A busy day so far of making contacts and applying for other opportunities while abroad. My calendar is filling up fast! I have a full day planned for Friday - up early to the St. George's Market where I hear it's smart to get there soon after 7:00 a.m. for the best selection of fish. Any later in the day, and most of the best selection has been purchased by the restaurants. I hear there's squid - calamari here I come! I also have an evening of Gael music planned; I'll be attending a concert to benefit the School of Music student's trip to the U.S. - and some dancing is proported to also be a part of the evening - can't wait!
Next week, I'll be traveling to Balymena for an afternoon of sightseeing. It's about a 30 minute ride from Belfast. I'll be judging a 'Debating Matters' competition on December 2nd - more details as I discover them/as they become available. I've also applied for a coveted spot with the 'Common Purpose' leadership course (normally several thousands of pounds to enroll). Seems there's one of four free spaces still available. The application process is tough...fingers crossed! Three months is not nearly enough time for all I want to accomplish.
I have not, as yet, met my academic contact - Sally Wheeler - she's been quite busy preparing for an upcoming tenure as head of the law school come January. Seems nobody has sighted her all last week and there's the possibility she's on holiday or out for some other reason. My QUB email hasn't been assigned yet, but IT is working on it. It's been a bit of a challenge to get my audix set up in my office, as well. My phone rings every 30-45 minutes with an automated message requesting my ID and hash key code to access whatever messages reside on the phone. Repeated calls to the operator have not, as yet, made any clearway to my being assigned an ID. Seems they still have the last Fulbright scholar's code attached to the phone. Patience is a virtue...
My feeble attempt at Skype last night left me disappointed but I've not given up! I skulked around the Student Union finding the perfect (read -- out of the way and quiet) spot to set up and proceeded to make repeated (unsuccessful) attempts at calling the family. Amid incessant tracks of Beyonce (some of her old stuff) booming from the eatery, and repeated 'visits' from "Security" giving me curious (and some, suspicious) glances - I gave it my all - but it was not to be. I'll try it again this evening.
I'm off for a bit of fish and chips - it's turned into a full blown addition -- and to post some postcards. I promised photos - I'll attempt to post them this evening.
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