September 27, 2010
This is a complete overload of information / entries, but I'm starting to forget things already so must update!!
This is a complete overload of information / entries, but I'm starting to forget things already so must update!!
The American flatmate (Alisha) and I ended up waking up early yet again and heading off to the Student Union (the walk takes FOREVER) to check out the International Students Fair. We just ended up getting a bunch of pamphlets, including information on the HOST programme, which both of us are determined to be a part of. The HOST programme pairs up each student up with a family host for a weekend all across the UK. I LOVE the idea of it and can't wait to sign-up!
We dropped by the Student Union store, where both of us got hoodies...I debated for a long time whether I wanted the Cardiff Uni hoodie in English or Welsh - I ended up getting it in Welsh!
At noon, we headed to a cafe to meet up with Lauren, who is this super sweet girl that I spoke to online prior to coming to Cardiff. Lauren's a pianist (YES, this is super awesome since I played the piano at Hami) and studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (can someone say AWESOME)?? Lauren took us girls on a trip to the Cardiff Bay which was absolutely gorgeous.
On the way there, we got a glimpse of the Royal Welsh College and it made me SUPER nostalgic for Hamilton. :( I miss being around talented and passionate musicians all the time.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the Bay:
Starbucks actually serves like a cafe here, with real cups and everything:
It was so nice to just sit down and cuddle for a chat!
The Bay had these super cute shops and I ended up spending on the cutest scarf there!
After the Bay, we headed toward town centre where I bought some boots (yay for spending)!
We had just enough time to head back home, drop our stuff, and then head back out to the Student Union, where they were having an International Students' Welcome Party. They taught us Twmpath dances, which are traditional Welsh dances.
Here is a picture of it:
I'm not much of a dancer, but it was all in good fun! We had to dance with a bunch of different partners, which is always fun. The "afterparty" following Twmpath was okay - nothing too special or anything. The SU bar has limited alchy!
Day 5 (Saturday, September 25, 2010):
I got to sleep in a bit, since the first thing on my agenda was at noon. Alisha and I grabbed brunch at a coffee shop and then headed over to the International Information Session, where they bombarded us with information - after, we went to Tesco's (yes again), where we literally shopped for 2.5 hours! That place was CHAOTIC. So many people!!
I ended up drinking with the other flatmates and was going to go out with them, but I had not bought a "fresher's wristband" (since I didn't think I wanted to party with the freshers very much) and the tickets for the night was sold out, so I couldn't go out with them. Instead, Alisha and I hit up a pub - it was nice bonding time as we had a great chat. OH, and at the pub they played S CLUB 7's S Club Party - I used to be in LOVE with this band in elementary school so it was pretty awesome to hear it! The entire pub sang along to it, I loved it.
Day 6 (Sunday, September 26, 2010):
Almost all caught up in the entries! Whew! I woke up at around 8am and headed to the SU again - the CU (Christian Union) was holding like a "try a church" event where church representatives were there to talk about their church. I was interested in three churches primarily (out of the 10-some that were introduced), but for some strange reason I ended up going to a Chinese Church (no, I'm not Chinese). The people were really sweet and it really showed that they had a small but close-knit community - although I had to tell everyone a hundred times that I wasn't Chinese and that I didn't speak Chinese. :) Afterwards we went over to grab lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and the people were quite friendly.
The sermon was gospel-centered, and something that was challenging - a part of me was concerned that the preaching here would be different from what I'm used to, but it was all good. The church was tiny though compared to what I'm used to in RCF and such, but it's so wonderful to know that God is moving in Cardiff :)
I was supposed to go with Alisha on a double-decker tour of Cardiff since there was a discount for us, but I ended up not coming back from church until like literally 4pm, so that went out the window.
I ended up meeting Kristin for dinner (she is also from Penn and had studied abroad the year before me - she loved it so much and is now here for her Master's!) and another American graduate student. It was really nice - we went to City Centre and grabbed some Italian food. The food was great, and I had an Irish Coffee for the first time which was pretty yummy as well.
I ended up getting TERRIBLE cramps by the end of the night and we had to cab it home, but after napping I felt a lot better :)
Alisha and I were looking into planning a daytrip to Bristol and I think we'll be set on going there on Tuesday :) Whew, all caught up!!
