Part II - First Day at Swansea University

On the second day of my arrival, and only some odd hours of sleep, I got to visit the university.  The only other CSU IP friend I have here is Colin, which works out well because we are both English majors!  So around 11ish Chris, Colin, and myself made our way through the city streets towards the university.  Of course, I COMPLETELY forgot my camera so I didn’t take pictures but I will probably take pictures very soon.  I mean I have a year after all.

I guess we also arrived when the weather was completely gorgeous at Swansea.  After 3 straight weeks of rain we came at the break when the weather is a manageable 65 degrees (I have no idea what that is in Celsius like what they go by here).  Our walk was about 35-40 minutes, pretty long actually!  I actually started sweating a little bit since I was wearing my jeans and a thin white jacket. 

Chris joined with some friends at Fulton house and Colin and I made our way over to the lecture hall.  At about noon we listened to various presentations about opening a bank account, STA travel (student associate travel), where to get a bus pass and how much it was going to cost (240 pounds for 2 terms!!! Yikes…), and a few other things.  Around 2:00 it finally ended and we made our way back to the Fulton house.  Along the way a Canadian girl by the name of Ellen came over and started talking to us about the presentation and such.  She actually ended up hanging out with us the remainder of the day!  We went on a campus tour (the campus is really small, it’s awesome!) and ran into a few more CSU IP people.  We also got to sign up for a free Welsh museum tour on sunday!  After getting loads of information and loads of paperwork we decided to walk back into town and pick up some much needed stuff for our rooms.  I ran into Chris again and he mentioned going out to a pub later with some Germans so of course I agreed.

When I got home I was able to take a quick hour nap before hopping in the shower and getting ready for the evening.  I still felt really crappy and tired though.  Around 9:30 Chris knocked on my door and we walked out.  We also ran into 2 more of our flat mates that just arrived on Saturday, Ethan and Fiona.  We invited them to come too so the 4 of us headed out towards the city quadrant.

We met about 5 more of Chris’s German friends at the bus station who also brought a few more friends with them!  It was quite the international group – Americans, Germans, Canadians, and one person from Saudi Arabia!  For the most part everyone spoke English fairly well, some better than others; at the very least we could all communicate.  The first bar we went into was VERY NOISEY!  No one could hear each other so we went into another bar.  There we got very lucky because there was a lounge in the back with leather couches and no one was there!  YAY!  So we all gathered around and started drinking and chatting.

The night is now a blur.  I remember I drank about 3 beers and felt a little tipsy; I spoke with the Germans about rock bands, everyone loves Metallica!  I had to climb very steep stairs to use the ladies room (loo or toilet as they say here).  I noticed that the Welsh girls were dressed up very nice!  Despite the cold they all had really short skirts, high heels, and skimpy shirts on.  I guess Welsh don’t feel the cold like the rest of us!  Some Welsh boys came over and started talking to Fiona and me (they were also extremely drunk) and I could barely understand them!  They did say I had a great accent though (that’s still so odd to me!!) 

We got home around 1ish and I remember just passing out on my crappy little twin bed.  I woke up around 6:30 completely awake and slightly hung over.  I ended up just staying awake so I could be at the coach on time at 10 to go on the Welsh history museum tour.

So after 2 nights I still haven’t gotten a good night sleep.

Part III- The outdoor Welsh museum and meeting more Germans

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Update, hi! I'm still alive!

It is about 11:00pm and I'm writing this blog from my bed.  Saturday night and I'm in bed?  Yeah, see, my life isn't all fun fun all the time =)  I have had a cold for the past week, and it has now manifested into an annoyance in my throat.  Not too sure what the hell it is actually, but I'm not too worried because it seems like everyone appears to have it.  I am going to the doctor on monday just to see if maybe I can get something for it.  

Sunday Fun

On Sunday I went on a trip to Breacon Beacon National Park with a group of german girls. One girl, Jenny, had her American born father visiting for a few days (of all places he's from San Jose!), so it was really cool talking to him too. He was in the military and married Jenny's mom, a German, and has been living in Germany for the last twenty something years. Another girl, Sarah, had her car from Germany here, and Jenny's dad rented another car for the rest of us. We all chipped in for petrol, so combined it was relatively cheap.

The first place we went to was a castle!  It is the Carreg Cennen castle in south wales.  I really enjoyed just walking through touching the old stones, climbing up steep stairs, and exploring a few long cave underneath!  It reminded me of Two Towers in Lord of the Rings with Helm's Deep being a stronghold for all the people, and with all the underground caverns.  Of course, this wasn't near as big, but it was still impressive.

After we had our fill of the castle we drove to another part of the National Park to see Henrhyd Falls.  The highlight of this particular falls is the fact that it boasts to be the highest in South Wales.  Also, the area around was highly excavated due to coal mining (South Wales is still an industrial area).  The waterfall was absolutely gorgeous!  I am spoiled by seeing the falls in Yosemite, but what I loved the most about this one was being able to walk behind it!  I picked up a lot of Shale and Sandstone and watched it crumble with just slight pressure between my fingers.  

Hey, I found a few pics!

I found a few pictures on the Swansea Hiking website that I wanted to post.  I need to get over my anxiety and have people take more pictures of me with my camera, I always feel so silly asking people to take my picture!  The photographer who hiked with us took some very stunning shots too, so please take a look at the website if you have a few moments!  Pictures are not as good as the real thing, but I have to admit that hers are very close to what we all saw!

I am in the grey, second on the trail.  And in the group pic I'm kneeling down.  I can't wait to go on our next hike!!!

Avebury, Stonehenge, and Rain ... oh my!

Blogging is not as simple as most people think.  Each week when I sit down to blog I have a million and one things I want to discuss but all I ever talk about is me!  Believe it or not, I really have a lot of other things I would like to blog about as well - mostly what is going on in the world of politics, our failing economy, and current events in Europe.  However, since everyone probably reads about all that other stuff on (somewhat?)reputable news sources (my drug is still cnn.com) I guess I will save those topics of discussion for another time!  Or via email if anyone is so inclined ::grins::

So this past week has already whizzed by!  I completed my first week of classes at UWS, tried my hand at fencing, and went to Avebury and Stonehenge on Saturday.  As can be expected, my classes involve A TON of reading and discussion.  On average I will be devouring about 2-3 novels a week - plus small snippets here and there.  The most enjoyable class will be Ironic Romantics primarily because we are reading Jane Austen and Lord Byron.  I have read most of Austen's novels, but not all, so I finally get the chance to read the rest and have discussions on them!  My Romantics class is not so involved - mostly because it is lecture based not a seminar - and the teaching style is very different then in the states.  With lecture based classes students write notes and teachers do not ask for student participation.  This is because they have a lot material to get through and questions tend to slow things down.  With seminar classes (two of mine are like this) the class is ONLY student discussion with the teacher doing very little lecturing.  I enjoy the mix.  It will be a very unique and awesome experience, I function so much better through independent study.

My first day of fencing practice was very hard!  For an hour we literally RAN around the gym, exercised and did stretches.  Then for 2 hours we started footwork, stances, and tried on all the gear for lunging, thrusting, and parrying.  I had a slight advantage over some people because I am use to standing "like a dancer" with my feet at a 90 degree angle, however, I am not use to staying like that for 2 hours so my legs and groin muscles were very sore afterwards.  I will probably attend practices each Wednesday and Saturday unless I have events planned.  After 10 months I'm going to have thighs and buns of steel!!! =)

Yesterday we ventured to Avebury and Stonehenge.  Avebury is protected by the National Trust in the UK because it is the world's largest neolithic monument and henge.  I suggest Googling Avebury to learn more about its history, it really is amazing!  It was absolutely FRIGID in both places, which is why we are so bundled up!  I am thankful I remembered to wear my waterproof hiking boots, warm fleece, rain slicker, and my gloves and hat!  I stayed relatively toasty, but many people were under dressed and freezing.  

And yes, RAIN!  You can't really tell but it was raining at Stonehenge!  It was raining all day Saturday after we left Avebury actually.  It is nice out now but it'll start raining again soon until thursday.  My umbrella broke so I'll need to purchase another one soon (it was crappy anyways).  

Besides school, I will be attending an international party and pub quiz on thursday and friday is bowling night!  Should be fun! 

A Cultural Exchange

Already a week has passed since I arrived in Swansea.  It is unbelievable to imagine that each day I wake up I am not living on American soil, I am breathing in the United Kingdom.  In my other blog, phoenix624.blogspot.com, I have discussed some of the things I have been doing for the past week and all the international people I have been meeting.  I want to discuss some of the fascinating cultural things I have so far learned thus far in a mere week:

KETCHUP IS LIKE GOLD. I am so use to getting ketchup, BBQ, any sort of condiment for free in America.  In the UK this is considered "extra" and at all places you have to pay anywhere between .20 - .40 pence for it ( .40 - 60 cents).  So don't take your ketchup for granted!!!  Save up a bunch of packets and send them to me please! ::smiles:: No really, I'm not kidding...can I have some please??? 

UNDERCOVER BROTHER WAS RIGHT: WHITE PEOPLE LOVE MAYO. Seriously, they put mayo on absolutely everything here.  And unlike ketchup mayo, salt, pepper, and malt vinegar is always free at pubs.  MMMMMMMMMMM...YUMMY!!!!

THE 80S GOT DRUNK AND VOMITED EVERYWHERE. 80s fashion is so big here I cannot even begin to explain.  Skirts with leggings, neon pinks and greens, poofy shoulders, PLAID PLAID PLAID!  Cowboy boots are huge in Wales.  I do like the scarves and cute sweaters with tight jeans though (I bought a few today!)  Which leads me to my next point....

KNOW HOW AND WHERE TO SHOP . Shops here close at 5pm and most are closed on Sundays.  This is a religious throw back from "ye olden times" when shops would open at day break and close at dusk.  Also, despite the Pound and Euro having considerably more value than the US Dollar ( it's almost a 2 to 1 difference) there are cheap "value" places in Wales if you know where to look.  Primark reminds me of a slightly upper scale Ross, and Tesco is exactly like a Walmart or a Target.  The cute boutiques that have fashionable clothing are extremely overpriced.

GIRLS DON'T BELIEVE IN COLD.  EVER. Welsh girls have thick blood.  Or thick skin.  Either way they all dress like California girls when it is 100 degrees outside.  SHORT SKIRTS, TANK TOPS, FLIP FLOPS, you name it!  I was incredulous when I saw these girls walking around at night when it was 35 degrees outside!!!  I felt cold just staring at them!

THE WELSH/BRITISH HAVE THEME NIGHTS JUST BECAUSE. In America typically we will have theme nights based on an event, or a holiday, normally it is for a reason.  Here the girls (and guys) will dress up in similar costumes just because it is friday or saturday night!  The best thing I witnessed was a group of fat drunk welsh girls dressed as construction workers with fairy wings!  WOW!  They love to dress up in crazy outfits and go out to 70s or 80 clubs, or even just a dive pub down the street.  Anything goes for them!

AMERICANS FOR THE MOST PART ARE ALWAYS VIEWED AS LAZY. This is a stereotype I have to agree with.  Before I came over here I was working, going to school, driving everywhere, I would never walk to places unless I lived downtown.  Here walking is a lifestyle.  In fact, in most countries except America walking is considered a lifestyle.  It took about 5 days for my legs and feet to get over being so sore and useless.  Now my calves are already like small stones and my arms are getting strong from carrying bags up 5 flights or stairs!  Which leads me to my next point....

ELEVATORS ARE NOT IN MOST BUILDINGS. PACK LIGHT. I have to walk up 5 flights of stairs to my place in Llys Glas.  I have to walk up stairs to get food, or to lecture halls at the University.  Some newer places have elevators but most places do not.  Which is terrible for older and handicapped people in my opinion.  On the plus side, it does make you reconsider purchasing a lot of items!!

STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ENRICH THEIR LIVES. What I absolutely adore about this country so far is how much they encourage young people to travel.  People here are also very active with sports, activities, and clubs.   Students are also heavily involved with the pub world since the drinking age is 18, but safe sex is strongly encouraged and taught everywhere.  Americans need to get over themselves and realize that kids now are drinking and having sex at a young age.  Abstinence is NOT the answer, education is the answer.

PEOPLE HERE ARE GENERALLY, WELL, GENUINE! I have met an assortment of people: germans, welsh, british, irish, scottish, canadians, young and old, from beach bonfires to sitting next to them on the bus.  The welsh are very proud of their dual heritage (Celtic and British for the most part) and many of them speak Welsh and English.  All the street signs and shops are written in two different languages.  People are always interested to know where I am from and are more than willing to explain directions or some good restaurants to try out.  They are not at all close minded or rude people, they have embraced many cultures and languages.  It is so refreshing to have this around me.

"CHEERS" CAN BE USED FOR EVERYTHING.  Normally Americans say, please, thank you, okay, fine, goodbye, hello, let's drink, etc and so forth.  "Cheers" can actually mean all of these things here!  Also, when we ask "Are you alright?" Americans are implying something is wrong or off, but here it is a common greeting which was a little odd to me at first.  Also, it's not bathroom here is it toilet (and I haven't heard loo used either) or washroom.   

That's all I can think of right now.  I am sure I will have many more to post as the weeks go by!  Cheers!!

I finally have a few minutes!

Part I - The Arrival

I have been in Wales for about 5 days now, and it has been non-stop!  I finally have a break and can blog a few things!  The trip over here was completely exhausting!  I left SFO (which was fairly hard leaving my family) around 4:30pm and arrived in London friday at 9:30.  I sat next to the most adorable young english couple.  They were very pleased to hear I was studying in Swansea and really encouraged me to make the most of my year study and see as much of the UK as possible.  I even asked them a few cultural questions that I still didn't understand (ie. what is a quid, etc and so forth).  I really tried to sleep on the plane but I just could never get comfortable.  I think in the future I will start taking sleeping pills on long flights because I absolutely loathe jet lag!

Anyways, so Matt and I (another CSU IP person) went to claim our heavy baggage and made our way down the exit terminal (which yes is exactly like the terminal in Love Actually) and found a few Swansea helpers in bright BLUE shirts.  HUZZAH!  So we met up with some other Swansea people and waited for the free coach to arrive.

And we kept waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.

4 HOURS LATER we finally left!  Turns out our timing was bad and we just missed the other coach!  By that time I had been awake for close to 20 hours and my brain was completely lethargic.  I was also quite annoyed because this iranian girl sat next to me on the coach which prevented me from being able to lay down and SLEEP!  Everyone else got to spread out but me, BOOOO!  I did end up laying my head against the window and napping on and off.  The driver did have to make one pit stop (where we all ate Welsh Burger King, and no it wasn't good!) then we continued on our way.  The trip total with the stop lasted about 4 hours.

Around 7:00pm I finally arrived at Llys Glas, which is in the city center area, next to the clock tower.  The lift only goes up 2 flights of stairs and I had to go up one more flight and carry both of my 50 lbs. bags, which was not at all easy when you've been up almost a full day.

When I got into my room I experienced a mini panic attack.  I knew my accommodations were going to be small, but because in my mind I got a "medium" room I expected it to be a little bit BIGGER!  I even asked the guy at the front desk if I got a medium room and he said yes.  So I went upstairs and tried to unpack a few things to settle my nerves.  

Luckily when I walked out to see the kitchen my next door neighbor Chris came out (from Germany) and we ended up talking for a good 15-20 minutes.  I was also astonished to find he had the LARGE room, which only had a little bit more living space, but the bathroom and closet were exactly the same size as mine.  Chris was also kind enough to take me to the closest local store, Somerfield, where we picked up just a few quick things.  

Finally after eating a few things I knew I needed to try and sleep.  It was about 11 or close to midnight, so my day lasted just over 24 hours being awake.  I got only about 4-5 hours of sleep that first night and woke up at 4:30.  The only good thing is that at least I was able to watch the sunrise.

Part II - first day at Swansea University (next post)