It is incredible to me that I have already been in Wolverhampton a week. Today has been my first "free" day where I have had a little bit of time to process what I have been doing. So here it goes:
I arrived last Sunday afternoon, via train (which was exciting seeing as we don't have trains in Ohio) and was picked up by one of the church elders, Sara Longman. After a quick tour of the town center she took me to my new home on Duke Street (haha, I know!) and I was finally able to unpack my suitcase after two and a half weeks of traveling! Later that night we headed to the church where I was informally introduced to a good number of the congregation; it was a gathering which consisted of them asking me a lot of questions.
On Monday, Sara and her daughter Emily gave me an official tour of the town center. Before we entered the city center, we passed the library. So, of course, the first order of business was to get me a library card (insert nerd joke here)! The official tour consisted of Emily pointing out all of their favorite places to eat and explaining in detail what I was able to order at the local Subway. It wasn't until later that night that she understood that there are, in fact, Subways in the States. The Longmans were kind enough to have me over for dinner and myself, Emily and her brother James enjoyed a game of Nerf wars before dinner!
Tuesday and Wednesday brought about more house keeping errands, like setting up a bank account and registering with a local doctors office. But Wednesday evening, I was again invited by another family, the Swans, to have dinner and then we went to a Christian comedy club, The Sole. The Sole is featured in a large convention type center called the Public...all my DG sisters would love it because the building is PINK! In fact, everything is pink and neon...IT. WAS. AWESOME!
Thursday was a long day of work in the church office, the Roma Drop-In, and The Cafe (both of which I will explain on a later date).
Friday and Saturday were my days off, and I invited to go to Birmingham (the second largest city in England) for the Arts Festival with Chris and Ian Watson (again, I am not making this stuff up). They showed me around all of the venues and we were able to enjoy various different shows.
Now, after being here for a week, there are a couple things I have noticed:
1) Tea is the answer for everything. If you are sad, upset, excited, or happy...have a cup of tea. It is funny to me because I associate hot drinks with cold weather, and it has been very warm here the last week. Yet, every time I go anywhere, one of the first things they ask is if I would like a drink (which means a cup of tea).
2) Every time I am greeted by someone, they ask "You alright?" At first I thought it was because they were hoping I was okay settling in and getting used to a new place. By Thursday when they kept asking I was almost offended thinking, "Well don't I look alright?" It wasn't until then that I realized it wasn't so much a question as it was a greeting.
3) Finally, I sometimes feel like I should have gone through intensive language training when I arrived in London. I have found that just because we "technically" both speak English does not mean we are speaking the same language. I'll keep you posted on the word of the week!
Overall, I have found my transition into the Lea Road community to be very smooth. I have been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity to open their homes and give their time and energy to making me feel comfortable and included. I will admit that I was nervous (which I like to think is typical) in coming to a new place where there wasn't a familiar face; however, the people of Lea Road have been incredibly hospitable.
For those who know me well, know that because of my time in Lesotho I have a bit of an obsession with the Sesotho concept of "Ubuntu." Part of the "definition" of ubuntu says, "It speaks about humaneness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others." The wonderful people I have met so far have put words into action and are a living example of what it means to be in community with one another.
As always...God is Good and so is Life!!!!
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