Wales: Sheep, Mountains, and More Sheep

This past weekend a group of us went on a tour of Wales through International Friends, an organization advertised by CCCU.  It was an exhausting two days filled with driving, but honestly, the breathtaking view was so worth it.  I went on this trip not knowing what to expect.  All I knew about Wales was… well, nothing except that it’s next to England. 

Several of our British friends laughed when they heard we were going to Wales.  “What’re you gonna do there?!  Count sheep?”  So.  For those who were dying to know, YES, Wales has lots of sheep.  I can definitely confirm that.  There are more sheep than people in Wales. But the landscape there is so beautiful that I didn’t mind seeing those woolly little guys everywhere (literally everywhere). 

The driver and tour guide in charge of our trip, Tony, was fantastic.  Picture an Irish Billy Ray Cyrus with an extra-large nose.  He kept us entertained on the long drive with fun facts about the cities we stopped at, and the occasional joke about the Princess of Wales (“Cruella – I mean, Camilla.  Ah, yes.  She fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down”).  The second tour guide, who was driving the second minibus, had a bit too much to drink at the pub on our night in Wales and was definitely hung over for the drive on Sunday.  He was wearing sunglasses in the shade.  Wow.  I am soooo glad we had Tony as our driver, haha!

Tony with our awesome group!

Anyway, Wales is supposed to be just another part of England, theoretically. However, they fly the Welsh flag everywhere and all of the signs are in Welsh, so I felt like I was in a completely different country.  If you’ve never seen something written in Welsh, it goes something like this: llkghyalegtyuh.  I’m 80% kidding.  Here’s an actual sign:

Tony says that the language has only twenty letters.  The double L sound and the double D sound are very common and make a guttural sort of noise that kept us very entertained as we tried to pronounce some Welsh words…

Here’s a summary of the trip in pictures!

Enjoy!

 I'm all packed... 90% food and 10% clothes

 Here's the city of Chester. We stopped here to get lunch on Saturday.

This is technically still England, but it's quite close to Wales.

Stalking the constable in Chester

 I may have used this bathroom... Hey, it was urgent

Chester clock, the second most-photographed clock in G.B.

(Big Ben is number one)

 Remains of a Roman garden in Chester

 Remains of a Roman amphitheater in Chester

 A altar to Nemesis... whoever that is

 Spotted this in Chester! I guess this is what they did before bumper stickers.

 Still in Chester, by the riverside

 Chester riverside with the cathedral in the distance

 Remains of the Chester fort and castle

 Conwy Castle from the street

 Wales coast line

  Wales selfie! You knew that was coming...

 Flying the Welsh flag

 Croesoi = Welcome

 

 Conwy Castle

 part of the Conwy Castle wall

 our minibuses

 Look at this beautiful sight!!

 Visitor Centre... classic

"Built by Edward I between 1283 - 1292"

Conwy Castle

 On the road agaaaaaain...

 I spy with my little eye the coast of North Wales

Too much driving...

 BEAUTY

 A cute shop we found

 YES 

 More Conwy Castle

 Lunch break with the girls!

 Hair

 In love with these hills

This is Wales, everyone.

 Almost a good jumping picture...

This is how I feel about Wales

 Hurray for pub food!

The bed and breakfast where we stayed!  So presh

 Our cute rooms!

 The Craig-ard is where we stayed

AH-MAZ-ING breakfast ;)

 Sunrise in Wales

The town of
Lllanfairpwllgyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

A.k.a. The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave.

No, this is not a joke.  It's a real town.

 I like #4

 Another cute little Welsh town

 We stopped here for lunch

Old school steam train ride through Wales!

 See those white dots? SHEEP

 I felt like I was on top of the world

 More sheep

WALES LOVIN'

Cheers!

 - K

BRITISH WORD OF THE DAY:


loo - the bathroom



Tragedy Strikes: The U.S. Government Shuts Down and My New Coffee Maker is Broken

Hello, dear readers!  If you have ears, you know that the American government shut down a few days ago.  I picked a really good time to go abroad, just saying.  In addition to this calamity, the coffee maker that my fellow caffeine-addict-flat mates and I bought yesterday is broken.  We paid £12 for it.  *Sigh* Obviously, I’ve had a trying few days.  No caffeine AND my government is shutting down because it can’t decide how to spend money it doesn’t have.  Talk about a rough life.

On to happier subjects – earlier today I took my morning exercise along Great Stour Way, which is a scenic path that captures the beauty of the countryside.  I left at 7:30am and came back an hour later.  It was a wonderful start to my day.  I wish I had taken my camera!  It was absolutely beautiful.  The path follows a river that is teeming with wildlife; I saw many different types of birds, fish, some cattle, and a few rodents.  As I ventured down the path, I pictured myself as Miss Elizabeth Bennet from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  Kinda silly, I know, but the breathtaking view reminded me of Lizzie’s walk to Netherfield to visit her sister (at least, that is what I imagine the view to look like). The English countryside is so peaceful and serene.  I was fortunate enough to see it at sunrise, when the sun comes lightly upon the land, and the trees seem to soar into the distant horizon. The shadows are hardly shadows at all, but more like vapors that melt into the sunlight.  Dew drops highlight intricate spider webs woven into the country fences.  When the sunlight first touches the river, it glistens and glows like a shimmery piece of fabric.  Okay, I’m getting carried away…

 

This is how I felt this morning... except I wasn't trying to read and walk at the same time.  And I wasn't in a dress.

I felt lonely without Riley, my dog who always accompanies me on walks back home.  So many people have dogs here, but they are usually mutts and they are rarely on leashes.  The residents of Canterbury leash their children more than they leash their dogs, I’m completely serious.  I’m still getting used to it.

While I’m on the subject, I should talk about the way I’ve been pronouncing “Canterbury” or the way everyone in the U.S. pronounces “Canterbury.”  A few of my British friends have corrected me on this so I’m trying to be more conscious of the way I say it.

Americans:  CAN-er-bear-ee

Brits:  CAHNT-bur-eh

Somehow, the second syllable disappears when the British say “Canterbury.”  I can’t explain why, but it just sounds right when they say it.  I suppose our pronunciation of the word is offensive because we’re changing the way it’s traditionally spoken. 

Speaking of offensive, yesterday a group of us Americans were coming back from class together.  We were walking through the subway and apparently we were walking too slowly because some British chick went past us and muttered “F-ing Americans!  Go back to f-ing America!”  (Just to clarify, she said the actual swear word, but I don’t want to write that out here) Yiiikes. 

Anyway, I have nothing else to report.  Today is going to be pretty chill.  I have to make an Aldi run with a few of my friends, then get ready for the International Students’ party tonight at Chill, a local nightclub.  Tomorrow, the weekend begins!  I couldn’t be more excited to travel to London and then Wales! 

Oh, and I finally bought a blow dryer.  Finally.  Best investment of this trip so far.  Hopefully it lasts longer than my coffee maker. :(

R.I.P.  Wilkinson’s Coffee Maker – We never made a cup of coffee with you, but it was nice to know that you had a reusable filter.  You will be missed for the caffeine you never produced. 

 

Caffeine-deprived but still alive,

– K

 

 

BRITISH WORDS OF THE DAY:

barmy - mad, insane, or crazy.  It's your call.

cheeky - saucy or sassy

 

 

On Being the Only American in my Ethnic American Literature Class

What’s black and white and red all over?

An embarrassed American student wearing black skinny jeans and a white scarf…

Yeah, not my best, but that’s basically what happened today on the first day of my Ethnic American Literature class.  Up until this point, all of my classes have involved other Americans from my group (North Central College, Cazenovia College in NY, and Illinois State).  But today I walked into a lecture hall full of British students, found a seat near the back, and tried desperately to blend in.  When I finally did speak up during the class discussion, literally everyone turned around in the lecture hall to look at me. I felt so cool and awesome. Go America!  I felt so awkward and weird. 

Later, in the seminar portion of our class (FYI: “seminar” is when the class is broken down into smaller groups for more intimate discussion) the tutor was briefly giving some background info on the period of literature we will start studying this week.  She wrote “the American Civil War” on the board and asked us what year it started.  I swear I felt everyone’s eyes on me.  The tutor must have noticed this because she said, “Now, don’t make Kristin answer this one all by herself.”  Dear God when did the civil war happen oh man crap when did that even happen was it like 1822 or something shoooooot.

Thankfully, this moment of panic was relieved when the tutor said she actually didn’t know the exact date either, but she guessed around 1840.  She kind of looked at me, as if to say “Is that right?” so I just sort of smiled confidently, like “You got it, sister.”  That’s my go-to face.  I make that face whenever I have no clue what someone is talking about (hopefully no one went home and googled the exact date).  Hey, we were only twenty years off, okay?  No biggie.  I’m not an American History major, people. 

In all seriousness, this class is going to be a good way for me to break out of my comfort zone and (hopefully) make some more British friends.  Most of the students in this class are nineteen because this is a level 5 module – that’s the American equivalent of the 300-level course.  There are a few older students, too, because some British students take a gap year.  As I understand it, the gap year is essentially a year off (for work or independent study) in between A-levels and Uni. 

I should also mention that this course lasts an entire year.  Because of this, I will have to take the assessment before I leave, which means I will be missing out on a lot of material.  On the plus side, my tutor seems super chill and she already knows me by name because I’m in another class with her.  Aaaaaand we get to watch The Godfather for two days during lecture.  I’m pretty okay with this. 

All things considered, I think this is going to be a sweet term.  Although I will say that I sometimes feel less important or less valuable because I’m only here for three months.  Whenever tutors, friends, or fellow students ask me, “So, are you staying for the year, then?”  I have to tell them that, unfortunately, I’m here for just three months.  They usually respond by saying “Really?  Only three months?”  And then tutors will give me special instructions regarding assignments and say “Since you’re only here for three months anyway, you do this…”  BUT GUYS I’M STILL HERE.  Sounds childish of me to be picking up on this, I know.  Yet I can’t help but feel slightly excluded.  Oh, well.  I would gladly stay longer if I had a say in the matter. 

Well, I suppose that’s all I have to say for now.  Time to get some reading done for class. 




Here are a few pictures from our recent adventures... :]

 Chillin by the Thames

 Showing some sisterly love at Rochester Castle!

 Having a moment... 

Kaitlyn and I at Richborough Roman Fort!

Cheers!

 – K

P.S. This Friday I will travel to London, and then it's off to Wales for the weekend!  Woohoo!

BRITISH WORD OF THE DAY:

proper - literally means perfection, or done really well; when used as an exclamation, it loosely means "cool" or "awesome"

Examples:  Let's have a proper house party tonight! 

or

"I just won the lottery!"

"Proper, mate!"

Day Twelve: Exploring London

Okay, folks.  I will start with the bad news first, then talk about the good news. 

The bad – I didn’t get to see the LSO like I had hoped.  It turns out that the girl who booked our tickets booked them for the wrong day (Sunday, not Saturday).  This actually made me cry.  If you think I’m joking about the crying bit, you don’t know me very well.  I literally shed a few tears.  Mark my words, I WILL SEE THE LSO BEFORE I LEAVE THIS COUNTRY.

The good – I was “stuck” in London at 9:30am (that’s “half nine" in British slang) with a bunch of my fellow travelers.  Considering we were ten minutes away from all of the touristy attractions in London, our situation wasn’t really that awful.  After brushing off the disappointment from our failed attempt to see the LSO, we went to see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Covent Garden, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum.  The whole thing felt surreal.  I mean, I’ve seen pictures of these iconic places all of my life, but experiencing it in person is incredible.  London is beautiful.  With its soaring buildings, historic landmarks, lush public parks, and – of course – the regal River Thames, London is definitely worth the ninety minute commute from Canterbury.  Standing in front of the massive entrance to Westminster Abbey, I felt chills running up and down my back.  I can’t wait to go back and explore.  There is just so much to do!  We tried to do as much as we could in one day, but London needs to be digested and not just visited.  Next Friday, we get to go inside the Houses of Parliament and tour the Royal Courts of Justice.  This makes my heart really happy.  I’ll be sure to post about it next weekend.

In front of the Buckingham Palace

 Max pretending like he doesn't know us...

Hyde Park

 Entrance to the palace

 Buckingham Palace... the Queen is in!

 Everyone gathers on the fountain

 Buckingham Palace Fountain

 Buckingham Palace Fountain

 Buckingham Palace grounds

 Buckingham Palace Garden

 Buckingham Palace Garden

 A scenic park by the river

 Statue of a famous dude

 London is full of these fancy buildings

 Walking the streets of London

 Parliament

 Beautiful Big Ben

 Parliament

 Is this real life?

 I've always wanted a picture like this!

 The Houses of Parliament

 Westminster Abbey

 Westminster Abbey

 more of the Abbey...

Whilst gallivanting around London yesterday, I tried desperately to learn how to work the Tube.  Thankfully, one of the girls in our group knows how to navigate the craziness that is the Underground Railway.  She seemed to know the best way to get to the attractions, so I tried to follow right behind her and watch how she used the map to get around.  We paid for a one day travel pass, which was £6.50.  With that card, we received unlimited access to zones one and two of the Underground and free bus transportation. 

Color-by-number, or a map of the Tube?  I can't tell the difference.



For those of you who’ve never experienced the Tube, there are three things you need to know:

• It’s loud.

• It’s hot.

• It’s fast.  

I hate to simplify it like that because the Tube is actually very complex.  But, if we’re talking about the basics, that’s really all you need to know.  As for the stations, everyone there is in a hurry.  The escalators are packed full of people.  Unless you want to get run over, you had better stay in the left lane on the escalators.  The right lane is for sprinting (yes, people sprint up and down the moving escalators).  Where are all of these people going so quickly?  I don’t know, but they are booking it so you have to stay out of their way. 

There’s something about the Tube that makes people extremely unfriendly.  Maybe it’s just me, but no one ever seemed to be talking on the Tube.  It’s really hard to find someone to ask if you’re lost and need help.  If you even look at someone the wrong way, they glare at you.  People just stare straight ahead and avoid eye contact of any kind.  Some even close their eyes.  Because I was with my American friends and we were riding for the first time, we were all smiles, trying not to stand out too much, but still wanting to take pictures and talk.  Then there’s the whole “mind the gap” announcement/logo, which is pretty cute but I guess the locals are used to it because they don’t squeal and take pictures of the sign like we did.  Oops.

After walking around London for almost six hours, we were absolutely exhausted and looking for a place to have tea and scones and just chill before the journey home.  We found a cool place called Yumchaa, a small and cozy little tea and pastry shop…  but it was packed!  Not even a single empty chair in the place.  Some friends and I got scones to go, then went to a Starbucks, grabbed tea/coffee there, and sat for almost an hour just to relax.  By then it was getting late, so we headed back to the train station and caught the 7:20pm train back to Canterbury. 

I stole these pictures from the website. It's obvious.

Go to Yumchaa and you could meet up with this hot English hipster... yum.





Overall, my first day in London was a huge success.  Hopefully I can go back and explore next week!

Coffee and scones - the two most important things in my life, in that order.

A weary traveler on her way home from London...

Cheers!

- K

ENGLISH WORDS OF THE DAY:



diary - planner

mate - friend, buddy (I thought this was just an Australian thing, but nope! I was wrong)





Day Eleven: An Uneventful Day

This morning, I was feeling adventurous and decided to take my morning exercise in a new direction, towards the opposite end of town.  Mom, I know you’re not happy to read this, but I was by myself and I had no idea where I was going.  But it was fun.  I discovered a store called Sainsbury’s, which is basically a grocery store similar to Tesco.  I also ran into a cricket park (a large field where the British sport “cricket” is played).  I came back around 10am and then ran to Aldi – YES, THERE’S AN ALDI IN CANTERBURY<3 – to grab some food for the weekend.

What would I do without you?!

Tomorrow, I get to visit the Rochester Castle and Fort Amherst.  I can’t wait to post some awesome pictures! 

Guys, I finally cooked something today and it was hard.  Like I mention in the “About Me” section, I am horrible at cooking and baking, but I love to consume food so… that tends to be a bit of a problem.  But today I went confidently in the direction of my dreams and COOKED CHICKEN.  Wahooo!  It was pretty good, and so far I haven’t keeled over and died, so I think I may have cooked it properly.  Be amazed.  I share a kitchen with a guy who loves to cook and he is always creating something yummy.  This is very intimidating for someone like me, who makes cereal for two out of her three meals each day.  I managed to burn two finger tips on the darn stove top, but hey, at least I have proof that I actually tried. 

I had my first British piano lesson today!  Not gonna lie, it was really scary.  My instructor is this stone-faced, middle-aged man who barely smiled the entire thirty minutes I spent with him.  When I told him I don’t study music back home, he just sort of stared at me.  I could practically hear him thinking so, you’re here because….? But I’m not really worried.  He’ll warm up to me yet. :]  I played some Joplin and a Debussy for him. After working on those two pieces a bit, we scheduled another lesson and he asked me if I was looking to perform while I’m here.  I told him I was, in as informal a setting as possible.  That was the only thing that got him to smile, haha.  I’m excited to see how this goes.  I’ll be taking lessons every other week.

Lastly, our Modern Britain class taught the tutor (Martin) the word “frienemy.”  He is fascinated by this new word, and he told us he was trying to use it in conversation throughout the week.  This basically made my day.  That is all.

Here's some fun pictures from our girl's night of snacking, chatting, and painting nails... :)

P.S. On Saturday, I get to see the London Symphony Orchestra in an open rehearsal!!!! AHHHH.  I’m dying.

Cheers!

– K

BRITISH WORDS OF THE DAY:

All right?- A common way of saying, “Hello, how are you?”

How are you finding it? – Basically “How do you like it?” or “How is it?”