I finally made it to L’Derry (easier than writing Derry-Londonderry)!
The day Alaina and I left our hostel (hauling all of our stuff BACK down 4 flights of stairs) it was, of course, cloudy with a chance of rain. Thankfully, the train station wasn’t too far from our hostel which was in a great location because dragging two suitcases and a backpack across Belfast was not on my to-do list.
For only 12.50 pounds I was able to take a train from Belfast to L’Derry and it was only a two hour train ride. Alaina’s stop was two ahead of mine, roughly 50 minutes before my stop, but the stretch between Coleraine and L’Derry were the most scenic views.
The train travels along the coast and seeing the beautiful beach and the rock formations jutting from the clear blue water was a great sight. Sadly, I was too busy experiencing the sight rather than taking a video but there will be other chances. I made my way to the Residential Services Office from the train station, collected my ID card, and was escorted by a student from ResLife. It has been interesting to see and hear the reactions to the bomb that went off Saturday on Bishop Street.
She mostly laughed it off, casually saying “Oh yea there was a car bomb and like 4 threats, but it’s all good”. She was telling me that people had a different way of reacting here because of The Troubles which lasted from the 1960s into the 1990s, so not too long ago. It’s crazy to think about how the girl showing me around, someone close to my age, has memories of The Troubles as a child.
Back to my riveting arrival store, I was shown around the dorm and left to unpack and crash. It was nice to unpack my stuff after living out of my suitcase for two days. I also have a sink in my room which is different, but very useful. I managed to find my way to a store called B&M which has been a literal Godsent. I got some packs for organzing, some snacks (essential), two fleece blankets for the price of one, and a hamper. Nothing too exciting.
At 6:30pm I went down to find my way to the welcome dinner for international students. I ran into another international student from Chile and we both walked over to campus trying to find our way around the place. Eventually, we did find, thankfully not too late. It was nice meeting other people in the program. There are people from France, Italy, Vietnam, Finland, and some like two other people from the U.S.
That was pretty much my first day in L’Derry.
