St. Fagans!

After our wonderful trip to Big Pit, Angela and I drove about an hour south to the west side of Cardiff and arrived at St. Fagans National History Museum.  I know you are probably thinking, "yeah yeah, I've been to history museums before," but I bet you haven't been to one like this... at least I know I hadn't.

Old farm house with thatched roof.

At St. Fagans they have a collection of over forty old buildings (many centuries old) from around the country that they have taken apart brick by brick, labeling each one, and then transported them to St. Fagans and rebuilt them so that they are exactly as they were.  Through a little research I found that St. Fagans was voted one of the UK's top ten FREE attractions by TripAdvisor!

There is a pretty good video at the bottom of this page, plus more information about it.

A long house from 1734 which housed both animals and people!

A couple of other things I liked about St. Fagans was that there were signs with information about each building AND there were also employees who were very knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions we had.  They also had some of the buildings actually functioning as their intended purpose with artisans working in them.  A few I remember seeing were the bakery, the blacksmith, the cobbler, and the general store (see below).

An old general store where we got some delicious Italian ice cream for a snack :)

You could easily spend a whole day here.  We just had the afternoon, and saw a lot, but did not have time for everything.  For example, the museum is actually located on the grounds of a late 16th century manor house, and we did not have time to see any of that.  On a nice day, like the one we had, it would be wonderful to bring a picnic, or get a few things at the bakery and general store, and enjoy the gardens!

Here you can see more about the manor home and gardens.

A round house.

Overall, a GREAT day!  Thanks again to Angela for the wonderful experience.  I highly recommend it!

Things that are more difficult than they should be:

• Counting money.  When you don't know which coins are which, it is quite difficult to count out money, especially without dumping all of your change on the counter or just handing it all to the cashier and asking them to do it.  

Big Pit and St. Fagan's

Although I am no longer in the UK, I still have a few more posts that I would like to do, so I'm just going to go ahead and do them.  The only thing I will say about being how is that it is a bittersweet thing.  I am loving being home and living with my husband again (not that the student village wasn't great ;), and also seeing my family and catching up with old friends.  I also really appreciate the everyday things more than I ever did before I left... however, at the same time I miss Wales and all the wonderful people I became friends with, and realize that it will be a while before I get to see any of them again.  But more on that later.

Swansea to Big Pit.

For now, I would like to tell you all about the wonderful day I had at Big Pit and St. Fagan's!  I went with my supervisor in the International Development Office, Angela Jones, during my last Sunday in Swansea.  (Just a side note, but Angela Jones is one of the most lovely people you will ever meet, and if you take the Swansea pre-sessional, you will likely get the chance to meet her, and if not then you should make it a point to meet her while you are in Swansea!!)  All visiting international students (including all ISU students) have the option of taking the 2-week Swansea pre-sessional, during which they learn about British (primarily Welsh) history and culture.  As part of the class they take a day to visit Big Pit and St. Fagan's, so that is what we did.

We started by driving about an hour and a half to Big Pit, which is a National Coal Museum, including a fully functional coal mine.  The drive there was unbelievably beautiful, which looking at the map above makes sense considering we were driving right by a national park.   

I hadn't heard anything about Big Pit, so I didn't have any expectations, but in the end I was REALLY impressed by it all.  It was incredibly interesting learning about the lives of the miners, and how difficult life was for them.  Coal mining played such a large part in Welsh history.  This mine was used until 1980.  We got to go 300 feet underground into the mine (see picture below :) and see the conditions they worked in, and that I'm sure people still work in who work in mining.  

Angela and I getting ready to go into the mine at Big Pit.

Our tour guide was an old miner that worked in the mine before it was shut, and one thing I remember him telling us was how the owner valued the horses more than the people, because if a man died he knew there would be someone else that would be looking for a job and able to replace him for just as cheap, but if a horse died he would have to buy another one (sounds like the situation with our economy today - but I guess that is another discussion).  He also had us turn off out lamps to see how dark it really was, and how people worked for many years, including women and children.  If they wanted a candle they would have to buy it themselves, and most did not have the money for it.  

Bit Pit!

We also walked through a couple of the exhibits including the baths.  I enjoyed learning about women's role in working in the mines, and then their involvement in fighting for better working conditions, including the building of the baths.  In the end we didn't have enough time to see everything, but what we did see was wonderful.  This experience is exactly why students should study abroad.  I know you could easily sit in a classroom in the US (or any other country for that matter), and learn about the industrial revolution, and British history, but it is a completely different experience when you are able to visit places like this.  It makes history come alive.

If you would like to learn more about it, check out their website and as always wikipedia :)

Since this entry got a little long, I'll wait until my next one to write about St. Fagan's.  Stay tuned!

Things that are more difficult than they should be:

• Turning on the oven/stove.  Shouldn't be difficult, right?  Well, let me tell you, haha.  
First thing to know when traveling in Europe is that you almost always have to flip a switch on to make an outlet work.  Usually the switch is located on the outlet plate immediately next to the outlet (see below).  This doesn't usually cause me any problems, however when I went to use the stove top for the first time, it did, haha.  
I turned the knob to turn on the burner, but nothing happened.  So I did actually look for a switch but did not see one.  After about 15 minutes of messing with things (and thinking that I had been successful since I put the pan of hot water on the burner which heated it up just enough for me to think that it was working, but was not) I finally figured it out.  There was in fact a switch, but it didn't look like any other switch.  It was a big orange switch about three times the size as those below.  Probably to make it abundantly obvious, but whatever. It didn't look like a switch to me, but turns out it was.  So, although most people will probably laugh at me for this, I decided to share the little story so that others will not have to have the dinner delayed like I did :)

Outlet with switches.

Cardiff!

CARDIFF!

I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel quite a bit in the last week and half.  Most of that time was spent in Ireland with my family, and was wonderful!!  So much fun! But my travels began with my husband a few days before.  Our first trip was just a day trip, but was one of my favorites!  On Saturday we took the train (for only £7.70 round trip!) to Cardiff.  It was a great city.  Right when you leave the train station you see the huge Millennium Stadium, home to the Wales Rugby team.  It was built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup and holds up to 74,500.  Made me wish I had been able to go to the Rugby match the previous weekend even more.

                                                              (picture from Wikipedia)

Millenium Stadium 

When we arrived we wondered off the train and just walked around for a little while.  For some reason we both wanted a doughnut, and lucky for us we happened upon a Krispy Kreme (wish granted!).  Now, I know that Krispy Kreme is not exactly authentic Welsh or British food, but it was just what we wanted. 

So after our American breakfast of glazed doughnuts and lattes, we continued to wonder around.  The city had all of these great covered alleys with all kinds of shops that led to large pedestrian streets with even more shopping.

Shopping in Cardiff

Some there were many modern chains like H&M and Top Shop, but there were also small local shops of all kinds.  If I had money I would love to spend more time in Cardiff!  However, since I don't, we moved on to the tourist attractions.

We were planning on jumping on the open-top tour bus, and knew we were supposed to catch it at the Castle.  We weren't quite sure where the castle was, but knew it was not far from the train station, so we just wondered for a little bit and sure enough ran right into it.  It was quite amusing really, we turned a corner... and there was a castle!  Not something that happens in the States.

Cardiff Castle

So we took the bus around the city.  I'm not sure if it was totally worth the cost, but I'm sure we wouldn't have seen as much of the city otherwise, so I guess it was.  If we would have had more time we would have gotten off and looked around the bay area because I've heard it's really nice, and I'm sure would have been extra exciting the weekend we went since the Canoeing World Cup was taking place there.  However, we didn't have a ton of time, so we just rode around once and saw everything.  We did hear about a very unique restaurant they will be opening soon called the Clink.  It is unique because it will be in the prison located in the middle of the city, and the inmates will be the employees of the restaurant.  I would love to hear about this if anyone does go there!

When we got back we went into the castle.  It was really cool to see and hear about its history.  Well worth the visit.

In front of the original castle.

While we were there I saw a poster about a jousting competition that was going to be taking place the next weekend.  I wasn't able to make it, but Sarah, who works at the International Development Office did and said it was really cool.  I stole this picture from her:

                                                                             Picture taken by Sarah Spitzauer
Jousting at Cardiff Castle

After the castle we decided to walk over to the art gallery that was only a couple of blocks from the castle, and on our way there we were quite surprised to see a naked bike ride going through town.  There were probably about 100 riders.  I did not know this at the time, but they were riding to raise awareness of cyclists and the dangers they face on the road.  (I think I will skip this picture).  We went on to the museum.  The building itself was quite nice.

After our visit to the museum we caught a train back to Swansea in time for dinner at the Bryn where we watched the beginning of one of the Euro Cup games.  Definitely a great day!  I would highly recommend a trip to Cardiff to anyone!!


Fun Phrases: 

"Proper" I know this isn't a new word to most of you, but I love the way the Welsh use it.  They use it sort of like the word very.  For example, someone said a lid to a bottle was "proper stuck" when they couldn't get it open.

"Toilet" Again, I realize you all know this word, but here in Wales, they use the word toilet instead of bathroom.  So people always ask where the toilets are, not where the bathrooms or restrooms are.

"Rubbish" means trash.

I love Singleton Park!

First I wanted to start out by sharing my good news that the UK has decided not to kick my out of the country the day my internship ends.  The embassy said they would amend my visa and issue a new end date!! Good news.  Now I don’t have to find a way to leave the country and come back within one day (although if I could have gotten a group to go with me to Dublin it could have been fun!).  A big thanks to Siew Oh in the International Student Advisory Service Office!! She was so wonderful to work with from the beginning.  So kind and helpful, and obviously very effective J 

Having interned in the International Students and Scholars Office at Iowa State, it was quite an interesting experience being on the other side of things.  I now understand how the international students feel at Iowa State, and why there is often a sense of urgency and even panic.  Luckily, my situation has worked out quite well!  That is, as long as I get my passport back in time :-/

My lesson for today was to remember to always take the time to explore.  I have walked through Singleton Park on my way from campus to the city centre almost daily but have never gone anywhere else in the park until today.  It was so nice out that I decided to go for a walk during lunch and started wondering around Singleton Park.  I didn’t really realize how big it is, and how beautiful it is, especially when the sun is shining!! 

Singleton Park

There was a cute little pond, some wood carvings of mushrooms, and a bunch of little walking paths.  I didn’t feel like I was in Swansea while I was walking around.  There was an old man feeding a bunch of squirrels, which I’m usually not a big fan of squirrels, but I found it amusing.  I always wonder how people decide to start doing things like that.  

Another view of Singleton Park

Another beautiful area I discovered the other day was the gardens on the side of the Abbey opposite the stable building that I work in.  There is a nice fountain and some well tended flowers overlooking a huge yard that takes you all the way to the road, across which is the beach.  These would all be great areas to study, or play sports (too bad I am athletically challenged). 

Fountain by the Abbey

Gardens by the Abbey

Things that are more difficult than they should be:

• Typing on the keyboard.  This isn't really that difficult, but the keyboard is unnecessarily different.  I don't know who changed it, but they shouldn't have.  The most annoying difference is that the " and the @ are in opposite positions on the keyboards, and every time I get used to the UK layout at work then I come home and type the wrong thing on my laptop. 

Fun Phrases:

“Shattered” or "Knackered" just means tired

“Pissed” if someone says they are pissed it does not mean they are angry, it means they have had too many alcoholic beverages

A fun, relaxing, British day!

Quick Note: I added a new picture to the The Jubilee Weekend (Part III) if you would like to see it :)

A couple Saturdays ago the weather was amazing!  It was somewhere in the mid-70's F/about 25º C (see new section "Things that are more difficult than they should be" below), so I went to the beach with a couple people I knew and a couple of their friends.  One of their friends was actually from America, but had been living in the UK for the past eight years, since she started her undergrad in Northern Ireland (Jealous!).

Oxwich Bay

It was actually at this point I realized I did not know any Americans in the country, and yet had a number of friends.  I think it's pretty cool that I am actually part of life in Swansea and not just living my own life on the side (much of which I owe to my friend Silas who introduced me to many of these people, so thanks Silas!!).
          While studying abroad during undergrad in Ireland, I was often with other American students since I was assigned an American roommate, lived in a building with almost all American students, traveled with American students, etc.  It's not that I didn't interact with Irish students, but more of my time was spent with Americans, and I think my experience would have been even better if I had developed deeper relationships with the Irish students.
          Based on this experience a piece of advice to those studying abroad: if you are going to study or intern abroad, try to chose a program (and a living situation) that will allow you to be fully immersed in the new country and culture, and not just partially participating in it.  Swansea is great for that with the living arrangements in the student village.

Anyway... back to my Saturday story.  So, they picked me up at the student village, and even the drive there was fun.  The the roads are a little windy and small, and people drive sort of in the middle of the road, but the views were great.  I also always love riding in cars in other countries.  It is such a normal, everyday thing for me in the States, but since I obviously don't have my car with me while I'm abroad I really enjoy being able to get in a car and go somewhere so easily, especially after taking the bus, walking, or paying a ton for taxis to get everywhere most of the time.

After a short 10-20 minute drive along the coast we arrived at the beach.  We parked and walked down to the beach, and it was beautiful!  There were kite surfers everywhere.  I don't know how they could surf that close together and not run into each other, but it was so cool to see all the kites in the air.

Kite surfers at Oxwich Bay

Now, as I said the weather was beautiful, and there was a slight breeze so it was not hot, like every other time I have gone to a beach.  I never even broke a sweat... however, that does not mean that I was not getting a lot of sun.  In fact, I ended up getting way too much sun, especially on my legs which hadn't seen daylight in a very long time.  Here is the proof:

Very sunburned legs!

Lesson learned!  Don't forget your sunblock, and even if it doesn't feel like you need it, put it on anyway.  


When we got back to Swansea from the beach, I made my way downtown because the Olympic torch was coming through town.  So I bought an ice cream bar and stood on the side of the road waiting for it.  By the time the torch came there were people lining both sides of the street for as far as I could see.  Everyone was waving the Union Jack and cheering.  It felt quite patriotic and was a neat thing to get to be a part of! 

People lining the street to see the Olympic torch.

Mel Davies with the torch.
(You can read more about Mel here)

After seeing the torch I was quite hungry, so I grabbed some fish and chips at the corner fish bar called Monni's.  The food was greasy and delicious!

             

         

  
I would highly recommend having fish and chips wrapped in paper at least once while in the UK!


After my dinner I walked back to campus to catch the bus back to the student village and saw a little bit of the crowds that were in Singleton Park for the torch celebration party.  Once home I just relaxed the rest of the night.  There isn't much that will make me more tired than a day in the sun! ... except maybe a day in the sun followed by a large greasy meal :)




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I have decided to create a new section, and I'm not sure what I want to call it, but for now I will just call it "Things that are more difficult than they should be."  Sorry I can't think of anything more catchy.  Let me know if you have any better ideas.  So here is my first installment.

Things that are more difficult than they should be:

• Converting temperature between celsius and fahrenheit (see explanation above).  

I realized I am very bad at converting between celsius and fahrenheit.  The actual conversion is C= (F-32) x 5/9 or F = (C x 9/5) + 32.  My dummy way of doing it, so that I can get a rough estimate is to take F-32 times one-half to figure out the degrees in celsius, or double the temperature in celsius and then add 32 to figure out the degrees in fahrenheit. 

The Jubilee Weekend (Part III: The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and my birthday!)

Tuesday was the last day of the long weekend and it was off because it was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which meant she has been the ruling monarch for 60 years!  (conveniently it was also my birthday!)

The Queen's coronation in 1952 when she was 26 years old, same age as I am now :)
Photo: AP Wire at http://www.smh.com.au/

The Queen during the Diamond Jubilee
(Photo by: Reuters/Toby Melville from http://www.theatlantic.com)

She is less than four years away from becoming the longest reigning monarch, a privilege currently held by Queen Victoria.  The celebration had been going on all weekend.  If I would have known more about all the events, I think I would have gone to London for the weekend, especially for the huge concert they had Monday night in front of Buckingham Palace.  There were tons of British performers including Elton John and Paul McCartney!  Would have been fun to see.

Anyway, we celebrated by going to my supervisor’s beautiful home in a smaller town outside of Swansea called Llanelli (pronounced in a way that I have no idea how to describe).  It was so much fun to see another little town, and to be inside a local’s house.  This may sound funny, but if you think about it, it is very easy to study/intern abroad and never go inside someone’s house or apartment.  For students, even if they are friends with many Welsh students, those students may be living in student housing, or in my case I’ve always met people out.  So it was nice to be in a home and be able to just relax and watch TV. 

Celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at Angela's house!

We had proper British party food which included sausages, sausage rolls, crisps (see fun phrases below), sandwich halves, cheddar and pineapple, blue cheese and grapes, and cakes provided by Ari, the nine-year-old guest at the party and the source of much entertainment.  

Photo of Duchess Kate by UK Press Association

They sang happy birthday for me and let me blow out some candles.  We drank champagne and watched the concert from the night before and part of the ceremony that took place that morning.  I loved seeing what all of the royalty wore to everything, especially the hats and fascinators (the little head pieces many of the women wear J). 

We watched some shows about the queen for a while and talked about British history.  It was a perfect way to celebrate the Jubilee.  Thanks, Angela!! I’ve decided that if the royal family decides to throw a large celebration for either the Queen’s 64^th or 65^th Jubilee that I will definitely try to make it back to London!

Fun Phrases: (food edition J)

"Crisps" vs. "Chips" crisps are what Americans call chips, and chips are what Americans call fries.  This can get quite confusing when talking to another American in Britain!

"Biscuits" what Americans call cookies are what the British call biscuits.  Biscuits are not the doughy breakfast pastry that you pour gravy over. 

"Welshcakes" these are delicious pastries that are similar to scones, or sort of like an American biscuit/pancake/muffin combo type of pastry.  They are made primarily of flour, sugar, and butter with raisins or sultanas and often have cinnamon and nutmeg. Delicious!

The Jubilee Weekend (Part II: Rhossili Bay)

Monday was a Bank Holiday (see fun phrases below), so Brett and I decided to go to a beach for the day.  We were deciding between Mumbles and Rhossili, but decided we had to go see the iconic Rhossili Bay, and it was beautiful.  The Bay is found within an area designated as the first “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the United Kingdom.”

Rhossili Bay

The only small hiccup in the day was the bus ride there.  According to Google maps it should take 40 minutes to get there from the bus station... and somehow it took 2 hours on the incredibly full bus (luckily we had seats!).  At one point I heard an older Welsh lady explain to someone that we had gotten on the scenic bus route that took us around the countryside.  We did see quite a few beautiful landscapes, but it was quite a long ride nonetheless. Lesson: Ask around before getting on a bus!

Once we did arrive, we grabbed a quick pizza bread for lunch and then took a walk around the cliffs.  There were sheep grazing all around.  I am still surprised every time I see animals that are not fenced in whether it be on the sides of the road or on the cliffs at Rhossili. 

Sheep at Rhossili Bay

At the southern end of the Bay is the small island called the Worm's Head, which we did not walk out to.  I am told it takes quite a long time, and we were content seeing it from a close distance.  
Also, I have read that at low tide, it is possible to see the remains of a few shipwrecks. 

Cliffs at Rhossili Bay with Worm's Head in the distance

The weather was beautiful for us.  The sun came and went behind the clouds, but there was no rain, so it was quite enjoyable just walking around the area.  We grabbed some ice cream and sat overlooking the beach for quite a while before we left.  It was a simple and beautiful day!! I would highly recommend Rhossili to anyone, especially on a nice day!

Fun Phrases:

“Bank Holiday” British bank holidays are public holidays.  The name Bank Holiday comes from the time when banks were shut and so no trading could take place. There is currently a total of 8 permanent bank and public holidays in England, Wales and Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland. In Wales they include New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring Bank Holiday (last Monday in May), Summer Bank Holiday (last Monday in August), Christmas Day, and Boxing Day/St. Stephen's Day (December 26).  Even though banks are still closed on these days many shops today now remain open.