My first days - Matthew Hunter

First view of Birmingham
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I arrived here in Worcester days ago, on Wednesday. The plane ride over to Amsterdam from home was exciting and relaxed. The in flight TV screens and interactive menus kept me occupied, as did my books. I watched Get Smart, which was enjoyable. I was also surprised that the headphones and food were provided free of charge. The only trouble came when the plane began de-escalating and slowing down for our arrival in Amsterdam; I got a terrible pressure/pain in my left eye socket and eye. The flight attendant asked me if I was sick, I told her I only had mild congestion. She gave me nose drops, which seemed to mildly help but it came too late to really count as we landed shortly thereafter. I had an easy enough time finding my way through the Amsterdam airport to my plane, where my larger carry-on bag was checked because this was a smaller plane I was boarding.

My room shortly after arrival
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The flight to Birmingham was a period of exhaustion and nausea, so not very enjoyable. The sun peeked out through the clouds once but for the most part it was very hazy, like a thick layer of fog on the ground. After landing, I found my way to the information desk and met someone on the same path as I.  We waited about an hour for the van to come pick us up, and when the two men arrived we discovered there were about 4 or 5 others coming with us.

I remember little of the van ride to Worcester. After we all walked through the streets of the Birmingham airport and loaded all of our bags up into the big van, we started driving. I fell asleep intermittently, making the ride seem 15 minutes long rather than the true 45 minute drive that it was. After taking our baggage into our respective rooms, I was dismayed when we immediately embarked on a campus tour. I was quite exhausted and just wanted rest, as I had not slept on either of the plane rides. After the tour, at about 7 in the evening was to be an international students party to get everyone familiar with each other. We returned from the tour at about 5, and I laid down for a moment. I awoke at 8:05 and realized I had missed my group to walk with to the party. I was to go with my Australian neighbor, Jodie, and three girls from Holland. I walked around a mostly dark campus in a half-asleep stupor, looking for the building. Finally I stumbled upon them, and they were leaving the party so I followed them back.

Finally, the sun!
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The next two days consisted of mostly orientation activities, familiarizing us with the campus and its dining facilities, and meeting the other students. There are a couple from Sweden, my neighbor from Australia, three girls from Holland, two girls from Canada, two guys from Spain, two guys from Bulgaria, and some girls from America (Tennessee, Indiana, New Jersey, and IUP of course). I’m sure I’m forgetting some others. There were a few excursions into town, where I bought a new voltage converter/adapter as the ones I had brought from home were the wrong Europe adapters, and I bought a new phone for cheaper use over here. It is a Sony Ericsson Vodafone. I also had a sandwich the other day in an Italian coffee house that was brie cheese, raspberry spread, and greens on ciabatta bread. It was delicious! We also went to some supermarkets where I bought Nougat Pillows cereal, Hobgoblin beer, a body pillow, and bread. I must buy some sandals soon or I will surely slip off my feet coming out of the showers. My neighbor and I walked with me to the Cost-Cutters market and we got some frozen pizzas one night as well.

The weekend came with an overwhelming need of stillness and relaxation. Wed-Fri of last week came with so much activity that I just needed time to myself to zone out for a bit. I actually am anticipating the start of classes so I can settle into some sort of routine. Next weekend will come with a trip to Birmingham where I will hopefully be attending the Priest Feast show as well.

This whole trip is clearly going to become a juggling trick between classes, new friends, travels, and solitude. I’m sure once classes actually begin, knowing my boundaries for each of these will become easier.

As I look out my window right now, at 12:30 AM on Sunday, the sky is for the first time blue and full of sun. When the sun actually shines, one sees all the vibrant green that really exists here and it’s quite beautiful. I already miss my musical instruments and find myself still air-slapping and air-drumming. As soon as I return home, I hope to finally choose and buy a bass. I will hopefully find some local musicians or music stores in the days to come to temporarily satisfy my appetite. Not only do I miss my music, but I truly do already miss home and my parents, girlfriend, my friends etc. I think this comes with the knowledge that there’s without question no going home whatsoever for 4 months. Plus I’m halfway around the world, farther than I’ve ever been from home. I think this will subside a bit once I’ve settled into my routine. Skype has been helping enormously as well, by at least hearing a familiar voice or even helping to see familiar faces.

This entry is long enough. I’ll probably write one every few days/every week or so.