Swansea Living

I've gotten a few requests for pictures and details about life in Swansea so I will try to answer some of your questions in this post. This blog will probably be short because I haven't had the opportunity to take many pictures yet. I'll try to take some pictures of my new room in Hendrefoelan Student Village soon. Here is what I do have so far, I hope that its enough for now.

This is the beach that's across the street from my uni. The sea was in a bit of an uproar due to the remnants of a hurricane. You have to walk through the sea oats and over a sand dune to get to the beach and the day I took this picture sand was blowing off the dunes and stinging my face the entire time, it doesn't get much better than that. I come here at night a lot of times and watch the lights of the freighters on the horizon pass in the night. We tried to make a fire on the beach one night but it didn't go as planned. It took us two lighters and fifteen minutes to get the fire to light and then the embers blew into my friend's hair and burned him. We eventually gave up and settled for a beer and the sunset. It was an experience to say the least.

Yes, that's what you think it is...a boob cake. It was our friend Brianna's 21st birthday and my friend Erin, pictured above, picked up this cake at Tesco (Walmart). It wasn't specially made or anything, we just found it on a shelf next to a Bart Simpson cake. Does this picture remind anyone else of Betty Crocker?

Brianna (birthday girl), Nicole, and I at the Village Inn pub on the Mumbles Mile. I am sad to report (sorry Lauren) that several of the pubs on the Mumbles Mile have closed and that its reputation for well rounded drinking seems to be rapidly declining. It is a sad time in Mumbles history indeed.

This is the same group as before only after a couple of drinks. Its amazing what alcohol can do.

All of my American friends who did the Swansea pre-course in British culture and politics. We'd been together three weeks by this point and for any of you who have traveled to a foreign country with someone before you can understand the camaraderie and, on some level dependency, that is formed. This was one of those, "nights you'll never remember with friends you'll never forget." From front left: Caite, Kelly, Amy, Erin, Rachel, Sher, Brianna, Nicole, me, Marta, and Andrea.

Rachel, Erin, Strongbow, and the owner's dog...the best of Swansea.

Me after the university hosted, "porn star party." That's right, the party was thrown by the school. Experiencing culture shock yet? Its mostly a fresher's (freshman) thing so I didn't go but I did inherit a pair of bunny ears from my flat mate Rich. Aren't I cute? These same ears were later sheared off by a flying flapjack but that story will be saved for the next picture.

I suppose that I could have taken a better picture but that's our beer can pyramid. What do you think? I think that Tennessee would be proud. For about two days it was the biggest one in the student village. So about that flapjack...my flatmate, Rob, has two friends Jon and Tom. I'm not sure how this originated, probably alcohol, but Tom thought that it would be fun to knock down the beer can pyramid with a flapjack (a granola bar type of thing) but Jon was the one who actually threw it. Regardless, being drunk, they didn't realize that I was standing between the pyramid and them so when they threw the flapjack it hit my bunny ears and down they went. I managed to escape unscathed fortunately. It upset my flatmate Rob and he proceeded to take Tom, the instigator, thinking that he had thrown the flapjack, back to his room and explain to him kindly that it is improper to go to someone else's flat and throw flapjacks at the residents. Tom apologized and the party resumed. Although Jon threw the flapjack Tom some how managed to be nicknamed, "Flapjack," and unfortunately for him the name has stuck. He has since nicknamed me, "Fish Food," though since I was eating Gold Fish Crackers during, "drinking time," (Rob's term for any time other than rubbish and sleeping time). Flapjack was drunk and having never before seen gold fish crackers thought that I was literally eating fish food. Oh the joys of alcohol.

Have you ever had one of those nights where you wake up and you don't know where you are, who you're with, or how you got there? Yea, this was definitely one of those nights. These would be the three guys that I live with, flatmates we call them, Rob, Rich (he was drunk, forgive him), and Rhys(pronounced Reese). This picture was taken after the porn star party about five minutes before the flapjack incident. Mom and Dad, are you still glad that I came here? I am.

Our adopted flatmate, Kyro (pronounced Cairo, like the city). He's friends with Rob and is over whenever we have drinking time which is just about any time after the sun goes down. For the record, Kyro is %100 Welsh he just looks Italian.

Rob and Kyro, yes that's Rich's shirt on Rob's head. Don't ask, I don't know.

Flatmates and friends. Back row beginning with the guy in yellow: Rhys, Rob, Rich, Kyro, Luke, and Carly. Front row: Jon, Flapjack (Tom). My flatmates are Rhys, Rich, Rob, Carly, Lisa, and Sara. Sara was the photographer but she can be found in the pictures below. Lisa is another American but I don't yet have a picture of her unfortunately. Now to explain the ties, the university also hosted a party called the, "Fresher's Ball." The theme was old school uniforms. I didn't go but Rich did give me a neck tie and Sara taught me how to tie a windsor knot. Now that's what I call getting cultured. Thanks guys.

Rich, Strongbow, and Kyro. This was about two hours into the pre-partying.

I'm not sure who the legs belong to but if I had to guess I'd say Flapjack. No one knows why Rob is making that face and I'm not sure that we want to.

Rob on the bus on the way to the Fresher's Ball. That would be Luke on the right laughing at him.

Kyro and the girls, Sara and Carly.

One afternoon my American friend, Nicole, and her English flatmate, Zoe, walked all the way from uni. to the maritime quarter downtown, two miles away, on the beach. Below are a couple of pictures from our little outing.

Me and Captain Cat. Just so you know copper on bare skin in 50 degree weather is really cold.

This is the caption below the statue pictured above.

Zoe and Captain Cat. So about that, "British reserve?"


That's all that I have for now but I'm sure that there will be more on the way soon. As for classes, I'm taking two. My Cosmopolitan Wales class meets twice on Tuesdays from 9:00-10:00 and then again from 2:00-3:00. Wednesday I have my Gender and Identity anthropology course from 11:00-12:00. There are eleven people in that class, nine Americans and two Welsh. All of the Americans sit facing the window that looks out over the ocean and the Welsh sit with their backs to it. Ironic I think. I don't have class on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays so that I can travel and party. I also have sailing on Wednesdays at 1:00 and then sailing socials Wednesday nights but that hasn't begun yet. I can't wait for it though. I hope that this blog has answered some of your questions about every day life in Swansea at UWS and if it hasn't just let me know and I'll do the best I can to fill in the rest. Don't forget I still have Stonehenge and Avebury coming soon so keep checking the blog for updates. I hope that you've enjoyed your day in Swansea, there will be many more to come.