4 Taxis
21 Bus rides
26 Train/metro rides
3 Flights
1 month long adventure in Europe = Priceless :)




Yes..I am finally back home in Swansea after travelling for the entire Easter Break. It feels good to be back ‘home’ and not living out of a suitcase anymore. For those of you who don’t know I travelled during the month with my friend Maria. We flew to Barcelona where we started our adventure and then went north to Montpellier in France before travelling through the French Riviera by stopping in Marseille, and Nice. While we were in each of those cities we did day trips to nearby cities and towns including Aix en Provence, Cannes, St. Paul and Vence, and Monaco. We then left Nice and made our way by train once again to Monaco, Ventimiglia in Italy before arriving in Milan where we stayed for a couple of days. From Milan we then flew to Dublin where we were able to also take a day trip and see Belfast. After spending time in Dublin and visiting with my friend Marie (picture below) who is also doing an exchange we flew to Glasgow before finally heading home.




For me this month was filled with cross cultural experiences, learning more about different languages and being able to communicate with others despite language barriers. As someone who is as you already know addicted to travel it made me love it even more and can’t wait to experience other cultures and languages even more different than what I have been exposed to. The more I travel the more I realize this world is a lot smaller than we think. Globalization and being connected to others from all over the world is so easy. The exchange of cultures, people and societies is what builds up many of the different places we got to visit. There is always a fusion of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. In the South of France it was especially apparent as there was not only a Mediterranean vibe throughout but also a mix with French from the north, African, Arab, Spanish and Italian. Although all this sounds cliché I know, one prime example of this and highlight of my trip takes me back to Glasgow where bagpipers play in the street. This one street act which we saw was rather different than the others. I hope you enjoy the video!

Easter Break!

Classes here have come to a halt. It is officially "Easter Break" for me. Here, Easter Break would be the equivalent of March Break or Reading week at home, except one minor detail. Our break here is one month long! Reading week at York is only a week! My break starts TODAY and classes don't start until the 19th of April. Although this break is great it is the reason why school ends here awhile after classes back at York. The past couple of weeks have been jam packed with classes, and reading, and notes and all that fun stuff associated with learning! I'm rather looking forward to a 'brain break' .

Luckily, I have however been able to squeeze in some fun these past couple weeks between school and feeling slightly under the weather. A few of my friends and I have taken up salsa classes every Tuesday night at a place in town called 'Monkey Bar' which has turned out to be lots of fun. I know you may think...salsa dancing in Wales? but yes...it is in fact true and in fact it draws quite the crowd. Although the majority is university students there are some older couples and middle aged adults which makes for an interesting night out! Everyone has a good attitude about learning and trying new things and dancing with people they don't know. I was quite apprehensive at first not having much experience salsa dancing but my friend Maria confidently assured me how much fun it would be. Sure enough I now find myself looking forward to Tuesday nights and watching my friends dance and those who are not as familiar with Latin music learn how to make their hips and legs move in ways quite unnatural to them! Below is a picture of Maria and I at Monkey Bar and Chantal and I clearly practicing our spins!










I've also had the pleasure of enjoying more walks along the beach and bonding time with the girls in my flat. The pictures above are from our evening stroll along the beach in Swansea. Last week Sophie (on the left in picture below), Hannah (on the right in the picture below), and I also went to Porthcawl which is another beach town near Swansea where Hannah lives. We drove in Hannah's MINIATURE car, notice the emphasis on miniature as all the cars here are soo tiny, about 45 min (due to traffic). Yes it makes me laugh whenever we drive anywhere because it makes me think that my brother and Dad being the tall size they are would have incredible difficulty fitting into these cars. The beach was beautiful as it seemed to go for miles set against crashing waves, large rocks and a wonderful sunset at the time we were there. Sounds cliche I know, but I am a lover of the sea, sand and sun :)

1 MONTH!!!

Yes...it's true. It's been a month. Time has gone by so fast. It's hard to believe that about a month ago I was in the moment of anticipation for the future and now I am able to reflect upon the past. The past which was filled with excitement, fear, nervousness, anxiousness and a whole range of emotions and expectations. I had no idea of what my room would look like, what my classes would be like, who I would meet, who I would be living with and the list goes on. Now all of the questions that I had for months before heading out on this trip are answered and I am very pleased to say everything has turned out to be more than I had expected!

An exciting end to my first month here has allowed me to say I have seen one of the wonders of the world. Saturday I spent the day in England visiting Avebury and Stonehenge. Stonehenge is officially crossed off my list of places to see ...one on a list of many ;) Although I can say I saw one of the wonders of the world...unfortunately I hate to say I wasn't as impressed. Perhaps it was the documentaries and many pictures (professional pictures) that I have seen in previous years that I compared what I saw with. This is a perfect example of how the media and photography can make anything look flawless and perfect. Perfect lighting, no tourists in the background, perfect weather, etc. You get the idea. I think the importance of the site is more about the historical significance rather than the actual stones themselves. However! Interesting fact, some of the stones were actually brought from Wales! Specifically Rhossili Bay which is in Gower if you happen to be looking at a map of Wales :)

The site is roped off so you can't get very close and I happened to be one of MANY tourists waiting and battling to get to the front of the rope to get their snapshot of history. Now I hope I haven't ruined it for you if this has been a place of interest for you but I guess I think the most important element about writing about travelling and my experiences is to be honest. But...on a more positive note, although my immediate impressions were not as great, after walking around the specified path and listening to the ear piece that was an audio tour I found I learned a lot and before the end of it the sun started to come out and I got some great shots of the sun peering through the clouds and shining on Stonehenge. Perhaps I went with too many expectations and hopes but by the end of the day I was glad I went.

Here are some pictures from the day!

Cardiff

Saturday Feb 6th a few of my friends and I decided to venture to the main city of Wales, Cardiff. Starting off bright and early in the morning we caught a shuttle bus that took us straight to the centre of Cardiff. Cardiff is a beautiful city and one that has GREAT shopping! Unfortunately we only browsed the local malls (or as they are called here, Arcades) but seeing as the bus ride is only an hour we will be back to do more than just browse ;)

We started off our day at Cardiff Castle where we were able to see great views of the rest of the city and also were able to watch a band march and some shooting of some very LOUD canons! Yes..I jumped when they lit the first one. And then it continued about 12 more times! Following our expedition of the Castle we went on to grabbing some lunch in the Cardiff Market before heading to the double decker guide bus! We were able to see the main sites of the city including Cardiff Bay. The bus tour was not only freezing as we chose to sit at the top, out in the open ;), but also funny as people from the streets would wave to us and yell, "Welcome to Cardiff!"

Following that, we perused the streets, checked out the many shopping sites before deciding to grab some food. Our original plan was to watch the Rugby game between Wales and England. One of our friends had a friend from Cardiff who was watching the game, but upon arrival at the Pub we realized that would not be possible. When people told me that Rugby was big here, I nodded, sure of course...but I had no idea HOW big. The pub was PACKED as the security guards outside laughed and said, good luck fitting! (And that was only one place..every restaurant and pub was PACKED from early in the afternoon as people were preparing to get their seats before the crowds came!) Feeling slightly claustrophobic as we followed our friend Daryll into the pub I decided..NOPE..im going back outside. We decided to leave Daryll (who's from England, cheering for England) surrounded by Welsh to watch the game with his friend while we went off in search of perhaps a slightly different type of food. One with certain ethnic flavour :) We found a really nice Spanish Tapas restaurant where we indulged in some seafood paella, stuffed mushrooms, peppers, churros and more! It was a nice change :) Before heading back home to Swansea on the train we met up with Daryll, who was still alive after England won the rugby game :)

I leave you now with a little slideshow of pictures. I hope you can notice the contrast between the Castle and Millennium Stadium in the background. It's a lovely juxtaposition between the old and new, ancient and modern, classic and contemporary...etc. You get the idea :)

Unfortunately...as you may have noticed so far...I'm not the greatest at keeping this blog updated. As a new 'blogger' I'm still getting used to the aspect of updating and writing FREQUENTLY. Although time flies by and life sweeps me away into the pace of everyday life I must remember to pause and reflect every once in a while and write! Or type?
As I enter into this cyber space and digital realm of posting, and blogging I find it quite scary as I reflect upon the past 2 to 3 weeks since I have written. My first thought is, 'I can't believe I've already been here that long'... second thought is, 'So much has happened in this time, where do I begin'..and my third thought (everything good comes in 3's ;) ) How could I deny my blog for so long? Yikes! Anyways here is a quick look at the previous weeks! I hope you enjoy!

Well to begin...my second weekend in Swansea I was rather priveleged to host my very first guest! My wonderful friend Sarah (who I met @ York, now living in Birmingham as an Au-Pair) came to visit Swansea (and me :) ) for the weekend. Some highlights of our weekend include exploring the city centre, doing a little bit of shopping, followed by some educational museum visits to the National Waterfront Museum along the Marina and Swansea Museum. The following day we were able to head off to the otherside of the Bay known as the town of Mumbles. We spent the day exploring the 'Lighthouse Island' at low tide and walking along the Pier. Check out some pictures from Sarah's blog in her post Swansea Slideshow and Having a Wales of a time
Not only did she educate me in the world of blogging, she is extremely talented and I hope you all have noticed my beautiful banner! She designed it for me!!! Pretty impressive! She is definetely my Yoda in the Cyber and Design World. ;)

...Now where was I. Oh yes..the beginning!















Most appropriate I think now would be to talk about where I live. I live in a flat with 7 other girls. We all have our own rooms and bathrooms or WC for those who are familiar with the term Water Closet ;) The only thing we do share however is a large kitchen area. Here are some pictures of my room and of the HOB! (which is basically our equivalent of a stove...except it is seperate from the oven.)



Thankfully, I live in a flat with some really great girls. They took me out on Monday night and I was able to experience a little bit of Swansea nightlife. Last week was my first week of classes which proved to be a very interesting week. One filled with numerous fire alarms throughout the week in my building, and many firsts, such as the first time I used the HOB, the first time I did my laundry and the first and LAST time I couldn't find one of my classes :) The good thing is that my room is quite cozy now as I have added some additions such as PILLOWS!











Overall, It was a great first week in Swansea. I was able to meet a lot of people, learn a lot about Wales (Cymru) and the language although I defintely don't plan on being able to speak Welsh by the time I come home.

I leave you now, with a few pictures of some of my flatmates and I!

First Week in Swansea

Here is a snapshot at some of my first experiences in Swansea.

The beginning of this journey starts off with finding my way solo from Heathrow Airport in London all the way to the city of Swansea in Wales. I arrived in Swansea Thursday, January 21st (after an express train from the airport to Paddington Station in London and a 3 hour train ride from London to Swansea with all my luggage!) and stayed at a little bed and breakfast called The Alexander. Although I crashed at this B&B/Hotel for the night it was a pleasant first night in this city that would become my home.
The following day I found my way to the University of Swansea where I attended orientation for International Students and was able to move into my room.

The next day, Saturday I was able to take a walk to the city centre and take some pics of Swansea Bay across the street from the Uni.









More pictures to come later!