Today, I embarked on my first solo international trip. I flew to Northern Ireland for a 2-week
training class. I have been developing
and practicing the Integration Immersion class for months now. All of it has led to this moment when it
finally gets rolled out to our new office in Derry, Northern Ireland. Although, based on how the trip started out,
I wasn’t sure I was going to have an adventure at all.
Apparently, the administrative assistant that was supposed
to be booking my trip screwed it up. She
booked me to fly into Heathrow, London on Saturday and Belfast, Northern
Ireland on Saturday, which is impossible since the trip to London takes
overnight, so the airline cancelled my trip.
Luckily, she had double-booked me with both British Airways and American
Airlines. But it meant I had to run to a
completely different terminal for my flight.
Anyway, I made it just in time for the boarding thanks to some nice
people that let me cut in front of them in the security line.
The flights went off without too much of an issue. I had a taxi to meet me in Belfast and drive
me the 73 miles to Derry. The driver,
Billet, was very talkative and informative throughout the entire drive. He gave me facts about history, economics,
politics, industry, and his own life. It
was great.
It was cloudy and drizzling the entire drive; which
apparently has been the norm here lately.
I grabbed an amazing lunch at the Lyric Bar & Grill. I had the steak and Guiness pie, which was a
layer of mashed potatoes and peas, topped with filo bread and Guiness-cooked
steak, and served with a side of carrots and potatoes. Stuffed and happy, I decided to take a stroll
around town to walk it off. I tried to
track down the location of the office, which was hidden better than Jimmy
Hoffa’s grave. I finally gave up when it
started to rain and headed back to take a nap.
