DeHart Dispatches: SJ takes on the UK

I have to admit, I didn't leave my friend's apartment for the first 24 hours I was in Edinburgh. The great outdoors was just a little too daunting. I curled up on the couch with Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester (How can I never have read that one before?), and I blissfully ignored real life.

I feel very incoherent and confused a lot of the time. I'm not sure that the things I'm saying make much sense. Rosy wanted me to buy something to have change for the bus today, but I was so overwhelmed by the choices available, and I didn't understand what I was supposed to do. The fact that it's still light outside at 930 is so mind blowing. I've added "How was Rwanda?" to the list of questions I hate most. It joins "Where have you decided to go to university?" "How do you plan to use that Anthropology major?" and "Can you come kill this cockroach?" (The answer is No, I can't.) Everything from the Lebowski Pub to chocolate cake makes me miss my friends and family in Rwanda. How do you sum up eight months of experience that was actually across the boards in every respect? The truth is, I really don't know what to say. The truth in my answer would open up about another hour's worth of conversation, and, unless you've put a cup of coffee in my hands, I probably don't have the energy or emotional capacity to get me through that hour. I promise to answer eventually.

There are definitely positives that are very much helping with this transition. I can walk down the street and not a single person will look at me or talk to me. I ran for an hour along the water the other day and saw five people. Then I stepped in a massive pile of dog doody. You can't win 'em all. I've had chips and salsa as my snack the past few days. I can drink the water out of the tap and the internet is blazing fast. Buses involve lots of personal space. Bathroom are huge. I'm excited to be in my bed in a few more nights.

The past week, I've spent time in both Edinburgh, Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland. I've been soaking up great accents and so much information. Aside from that 24 hour layover I had in London one time, I've not been to the UK before. In Northern Ireland, I wandered around the Ulster Museum and learned so much about The Troubles and saw an awesome display of World War I posters. There was a really cool exhibit of art from and inspired by The Troubles. It's a solid reminder that prejudice and hate take so many forms and none are ok. That is a time and place in history that I never learned about. As a matter of fact, I don't think I realized that Northern Ireland was its own entity until I met someone from there. I got to see where the Titanic was built, I ate an Ulster Fry, I kissed the big fish, and so many other neat things.

NI staple. The Ulster Fry. Soda bread, potato bread, egg, sausage, "bacon", and tea.

Rosy said I had to kiss him for luck.

St. Anne's Cathedral downtown Belfast.

The approach to Stormont, NI's Parliament building.

This guy's name is Carson. I should really know why he is in front of the Parliament building, but my information retention is rather shot at the moment.

We caught the ferry and bus back to Edinburgh for a few more days of adventures. I saw the castle and the stone commemorating my mom's favorite author. I got to learn some Scottish history at the National Museum of Scotland, we went up on Calton Hill and up to Arthur's Seat. We spent today at the zoo, and I ate fish and chips for dinner. I tuck myself in every night with a hot water bottle because I am finding it very hard to deal with the fact that it's nearly June and still this cold.