Southport,
England,
United Kingdom
Thursday, November 6, 2008
This weekend I had a homestay in Birkdale, England, right next to Southport. I left Thursday afternoon after classes and arrived nearly 3 hours later at Wigan station. So I called the phone number that Arcadia had given me, but it turns out that was the number of the people I would be staying with, who were not the people who were going to pick me up. Oh, well that is just great, I thought. I had no way to let whoever was supposed to pick me up know that I had arrived. So I just stood around for a few minutes outside the station, looking a bit lost, no doubt. Thankfully, a young woman walked up to me and asked me if I was Erin, to which I breathed a sigh of relief and answered yes. She was the daughter of the person who was picking me up and who was initially supposed to host me, Rose, who had apparently been caught in traffic. Apparently she and her mom have hosted students for as long as she could remember, and made friends around the world by doing so. She assured me that I was not staying with them anymore not because they did not want to host me, but because their entire house was being redone at the moment. They discovered while redoing one room that almost the rest of the house had asbestos in it, and they were currently in the process of removing it. I am greatful they moved me somewhere else. I would not want to be around while that is going on - asbestos isn't really dangerous unless it is disturbed and particles get into the air where they become breathable. Rose arrived a few minutes later and she and her daughter drove me, on the wrong side of the road, to Birkdale, where they left me with Rose's friends Angela and Roy. Angela and Roy were an older retired couple in their 60s with grandkids, and I think even one great grandkid to boot, but they were very friendly. As soon as I walked in the door, Angela had made a dinner for me of chicken, potatoes, gravy, and peas, and she sat and chatted with me while I ate. I then was introduced to her husband , Roy, who had apparently been born in that very house, and her Son, who was living with them at the moment due to a recent divorce. We spent most of the evening just watching tv, sipping a glass of whisky, and chatting, so it was a nice relaxing evening. It was fun to watch and listen to the family interact - it was a lot like being at home.
The next morning, I had some cereal, then waited for Angela and Roy to get ready because they told me that they would walk me into town (Southport). It was only a 20-30 minute walk, and it was nice to have some company on the way. I got to hear about a few family landmarks such as "this is where my mother used to work" and "this is where my dad used to get a pint after work", as well as Roy's outrage that people fenced up paths that led from the backs of the houses down to the street below. They walked with me down Lord's street, which is the main shopping street of Southport, stopped for a coffee and hot chocolate, pointed out a few places that might be nice for lunch, then left me to wander. So I spent the day walking around, in and out of a few shops, along the endless pier, and along the water. I walked back to the house around 4:30, then had pasta with sauce and mince (ground beef) and garlic bread for dinner at 5:30 with Angela and one of her granddaughters. She was 10 and played football (soccer), and it was her room that I was staying in while I was there. The grandson had been delivering papers, and got lost, but I met him after dinner. He was excited because he found a seemingly unopened Bond video at a charity shop earlier. I watched a little tv, then did some reading, then went to sleep because I planned to get up early the next morning.
