6/30/12

I can't believe I am half way through my stay here in Cardiff! This trip has already been more than I could have ever imagined and I know that it will keep getting better. This morning we went to Cardiff Castle, which is just about a 5 minute walk from our flat. That's one thing I love about his city. You can walk almost anywhere, including old amazing castles. It was so beautiful. It was armed forces day there, so we got to see a lot of the Welsh military which was neat. We went shopping after that, and boy could I do some damage on my wallet here. The shopping is just phenomenal. They have so many stores all in a cluster. I'm talking two huge malls right next to each other plus hundreds of stores outside. It was  awesome! Today was pretty laid back, we just hung around and booked our train tickets for tomorrow. We're leaving early in the morning to go to Stonehenge then Bath later on in the afternoon. I am beyond excited to see these places. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures! I've been talking to my family nearly every day, which has been really nice. I miss them all a lot, but I am having the time of my life here!

 Cardiff Castle

 Armed Forces Day at Cardiff Castle

 All this is just a 5 minute walk from my flat.

 Macey :)

 All the girls. Love them!

 On top of one of the castles

Castle walls 

6/29/12

I felt so Welsh today! This morning we went to the Cardiff Library. Libraries normally aren't my thing, but this place was so awesome! The city of Cardiff is really amazing. It's so bustling, diverse, and there's a ton to do here. The city is on the bay and then's tons of adorable pubs, shops, and parks. It's very charming here in a small town way, even though it's a big city. After the library, we went on a walking tour around Cardiff and saw a bunch of old historical buildings mixed with new development. I had a pasty for lunch today, which is basically a pastry with meat, carrots, and some other stuff mixed into it. It was delicious! We even went to the fresh market and got flapjacks and Welsh cakes for dessert (yep, I'm obsessed). We got tea and then picked up a few things to cook dinner. Tonight was really the first night I've had open in a while, so I wrote one of my papers and have been researching a little for our trip. A few of us have decided to go to Stonehenge and hopefully Bath on Sunday, but we still have to work out the logistics of it.  The others are going to London. It's been a really great week and I can't believe we're already half way through our time here at Cardiff! From what I hear, it's pretty hot back at home. It's so strange because it's in the 50's here! I had to wear a jacket today, so it's much different than home is right now. I'm not complaining, I hate the heat! Tomorrow morning we're going to a castle and then we have the afternoon and all of Sunday free. I hope to go shopping and buy a few souvenirs tomorrow afternoon!

The exchange. Coal was a huge part of the city several decades back. 

 The Millennium Center. We get to take a tour next week. 

 The Senedd. Where we had the inaugural event. It's on the bay. 

 Cardiff Bay. Beautiful views. 

Cardiff is filled with beautiful old buildings. 

6/28/12

We had class most of the day today and then went to a comedy club tonight. The comedy club was down at the bay and it was called Glee. It was a really fun thing to do; my cheeks hurt when we left from laughing so hard. I had never been to one back in the states, so it was something I will definitely do more when I get back home. I'm really loving the experiences of getting to try so many new things. We are talking about going to either London or Bath and Stonehenge this weekend. We have a day and a half free, so we're going to take advantage of it and go for a short trip. I'm having a blast here. Everyone we've met have been so welcoming and excited to have us. One of my favorite traditions here is the tea. Most people have an afternoon tea, tea in the morning, or tea after their meals. It's so fun to take part in the small things of Welsh culture. I am already planning what souvenirs I want to bring back to everyone and have a few good ideas :) As the Welsh would say it, Hwyl! (Which means goodbye.) 

6/27/12

Every time I stop and have time to think, I still cannot believe I am here! It's so shocking to me that I am fortunate enough to experience this. Of all places, I never thought I'd end up in Wales but I am so glad that I did. It's much like America in many ways but also very different. Everything here is just perfect; I am in love with this country. Today, we traveled to St. Fagan's which is an open-air museum. They have disassembled buildings and put them back together on their land. There were buildings there hundreds of years old. We saw everything from barns to post offices to candy shops to a mansion. It was a very neat opportunity to learn more about Welsh history. They have such a rich culture here which they take a lot of pride in. I got to hear someone speak in Welsh today, and we will be taking some Welsh lessons tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to come back with a few Welsh words in my vocabulary! I had a very embarrassing moment today. We had heard that St. Fagan's ice cream was delicious, so we stopped to get a flavor called Celtic crunch. When I went to pay for it, I majorly shorted the cashier on what I owed. I mean by about 75% of the cost of the ice cream. He had to help me pick out the right coins to use to pay for my cone. I am still getting used to the pound system here rather than dollars, and obviously still need a bit of work! I'm also still working on a few language differences. It is habit of mine to say restroom or bathroom, but the British call them toilets. Today I told a woman that all of the restrooms were full and she had thought I meant restaurants. The few differences in words and currency have really been the only thing that have been difficult for me to adjust to (and the weather, but that's been easy). Living in Wales is very comfortable. Tonight, we all made spaghetti and had dinner together which was a fun time. I've also been trying a lot of new foods (surprisingly). I tried Indian food for the first time the other night which was absolutely delicious. I also had a pork trio for lunch today and Welsh cakes for dessert. I've already experienced so many new things and look forward to what else I will encounter in the next 5 and a half weeks.

 The garden in front of the Castle 

 Part of the castle. It was beautiful! 

 Part of the castle gardens

 Everything in Wales is so lush and green

 My traveling group at St. Fagan's today: Gary, Macey, and Chrissy

 We really obsessed over these pigs and were crushed when we realized they use them for the very lunch we  ate shortly after seeing them 

 Had to do it. Typical British tourist picture

 The four of us

 I felt right at home...turkeys 

 The cow kept trying to lick Danny's hand 

The cute candy shop at St. Fagan's. They had everything from Welsh cakes to fudge

6/26/12

Today was really great! We had an introduction to the Cardiff University Library this morning followed by a campus tour. Our lesson today was really interesting also. My favorite part of the day was going to the white water rafting facility. We all had to dress up in wetsuits and we did a really fun team-building activity. We were given some supplies and had to build a raft, paddle our raft out, collect a ball, and paddle back all without falling off. The worst part of it was neither team was able to do it! It was a lot of fun trying though and getting to laugh at all of our terribly failed attempts. Our group has a lot of fun together; I couldn't have asked for 7 better people to spend these next 6 weeks with. For dinner we went to a cute little restaurant and then walked around a park by Cardiff Castle. I mentioned yesterday that we met the first minister at our inaugural event. Here's a story on it:
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/articles/fulbright-students-welcomed-to-wales-9071.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=News
I still cannot get over how beautiful this country is. It rained all day today, but it is still so pretty even on dreary days. It's been nice because I've been able to Skype and call my friends and family back home. If you want to Skype, just let me know what times work for you and we can set up a time! I miss home, but I'm not complaining. I absolutely love Wales.

This castle is just a short walk away from our flat!

Nothing like this in the states, that's for sure

I'm Here!

I have finally made it to Wales! Today was my second day here and it is amazing. The country is so beautiful. Everything is so lush and green and the buildings are all old and have so much character. The people here are extremely friendly! Everyone has been willing to go out of their way to answer our quesions and they have welcomed us with open arms. The staff here at Cardiff University has worked so hard to make our two weeks here the best possible, and that can most definitely be seen. Cardiff is a very neat city. It's urban and diverse, yet still has a lot of charm. Cardiff University is absolutely beautiful. The buildings are so grand and have so much history behind them. It's been neat to soak up the culture here in Wales. I love the accent that everyone has here and I've even learned a few Welsh words. When I arrived yesterday, I jumped right into things. We had a tour of the Civic Centre, followed by lunch at Pen & Wig (a pub close to our dorms), and then class. Our professor is really great. His name is Bill and he's so passionate about what he does. It should be great to learn from him. After class, we went on a panoramic tour of Cardiff, which was breath-taking. The city is located on a bay, so there were beautiful water views. Today we had an inaugural event at the Senedd, which is a huge center right on the bay. A Welsh men's choir was there to perform and we got to meet the directors of our programs from Bangor and Aberystwyth as well. We even got to meet Wales' first minister! (the equivalent to our president). We then had a short Fulbright orientation and then went to a castle and a cathedral, which were both really neat to see. I tried Indian food for the first time tonight and it was suprisingly delicious! This group is really pushing me to try a lot of new things. We all mesh very well and everyone is so nice. We all come from such different backgrounds and we're all so different, but we have a really great time together. The accommadations here are very nice. They're quite small, but we have our own room and bathroom. One of our program coordinators, Rhys, says that all Welsh dorms are single residences, so they never have roommates. I must admit I really enjoy having my own space. Everything is going great so far and I can't wait to see what the next 6 weeks have in store for me!

Some of our group in the mini-bus on the way to the castle

A building on Cardiff University's campus

Our group with Bill (our professor) overlooking the bay

My bed in my room

My teeny little bathroom

 On the drawbridge in front of the castle





The cathedral



London

I have finally made it to London! I was picked up by a taxi driver and I'm currently staying in a hotel tonight. I'm waking up early in the morning to catch a bus to the airport. There I will catch another bus to take me to Cardiff. I'm glad I'm finally over here and will be in Wales shortly. I am a bit sad I didn't get to meet the other participants this morning, but I will be tomorrow! I am just over the whole traveling by myself thing! The plane ride was long and uncomfortable, but I can't complain because everything was on time. Being the non-traveled girl that I am, I asked the poor man sitting next to me a million questions ranging from where my tray was on the airplane to how to get through customs once we landed. So far, the people here are super nice and very helpful. I even met a fellow American in front on me in line at the hotel! I'll be back soon with more updates from Wales.

Just a little bit of a delay

I thought I was leaving for Wales today...Psych! After today, I absolutely hate airports! So much has happened today that I feel physically and emotionally exhausted. (Okay, I'm a little dramatic but it was such a terrible day!) I got to the airport about 2 and a half hours early. I made it through security, got some British pounds, and then reached my gate to discover that my 4:11 flight had been delayed until 5:15. No biggie you might say, but this prevented me from making my connection flight from JFK airport to London. I was switched to an earlier flight out to JFK that would allow me to make the connection, but then this flight got cancelled! I lugged my huge duffel, heavy backpack, and purse to the help counter to wait 30 minutes to be assigned back to my original 5:15 flight to JFK with a later connection flight to London. I thought the problem had finally been fixed, but then I reach the gate and realized the 5:15 flight had been delayed to 6:15. This would have only given me 35 minutes to make my connection in JFK. Willing to take the risk, I asked advice from my dad who highly discouraged me from doing it fearing that I would be stuck in JFK overnight. Welp, I didn't even have to make the decision because before I could, that flight was also cancelled. Turns out New York had some really bad thunderstorms. I ran my way to the help desk to beat the mad rush of the customers from the 4 total cancelled flights, but was extremely unsuccessful. When I got there, the line was about 20 people deep. After talking to an agent at a phone station, I am scheduled to leave out of CVG tomorrow morning and arrive in London at 10:45pm their time tomorrow night. I am praying tomorrow goes smoothly and ends up nothing like today did. To add to the chaos of all the cancelled flights, it took me over an hour to get my checked bag back. I swear to you I could have filmed one of those airport reality television shows like On the Fly. I probably sweat off about 5 lbs from carrying bags from gate to gate and back again, but my hopes are still high! The staff at Cardiff University have been very helpful and understanding and are making arrangements for me to be picked up much later than originally planned (about 12 hours).  I can't wait to FINALLY (hopefully) get to Wales tomorrow.

Today's the Day!

I cannot believe it's finally here! At 7:50am tomorrow morning (their time), I will be in London! I absolutely can't wait to meet the other 7 students I'll be traveling with. I think we have a really great group and it will be fun getting to know them over the next 6 weeks. The past couple days have been very stressful for two main reasons. Of course, my computer would break the week before I am supposed to leave. It had to be sent out and after about 10 calls to Best Buy, I finally have a "loaner" for the trip. What a fiasco. The second stresser was packing! I was so excited Wednesday night because I thought I was able to fit all of my belongings in a suitcase all under 50 lbs. Well, I was wrong. My sister discovered a gaping hole in my suitcase, so I had to switch suitcases...to a much heavier one. After a near mental breakdown and help from Abby and Dad, I managed to make the suitcase situation work. With a purse, large duffel bag, backpack, and enornmous suitcase, I am all packed and ready to go! So the plan for the day: we are leaving to go get lunch as a family before we all depart, then we are headed to the airport. My family is going to drop me off and then drive the 5 and a half hours to Murray State to drop Abby off for her 5 weeks at the Governor's Scholar Program (she's such a smarty pants!). This summer is a really great one for our family. So many exciting opportunities. I can't wait to see what it has in store for us, especially me in Wales!

Packing is a nightmare!

I attempted to start packing today. I had no idea it would take me all day! Thank goodness my sister was here to help. We ended up compressing all of my clothes into 4 space bags after about 3 rounds of Abby pulling clothes out of my suitcase and placing them back in my drawers. (She thought I was crazy because I wanted to take 5 pairs of jeans...I just want to be prepared!) I also had to switch suitcases because my original nice suitcase was way too heavy! After weighing my suitcase way too many times, I believe I have fit everythig in it and am under 50.5 lbs. We will see! I still have a few things to put in before I leave, so my fingers are crossed! It's getting very real that I'm leaving so soon. My family is getting annoyed with me that I keep talking about it! It's crazy to think Abby and I will both be gone this summer and my parents will be empty nesters. The house will be awfully quiet without us around. It's getting a little sad to say goodbye to my close family and friends, but I can't wait to get to Wales!

Here We Go!

Hey family and friends! I created this blog because I thought it would be a fun and easy way for me to share my travel experiences with you all! I'll be gone for 6 weeks studying in Wales as a Fulbright Summer Institute Participant. It's definitely the opportunity of a lifetime and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be studying at Cardiff University, the University of Bangor, and the University of Aberystwyth. Keep checking in for regular updates from me. I'll be posting pictures and talking about what I've been up to. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and I can't wait to take full advantage of it! I'll be leaving for London June 22, so keep checking in!