Wales

[theatokos]

Public library, 15 min. before closing for lunch. Must be quick. Stupidly had a cup of coffee for breakfast and am still WIRED. Can barely function. Bad me, bad.

Trip to Lampeter: longest journey EVER. Flight from SF to London, uneventful. Landing in London during sunrise was just beautiful, we circled the city and it was enchanting. So green for such a major city! Intruiged me!
Then train to Paddington station. Bought a warm beverage and couldn't for the life of me figure out where the trash cans were. Wandered around for a good 20 minutes looking for one until a kind information lady told me there weren't any due to security puposes. I seriously thought I was going crazy. Also, it costs 20p to use the toilet.

Then, 3.5 hour train ride to Swansea. England is beauutiful, Wales is green. I was happy. Spent an hour in Swansea, an hour I'll never get back. Hour train to Carmarthen. Waited 40 minutes for Sarah Boss (aadviser), then 45 car ride to Lampeter. I was a basket case. 2 hours sleep.

But Lampeter. I am thoroughly enchanted. IN LOVE. It's gorgeous. There are hills, bright green with sheep! Hanging baskets of bright flowers hanging from old stone buildings. It should be a tourist sight, but it's not a tourist town. Tiny and delightful. Everyone is lovely. People speak Welsh!! There are about 4000 people all together here. Alas, no sushi or Korean food..... or food finds of any kind.

Even better is the academic life. This is my dream dept. Sarah Boss is a kick, she keeps introducing me as a PhD student (ego says Yay!, rest of me says Uh-oh), and we had dinner with several of her colleagues last night. What a theology geeks heaven! They are congenial, obviously enjoy eachother, have a great sense of humor. And Sarah has a Mariologists library - open today for my perusal.

I am happy as a clam at high tide.

Sadly, two things I forgot to bring: my student union form and the digital camera.

Comments

[hrafntinna.livejournal.com]

Hoot! That all sounds great. I've heard such good things about Lampeter. There's a summer boot-camp Welsh program a friend attended, oh, about a thousand years ago.

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

That you've even heard of Lampter puts you so thoroughly in the geek dept. It's a fantastic religion and theology dept. I met a prof in the philosophy dept who is just awesome. So far, I've been nothing but delighted by the faculty I've met! I mean, personally and academically. Having dinners with profs and going into their homes .... I've heard this can happen, but have never really experienced it first hand.

By the way, Welsh is crazy. But everything is really bilingual. Way more than I ever experienced in Ireland. People just switch between Welsh and English left and right.

Cymraeg

[hrafntinna.livejournal.com]

Yep, Welsh is the real deal. My undergraduate thesis advisor, an American, is in the Welsh department at Cardiff. He used to do some kind of reporting on the Welsh language radio. The language has made a huge comeback in the past few decades, and it really is pretty neat. There is even Welsh almost-punk like Datblygu.

My god, I really am an enormous geek.

[3ravenstar.livejournal.com]

We're on the same side of the world!!! Welcome! I had the same trash bin experience. I was told it was because bombs in bins were a popular way to blow things up not so long ago. Even with all the wonderful fresh food to be had I would kill for Mexican food right now. The wine bar down-town St. Ives serve NACHOS and I am a bit afraid but getting desperate : ) Hope you are having a wonderful time!

[ewigweibliche.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm mexican.... Yeah, the food so far has been pretty dismal. Not horribly cooked or anything, but it's more the recipes they insist on serving. Being vegetarian is also a challenge. Being vegan would be very hard. I think it would be easier if I cooked for myself.

[goddessofmercy.livejournal.com]

oh, the place sounds amazing. i'm excited to hear more about experiences later.

[miss-ogyny.livejournal.com]

reading this put a smile on my face..i'm so happy for you!

[glitter-ness.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're enjoying Wales =] and yes we do speak cymraeg! I thought you might come across the no bins in London thing, it's 'cause of the terrorist attacks we had last July =[ Anyway, keep enjoying yourself, and have a good time when you go up to Edingburgh, if you thought Wales was pretty, then you'll be amazed by Scotland.