I saw the Beatles last night

After work today, I met up with with some friends to grab dinner at the pub, and on the walk there we turned a corner... and there was the ocean.  It was beautiful!  I know the ocean is right there, but I’m still surprized to see it, especially when turning a corner in town. 

It sprinkled a little on the way there, but not enough to use my umbrella, and since we were walking, I wasn’t cold at all.  We got to the Bryn Y Mor (or “the Bryn” as everyone calls it) at about 6pm and ordered our food and a pint. 

I had planned on going home after dinner to get some laundry done and get to bed early, but once we were at the pub we realized a Beatles cover band was playing at nine, which I didn't want to miss, so I decided I could do laundry later ;)

More people we knew happened to show up, and we ended up having a group of about eight watch the band.  I love live music, and the band was pretty good, so it ended up being quite a fun night!

I got home much later than I had planned, but it was worth it... I mean, how often do you get to watch the Beatles in the UK?

Fun phrases:

"Cwtch" pronounced kutch (rhymes with butch). According to what I have been told, and what I have found on a Welsh blog, a Cwtch is "a small, cozy place... like a cupboard beneath the stairs."  It also means "the act of creating a small space between you and another. It is like a hug ... but much much better! ... What's wonderful about cwtches is they reach out, and they engage with feeling."
-according to the Blog, "The Cwtch": http://the-cwtch.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/what-is-cwtch.html
An example of this being used was my friend saying "Not much better than cwtches with your goddaughter"

My flat in the student village

Well, I am getting settled into my flat now.  I have five other flatmates who are all incredibly nice.  Four of them are first year Welsh students.  Their names are Tom, James, Adam, and Jack.  My other roommate is actually an undergraduate student from Iowa State!!  Cynthia is a materials engineering major.  All of them have been incredibly helpful, letting me use their internet to communicate with home, while I get my computer set up. 

The flat consists of six bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom.  Each bedroom has a twin bed, a nightstand, a desk, two shelves, a wardrobe, and a small set of drawers.  

                                           

Just enough for what I need while I’m here.  The kitchen has three small refrigerators and a freezer, although I don’t do much cooking at home, so I doubt I’ll be doing much here.  But, I will need a place to keep my cereal and milk, so this should work fine.  The bathroom, although quite different, is nice because it is split into three separate rooms.  The toilet is in one, there is a shower and sink in the next, and another sink in the third.  This works well with five other roommates, so that more than one person can be getting ready at once.  I think it’s worth noting that not all of the flats are exactly the same (for example, my friend said he had a sink in his room when he stayed in the Student Village) but they are all similar.

My room has two outlets, and luckily with my adaptor, my blow dryer and computer charger work.   Both are dual voltage, so I don’t have to worry about a converter; I just had to turn a little knob on my blow dryer to switch it over. 

Here is a picture of what the outlets look like, since I am always afraid I have the wrong adapters.

As I mentioned before I had to buy bedding.  I would suggest bringing it with you if you can fit it.  It wasn’t too expensive to buy, but it isn’t the highest quality either; however, it will be fine for the next 6 weeks.  I also purchased hangers, laundry detergent, a bowl and silverware (I’m a little bit of a germaphobe and wanted my own), and a cheep plastic bag to carry it home in (only about 45p) since they do not give free bags with purchases here in an effort to prevent people just throwing them away after one use. 

The student village has a little convenience store called the Spar, which is nice to have so close.  I grabbed a box of cereal and milk, some cookies (or biscuits as they say here), and a couple of yogurts there so that I had some food at my flat. 

The hill I live at the top of in the student village, aka my exercise.

I live at the top of a rather large and steep hill in the student village (as seen above), which will be nice because it will ensure I get my exercise everyday since the bus stop is at the bottom.  The bus system is very easy and the drivers are quite friendly, always willing to help me figure out if I’m on the correct bus and which ticket I need.  So far I have just been taking the bus to and from the Student Village, campus (or the uni as they call it here), and the city center. 

The third day I got an extra workout since I decided to do laundy, which entailed three trips up and down the hill.   It also entailed another pleasant interaction with some friendly Welsh student workers at the Spar because I wasn’t paying attention and did not see the hours for the laundry room on the door.  So, when I went to get my things out of the dryer the door was locked and all the lights were off.  Luckily the girls working had the key and were nice enough to let me back in, which was nice because I was almost stuck without a towel for the morning.  I’m sure I won’t make that mistake again!

Fun phrases:

"Fab" as in, That dress is fab!

"Cuppa" meaning a cup of tea, and FYI, white means with milk.

"Cheers" a great word that can be used for many purposes including thanks and ok.

First days in Swansea...

I just arrived in Swansea a few days ago, and have been adjusting to my new surroundings. Luckily for me, the weather has been amazing, and the people are wonderful!

I arrived wearily on May 11 at Heathrow airport after my, approximately, eight hour flight from Chicago. I made my way through the airport and found the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station in London. Once I arrived, and drug my luggage up and down a couple of flights of stairs to the main lobby area.  I looked outside and saw a red double-decker bus pass by on the street, and it finally hit me... I am in London!

I went to the ticket machine and printed my ticket, grabbed a coffee in the train station, looked at the touristy merchandise (mainly stuffed Paddington Bears, one of which I plan to buy on my way home... I mean how often are you in London? ;), and sat to watch the TV monitors and figure where I would need to get on my train. I watched the variety of people walk buy, some families, some alone, some British, some American or another nationality, some speaking English, some speaking Russian and other languages, the diversity was exciting.

My train popped up on the board, and I watched for it to say it was boarding. Eventually, it flashed up, Platform three. I grabbed my luggage, and headed to the platform. I found my seat, and almost immediately remembered one of the things I love about the UK (and Europe in general)... people bring their dogs with them everywhere! A woman had her cute little, well-behaved Cocker Spaniel looking dog with her who just laid under the seat in front of her quietly. The train began moving quite unceremoniously, and for the next three hours I alternated between watching the beautiful countryside hills and dozing off. After a number of stops in small towns along the way, and what seemed like no time, the train reached Swansea station. I felt a sense of accomplishment in making it to my destination unscathed.


Photo from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Study-Abroad-Swansea-University/145053856729

I have a friend from Iowa State who is currently here in Swansea visiting friends (he studied abroad in Swansea during his undergraduate career and also participated in the same internship that I am here for, last summer). He met me at the station, and we grabbed a taxi to the Hendrefoelan Student Village. The rest of my first day entailed taking the city buses to the city center, purchasing some bedding at Wilkinson's (sort of like a Walmart), grabbing a bite to eat at a pub, returning to my flat at the Student Village to clean up, and going out for my first night in Swansea. It was an exhausting and exciting start to my summer here! I'm looking forward to all of the adventures to come...


I have already started to notice, and love, the language differences here (in addition to the accent), so I have decided to share these, along with other little observations, at the end of my entries :)

Fun phrases:

"You alright?" this is like our "what's up?" Just a brief informal greeting not intended to solicit a long response.

"Hiya" a very friendly way to say hello.