Safe Arrival.

Sorry it's taken me so long to release another posting. This is the first time in two days that I've had adequate time to write. There were actually several rough patches along the way, but the trip here, for the most part, has turned out unobstructed. My flight to Amsterdam was interrupted early on when a passenger had an unknown "medical emergency." Fortunately, we had not yet reached the Atlantic and were only over Maine. We landed in Bangor, a town I've never heard of, and paramedics came to retrieve the passenger. It was a smooth flight thereafter and we only arrived in Amsterdam an hour and a half later than originally planned, which was fortunate for me because my layover was initially seven hours long. The Schipol-Amsterdam airport was actually a beautiful place, certainly not as big as Atlanta's but it still functions as a major international hub. There, I met with Hillary and her dad whose flight closely followed mine. We sat a while in the airport's atrium and waited for our plane to Newcastle. Once we boarded and were airborne, the flight literally felt like it lasted five minutes.

Newcastle's airport is not really comparable to either Atlanta's or Amsterdam's. Being regional, the airport is much smaller and accommodates, perhaps, several dozen planes. Hillary and I had both scheduled for the University's airport pick-up service called Meet-and-Greet. Their job is to meet international students at the airport and shuttle them to their residencies. My residency turned out to be unaffiliated with the university, causing a mild scramble to find a taxi. I wasn't able to go on the shuttle with the rest of the students and was taxied to a security office where I picked up my keys. The drive to my dorm was exciting in itself. I was taken quickly around residential areas and once we arrived in town, I was able to steal glimpses of the historical city center (more on that later).

My dorm is not at all what I expected. The exterior of the building precisely matches the photographs I've seen. The interior, however, carries a semblance of military barracks. I was the first one to arrive and, incidentally, the first to become frustrated with the curious water faucets and electrical outlets. At first, I thought that neither of the utilities, water or electric, worked, but it was only due to my incompetence. To activate the water for my shower, a string must be pulled, then a button pushed, then a dial turned. My room looks and feels like a typical dormitory, despite the radiator's deficiency and my flickering lamp. The first night I slept on my bed, in a frigid cold, with only some towels for blankets and shirts for pillows. I've bought most of my necessities by now, like groceries, toiletries, etc. I plan on posting a more thoughtful update on the city of Newcastle itself--which is the most amazing place I've ever been to--next week when my head is cleared and functioning properly. I feel like this post isn't as lucid or informative as it should be, but it might just be residual jet lag seeping its way from my body onto paper. Tori, I suppose all of these posts are for you, seeing as you're my sole follower. I know you're eager to hear more (jk) but you'll just have to wait.