Friday, January 30, 2015

Cardiff Castle

 

It's easy to start taking things for granted--my brain is so easily dulled to grandeur.

I'm glad I have emails from people back home to help jostle my brain back into wonderment about my common life here.

For a day field trip, my British culture class took us to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Here is a bit of the city.

We spent the morning exploring Cardiff Castle. This is the keep.
It was a long, steep climb to the top. Here's the cityward view.

A courtyard inside the keep.

Cardiff Castle was built by Norman invaders in the 11th century on top of Roman ruins and has since had work done on it by many people. The only part of the original Roman wall left is the portion below the red brick.

There was so much more to Cardiff Castle, but this gives you a taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Birds and Buses

I saw this fellow outside as I was leaving class. Earlier he was peering inside, but he had hopped away by the time I got my iPad out. I think I'm already getting used to hearing the seagulls calling--I noticed that I didn't notice it. Which, I guess means that I'm still noticing it?

Here is the "bendy bus." If you ride in the front, it's normal, but if you ride in the back, you see the front car turn the corner before you do. Feels like something from the future.

 

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Thursday, January 29, 2015

Flapjacks, Not Flapjacks

I think I need to have a whole separate blog about food. But that would be too complicated, so if you hate food selfies, sorry!

I came back from shopping and saw some kind of dessert baking in the oven. It looked like chocolate rice crisy treats. When I asked my flatmate what it was, she said it was flapjacks.

 
Not the same thing as American flapjacks, obviously, but insanely delicious! It's a caramelly oat treat, and she melted a choclate orange (that's for another post!) on top.
Also of note, I finally bought a mug today. So now I can drink tea!
 

Pretty excited about that! And it only cost 1 pound. <3 Wilko's--it has great prices on dinnerware (and on clothes hangers, chocolate, and Digestive biscuits, but that's for another shopping trip).

 

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Monday, January 26, 2015

Coffee at the Pumphouse


My easy-going Swansea friend took me and Joy to the Marina after church at Parklands. It was cold, misty, and pretty in a mysterious way.
We went for coffee at the Pumphouse. It's an old industrial building with the interior redone to be a pub/cafe. It was quite cozy after our chilly walk from the car.
My huge cup of coffee. With brown sugar!


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Pages & Blogsy-Mini Review

Papa generously offered to buy me any apps I might need for my study abroad, and so far, for paid apps, I've downloaded Pages and Blogsy.

 

Pages ($9.99 in the Apple App Store) is working great for lecture notes, sermon notes, and creative writing. Blogsy, on the other hand ($4.99 in the Apple App Store) has been a hurdle race. It might be a wonderland for computer programmers and people who write in ??<<html>>?? but for me, it's like it's trying to be too helpful, too fancy, that it just ends up being cluttered and confusing.

I'm writing this post in Blogsy, and I will stick with it for a while to see if it gets easier with use. If not, I'll buy it and consider it a lesson learned.

 

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Sunday, January 25, 2015

Shopping!

Apparently in Wales online grocery shopping is becoming increasingly popular. Tesco delivers, ASDA (owned by WalMart, interestingly enough) delivers, Sainsbury's delivers. It's so easy. You pick what you want online, order, a truck drives up, and a store person hands you a crate.

When I first heard about it, it seemed just too convenient. That's cheating! But after carrying this jumbo laundry bag all around the city center and Tesco for an afternoon, the delivery method is beginning to sound like a really grand idea.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Lecture Day 1

(4 of 8 Brad Henry Scholars)

First day of lectures Tuesday. Our instructor is a super spritely British man full of history and facts, and super funny. He walked back and forth on the little stage at the front of the lecture hall, and more than once I was afraid he was going to fall backward off of it, but apparently he knew where the step was without looking.

We learned about currency, and how it is an embodiment of culture. Also, how the newer coins make up a shield! (I am missing the right pound coin)


We learned that the Queen does not have a passport, and that in the House of Commons, there are hooks for the MP's (Members of Parliament) to hang their swords. Very necessary.

I bought some stamps yesterday. I didn't notice it then, but Dr. Bryn made us guess what the small but significant difference is between British postage and the rest of the world's. Can you guess it?


Dr. Bryn talked about the National Health Service, the Prime Minister, the legal system, Churchill, and the British film industry, and we ended the day by watching the old black and white film Passport to Pimplico. 
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Sunday, January 18, 2015

About Food

Alll roads may lead to Rome, but it seems like all my conversations here lead to Colonization and Business. I asked my new Welsh friend what a traditional Welsh breakfast was, and he said porridge, because that's all the conquered peoples could afford to eat.

I've gone shopping at least once a day since I got here. I was delighted to find PB! Made my flatmates try it on carrot sticks (best carrot I've ever eaten, from the Marchnad Abertawe). One liked it, one didn't.


It takes more natural and less sweet than American PB.

On Friday, Joy and another Oklahoma student and I went to Eli Jenkin's for lunch. We sat at the table for like 20 minutes before we decided the waitress wasn't taking orders. I was sent to ask--we were supposed to order at the bar.
I had a huge British breakfast. Totally delicious, and worth 5 pound 45. Eli J's was just like a movie pub. Men in jumpers and newsboy hats, one of them swearing like a sailor in a thick accent. The surprising thing was that there were kids and families there, too.

I don't know if we have Pizza Express in America (we need to!) but my Swansean friend treated me to Leggero Pomodoro Pizza.

                                          




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Thursday, January 15, 2015

Wales is Real!

                                   

The bus ride was a little less than 5 hours, but I could have ridden for hours more, looking at the unbelievable greenness, the fascinating round-abouts that serve instead of stop sings, the tall and narrow white houses with many windows, the old men wearing newsboy hats and scarves, the ladies dressed up for grocery shopping, the dark stone houses, stone churches and stone walls, and the beautiful Welsh words on signs and stores.

Once off the National Express, we took a local coach.


I'm clumsy with my pounds and pence and public transportation, so I accidentally bought an extra ticket to Hendrefoelan Student Village! Still, her Majesty is smiling, and Joy and I arrived and got our keys.

It was spitting rain by that time, and some lads helped me find my room.

I feel very small here, and a little lost.


Pooh, on the other hand, is totally at home.

Thanks so much, everybody who told me goodbye, who gave me advice, who took me out or got me things for the trip, and who are praying for me!


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Sunday, January 11, 2015

So It Begins


         Today's Sunday morning message reminded me to be thankful for the many, many blessings of 2014 (surviving my hardest semester, my circle of college friends, starting a great job, going on a super fun family Christmas vacation, to name a few) and to look ahead to this new year, not afraid, but trusting Jesus.

          Friends took me out to Rib Crib for lunch, and I had a Super Spud with sliced beef and BBQ sauce--gotta have American food before I leave!

         In the evening I Skyped with my expert-traveller sister and got packing advice and how-to-make-the-most-of-my-trip advice. She narrated for me in advance the events of two days from now--how I'll be getting up early to be driven to the airport by Papa, get checked in, wait at my gate--it's feeling real!

          I hope everything fits, with room to spare.
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Friday, January 9, 2015

Five Days to Go

     One of my favorite winter smells is wood smoke. It makes me think of snow, and of being toasty while I read a book. Papa and Ken split wood for two days, I helped stack, and the stove is going. No snow yet, but the low tonight is 14 degrees. Oklahoma winter is readying me for Welsh weather. 5 days until my plane leaves!


     I've been telling people about this trip since April, but I still can't believe it's real. I get to live and study at Swansea University by the beach and maybe walk in mysterious woods*?

      God is giving me a jeweled glove--it fits so well but it seems too good! Or maybe it's like cake. Because it's very much meant to be shared.



*Wales, if you aren't sure, is not England. Here is an excellent Youtube video that helped me understand the much too confusing geographical/political situation within the British Isles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10 
       
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