Cheers! My first full day has passed as a foreign exchange student in Swansea, Wales. I am in love with this place and am entirely convinced that I am exactly where I should be. By far, my favorite part of this experience is the element of the unfamiliar. “Excuse me sir, but can you tell me which bus takes me to the Student Village?”.... “Around what month does it start warming up?”… “Hi, this might sound like a dumb question but how do you make your bed? I’m an exchange student from America and this whole duvey thing is confusing me. We make our beds differently back home, I guess.” God created me with the “I love change” gene and right now I am feeling rather comfortable. I feel like a little kid who gets a 5-month long recess.
Yesterday I got into London Heathrow airport at around 7:30 a.m. after a 7.5-hour plane trip. During my time in the air, I absorbed my first reality of how far I will be from Ohio. There were TVs placed on the headrests in front of our seats on the plane. One of the options on the touch-screen was to view a flight map of our plane. It showed on a map where we were at any given time and also gave information like our altitude and time left in the air. In between repeated episodes of King of the Hill, I would glance at where our plane was at that particular moment. Reality of my distance from familiarity hit when we flew over Greenland and Iceland. I could tell, too, because the chill from the window (I had a window seat) was much colder than it was when we started. Also, when we flew over those places the flight map said it was -101 degrees Fahrenheit. A tad nippy…
When landing in Heathrow, I went through customs, got my luggage and followed the signs to where the train and bus station were. It wasn’t very difficult, but carrying and pulling 150 pounds of luggage was a bit tiring. I’m just glad my right shoulder is strong again (I had surgery on my right shoulder my Junior year of HS). I thought I could take the coach (bus) to Paddington and then the train to Swansea, but soon enough my plans changed. I got to the National Express (a large coach company in the UK) station and told them my plan. They said they weren’t able to take me to Paddington, so I just decided to take the coach directly to Swansea. The coach left at 9:30 a.m., so I just sat and waited at the station for about an hour. By nature I’m a very observable person, so this new place was like feeding ground for me. British accents filled my ears while my eyes became colored with images of double-decker buses and hurried travelers. I am convinced that one of the cutest things in the world is a toddler with a British accent. There’s a nursery on campus, so I might see if they’ll allow me to watch the kids sometime. With 4 pieces of luggage and some jet lag, I walked over to the stand number of my departing coach. A man the size of Goliath himself- the driver- took my ticket and told me to hop on board. Apparently I was his “chap” because that’s what he called me. I underwent brief episodes of napping in between the various stops that our coach made. While I was awake, I looked out the window and noticed the fantastically green hue that painted the rolling hills. Many of these hills were randomly dotted with herds of grazing sheep. Yes! My first sign of Wales: sheep. One of the first things I was told about the country before coming was that the number of sheep outnumbered the population of people. Road signs had English on the top and Welsh on the bottom and the steering wheel in cars was on the… passenger’s side? Wow. I mean I had seen it in magazines, but to actually see it is something completely different. In a way I had felt as though I’d hopped into one of my Great Britain travel books. Four hours after starting my journey, I arrived at the Swansea bus station with an excited heart and tired body.
I took my luggage to the taxis nearby and was told through a pointing finger to go to an available taxi. The Santa-Clause bellied man who called himself the driver approached me and asked where I was going. I said the only two words I knew would get me to my destination: Student Village. I got a huge dosage of God during my brief 10-minute ride in the taxi. I have asked God during the whole thinking-planning-going process of the trip to broaden my horizons by teaching me new things in a fresh way. One question posed by the taxi driver was enough to realize that this prayer would be answered. He asked me where I was from and I told him “Ohio” very nonchalantly. His response brought my tired eyes to a very awaken position: “Is Ohio in the U.S.?” he asked. My stuttering response came out as “yes.” It was as if God was asking me, “If you want new… if you want fresh… that’s what you’re going to get.” I smiled at this man’s response because to me it symbolized much more than matters of geography. It further brought to my attention how incredible God’s omnipresence is. My world is Ohio, yet this man didn’t even know where it was. How fantastic it is to know that God KNOWS and CARES about every activity that goes on with every person ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. It blows my mind that He knew that conversation I was in and at the same time knew what lesson my brother was giving in his History class. Incredible, isn’t it?
When I got to the Student Village, I obtained my keys and some information from the Superintendent’s Office (take care of living arrangements at the Village). With luggage in hand, I walked a pretty stone/dirt path that was surrounded by trees, plants, and even a little stream that had a bridge. At the end of the path I was welcomed to a visual very familiar to me. When looking up the Woodside Flats on the Internet, I saw only one picture of what they looked like. I smiled to myself as that picture was now a living, breathing reality. I looked at the building’s numbers and ran across one labeled 183-194. My assignment: Flat 193 Room 3. After fidgeting around with luggage on hand and back, I got the key out from the envelope and opened the door. Floor one? Nope. Floor two? Nope. Floor three? Yep. Three flights of stairs later I was finally on the welcome mat of my new 5-month home. During another episode of fidgeting for my key, one of my flat mates heard me from inside. He opened the door and gushed “Hello, you look like you could use a hand” with a thick British accent. Jack. One of my 6 flat mates. He helped me with my luggage as I opened the door to Room 3. For some reason, I felt like I was about to open a door like that of the wardrobe in the Narnia movie. While there weren’t any Mr. Tumnus-looking things in the room, there was a wardrobe (closet), desk with drawers, set of drawers for clothes with a large shelf on top, lamp stand with drawers, and a single bed. Cozy. Just needed some cleaning, organizing and it would be good to go. Much to my joy, the cleaning ladies soon came in with their pleasant personalities and frequent spouts of laughing and smiling. During this process I met two more of my flat mates: Jo (a girl), LeAnn, Charlie and Chris (an American student from NC State). I met Gerwyn (told me I pronounce it like heroin with a g in front) later on. And yes, there are 2 girls living in the same flat as me. We share the bathroom facilities and one of them even lives right across the hall from me. Everyone is incredibly friendly and real enjoyable to be around. They ask a lot of questions and are continually asking if there is anything I need and if I’m adjusting all right. Charlie, Gerwyn and Jack all do surfing when the weather is nicer and the tide is high. I told them I’d love for them to teach me. I hope to try out cricket as well. I’ll most certainly be doing lots of hiking, and I hope to get a pass into the uni gym (what they call university). I continued organizing my things when the cleaning ladies left. As of this writing, my room is just about how it will be. I need to do pull a Christopher Lowell (I think that’s the guy’s name that does the decorating on HGTV or something) and do some touch-up work on the walls with posters and so forth.
Anyway, on the 24th, my first full day here, I went on campus for the first time. The Village is 2.5 miles off campus, so I need to take a bus every day to class. The campus is really neat because it is so student-centered and prides itself in having everything very student-friendly. For instance, at the center of campus is called Fulton House, which houses the Student Union, cafeteria, and offices such as the Chaplaincy (I got some information on the Christian Union there). It was a High School Visitation day for those in high school, so I walked into a room where information was and asked them if I could have a tour of the campus. One guy named Ross told me he would love to, so he showed me everything around campus. He informed me of an interesting fact about the campus: of all the colleges and universities in the entire world, it is the second closest to the beach. During the tour I was awestruck that I was actually walking on a campus in Wales. I love telling people I’m an exchange student and then hearing their British accents as they answer my questions. It sounds cliché, but it’s so cool. The school itself has around 12,000 students, which is about the size of the University of Dayton (for those of you back home who know what I’m talking about). The buildings are fairly modern-looking, so it looks nothing like the colonial-style of buildings back at Ohio U. A little change is good, though, so I am happy to have this new environment. It’s kind of futuristic in a way. It was like looking at a picture in a magazine when I saw one guy all decked out in his rugby attire. Yep, I’m nowhere near OU. After the tour I checked out the beach and found it very beautiful. The tide is very far out right now, so there’s little sea shells everywhere when you walk past the shore line. I had one couple take my picture in front of beach/ocean and we spoke briefly. He told me, as he pointed, that the landmass in back of me was England. Awesome! And in the guy’s words, “You picked the best time of the year to come!” Allllright…just what I wanted to hear. He also informed me that 3 miles away was a true site of natural beauty called Mumbles. I smiled as I thought of all the incredibly beautiful places my eyes are about to feast on. Ah, yes… I am craving some eye candy in the form on nature. I can’t wait!
As I write this I am drinking bottled water I bought while grocery shopping earlier tonight. It tastes a lot fresher and doesn’t have an after-taste like normal bottled water at home. I read the label and it says: Scottish still natural mineral water. Scottish water, not Canadian water. The oranges I bought are from Israel. Israel oranges, not Florida oranges. The bananas? From the Caribbean. And you might be asking yourself, what about the apples? Well, the apples were shipped in from Austria. And yes indeed… they are deeeelicious. Shopping was an adventure all in itself. I took the bus to the Swansea Bus Station and walked a good 100 yards to TESCO, which is a large grocery store like that of Meijer or WalMart. Although, it mainly has groceries. All the signs in the store were written in Welsh with English underneath. I think I asked about 10-12 different questions to about 5 different workers in the store. Ha, I even asked one lady how they make their beds here in Wales. Oh, and I asked another if they carried Tupperware-type cups. She was so confused and finally found out what I meant. Turns out they’re called “beakers” here in Wales. Yep, beakers aren’t just for chemistry anymore. I think the whole experience (yes, it was an experience just to grocery shop) lasted me a good couple hours. I figured the first time would last awhile until I grasp where thing are in the store. I think that one trip gave me quite a layout of the store. “Do you have Wheat Bread?” I asked one lady. Confused, she responded with a finger pointed to the “WheatGerm” bread located in front of me. Needless to say, the word “germ” stuck out all to well as I passed on that loaf. I picked up an Organic bread, wheat-looking and without the word “germ” on its packaging. I had some when I got back, and it actually is really good. I haven’t read the packaging but it’s probably from somewhere in Zimbabwe. This whole world-wide food thing is so awesome to me because I loooooove variety. I took all 16 plastic bags (filled with milk, juice, fruit, veggies, cereal, bottled water, etc.) and carried them to the bus station. I got some interesting looks from people at the station as I kneeled on the ground while panting from the 100-yard walk over from TESCO. After a good 15 minute wait, the bus came and I lugged the bags on to it. I was surprised at the lack of help I received from people who saw my many struggles and heard my many grunts. Regardless, I finally got to the Village and made my way to my flat to put away my groceries. Ah, yes… success.
I’m writing a humongous entry now because I have the time and feel it’s necessary. Classes start Monday and Orientation is Friday, so right now I am just relaxing and trying to explore my surroundings a bit. I also love to write and I want everyone to know how things are for me right now. I wanted to paint a clear picture to everyone so you all know what my arrival has been like. In addition, I’m not tired at all because of the whole 5-hour difference ordeal (we’re 5 hours ahead over here) Pictures will be up shortly once I attempt to configure the wireless system they have here. I have to be a fully registered student before I can do anything with wireless. This entry was written on my laptop through Word, saved on a flash drive, and put on the website through the computers in the school’s library. I doubt my entries will be this long again, but they most certainly will be filled with detail! God Bless, everyone! Hope all is going well for everyone back in the States! Keep checking this site for updates,
Philippians 1:3,
Craig
