ketchup... no-- catch up!

In an effort to attempt to study for my exams, I told myself I needed to take a break from the computer-- at least from facebook and blogging. Ha, yea right. What actually happened was I just found myself finding other things to do with my time and my blog got backed up and now I have to play catch up!

<--Not this last weekend, but the weekend before, I went to Cardiff to visit Gareth and Jan Cheeseman. Now this is a memory jogger because I have mentioned them before, but it has been awhile (time flys I tell ya!). Gareth and Jan are the lovely Rotarians that chaperoned the Ambassadorial scholars at district conference and took me to see Atlantic College in St. Donat's castle. I just had to see them once more before I hopped back over the pond. I stayed overnight at their home in Cardiff Bay and we got a perfect couple days- sunshine and heat!! Gareth and Jan both grew up in Cardiff when the bay was considered a really rough area. Sunday evening when we strolled around the bay, checking out all the unique boutiques and restaurants, massive hotels, million-plus pound residences, the opera house, etc, they were able to tell me about how the docks used to be dangerous and dirty. It's amazing how much can change!

<-- Monday we walked into the city centre by the new mall and pedestrian streets for shopping, the library, government buildings, the rugby stadium (the national football and rugby teams' home stadium is in Cardiff), by some of the university buildings, and into Bute park where we met Emily, another of the Ambassadorial scholars studying in Wales (in Cardiff), from Australia. I had met Emily in November at district conference. Gareth and Jan had arranged to take us for lunch at a pub in Bute park to catch up and say goodbyes since the year is drawing to a close. I'm beginning to work on my Final Report for Rotary, and one of the things I've found has been most beneficial to my year abroad and my learning process is the incredible people I've met from all over the world. Gareth and Jan have been such incredible people to get to know; passionate about Rotary and its initiatives and genuinely kind. Meeting other scholars, like Emily (and Claire) has opened my eyes to the people across the world who are doing great things-- if we just connect and work together the possibilites of what we can achieve are endless.

On another topic, I am fearing I didn't do Christian's German meal or Barbara's Italian meal justice, so I decided I should include photos, a visual will complete the experience. The following is Christian's meatballs in sauce, and then Barbara's super fresh brushetta and then her pasta. I didn't get a photo of her marscapone dessert because we ate it too fast. :) Mmmm....