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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/20/welcome-to-sunny-preston-city-welcomes-students-displaced-by-irma
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| 'Welcome to sunny Preston': city welcomes students displaced by Irma | 'Welcome to sunny Preston': city welcomes students displaced by Irma |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| When 700 students arrived en masse in Preston two months ago, having been uprooted from their Caribbean island by Hurricane Irma, few knew what to make of their less tropical new home. They needn’t, it seems, have worried. | When 700 students arrived en masse in Preston two months ago, having been uprooted from their Caribbean island by Hurricane Irma, few knew what to make of their less tropical new home. They needn’t, it seems, have worried. |
| “Everyone makes the same joke: ‘Welcome to sunny Preston!’” said Nathaniel Minigh, 25, one of the hundreds of American and Canadian trainee medics who have taken quickly to student life – and constant references to the weather – in the Lancashire city. | “Everyone makes the same joke: ‘Welcome to sunny Preston!’” said Nathaniel Minigh, 25, one of the hundreds of American and Canadian trainee medics who have taken quickly to student life – and constant references to the weather – in the Lancashire city. |
| The students, who arrived in Preston eight weeks ago with only the possessions they could carry, were formally welcomed to the city with a civic ceremony at its spaceship-shaped Guild Hall on Monday, 11 weeks after their island of Dutch St Maarten was devastated by Hurricane Irma. | The students, who arrived in Preston eight weeks ago with only the possessions they could carry, were formally welcomed to the city with a civic ceremony at its spaceship-shaped Guild Hall on Monday, 11 weeks after their island of Dutch St Maarten was devastated by Hurricane Irma. |
| The students were studying at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) when the category-five storm struck, trapping them on campus for a week before they were evacuated by the US air force. The 700 students and staff are continuing their studies at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston, in a feat organised in just nine days by both universities and the region’s NHS trust. | The students were studying at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) when the category-five storm struck, trapping them on campus for a week before they were evacuated by the US air force. The 700 students and staff are continuing their studies at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston, in a feat organised in just nine days by both universities and the region’s NHS trust. |
| “It was an interesting way to get to visit the UK and Europe in general, which is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Kelcie O’Dell, 27, one of the displaced students. “For me, it was a really terrible situation turned into a dream. Everyone here has been so welcoming and really wonderful. It’s been really a great experience.” | “It was an interesting way to get to visit the UK and Europe in general, which is something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Kelcie O’Dell, 27, one of the displaced students. “For me, it was a really terrible situation turned into a dream. Everyone here has been so welcoming and really wonderful. It’s been really a great experience.” |
| The pubs and shops of Preston have enjoyed a mini-economic boom since their arrival, according to UCLan’s vice-chancellor, Mike Thomas. The Mediterranean restaurant Jaffa is a firm favourite among the city’s new inhabitants, as is the karaoke bar Shenanigans. The city’s Wilko’s twice sold out of stationery following their arrival, says Thomas, who said that elsewhere in the city “at one stage there was a rush on winter coats”. | The pubs and shops of Preston have enjoyed a mini-economic boom since their arrival, according to UCLan’s vice-chancellor, Mike Thomas. The Mediterranean restaurant Jaffa is a firm favourite among the city’s new inhabitants, as is the karaoke bar Shenanigans. The city’s Wilko’s twice sold out of stationery following their arrival, says Thomas, who said that elsewhere in the city “at one stage there was a rush on winter coats”. |
| The 700 new arrivals would doubtless have gone unnoticed in a city like London. But in Preston, local people have been quick to pick up on the mass influx of Americans and Canadians. | The 700 new arrivals would doubtless have gone unnoticed in a city like London. But in Preston, local people have been quick to pick up on the mass influx of Americans and Canadians. |
| “It’s starting to become more public notice that we’re here,” said Minigh. “I’ve been going into different shops and they say, ‘Oh, are you the Americans from the medical school?!’. They ask how we’re doing, how’s the island, if and when we’re going back.” | “It’s starting to become more public notice that we’re here,” said Minigh. “I’ve been going into different shops and they say, ‘Oh, are you the Americans from the medical school?!’. They ask how we’re doing, how’s the island, if and when we’re going back.” |
| Hadley Mcpherson, 24, another student, said they had no idea they were heading to Preston when they boarded a flight to Manchester in the aftermath of the disaster. Few, if any, of them had heard of the Lancashire city before they arrived, she said. | Hadley Mcpherson, 24, another student, said they had no idea they were heading to Preston when they boarded a flight to Manchester in the aftermath of the disaster. Few, if any, of them had heard of the Lancashire city before they arrived, she said. |
| “It was a very scary experience to move wherever they took us, but I’ve loved it,” she added. “I’ve always wanted to live in Europe and this wasn’t exactly the ideal way to do it but I’ve loved it so much.” | “It was a very scary experience to move wherever they took us, but I’ve loved it,” she added. “I’ve always wanted to live in Europe and this wasn’t exactly the ideal way to do it but I’ve loved it so much.” |
| Heidi Chumley, the executive dean of AUC, said the students had been through a traumatic experience with the storm, which killed 124 people when it swept across the Caribbean and Florida in September. But they have quickly settled into their new home 4,000 miles across the Atlantic, she added. | Heidi Chumley, the executive dean of AUC, said the students had been through a traumatic experience with the storm, which killed 124 people when it swept across the Caribbean and Florida in September. But they have quickly settled into their new home 4,000 miles across the Atlantic, she added. |
| “They really like it here,” she said. “It was a challenge for them – their education was interrupted … they spent a couple of weeks not knowing whether they could continue their studies. But they haven’t even complained about the weather. My guess is it’s the pubs that are enjoying this.” | “They really like it here,” she said. “It was a challenge for them – their education was interrupted … they spent a couple of weeks not knowing whether they could continue their studies. But they haven’t even complained about the weather. My guess is it’s the pubs that are enjoying this.” |
| The students will celebrate Thanksgiving with a slap-up meal for 700 in thestudents’ union on Thursday. On Christmas Day, the university plans to host up to 1,000 students for a festive banquet and, of course, the Queen’s speech. | The students will celebrate Thanksgiving with a slap-up meal for 700 in thestudents’ union on Thursday. On Christmas Day, the university plans to host up to 1,000 students for a festive banquet and, of course, the Queen’s speech. |
| The mayor of Preston, Brian Rollo, bedecked in purple and gold mayoral robes for the occasion, said he was proud that the city – once famous for welcoming immigrants through its seaport – had welcomed the students in their hour of need. | The mayor of Preston, Brian Rollo, bedecked in purple and gold mayoral robes for the occasion, said he was proud that the city – once famous for welcoming immigrants through its seaport – had welcomed the students in their hour of need. |
| “We were the biggest seaport on the west coast in the middle ages. We’re used to strangers coming in and settling,” he said. “We lost the port 20 years ago – we’ve got a marina now – but I’m proud Preston still accepts people coming in.” | “We were the biggest seaport on the west coast in the middle ages. We’re used to strangers coming in and settling,” he said. “We lost the port 20 years ago – we’ve got a marina now – but I’m proud Preston still accepts people coming in.” |
| Lewis Lukens, the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in London, said the displaced students may be used to sunnier and warmer temperatures but the welcome they had received from the people of Preston “could not have been warmer”. | Lewis Lukens, the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in London, said the displaced students may be used to sunnier and warmer temperatures but the welcome they had received from the people of Preston “could not have been warmer”. |
| He added: “I hope that someone is writing a screenplay for what will doubtlessly be a Hollywood blockbuster. Preston: the movie. It’s an incredible story.” | He added: “I hope that someone is writing a screenplay for what will doubtlessly be a Hollywood blockbuster. Preston: the movie. It’s an incredible story.” |
| Hurricane Irma | Hurricane Irma |
| Caribbean | Caribbean |
| Natural disasters and extreme weather | Natural disasters and extreme weather |
| Preston | Preston |
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