My day started early with waking up at 5am after not having slept but a couple of hours all night long. Getting to the airport and through security was fairly simple, with the exception of the always huge lines. The interesting part comes when I board my first plane, to my surprise it was tiny, smaller than a bus, and it didn't have an overhead bin. Luckily due to my lack of sleep the night before I quickly fell asleep and didn't wake up until the last 45 minutes of pure turbulence. I found out today that I AM NOT a fan of turbulence on small planes. It felt like the entire plane was about to burst open or rattle apart,and I was more than thankful when we landed. I feel the worst part was looking out the window during the turbulence, you could not see a thing which made it that much more scary. My stomach was protesting the food I had eaten earlier and I was not sure if I was supposed to be screaming, crying, or both. Getting off in Houston was another confusing maze, I got off what seemed like underground in terminal B, I then made my way (after a few wrong turns) the the main part of terminal B to realize I needed to be in terminal E. so after more confusion and wondering I made it to the shuttle train that took you between terminals, I got on in a very packed cart with nowhere to hold on and almost fell over when it took off. When it got to terminal E I realized I have no experience with airports, and the screens that show you where you need to be look like a foreign language, thank God it is in English or I might still be standing there trying to figure out what to do next.
After finding my way and settling in I found some lunch. Sushi is always a good option, right? Wrong. Unfortunately I have bad decision making skills while under pressure. Since my flight landed at noon, it was the optimal time for lunch, and when I got to the front to order, I grabbed what I thought was a California roll since I was holding up the line. When I sat down though, I saw that it was sushi that contained about 70% avocado and 30% cucumber. Due to my allergies to avocado my lunch ended up being rice and cucumber while looking like a mentally challenged person trying to use the chopsticks I was given. On the bright side, I met a nice guy named Sam who commented on my dislike of avocados, and had an interesting conversation with him over lunch.
While waiting for my flight that got delayed to Newark, I decided to strike up a conversation with the woman next to me. Turns out she only spoke Spanish, but I still enjoyed visiting with her, hearing about Columbia, and her children. Once I finally boarded the plane (an hour after it was supposed to leave) and got settled in, they put in Safe Haven, which I had seen but would gladly pass the time with. I put in the earphones, and yup, the jack was broken, so no, I didn't get to watch the movie. We hit more turbulence through this flight, and a good majority of the time it was raining and storming. Since the flight was layer I was late getting into Newark, and ended up having to sprint to my next flight.
To start off the last flight, the flight attendant was paging for someone that brought raw chicken onto the plane. On the last flight I put on headphone to watch the hobbit (I fell asleep) and I ate about 1/4 of the airplane food. I ended up talking to a super nice radiologist from Belfast for most of the flight, he gave me tips and entertained me most of the way. 6 hours later I landed, went through customs, and got on a bus. When I got into the city of Belfast, I was so lost and just decided to get off the bus where it looked like the middle of the city. Turns out I was still on the edge of the city but just by looking lost literally everyone will stop to help you. I ended up having to walk from one end of the city to the other, but the town must be small because I managed, I just was about ready to leave my backpack on the side of the road though.
Checking into the hostel, the man behind the desk was super nice and accommodating, he showed me around and let me crash on the couch until a bed was made up. I then slept for a good 2-3 hours, got up and took a walk. It ended up raining on me, but I wondered into a Italian restaurant for cover. I'm not sure if it was because I was wet, and alone, or because I was about to fall asleep, or because I am American or a mixture of the mall but upon sitting down, the owner of the restaurant sent over a free cappuccino. I then realized, I have never had a real cappuccino before, but it was pretty darn good. The food there also was amazing, like real Italian food, fresh and made specifically for you. Not only that, but the portion sizes are huge, I ate about 1/4 of the meal before I felt like I literally could not take another bite. I'm relaxing in the hostel now, probably going to stay in and rest. I love it here, everyone is so kind, and willing to help. If only the sun would come out.
Ill update soon, until then much love from me to you.
-Kenzie xxoo
