A Work in Progress

Oh the joy of simple pleasures! Owning some thumb tacks, a marker, and some hand soap. Having spoons! Boiling water and milky tea. Seeing a familiar face in a foreign place. Free trips to London, and Cadbury chocolates. Having my first hot meal with new classmates, and meeting cool teachers. Climbing 180 steps to say, "I can see my house from here!" and have it actually be true. Blue skies above me, cobblestones below. A cold pint. Modern architecture, perfectly mixed with old, and classic mini coopers. Everything within waking distance, even a full size grocery store. An energy efficient library. The best of both countries; functioning BBC iplayer and hulu. The power of internet communication. Family and friends at home loving and supporting me. Just a few of the things that cheered my heart today.

Today I had my official "induction" which makes it sound like I had to perform a ritual killing or something. Well it was pretty long and a little torturous, but not all that bad. I got my class schedule which sounds pretty awesome, but I am sure I'm in for hard work. It starts mid October, which right off the bat is pretty great. I have one class at a time, and each takes about a month. I have a full week of class time then a few weeks to complete the class assignments. This makes me pretty nervous, as the entire grade is based on an essay or a report, and well, what if they don't like what I do? There is nothing to fall back on, not even my American charm and good looks. The guy who gave us the orientation is the head of the department. He's Canadian, and a bit long winded, but seems like a nice and fair guy. The class has about 14 students in it, most of which I didn't officially meet today, but those I did seem cool. There is another Ellie in the c...

Today I learned that if you want to find someone in Coventry, 9 am on a Sunday is not the right time. It was at this time I started the day, after finally finding the right place and the right people had an international welcome talk about basically what to do today. I went from there to the student centre (yes that was hard to type). Here I officially enroled, (also hard to type) got my student ID card, and registered with a campus doctor. Hurray for free healthcare! I also indulged again in free tea and biscuits. From here I took an historic walking tour of Coventry. This was a treat for a nerd like me with an official blue badge tour guide who was clearly proud of Coventry and tremendously knowledgeable. He showed us around the cathedral of course, bombed to a shell during World War II. It was never rebuilt as a memorial, but a new, modern cathedral was build adjacent to it. It is quite modern, (Britain's youngest cathedral) but strangely beautiful. He showed us what u...

I'm here! Here, in my room, awake at 2 am! After being up for nearly 30 hours I couldn't take it and went to bed at 7 pm. Now I am rethinking that. But, to the meat of the post. Since my last post I said goodbye to a lot of things and special people. I've been on two planes, had a five hour layover in Dublin. (where at 8am everyone had a pint except for me) Got both of my bags successfully! Found the Uni people at the airport, took a train, took a British cab, waited a bit more, took a bus, and finally arrived in my building. With bated breath I turned the key (in the wrong direction) and instead of anything I possibly envisioned, found myself in an individual lofted room. Furnished, bed up a ladder, bathroom, closet! I would love to have seen my face when I opened the door. After jumping around with glee for a few minutes I sorted out the internet and talked to mom for a while. Then I went in search of bedding items, food and TP, my top three needs at the time. The ...

Do I really need these pants? How many tops go with them anyway? Does this jacket even fit anymore? It doesn't get very cold in the UK, right? Will I wear this shirt? Do I need different winter pajamas, or should I just get a blanket? Will I need more than one skirt? What if I go to church more than once? What if I bring two and then go to church more than twice? Is there any earthly reason to bring my camp sleeping pad? Why am I bringing a backpack for school and a backpack for...other stuff? How many pens do I need? Is it completely daft to bring sweaters to a country full of sheep? As a result of these questions over the last few evenings I've found myself unfolding, trying on and refolding basically every piece of clothing I have. Strangely, putting things on and then back in the suitcase did not help me to decide what I couldn't live without.

Two years ago I declared that "To feel loved and cared for is truly all I need to survive." I will take all the love and caring I have been receiving since then with me, and it will be all I need to thrive. Over the last few weeks I have felt nothing but love. I had my last day at work and my bosses had set up a little ice cream and cake social for me. Most of the ER didn’t even know I was going, but everyone was so supportive and seemed truly interested. I gave many people the blog address, and I hope you’re reading this now! All invitations to visit me were genuine, look into it! My shift at work and I had three whole uninterrupted meals together, which is more than we’ve had in the last six months. Everyone worked hard to make my last day special, and for that I feel truly blessed. I’ve been able to catch up with a lot of my friends and family. Even my brother came down from NYC to see me off (and eat fair food.) It’s been a strange time. I’ve been moving piece-meal...

I also changed the date format on blogger. You'll have to remind me to change the time zone later. I made a couple of changes to the blog, i.e., the picture and the description. I mostly did it to remember how, and it's easy! I should have changed the picture about two years ago, because the former picture was of a lake in New Hampshire. The current picture is sunset on Lake Luzern after a rain storm. Also I did a new bit on the "about this" section. Also mostly to remember how. (also easy) It will undoubtedly change again in a few weeks. Let me know what you think.

A lot of things need to be done prior to moving out of the country. An updated passport and visa are a fantastic start. But then there are things that occur to you in the middle of the night, forcing you to scribble some unintelligible words on the back of your hand in the dark. These include changing my car insurance, giving away old clothes, preparing Christmas presents (in August), buying UK plug converters, cashing in my coins, and filling out national registry papers seven months in advance. And then there are some silly preparations. I switched my version of word to UK English, and now apparently I cannot correctly spell color, enrollment, check, or organize. But, analyze; they'll allow. I've also changed my facebook to UK English. This means that my favorite TV shows are now my "Favourite TV Programmes" the times are on the 24 hour clock, and the date is written day/month/year (as opposed to the US month/day/year version) And I've become "UMBC grad...

Yesterday I went to the last day of the wilderness medicine seminar. We had a lecture about travelers diarrhea and it's treatment, strange dermatological issues, and how to pack an expedition first aid kit. I learned a lot from the doc who's been a medical missionary in Tanzania for the last four years who is simply fascinating. We did a little map and compass work which frankly still mostly baffles me, and I again tried to make fire the old fashioned way. I was far more successful with the bow drill, but still didn't actually light anything on fire. It was hard work! I could make the drill hot to the touch and produce a lot of smoke, but always gave up too early before making a little ember. Again with not forgetting some fire starting tool whenever one goes camping. After that, smelling of woodsmoke, I went to my friends house for a little going away get-together. A few good friends came out to see me off before I left, and it was super nice. Shelly even decorated ...

It came out as a "residential rescue" and I was glad to be on it, mostly because I wanted to know what the heck that meant. And it wasn't just the ambulance that got to go, it was the engine, the rescue, the ladder truck, a second ambulance, and the medic unit. We arrived first, and excitedly went into the house where we found an hysterical three year old with his head stuck between the railings of an open staircase. I immediately wanted to call William Shatner and get the Rescue 911 crew over there for some heartwarming footage. It was just like the time that kid got her foot stuck in a toilet. Ooh, or that time when the kid was playing hide and seek and got stuck in the laundry chute and they had to lube him up to get him out. Anyway, so this kid was stuck and the fire department (all 50 of them) came in to set up a ladder use a screwdriver to open up one of the railings. The boy was easily freed and it was high fives all around. I was thrilled to be involved in ...

Mostly these past couple of weeks I have been going to work and packing things up. I'll be storing my stuff in the same building where I live now, and it turns out that moving sucks, even if it's into the next room. Work has been good but not terribly interesting in terms of blogging. But, this weekend I am going to a wilderness medicine and survival conference. So far it's pretty sweet. I almost made fire the old fashioned way, and by "almost" I mean not at all. But it was fun to try, and now my hands hurt. Our instructor said that the bottom line is "don't forget your lighter." Haha. We learned some other stuff about mental survival, building shelters, and responding to urban survival situations. In the evening today we had two lectures about wilderness medicine and medical missions. Now I am filled with oh so interesting thoughts about all that stuff. It's pretty facinating how they have brought some western medicine to different places and, w...

I am pleased to report that I got my Coventry address. It’s approved off campus post grad housing. That’s a mouthful. But it includes a single room, shared kitchen and bath, internet, renters insurance, and a gym membership. Thanks to the glorious google maps, I can get a street view of the building and surrounding area. This exploration let me to find several nearby ATMs, the ubiquitous “corner shop” other shopping and dining areas, and most importantly (at the moment) a huge IKEA mere blocks from my flat. I can now feel far more confident knowing that I no longer need to worry about packing a plate and a bowl, as I can get that stuff there, including bedding, hangers, a “püblie” and a 99p saucepan. And in a pinch, I can eat Swedish meatballs everyday using a snärflat, or a fork. Also, I am apparently I am incapable of spelling Swede, Sweden, or Swedish; just look at my facebook.