Just when you thought...

I'm gonna do my best to summarize for you the details from my first few weeks here at Swansea. Sure, this seems like a daunting task, considering the enormous amount of fun I've been having, but I believe this will lead to only the most interesting/entertaining moments I've had. But first, I'd like to point out that I will be going to Amsterdam tomorrow and I believe I will get in to as much trouble as possible.

In the beginning...

I arrived in Swansea by train, then hired a taxi to take me to the University. Bear in mind that I had just been all over London and my legs and feet were in an incredible amount of pain still. Sure, I know it sounds like I am complaining, but my legs legitimately hurt and I was in a considerable amount of pain for the first week or so, until I managed to toughen up. So, I get to the Uni and with all my bags and suitcases I begin to walk all over the campus trying to find out where I check in. Turns out I was supposed to go straight to the Student Village to check in, which was about 2 miles up the road. I took the bus. I check in finally and manage to make it to my flat. Once arrived at my flat and into my room, I feel as though this is going to be a very long semester. My room smelled...odd, very pungent. The carpet has the residue of many years of gum and other 'substances' all over. My heater didn't work and the shower was broke. I was a little worried. Fret not my friends, as my room and I have greatly come to symbiosis. All is well in my room and it feels like 'home.' Heater-check, shower-check, not having to continue bathing in a tub-check, carpet---well the carpet still looks kinda gross, but I have learned to love it. Smell? Well I guess I learned to either deal with it, or I put off a pleasant aroma that has nullified the previous smell. Of course, I have been using various scented sprays and smelly things bought from the Pound Store. Okay, so my room is great! I have completely settled in, everything works, I've put pictures on the wall and so on. I like it here.



What we gots here aren't anything too special. Basically this is the village. You'll notice, the Spar which is a convenience store. Idol's which opens in the student village from in the evenings every day till either two or four in the morning. They have really good, greasy, but really bad for you food. The bridge I walk across everyday on my way to my building/flat. It is also the path that is directly behind Idols and the Spar. The other pictures show the buildings that house the students and the laundromat and Woody's bar. I spent the better part of the first two weeks in that pub. Don't worry, I've since ventured out beyond to village to bigger and better places to see. Assuming of course I'm not staying in doing homework. I included a couple pictures of the University also. Then there is the white chocolate. Mmmmm they have a good selection of white chocolate here. There is the bathroom in my flat. I haven't got any pictures of my room yet, but I suppose I can take some, once I've cleaned it. That's about it. These are some very basic pics that may, or may not give you some vision of my surroundings. I think I'll take a good go at taking more pictures of the University and the Village at another point. Weather is always an issue. Rain or snow, it rarely lets up to be a nice enough day to take pictures of either.

London...

Hmmm, I suppose ya'll have been wondering about my goings on over the last couple of weeks. Let me tell ya, it has been very busy, exhausting, sometimes trying, but overall it has been an enormous blast and I wouldn't have it any other way. I believe I'll stick with London for this blog and my first few days as an international man of mystery.

To start things off right, I must point out that travel was more pleasant than I ever believed possible. I left with very little pre-planning, choosing to leave most of it up to chance, as that is where the adventure begins. I was sooo very lucky to fly first class all the way from Chicago to London. I arrived in London at 10:30 pm, which would make it around 4:30 Oklahoma time. One interesting thing to point out as I flew that day, was watching the sun rise and set from 30,000 feet. Since London is six hours ahead and the sun sets around 5:30 in London, I saw sun rise and sun set within a few hours of flying. I had no Internet, no direction, and limited phone communication after arriving that evening. I had a few vague texts from my mother directing me to a Boston Manor Hotel, everything else was a learning experience. I asked for a few directions and found my way to the London Underground. My first experience on the subway. It was quiet, except for a few foreigners who were having an argument on the train. After exiting the train, I continued on foot, catching my first glimpses of a foreign country. As I walked with all my luggage on a nearly fifteen minute walk to the hotel, I couldn't help but have a stupid grin on my face as I looked all at the cozy houses and tiny driveways of the city. I couldn't help my excitement. It was exactly as I had dreamed. I was in a new country that I had only seen in books and television. I had dreamed of this and it did not disappoint. Exhausted and sore I checked into the hotel and found my way through the tiny hallways of my hotel into my tiny room. It was very quaint but comfortable. After flying for nearly ten hours, I went straight to sleep.


The next morning I woke up early planning to take Thursday as a day to explore London. I made my way back to the Underground and jumped on the first train I found that I believed headed in the direction I wanted to go. I hadn't looked at any maps, and had not changed any of my currency thus far. I rode until I saw the exit "Piccadilly Circus". Never having been to London or having any prior research, I just got off here because of the peculiar name and it seemed to be somewhere near the middle of the city. What a wonderful stop! I couldn't have picked better. From the dazzling lights and shops of Piccadilly Circus, I made my way down the road, guessing directions, but believing I had a pretty good sense of direction. I managed through the park and to Buckingham Palace. After Buckingham palace, I made my way up and around Wellington Arch, and met a very friendly Brazilian girl named Lorena. We both had been aimlessly wondering London. After some introductions, I asked if she'd like to travel together. We made quick plans and set out to see some museums and other touristy sites. It was all spur of the moment and made for an amazing trip. We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum (we were supposed to go see Kensington Palace too but we also wanted to see all the museums before close), the Natural History Museum where I got to see my first dinosaur skeletons/fossils and a beautiful skating rink near the museum. After that end of town, it was back to the underground and towards Big Ben, the Houses of Parliment and the London Eye (that giant ferris wheel from Fantastic Four). Finally, back near Piccadilly Circus to the National Museum for some of the most beautiful artwork I have ever seen. You name the artist, that museum probably had it. I lost my breath on several occasions upon realizing the monumentous artists at which I gazed. I wish I could have taken pictures in there, but my first attempt at doing so came with a shrieking yell of un-enthusiasm from museum peeps. After visiting all the museums and sites we could muster in a nearly 10 hour day of walking in London, Lorena and I sat down to a nice dinner of fish and chips at a cafe in Piccadilly. We said our goodbye's, Lorena going back to Brazil the next morning, and I back to my hotel room. My feet and shins and thighs had never hurt so bad. I covered lots of ground and mostly by walking. It was a wonderful day and I can't wait till the upcoming weekends that I have freetime to visit London one or two more times. There are soooo many more places that I want to explore, but they can wait.


Friday morning I woke in time for breakfast, found directions to Paddington Station from the Underground and caught the first train from London to Swansea. It was an almost 3 hour trip, but the seeing the beautiful English and Welsh countrysides made it entirely worth while. It pays dearly to book your trains the same day. I paid out the *** for my train ticket. I understand booking in advance can cut the price in half at least. But it's all about learning as I go. That's the way I intended it to be.

Two days and counting, and this is my first blog...ever!

Hello All,

My name is Nicholas (Nick) Michael, I will be taking over the blog that Desiree Mitchell had started from her adventures in Wales. Now on to more introductions. I am a Graphic Design student at Rogers State University. I am an artist, designer, photographer (kinda), bartender, and student. I have lived in Oklahoma my whole life, and even better, I have lived in Claremore my whole life too. As an artist, my experience has been limited. I have dreamed of seeing the world and believe that any experiences I encounter in Wales will make me a more talented artist. My passions have always involved all kinds of foods, design, history, science and art. I can't wait to see Europe! I hope to be inspired by everything that surrounds me in there.

As I said earlier, I will be taking over the blog for Desiree. I have been very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to travel to Wales and study at Swansea University. I leave in two days and have been...uh we'll say "slightly" stressed out trying to accomplish everything before I leave. I have had certain graphic design jobs and projects that I am rapidly trying finish before Wednesday when I leave. Like Desiree had mentioned in her first post, I have been diligently working towards gathering all necessary material for my almost six month stay in Wales. Passport, bank statements providing information on how I plan to support myself while in Wales, luggage, packing, tons and tons of paperwork proving my enrollment in the University, are just some of materials I will need to travel. Of course, I had to do a lot of shopping; Camera, new iphone...which is only the single greatest invention since the automobile, clothes, blah blah blah, there has been a ton more but I will spare you the details.

My goal is to be able to comfortably travel to some of the most beautiful places of Europe while studying at Swansea. The greatest opportunity for these trips will be on the weekends, Easter break, and after the semester has finished. What is wonderful about the spring semester is the nearly month long Easter break that runs from March 21st thru April 19th. I am so very pleased to know that both my parents Greg and Lynn Michael, and my best friend Daniel with his girlfriend Kinda will all be trying their best to visit me on the Easter break. Also, when the semester ends on June 10th, my little brother Sean will be joining me for another two week journey through Europe before I depart for the USA on June 27th.

Sadly, but happily I did the one thing that I never ever believed I would have to do, I sold my 1967 Mustang Fastback. It was a hard hard decision, but one that I believe was the best thing for me to do. Sure, I believe I would have been just fine with the savings that I had, but there were a couple things I wanted to make sure of. First, when I am in Europe I hope to see and experience everything with no regrets and no financial hurdles. Secondly, it just seemed like the responsible thing to do. My Mustang had seen better days, and although I have held on to it for the last 12 years, it seems like this is the opportunity for it to go to a better place and receive really good attention. Overall, I am happy to have sold it to a good home and I know that my journey's through Europe will be all the more successful now.

So, this is the first blog that I have ever written. I hope to make it as entertaining as possible.

I am a newbie photographer and only recently finished my first black and white photography class. This is one of my favorite pictures from that class. I hope that I can capture all the beauty of Wales and Europe so that I may share them in this blog. Before I wrap up this preliminary blog, I would like to take a moment to thank a few people for making this all possible. Thank you first off to Bryce Brimer for all the help and for the initial introduction to the possibility to study in Wales. Bryce contacted me this summer with information about the program and has been working with me the entire fall semester to get everything in order. Special thanks also to Carolyn Taylor, Sharon Kern, Taylor Finney, and Nicole Nascenzi for their extra work and support all semester to help bring this all together. Thank you Desiree Mitchell for giving me extra tips for traveling and the financial help to pay for the semester. Daniel Clark, my roommate, you more than anyone have had to listen to me blab about this trip for the last six months and you have never once complained. I know you have probably gotten tired of listening to me talk about it. I do hope you can make it over to see me in Europe. Last and most certainly not least, my mother and father. They have been my rock and I know that they have done and would do anything to help me accomplish this trip, I love you both very much!

That's all for now folks! Next time you hear from me, I will be in Wales and the adventure will begin. I hope this becomes a life changing trip!

Dublin

ah so Dublin was a lot of fun! I stayed at a pretty cool hostel in the four courts area, which was so nice. my hostel was very near the Temple bar district and city centre and all that jazz. The oldest pub in Ireland was right near my hostel, too. I went there with a friend that I met and we got to see a traditional Irish band play. A man sang a song about World War I and like almost every man in the room had tears in his eyes or was just crying openly. It was nuts!

Yeah so I met a girl at Gatwick who was also going to Dublin for a few days. She's from Canada and she was really cool so we hung out while in Dublin. She has a friend who lives there so her friend showed us ropes haha. It's always nice to have an insider's view of a city. I found a really neat bookstore while there too and bought a book to read on the way home. I was amazed at how artistic and cultural of a city Dublin is. I didn't realize they had such a big theatre district and little book markets everywhere and stuff. It was a lovely surprise

The trip home was interesting. I flew out of Dublin airport and got to Newark with no problems. However, we got stuck for a couple of hours in Newark because of plane maintanence problems. I missed my connection in Denver because of the two hour delay in Newark and was forced to stay overnight in Denver. Then I had an early flight home but it also had plane problems and then got delayed and then cancelled so I didn't get to leave Denver until pretty late and got home pretty late at night. It was all very interesting to say the least. I really miss Swansea, though. Ugh I hated leaving so much! It was all so depressing to have to say goodbye to everyone. Everyone made it home safely, though, which is really good. I definitely see myself going back to the UK to live for a while, though. Hopefully sooner than later!

aw goodbyes :(

ugh and so it begins. everyone pretty much is leaving here today or tomorrow. most are going home. some are doing some traveling and then leaving but either way, it's so sad! I'm leaving for Dublin tomorrow morning and then I'm going home on Tuesday. I've had such a blast here! I so don't want to leave but I am so ready to see everyone at RSU and be back there again.

I am excited to go to Dubin, though. The land of my people! haha and I'm so excited to be finished with all of my classes, too! I finished my paper for one class, took my final for German and did both of my online classes (A's in those! woohoo!)

I can't believe I'm all packed up and cleaning my room and everything to leave. It doesn't really feel over and like I'm leaving. It's beginning to feel more real today, though.

I feel so lucky to have been here at all! The American Studies office has been wonderful to all of us. I've met some amazing people and gotten to experience so many wonderful things and see so many great places that I've always wanted to see.

My friends and I went out to a final dinner the other night. It was nice. we went and ate some Indian food and had fun.

I went through the botanical gardens on campus again today for a final time. it's such a gorgeous place!

Well anyway I'm going back to packing and getting ready to leave all bright and early but will definitely write about Dublin!

hmm..I should probably be writing a paper...

Well yeah about the title. I should be writing a paper but I'm taking a break to eat some more dinner and write on this thing, ya know? haha my brain needs a rest anyway.

So I'm officially finished with my two online classes. Yay! I took the finals already and so now it's just a matter of finding out if I made A's in them. Though I'm pretty certain I did haha!

I take my German final on Wednesday and all I have to do for my other class is write this massive paper. Luckily, I'm not really much of a procrastinator at all so it should be fine. I've already done quite a bit for it, but it is a bit challenging. oh well. I'm sure it'll all work out.

I'm mailing some luggage home on Tuesday so that I don't have to cart tons of stuff around with me when I go to Dublin. Hopefully it all ships fine and everything. It's not too much different than if I were to have it with me when I left. It's getting there by airplane either way; this is just more convenient. It still makes me nervous, though, to give my suitcases to a stranger and trust a bunch of people to get my stuff home for me...eek. I've already paid for it and everything so as long as the truck shows up on Tuesday (and in time for me to not be late to class) and everything, we should be good! hopefully...

I just ate some more British food. I had beans and cheese on toast (yeah I'd so never heard of that before I got here) and it was actually pretty good..strangely lol. I also tried corn(ed?) beef pie. yummy! My flatmate made it! ah the things we do to procrastinate from doing our work haha. It was strangely delicious, as well. I had a roast thingy at the carvery across from where we live the other day. It was pretty delicious, as well. It took me a while we I got here to acquire a taste for the food but maybe my tastebuds are acclimating. hmm.. haha

Well anyway, I put some more pictures from Freiburg here and now I suppose I'll get back to my work!

ich liebe deutschland!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. A bunch of my friends and I had thanksgiving with our wonderful British friends. Hopefully they enjoyed our lovely little holiday.

so I have returned from Germany. woohoo. we had a blast there. the way down was pretty great. We all got a good amount of sleep and arrived at a wonderful hotel! super cheap and super wonderful. the way back was not so good, though. we got basically no sleep because of loud people and were home for a very short amount of time before a fire alarm went off and woke us all back up. so yeah last night was not a good one for sleep. eek

but yes Germany was very cool. We had wonderful food. Freiburg is a really neat little city, too. We went to the Christmas market and went on a hike up a mountain in the black forest. We walked all around the city. Our hotel was a little out of the way, but it was ok because we just walked to and from it every day, which was really healthy and allowed us to get a good view of the town. aw our last trip together. sad sad sad :(

it's crazy to think that in like a week and half, I'll be leaving wonderful Swansea to go back to wonderful Oklahoma. This semster has flown by so quickly. it's just crazy