Time is very strange. Two weeks at home in Cyprus can sometimes fly by, and I wonder where they've gone. But being here in Birmingham, in a different environment, it sometimes feels like months since we got here.
At the weekend I got the train to Carlisle to see where Daniel had been working for the past couple of months, and stayed overnight in his house since his housemates were both away. Tim decided not to come, as he already had three commitments at the weekend, so Dan and I had a nice, peaceful time. We went on some long walks so I could see different parts of Carlisle, and we sat and read, and talked, and generally relaxed.
Daniel had warned me that Carlisle was cold and wet; he was correct! It rained most of the time I was there, and felt distinctly chillier than Birmingham.
I have some photos but no easy way of getting them on this computer, or small enough to post so they'll have to wait until I'm back in Cyprus again.
Daniel is now back on the Doulos, after a very long trip! He got the train from Carlisle to Manchester on Tuesday afternoon, and then flew out of Manchester airport Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed by an hour, meaning he missed his connection in Dubai. So his flights had to be re-booked a day later, and he had to kick his heels in a hotel for 24 hours.
Not that I know any details: just a few text messages from each stop. He apparently had a half-hour transit in Bangkok, then arrived at Sydney in Australia around midnight (UK time - so I guess late morning Australian time) from where he had to fly to Aukland, and then finally on to Wellington, where the Doulos is currently berthed.
Anyway, a brief text message this morning said that he was back on the Doulos at last, and all was well. So I assume that means that his luggage got to Wellington at the same time as Dan did, and that he has had at least some sleep while travelling.
On Wednesday Tim and I went to the Newman University open day with some friends who also wanted to see it, and he was able to ask some questions of one of the theology lecturers. Then we had a guided tour with someone who talked a great deal, in particular about parking spaces, sport and beer (none of which are of any interest to Tim) and didn't really answer any questions!
But still, we got to see around - it's a very small campus, with no more than 25-30 in any group, and felt much more friendly and informal than bigger universities. It only really offers education related courses - teacher training, PGCE, and various subjects-with-education. Nobody quite knows when term starts, but apparently Tim will get a pack in the post letting him know that kind of detail, by mid-August. He is looking forward to the course starting; he's applied for various summer jobs but so far has not had any offers.
Tim's keyboard arrived as expected on Monday and we spent most of Tuesday morning carrying it up to his room in sections and then figuring out how to put it together. He is very pleased with it, anyway, and it seems to have all the features he wanted despite the salesman in the shop telling him otherwise.
Unfortunately I seem to have brought the rain back from Carlisle with me, since it's been grey and wet almost all week. Not that Tim and I mind; I much prefer this to the extreme heat and humidity of Cyprus in July!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
Ten days out of Cyprus so far
It feels like a LONG time since we flew out of Cyprus! But it's less than two weeks. We seem to have got a lot done in the time, and I'm very much enjoying significantly cooler weather in the UK, with a lot of cloud and a bit of rain.
Tim has collected his National Insurance number, organised a bank account (they only let him have a basic one to start with, but he can upgrade to a regular one in a few months), and applied for funding for his course. We've taken his 'statutory declaration' into Newman College as an alternative to a police check for child protection purposes, since as part of his course he'll be working in a classroom.
Tim has bought a UK mobile phone, and has ordered a keyboard which should be delivered early next week. He has a 16-25 railcard which gives him a third off any rail travel anywhere in the UK, and this week we both had weekly bus passes, enabling us to hop on and off any 'Travel West Midlands' buses anywhere in the region at no cost, by just waving the pass. Tim will get a student termly travelcard when they become available, since he will have a fairly significant bus journey each day, but it wasn't worth getting the student summer special pass.
We've been around on the buses a fair amount this week, so he's starting to get used to them, and also getting to know Birmingham city centre somewhat. It's very different from how I remember it; several areas are pedestrianised, and there are new indoor shopping centres (known as 'malls' elsewhere in the world).
Tim is going to attend Christchurch, Selly Park regularly; it's the church we went to for three years prior to moving to Cyprus, and one we have visited for at least one Sunday each time we've been back to Birmingham. We went there last Sunday and saw the new building for the first time - something that was planned and discussed even before we left, nearly eleven years ago. Tim has already been asked to play the piano there this Sunday, and perhaps be part of the music group in future. And he's offered to help at their holiday club later on in the summer.
So he's settling in... and today we've enabled Broadband Internet at my mother's house, where Tim will be staying, at least for the first few months while he's here.
Tim has collected his National Insurance number, organised a bank account (they only let him have a basic one to start with, but he can upgrade to a regular one in a few months), and applied for funding for his course. We've taken his 'statutory declaration' into Newman College as an alternative to a police check for child protection purposes, since as part of his course he'll be working in a classroom.
Tim has bought a UK mobile phone, and has ordered a keyboard which should be delivered early next week. He has a 16-25 railcard which gives him a third off any rail travel anywhere in the UK, and this week we both had weekly bus passes, enabling us to hop on and off any 'Travel West Midlands' buses anywhere in the region at no cost, by just waving the pass. Tim will get a student termly travelcard when they become available, since he will have a fairly significant bus journey each day, but it wasn't worth getting the student summer special pass.
We've been around on the buses a fair amount this week, so he's starting to get used to them, and also getting to know Birmingham city centre somewhat. It's very different from how I remember it; several areas are pedestrianised, and there are new indoor shopping centres (known as 'malls' elsewhere in the world).
Tim is going to attend Christchurch, Selly Park regularly; it's the church we went to for three years prior to moving to Cyprus, and one we have visited for at least one Sunday each time we've been back to Birmingham. We went there last Sunday and saw the new building for the first time - something that was planned and discussed even before we left, nearly eleven years ago. Tim has already been asked to play the piano there this Sunday, and perhaps be part of the music group in future. And he's offered to help at their holiday club later on in the summer.
So he's settling in... and today we've enabled Broadband Internet at my mother's house, where Tim will be staying, at least for the first few months while he's here.
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