Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. We didn't do as many trips while in Aberystwyth but as this is my last night I thought I would leave some words for you all.
Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen, which means "Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration". The English is In These Stones Horizons Sing.
Wales, Summer 2011
Hi and welcome to my site and blog. As many, perhaps all, of you know I was accepted into the Fulbright Wales Summer Institute and am going to Wales for 6 weeks this summer. This site will contain a blog and photos detailing my trip as well as information about Fulbright and the program I am on. Enjoy!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Elan Valley
Welsh word of the day: Cwningen: Rabbit
Happy Birthday to my BFFL, Alysha Bobo!
Happy Birthday to my BFFL, Alysha Bobo!
So I haven't updated in a while because I am officially in Aberystwyth and we had no internet all weekend! (Yes it was quite difficult). So I'm going to do an update about the Elan Valley which is a hydro electric power station/ aqueduct for Birmingham, England/ a nature preserve! It's a truly beautiful place and shows how power and sustainability can be beautiful. The architecture is Victorian and all the extra decorations are completely for show.




This is the link to the Elan Valley, I recommend you check it out to get the whole scope of the valley and see the types of animals and plants that can be found in the area. It is owned by a private company and the company seems to me to be incredibly responsible about water preservation, water awareness around the world, and preserving natural habitats as best they can.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Castles and Churches
Well since I've last updated I've probably visited 5-6 castles and probably the same amount of churches. There isn't much to be said about them other than the fact that most of the Castles were built by Edward I (he was English) when he conquered Wales. Some of the churches date back to the 11th and 12th centuries! I'm just going to post some photos of the castles and churches with labels about what they are. Enjoy!


Thursday, July 14, 2011
Kayaking? Or....
Welsh Word of the Day: Parod: Ready!
So today we were supposed to go kayaking on the Menai Straights (the passage of water between Wales and Anglesey, yes the place where William and Kate live) but instead we had a huge adventure called sea level traversing.
Now, I wasn't able to take any photos, but it's really cool so I'm going to attach a link with some photos to show you what it was like. I'm a little sore and a little scraped up but what an adventure!
I also updated the Bangor photo album with photos from things we've done. There are photos from the oldest church in Wales (circa 1200) as well as a copper mine, Beaumaris Castle and Penhryn Castle. The password is Bangor. Enjoy!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Pen Afan
Welsh Word of the Day: Nos Da: Good night!
So this will be my last post about Cardiff even though I arrived in Bangor this afternoon and it is going to center around the Valleys and specifically Coal towns,the Brecon Beacons (the mountain range in South Wales), and climbing up Pen Afan (Pronounced, Pen aVan). (Some of you may have noticed that I changed the background picture of my blog and I did it because it looks like Wales and the peak I climbed!)
This is really best explained through photographs (which is why instead of being in the classroom that day we went out to the mountains to do some experiential learning!
So, for a litte history lesson. The South Wales Valleys exist because of coal mining. These mountains have coal seams and as that is one of the Wales' industrial legacy (THE industrial legacy) these towns sprung up in valleys between the mountains. Now these aren't valleys like Bennington, VT these valleys are literally channels between mountains where villages climb on either side. Kind of difficult to explain but below I'll do my best. (Also a note the photos are out of order because Google Blogger isn't exactly the best photo posting site)









Thursday, July 7, 2011
Castles
Welsh Word of the Day: Sh'mae: Whats up?
Hey so I haven't posted in a few days because things have been busy. REALLY busy, so I hiked a mountain, visited two castles, went to the valleys (a post on that will come later) TWICE and generally just had a good time!
But for the real topic, Castles! So in Wales there is basically a Castle everywhere you look...


So inside the Castle that is a folly, Bute made ever room a theme that centered around time, classics, history, religion and everything else that a Renaissance man of the day would have wanted surrounding him all the time. William Burgess was the architect, interior designer, and painter for a lot of the rooms.



Friday, July 1, 2011
Article I'm Quoted In!
This was an article posted in a newspaper that I'm quoted in at the end for those who are interested!