Northern Ireland Confidential

the hard part

It seems like a brilliant idea -- rocky coasts, pints, men with accents -- but suddenly you're saying goodbye at the Dublin airport and the international work assignment loses a bit of its luster. You watch your mom inch toward the security area, and she's trying to keep her emotions in check. So now you are too. You realize that even though you don't see her very often, she now returning to a place far away.

You know that your grandma is going to die before you go home again, and your nephews will be a year older. You wish you could hear your dad's voice.   

You thought about all this before you left the States, you knew it, but now it's very real. You think to yourself, I chose this.

Your mom gives a brave wave, you do the same. When she is out of sight, you collect yourself, head to the car park and pay with the euros that you actually remembered to bring. You exit the car park without harming yourself or others. This is the victory for the day.

You pull out of the airport and see the beautiful sky, the countryside, the "otherness" of everything. This is why you did it. The adventure resumes. 

unpacking

That's why I haven't written sooner. My mom is here, thank God, helping me.

I thought I recalled "downsizing" as part of the move to Northern Ireland? Doesn't feel that way standing in my sea of boxes. I didn't bring much furniture though, just a bed (my bed, I love my bed) and bookcases and a dining room set.

We are having a good time but now have no internet access until at least 7 March! So I'll be living at internet cafes. She wants us to get back to work now (well, maybe a quick turn on the Belfast Wheel first) so I'll post more later.

incredible (same word in english and spanish)

I had tapas and spoke Spanish with strangers once a month in Charleston. It was part of the Spanish Language Meetup, a kind of social networking site that actually puts people together to practice. We had a similar set-up in college called "Spanish Table," where the rules were very strict: no English.

Fortunately for me the Belfast Spanish Language Meetup has no such rules.

you hit the spot

In some ways, I hope I never get over my fear of driving because it does force me to walk. And I have really missed walking to the movies, then picking up Thai or Indian food on the way home. That was one of the great joys of Nashville and it's a big highlight of Belfast.

My household goods (HHG) hit UK shores today. They will not be delivered until ... well, we're still working that out. I deeply miss my CDs. I know that sounds ridiculous but I am very accustomed to playing anything that strikes my mood and for the last two days that has been the second side of Graham Parker's "Another Grey Area" album. Oh yes, I still think in terms of album sides. I am old. And unapologetic.

this week's highlights

• Surviving my first parking deck multi-storey car park. It was harrowing. The car sustained only slight damage. Those curving ramps are deadly.
• Hearing our guests praise Belfast as a wonderful surprise. It's also interesting that they are learning, as I did, that Northern Ireland is a separate country from Ireland.
• Getting the keys to my apartment. I don't move in for another week, but it's exciting to know I will soon be in "my" place.
• Remembering to pronounce "project" and "process" with long "o"s. But I told my team that just sounded stupid when I did it, and I need a couple more weeks to ease into that.   

holiday meals

As I slathered some foie gras on brioche, my boss told me not to get used to all this wining and dining.

"It's not always like this," she said.

I tried to answer but my mouth was full of food.

My first work week here, I had a conference in England, with the requisite nights out.

The second week, my boss came over for a series of meetings that I was invited to attend, along with nightly meals. 

Now as we start the third week, some colleagues from the States are here to meet with us on a crucial project update. We spent today together at St. George's Market, City Hall, and a bus tour of the city.

All these visits have definitely extended my holiday feeling, not to mention a sense of a career retrospective, as every week I have re-encountered people from every phase of my work life. It's been wonderful. But fattening. 

bravery

Oh, you're very brave to move to a place where you don't know anybody, people tell me.

I guess I don't think of it in those terms, so I don't believe that's true. But there is one aspect of moving to a new town that I have always found challenging, and that is attending a new church.

So it was very welcome when a person I met at church said to me, "I'll have you over for dinner," and then actually called to invite me over for dinner.

how to speak norn iron, vol. 2

An update to our ongoing lexicon:

gurning = bitching, moaning, complaining

grotty = dirty, grimy, worn

dodgy = dangerous, sketchy

chuffed = pleased [this one confuses me ... the word seems like a negative word to me somehow]

partner = boyfriend or girlfriend, significant other but not a code word for homosexual companion, quite different from U.S. usage. Presents some interesting bewildered moments until you know that!

done and dusted = completed, finished

welcome wagon

Thanks to Alan for the kind refer from his weblog. He singlehandedly tripled my weblog traffic!

Part of my preparation for the move was reading Northern Ireland weblogs -- and seeing the diversity and humor of the community has been very encouraging to me. Please read for yourself at the "What's the Craic?" links to the right. What a great and interesting group of writers. Can't wait to meet them all at an upcoming event.

Hint: I will be the one whose glass has ice in it.

euphoria

Hello from Sunny Belfast -- it is literally brilliant today. Wish I'd taken sunglasses on my trip to City Centre. Most of us didn't wear coats; I walked an extra lap around City Hall in celebration. A rare day indeed!

At our business meeting this week, a woman from the UK talked about her experiences living in the States and described the various stages that people go through when they relocate outside their home country. I've read this as well: you go through an initial euphoria, then a hard awakening when you realize realise that you are not on vacation but there to stay. (By this time, the differences are annoying rather than charming, and you've begun to miss familiar people and places.) Then you enter a phase of acclimation, followed by integration. How easily these phases occur, and how quickly, depend on the person.

"What phase are you in?" one member of my team asked at dinner that night.

"Euphoria," another member quickly chimed in.

'Tis true.  I'm sure my raving about darling sheep and the Grand Opera House and different words are, well, annoying rather than charming after a point.

But I can't help it.