Our August travel from the U.S. to Belfast

For those of you who haven't flown from the U.S. to Europe, you might be surprised to learn that the flights all happen overnight. I imagine that travelers are supposed to sleep part of the way in order to help everyone adjust to the time difference (5 hours). Of course, no one in my family sleeps well on a plane. How does anyone? I always marvel at the people sitting straight up with their head to one side, completely asleep. How do they do that? Drugs? 

Anyway, my Father drove us from Lansing to the Detroit airport (thanks Dad!). Tearful goodbyes all around. We have never flown with so much luggage before - 1 large checked (all just under the 50 lb limit; thanks Pat and Eric for your sabbatical bags!) and 1 smaller carry-on suitcase each for J, W, and me, in addition to each of the 3 of us carrying a small backpack or laptop bag, as well as pushing the stroller and diaper bag. I have to say that I am already dreading the return trip with all of that luggage! Anyway, bag check and security went slowly but fine, we boarded relatively painlessly, and we were on our way. We flew American Airlines (AA) from DTW to Chicago and then Aer Lingus to Dublin. Did you know that at Ohare, you have to leave the domestic terminal and take a tram to the international terminal, which means that you have to go through security again...with 2 kids, a stroller, 3 roller carry-on sized suitcases, a diaper bag, 2 backpacks, and a laptop briefcase...I plan to avoid to Chicago in the future. Oh, and, the AA flight attendant (the grumpiest one I've ever experienced) told us the wrong gate to go to, so we walked extra far! Ah well...We had a couple of hours in Chicago, so Jubin and I got dinner at Frontera Grill (yummy sandwiches) and we got white rice and noodles for Watson (recall that our son is on the "white diet"). There was a 40 min wait for a table, so we made a nice mess in the hall eating at benches! I am sure that the gobs of people walking by us were appalled, but we didn't have many options. Of course Jubin was perturbed by us spending over $30 on this meal, but hey...that's airports, right?

It is about a 7 hour flight from DTW to Dublin, arriving around 5:15 am. Perhaps the longest 7 hours ever? None of us had slept very much the night before. Watty had gone to the Lugnuts with Izzy and got home about 10pm, and J and I were up til 2am packing and then up again at 6am packing... How tired we were hit us about an hour into the flight. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open. Luckily Jamieson slept on me for about 3 hrs off and on so I slept when he did. Watson loved the movies and shows - each person had their own screen and ability to watch their own videos. Watty slept the last 2 hours of the flight only. I don't think that Jubin ever slept at all... Compared to other airlines I've traveled recently, Aer Lingus was not very impressive. No hot towels, not very good food, we had to request water, not very good entertainment (many fewer choices of movies than Delta). So, I won't jump to use AL again for the transatlantic flight. However, we did get the bulkhead row (1st row after business class) that gives you more knee room and some floor space for Jamie to crawl on, but still was tough...if we were better off, I would totally upgrade to business class (and I recommend anyone who can do so to just do it). The woman next to us (4 seats across in the middle) was very nice and friendly. She talked with Watson, said how amazingly good he was, and even commented that I have the Irish complexion and look and would fit in great in Belfast.

Upon arriving bleary-eyed in Dublin at 5:15 am, we approached the passport check assuming that we would get our Visas stamped. Duh! We arrived in the Republic of Ireland, not the UK. So, the man stamped our passports and told us to not forget to get our Visas stamped in Belfast. Even though we knew that we were flying into Dublin and that Ireland is not part of the UK (it is amazing how many people DON'T know that), we still weren't prepared for the fact that our Visas couldn't be activated in Dublin - woops! Anyway, we collected all of our checked bags (uh), and made our way out of the airport to the Aer Coach bus kiosk. We had missed the 5:55 am bus by 5 min of course...but, we decided to stick with Aer Coach rather than the city bus and went up to the terminal to get breakfast. Funny side note about many European airports - they have much better options for food than most US airports, and often free wifi. And, why is it that Europeans make cappuccinos so much better than Americans do? Anyway, yogurt, donuts, cappuccinos, and croissants in our bellies and back to the bus stop. We chatted with a group from the US who were going to Belfast for the International Police and Fireman Games - very nice (and fit) group. The Aer Coach from Dublin to Belfast is nice - it is like the MI Flyer for those readers in MI. Free wifi, clean, express between the 2 cities. It takes about 2 hours and brings you to the Europa bus depot in Belfast city centre. I took advantage of the free email to let folks know that we had arrived safely and to alert Kath and Bob so they would know when to pick us up. At this point, we were all really tired and slept off and on-Jamie the whole way pretty much on me, the rest of us a bit here and there. We hit the morning rush hour traffic in Belfast, but still arrived on time. Bob and Kath got to the stop just a couple minutes after we did (thanks so very much!) and we were so happy to see them! It was cold and  we were so tired.... I rode in their Prius with the kids and Jubin and Kath got a taxi with the rest of our luggage. It takes between 5 and 20 minutes to get between the bus station and our home, depending on the time of day and traffic. We arrived shortly in Stranmillis, where we were greeted by our landlord, Godfrey. Phew - home at last! 

Revisionist history...

I have had many comments from you, my lovely readers, about how it seems like we are having such a great time so far in Belfast. True! However, this sunny perception is in part because I have delayed writing and posting our reflections on the build up to the trip and the first month of our life in Belfast. And, I must admit that writing this blog has made me realize how easy it would be, if I were a historian, for me to gloss over the hard bits - no one wants to write about (and thus remember) or read about the meltdowns, the loneliness, or the colossal failures, right? But, in the interests of us having a real memory "book" for the future and for my readers to really know what we are experiencing, I will strive to be better about representing our real life. In fact, I just went back and added the fact that Watson and Emilia had some sort of short-lived falling out in the post about our trip to England. And, I think that enough time has passed between the summer and now that I can write about the build up to the move and the first month with a little humor. So, over the next couple of weeks, I'll post about the more challenging aspects of the summer. Never fear, we are still very glad that we took this path!

What is in/on our food?

Since moving here, we have noticed over and over again how local and fresh the food is here (yippee!) and thus how quickly it goes bad (bummer). Most produce, meats, cheeses, and breads are from the UK. Not shipped from S Europe or elsewhere like the MI grocers shipping in from Mexico, S America, CA and FL. The grocers have bakeries with real bread without preservatives and sugar too! Oh, and high fructose corn syrup doesn't seem to exist here (corn in other forms than actual corn seems to be a N American obsession). These foods are fresh, say they should be eaten within 4 days, and actually go bad if left for longer. Everything from cheese and whipping cream to raspberries and potatoes to bread and rolls to jams and juices. Really. This situation has made us wonder...what is it that is on/in the foods in the US that cause it to NOT go bad? What sorts of chemicals are being sprayed? What sort of unripe condition are foods being harvested in? What sorts of preservatives are being used? And, what do these practices mean for the nutrition and flavor we experience? What might the potential cultural and health side effects be? All-in-all, it has given us pause and caused us to re-evaluate our needs and wants related to food. Do we want food that lasts 2 weeks so that we only have to shop that often? What are the trade offs? Food for thought!

Our first touristy foray off the island!

A couple of weekends ago (Oct 4-6), we went to Leamington, England to visit some friends: Ben, Noemi, Emilia (6), and Eleanor (1) Smith. Below is a map of where we were in England - the marker at the top left is the Birmingham Airport, then in the middle of the map from top to bottom is Warwick University where Ben is a Prof, Kenilworth Castle that we visited, and Warwick where we stayed. The Smith's live somewhere between Warwick and the Castle in Leamington.

http://goo.gl/maps/8n2DK

Background:  The Smith's moved from East Lansing to England about a year ago. Ben used to be a professor at MSU and their daughter, Emilia, was good friends with Watson at East Lansing Stepping Stones Montessori School (ELSS). Ben is now a professor at the University of Warwick. Here are some pix of them:

Travel: This was our first go at flying on one of the cheap European airlines - Ryan Air. We had heard horror stories from pretty much everyone about how Ryan Air treats customers, and I'll admit that their website was not exactly the easiest to get around. But, we got tix for the whole family from Dublin to Birmingham and back for about 140 Euro (~$190), so who can complain? Here are some of the things that Ryan does to save money and annoy customers: you are only allowed 1 carry on bag per person for free (including your purse or laptop - everything has to fit in only 1 carry-on size bag, and if your bag is too big or too heavy it costs a LOT to check it at the airport), you are only allowed to check in online for free (big fees if you forget to print your boarding pass), and seating is first-come first-serve (unless you pay more online ahead-of-time). But, we knew all of this, so we traveled without a hitch...well, except for airport security confiscating our lovely butter raspberry curd on the way home (don't they know that curd is NOT a liquid?).

Anyway, Thurs after school/work, we took the Air Coach bus from Belfast city centre to Dublin Airport, then flew to Birmingham, England (less than an hr flight). Ben picked us up and brought us to our B&B in downtown Warwick (see map). We stayed at two different B&Bs on this visit because the town was busy and neither place could accommodate us for all 3 nights. For Thurs and Fri night we stayed at the Lord Leycester Hotel. The B&B was in a VERY old building that had not exactly been upgraded with luxury in mind. The beds were hard as ROCKS (seriously, we ended up sleeping on top of the duvets the 2nd night), the floors were very sloped, the rooms were tight, and the breakfast was the unimaginative "full English" (sausages, bacon, eggs, toast, tomatoes and mushrooms, potatoes - sounds great, right? Well, surprisingly, you really can get sick of that when you're supposed to eat it every day when on holiday!). But, the location was great and the price was right at 65 pounds/night. The 3rd night, we moved just down the street to the Warwick Arms Hotel, which was much more posh, had larger rooms, and probably had a nicer breakfast. But, we had to leave at 6am for the airport so we didn't get to sample bfast and that place was almost double the price. Ah well, it is fun to experience the wide range of B&Bs in the UK! Sunday morning, Ben brought us back to the airport (SO NICE), we flew back to Dublin, stowed our luggage at the airport, and took a city bus to/from city centre so that we could spend a few hours touring Dublin.

Leamington/Warwick
Friday we made the Smith's house our home base. The kids played, the adults chatted, and everyone was relaxed. Mid-day, we walked to their local park, ate lunch at a local pub, and had pastries and cappuccinos at a local patisserie. Ben cooked dinner for us all after returning from an afternoon of teaching, and then Kendra and Jamieson went back to the B&B, Watson slept over with Emilia, Noemi and Eleanor hit the sack, and Jubin and Ben did a pub crawl between Leamington and Warwick (actually walking from pub to pub between the Smith's house and our B&B!). Although Watson had been very excited about the sleep-over, we heard back that he was a bit unhappy at one point in the evening...but, it was short-lived, and he was happy-go-lucky the next morning.

Pix of Leamington (above and below)

Having lunch at a local pub (above and below)

At a local Patisserie (above and below) - they had a very funny couch that was made out of a claw-foot tub!

At the playground (above and below) - fun for all!

Back to the Smith's for relaxed fun with toys

Saturday, we went to an English Heritage Site - Kenilworth Castle. Our first castle tour! Click here for more info about the site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenilworth_Castle
We had a picnic lunch and then explored the ruins and gardens. It was a great day! Unfortunately, Emilia was a bit grumpy off and on Saturday (Maybe not enough food? It is AMAZING how similar she and Watson are in their eating - white diets all around!), but as you can see from the pix below, all was certainly NOT lost.

This scene practically brought tears to my eyes - Watson is so grown up!

Someone didn't want to nap in his stroller (called buggy or pram here!)...

Rolling down the hill together...

What cute brothers!

Back at the Smith home playing...

Dublin
Sunday, we arrived in Dublin about 9am, stowed our luggage and took a city bus to downtown. We grabbed breakfast, wandered around the Temple Bar area of the City a bit, then walked up to where the museums are. We stopped along the way in a park and stumbled upon a monument, got to the Natural History Museum and realized that it didn't open until 2pm - woops! So, around the corner we went to the National Gallery of Ireland (Art Museum). It was a very nice museum and it had an audio guide specifically for kids. Watson seemed to really enjoy it! I think that it was sort of like a scavenger hunt, looking for the pieces of art (mainly paintings) that had audio stories about them. Here's a link to more info about the museum: http://www.nationalgallery.ie/ as well as a link to a map of the area: http://goo.gl/maps/iQu85. On the map, the top left marker is the Temple Bar district, the middle marker is Trinity College, and the bottom marker is the National Gallery. If you zoom out, you can see the airport, which is north of the city.

After the museum, we got a late lunch and then took the city bus back to the airport, grabbed the Air Coach back to Belfast city centre (this takes about 2 hrs), and then a taxi back home. Quick trip, but an all around success!

In the Temple Bar district of Dublin

Memorial for WWII in the park across the street from the Natural History Museum (above and below)

Our next visit to Dublin will be at the end of November when I am giving a talk at Trinity College, and we are planning to do a double-decker bus tour and the Zoo - hope that the weather is good enough!

What is a sabbatical? Pix added Oct 9

The best comment I have gotten when talking to people about being on sabbatical is something along the lines of "how nice that you get a year off from work" or "what a nice vacation". I feel the need to dispel these false notions, even though it is pretty likely that the majority of the people reading this blog are those who know the truth already. A sabbatical is NOT a vacation. Got it? Good.

Watson with Rosa and Elsa in our hammock in the back yard - a favorite spot!

So, now...what is it? Of course, every sabbatical is different. My sabbatical comes after working my tail off for years and years as a PhD student and professor. I hardly ever work just a 40 hour week, work many nights and weekends, and hardly ever take a vacation that doesn't include my laptop and fitting in work. Thus, sabbatical is a year when MSU pays me half of my salary (I had to secure funding for the other half of my salary) to do research with no teaching or service/committee work. Many professors choose to spend their sabbatical either learning and applying new research tools, building new research collaborations, or revising curricula and developing new classes (or a combo of those). Others do what I am doing - conducting data analysis and interpretation that can lead to grant proposals and peer-reviewed manuscripts (scientific papers), and writing those proposals and papers.

Jamieson in his baby legs being entertained by the front-loader wash...

Really, what I want most from this year is to have time to THINK and REFLECT. Sounds wonderful, right? In some ways, this plan is like a vacation for me - I went into academia with the idea that I would spend loads of time thinking and I really miss it. Although I am not spending the year at the beach or sleeping in every day and going out at night, I am planning on working only 40 hrs/wk, I am planning to take vacations that do not involve a laptop or work, and I am hoping that at the end of the year I will feel intellectually and personally recharged.

How cute is that?

My sponsor at QUB (person who helped me become a QUB Visiting Research Fellow) is Dr Paula Reimer, a renown expert in carbon dating who recently won a Lyell Medal from the Geological Society. You can visit her webpage here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/gap/Staff/AcademicStaff/ProfPaulaReimer/.Since this is my first sabbatical, I've decided to do this personal blog, but also to do a professional blog that is linked to my MSU website that will keep track of what I experience professionally during this year abroad. This personal blog will have everything from that one in it, but will include more details, more pix, and personal stuff. But, if you want to check that one out, go to my webite (www.fw.msu.edu/~ksc) and then click on the link to my sabbatical blog on my homepage.

Anyway, so far, my day-to-day schedule looks something like this: deliver one of the boys to school or childminder at 9am, go to office at QUB and work independently until mid-afternoon, Skype with colleagues in the U.S. in the mid-late afternoon (multiple research projects at various stages), and then head home around 5pm. Pretty great, really! Also while we are here, I will serve on an NSF panel in D.C., I will give a couple of invited research talks (you'll hear about them after I've done them) and I will extend my local and regional professional networks by attending QUB seminars and by attending European conferences and meetings. I kicked off this effort back in July by attending the Symposium for European Freshwater Scientists in Munster, Germany (http://www.sefs2013.de/), and head next to Scotland at the end of this month (Oct).

I'm being attacked!!! Like our crazy purple bean bag? ;)

So, the next time you overhear someone say that academics get a vacation every 7-10 years, how will you respond? :)

Our first international visitors!

Ok, many of you know that I am not a huge fan of Facebook...and, in fact, the only reason that I went on FB to begin with was because my book club uses it to communicate. However, I have to admit that being abroad has shown me some perks of being on FB. For the last couple of weeks, an old high school friend of mine has been posting really lovely pix of he and his wife in France. Finally, I messaged him asking what he was doing in Europe and telling him that we are in Belfast for the year. His response? They were in Europe because they were going to a wedding in....that's right Belfast! I had completely forgotten that his wife was from Belfast! So, last night, Sean and Victoria Sheehan visited us. We had such a nice visit!!! Here's a couple of pix of us:

Victoria grew up just outside of Belfast, in Hollywood, and her parents now live in Bangor (http://goo.gl/maps/4e0HB). Was great to hear her perspective of the city and was really nice to catch up with Sean (especially since I will miss our 20 year David Prouty HS reunion this Fall!). So, cheers to FB!

The Belfast Zoo

We went to the Belfast Zoo (http://www.belfastzoo.co.uk/ZooHome/ZooHome.aspx) during mid-August. We took the bus there, which required 1 transfer in City Centre. It is on the outskirts of the City up in the foothills.

http://goo.gl/maps/742L7

The second tourist attraction we visited in town was the Belfast Zoo. We took one of Watson's new friends with us, Grace, who you'll see in lots of the pix below. It was a cool day when we left, but it warmed up and we ended up being a bit overdressed. The zoo is super-hilly, too, so we got pretty tired pushing and carrying around Jamie!

Highlights included (pix of them below):
1) the playground inside the zoo - why don't all zoos do that?
2) watching the elephants and giraffes eat (hay and bananas)
3) babies - spider monkeys and sea lions
4) being about 3 feet from a sloth
5) getting really close to a WILD fox who was really wanting to get out of the woods and lie in the sun
6) a monkey "rushing" Watson and Grace - it was really interested in them and came right up to the window to look at them - and a turkey gobbling at them REALLY loudly when they didn't expect it (incited screams)
7) for W and G, getting to choose how to spend 5 pounds each (~$7.50) at the gift shop as we left (W chose a stuffed animal (big surprise) and a chocolate lolly pop)

Oh, and a funny thing (to us)... We met Grace and her family the 2nd week of Aug because they were on holiday before then. Basically, a week later, her parents were a-ok with us taking her to the zoo! I don't know anyone in the states who would have felt comfortable with that...we hadn't even yet been inside their house (except Watson) or exchanged phone numbers! The 3 families on our street we've gotten to know are all super-friendly and trusting - not sure if everyone is like that here, or if we just lucked out, but it has been nice. And, it has been great for Watson!

Now for some pix!

 That is a WILD fox, not a zoo animal...

Babies...

Gotta love zoos with playgrounds!

This guy was seriously about 2 inches from us! Just plexi separating us...

For those of you who don't know, the sloth is one of my FAVORITE animals. When in Panama, I spent days searching for them in the canopy... Could not BELIEVE my luck in being so close to one here.

Very hilly part of town - basically in the foothills/mtns.

This was the view walking down the long driveway from the Zoo to the bus stop - is the Belfast Lough.