Baltimore....so after watching some of The Wire before I came I was expecting a bit of a ghetto with a lot of gun and drug action going on. Now whilst I cant deny that there definitely is a lot of gun, knife and drug action from what im seeing in the TRU (Trauma Resuscitation Unit) and somewhere there probably is an area much more like the wire, the city centre and inner harbour area is actually really nice (at least during the day). I checked into a Hotel which was a shabby-chique sort-of place that creeped me out a bit as i felt like I was on the set of the shining and still overpriced despite being the cheapest place I could find by the hospital. I also had a bit of an issue....I had booked my 2 hotels 3 months ago when I knew I was coming but booked one over the phone, and all I had written down in my phone notes was a phone number, the dates I was staying there, and how much it would cost. Slight error. So I had to change hotels on the 27th sept due to availability, but I had no idea which hotel I had booked into, and the phone number didn't work, and I couldnt even cancel the booking. So I spent the next 3 days ringing every hotel in a 2 mile radius and had to explain- none of them had my booking. I had no email confirmation and no money had been taken from my accounts. It was fine because I booked into the hostel and thought I would lose my first nights room rate. Then when I checked out of the hotel I was in- they told me I actually had a reservation there for the next 7 days. Anyway.......crisis over, i was able to cancel that reservation without a charge. No money lost, loads of money saved, and I am now in Baltimore's only Hostel- it is not your average hostel- no young people really, no drinking allowed, and am sharing a dorm room with a slightly odd but pleasant lady who doesn't quite have all her marbles as she spends her time copying out word-for-word the rules of the hostel which are helpfully framed and on the wall already. Someone did steal some of my clearly labelled food from the hostel fridge...pretty p****d off about that. But you win some, you lose some.
Several people in Baltimore got shot and stabbed today....so my problems seem insignificant.
The job is pretty cool, 26hr on calls though, no thanks!! Working in the UK now seems much more appealing. Getting some good experience here though. But im keen for my holiday to re-start.