Fieldtrip Number Two (part 2)-Snowdonia and Llandudno

On Sunday, we toured the national park of Snowdonia and went to the town of Llandudno. We started off by driving around Llyn Ogwen and then climbing up a path made of stones and rocks to see Llyn Idwal. The Llyn is welsh and it means lake. It was raining and cold when we were climbing up the path but it was beautiful. The mountains surround Lake Idwal half way and when the wind is really bad, it makes a howling noise. So the section by a part of the lake is called the Devil's Kitchen since it sounds like the devil is howling. According to Welsh myths, a monster lives in Lake Idwal, but luckily we didn't see any monster that day. :)

Our next adventure was stopping for about five minutes to the Ugly House. Back in the 15th and 16th century, if you could build a house in 24 hours and draw an even circle around it, then you could call the house and the land in the circle yours. The house really wasn't all that ugly, but it was closed so we didn't go in it.

Next was our visit to Swallow Falls. The program director, Tecwyn, paid for us to get into the park and see the falls. It only cost one pound but there were 20 of us. So two people had to squeeze into the cage to fit through while Tecwyn put the money into the slot, then they were pushed through. It was so funny to see! The falls were absolutely breath taking. There hasn't been a lot of rain here lately so the water was lower than usual but it was still amazing.

Our next stop was for lunch at Betws-y-coed. It was a pretty little town. Some of my friends and I brought our own lunches to save money so it didn't take us long to eat. After we were done eating we walked around a little bit to explore. I mainly wanted to walk up the river from where Swallow Falls was flowing into. The place was so neat. The little stone cottages and shops were all over, right next to the river. There were a lot of people there was well.

After about an hour, we moved onto Dolwyddelan Castle. This is the first Welsh castle that we have seen. It wasn't used for defense like the other castles that we have visited, this one was mainly used for a fortress for the native Prince of Wales. Supposedly the lady that owns the property that the castle is on is a little crazy. Tecwyn told us that a few years ago, one of the students started chasing some of her sheep. She went and got her shotgun and fired a few shots into the air. Note to self: don't chase the sheep. So everyone of us were super careful when we were walking up to the house. But she wasn't home. So we just opened up the gate and went in ourselves. The castle was not very big at all. Most of it was in ruins but what was so nice was that the sun finally came out! It warmed things up right away and there was even a rainbow! We got to climb to the top in the section with the tower. The view from up there was just amazing. When the sun came out, it made everything look so green and the mountains in the distance were clear. We snuck out of the castle and the crazy lady's property without ever paying. It was really fun! And nobody got shot at so that has been a joke among the central college group this past week.

Our final place to go to for the fieldtrip was the town called Llandudno. After several times of practicing, I finally said it right. It is really weird saying it. This town is famous for having the longest pier in the UK. All along the pier there were shops, arcade games, cafes, and carnival games. It looked like a lot of fun but nothing was really open since it wasn't the right time of the season. Also, it had started raining again and it was a very cold rain. It made everyone want to go home faster. So what do we do after walking the pier in the freezing rain? We go get ice cream! Ha ha. This ice cream shop is supposedly the best ice cream in Wales. So we decided to go try some. I got mint chocolate chip, my favorite, and it was actually really good. It made my hands cold while I was eating it, but it certainly tasted good. After looking around for a bit, we all climbed back onto the bus and headed home. It was a tiring but very fun day.

Fieldtrip Number Two (part 1)-Bodelwyddan, Holywell, and Chester

Sorry I haven't written in the past week, it's been a little busy. Last week we had a lot of free time. All the international students coming to Bangor University had a meeting about signing up for classes. They do it differently here. Each "major" is really a school. So there is the school of psychology, biology, etc. The students only have to take classes within their major, not like us in the states with getting a liberal arts education. So I'm taking two psychology classes and an art history class. I had to go to the head of the school at the school of psychology to get my two psychology classes signed. After that, some friends and I went to find the natural science and environment building because at that time, I wanted to take Ecology and Evolution. We were directed to three different buildings to find the head of the school and after about an hour I decided to just take the art history class. Ha ha. So I went over to the School of Life Long Learning and got my sheet signed. After that my friends and I went around town the rest of the week.
We had one sunny day on Friday and it was beautiful. We climbed up to this place called the Roman Fort. Nothing was there, but the view was spectacular.

Two dogs came over to us and was our friends for a little bit. They were the sweetest and cutest dogs ever! Made me miss my dog, Hershey. This particular dog decided to pose for me while I took pictures of him.

This weekend was our second field trip. On Saturday we left and first went to the Marble Church in Bodelwyddan. The church was constructed in 1860 by a lady that donated money to build it in honor of her dead husband.

Around the church there was a churchyard cemetery. Part of the cemetery is filled with Canadian troops during the First World War. Only a few died in combat but the rest of them died from the Spanish Flu.

Next was St. Winefred's Holywell where people, to this day, make pilgrimages to bathe in the holy water. People who are crippled or ill come down to this church to get well. Personally, it looked like a swimming pool and the water looked disgusting even though it is their off season. I wouldn't ever go in it, that's for sure. But what was really neat was the church itself. We didn't get to go into all of it, just the section where the water is really at. The carvings and engravings on the church were beautiful! There were even some carvings into the walls from when people got well. We found someones name from Manchester and the date 1808!

The next place on our list was Chester, England. It wasn't too long of a drive and the sun was peeking through now and then when we got there. We we arrived, there were so many people! Chester is famous for its many shops in a place called the Rows. There are the shops along the street but above the shops was a second story filled with more shops! There were very old shops all around, some dating back to the 13th century. We took a tour of the cathedral while we were in Chester. The cathedral is very big and very cool. The people at the desk gave each student a little playing box with headphones to put. In different sections of the church there were little green boxes that you went by. Then the little player would talk to you and explain the different items and settings of the church. It was funny to watch everyone. Nobody talked to each other because they were listening to their person speak. Then slowly, one by one, each person turned to go where their audio tour guide told them to go. I almost started laughing, but then I stopped myself, seeing it would have looked a little odd to people if I started laughing in the middle of the church. I got a little turned around in the church as well. The man talking to me was telling me to go to different places but I had no clue where they were. But I did get to go through the entire church. It was very majestic, if that's the right word.

What was a little creepy was that there were graves everywhere! You would step off the path from inside the church and then realize that you were standing on a person's grave. Then there were carvings throughout the walls in the cathedral dedicating this space to the person whose remains were buried not far from here. It was slightly weird.

There are several choirs in the church and they have services every Sunday. They have an organ that consists of 6,800 pipes! It was massive!

After the cathedral, we walked around the town for a bit. There was a roman wall that ran all around the city dating back to the 5th century. There is so much history in these parts! It just amazes me. I though that the forts and other things were old in the United States, but I was very wrong. Everything here is just ancient! And it's still standing to this day!

We had a few hours of our own to shop and look around. Throughout the streets, there were several people playing music with saxophones, flutes, and guitars for money. Some of them were actually pretty good! It was getting colder by the end of the night but it was still enjoyable. There were so many people to look at and I would have loved to go into all of the shops, but since I don't want to spend my money on clothes and my suitcases are limited on the space of what I take home, I decided it was better if I just window shopped. I went with my friends to his place called Dinky Donuts to get something to eat. We each got 8 little donuts for 1 pound and 20 pence. And they were worth all the money. They were absolutely delicious! They were fresh and hot and they were airy and fluffy on the inside. Then the lady there sprinkled a little sugar on top of them. It was sooooo good! I also had a Twix milkshake, but they are not like the ones in the States. This was pretty much all milk and no thickness with ice cream at all. It was still good but I love my milkshakes to be extra thick. I don't know if this is what their milkshakes are like in Europe, but when I get home, I can't wait to have an extra thick milkshake.

Caernarfon and Cricieth Castle and the Llechwedd Slate Mines

We started off the morning with it being a little foggy and damp as usual. We drove to the first castle called Caernarfon Castle located in Caernarfon about 8 miles south west of Bangor. The building of the castle started in 1283 by King Edward I. This is also the place where the Prince of Wales was crowned. The eldest son of the King of England is crowned the Prince of Wales. It was the most amazing place ever!!!! There were little tunnels everywhere and even ones inside the walls. There were things there like murder holes, arrow loops, and spy holes. The whole place was just enchanting.

To get to the towers there were small, dark staircases we had to climb. It was so steep that there was a rope on the inside of the staircases that we could hold onto to help climb up.

The tallest tower in the castle was Eagle Tower. There were lumps where the statues of the eagles used to be but it was still amazing.

The view was spectacular. But the next castle had even a better view.

There were so many passages and tunnels that we didn't have time to go through them all but it was still amazing! We would walk through the tunnels and end up in some room that was full of sunshine. There was one room that had a window but then there was a picture of a crest in the window. The little sunshine that was coming through the clouds was pouring in through them. It was neat.

The next castle was called Cricieth Castle in Cricieth. It was in complete ruin on top of a hill over looking the sea. We were right on the coast and there were waves crashing beneath us. This castle was built in 1230 and was one of the castles in the link in the chain of castles as a defense mechanism built by King Edward I. The whole Central group got to climb all over the castle. It was like a big kids playground.

The place was just beautiful. It made you really appreciate what God has made. Iowa is beautiful in its own way but this kind of scenery just blew my mind. I can't even imagine what God was thinking when He created this earth. To give us something so beautiful when we don't even deserve it. But He did anyway and I am in awe. He is one amazing God!

My friends and I took a picture upon the perfect hill overlooking the town and sea. The place is so cool. We played on this for a little while and then went back down to the bus to load up and go to the slate mines. Along the way there wer several sheep. The sheep grazed on green grass fenced in by crumbling stone fences. It is what I have always wanted to see and I got my wish. But there are more sheep than people in Wales! There are 3.9 million people in Wales and 11.1 million sheep! I'll have to say that sheep definately dominate the population. My program director also mentioned that hardly anyone in Wales goes to church. The government does not give them money to fix up the church so when hardly anyone goes, they aren't getting the money they need to fix them up so they are having to shut down. Now churches are turning into fun centers for kids, homes for the elderly, pubs, and night clubs. It broke my heart to hear that. How could people take the house of God and use it for something like that?

On a happier note, our group went to the Llechwedd Slate Mines next. There are hills upon hills of slate waste. About 90% of slate that is mined is waste and so back then they just dumped it in a pile. there are piles that are as big as the mountains here! It is the tallest slate waste pile in the world. We all got to wear hard hats and go down deep into the mines. It was very wet and cold in the mines but it was amazing. We went about 8 stories deep down and even farther. There was a "ghost" that gave us a tour. It was pretty cheesy but all the same it was pretty cool.

It was a very tiring day but it was so much fun! I had a blast. Tomorrow is more orientation but with the academic person. They will be explaining the process of how to sign up for classes and how different their education is from ours.

The first few days in Bangor

So when I left my family in the airport on Wednesday it was pretty tough. It kinda hit me right then that I was not going to see any of them for five months. I walked with my friends to the last gate where my plane was going to be. But apparently the plane was having some mechanical problems so they had to switch with different planes. So the flight ended up being delayed two hours. I got a window seat on the plane ride over and wow was there a great view. It was about seven 1/2 hours long and I got to see some of the sunrise.

We landed in Manchester with snow all around us. It wasn't too cold though. We met our program director, Tecwyn, at the airport and then took a 2 hour bus ride to Bangor. We unloaded our stuff into our rooms. Each students has a single room with a shower and toilet in the room. Only one Central student is on each flat with seven other Bangor University students in the other rooms. Each flat shares a kitchen and we have to cook our own meals. All the Central students are spread out throughout different flats. After we unloaded our stuff we took a tour of the town.

The next few days we had orientation meets with Tecwyn about different stuff in the University and the town. It has been some tiring days but fun as well. The mountains are absolutely beautiful and everything is so green. It's so different not hearing American accents everywhere you go. All you hear is the Welsh accent which is so cool. It's so amazing that God allowed me to come on this study abroad program. The past few days my friends and I have explored Bangor. There is upper Bangor and lower Bangor. All consist of little shops and grocery stores. They even have a Claire's and Aldi!!!! One day we went to the pier that goes across the Menai Strait. It is very cool.

The food here isn't as different as I thought it would be. The other day I had bangers and mash. It certainly sounds different but actually it's sausages and mash potatoes. It was pretty good!

The money was hard to get used to at first. But now I feel like I know most of it. In Wales and England they use the pound. They have two pound and one pound coins that they give out and there are 50 pence, 20 pence, 5 pence, 2 pence, and 1 pence. It's fun to handle all of the different coins.

Tomorrow, the Central college group is going on a field trip with Tecwyn to the Caernarfon and Cricieth Castles and the Llechwedd Slate Mines! I am so excited to see the castles!!! They are going to be so cool. Thanks for the prayers. They have certainly helped me through these last couple of days. :)