Hello from Swansea!

Hi everyone! It is the second day I have been here in the UK and so far it has been going very well. My flight was not the best, but it was also exciting being on a plane for the very first time. I met up with Melanie who I knew from the CSU orientation and we went together to go passed security and to get our baggage. After that we walked into the arrivals terminal and I met with my best friend Ana and her boyfriend Keir. And I must say, seeing here in London felt very welcoming and refreshing AND very unreal because we've always wanted to be in London together and we accomplished that somewhat but I saw my best friend in another country and I thought that was quite awesome. We hung out at a little cafe area in the airport. Unfortunately we didn't get to hang out outside Heathrow because we were all tired, plus I had two massively large bags I was not in the mood for carrying.

Ana and I at London Heathrow

We hung out for about an hour and a half and I had to go to the Meet & Greet service with Swansea. We said our byes and then I waited until 4pm for the next coach bus. The bus trip was 4 AND A HALF HOURS but it was all good because the bus ride was better than the plane ride anyway because I got some sleep plus some sight seeing! I met a guy from Mexico named Marco and to be honest, meeting him felt like home (I know, right?). Back at home I'm around so many Mexicans/Latinos that it feels comforting haha. He talked about his nephew and I asked his name and it was a very long last name and I just laughed when I heard his accent. It was comforting. He sat next to me on the coach but two hours later I told him if he could move because I was so crammed in my seat from my carry-on bag. I did get some sight seeing. It was a bit whatever seeing so much green for a while, but all lovely. Saw some sheep. :) Also, we crossed this really nice bridge and I started to see the beach, then a mile later I saw a sign that said "Welcome to Wales" and all the signs were in English then below in Welsh! I wish I could have taken a picture of that sign, but my excuse was grogginess and jetlag.

Once I got my keys to my dorm room (which was just exhausting, especially since I went to the wrong elevator) and immediately when I walked onto my floor, I get greetings from two flatmates. They really are friendly here its real nice. I got in my dorm and relaxed for about 15 minutes, then heard knocking on my door. I met Rebecca and Matt, and then I met Lee. They helped me set up the wifi to my laptop and I was so happy I wanted to cry haha. I tried to contact home and wanted to webchat with someone and luckily Christine was online so I webchatted with her for a bit. :) I rearranged some stuff then met my flatmates in the floor kitchen. They seem very chill, not so over the top party people and they are truly friendly.

The next day I woke up and wanted to go on a campus tour, but I didn't find it so I went under this orientation tent and got some information from the International student center and got some help on where to bank. I felt pretty lonely and tried to talk to some people and I felt pretty left out because I talked to a guy I met from Asia but he assimilated to his group of people he knew, which were Asians from Asia and I didn't feel like they wanted to talk to me. I also approached a girl who was from Spain but she didn't seem to want to talk to me, so I headed back to my dorm because my contacts were killing me and I contacted Chris, who is American and from South Carolina and I met up with him. He introduced me to his friend Molly and we headed off to Swansea City Center. It's pretty cool there. Went to Tesscos, Topshop, Wilkinson and many mobile phone places. We all got pay-as-you-go phones and the exact same phone haha. We also went to go eat at a small place called Gersherms (I think, I suck at remembering names). I had a chicken with lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich, which was pretty decent but I wanted to eat something soft because my gums are still holey from my wisdom teeth.

Chris eating a traditional Welsh breakfast and Molly taking a picture of her food

 

 

 

 

Yeahhhhhh I know it looks plain haha but it did some justice!

Bought some bedding and other stuff from Wilkinson and came back to the dorms. I cleaned up and decorated my room a little bit too!

The bedding was on sale for 8 pound 50. 

 

 

Behind Cefn Bryn building

This is the view from my window. I don't think it's of Uni, but its pretty nice I think. Just a little down more you can see the ocean!

See the beach??

Decorated my work space a bit!

Oh man you guys. You should see how my walls look like. Super depressing. I am definitely going to be posting some stuff on my walls haha.

Topshop! Of course. Down at the city center.

This is my phone, mainly using for local texting and little voice call. The guy who helped us at Virgin mobile was really nice and basically the only person who helped us with phone service. I commented to him that he's a very worldly person because he seemed very open, loved America, and admired California as well. And also! He liked how I'm studying English literature. He said that literature is one of his favorite and best things in the world! And to be honest, hearing that makes me feel better, because I'm always surrounded by people who despise reading and writing. I was starting to lose faith in it. I always have to remind myself with the things I like. I'm trying to adjust to being me more I guess.

I hung out with Chris for a while then we got ready and went to go to the pub at the student union with a couple of girls I know from California who I met before at the CSU orientation and two other Welsh/English girls. It was nice! I had my first pint of Welsh beer (again, I forgot what it was called but it was in green letters) I asked the bartenders to suggest which beer I should try, and they said Coors Light and I replied, "But I can drink that at home, that's booring!" and they laughed. That beer felt heavy because I was pretty tipsy with just one pint (I'm a weakling) but it was very good. After that we went over to the Oxwich dorming building and hung out at the kitchen and at dominos. It was a well nice night and a nice day. :)

My first pint in the UK! I was stupid, I didn't think of taking a picture until I was more than halfway done, but here it is!

Time for some sleep now, will blog more soon and have more pictures. Tomorrow me and Chris are getting some food and some wine! Then later at night there is an international student dinner then a freshers party where everyone wears a t shirt from their dorm building. My shirt is pink. Oh! And another thing I learned, I didn't know Cefn was pronounced like Kevin. WHAT A TRIP.

Goodnight from Swansea! xo