Holy hell, I made it.
And now that I'm here, it's kind of like I'm living in Little America. All six of my flatmates are from the U.S. No joke. It was disappointing at first, but I've met some people from other flats, including some British. I've also met a French student and a German student.
Classes, or as they're called here, modules, don't start until next week. So this week we've had orientation, scheduled and explored town. The conversion rate is killing me. I exchanged $197 and got back 87 pounds. Granted, it does stretch, but I can't let myself think about it to much or I won't spend it at all.
Tesco is the equivalent of Wal-Mart here and I guess Wilkinson's would be like CVS or Walgreens. I spent 52 pounds on my first trip to the store, which I think covered about $100 worth of groceries/other essentials: 2 pillows for 5 pounds, accompanying pillowcases, a 16-piece set of white, microwave safe flatware for 6 pounds, shampoo, conditioner, 99 pence each, coal tar soap (I know, it sounds gross but I had to try it and it was cheap. I'll bring home the leftover bars) two cheese chunks, one that has cranberries, milk, pasta and sauce, coffee, a French press and some other items. You get the idea.
There are giant sections of fresh meats at Tescos, particularly seafood. The eggs aren't refrigerated. And instead of peanut butter, I bought Nutella and a jar of honey set, that's like a honey paste. Nutella is a hazelnut spread and one of my roommates told me you can buy it in the U.S., but I've never seen it. Anyway, together, they make a pretty yummy snack. I also tried tomato/basil/garlic crisps, which are really chips, but here, chips are French fries, except for at McDonald's where they're still fries.
Also at McDonald's, ketchup costs 5 pence, fish sandwiches are the third listed item on the menu and there's something called a chili burger that my American roommate Justin told me is disgusting. He and I spent the day getting lost in City Centre, which is what the downtown area of shops and pubs is called. There's a castle that sits right in the middle of it all. It's quite intriguing.
We found a flea market somewhere in the midst of all the other expensive shops. Justin bought coloring books, I searched for a Welsh dragon necklace. I found one, but had seen pendants that weren't as ugly so I opted to keep searching.
When we decided to head back to the City Centre bus station four hours later, we found Wind Street, and I realized I'd been there the night before to some clubs with a group of other American exchange students who had already been here for a week. We went to Bar Co and Idols after the pub on campus, DV8, closed. Amelia, another flatmate of mine from OU, had gone with me for free pizza at an international student mixer. That was where we met Tim from Iowa and we ended up on a party bus to downtown, not dressed for it but curious about where to go. It was an opportunity to explore.
We had Stella and Fosters, Coronas and raspberry shooters. At one point, I returned from the toilets to find Amelia talking to two middle-aged men in suits. They were from Holland, spoke Dutch, Japanese and something else, but not English, Italian, Spanish or French, which Amelia and I could communicate in if we worked together. Within two minutes of realizing we were in over our heads, another American girl demanded our attention and we were out of the awkward situation we had just as quickly stumbled into.
At about 2 a.m., Tim, Amelia and I grabbed a cab back to the student village, but not before striking up a conversation with some superheroes. Theme parties are huge here, and we asked a couple of the British people we saw what they were up to, hence, the conversation with superheroes. I'm not sure what they were dressed as, some British characters I'd never heard of before. During that time, we walked by a fountain, with some guy relieving himself of the night's main festivities. I realized today that fountain was about 200 yards in front of the castle, and between the drinking, the superheros and the dark, I missed it completely.
On Tuesday, I rolled out of bed to catch the bus and register for Welsh. Yes, I'm taking Welsh. I registered for history courses today and should have things finalized early next week. Their system here is still old school, in that regard. Students have to go to each department and consult time tables that list the classes offered. Then students have to get permission from each department head to enroll. They also schedule for the whole year at once. And while American major programs are cross-disciplinary, at the most, Welsh students focus on two areas and take classes from only those departments. As American students, we're allowed leeway, and we also have separate scheduling times. I wasn't refused enrollment in any classes.
Before Justin and I headed uptown, we visited the "freshers fayre." I bought a couple posters. It amazed me that 99 percent of the ones available were related to American culture, specifically media and politics. I also signed up to write for the Waterfront, the student newspaper. We'll see how it goes.
I've taken the last few hours to slow down a bit, wrap my head around it. The Brits say that a lot, "wrap your head around it." I have a feeling this whole trip's going to be one big blur.
But, for now, I'm finishing up the Stella that's on my desk, throwing on a tank top, fleece jacket, and heading to the nearest pub. I've got to soak it all up while I can.
Pictured above, top to bottom: Wind Street, downtown Swansea in the daylight; Swansea Castle, near City Center; University of Wales, Swansea.
