Almost time for Classes!

It's Sunday afternoon here. Nice and quiet, a reprieve from the hectic-ness and loudness of Freshers Fortnight. I can hear people rustling about their rooms and clanging in the kitchen. But I think the magic of Sundays has won out, and the world has decided to rest.

Let's see... It's been almost 2 1/2 weeks since I updated! Wow! Time has sure flown. Let me see if I can update everyone on what's been going on...

Ireland:
Ireland was an amazing trip. I saw so much history in Dublin: places from the Easter Rebellion, the Book of Kells, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Temple Bar, The Old Library at Trinity College, bog people, and a lot more. They were all fascinating places, and it was so amazing to actually stand in places you've only read about in text books before. I also heard live Irish music and watched people spontaneously break out into Irish dancing in the middle of a pub. What an amazing experience.
As interesting as Dublin was, I liked that it was only a short trip there. I'm not a huge fan of large cities. Too many people in too small a space.

After Dublin there was a 3 1/2 hour bus ride though Ireland all the way to the city of Galway. I loved Galway. The beach and seafront was beautiful. The city was calm and manageable, and I didn't get overwhelmed like in Dublin.

We took a ferry to the Aran Islands one of the days to bike around the largest of the islands and visit the cliffs. I was surprised with myself that I could do the entire bike ride to the cliffs and back, only having to get off once or twice to push up a couple of steep hills. And I saw seals! And waved to America from the edge of the cliffs!

The next day there were more cliffs, the Cliffs of Moher, and a rather frightening bus ride on some still very sore bottoms from our excursion to the Aran Islands. It was really foggy and windy, but the cliffs were still beautiful in their own way. The next day we drove back to Dublin to catch the ferry to Holyhead and then drove back to Bangor. I then went straight to the train station to catch a 3 1/2 hour ride to London.

Ireland was an amazing trip, but it was very nice to be on Welsh soil once again.

London
I love London. I was a little hesitant of it since Dublin, but once I was walking around with Cerys, aka demi-goddess on DeviantArt (Her photography is awesome check it out here), I was absolutely in love. The Tower of London... How can you aptly describe getting to stand in the middle of a place that you have read so much about, seeing those walls that hold such a huge amount of history... It's been a week and a half since then and I'm still speechless.

The Tower wasn't the only place we went to in dear old London-town. We also walked along Parliament and Big Ben, went across Westminster Bridge, saw the London Eye (waaaaaaay too expensive to ride), saw Westminster Abbey, and went to see Buckingham Palace. They are all so beautiful. Even more so because this day in London was literally a dream come true for me. I'm so, so happy. I've walked the streets of London. I couldn't ask for more.

Back to Bangor

So after a beautiful time in London and another 3 1/2 hour train ride back, it was time to start Freshers Fortnight (a.k.a. Welcome Week) back at Uni. And the week certainly lived up to its expectations. It was loud, chaotic, hectic, frustrating, and a lot of fun. I've made friends with a really nice guy from my flat named Bob. Come to think of it, he's actually my neighbor! He was great and invited me to go out with him and some of his friends. We had an awesome time and I made friends with a girl named Sarah too. She showed me where the nail polish was in Morrison's, so I have new nail designs~! Yay!

Just yesterday the Abroad group went over to Chester for the day. Had tons of fun and geeked out about history some more (shocking, I know). I think History is the perfect major to have when you come to Wales. You're just immersed in so much culture, and the layers upon layers of history each town and city holds is just astounding.

And now for some actual photos to go along with this blog:

Please excuse me while the book lover in me dies of happiness...

St. Patrick's Catherdal

Christchurch cathedral

Along the riverfront in Galway, being a tourist.

The cliffs on the Aran Islands

The Cliffs of Moher

A very healthy lunch in London...

Just who is that damn tourist?

Parliament! Oh yeah baby!



I have no idea what time Blogger will decide I published this at, but it's now midnight and I have a History of Witchcraft and Magic class in 9 hours. Goodnight blog, I'll try not to abandon you for 2 1/2 weeks again.

Until next time, may you have blue skies...


And fair weather.

-Cynical Pie

Breaking the Egg

I think I have my journals backwards. I have this blog, and also a personal journal that I keep a record of all the eventful stuff that happens to me in, but most of that wouldn't or won't get posted on here. This journal seems to be more of a reflection of what has happened to me. Specifics can be a fleeting thing here. Anyway, that was just a little side note. Now on to what I actually wanted to talk about.

We're not even a full week into the program here, and already I feel myself being tested and my boundaries shaken. So much of my life up to this point has been within the safe little eggshell in small-town Iowa. And the time I'm spending in Wales and various other places in the Celtic Isles is starting to crack that.

Emotionally, my boundaries on alcohol and the presence of it are being tested. I am kind of a bore when it comes to social events that are perceived as normal. I've never really been exposed to heavy drinking before, and wasn't raised in a house where casual alcohol consumption was a thing to do. Being over here, it's not that everyone is drunk all the time, far from it. It's the casual beer with supper and the glass of wine at lunch that tests me. I've developed this fear that one drink of alcohol is just going to lead to more and more and eventually cause problems. And I'm having to change my view of that for the most part. It's... Different.

But physically, oh my God. My boundaries are being battered like a shutter in a hurricane in that aspect. I find myself pushing to go the extra mile, to not just give up halfway through a hike. To climb 4 flights of spiral staircases with only a joking complaint here and there. Sure, I still huff and puff and wheeze and my legs hurt and I get tired. I'm not in shape, far from it and every time we go on one of these hiking excursions (a.k.a. walking off campus) I find my boundaries of what I can accomplish physically being pushed. A tiny voice in my head is saying, "You know, maybe I will be able to climb Snowdon with everyone." But I'm still worried as hell. I'm desperately hoping that I can to all these things. I WANT to do all these things. I'm just terrified that my body and my boundaries will hold me back.

Well, I don't want people to think that I'm not enjoying myself AT ALL. Far from it, I'm having a lot of fun. We traveled to Ireland today. Dublin is awesome! And I now have 3 flags in my collection of flags from countries I've visited. Got my U.K. one, my Wales one, and now my Ireland one. Soon I'll get and England one and hopefully my friends are bringing me back a France flag from when they go to Paris. Also, I'll soon own and England flag and hopefully a Scotland flag if I can get up there before the semester ends. Weekend in Edinburgh? I think yes.

But right now, I'm sitting alone in the hostel. Again. Ugh. This whole "I don't want to be around you while you drink because I get scared of drunk people and even if you aren't drunk my irrational mind will just assume you are" that prevents me from going out with everyone needs to stop. I don't want to be alone by myself anymore. But I don't want to be alone in a room full of people more than that.

Cheers and happy travels,
Cynical Pie

Sunday and Soup

Today? Today was not one of the good days. But that's okay. Not every day can be "OMG amazing!" and one big party. I didn't enjoy not being able to sleep until 4 in the morning due to my own body and its mild insomnia that I had hoped would stay behind at home and idiots breaking and effectively sealing the front door to the dorm so my friends couldn't get back inside until after Security had wrestled with it. I really didn't like the fire alarm going off at 6:30 in the morning. It's a good thing I'm still in Scholte-mode. Shoes and sweatshirt on, keys, phone, and ipod collected, and out the door in 20 seconds. I also didn't enjoy my miserable attempts to make meals today. Granted, it is my fault for not actually buying everything I needed while at Morrison's on Saturday, but food gave me my first little bout of homesickness. And it started with a can of soup.

It's just a plain can of chicken and noodle soup right? No frills or extra little bits? Oh yeah, of course not! I mean, it's chicken noodle soup! You get chicken, chicken broth, and noodles and heat it up! Easy-peasy lemon-squeasy! ...That is until I actually got it cooked. It was awful. Absolutely disgusting. I was so... disheartened. And hungry. Thankfully, Jessika gave me a box of her cocoa rice krispies so I ate something. I also had some tea. Oh good old tea. At least that never changes.

But still, I have this feeling looming over me now. "This isn't home... This isn't home..." is what keeps chanting in my head. I find myself longing for a can of chunky chicken noodle, a ham sandwich from home not made with ridiculously thin slices of meat, a salad with dressing. Hell, I even want a Big Mac from McDonald's and I haven't eaten one of those in forever! I just want familiar food. I want things to taste like I expect them to. I want a bowl of proper chicken noodle soup.

But not all of today and the weekend was bad. Last night everyone got together and made pasta, which was its own little adventure. It was nice to have everyone joining in and socializing. It kind of felt like home. Today 6 of us went down to the pier to see what it was all about. And it was well-worth the walk. The Menai Straits are beautiful even while the tide is out. We met a very exuberant young boy named Wesley and had fun watching his crab fishing attempts off the end of the pier.

Along our route to the pier we passed the Roman camp site. I think I'll go back Wednesday to see what I can discover there.

It's almost midnight as I finish this. I can hear the wind buffeting the buildings and there's a quietness on our floor that reminds me of Sundays at home. The kind where you don't talk, you just listen. You listen to your thoughts, your heart, and you listen to the world around you.

Here's a picture of the pier. It's a really relaxing place to go. I know I'll be back.

Until next time, here's to happier days.

Cynical Pie

Getting Here

So, I've made it. I'm writing this from the desk of my temporary room in Y Borth hall at Bangor. It's kind of noisy at the moment, the other abroad students, who I'm sharing the flat with, are all chatting with each other, and chatting with friends and family back home. Thank God for laptops, outlet converters, and ethernet cables.

The flight over was okay. I cried at the terminal, I cried in the car, and I cried at takeoff. But, no major meltdowns. Just some tears. Goodbyes are hard for me. The actual flight was kind of boring. Most of it was overnight, so you couldn't see out the window and it was really small. The food was okay, I just with I could have differentiated between mushroom and beef BEFORE it was in my mouth. DX

But I got in at 7:15, 2 1/2 hours before anyone else. I feel asleep in the terminal. I'm sure that looked amazing to the other people waiting. But, when I woke up, I realized that I was at Terminal 3 when I needed to meet everyone at Terminal 2. Not a big deal right? Wrong. Cue me having to haul my 50lbs. suitcase, duffle, and heavy laptop bag to the OTHER SIDE OF THE AIRPORT! So freaking tired by the end of it all. Luckily, when everyone got together we found a place where we could keep our big suitcases overnight at the airport for £5 a bag. It was worth every penny.

Then, we all took the train from Manchester Airport over to Manchester-Piccadilly. Piccadilly station is awesome. If anyone remembers Sodor station from Thomas the Tank Engine, I'm pretty sure that's the station it's modeled after. We ate in the station too, and watched some adventurous pigeons get in and scope out the restaurant next to our tables. From the station we wandered about and got some directions from a couple of very helpful businessmen to our hostel. Thankfully, they let us check in early and we all got to crash until about 5.

At 6, Tecwyn came to the hostel and collected the 8 of us to go eat supper. We ended up going to this really cool Italian place called Pizza Express. I got the American pizza. Funny, I know. First meal in a foreign country and I eat pepperoni pizza...

After our lovely supper, Tecwyn left and we wandered about our area of Manchester. It was very cool. It's almost overwhelming to walk around though, because it's the small differences that get you. Everyone sounds different from you, everyone tries to pass you on the sidewalk on what you perceive as the wrong side... And you're trying so hard not to be impolite, that you get a little frustrated. But we soon got it figured out and were snaking our way through crowds like pros. Another interesting tidbit- There's no trash bins anywhere. You have to leave your trash for staff to pick up. As someone who tries their hardest to clean up after themselves in public, it's hard to leave my junk for someone else to pick up. I don't know. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough for the bins.

The rest of the night in Manchester was spent hanging out in the pub around the corner from the hostel, which I unfortunately have no pictures or know the name of. But it was really cozy and nice to get a celebratory drink for making it successfully to the UK. Once we were done with our drinks we headed back to the hostel and sat around in the room chatting until we all dropped off.

Friday morning dawned and we all scrambled to shower, eat some toast in the kitchen, and race back to Piccadilly station to catch the train back to Manchester International to meet the other 3 abroad students and Tecwyn. When we had all arrived, collected our luggage from either the arrival area or the baggage storage place, and congregated, we hauled everything to the bus and drove off for Wales! Two hours later, and we were standing outside the dorm. It's a nice place, fire exits and fire doors everywhere, and plenty of room for everyone.

The rest of the day was spent touring Upper Bangor and the Arts and History building of campus. I have to actually walk through town to get to school, which is interesting. But the main building... It's simply gorgeous. I absolutely adore it already. I just hope I don't get lost on my way to class! After the tour we made our first stop at Morrison's, the main grocery store for the Ffriddoedd site and walked to the first orientation session with Tecwyn. There's so much to take in, I just hope I can remember it all! I don't want to forget a single thing while I'm here. This place is so amazing, I barely have the words to describe it.

I'm so glad I came.

Until next time,
Cynical Pie

Dear Mom

Hey Mom,

I'm staying up late again. I know, I need to go to bed at a decent hour and such. All the feelings of leaving in 16 hours have me hyped up and wide awake.

I just wanted to say, Thank you Mom. Thank you for letting me have the opportunity to do what I'm about to do. Thanks for holding my hand as I stumbled my way up to this point, to be leaving on that airplane tomorrow, erm today. I love you so much. And I am going to miss you like crazy. You have always been there for me, a pillar of support and strength to lean on and it's going to be interesting to cope with not being able to talk to you on the phone or in person everyday. (A perk of going to college in town, that I love to exploit.)

I know that me leaving for these 3 1/2 months is going to be as hard for you as it is for me. But Mom, I want you to know that I'll be okay. You raised me to be the strong young woman I am today. I can handle this. We can handle this. 3 1/2 months isn't forever, and soon I'll be back home demanding you make me food and generally being a nuisance. I've always admired your perseverance and strength Mom. Now it my time to go take a test-drive of these qualities I have inherited from you in the "real" world, or as real as a college campus can be.

I love you Mom. I'll see you in 3 1/2 months. 110 days. It's not so long is it?

Bye

<3, your Baby Girl

The end of Summer and goodbyes

As I start writing this blog, it is now 12:31 PM on September the 1st. A lot is important about this date and time. One, it means that in 17 short hours I will be on a plane headed far from home. Two, it's officially the end of summer 2010.

And oh what a summer it was, dear readers. It started out so optimistic, so full of new friends, and the looming dates of AI and eventually Wales. My summer went into full tilt immediately after finals when I headed off to Chicago with one of my best friends for ACen, which I will look back fondly on for years to come. Then I came home and settled into my usual summer routine of staying up late, waking up early, and generally getting nothing of substance done until I had to start working. And that was a different experience in and of itself. I'm glad that I never have to work at that place again. The actual work wasn't awful, but the people were constantly a pain in the ass.

I think one of the most influential things that I experienced this summer was meeting my friends who I fondly refer to as "The Bros". And oh, what a crazy bunch of people they are! To all my bros: Alicia, Amanda, Erika, Gen, Mousse, Paige, Patricia, and Tyler, I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You certainly made my summer more bearable, even if we are 5 hours apart 99% of the time. Without you I wouldn't have done so much Hetalia-wise this summer and certainly would have been really, really bored. I'll miss you all when I'm away in Wales, and I hope I'll get to see you around the internet while I'm gone.

Of course, summer called for reconnecting with friends back home, and to my hometown buddies, especially Lydia, Sam, Samuel, Linda, and Chris I want to tell you I love each and every one of you. Be good to each other this next term. And try to get Samuel to do stuff. He needs to get out of the house on the weekends.

And to Bekah, my glorious, amazing best friend for life: I know we didn't get to hang out as much as we wanted this summer, what with your little mister and big mister and me not having a car... But every moment I got to spend with you I cherish. You're my best friend on the planet. Thanks for brightening up my summer when I would get down in the dumps. I love you. <3

This summer was full of new friends, new experiences, new scars, and new memories and as I leave in what is now 16 1/2 hours to see a new continent, I take the memories of this summer with me. Goodbye summer, you've been an interesting one. I'll see you next year.

Cynical Pie out.