Not Quite What I Expected

As you might guess by the title, things aren't going that great here. I don't want to sugarcoat anything, so I'm sorry if what I say makes you worry a bit, but... this is what's happening.

Picking up where I left off...

The flight to Belfast was relatively smooth. There was a bit of turbulence, though, and there was a really fussy baby in the row behind me, so it was hard to sleep. Then we took a bus from Belfast to Coleraine. I took a few pictures of Belfast and the outskirts, but I fell asleep pretty quickly.

An old church in Belfast


the Irish countryside


if you look closely, you can see sheep!

Before I fell asleep, though, I was talking to this really nice older English couple. They were actually going to stay for a few days in Portrush, which is fairly close to Coleraine. We then got off the bus and took another bus to the campus. In about seven or eight minutes, we were on campus. The bus took us to the student center, and we got off with all our luggage. As the bus pulled away, I saw a guy on the top deck of the bus waving at us and pointing in a different direction. I had no idea what he was trying to say, so I just waved back. I soon found out.

Turns out we got off at the wrong stop on campus. We asked around, and we got two different sets of directions. So we're walking all over campus, hauling our luggage and everything along with us. I was getting slightly annoyed at this point, because everyone that drove or walked past just stared at us and kept on walking. You would think that if you saw eight kids with lots of luggage, looking around confusedly and pointing in different directions, you would guess that they might need help and maybe even ask if they needed something. But nope.

After a bit, we walked by an official-looking building, and Julie (one of the girls in our group) went in to ask for clearer directions. The rest of us stood huddled together on a sidewalk in the rain with all the luggage to wait, watching more cars and busses and people go by and stare at us. Eventually, she came back with two girls who took us to the accomodations' main building. There, we each got our housing assignments, and went our different directions. Everyone else got put in two buildings, though, so they're relatively close to one another. I, on the other hand, got put in a university-owned apartment across the street from campus, about half a mile away. One of the accomodations ladies was nice enough to drive me over, and then she introduced me to my temporary RA, handed me the key, and she and the RA left. There are supposed to be other people in my apartment, but they won't be coming until later (sometime this weekend). So I was all by myself, hungry with no way to get food (all the places on campus had closed, and I didn't know how to get to town or anything), and exhausted. I just broke down and cried for a looooong time. I didn't have a cell phone yet, and the apartment isn't capable of receiving Internet connections, so I didn't even have a way to get a hold of anyone.

I went and knocked on the RA's door, but she didn't answer. Then I noticed a phone booth in front of the apartments. I tried to call her (she had given me her cell number), but she didn't answer. So I tried to call home, but I couldn't get through. I went back to my apartment, but every half hour or so I would go back to try to call home. Later, my RA stopped by, and I asked her for a towel so I could at least take a shower (I had forgotten to pack mine). She got one for me, and then I showered and tried to call home again. She stopped by again a bit later with some pasta for me, but unfortunately by this point my stomach was upset and I couldn't eat anything. Eventually I was able to get through to Mom and Dad, and I talked to them for a long time. It was almost comical: I'm standing there crying in an old, drafty, leaky phone booth at night while it pours down outside. Mom said it was like a scene out of a bad movie, and I have to agree. I felt so much better after I got off the phone with Mom and Dad. I went inside and tried to lay down, only to get sick. After a while, I was able to finally get to sleep.

The next morning (Thursday) I felt slightly better. The sun was shining outside, so that helped a lot. I found the International Office (the buildings here are absolute mazes!), and asked about switching houses to one with more people in it. The lady was really nice, but basically just told me that there will be people coming soon. I ran into the rest of the people from Kent, and I went with them to the orientation for international students. It was pretty boring. Afterwards, we worked on scheduling classes, and I found out that of the three classes I am allowed to take, Kent may not give me credit for one, one was cancelled, and another I may not be allowed to take. So this is basically going to be a waste of a semester, academically. That's such a huge frustration for me. I keep thinking that I made a mistake coming here.

Later that day, I went with Alan, Kelly, Emma, and Rachel (all from Kent) to take a train into town. It was at this point that I realized that my apartment is literally about eight feet from the railroad station. It made me a bit more determined to move buildings- it's probably completely safe, but it makes me feel uneasy. Anyway, we went into town, and I was able to (finally) buy some food and other things, including a cell phone. I was able to get a few pictures of the town, but it was getting dark by that point.

the town "diamond" at night


the town hall in the middle of the "diamond"

It was nice to get out- it felt like I was doing something more productive. I got back to my apartment and got my laptop and headed for the library so I could use the Internet. I was able to skype with my parents for a while, and again it made me feel better. But then I started to feel sick again, and I had to miss going to a pub with everyone from Kent (we may go tonight, though). My mind was racing all night, and I kept shaking. It took me a while to finally fall asleep.

So far today, not much more has happened. The sun is shining, which is nice, and I saw a rainbow earlier. I'm going to pick some classes that will hopefully work out and try to get registered, and the rest of the day is free until this evening, when I'm hanging out with everyone from Kent again. I really want to be able to go explore Portrush and Portstewart, two neighboring towns, and I want to go back to Coleraine and explore there some more.

I'm sorry that I don't have any exciting details or anything yet, but I haven't experienced anything exciting! I'm honestly not sure what I'm doing here, with my classes not working out and all. I know that God has brought me here for a reason, and I keep praying for Him to show me why, but it's hard to be optimistic at all. It makes it even worse to think that if I were home, I could be doing so many more productive things. I know that there are lots of people praying for me, and I truly truly appreciate it! If you could, would you please pray that God shows me why I'm here and that he gives me direction, comfort, and peace? If there is anything that you would like me to pray for for you, please let me know!

Wow, this was a long post. Sorry about that!

Love and hugs,
Erin