The first week of classes and the hike to Aber Falls

I am taking five classes this semester: Brain and Mind, Developmental Psychology, The History of Renaissance Art, Over Here (a Welsh culture class taught by the program director), and Outdoor Pursuits. My first class was Brain and Mind on Monday morning. I didn't realize how big the class was going to be. There are 400 students in the class!! The lecture is in a huge hall that is probably as big as my high school's auditorium. And this is just for one class! The first class was fun because the professor showed us 3D pictures and we used 3D glasses that were given to us to see them. It was really funny to see everyone with 3D glasses on. My other classes have been fun. The Over Here and Art History classes only have about 25 or less students in them so it seems a little more normal. The academic system over here is different than in the States. The professors do not give out homework, quizzes, or papers over the semester. They lecture and then at the end of the semester they either give a test or we need to hand in an essay/paper. Some classes have a few assessments throughout the semester which is nice so my grade doesn't rest entirely on one test. Having little homework is very nice but I still have been needing to keep up on my studies because they believe in a self-study technique. I didn't have the class Outdoor Pursuits this past week but I do start this week on Thursday. I am so excited for it! This is a class that is through Central College and we get to do rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, gorge scrambling, low and high ropes course, mountain scrambling, sea level traversing, surfing, and mountain biking. It is going to be amazing and very challenging. They are starting off easy this week with the low and high ropes course and it involves trees. I am glad they are starting off with the easier things because I have no idea if I would be able to do some of the things mentioned right at this moment. It's fun to have professors with different accents. I have a French, Italian, and Welsh professor. Overall, the first week of school went very well.

I also have joined choir here at Bangor University. I wasn't going to at first but a friend from the Central group asked me if I would like to be in it with her. I am so glad that I joined because its something that I enjoy so much and its another way for me to meet more people. I also have been attending the Baptist church in Bangor. It is so nice to get back in the routine of going to church and worshiping the Lord. They sing the same music as we do in the States for the most part. After Sunday night services, the church serves dinner to students and young adults. I have to cook for myself here at the university so it is very nice for one night a week to have a good home cooked meal already prepared. And it has been delicious both times. During the dinner, they have people each week perform with some kind of music, be it either guitar or piano and they can sing songs that we know or songs that they have composed. After the music interval they have someone give their testimony or a story where God has made a big impact. It is a good time to get together with everyone, relax, and praise the Lord. I have met some more students at this cafe and it has been such a good time to connect with other students who worship the same God as I do.

This weekend my friends and I went hiking to Aber Falls in Snowdonia National Park. It was the most beautiful place. We left pretty early in the morning and took the bus to where the trail starts. It has been pretty cold here so the last few days it has snowed and even hailed. There were little areas of snow all around the trail but it really wasn't that cold. I was disappointed to see the snow though because I had left it behind in Iowa. Apparently it has found me, I just can't seem to get away from it. I'm grateful that it doesn't stay for too long though. There was a paved trail that we took to the falls which took about 45 minutes to an hour. When we arrived to the falls, we forgot about being cold. It was fantastic! It was pretty high up but not too high that it was possible to hike up to the top of the falls. We stayed here for a little while, taking in the spectacular view. Then we decided to hike the rest of the trail. The rest of the trail wasn't paved, only a mowed area of grass or sometimes just a rocky path. It was still beautiful. The sun was starting to peek from over the mountains and we were anxious to feel a little more warmth. We passed a very small waterfall on the trail and I stopped and drank a little of the water. It was so good, crisp, cold, and delicious mountain water. We stopped for lunch in the sun and sat on some rocks because the ground was still covered in a little layer of snow. I didn't mind because I had this view to look at.

We had a little fun at our lunch break. Well, mostly I did. There was a rock on part of the hill. So Melissa took my camera and took a picture of me as I jumped off the rock with the mountains behind me. After several failed attempts, we finally succeeded!

After the lunch break we hiked the rest of the trail. Little did we know it was slowly climbing higher. Soon we were so high up that we were almost at the same height as some of the other mountains. The view was just amazing! It was so cool! I kept taking pictures of the view but I know that none of them have done it justice. On our way down the trail we met a very big flock of sheep. There are so many sheep here but it was fun to get really close to them. After completing the hike we took the bus back to Bangor. We all went over to the pier where the tea room at the end of the pier was finally open. It is run by an elderly couple and the place is famous for their scones. The elderly lady who took the money called everyone love. It was so cute. So I got a cherry scone and put butter and jam on it. It was pretty much a biscuit but it was still good. I think I'll be trying the shortbread next time I go down though. There was not a cloud in the sky so for the first time I have been in Bangor there was no mist surrounding the mountains. So even though I have taken so many pictures of the same mountains, this day made them look spectacular.