We’re at the halfway point in the program, and I’m feeling really good!
This past weekend, I visited Derry with one of the friends I made on the trip. Neither one of us did an ounce of research before we went on places to stay or sites to see, but it ended up working out really well.
Our trip started out with us getting to Derry and not being able to get around. They don’t have Uber or FreeNow, which was jarring. One of their most popular transportation services was taxis, which we found you could call. A worker at the train station had to help us out, but we were eventually able to get one.
The cab ride to our bed and breakfast was one of the funniest parts of the trip for me. I didn’t mentally prepare to not be able to understand the Derry accent as much as I did, so I ended up giggling a lot in the car (because I kept saying yeah to things I didn’t understand and I felt silly). One word that I was sure I didn’t miss-hear was “remote,” seeing as our driver must’ve said it once every 3 minutes. That was the other thing making me laugh. He just kept going on about how the place we were staying at was remote. He even asked us if we wanted to stop at the grocery store before we went since we’d have a hard time finding anything out there. I doubt he was trying to stress me out, but he did a fantastic job if he was.
We didn’t spend too much time at the BnB once we got there, but the owner was the sweetest lady in the world. Her name is Monica and she greeted us incredibly warmly. I suppose that’s a part of her job, but it was definitely reaffirming after the taxi driver really hammered it home that we picked a bad place to stay (For context, we were only 15 minutes away from the city center by car. We were fine.)
Derry might be the cutest place I’ve ever been to. Everything from the foliage to the infrastructure was absolutely precious. Apparently, we were very obvious about the fact that we weren’t from there because a few people came up to us to tell us that. I didn’t really have a negative interaction with any of the locals which I also really appreciate. A few people wanted to try on my glasses for some reason, but I enjoyed it every time.
One of the most significant things that happened in Derry (That I’ve been forgetting) is that I got my ears pierced! I’d been talking about it for a while I suppose but a big part of me never thought that I’d actually do it. My friend and I didn’t have solid plans to get it done either. We were walking around looking for a jacket and happened to pass by a place in the mall. The prices were fine enough because I was convincing myself that there wasn’t a difference between the pound and the US dollar the whole time. Anyway, I got my ears pierced and I like them a lot! I think sometime this week I’m going to get my nose done too.
A huge part of why I went to Derry was because I liked Derry Girls on Netflix, so I was really happy to be able to see the hill that they walk down on their way to school. All in all, the trip was a huge success.
I’m not sure if it’s technically part of the culture, but riding the bus is still something I’ve got to get used to. Catching the bus is fine and getting off is fine. The part I usually get stressed out about is getting on and sitting down. I feel like I almost fall about half of every time the bus starts to move. I don’t know if that’s the standard or if I should be embarrassed, but either way I am getting better. The other thing that stresses me out though is sitting down. Specifically, I don’t know how to act when I sit next to somebody. For example, sometimes I sit next to people because there aren’t any double seats available. Then, after I’ve sat down, a double seat will become available. Is the social expectation that I then take the open seat so as to no longer encroach on a stranger’s personal space? Or is there some sort of unsaid line that I’m at the end of since I was the last one on the bus? And, if I do switch seats, will the person I was sitting next to think that it’s because they smelled bad? These are the types of things I’d say I’m still pretty worried about.
Other than that, I’m pretty good!