First day!

Very shortly I will be snagging a bus on Foyle Street where i'll head off to the Oakgrove Integrated Schools for my first day in the schools! Technically today is more of an organization day, as I will be doing a lot of planning and sorting of details. I'm a big mixture of nervous and excited. Will the students like me? Will the teachers like me? Will I do a good job? There are all sorts of questions that come along with clinical practice, but luckily, my arrival in Derry has gone smoothly enough to allow me to worry about the traditional jitterbugs of clinical practice rather than the jitters of culture shock that might have been if this had been my first time in Derry.

It has been really great to settle into a place that seems so familiar! I know exactly where the Tesco's is whenever I need groceries; I know just how long it takes to get from Bogside where I live to the bus station on Foyle Street; I know just which street-side shop sells the international calling cards and I even remember where my favorite thrift store is.

The weather has been uncharacteristically nice, but we've been warned that "-when America gets sick, N.Ireland sneezes a week later." Though I haven't been able to catch the news yet, people are saying that the storms are coming back to New Orleans. It seems ironic that three years ago during my first stay the newspapers were full of New Orleans and the tragic devestation the storms brought and now there is foreshadowing that suggests a repeat...

My prayers are with everyone in the storm-line and I will be doing what I can to keep updated on the news of home.