An American in Swansea

Oh my! I meant to update so much sooner than this! I decided I would try and record a video update this go around so that those of you at home who don't have Skype can see and hear me.

I forgot to mention in my video that I went on a field trip back at the end of February with the other UNCW students to visit some ancient tombs and to the Museum of Welsh Life in Cardiff. Here's some of the pictures from that day:

With Kelly, Desirae and Clarissa at St. Lythans burial tomb just outside of Cardiff.

The outside section at the Museum of Welsh life in Cardiff.

Apparently I am a sheep whisperer because the sheep ran straight to me when I called for them outside of the museum.

There was a really great fashion exhibit at the museum and I couldn't get over all the cool hats!

So the dates for Spring Break have finally been nailed down! I'll be in Prague April 4th-11th, Paris April 11th-18th and Amsterdam April 18th-21st. I absolutely can't wait! It's going to be the trip of a lifetime with three of my closest friends here in Swansea.

The only thing standing between me and Spring Break are a few classes and two 2,500 word essays. I'm not having much luck on the essay front so far but hopefully I'll be able to knock them out this weekend.

I hope everyone at home is doing well and enjoying that beautiful weather that everyone on Facebook keeps bragging about. It's been really nice here but nothing compares to a warm spring day in Wilmington.

I love you all!

Hello everyone! It’s been a little while since my last update. Sorry about that but there really hasn’t been that much to share. It’s been a fairly quiet couple of weeks.

Since I’ve last updated I’ve developed an appreciation for rugby. I still don’t totally understand the rules but my friends and I enjoy going to The Potter’s Wheel, out favorite pub in town, to watch the games. People watching is so fun during the rugby matches because people here take their rugby VERY seriously.

Other than going to class I haven’t been up to much.

I did go back to my internship on February 11th. It was nice to get back to Carmarthen and see everyone in the office. Ian took me on a little day trip to the Dylan Thomas Boathouse. Dylan Thomas is arguably one of the most famous Welsh poets and writers, and his home has now been turned into a museum where you can learn all about his life. He was originally from Swansea but moved to the tiny town of Laugharne with his wife, and that is where he would write some of his most acclaimed work.

The Dylan Thomas Boathouse

The shed where Dylan Thomas did all of his writing.

The view that inspired all his work.

This past Friday I was back in Carmarthen again. I spent the whole day working in the press office. I got to write a press release, edit the youth magazine, and work on some information for the upcoming re-launch of the youth magazine’s website. It was pretty fun!

I have to say I’m constantly surprised at how early everything closes here. Stores here open later in the morning and close at 5:30 or 6 every night. Many of the cafes in the city centre are closed by 7pm, which is when my friends and I are usually on the hunt for a nice place to have dinner. Thankfully the pubs are always open and usually have pretty good food. It makes me wonder how people that work a 9-5 job are able to get any shopping done during the week. It’s been a little frustrating for my friends and me because we’re used to such long retail hours at home.

Oh and I finally took some pictures of my bedroom! Here’s my home away from home for the semester:

My bulletin board with all my pictures from home!

And I have to say congratulations to my friends Brittany and John! They got married yesterday and I was a little bummed I wasn’t there to celebrate with them. I love you both and I’m so happy for you Mr. and Mrs. Rydman!

That about wraps up all the latest happenings in my life. Today is going to be spent organizing my room a little because it’s a total disaster. I hope everyone at home has had a great weekend!

And remember to leave comments and subscribe!

Love,
B

Wow it’s been a while! I meant to update sooner but I’ve been so busy!

Last Friday (1/28) – I had to be on campus fairly early to register for classes. I have to say I was a little unimpressed with the way they run that whole process. Instead of just signing up online like I do at UNCW, you had to actually meet with the head of the department to get approval for our classes. Thankfully I arrived at my designated sign-up room fairly early and snagged the second spot in line, because the line started to stretch out the door by the time I left.

I’m taking two twenty-credit classes (that equals 6 UNCW hours for each class). I have one class called ‘War and Peace in the Nuclear Age’ and another called ‘British Politics and Public Policy.’ I’m also taking a 10-credit class (3 UNCW hours) on Wednesday nights with Dr. Simmons, the UNCW professor that came over with our group, about archaeology in Wales. The archaeology class doesn’t start until next Wednesday though.

I also had lunch with a few friends on campus that day at one of the little restaurants on campus. We had brunch and I was kind of surprised to learn that they have beans as a breakfast item. They smothered all my toast in baked beans. It was good but a little odd. In the UK they’re a little backwards and like beans for breakfast and waffles for dessert lol.

Saturday (1/29) – It was another early morning because of our field trip to Bath. Bath is a really beautiful and historic city. We started our day off at the Roman Baths. The temple was built in 60-70 AD and was built up for the next 300 years. During its heyday the Baths were a center for religious practice and serious relaxation.

The Roman Baths:

After the Baths we were free for a few hours to do whatever we wanted around town. After a long search for a restaurant that wasn’t too crowded I had a nice lunch with my friends Kelly, Clarissa, and Olivia. We actually ate at a restaurant inside of one of the big department stores. That seems to be a really common thing here, while at home I would only associate that with the upscale stores like Nordstrom or Saks.

After that we just enjoyed walking around town for a little while. We did see the Jane Austen Center! Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806 and a couple of her novels are set in Bath. We didn’t have enough time to take the tour but we did look around in the gift shop. I may go back for a weekend trip at some point when I’ll have more time to explore.

The rest of this past week is kind of a blur.

I had my ‘War and Peace in the Nuclear Age’ class on Monday. It seems interesting, though it heavily focuses on US policy and I feel like I may have already learned most of the material. I’m sure the class will probably offer a different perspective though.

With every class you take you also have to sign up for a seminar. Seminars meet every two weeks and you’re broken into smaller groups to go more in-depth into the material. You also have to give a presentation in your seminars, which I’m absolutely dreading. I hate public speaking! Thank goodness they only want a 5-minute presentation.

I had my ‘War and Peace’ class again on Tuesday and then didn't have class on Wednesday. I enjoyed sleeping in a little bit on Wednesday and spent the rest of the day walking around the city centre scoping out the shops. I love the fact that sales tax is already calculated into the prices! If only the dollar would rally and give me the advantage on the exchange rate, I would really appreciate that lol.

Yesterday I had my ‘British Politics’ class. I was kind of upset to find out when I got there that the professor had changed the time of the class and I’d already missed the first lecture. Apparently there was some sort of scheduling mistake and he had to break the 2-hour lecture up over two days. The study abroad office was dragging its feet a little with some of the paperwork, I wasn’t totally enrolled in the class so I didn’t get the e-mail that he sent out about the change. I didn’t really miss anything during the first lecture but it was still pretty frustrating. At UNCW class times are set in stone and there’s no way a professor could just change the time.

Then last night my friends Kelly and Clarissa came over and we made some yummy pasta with Alfredo sauce and brownies for dessert. It was nice to have people over and not be stuck up in my bedroom all evening. There’s no living room here so the only place to really spend your time is the kitchen or your bedroom. We talked for hours and hours with my roommate Jake. Jake is another American that arrived last weekend.

I have another roommate, Kenneth, that I don’t think I’ve mentioned before. He’s from Hong Kong and lives in the room beside me.

This week was also really nice because I received a care package from mom and dad! Thanks mom and dad for all the yummy American food that I can’t get here! I love all the Trader Joe’s goodies! Seriously, if you haven’t tried the vegan snickerdoodles from Trader Joe’s, you have not lived! And REAL peanut butter! Choosy Americans love JIF!

If anyone would like my mailing address it’s:
13 Hendrefoelan
Room 06
Student Village Gower Rd.
Sketty
Swansea SA2 7PG

Sending mail over here is expensive so please don’t break the bank! I’d rather my friends and family have fun with me when I get home.

Usually I would be at my internship today but Ian’s out of the office so I’m going back to Carmarthen next Friday. So I have the day to myself to be lazy and catch up on my American shows online.

Tonight I’m going with Clarissa and Kelly to one of the pubs to watch the big England v. Wales rugby match. I have no idea what any of the rules are but hopefully it’s not too complicated lol.

I’ll update soon!

Love,
B

Hey everyone! Here’s what I’ve been up to so far this week:

Monday – My day was pretty quiet on Monday. I mainly prepped for the Local Services Board meeting on Wednesday by reading over the agenda and meeting with Ian’s colleague, Joanna, who explained in-depth what was on the agenda so I’d have a better understanding of the issues. I loved spending time with Joanna! She’s got seriously amazing personal style and graduated from Swansea a few years ago, so we had plenty to talk about.

One of Ian’s functions at work is that he helps the Councilors respond to letters from the public, so that afternoon he had me help him edit a letter than one of the Councilors wrote. The Councilor was responding to a negative op-ed piece in the local newspaper about the Labour party and needed a little help getting his points across. We’re not sure whether the paper will actually print the response because it was rather lengthy, but if they do I’ll be sure to post the link.

Tuesday – Tuesday was so much fun! Ron, from the communications department, took me to Millennium Coastal Park. Over one million people visit the park every year, making it one of the most visited areas in all of the United Kingdom. The site where the park sits now used to be a huge industrial park that employed thousands and thousands of people during the Industrial Revolution. During World War II the area was used to hide munitions and you can still see bunkers in the hillsides of the park. The area was actually bombed by the Germans a few times but thankfully there were only a few casualties.

But now the park is beautiful! The County Council, along with the Welsh Assembly, has done an amazing job of transforming the site. Even in dreary weather I really enjoyed myself. Gavin, the head park ranger, took us in his truck for a ride along the beach and pointed out all the sites for me. There’s hundreds and hundreds of shipwrecks from the 1800’s recorded off the coast because of the shallow waters, and I even saw a few on shore. There’s also a great view of the Gower Peninsula (where Swansea is) from the beach.

Shipwreck on the beach at the park from the 1800's.

View of the Gower Peninsula from the beach at Millennium Park.

The park also has a steam train, stables, hiking trails, bike paths, and a ski shop where we had a nice lunch. Ron insisted that I try a Welsh cake there and I’m so glad he did! Oh my goodness, they’re so good! A Welsh cake is sort of a cake-cookie hybrid and tastes AMAZING! I’m going to have to find a good recipe to take home with me because I seriously want everyone to try them.

Welsh cakes! Seriously one of the yummiest treats ever!

Ron and I had a great time talking too. He worked as a journalist for years before he started working for the Council and he still writes free-lance some. He told me that a good journalist should always carry a camera and a small notebook with them at all times in case anything newsworthy happens.

Ron also showed me the Pembrey church that he went to as a child. Napoleon’s niece is actually buried at the church because she died in a shipwreck just off the coast and there’s a plaque on the side of the church in her honor.

Then I saw the spot in nearby Burry Port where Amelia Earhart first stepped ashore after becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. I had no idea that happened in Wales!

Overall, it was a really amazing day!

Wednesday – Ian had meetings out of town all morning so he told me to come into the office at 1. I ended up getting into Carmarthen earlier than expected so I walked around for a little bit, looked in some of the shops, and had a nice little lunch at a restaurant called The Salad Bowl. I really like Carmarthen; it’s such a cute little town!

At 1 I rode with Joanna to the Local Service Board meeting at nearby Trinity College. The meeting was really interesting. All the different heads of the different committees (community health, regeneration, public safety, etc.) reported on the current developments in the county and Meryl, the leader of the Council, chaired the meeting.

They’re starting a really interesting program in Carmarthenshire called the Carmarthenshire Apprenticeship Pathways Partnership Program. This program will help to provide training for local people between the ages of 16 to 24 that are unemployed. This program is kind of response to recent data that showed that in the county 1,120 young people claimed unemployment benefits. That number accounts for 35% of the unemployed in the county and the Council really wants to help bring that down. The apprenticeships are really going to be ideal for people who just don’t have the money or the interest in going on to university.

They also went over the results of the latest Residents Survey. They surveyed over 1,000 residents in the county from all different towns and socioeconomic backgrounds on their views about how the council is doing. Nearly 83% were satisfied with the council services, which is one of the highest rates in all the UK, and 94% percent were satisfied with the neighborhood. That’s pretty impressive!

I really enjoyed the meeting and even got to have my first cup of tea since arriving in Wales. I’d almost forgotten how much I love a good cup of Earl Grey.

Tomorrow it’s back to Carmarthen for my internship early, but Friday I’m out of the office because I have to register for classes. Classes start on Monday and after that I’ll only be at my internship once a week. As much as I’ve enjoyed my internship I’m ready to get back to the classroom for a while and hopefully I won’t have to get up quite so early.

Saturday the international students are hitting the road again for our field trip to Bath. I really liked Bath when I went with my People to People group; it’s a beautiful city with so much history. I’m sure there will be lots of pictures taken!

Love you all!

- B

1/23/2011

So Saturday we all went on our field trip! Our first stop was at the Blaenavon World Heritage Site. It’s also known as Big Pit and was a huge coal mine until the government shut it down in 1980. Coal mining was a really important industry here during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

But oh man, that was some tough work! Our tour guide told us that miners used to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week! And the conditions were extremely dangerous! There were so many horrible accidents and deaths. He even saw one of his best friends get killed at work. I can’t imagine ever seeing something so horrible!

At one point we all put on hardhats and went down in the mineshaft. Most of the guys were far too tall and had to duck for most of the tour, but I’ve discovered that I’m the perfect height for a coal miner! I barely had to duck at all! I guess there are some perks to being 5’2” after all.

After our tour of the mine we got back on our bus and made the trek to Cardiff, the capital and largest city in Wales. I went to Cardiff back in high school with People to People but I was excited to go back because it’s a really cool city.

We only had a couple of hours to explore but my friends and I were starving, so we had to stop and get a bite to eat. We spent the rest of our time just walking around, looking in different stores, and getting a feel for the city. Cardiff is supposed to be the most European of all the cities in Wales. It’s funny, but I’ve heard from my boss and other people that I’ve met that the Welsh and English don’t want to be considered European at all. They actually feel a much stronger connection to America because of our common language and history. Well that and they really love American television, music, and movies lol.

As we were leaving Cardiff there were hundreds and hundreds of people in the streets on their way to the stadium. They were all dressed in white and blue which are the colors of the Cardiff Blues, their rugby team. I don’t understand rugby at all but I think I’m going to try and go to a game sometime! Though we were warned that the rivalry between the Swansea Jacks and Cardiff Blues is really ugly and it might be best to avoid going to that particular game.

When we got back to Swansea I went out to Uplands Tavern with a few friends. They had live music and we just hung out and had a good time.

Today was kind of a lazy day. I got to sleep in for the first day since I’ve been here. I worked on organizing my room a little bit and went to Tesco with Clarissa to stock up on groceries for the week.

I talked to my parents and Catie today on Skype. God I love technology! It’s so nice to be able to actually see them! It makes me feel like I’m not so far away from home even if I’m over 3,000 miles away.

It’s back up at 6am for my internship tomorrow. As much as I hate getting up that early I’m excited to get back in the office and see what Ian has in store for me this week. I’m probably going to catch up on “The Office” and some of my other American TV shows tonight and rest up for the week ahead.

Love you all!

- B