I feel like a whole month went by in the last week. I came down with a cold last Wednesday, lost my voice two days later, and am just now starting to sound somewhat normal. The friend I went to Stockholm, Sweden with came down from Copenhagen, Denmark for about five days. Her visit and my cold happened to coincide (though my cold has stayed with me for longer than she did) so I was not able to prioritise self-care until she left on Sunday. Nevertheless, I had an amazing time with her here. Queen’s provides free inflatable beds and only charges £5 for bedding. My room is large enough to comfortably fit the extra bed near my own and still leave space to move around. Like in pretty much all student housing I have seen and heard of, the walls in the house are paper thin. I felt a need to apologize to my hall mates after my friend left because I felt we had been a little loud, but they did not seem to mind much as long as it did not become a regular problem. My friend and I managed to fit healthy doses of sightseeing, museum visits, movie-watching, and socializing all into the few days she was here.
I finally went back to the Titanic Museum. I can’t remember if I told you about the tour of East Belfast the program took us on our first weekend here; it was about three-four hours of walking around. We eventually made it to the Titanic Quarter and parted ways at the Titanic Museum. I decided at the time not to go in because it’s quite expensive ($15-$18), but I knew I had to go back at some point. With my friend visiting, we decided to go there on Friday (tip: it’s cheaper to go on a weekday than over the weekend). I was extremely impressed with the museum. They even had a “Shipyard Ride,” not unlike the story-based rides at Disneyland, that took you around a simulated shipyard with voices explaining how the Titanic was built. The museum was named something like the best museum in the UK (or something), and I would not disagree. However, I have heard of people that were not impressed by it. Nevertheless, building the Titanic is an important part of Belfast’s history, so I think anyone who visits should go at least once.
On Saturday, my friend headed north to Giants Causeway (which I will be going to this Saturday), and I met up with my program for a tour of West Belfast. The leftover tensions from the conflict are very obvious in West Belfast, particularly through the murals the neighborhood is covered with. The four-hour walking tour was extremely interesting, but sadly my cold was at its peak that day. I am glad I decided to go, but with my voice basically gone and a lack of energy, I really wish the two things hadn’t coincided.
Classes are picking up speed, and I am smoothing out the crinkles in my schedule and habits. I have mentioned before that education here is a lot more relaxed: lecturers won’t check whether you did your readings or not; it’s up to you to get anything out of your modules. That makes it really easy to ignore homework and sometimes even lectures, so I am working to develop stronger self-control and diligence. I am loving my classes, so it’s not impossible, but the temptations are there. I am looking forward to the skills I will learn simply by studying here for a year, at a school-system that values different skills than those valued in the States.
I will be posting pictures of my Stockholm trip on my personal blog within the next week. I am also excited to say I will be travelling again before you know it! Iceland (Nov. 4-9) here I come! Can’t wait to tell you’se (NI slang) all about it.