Adventures at Aber

It's freshers week at Aber and all of the clubs are advertising to come and join them! There's movies playing, free food at restaurants, all the clubs are allowing people to come and try out what they do, and lots of the chaos that comes before school starts, so a lot like Purdue. Except here we are by the sea and are located by a quaint quiet town that is really lovely. I signed up for classes! I am taking Animal Bioscience, Ethology, and Marine Biology. I can't wait to start these classes! Lots more clubs to check out!

Saw a movie, Cafe Society, in the art

cinema with these lovely ladies!~photo by L.T.

Club call outs are upon us! Went kayaking with the canoeing club.

 (They don't own any canoes so I'm not sure where the name came

 from.) But I had a blast!

First time in a wet suit! A very interesting experience.

The kayaks were shorter than I am used to and took some getting
used to. With the river so close to the sea the water was choppy and it
made the experience even more interesting. Lots of water got into my
kayak. But a lot of fun nevertheless!

A Trip to the Old College

Another great day at Aber! The two photos above are of the view from a foot bridge that spans the road connecting the student living quarters with the campus. So basically I get to see the beautiful view of the Irish Sea and the quaint little town every day as I head to and from class!!

Today I took a tour of the old college. It's the building that shows up on a lot of the Aber pictures: the castle looking building on the edge of the sea. Sadly I will not have any classes there. It is mostly empty and is actually getting ready to go through some renovations to make it more of a place for the public (museum, planetarium, etc). It was still really pretty:

One of the main rooms right when you walk in.
It is meant for meetings but when the building
used to be a hotel in the 1800s it was the common
area for people to come in a relax while enjoying
the view.

This is the common area for the classes that do take place in the
building. The tapestries were really cool. It looked to be student
art work.

A statue with some more of the tapestries.

This... This is heartbreaking. The tour guide said we were to see the library and I got really excited!
But this was it. All of the books have been moved to the new campus leaving these shelves bare. It's supposed to be turned into an art gallery but until then it is one of the saddest sights I have ever seen...

There is beautiful stained glass in almost
all of the windows.

Gargoyles on the outside of the building.

A random lady's head instead of a gargoyle.

Outside the entrance.

View of the front of the old college with the small town in the background.

Behind the old college there was a beautiful old church that people still attended to this day. The stain glass was also really beautiful. There were scenes of Jesus from the bible.
Then on the hill next to the college were remnants of what looked like a castle:




This is a view of one of the streets in the small town. There are little shops all around selling about anything you could imagine. They have a store called Poundland which is the equivalent of our Dollar Tree. Everything is only a pound.


And here is a Domino's Pizza in the middle of a bunch of apartments/houses.


I got to meet a lot of other international girls during the tour and walking around the ruins. They all seemed excited to see different places so at least I know I have plenty of people to go places with :)

Thought of the day: I can really empathize with international students back at Purdue now. I really didn't fully comprehend what they went through by coming to a different country. Everything is so different and sometimes you feel so out of place and dumb but you just have to laugh and walk on and ask others lots of questions. At least I speak the local language. I couldn't imagine not speaking the language well and try to live/study in a different country by myself. Good job to all you international students out there that have struggled but have made a place for yourself!!

Arrival

Planes. I've always appreciated the speed at which one can travel to a far away destination. By FLYING!! How cool is that?! This particular flight was six hours from Chicago, IL to Reykjavik, Iceland and then a two and a half hour flight to Birmingham. I went through Icelandair and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in flying overseas. No footrests and, like any plane, seats weren't really comfy to sleep in but the headrests came around, there were movies and music to occupy time, and tickets were really reasonable. The advertisements they previewed made Iceland seem like a beautiful land full of many adventures. Given the chance I would love to travel there to stay for longer than just an hour to be able to go whale watching and hike on their glaciers. I was fortunate enough to travel with a girl who is also from Purdue and studying animal science as well at Aber, Leah. I really appreciated having someone with me for such a long flight and now someone to do things with as we wait for everyone to move in.

 Of course there happened to be a rainbow in Iceland :)

Birmingham was a nice airport. Aberystwyth students met international students there and took them to the university: meet and great. They were really well organized and very friendly! A big shout out to them for all of their help!
The bus ride from Birmingham to Aber was a three hour ride. What I could see of Wales before it got dark was absolutely stunning! Rolling hills, dairy cattle, lots and lots of sheep, hedges instead of fences, driving on the opposite side of the road, no security lights for any houses or barns, and minimal street lights when we got to the university.

The sights did not disappoint in the morning:


I have unpacked fully and have made a few runs to the stores around here. Things to note: all their juices come in cartons, the sidewalks look a lot like the streets with no step in between so one has to be careful where one walks, people are really friendly, there's a lot of roundabouts, and they do have a KFC and Dominos Pizza.
I also enjoy comparing different currencies to the US dollar. The dollars and cents we have are really boring compared to others. Here they use pounds and pence. The pounds are like dollars but are more colorful and the pence come in different shapes, thicknesses, and they have a one and two pound coin.


 Just an example :)

Overall a great start! This next weekend and week are for freshers activities (like Purdue's BGR week). I hope to enjoy a lot of their activities and become better acquainted with the countryside. Also to buy cooking utensils. It's a little difficult to eat anything without silverware.

Packing

Two days out people were asking me if I had packed yet for my trip... I had not, lol. I am bad about packing early as I can usually get packed within a day. However, I have never packed for a three month duration. It's funny how something can mean so much to you until you realize it won't fit into your suitcase and there are more necessary items that need to fit. I even found the largest suitcase we had! Looking at Wales' weather, it will be in the mid 60's-50's and low chances of rain the whole first week I am there. No more shorts and tank tops for me... That makes one less thing to pack, but then things like an umbrella, rain jacket, and boots a necessity to pack.
Pack, pack, pack away.
Got to get ready straightaway!
What an adventure this will be!
Such excitement! Such glee!
Pants, socks, belt, shirts.
Working out? yeah, pack a tank and shorts.
I'll pack a dress, maybe another...
Don't forget Mr. Teddy Bear!
I will make these boots fit.
I'd like to look my best, I admit.
The case is getting full, but there's so much more!
I need an undetectable extension charm right about now...

Butterflies

The deadline is looming,
it will soon be time to leave.

Anticipation starts blooming,

and it becomes hard to breath.

I'm excited!

But nervous...

Elated!

But am I certain?

There's this mixture of emotion,

causing my stomach to house butterflies.

I just need events to get in motion,

so my thoughts can neutralize.

Set my butterflies free,

let my feelings dance up through the trees:

Delighted, anxious, ecstatic, uneasy, exulted, worried.