sun in swans

--> You will never believe what I saw today-- the sun! Haha. I was starting to wonder if it even still existed... My Welsh friends got a kick out of my playful complaints about how my complexion has gone all wrong due to being so white I feel reflective and how I've just got to be vitamin D deprived.. They all laugh and say, "This is Wales!" The Welsh embrace their pasty skin tone and sing and dance in the rain... Ok, not quite. It has rained and rained and rained up until today. Today, the sun showed its marvelous face accompanied by none other than its lovely sister-- heat!! Today, it was summer. Ah.... finally the Wales that they put in the advertisements for the university online. :)

--> We all are in the midst of "revising" (the British word for studying) for our exams, but we felt compelled to embrace the day, "sharpen our saws", and head to the beach. What a wonderful choice we made!! My friends Jess and Ceridy insisted that I could not leave Wales without having swam in the sea, and I may not get a better day, so today was it. Digging my "swim costume" (as they call it) out, we packed our bags and headed for Caswell, a nice beach west of Swansea. And the water was COLD!!!!! So COLD. Probably the COLDEST water I've ever swam in in my life. It was also SO FUN. We took a frisbee, caught some rays, and prayed our toes didn't freeze off.

--> Reverse a couple of days... Tuesday I went with Ceridy and her sister, Immy, and Immy's boyfriend, Francesco, to stay a couple days at her grandparent's farm outside of Tenby. Tenby is a coast town in west Wales known for its stunning beaches. Of course, the two days we set out to explore the beaches some of the densest fog I've ever seen rolled in. We opted to bypass some of the beaches on account we wouldn't even be able to see the water or appreciate the view, but we made the most of it exploring other options. Wednesday we went into the Tenby village and shopped around at the surf shops and boutiques. This photo, in a way, tells a story for me. First of all, you can see how absolutely dense the fog was-- you can't even seen the water!! Second, the tide in Wales is unreal-- the second largest in the world! As such, when tide is out, the boats rest of the sand. The combination of these two things makes this picture almost sort of creepy...

--> Ceridy and Immy took us for several "traditional" meals. Tuesday night we got fish and chips in Kilgetty from a "proper chippy." Doused in vinegar and wrapped in paper to take home (like it traditionally was done), it was the best fish and chips I've ever had. Wednesday night, we went to a local pub in Tenby for dinner. They insisted that we experience "white bait," one of their long-time favorite snacks. Ehhhh.... while breaded fish is nothing new to me, I hope this picture is clear enough for you to see that the fish were whole!! I manned up enough to try them, and will admit that they did taste alright (like any breaded food), but I couldn't keep it up- it was just too much for me to see their beady little eyes, skin and tails!! Bleahhhhhhh......

--> Thursday we went to Pembroke Castle. Now, I have been to A LOT of castles. And the truth is they are starting to look similar. The significance of this castle, though, is that Henry the VII, the first king of the Tudor Dynasty, was born in Pembroke Castle. And even more significant in my little world, I did my essay for my Welsh History class last term on Henry the VII. Being in Europe this year has brought a lot of history to life for me, and this was yet another one. They had an exhibit set up in one of the rooms, marking the exact place where he was born. Very cool.

Between touring around, we spent time with Ceridy's grandparents. First of all, it was so good to be around a family, particularly out in the country around the animals. They had dogs and chicken and horses and ducks... "Bampa," as they called their grandpa, showed us how around the chicken pen, explaining how to know when they are about to lay eggs and how to get them to have chicks. He also got out the dogs and showed us some examples of the ways he trains them to retrieve when he's hunting. Lastly, "Batman," as they call their grandmother (who is usually called "Nan" by British people), was so hospitable-- it made me really miss my grandmas at home (Shout out to Grandma Jo and Grandma Emma! Can't wait to see you soon!). Over the course of three days, I think we had tea about a zillion times. I LOVE this British tradition. It is such a great way to sit down and have a chat with whoever is around and relax. Tea, tea, tea. All the time!!

When I get home and start getting together with all of you-- I think we should have tea!