First day of class

Rebekah's notes of the day:

1. African students here call themselves Afro-Caribbean and I can't seem to peg them.
2. If you really want to be British eat with a fork and a knife in each hand. You'll fit right in.
3. Every night is a social night but that doesn't mean you drink alcoholic drinks you just go to the pub to hangout because its cool.
4. People in Wales call themselves Hicks because they live in villages.
5. Everything is smaller here including serving sizes. (The students are amazed at our fridge sizes). Somehow I'm always full after I eat which is surprising.
6. If you don't want to piss off the dining lady don't fill your tiny cup all the way full. Its rude and she'll charge you a quid. fill it 3/4

Class...
so today was my first day of class. nice bright and shining I got up. (thanks Rachelle by the way for not waking me up) and I walked to class. It was absolutely lovely out. the sun was really bright and low shining over the coast. and of course my favorite sound since I've been here has been the seagulls and they played for me all morning.

So I got to class. The seats are very interesting. The chairs are connected to the desk behind you. So if you can picture this there is no room to walk between the aisles. If you want to sit say in the middle and someone else is taking residence on the end you must ask the person to stand-up. Luckily I got to class with time to spare. I must mention that the students here are very kind. They are always opening the doors for me and such. They are what people here would call a proper bloke.

I am taking 3 class. One class Tuesday, one class Wednesday, and the same class twice on Thursday and Friday. Its very weird to be done at by 11am everyday. I don' t know what to do with myself with all this time. Luckily I'll be joining a couple clubs.

speaking of clubs, this morning when I was walking to school I saw several students pass me in their uni smocks. (sports forms). This always fascinates me because there are so many sports here and the athletes look so good in their (uni)forms. Each sports reps a different look so I am yet to find sports teams that I'm interested in to see what they wear. This morning the women's hockey team as well as the men's hockey team had some kind of turnout. This is a very different concept then in the states. The students will all meet in Fulton or outside on the steps with all their gear and transport themselves to their match. Keep in mind that if you have a class you either have to skip or miss the game. But yea, their games are often in the mornings and the school allows this. And these aren't the varsity sports were used to in the states but rather student run. Something also that is very cool is that every club is subsidized so if I do choose to surf I can pay the membership fee which is about 5 quid and I will be able to hire a board and wet suite for free. They set it up nice so everybody can be involved. (I wonder about the snowriding club?)

So this morning I took New Technologies which was awesome! The class is splendid and the teacher is very hip. We learn everything from computer programming to virtual classrooms. Its based on theory rather then practical and since we don't have a tutorial we discuss everything in lecture. The prof did suggest we get in groups of 5 outside of class to discuss the readings since we have no tutorial (lab) but I just love the class. It is 2 hours which feels like a lifetime but he's always bringing up the US, Welsh history, and British view points which is nice to learn because I am learning their views on certain things especially health care.

*Did you know that if I was hurt or sick I could walk into any hospital and say I needed to see a doctor and I could for free. Seriously not pay a pence. And they couldn't turn me away. Though I have heard there is private insurance most people don't bother since you can get taken care of for free. How bout that eh! Were so behind the times in America.

So yes. I love the class and I will let you know of any interesting things I learn. My teacher is forcing us to make him our friend on facebook so he can keep us up to date on what is going on in the virtual realm. What a nerd! While he was lecturing it was quite hard to understand him sometimes because his word choice was very Welsh. Luckily he used slides and the class was only 40 people. Its a level 3 which means they are at the point where the students are writing a dissertation. scary eh? luckily I'm not :) nah, I have a 3,200 word essay due in June which will decide my grade for the class. I guess high marks are hard to come by so I have to watch out. Its still hard to get used to how their system works but I'm catching on. I have about 3 hours worth of reading and a group meeting to go to not including the extended readings I must complete. I guess you trade off in the states when it comes to meeting 3x a week.

Most people here seem to really take an interest in American politics and seem to care more about it than most people my age at home. My friend Greg (whom I met last night) says its because Britain always follows America's lead. So... if we ban illegal immigrants they will do the same thing. (I guess its a hot issue right now for them as well) He says the fence idea is awful because it contradicts what America symbolizes. I hate politics but somehow at the pub we got to talking about it because he loves it so much.

*note: In Britain they pay taxes to church and state. While people in the states can choose to tithe to their church they don't have that option but rather they must do both. I find this fascinating. Were always complaining that Uncle Sam is taking all of our money but in Britain the church and the Queen take it all! Now who could have thought British politics was that interesting.

The food is quite bland so I don't fancy it at the least but I'm learning what is cheap and what is good. Last night after a club meeting Adam, the union rep, was like: are you going to come out for a pint. Now I'm thinking, its Tuesday night and you are all going to go to the pub. He was like: yea, lets get drunk. In the back of my mind I'm like yea NO! But I went anyway. I hadn't been outside the school grounds since i showed up and I really needed to meet people out of loneliness. I actually had a really good time. Except this really scary woman wouldn't stop hitting on me which freaked me out. She would seriously walk by and just stare me down. I turned to Greg for help. He was funny. I think he told her to "bugger off" or something. I don't know, I sat down on the couch just to get out of the situation. I also met this Canadian who drove me crazy. She purposefully wanted to bother me and stir up an argument by offending me. I was like: "you need to seriously move away" and kept it at that. She left and luckily didn't ruin my night. So for the most part I had an awesome night and met some amazing people. I finally met people . YAY. and I found people for my study groups which is another YAY! because I know somebody. so yes.... things are going good and I am happy.

Here are some pictures of clubs representing at my school so you can kind of get a feel. I will definitely post some with me in them when I make friends who I hangout a lot with and will take pictures with me.


(top) Lads meeting before their mountain bike race competition
(bottom) Rugby team competition. Thats one of many facilities in the background.

Finally here

Rebekah's note of the day: When speaking to english or non english speaking people always remember to speak very slow (especially if you are a fast speaker) or you will sound like you are speaking alien language and you'll have to repeat yourself a dozen times if you haven't already banged your head against the wall and given up all together!

Rebekah's second note of the day: The Welsh pronounce the letters C-E as [Cu] not [Sea]
ex- I live in Cefn Bryn pronounced [Ca-fin] [Brin]

Warning: This is a long post so be ready to read. I promise they won't all be like this. I've had to make up for lost time since I've been here 4 days already.

Okay so I still can't believe I'm here. Seriously, the only thing keeping me grounded is the accents I here down my hall which reminds me I'm not in Kansas anymore.

So I've had a bit of a culture shock. yes... the dreaded culture shock. Not that its all bad or anything its just been rough these past few days. So let me start from the begging.

I got in to London at about 4pm on the 24th. I loved flying in. When I looked down from the sky I could see what looked like patchwork in a quilt. I got very excited. The plane ride wasn't so bad. It was a 9 hour flight which was about the worst part but I had no seat-mate so I was able to lay down and sleep.

So I got into London. Wow is that a city. It was really overcast and rainy but the central bus station was just a walk away which felt like a lifetime with all my luggage. I knew I needed the 201 to get to Swansea, Wales but the place was packed. I was way too tired to deal with lines and people so I went up to the help desk and asked her for some help. She, with her awesome British accent, walked me to a kiosk and helped me buy my ticket. So I pretty much waited by the train station for the bus. Uh oh... the clock kept ticking by. It was 11:10am and the bus which was supposed to arrive at 11:05 was a bit late. Not my idea of good. I had watched every bus go by so I knew I hadn't missed it but I could never know. At about 11:20 I asked a gatekeeper if he knew about bus 201. He told me it was running late and should be here in about 15. I couldn't be happier. I sat on the bench and waited. I loved people watching. Not only was it interesting to see the many different kinds of people but hearing people talk was the best. So my bus finally came and i loaded it. The man who loaded my bags was a total sweetheart. He kept on apologizing for being late. I was just happy they were there.

So the bus ride was about 5 hours. I loved it. There were other students on the bus but they happened to get off at other stops along the way. The countryside was beautiful. Since it was the outskirts of the city there wasn't much to see at the start but as we went along it was just rolling hills, castles, and farm houses. I fell asleep and when I woke up we were in Newport which I think is in Wales. The sun was setting over the bay area and there was this huge bridge, like the San Francisco bridge, over the water. It was gorgeous. Everything was so still and the towns were very classic looking with small shops.

Next stop was Swansea. I kinda panicked because we were at the city centre (yes they spell it like that) and the place was bursting with people. I got off the bus and walked up tot he first taxi I saw. told him to go to the Swansea campus and away I was.

So I arrived. Went to the main accommodations office in Pressali, got my room card and keys, and went to find my room. I'm not that far up which is really nice because I don't have to take the elevator. Its a pretty nice room I won't complain and it has a refrigerator which is really nice.

When I got in I flopped on my bed and relaxed. After dozing off I decided to roam the campus which is quite small if you exclude the athletic-union. My favorite part was the seagulls. I here them every morning and they just fly around. I haven't been to the beach but from what people say its just across the street. I still need to purchase an athletic club card so I can join the sailing team and try my luck surfing.

I admit that the first couple days here were very challenging. I felt like a lost puppy. I hadn't even researched what money looked like. I heard quid, pound, pence. Okay so I figured that pence was one cent but they have so many nicknames for money. I kept getting pounds back but their form of a pound is in a cent piece which takes a bit of getting used to.

So some of the problems I've had. Hmmm... lets see. I had a compulsory meeting on Friday at 10am which I missed. I woke up in panic mode only to find that my alarm short circuited or just stopped working in the middle of the night. yes.. i panicked. I looked in the mirror only to be horrified at the sigh of my eyes which were red, hurting, and bloodshot. I had greater problems so I threw some water on my face and dashed out the door. I went running to the place where the meeting was supposed to be held in the clothes I slept in the night before (or close to it). When I got there the room was empty. I saw people walking around with these blue packets which I assumed were from the study abroad office. I speed walked (yes I didn't want to be that conspicuous) to what was supposed to be the American studies office which I later found was actually moved due to construction. So I looked on my map for the international office who turned me over to the Gallagan building which took me forever to find. The American studies office was supposed to be close by but I couldn't find it. Finally I walked up some stairs praying it was up there. By God's grace I found it. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. I was greeted with the warmest welcome. One of the department heads was like: "were you delayed" which I'm thinking was a nice way of saying. "did you sleep in!" haha it was so not funny at the time. I ended up getting everything I needed and more. I'm still working on some of my classes which I have to go get signed off for but I have the entire week which is nice. My computer is finally working and I'm finding skype to be amazing. I am using my computer as an alarm clock until I'm able to go into town. I just bought my bus pass which was ridiculously expensive and only usable term 2 (which ends in March) but in the advisement of my study abroad adviser is the best thing to do because "your money will just go" or in American terms: cash is expensive to come by here so a card is best because its easy. My advisers by the way are really nice and have answered any questions I have. I probably seem like the most insecure person to them because I'm always looking at the ground due to the fact that my eyes make me look stoned. Either way I really don't know what I would do without them.

I am finally starting to feel more in place and not so sketchy. Its an 8 hour difference here which has put my body through a loop but everyday I'm better. Its weird because I've been eating one meal a day (maybe) because I'm always hungry and never starving so I have to be careful. I wake up pretty late about 10am and run around doing errands and then eat around 4pm and i'm back in my room and I have a snack and go to bed. yesterday I didn't eat all day. probably because I did what I'm not supposed to do and took a nap. I went to bed at 4pm and woke up at 10pm which did my body a huge disservice. I finally got my meal card so I can eat more.

speaking of cards. This school is card happy. I have 5 cards so far and I'm not done. Its not like WSU where your card is everything even a debit card. No... here there is a card for everything. So I have my ISIC card, meal card, dorm card, bus card, school ID card, and I still need my union card(s). yes... they are car happy. Just more cards for Rebekah to lose.... yea!

So Rachelle I have to do a shout out to you because I have seen 2 smart cars parked in the parking lot here. tomorrow I'm going to take a picture for you. Well... its not like there are any big cars since all the cars are small but we love the car. On my way here I saw a Porsche but the back of the car was cut off so it was mini. I thought it was cute. Everything is mini and box which is so good for their economy well not the box part. Now if only America would catch on....

The food isn't bad. I stick to anything that says Hawaiian because I know I'll get pineapple. today I had a Hawaiian sandwich which was salmon and pineapple. It was really good. The pop is way too sweet for me. Its like they took out the carbonation and and added sugar. yuck. The food service workers wear these cute little plaid uniforms. Luckily the food here is pretty cheap which is nice. I'm yet to find the cheapest place on campus.

Oh and Leah you should know that if you came here you would be right in place. People here can NOT dance. They just sway their torso's back and forth. I met this guy Ian they other night. He was actually quite cute (or maybe its the accent) anyway, he plays rugby for the school. A really sweet chap. He told me he had visited the states and that I would have to get used to the dancing here. and yes I do. Any American is a better dancer then the students at the school. And its funny.... they play songs from Backstreet Boys and Kanye West and they ask me if I'd heard it in America. I look at them funny because the song originated in America. They have this weird perception that every song (even songs by say Justin Timberlake) originated from the UK somehow. I think this is funny. I'm just like: "uhm I'm pretty sure everybody in the states has seen Baywatch (a song they all sing along too) and was in love with Backstreet Boys." In a way I kind of want to be like: "Do you know Coldplay? or The Beatles?" But I'm trying to make friends not deflect them so..... I'll keep those thoughts in my head.

So I walked in Fulton (the main building) and the student-union groups were advertising for their clubs. The sci-fi club was out there and the members were all wearing star wars costumes. They looked really good too. My favorite of course was Luke :)

I am meeting with a a couple club members which I'm excited about and I only need one more class to get signed off for which should be good.

So yep... that's what I've experienced so far. Sorry it reads like a text-book but I hope in the future to be able to share with you funny stories and experiences as they come up. I will for sure be writing a new blog every Sunday but check back often because everyday there will be a new experience, story, strange observation, or culture difference I will want to share with you. The photos at the top and bottom of my page are actually of Swansea. The top is the beach sunset here. It's beautiful. and the bottom is the Tesco here, a very popular place to buy groceries. You can kind of see the short cars.

IF you don't have skype get it so we can talk all you need is a microphone and its free. If you don't have nor want skype and you have some sort of IM service add me so we can chat if you like I want to keep all my friend :) I'm going to be getting a phone (aka sim card) tomorrow so maybe I will call you. My old phone is broken so sorry if I don't have your number memorized. I'll figure it out somehow.

windows live: acting_2005@hotmail.com
skype: Rebekah.Bartholomew

I uploaded some video when I was on the bus leaving the city. I know they aren't very exciting but hopefully I can make some video that's more entertaining. Maybe some Welsh students dancing... :)

oh and please comment on my blog so I can know what you think. I'd love to read your comments over the next couple months.

If you want to see the full list of pictures. (sorry the video isn't available) then go to this link:

http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n241/liabw05/finallyhere/


cheers!