Running in Some Direction

It's foreign on this side,
But it feels like I'm home again.
There's no place to hide
But I don't think I'm scared.

As Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I find like many others, that I think of family. Now this isn't the first Thanksgiving I have spent away from family but it is the first away from the US. The lyrics above come from a Nickel Creek song called This Side. It fits how I feel here with the people. I know that I am so blessed to be here.

In the US, the rain would taunt me. Now here in Belfast, the rain is a part of life that I have come to enjoy for the most part. It is a common occurrence, when I run in the morning or walk down the road to work, the rain tends to greet me. Now remember this is the person who loves humidity and enjoys getting in a car that has been baking in the South Carolina sun all day. So this rain I believe is just a trade for me. Of course, I keep my anorak (raincoat) with me most of the time so that I can enjoy the rain. Side note: no peripheral vision when wearing said anorak because of the hood. It becomes quite funny when trying to talk to the person beside you.

As I mentioned in the last post, I started training for the Belfast Marathon. This will definitely get harder to do as it gets dark now at 4pm and stays dark in the morning. I have unfortunately had to give up running on the greenway and have switched to the city running because it is so dark in the morning (aka path covered by foliage on both sides=really creepy when its dark). People keep saying its going to get colder here and that kind of scares me because I just wore my winter coat the other day and it just kept me warm enough. I don't know if I can wear anymore layers!

Word of the Week: manky, the US equivalent would be funky but I really love the way the word manky sounds. Apparently it comes from Scotland/ Northern England but is a common word over here.

Item I Miss From Home: New England Clam Chowder

ps. thanks Andy for the video idea

Where I am supposed to be

I think the question I still get the most often is, "are you settling in well"? It has been more than two months now and I seem to think that this is part of their extremely welcoming personality that they keep asking. I have been settling in well and have been witnessing/accomplishing some firsts this week.

I went to my first Remembrance Day service today. They brought in the flags at the start of the service. I believe the flags were military flags since the day was about remembering those who served in the armed forces. We also had the Boys Brigade enrollment during the service. BB as many like to call it here is like the scouts but with marching and teaching from the Bible every week. They also sang the National Anthem (God Save the Queen) twice. I had the privilege of being able to listen to a packed church singing it because I didn't know the words. People in the UK have also been wearing poppies (paper) to raise money for the British Legion. During part of the service this morning, a few in uniform circled the congregation to come to the front and lay their poppies down on the table. It was a very symbolic gesture for me, like the laying down of lives. It was something so simple but yet powerful in one right.

Another large first for me this coming week is that I will be teaching the parable of the five thousand at one of the primary schools that I work at. I am quite nervous at how it will go over but am excited to spend more time with the children. I only work with that school for two and a half hours on thursdays. I have realized that I enjoy working as a classroom assistant. The last two thursdays, I have worked with a P5 (approximately 4th grade) class and had them read stories to me. That gives them a chance to read in a smaller group and they get more attention. I love doing this and it gives me a sense of achievement knowing that this will help them in the classroom and outside of it. I am an avid reader, so by having the kids read to me and improve, I hope that they will be encouraged to read more.

The last and probably biggest first for those who know me is that I have started training for the Belfast City Marathon. I still can't believe I agreed to do it. I had previously been running off and on in the morning within the city or on the greenway. Now it has had to become more regimented so that I will keep up with it. Feel free to give me tips!

Blooper of the Week: not getting laundry done in time because I forgot we didn't have a dryer here. Things hanging up to dry tend to take much longer, I have realized and have hopefully somewhat cured me of a bit of my procrastination.

Word of the Week: Gherkins, they are pickles in the United States. I gave the woman behind the counter making a sandwich, quite an odd face when she asked me if I wanted any. Thankfully, one of my friends that I work with at Playgroup let me know that she was asking me if I wanted any pickles.

Picture of the Week: Me on the top of Slieve League (a mountain) in Donegal. As you can tell from the hair it was quite galey and mizzly.