My Foreign Digs

This is the room I'm staying in. The daughter of the person I'm staying with used to live here, but she's in college at the University of British Columbia. I believe she - Christina - is about my age. Sally, the lady who has kindly opened her home to me for the next couple months, has two other boys (I thought there were three boys, but there are two others). Alex and Ian. I've met Alex - he and his friend Benji walked to the "wee" grocery store in downtown Saintfield (about the length of an eyelash) and I tagged along to see what I could see. I have yet to meet Ian (he won't be home until August I believe).

The house is shaped like a "zed" (Z) and still confuses me a bit, and my room is chilly at night. But, the bed is - if you can't tell- fluffy and girly, which is alright with me. It's better (in some ways) than staying at a foreign hotel where you've got to worry about the safety of your things and being alone.

I worry a lot about being alone. That is one thing I smack up against when I travel. As deeply as I enjoy traveling - woe to me if I don't/can't! - there is a panic that twirls about the inside of my rib cage and steals my breath when I think too much about being alone. I suppose that was one reason I called home tonight - well, that was the reason I called my pastor. The reason I called my grandmother was really to impress her with the instant communication two people can have from halfway around the world.

If you ask for a "restroom" here, you will be shown a bed. If you ask for a "bathroom," you will be shown a tub. If you ask for a toilet, you'll get the bowl. Here at this house resides a very special and somewhat confusing way to waste much more water than necessary...You must thrust the metal handle downward faster than you can (due to the resistance of the water in the tank) and then watch to make sure the deluge that pours forth from the hole that is definitely too small doesn't splash outside the bowl. Putting the lid down doesn't work if the water really wants to get out - it will simply shove the lid out of its way like Saturday night on a Sunday.

The house is on what has to be many acres of property - we took the dogs for a walk today and it was a good half hour before we left Sally's Fields. Gardens and bushes explode from all sides - and I've not finished exploring the grounds yet.

Tomorrow I will be going to London and will not be taking my computer (I'll be staying in a hostel and well...better safe than sorry). I might scrounge around for an internet cafe or something while I'm there. But, hey, I'll be in LONDON!!