colors!