Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (Or so I Hope)

Hello there world. Sorry, I've been a bit out of touch lately. Hopefully it just made you miss my stories and look forward to my next tale. No worries. I've cooked up a whole lot of fun for you to delve into. But before we get into the fun stuff, I've received a request to let you all know how to pronounce the name of Aberystwyth, the town I'm studying in this semester. Well, it's pretty easy...if you know the basic phonetics of the Welsh language. So here is your quick welsh lesson...Y is similar to a short I in English. So, to pronounce it you would say Aaa(as in Apple)-Brr(as in "brrr, it's cold")-Wrist(like a wrist watch)-With(like "I'm with her"). Aaa-brrr-wrist-with. Aberystwyth. Not to shabby. Aber actually means the "mouth of" in Welsh and the Ystwyth is a river that meets the Irish Sea here. So literally, it means the "mouth of the Ystwyth river". You learned something new today. Now, onto my life abroad.

It's been a whirlwind since my last post so let's start with the first week of my Easter Break....which lasted 3 weeks. I left Aberystwyth and took the 3 hour train ride to Birmingham. I met up with my friend Helen, who I met in Montana when she was studying abroad. She and her parents had a whole week of English adventures planned for me so we looked over our agenda and had an early night. I woke up the next morning and we started our journey to Bath. Helen's dad gave me a book about Bath so during the car ride I read about the history of the town and was excited to see the city made mostly of limestone and home to the only naturally occurring hot springs in the UK. Our first stop was the Bath Abbey. Then we walked over the Roman Baths, which are thousands of years old and known for the supposed healing power of the mineral water. You could sample the water from the Baths for a small fee so Helen and I decided to give it a go. It wasn't the most tasty water I've ever had, in fact I was kind of afraid that I was going to get some kind of parasite from the bitter tasting water, but I survived. And the sore throat I'd been fighting of miraculously disappeared two days later...call it a coincidence or maybe the water really is healing. We toured the rest of Bath taking in the amazing Georgian architecture, stopping by the Royal Crescent and crossing Pulteney Bridge. Bath was a beautiful town and a great way to start out my break.

The next day was an exciting one for me. Why you may ask? Well, the next day we made our way to Stratford-Upon-Avon. "Why does that sound familiar?" you may be thinking. It sounds familiar silly because that is where my good buddy Bill was born, lived, and died. Now how do you know Bill? Well, you may know him by his pen name, William Shakespeare, but those of us close to him just call him Bill. Alright, so this was exciting for me because I've kind of been a bit of a closet Shakespeare fan since high school. There, it's out in the open now. I like Shakespeare. I think his sonnets are beautiful and his plays are amazing. I especially enjoy Much Ado About Nothing which is hilarious. And, he manages to insult people in the most brilliant manner ever. Make fun of me, laugh at me, call me what you want, but don't diss on my Shakespeare. Anyways, now that everyone knows that if I had been alive in the late 1500s Shakespeare would have married me instead of Anne Hathaway, let's move on. Stratford was a beautiful town. We started out at Mary Arden's House. Mary Arden was Shakespeare's mother. Her house is outside of Stratford but there is still a working farm there and they even have characters dressed in period clothing working, cooking and gardening. It was pretty cool. Our next stop was at Anne Hathaway's cottage. Then on into town to Shakespeare's birthplace where we saw the room the Bard was born in and grew up in. Down the street from that house were Nash's house and Hall's Croft where Shakespeare's daughter and granddaughter lived. And lastly, we went to the church where Shakespeare is buried, however, they had already closed so I didn't actually get to see his grave. Oh well, I got to see the rest of his life. And I bought an amazing Shakespearean insult mug so that when I have my coffee or tea I can read insults such as "I do desire we may be better strangers" or "Not so much brain as ear wax". I also purchased a Shakespeare cookie, which I found to be hilarious. I then decided that I might as well get a picture with Shakespeare (the cookie, that is) in front of his birthplace. Don't we look happy to be there. Alright, now that I officially sound like a loon I'll move on to the more sane portion of my break.

The following day we went to Litchfield to visit the Litchfield Cathedral. I love old cathedrals so we spent some time exploring the church and taking pictures of the cool gothic style architecture. We then went into Birmingham. Helen's mom owns a costume shop which makes costumes for theater and television throughout the UK and the world. They let me sift through the thousands of pieces of clothing and then I had a little fun trying on hats. Here's one of me being a pirate. Aaarrrrgh!

After playing dressup it was time for our next adventure. Off we went to Blenheim Palace where the Duke of Marlborough currently resides. Blenheim Palace is famous for being the birthplace of former Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. The palace was gorgeous and the grounds and gardens were breath taking. We took a tour of the palace, which is sometimes said to be the nicest palace in England...even compared to Buckingham Palace. Then we had lunch out in the gardens amongst some statues and fountains, then walked along the lake and made our way around the grounds. This particular palace is open to the public because it is the only way the Duke of Marlborough and his family can afford to live there. They only use one wing of the residence for private living and use the main dining hall for Christmas dinner only. There is also a private chapel at the Palace. What a life.

After four days of non-stop adventure and sight-seeing, we needed a break. So, we had a quiet day with evening plans. I took Helen to her first proper Rock Concert. We went into Birmingham that evening for a Hinder concert. You may know them because of their big hit "Lips of an Angel". The show opened with Black Stone Cherry, a great band from Edmonton, Kentucky. They came out after their set and signed autographs and talked with people during the Hinder set. Then, once Hinder was done playing they came out to the merchandise booth, too. They stood there until every last person had a chance to go through the line. It was interesting to me because Hinder is pretty big in the states, but they just released their album last month in the UK. They're still fairly unknown so the show was small and the band isn't too famous over here. Puts a new perspective on fame, it's all relative to the area you're in. I got to meet the guys who were all very nice. Even had a chance to get a picture with Austin Winkler, the lead singer. They all seemed a bit shocked to be hearing an American accent in Birmingham, England. It was a good night in all.

Our last day of adventure was spent at Warwick Castle. We spent the entire day there exploring and I don't think we even got to see half of the stuff the castle had to offer. In the castle courtyard there were activities going on all day for big and little kids alike. There was an archer showing how to shoot a bow. A birds of prey show, a trebuchet, courtyard performers, knights in shining armor, and basically everything you would expect to see at a castle. It made me feel like a kid for the day, not wanting to leave and get excited for storytime. Definitely a worthwhile tourist destination. After a long day of castle exploration it was time to make our trek towards London.

Once in London, Helen and I met up with some of her friend's who she went to University with in Aberystwyth. We went into London and visited the Tate Britain art museum then spent the day walking along the Thames River and walking through the city. We even managed to find Scotland Yard and wouldn't you know it, just down the street we found the Sherlock Holmes Pub. It was too busy for us to go in but I still got a picture of it.

And that was my first week of break in a nutshell, a somewhat large nutshell. Next up, my 2nd two weeks with my sister and two friends from home. We travelled through England, Wales, and Ireland...so many more stories. Coming soon...

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

So, if a picture really is worth a thousand words, then this post must be worth a little over 4,000 words. That's a pretty good post if you ask me. I've decided that instead of just telling you about my time abroad, I should start showing you. Here are a few pictures of life in Aberystwyth with brief explanations of what they are about. But just take a few moments to enjoy the scenery.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A view of Aberystwyth looking south from Constitution Hill. I live in the seafront residences which are the first little cluster of houses closest to the hill. Aberystwyth is a rather small seaside town and is very easy to explore via foot. Constitution Hill is a popular place to walk up for a nice view. The hill on the south end of Aberystwyth is Pen Dinas, another popular viewpoint.

In early February, Aberystwyth received snowfall. It was quite the site to see since snow only comes maybe once or twice a year, if that, and it usually doesn't stick around for long. Students went down to the beach to have snowball fights, people built snowmen all over, and a lot of areas of town shut down. I actually had a lecture get cancelled because my professor couldn't get into town since they don't plow the roads.

Here stands one of the towers remaining from the old Aberystwyth castle. There are still castle ruins that people can go walk through and explore. You can see where earth has covered portions of the castle but it's still pretty cool to be able to walk around town and see an old castle.

And lastly, the Union. "What's the Union?" you may be asking. Well, the Union is similar to the University Center at the UM campus. The biggest difference is that inside the Union are Bar 9 and the Joint. Bar 9 is exactly what it sounds like, a bar on campus. And the Joint, pictured here, is transformed in to a club-like dance floor on various nights of the week. It was a new concept to me having alcohol served on campus and a dance club for students. Pretty good idea if you ask me.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there's a glimpse into the quaint Aberystwyth lifestyle. Hope you're all having a great semester and making exciting plans for your spring break. We have a 3-week break so I'll have plenty of tales to tell of my travels throughout England and Ireland. And the saga continues...

Life Across the Pond

Okay, first off, I just want to clarify that I really don't like the saying "Across the Pond" but apparently everyone I know finds it to be an endearing term when referring to the UK. (This is where I clarify that the Atlantic is an Ocean...not a pond...which is obvious and everyone knows this so wouldn't it be more appropriate to say "across the ocean" or "on the other side of the world" instead of "across the pond"??? Just a thought...) Anyhow, I've learned to embrace it when friends back home ask me how life is "across the pond." And I must say, life across the pond is pretty dang awesome.

Today wrapped up the fourth week of classes here at the University of Wales-Aberytstwyth. It has been an interesting four weeks to say the least. I've learned a lot--not necessarily in my classes but in more of a cultural adaptation/life lessons kind of way. Everyday I have conversations with new people from all across the world. For example, over the course of my day today, I met a girl from Germany in my morning tutorial class. Then I chatted with two American girls at the campus coffee shop. When I went to my afternoon lecture I sat with two students from the Netherlands. And after the lecture I spoke with my lecturer, who is from Northern Ireland, about places to visit in Ireland. All of these different cultures intertwine into my daily life here in Aberystwyth. It's just one of the benefits that come from studying abroad.

In addition to learning about other countries and cultures, I am taking interesting courses while here. All of my classes (or modules as they are called here) are business related. The main difference when compared to my classes at the University of Montana is that there is not nearly as much coursework. Of the five modules I'm taking, the final grades are based off of a combination of one final exam, one essay, presentations, reports, and a case analysis. There is no homework during the semester other than weekly readings. On one hand, it makes the week-to-week student life a lot less stressful. But one of my modules is graded based on a final exam worth 100%. It's a bit intimidating to know that my entire grade rests on the results of one test; but also nice to know that I don't have to worry about mid-terms, quizzes, homework and the like.

Now that I'm settled into life here in Aberystwyth I'm looking forward to doing some traveling. There are castles nearby that are a quick train ride away and various other tourist attractions. Hopefully by the next time you hear from me, I'll have some exciting pictures to show off. Until then, here are a few pictures of one of my favorite parts of Aberystwyth: sunsets over the Irish Sea. Signing off....

A Whole New World

Hello out there! So much has happened since we last spoke. (Or since you read my last blog I guess.) The end of fall semester wrapped up, Christmas and New Year's were spent with family and friends, and....hmm, I know there was something else? What was it? Finals, Christmas, New Year's and...??? Oh yeah! I move to another country!!! That's right. As of January 9th, I left the states for the United Kingdom to spend a semester at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth.

I arrived in London on the morning of January 10th. I stayed with a friend in Kingston and spent the day sleeping. Then I met up with a few friends from Montana in London the following day and we spent our time sight seeing and exploring the beautiful city. Our tour guide, Rich, was a friend we knew who studied at U of M last year. He is from Brighton and actually attends Aberystwyth. He is one of the people who convinced me to do an exchange and was very influential in choosing Aberystwyth. The four of us had a wonderful day going through the British Museum and Tate Modern, seeing Shakespeare's Globe Theater, taking pictures of Big Ben, the members of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Eye of London, and many other must see places. We said our goodbye's as we rode the train out of London. The following day it was time for another adventure. I caught an afternoon train back into London then after a few changes on the London Underground, I boarded a train heading for Amersham.

Once in Amersham, my old friend Helen met me at the station. Helen and I met my freshman year of college. We lived on the same floor in Aber Hall and she was on a year long exchange from, where else, Aberystwyth. We've kept in touch over the past few years and when she heard I was doing an exchange she offered me a place to stay while visiting. Helen and I caught up on each other's lives and had a wonderful weekend. She took me to a stately home, we visited Henley, a lovely town on the Thames River, and we toured the Roald Dahl museum and decorated our own chocalate bars there. It was so great to see her.

After a few days with Helen, it was time to make my journey up to Aberystwyth. After navigating through the London Underground once again, this time with two massive suitcases in tow, I found my platform at Victoria Station and waited for my train to Birmingham. Once I arrived in Birmingham, I was shocked to see a familiar face. Phil, an Aberystwyth student who lived in Missoula last year, was waiting for the same train as me. It really is a small world. We sat together on the train and reminisced about Missoula and Montana. We were both in udder disbelief that we ran into each other in Birmingham, England of all places.

Once in Aberystwyth, I searched for my friend Rich who was meeting me at the station. I saw him and we took my luggage back to his flat. I met all of his flatmates and his lovely girlfriend who we heard so much about while Rich was in the states. Then, Rich gave me a tour of Aberystwyth, which only took about 20 minutes to walk through. I then got settled in at Rich's house and stayed with him for a few days before moving into my Seafront Residence.

My first 2 1/2 weeks abroad have been absolutely amazing. The connections I have made through the International Exchange program have created lifelong friendships. Classes start on Monday so I'm sure I will have plenty of stories to tell once my student life here gets started. Until next time...