I hear the rain has come again to the beautiful west coast. Windshield wipers will be frantically waving and that 1.2 minutes it takes to walk from the car to work/home/school will feel so inconvenient. You may wonder, as I often did, how I could have lived 20 years in the Fraser Valley and never simultaneously owned rainboots and a umbrella.
Well, my lack of a vehicle in England has put a whole new meaning to rainy weather. I was reflecting on a particularly drizzly walk home on how incredibly posh my life back home was. In reference to the inconvient 1.2 minutes of unwanted outdoor exposure mentioned above. Now, if you know me at all, you would understand that navigation is not a particular gift of mine. That adds to the adventure of commuting, although at least getting lost is not spending anymore fuel.
Here is a synopsis of my transportation adventures, I'm in the story-telling mood. You have been warned:
For placement,thankfully, I am part of a carpool with some girls in my cohort. This means all I have to do is walk 10 minutes to our meeting point and can zone out from there. That is, until the driver of our carpool gets sick. Left to my own devices, I wake up at the crack of dawn, and make the 30 minute walk downtown to the central bus station. I ask the bus driver if this bus goes to Kettering. He says yes, not to the hospital but to the town, so I feel satisfied, but slightly uneasy at the fact that my dog-eared highlighted bus map is not matching the number of this bus.
Mistake number 1. I did not inquire how LONG it would take to get to Kettering. Every single bus stop later... the bus is packed with school kids sharing chocolate, why not? It's 7:30 am. At 8:30 - the time I'm supposed to be at placement, I sheepishly saunter up to the driver. I tell him I was supposed to be at work, right now, and if he could let me off now, I would like to run there. I proceed to tell him I'm a very fast runner. He takes pity on the lost foreigner and makes a special stop out of his regular route and drops me at the hospital door. There are kind people in the world!
I often take the Uni bus from the university to my home. Every time the bus driver asks where I'm going, every time I say "Kingsthorpe Grove" and every time, they laugh! I still haven't figured this one out. I also haven't figured out how the bus manages to fly past my stop at rocket speed, causing me to panic, realizing I have no idea where I am and end up walking ages home anyway. At least the Uni bus is free.
Sometimes I opt for a more fitness friendly mode of transport. I love my bike, I don't know what I would to without it, and since living here my main wardrobe additions have been waterproof. Today I showed up for a job interview decked out in a complete set of dripping rain gear. A personal first.
The university Stallions Wheelchair Basketball team had a tournament last weekend. It was loads of fun, 3.5 hours each way in a mini bus, 6 games of bball later, we were exhausted!
I received some fantastic gifts in the mail! A clever shirt from Annemarie, we've lived together for 2 years, trained to be Rehab Assistants together and now both have Occupational Therapy in our furture! A special thanks to Em and Queen Bee for the headband!
Christmas is here, there, and everywhere in Northampton. There is so much to be thankful for. And to all a goodnight!
Bel
