Goodbye

Goodbyes saturday morning and friday night...it brought so many mixed emotions and I still can't believe it's real. I don't feel like I just spent 5 months in the beautiful country of Wales getting to know these people and being able to call them my friends, and I may never see them again. But I have already made a promise to come back as soon as I can. We said our final goodbyes at 4:45am, giving our last hugs and wishes before we left for our long journey home. It was so hard saying goodbye, though I tried to make my hugs last as long as they could. I'm going to miss everyone so much, more than they know. On the bus ride to the airport, I couldn't help but reflect on everything and everywhere I had been and seen during my time in Wales. I'm going to miss the beautiful countryside and especially running in all the different places I discovered. I think it's safe to say that Wales stole a piece of my heart that can only be cured if I make sure to visit again someday. I know I'll keep in touch with my flat and the guys because they have impacted my life so much the short time I was in Wales. It's not goodbye...it's see you later Wales=) Thanks for all the memories.

This is for you Nikki=)

When in Rome

Wednesday May 26 started off by catching a train to the Liverpool airport to spend the night there until our flight to Rome in the morning. When we got to Rome our real adventure began. We started off spending a good couple hours trying to find and make our way to our hostel, Peter Pan. That night we wandered around the city, eating our first real Italian pizza and getting lost within the crowds of people. The very next day we spent the day at the Vatican, roaming around the Vatican Museum and Basilica. Apparently you aren't suppose to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel, so I was escorted out because of my behavior=/ oops! It rained for most of the day and we were bombarded my vendor after vendor to buy an umbrella from them. Saturday was much nicer weather, almost too warm and we saw the Colosseum and many other ruins around the area, including the Pantheon and Plazza Navona. At the Colosseum we got convinced to take our picture with 5 gladiators, who kept trying to impress us by flexing and posing. After we took our picture with them, they immediately demanded 5 euros from each of us. Most expensive picture Ive ever taken! We stopped to get gelato after a hot morning and made our way to the Pantheon. It was amazing to think that it was built way back in 27 BC and that it is the largest unsupported building in the World! As we walked toward a place to eat dinner we walked through a plazza, Plazza Navona, full of vendors selling their artwork as well as many street performers. It was a really neat place and we spent a lot of time walking around, taking it all in. We ate dinner at Pizzeria Da Baffetto, known for having the best pizza in Italy, and it was actually really good! After dinner we walked to a lookout at the Piazza del Popolo that overlooked the city and made our way back to the Colosseum to view it at night. Our last day in Rome we went to the Trevie fountain where there were people crowding everywhere, trying to get close to the fountain to throw in a coin for a wish. I eventually made it up to the fountain and made my wish, throwing the coin over my shoulder into the fountain. We then made our way to the Spanish Steps spending time sitting my the nearby fountain and enjoying the view. We left not much longer after that to catch the train to the airport to begin our adventure to Venice.

Venice was like nothing I had ever experience before. We stayed in town and took a bus both Monday and Tuesday to the center of Venice. We spent both days walking around, enjoying the beautiful canals, with every corner a new perspective. We ate lots of gelato and pizza and definitely got lost walking over multiple bridges, down alleys, and zig zag roads. We made our way to both San Marco and San Polo, experiencing both atmospheres. I really enjoyed Venice and loved the large bridges that crossed over the Grand Canal. On the Ponte dell' Accademia bridge there were locks attached to the bridges with couples initials engraved onto them. Those that did attach a lock to the bridge threw the key into the Grand Canal to symbolize eternal love. It was a really neat idea! I would love to go back to Venice some day because it was so hard to take in all its beauty in one trip. I had a great time in Italy with the girls and it was definitely one of my better trips this semester. I'd say I ended the semester pretty well;)

BBC Big Weekend

Saturday marked the start of the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend event in Bangor! Sarah and Ashley won tickets for Sunday and were bringing Molly and I to the concert with them. We left early to catch the 10am to the site and waited in line until noon when the gates finally opened. It was crazy inside, with people rushing to the stages to wait for the performances to begin. We walked to the Main Stage Tent and got pretty close to the stage to watch Paolo Nutini, the first performer. People began to fill the floor, pushing closer and closer to one another until it was almost hard to move. It wasn't long before we were all sweating from all the body heat. After Paolo they had to evacuate the floor due to technical difficulties. As people lined the tent waiting to go back in, with security guards guarding the entrance, we waited for them to let us back in. As soon as they let us go, everyone was running to the stage to get close. Before we knew it we were all running as fast as we could without tripping on one another or loosing our shoes. At one point i lost my shoe and we were getting pushed into people. It was scary but we finally got a good spot toward the front and caught our breathe. The next performance was Pixie Lott, with more people crowding closer and closer. She was good and right after was Jason Derulo. It was getting really hot in the stage area and many people were passing out, which was scary. We all made sure to stay hydrated to avoid that situation. We saw Nikki, Charlie, and Liz in the crowd standing a bit behind us! How ironic that we found them in a crowd of over 20,000 people. Right after Jason Derulo, Paramore performed. She was really good! And Sarah even got the guitar pic of the guitarist after he threw it into the crowd and it landed on her shirt. We got to watch Ke$ha, Biffy Clyro, and Rhianna perform on the main stage before leaving to go to the smaller stage to watch Vampire Weekend. We left at a good time since mosh pits were beginning to occur and people were getting a little crazy. Vampire Weekend was my favorite performance of the day and people were dancing around. At one point during the concert a person tried to body surf over us, but Molly and I were the only ones in the section and they fell on us. I couldn't help but laugh at how scary yet funny it was, but we made sure to stay out of the way. By the end of Vampire Weekend's performance it was 9:30pm and we had been standing for 11 hours, and after climbing Snowdon yesterday, and were hungry and tired. We got some tasty Chinese food to refuel us after a long day and headed back to the bus stop to go home and sleep. Ashley and I noticed that our ankles had swollen up from standing for so long and looked like cankles, I just laughed at how ridiculous it looked. Sunday was great fun!

Monday May 24, 2010-

Tonight we went out for a flat dinner before we all left to go our separate ways for the summer. It was sad to think that would be the last time we would all get to eat together, but I had fun spending time as a flat. I'm going to miss them all very much and I don't know if I'm ready to say goodbye yet=/

Tapping the peak of Snowdon

This morning Molly, Sarah, Ashely and I got up early to climb Snowdon mountain before leaving Bangor. We got up pretty early to catch the bus to Llaberis, where the bottom of the peak of Snowdon is. We rode with Megan and Justine as well, who would be taking the train to the peak. We began our adventure around 9:45am with the sun beating down on our backs. We could not have asked for a better day to climb. We started walking up a very steep long path that took us to the beginning of the mountain. But it was definitely an intimidating climb since we were all thinking "is it going to be like this the whole way up the mountain?" There were many people climbing today too, probably trying to take advantage of the nice weather too. We began our walk up the mountain, getting passed by a couple runners, and walked past many sheep along the way. We were about half way in an hour, but still had the steep section to climb. We took breaks throughout the day, enjoying the view from all the angles and talking with locals, encouraging one another. We finally made it to the top, where a large group of people were gathered after about 2 hours, but realized we still had about a 15 minute walk up to the very summit. It was a steep climb and the bugs were awful, getting worse the higher we climbed. We finally climbed the last few steps to the very tip where a gold compass was mounted on a rock and about 15 other people were trying to gather around to touch the compass. Molly and I tapped the compass and got out of the crowd and swarm of bugs. It was so beautiful from the top and you could see for miles. The fog began to get thicker as the day went on but it was still very clear out. We enjoyed our lunch on a nearby grassy area and began our walk down the mountain. The walk down wasn't nearly as bad and we got down in about 1.5 hours. We were all pretty beat and very sweaty from the hot sun shinning on us all day and the continuous climb up the mountain. Before hopping on a train to go back to Bangor we stopped to grab an ice cream bar to cool us down. It was just what we needed. Once we got back to Bangor we got Pizza House pizza and watched a movie after a hard day of exercise. It was a great day to climb a mountain and I had the best crew with me to climb=)

London and Flight of the Conchords

May 18, 2010-
I woke up to a beautiful clear, sunny day as Molly and I walked down to the train station to catch our ride at 7:22 AM. After a 3.5 hour train ride we arrived at the London Euston station. We found a place to buy a tube train pass and headed to find our hostel. When we thought we had found our stop, we got off and headed toward the exit. When we put our tickets through the machine though, if wouldn't let us through. Turns out we had only bought a pass for zones 1 and 2, when our hostel was in zone 3. Thinking we were stuck, the man in charge told us we could simply update our card for a little extra cash. We were glad we got that taken care of. As we began walking around the town the train had dropped us off in, Molly and I realized we had gotten off at the wrong stop. It was a rough start to the day but we eventually found our stop and made it to our hostel. We were staying at the London Backpacker's Hostel in a 12 person female room. We didn't know what to expect but as soon as we got to our room we met a nice Canadian girl who was traveling by herself around London. We became pretty friendly with her, getting to know her and sharing our travel stories. After Molly and I changed into our concert clothes we hopped on the tube again to head to King's cross to see Platform 9 3/4, like in Harry Potter. We walked around for quite awhile at the station trying to find this landmark and finally game in to ask someone, sounding like a typical tourist. We finally found the area where a half trolley cart was sticking out of the wall with a label above that said Platform 9 3/4. Of course, it was nowhere near platform 9 or 10. Our next stop was to London Bridge. As we were walking to see the famous bridge we got mixed into a group of business people who had appeared to have gathered for a fire drill. We continued to follow them until we realized they were walking into a parking garage back to their work, so we quickly escaped that pack of people, embarrassed that we thought they were tourists that knew where they were going. We walked along the Thames River enjoying the nice weather. We rode to Tower Hill next to check out the Tower of London where all the Jewels are kept and saw the famous Tower Bridge. Our next stop was to St. James Wood where the famous Abbey Road is located. We walked about 5 minutes from the station and came across the same exact street crossing The Beatles crossed for their album picture. There were a number of people crowding around waiting to take their picture crossing the road. The Abbey studio was located just beyond the crossing. Molly and I quickly took pictures of us crossing, avoiding getting hit by the cars passing by. I can only imagine how tired they are of having to wait for tourists to take their pictures everyday there. We hurried to the tube to catch the train to Wembly Central to see the Flight of the Conchords concert at Wembly Stadium. We grabbed dinner and found our way to the entrance. The concert was amazing and both Molly and I were laughing the whole time. Even Dave from Flight of the Conchords, Arj Barker, told jokes at the beginning of the show. I love his humor! It wasn't long before the concert was over, but I had a great time and could hardly believe I got to fulfil one of my dreams of seeing Bret and Jemaine live from the second row in London! I even got a picture with Arj Barker after the show. We found our way home after a long day, struggling to stay awake and climbed into our beds with the other girls asleep already. At some point during the night one of the girls yelled at the other girl to stop moving and making noise. Molly and I both got pretty scared since it had woken us up and were afraid there was going to be a big girl fight. They argued a bit but nothing more, guess that's what happens when you put 12 girls into a room together.

May 19, 2010-
The next morning Molly and I got up early to shower and get ready for the day. The hostel provided breakfast where we got to talk to our Canadian friend again. Our first stop for the day was to St. James Park to watch the changing of the guards at the Buckingham Palace. We got there extra early to get a good view. We were right outside the gates with a great view of the ceremony of the changing of the guards. At one point two of the guards came marching straight toward us! It was pretty neat seeing them up close and person. I couldn't imagine having to do that everyday though. We walked along the outside of St. James Park. It was so beautiful with all its trees and the sun was shinning. There were so many runners too! I was really surprised, but if I had a beautiful place like that to run in, I would too. We walked past Big Ben, the Parliament, saw the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. The clock just struck 1pm when we walked past the abbey so we were able to listen to the bells. We were really hungry so we stopped at a Pasty shop to try the famous Cornish Pasty made in Cornwall and shipped to London. I had a steak pasty and it was delicious! We stopped at a near by McDonald's to get a McFlurry, of course, to end our meal right. We hopped on the train again to Knightsbridge to do some shopping and stop at Harrods. I couldn't believe how big Harrods was! There were over 5 floors in Harrods full of clothes, accessories, and toys. It was so easy to get lost. We spent most of our time in the toys, having fun looking at all the neat stuff. After too much fun and a good hour spent in Harrods we did a bit more shopping around the city. It was all so expensive though, ranging from Burberry to Dolce and Gabbana! At one of the stores there were even paparazzi standing right outside the store. We thought that was pretty neat and wondered who it could have been. We hopped on the tube to the Euston train station and began our trip back to Bangor. It had been another long day, but I had a blast getting lost and finding my way with Molly =)

The Beatles and Liverpool

Yesterday morning we gathered outside to head to Liverpool in England, home to the Beatles. In order to get there, we drove through one of the long underwater tunnels that connect Wales to England, called the Queens Way and the Kings Way. Once we got there, we headed straight for The Beatles Story Exhibition. On our way there we passed a large Ferris wheel that reminded me a lot of the London Eye. It was really cool because it looked out at all the small docking areas surrounding the outside edges of the coast. We were lead through the history of the Beatles, from the lifestyles of each band member, to the story of how they met, to finally the break up of the band in 1970 by an audio tour with the Beatles songs playing throughout the different sections of the tour. I learned so much about the Beatles and really enjoyed getting to know John, Paul, Ringo and George individually through their stories in the tour. I never realized how much they accomplished throughout their short time being a band. Even after their break up as a band, each one was able to find their own fame and success through their different talents. I could definitely see myself as one of the crazy Beatle fans if I were a band during their generation! I gained a new respect and appreciation for them after the tour and was glad we were given the opportunity to go there. After our adventure Beatles adventure we decided we wanted to learn more about the Beatles so we walked to the other exhibit, getting lost in the town center where street performances were going on at every corner and you could only see clutters of people in the distance. We explored there for a bit and tried finding the Albert Docks, where the rest of the Beatles tour was. A nice Liverpool woman helped direct us in the right direction and we were off. By now the sun was out and was beautiful out! In the other exhibit we experienced a 4D short film about the Beatles, taking us through the different places in England associated with the Beatles songs. We then went through the John Lennon exhibit narrated by his first wife, Cynthia. It was all really interesting and I enjoyed learning about John's life. The rest of the day we spent shopping around the city center with its 3 floors of shops and watching performers on the street. I couldn't believe how many people were out on and shopping though. It was almost overwhelming at times, especially when you could barely move in a store to get to the exit. The day went by really fast and before we knew it, it was already 10 minutes to 5! Molly, Megan, and I raced back to the bus, getting lost along the way like normal, but finally made it. We headed back to Bangor after a busy, interesting day. I really enjoyed my time at Liverpool, especially because we were able to spend so much time learning about the Beatles. I feel like that is really part of the experience with coming to Liverpool. It was fun to be in a city with so many people since we are all not really use to it, coming from small towns in Iowa and elsewhere and from our safe town of Bangor. It is definitely a trip a person should make if they come to the united Kingdom.

Penrhyn Castle

This morning we left for our last castle field trip of the semester around noon to Penrhyn Castle in Llandygai. I was especially excited to see this castle because I have ran past it so many times and have always wondered what the castle was like inside. The Penrhyn Castle was home to the Pennant family and their many servants over 150 years ago and is still in very good condition today, with all of the rooms still furnished and decorated. The castle was very large and had a stone wall surrounding the whole land they owned, covering 2.5 square miles! The Pennant family gained their fortune through slavery at their Jamaican sugar plantations, but added to their fortune through the success of the slate mines they owned, referred to as the Penrhyn quarries. We entered the castle and began our extravagant tour through all the bedrooms, dining rooms, and kitchens. One of the first rooms we entered had a billboard made completely of slate. Slate was popular throughout the castle and the men especially liked this unique object. The Tea Room was one section of the castle where the women could enjoy a nice cup of tea and chat. The room had drapery wallpaper and a beautiful marble table, with many nice comfortable couches. And to think this was just the tea room! The next room we entered was called the Ebony Room because all the furniture in the room was made from dark wood, giving the room an almost mysterious feeling. On one of the walls there was a picture of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. It almost seemed out of place in such a dark room. We then walked up the large detailed spiral staircase to the bedrooms. Just opposite the stairs and above was an overhanging lamp held up by a statue hand, meant to represent a light guiding the way. The first bedroom we entered was called the State Bedroom where important people slept if they were to visit. This room had a huge canopy bed with 15ft ceilings and a separate changing room and bathroom. The bathrooms in the castle were the first to have indoor plumbing, which was quite unique during the 1850s. Another bedroom we saw was the Slate Bedroom with a bed carved completely from slate and an amazing view of the slate mines the Pennant family owned right outside the window. Queen Victoria is said to have slept in this bed when she came to visit the castle. As we were walking around the castle I noticed the thick doors and walls that separated the rooms from one another. Each door was about 3 inches thick! There were many pictures throughout the castle of the castle itself in the distance with the Welsh mountains and ocean in the picture as well as various pictures of the Pennant's sugar plantations in Jamaica. Another bedroom that was really unique was the Indian Bedroom that contained stuff from Eastern Europe and the wallpaper hand painted in India. Above the bed was a painted cockle said to wake up the Lord in the morning sleeping in the room. There was even a small chapel in the castle, where the servants were to attend everyday. The Dining Room was really extravagant with the table all set up, ready to be eaten at. The different utensils used were really interesting. There were pictures throughout the room of the Pennant family and a secret area where a screen could be moved for the men to pee if they needed to during dinner. Outside the Breakfast room/Small Dining Room there was a large picture of the workers at the Penrhyn quarry, which covered 3,500 acres. We passed through the Servant's Hall that had over 50 bells hung from above with a label of the room that each bell represented. These bells could be rung throughout the castle in the various rooms to call for a servant and a boy would be watching to see what bell rang and go to the housekeepers and tell them. The last area we visited was the Kitchen, which was made up of many different rooms. It looked as if there was a separate room for desserts, meat, and dishes. The kitchen had various tools used for cooking such as a copper fireplace, which was later replaced by a coal-bunker, pastry ovens, gas stove, 3 gas grills, and an interesting turning spit that was controlled by the strength of the fire below. The castle was very extravagant inside and I couldn't imagine a single family living in such a large building. The family left the house to the government because government taxes reached up to 95%, making it too expensive for a family to afford to pass it down to their family.

After exploring inside we walked around the castle boundaries to a beautiful walled garden with various flowers, trees, and a bog garden or swamp garden just outside the walled garden. It is set at a low level with wet plants growing within that area such as tree ferns, Japanese Maple and copper hazel. We walked around the forested area, finding a pasture full of cows and a great view of the mountains. I enjoyed walking around the castle grounds and trying to imagine being a kid and exploring the area. It was such a beautiful day too, making it that much more enjoyable. I really enjoyed this castle not only because it was furnished inside, but because it covered so much ground and felt like a secluded town within a busy town outside the walls.

Conwy Castle/Colwyn Bay

Today we got up early to go on a field trip to Conwy to visit the Conwy Castle, the favorite castle of King Edward's, and Colwyn Bay to the Welsh Mountain Zoo. The bus dropped us off at the harbor of Conwy, where many yachts and boat were stored. The harbor was really pretty with the sun shinning off of it and the castle in the background. Conwy was actually one of the most important pearl fisheries in the country at one time. Musseling is still carried out the traditional way in Conwy, making the harbor such an important aspect of the town. Along the harbor we also got to witness the smallest house in the UK! It really was pretty tiny...probably only about 1.5x my size with 2 floors. Talk about cramped living=/ Next we walked along the medieval town wall connecting to the Conwy Castle. It's amazing to think that the walls were still standing and once defended the largest of Edward's Welsh Frontier towns and protected the castle itself from attackers. The views from the stone walls were magnificent! From one angle the Wales country side could be enjoyed and from another angle the beautiful harbor could be admired. We made our way to the Conwy Castle and walked around the different rooms/chambers throughout the castle. Conwy castle was especially interesting because of its Prison Tower that held captives for ransom, which none of the other castles we had visited had. From the top of the towers you could see the draw string bridge and train tube bridge over the Conwy River, connecting Western Wales with Eastern Wales. During the thirteenth century this bridge would have not existed in order to protect the castle. For lunch we stopped at a small fish and chips shop to try what Sally refers to as "the best fish and chips"...boy have I heard that a lot=/ But it was actually very good! I don't think I've had any bad fish and chips experience since I've been here though.

After lunch we headed to Colwyn Bay to visit the Welsh Mountain Zoo. We wandered around looking at the different animals, especially enjoying the baby Welsh Mountain Goats galloping around by their mom. We also got to see Przewalskis Wild Horses, who look very different from most horses, with their short manes and long, dark line running along their back. We watched the penguins and seals for awhile since they were both having fun splashing and swimming in the water. We even saw some Guinea pigs! They looked a lot like the kind of Guinea pigs you buy for pets. It was kinda funny to see them at a zoo, along with the Red Squirrels breeding programme. There were a variety of monkeys, including the Cotton Top Tamarin, which looked like miniature gremlins almost, and the Red-Faced Black Spider Monkeys, which had a snake like tail that could hook on to objects and swing from them. We also got to see a large Mississippi Alligator that was almost twice my size and touch a corn snake from North America. Before leaving we pasted a camel exhibit that was pretty unique for Wales. The zoo was a lot of fun and we got to see a bunch of different animals that zoos in America wouldn't have. It was especially interesting to see what kind of animals a zoo in Wales would have since the conditions are different and what kind of animals people are familiar with.

Tonight Megan, Will and I went to Annie's choir concert. It was really neat! The choir, orchestra, and soloist sounded amazing, even if it was all in Latin. I couldn't believe how much talent these students and older residents had. It really is true that Welsh people have beautiful voices=)

Last Outdoor Pursutis Sea Level Traversing

Yesterday was our last day of outdoor pursuits. It was weird thinking that we had had 10 other outdoor pursuits and this was our last one in Wales. We were all excited to see Sally as soon as we got into the van and she immediately gave us our options for the day. Originally we were suppose to go sailing, but this morning provided little wind and was very cloudy with sprinkles. She gave us the option to go climbing in the mountains or go sea level traversing again. In the end we choose sea level traversing because we had plans to BBQ and Sally had plans to take us to a cave called "Soup Dragon". We were all happy with that choice, a little disappointed that we couldn't try sailing, but knew we would have a good time like always. Iwan came along with us for the day to help set up the activities. We got to the Conway Centre and gathered out supplies without the help of Sally since we knew what we needed for sea level traversing from the past and changed for the day. We drove to Penrhyn Mawr in Holyhead, the same place we sea level traversed last time, but we started from the other side of the edge. We left our BBQ supplies and dry bags on the beach nearby and walked to the side of the cliff to begin our adventure. Our first challenge right away was abseiling. We had all abseiled before when we had rock climbed outside, but with the guidance of Garreth, and this time Iwan wanted us to be in complete control. We all took turns abseiling down the steep Atlantic slabs, which were flat vertical rock slabs surrounding us in the particular area that we were in. After watching a couple of the other girls make it down safely, it was my turn. I checked my squeeze test and began abseiling down the rock. It was nerve racking at first being in complete control and I began very slow, but progressively got more comfortable and reached the bottom. Sally instructed me to go all the way to the bottom of the rock till my butt touched the water, so I did what she said. But when she told me to let go of the rope, I didn't let go because I knew I would fall in the water. Turns out that was her plan all along, and the only person she got to fall for her trick was Megan, haha. As we all gathered at the bottom of the cliff and waited for our other teammates to reach the bottom Sally instructed me to lead the pack to the opposite side of rock she was sitting on. I was able to guide the group along the edge sea level traversing, finding safe paths and passing along helpful advice to those behind me. When we were all gathered again, Molly lead the pack around the edge of the cliffs, staying close to the sea level, helping all of us get around some pretty difficult parts. There was one area where it wasn't safe enough to climb near the sea level, so we had to climb higher up on the rock edges. We had to be very careful and were reminded how to fall safely if it came down to that. When we finally reached the Soup Dragon cave opening we had a difficult gap between the two rock edges. Sally demonstrated how to get across safely and Molly followed, with me right behind her. It was really important to instruct the person behind each of us so that we could each get across safely. As soon as we got across we jumped into the water to enter the Soup Dragon cave. We were all swimming around deeper and deeper into the cave, having fun splashing around and reached the back of the cave. We could feel the tide getting higher as it pushed and pulled us back and forth. We had a blast pretending we were on a roller coaster ride and people could probably hear us yelling from miles away. Some of the girls were really nervous about being in a dark cave as the tide gradually rose. Surprisingly I was comfortable because I knew Sally would never put us in a dangerous situation. After so many activities with her I have grown more confident and have gotten over many of the fears I didn't think were possible. We made our way out of the cave and continued to sea level traverse until we were close to the beach for lunch. It was much more difficult this time around, with certain area where we really needed to focus on our footing and hand placement. I felt much more confident in my ability to sea level traverse after doing the activity already, as did many of the other team members, which made the day go by a lot smoother. Our last challenge was a large gap between the two cliffs where we had to reach our leg all the way across to the other edge. It was really difficult, trying to hang on and move without falling into the water. I successfully made it, being the only girl to have made it, and Molly and Annie followed right behind me making it across. As soon as we were across we jumped into the water and swam to the beach to begin our BBQ. I had a really great time sea level traversing, and the sun had even come out for part of the day. We enjoyed our last lunch together as a group and packed up to go back to the van. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to the Conway Centre after we had spent so much time there but went away with a new outlook on life. I have had the best experiences in Wales because of Outdoor Pursuits and I can't wait to take everything I've learned back to America and share it with others.

Last night we met up with Sally and Laura and the other Americans at Varsity to have a few drinks and spend one last night with our Outdoor Pursuits instructors. It was a blast! We had drinks, talked, laughed, took pictures, and just enjoyed each others company. After spending almost 3 hours at Varsity we all decided to go to Academy to dance for a little, even Sally and Laura came with! We danced all night with Sally and Laura and had fun being silly with them, just like in Outdoor Pursuits. We didn't leave until 2am when Sally and Laura both left for the night. We gave them hugs and said our goodbyes. It was really hard saying goodbye after spending so much time with them and it made me think how hard its going to be when I leave in June. Sally was such a great inspiration for me and taught me so much, pushing me mentally and physically past what I would expect of myself. She taught me to be confident in myself as well as never giving up in any situation. I hope that I made as big of an impact on her as she did for me=)

Karaoke

Yesterday all us girls and the guys went to Bar Uno to sing karaoke for the last time in Wales. We sang "Wanna Be" by the Spice Girls while the audience helped sing to it, which helped a lot with my nerves at least. It was a lot of fun! We signed the guys up for "Man I feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain...they were pretty good! And they also sang "Stacy's Mom"...making a few changes to the song itself. There was one character last night that was no doubt gay from his squeaky voice and singing "I am Woman" and the girl version for "Summer Nights". He was fun to listen to and watch sing. We had fun making fun of ourselves and listening to the other more drunk singers perform their karaoke songs. It was a great night out with all our friends=)

Surfs up!

Waking up this morning the weather wasn't very promising...no wind, cloudy, and cooler. But that didn't stop Sally from taking the chance to take us surfing! We were all so excited on the van ride to the Conway Centre ready to give surfing a chance. We gathered our gear hurrying to beat the high tide so we could check for waves at the beaches. We drove about 30 minutes to Rhosneigr on Anglesey and checked out three different beaches there for the best waves, finally parking at Broad Beach where the waves were about 1-2 feet tall. We carried our surfboards to the beach, set up our wind breaker for our supplies and during lunch. We immediately began our surfing adventure, first learning how to lay on the board, about the center so that the front wouldn't nose dive and the back wouldn't sink. Before hitting the water Sally had us stand up on our board with one foot straight forward and one sideways in the back. As soon as we were ready we raced into the water excited to test our new techniques. We had to get past the bigger waves and wait for a break, which Sally informed us was about every seven waves. As I turned my board to face the shore I paddled as hard and fast as I could and took two big strokes just as the wave began to carry me and lifted up with my arms, surfing the wave! I was really proud of myself for successfully riding the wave and being confident in my ability to do it. The next couple attempts to surf I was trashed by the waves, swallowing a lot of salt water along the way. It scared me going under the water for that short time and not knowing where I was going to end up, but Sally taught us to hold tight to our boards because they were our main buoyancy aid. I learned to keep my mouth closed when the waves came and blow out of my nose to avoid that awful experience again. Before long I was able to ride the waves on my knees, working my way to being able to stand up. I didn't want to stop, I was having so much fun, even after crashing multiple times, I wanted to keep trying until I got it. It was great seeing all the other team members successfully riding the waves, a couple even standing up already! We were all so cheerful of one another, encouraging each other even after a bad crash, making the experience so much better. I had a lot of close attempts to stand up on my board, but all of them ended with me falling over. It was frustrating at times not being able to stand up when it seemed that everyone else was having no problem. I knew that if I was patient enough and had the confidence to do it I could stand. But it would have to be after lunch since it was that time to reenergize our bodies.

None of us realized how hungry we were until we bit into our sandwiches. We were just having so much fun we didn't want to take a break. After lunch we were feeling much colder now that we had stopped exercising so we played a couple games to warm ourselves up. Sally entered us in a Winter Olympics Game testing our skills by cross country skiing, speed skating, snowboarding, bobsledding, and even curling! It was great fun and helped get our blood flowing. We continued playing games that included making a HUGE pizza together and bum wrestling. By the end of our activities we were ready to head back into the water to continue our surfing skills. By this time the tide had gotten much lower, revealing more than twice as much of the sand than when we first got to the beach. This time around I was determined to stand up on my board. After countless failed attempts but still having fun learning I finally stood on my board! It was the best feeling being able to stand after all the hard work and determination I put into it. Sally cheered me on from the beach and I couldn't help but smile at my accomplishment. The rest of us continued to catch waves, struggling as the day went on since the tide was so low and the waves weren't as big. I didn't want the day to end but Sally soon called us into the shore. She gave us a couple buddy challenges to do on the surf boards so Elliot and I choose to be partners. Our first challenge was to ride a wave together on the surf board. It took many of us several attempts, but Elliot and I finally caught a wave both staying on the board. The next challenges consisted of standing on the board, doing a headstand, and somersault on the surf board while the other partner held the board. Last but not least we tried flipping our boards upside down, under water and flipping it right side up again, a helpful technique if one's board were to flip. After the activities everyone was pretty sore and weak after surfing all day and getting beat up by the waves. I had the greatest time surfing and would have never imagined myself being able to surf, let alone stand up on the board! I can't wait to try this activity again someday. This summer or spring break next year possible?

Other exciting news...this last Tuesday Elliot, Molly, Sarah, Annie and I walked down to the Bangor University Business Building because the Queen was coming to visit there. Yes...the Queen of England! We were within feet of her as she was sitting in the backseat of a car that took her to the building. She waved at all of the viewers in her bright pink matching coat and skirt outfit. It was so exciting to see the Queen in Bangor at our University! We caught more glimpses of her as she passed from one building to the next and got a couple pictures to prove it. This week was definitely filled with exciting, eventful things=)

A weekend in Cardiff

Friday morning all the Americans left to head to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, with Iwan, Tecwyn's replacement since he was still stuck in America due to the volcano ash. We rode along the English/Welsh border. Before getting to Cardiff we stopped at a couple places including our first stop in Hereford where we checked out the Hereford Cathedral where the Mappa Mundi is located. It's the largest surviving complete medieval world map. Although we didn't get to personally see it, we did get to walk around the Cathedral, crypt, garden and the town. The headquarters of Bulmer's cider is also located in Hereford. The next stop was the Wye Valley where we stopped to see the Tintern Abbey medieval monastery ruins. The Abbey was so magnificent with the sun shinning through the window holes at the top of the peaks and lighting up the grass below. It felt so magical! We continued on our way to Cardiff passing by the Severn bridge, a mile long bridge connecting Wales to England. It was crazy how long of a bridge it was and how sturdy it must have to be. We got to our hostel realizing we had a front door view of the Millennium Stadium right across the river. The whole group went out for Mexican food that night and afterwards walked around the city and eating ice cream before heading back to the hostel for the night.

The next morning we all walked to Cardiff Castle and got a guided tour of the inside that was all furnished and decorated the way it would have been during that time. One room cost 2.2 million pounds for the gold painted on the ceiling alone! Next we walked to the Millennium Stadium, just down the road and got a guided tour of the stadium by Garreth. We walked through the locker room/changing room and came out into the stadium to hear a loud roar of people cheering! I felt just like a rugby player getting ready to play a game for my country. We also got to see the box seats and the Presidents room where the Queen once sat to watch a game. We continued on to Cardiff Bay where the National Assembly for Wales is located. We stopped at Harry Ramsden's Worlds best fish and chip shop there and enjoyed our meal outside by the bay. It was delicious, though I couldn't tell you if it's the world's best fish and chips. After walking around the bay for a bit we got back on the bus to head to St. Fagans to see the National History Museum set up like an open air folk museum. We were able to walk around the large area to see the St. Fagan's castle and beautiful pond area. The weather was beautiful and I really enjoyed the many scenic areas throughout the museum. We got back to the hostel and made our dinner before heading out to shop around the city. That night a couple of the girls and guys went out to Y Mochyn Du, the pub our Millennium Stadium tour guide, Garreth, suggested we go to. We even saw him there and talked with him for awhile. There was a rugby team there that we got to know pretty well. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed talking to the locals there.

Our last day in Cardiff we drove to the National Museum and Gallery of Wales. We were able to learn about the history of Wales and see many Impressionist paintings by famous painters. Before we knew it we were heading back to Bangor after a busy, site-seeing, eventful, and fun experience in Cardiff. Cardiff definitely didn't feel like a big city, in fact, I felt very safe in the town and it reminded me of home.

Star Gazing and Kayaking

Last night Nikki, Charlie, Megan, George, Josh and I walked to the Roman Camp to watch the Lyrids meteor shower. As we were walking there I looked up to see a meteor fly right over my head! I couldn't wait to get to the Roman Camp to enjoy more star gazing. After getting there and finding a comfortable spot to lie down we waited...and waited...and then waited some more and never saw any meteors except for a couple stray ones off to the side. Although we didn't see many meteors, I did enjoy star gazing and pointing out the constellations we knew and spending time with my flat mates and Megan=)

This morning we knew we only had 3 more Outdoor Pursuits classes left, leaving kayaking, sailing, and surfing left on our to do list. We all had different ideas of what activity we would be doing, but found out soon enough after getting into the van with Sally that we were kayaking. Sally was telling us that Prince Williams had came to the Conway Center to kayak yesterday and that one of us might even be lucky enough to wear his same wetsuit or even use the same kayak! Most of us thought is would be pretty similar to canoeing but we found out that it was very different as the day went on. It would be interesting trying a sport non of the group members had ever tried before. This meant that we would really need to pay attention to Sally's advice and be supportive teammates. We collected our gear and kayak, each of us adjusting the leg length at the bow of the kayak. Laura came along with us to assist our large group. We drove about 30 minutes to Rhoscolyn Bay in Anglesey and carried our kayaks to the shore. Before getting into the water we did some exercises with our paddles to warm up and ran around getting loose. Sally taught us how to hold the kayak paddle, different from a canoe paddle because it has a paddle on each end, and turn it keeping our right hand tight and leaving our left hand loose to rotate the paddle. After we were all warmed up we got into our kayaks and set off into the bay. The kayak was different than the canoe because we each had our own kayak rather than working as a team when we canoed and we had to sit with our legs straight in front of us, under the sides of the kayak. As soon as we were floating in the water I could feel the wobbliness of the kayak and it made me very tense not to make any sudden movements, afraid to tip over. Before getting too far into the water Sally taught us that if we were to capsize we needed to remove our knees from inside the kayak and push off from the sides. The thought that the kayak kept you in place even if you were upside down underwater made me nervous, but I felt better knowing how to get out of that situation if the time came to that. We paddles around, learning how to paddle forward, backward, make circles, and stop. After everyone was comfortable we played a couple games like sardines, freeze tag and follow the leader giving everyone a chance to lead the pack in single file. It was great practice before stopping to eat lunch on the beach. As we were eating lunch the tide continually rose, reaching our beached kayaks. Throughout the day the tide continued to get higher.

After lunch Laura joined us to rock hop, meaning we would be kayaking along the rocks into the Irish Sea. We kayaked through small rock passages, having to paddle quickly when the tide was highest. Some of the girls got stuck on the rocks when the tide went out, so it was important to time it perfectly. We reached some areas where we had to pull up our skag, the rudder in the bottom of the kayak to help steering, to avoid it catching the rocks below. We then began to make our way to the Beacon island where we had to ferry over a couple strong currents, just like we did when we canoed. Sally told us the best way to stay balanced was to paddle hard and consistently over the rougher areas. As soon as we reached the island we made our way around the outside. We even saw a seal along the side of the rock shore! The tide was still rising, making it more difficult to find safe areas to kayak through. We had to make sure to stay in single file to avoid accidents or overcrowding that could result in capsizing. As we made our way back to shore we had to cross over a very strong current. We had to paddle as hard as we could at an angle to avoid being pushed down stream. At one point Elliot got stuck on a rock and capsized! Sally helped him empty his kayak with water and get him back into the kayak as quickly and safely as possible. It was scary knowing that we were in a strong current and Elliot could have gotten pulled down the current, but Sally was quick to act and saved the situation. Laura instructed us to raft up, connecting our kayaks side by side, to keep us from drifting off until Elliot joined our group again. Once we were all in a group we paddled non stop to get back to the shore, using our stomach muscles to maximize the power of our paddling. My arms and back began to ache but it was my responsibility to keep paddling and stay with the group to make it safely back. Before ending the day we played one last game, rafting up and trying to walk across the kayak fronts to switch places with another group member. The game ended in many flooded kayaks and wet people but we still had lots of fun! We paddled back to the beach sore from working hard paddling and our legs being crammed into a tiny space. Everyone did very well today for never kayaking before and were supportive and helpful when there were tricky situations. I enjoyed the challenge of starting from scratch with an activity I had no experience with or knowledge of. I felt that I was able to improve my water confidence through the success of this activity.

Cadbury World!

Yesterday we went to Cadbury World....yes, Cadbury, the famous chocolate of the UK! The factory and actual Cadbury World building is located in Birmingham, England, so we caught a train there and started our adventure to eat chocolate...and of course learn about Cadbury chocolate. Once we arrived in Bournville we followed the purple gates and signs leading us to the building. There sure was a lot of purple in the town! As soon as we saw the building our pace started to pick up and we walked in to find that the World's Biggest Cadbury Shop, just waiting for us to go inside. We explored for awhile, looking at all the different varieties of chocolate and huge chocolate bars! Soon we started the 14 zone exhibition through the building, but not without our free chocolate that was being handed out=) The exhibition started from the very beginning when the Mayans discovered a use for cocoa beans and lead into the introduction of cocoa to the UK and eventually to where it is today. We got to see how it was made and even witness workers in the factory working hard to make Cadbury chocolate perfect. Within the 14 zones we got to ride in a mechanical car that took us around "Cocoa Land", where cocoa beans ran free and were content with the fact that they would be made into Cadbury chocolate...it was alittle odd....but interesting to see the beans skiing and fishing throughout the ride. After 4 hours of chocolate eating, exploring, and walking around Cadbury World, we were ready to get head out. But first we had to make a trip to Essence, where we were able to "travel back in time" and make our own chocolate concoction. We each picked out a topping and they filled a cup full of melted Cadbury chocolate and we got to eat it! YUM! I don't know if I've ever eaten that much chocolate in one day, but we were ready for some real food, so we ended up walking around the whole city just to find a New York style restaurant called Franky and Benny's and got some delicious burgers there. It was so warm outside so we were pretty excited to go into an air conditioned building...unfortunately for us, their air conditioning was broken in the restaurant...so it was pretty hot=/ But we couldn't complain, we had just had a wonderful time at Cadbury World. After a long train ride home, and a couple train switches we were finally back in Bangor ready for bed. Cadbury World was amazing! Defintiely aimed for little children, so we may have enjoyed our experience a little too much;) Can't wait for our next adventure!