Where did February go?

As I am sitting here between classes I can't help but to think to myself that it is almost the first week of March. When we first got here I felt like January was going kind of slow, but then February approached and it is gone! I'm not sure how the time flew by so quickly! We'll last week I went to London to see my BFF's Amy(from college) and Amanda (from high school). It was amazing we got to see the usual touristy spots. I went to some of the markets around London and they were huge and amazing. It was so much fun. We attempted to try to just get by eating samples at this food market we went to to save money, but we ended up having to grab lunch! (so we may be a little bit cheap :) ) \oh well! My friend Billy from Central is also studying abroad in London and we found a bar called Bar Salsa that had free salsa lessons every Friday night so... as you might have guessed we totally rocked that bar!It was so much fun!! Oh...and I forgot one very important part- we also went shopping! It was a blast.

I have been doing a lot in my classes ( though the education system is a lot different over here). I am taking two welsh history classes, a literature class, and a course called outdoor pursuits. Outdoor Pursuits in a course from an educational facility named the Conway Centre and it is located on a island part of Wales called Anglesey. The class is a lot of fun! We have done a high ropes course, Mountain climbing, Canoeing rocking climbing, and abseiling. It has been pretty intense and I am being put in front of some pretty big challenges but it is well good! Next week we are possibly going mountain biking... WOW doesn't that sound dangerous?!?

Well this coming weekend I am going with a group to Amsterdam and am really excited for that! I think we may also try to hit up other towns outside of Amsterdam to get more of a feel of the Netherlands! I am excited. We are leaving tonight to take a train to Liverpool then we fly out tomorrow morning at 6am! It should be a great time-- don't worry we will keep our heads on straight! :)

Well I suppose I should head to class... just wanted to let you all know that I am doing well and that this is a proper vacation! :) Talk to all of you soon!

Did I even leave Iowa??

Hello all!

I have been so busy that I haven't been able to blog! I'm not sure where I left off, but I think that I will once again remind you of what an amazing time I am having over here! I have done so many things and I would like to put pictures with my blogs but it isn't letting me! So I will have to resort to the good old fashioned way of just telling you! We have seen many castles since we have been here like Caernarfon, Dolwyddelan, and tomorrow we are going to Beaumaris. All of these castles are beautiful and full of so much history. I love it! We also have been to many cathedrals which have all been amazing as well - each unique in its own way! One of my favorite stops thus far has been Chester. . I can’t even describe how it felt to walk off of our bus and into the streets and hear all different types of music playing, see a balloon vendor, and hundreds of people. I feel in love immediately. The minute I stepped off the bus I wanted to wonder everywhere. This was the first city that I had ever been in that was completely walled in. I loved hearing the history about the Roman remain and how during the medieval times some things were altered. Not only did we hear about these happenings we were able to see the differences. Being able to compare the roman times to the medieval times was amazing.

Another really beautiful place that we all went and saw was Swallow Falls. I haven't seen to many water falls in my life so this was beautiful. Speaking of water I have been to a couple very nice piers here in Wales. Bangor has one itself (which has a tea room on the end that has the best scones around) and also one in Llandudno-- which is pronounced Clan-did-know--they are really nice and show off great views of the cities.

Last weekend a bunch of us decided to take a trip to Liverpool. It was a lot of fun. We went to the Beatles museum, took a tour on a Yellow Duck Marine (which went on land and water-- so fun!) and then toured the cathedral-- oh how could I forget WENT SHOPPING! There is a store called Primark and all the girls here at University were talking about it so we decided to give it a try. This store is seriously one of the best bargain stores i have been to and I have been to many- trust me! But it was a lot of fun - except for the fact that we almost missed our train on the way back!

I have been having a blast here and I have been meeting some really neat people! Though I am starting to crave the most amazing soda in the world -Mt.Dew in case you didn't know!- I am managing just fine. In two weeks I will be headed to London and then Amsterdam. Classes are going well I am taking two history classes, a literature class, and outdoor pursuits. Outdoor pursuits lets us do all of these crazy things like rock climb, surf, and much more I am so excited for the rest of my time here! Well got to head to bed tomorrow we are going to Anglesey which is an island right off of Wales! It should be fun- then Volleyball practice starts on Sunday! Yay! Well I'm headed and I will try to keep you'll updated!


OH.... and as for the title of this post... It hasn't snowed in Wales in ages probably around 6 years- I will give you one guess, it is snowing here! It has snowed the last five days and it is crazy! I think we must of brought it with us!

All settled in!

Finally I had a little time to myself today to sort out my bedroom and organize everything! I have been so busy! Between orientation and socializing I am feeling a bit drained! When I walked into my flat I was greeted by a rowdy group of boys cleaning potato off of the floor and door- in their underwear! Let me tell you, it was slightly comforting- typical college students. I have come to find out that these boys lived on my flat, ha and they remind me of my friends from back home. My first day here we met up with the group and had a tour of upper Bangor which is where our university is... Bangor, Wales is a city in a valley so our university is sitting right on the top of a hill. This location makes it extremely beautiful for seeing the sights (I can see the mountains right out my window) it is quite the hike up to get back to our rooms from the high streets (main drag). After our tour we got the experience of eating in a brand new pub, only open for about six weeks, its name was club uno. I had a spiced lamb burger and it was delicious! When I came home that night the boys on my floor decided that it was necessary for them to make me out even though I was pooped! So...not being able to resist the English accent I was peer pressured into going to my first pub. I had a lot of fun and it was a great way to start off the trip. The next day we had a short orientation which lead to a tour of lower Bangor where their high street is. This is the main shopping area in Bangor and it is not too far from our residence hall. Probably only about a 10 min. walk. We shopped around for some different things we needed for our rooms. After this fun filled day of shopping, I was quite exhausted. I came back took a short nap and then went to the pubs once again. In Wales going to the pubs is a very social event that is looked highly upon in their society. We went to a pub named Patrick's, Rascals, and then to a dance club. It was a lot of fun!
It is a very odd feeling being the foreigner, its pretty much unable to describe. I never understood what our foreign exchange students felt like, but that is changing rapidly. I love the atmosphere of Bangor University and am having a great time. I am learning a bunch of new words as are the students over here. We all have so much to talk about and learn from each other.
Oh... after the pubs last night we went to the pizzeria and I had pizza with sweet corn on it and surprisingly--it was delicious :) Tonight we just stayed in and all cooked dinner together and played games. It was for casted to to be extremely windy so we played it cool tonight. Tomorrow we have a free day- no more orientation :) So... we are going to do a bit of shopping! well... I best be going!

Goodbye Vinton---Hello Bangor!

So… It’s less than 24 hours before I head out of good old Vinton and head to Wales. Weather depending I will be boarding my flight to Atlanta on Jan. 14th at 5:15am! This isn’t going to be a task because I haven’t had to get up that early in a while! So, I will be taking that flight from Des Moines to Atlanta and then my next flight leaves at 8:50pm to Manchester. I will have a fun filled day at the Atlanta airport! Ha! When I arrive to England I will be meeting up with the group and taking a bus over to Bangor University in Wales. Bangor is on the Northern Coast of Wales – check it out on the map :). Well… that is it up to this point- I should probably finish packing- I will admit I have been procrastinating a little bit!