What I need to do before I go

So officially a week today and I go to London for the weekend and from there another three weeks of travelling. The beginning of the trip I felt like went by really slow but now it’s already our last weekend here at Trinity. And before we go we need to do a few things. Along with a long list of final assignments to complete we need to go to the Spread Eagle tomorrow for our last Saturday night there, I'm going horseback riding on Sunday which I'm really excited for and then were going to celebrate Canada Day here in Wales on our last night. We are going to inform the Welsh of when Canada Day is and how we celebrate it.
But on the side of all that stuff is a lot of school and a lot of things that I need to check off my 'to do' list, (this blog being one of them). There are final projects, a final exam, a final writing assignment and then there will be time to relax. So there is a lot to do and I better go and get to it. I don't know if this will be my last blog for sure but there will be a bit of a break while I complete all the stuff I just mentioned. But maybe, for parental sake, I'll find myself with some time while I'm in Paris or Dublin when I want to give another update or write about some really weird night. But I think I will write again I just don't know when, but for now I will go. Go do some work, do some packing, some travelling, eating, drinking and shopping.

Bye, Jessie

Days Until London: 7
Days Until Glasgow: 9
Days Until Dublin: 13
Days Until Paris: 17
Days Until Barcelona: 21
Days Until Vancouver: 29

Gower Coastline

We drove and drove and drove into what seemed like empty hills sides and endless grass where there couldn't possibly be a town or anything out there. And the further we drove I kept thinking that "were never actually going to get where were going," but eventually we did. The Gower Coastline and Rhossili Bay, is a small remote area which is a very popular tourist spot.
Today was the first day where it was actually hot; we have had lots of nice, sunny days but never hot and today was hot. So it felt really good to be out in the sun in my summer dress. The heat and the sun brought out lots of people to the coast with the Rhossili Bay beach that goes for three miles long. An interesting feature that is a part of this bay is something called the Worm's Head; it is a small tidal island that is only accessible when the tide is low. So there are only certain times when people can walk across the bare rocks to the Worm’s Head. And if the area called the causeway begins to have the tide come in then people are meant to stay on the small island because of how fast the tide comes in. Luckily while we were there today the time was good for us to walk across the causeway to the Worm's Head. I didn't think I would be doing activity like that today; I was wearing sandals to, definitely not the best shoes for climbing over steep rocks. But I did, it was hard and easy to slip into the tiny pools of water ever where but I managed not the fall. And once you get the other side you see how far you've walked and how pretty the view is. Then the walk back, since you've already done the trip once isn't as bad anymore. I would have enjoyed myself a little more if I was wearing my runners or something but by the time I got back I really felt accomplished, just like when you finally reach the end of the Grouse Grind.

Days until London: 7

Goodbye House

When I was walking back to school from Tesco this evening, with my bags of food in my hands for some reason I began to think about what I should expect when I go home at the end of July. And the truth is I don't know what to expect. The reason being is that my parents have recently sold my house and we have until the end of July to get everything moved out. When the deal was being made I knew I would be going on this trip and I wanted to make sure that I will be home for the last day in that house since I've lived there since I was five. So I get home on July 23rd and I have about a week to pack up all my stuff before we need to be out.
I feel bad in the way that I'm not there now to help clean and pack. But so much packing is happening now as I'm gone and when I get home I'll be able to go home to my house but it will be so different. As I walk I began to think; how empty is it going to be? Is furniture going to be gone? Will almost everything be gone when I get home? I don't know what to expect and its going to be hard coming home, and once I get there I'll only have a week to live in it. I'm going to have to say goodbye to my house really fast and it’s going to be difficult.

Tenby

Tenby reminded me a lot of White Rock, except there was no white rock and there was more then just the one beach. Tenby is a medieval city and has its city centre surrounded by a stone wall and the four different beaches encircle the town. There is Harbour Beach, North Beach, Castle Beach and South Beach, and I spent most of my day at Castle Beach.
We arrived at about 10:30 am and a large group of us just went straight to the very large area of sand that is Castle Beach. It felt kind of like home again, to be at the beach and near the water seeing as were a group of students from the west coast. The tide was out so the beach area was huge and it was so early in the morning there was hardly anyone else there but us. As soon as I got to the sand I took my shoes and walked along the beach. I went all the way out to the water and spent a good deal of time with my legs in the water, taking pictures. Just walking down the beach in my bare feet was a very nice and relaxing start to the day.
After the beach I went into the town and just walked around, it has a small, compact feeling to it and everywhere I turn I would see either a candy shop and or an ice cream shop. Some people definitely took advantage of the sweets.
At one point a few of us needed to go to the washroom and in trying to find one we ended up walking in a big circle around the town all the way back to the public washrooms at the same beach where we started our day. And then a few of us just went back to the beach, which had increased in the number of people and the sun was beaming. We sat out in the sun and it felt really nice not worry about getting to the next thing so quickly and to be constantly moving, it felt good to be still, on the beach, in the sun.

Days until London weekend: 8

Wanting to go to the beach

So there is only nine days left before the London weekend, this will end the Wales Field School and begin my travels across Europe. And I am counting down the days to when all the school work is over and I can move on to a new and different city every four days.
I feel as though I’ve been in Wales for months and months but in reality it’s only been about tow and half weeks. And it’s strange to think how some people will be going home soon but I, as well as a lot of other students, will continue exploring and travelling. I still won’t be going home for another month but I am so excited for my personal travels to start, especially to Barcelona.
Barcelona is the last city I will be travelling to before I go back to London where I will fly home from. Spain is so far away and I think Barcelona is the city I’m most excited for, the heat, the sun, the beach and all of the wonderful cultural attractions. More then anything I want to be on a beach in the sun, in the warm water relaxing and not having to worry about anything.

Days to London: 9
Days to Barcelona: 23

My comfort zone

Yesterday morning in place of the PEFA class the group was invited to be a part of a workshop about Under Milk Wood, a play by Dylan Thomas. I knew that I was going to be a part of this but I didn't expect the morning to be what it was. I thought that all of us would be sitting at tables reading out loud and discussing the play. However to surprise this Monday morning turned out to be a lot more interesting. My background is in theatre and I was so happy to discover that the whole class would be involved in playing out specific scenes from Under Milk Wood. This type of work was definitely not in some people's comfort zones but for me it was and I was extremely excited to utilize my background of learning. We even started out with some warm-up exercises before we got into the scenes. Exercises that developed character, concentration and focus, I was very glad we did that because doing warm-up is what I’m used to doing before starting the work.
I felt very at home and in my element and I was able to explore different characters. I've just graduated from my theatre program and since the end of April I haven't really done lots of theatrical type things because of preparation for this trip, so yesterday morning just felt so good to do something that I truly enjoy.

Goodbye for now.

No bathing in Bath

Saturday:

On the bus at 7:30am, a two and half hour bus ride and lots of sleeping on the bus led me to Bath, England. We were given approximately five hours of our own time to explore the city any way we wanted to.
The city itself is like being in a painting, the Abbey and the Roman Baths are all such old buildings full of history. Just walking around the city, looking at all the structures and buildings is amazing.
This English city is the home of the famous Roman baths. These hot spring baths are where the Romans would come for relaxation, spirituality and healing. As one of my activities for the day I went to the baths, I mean how could I not? The museum part is so full of history and artefacts. Once I got in I was introduced for the first time to these interesting gadgets that look a lot like a large cell phone. You hold the phone up to your ear and as you move around the museum you punch in certain numbers and a voice from inside narrates the history of what you are looking at.
The baths itself are gorgeous, the pillars and statues surround the area making it even more beautiful. The baths still bubble from the heat and you can see the steam coming off the water. Everything in these baths is all original, even the water and the lead lining around it. This is obviously not the healthiest thing to bathe in. Being around them makes you want to get in the water or put your feet in it to feel its warmth. But all around it are signs telling you not to because of how dangerous and unhealthy it can be.
After the baths as a part of our admission we were able to get a discounted admission to the Bath Fashion Museum and we went. It wasn't a very large museum but it was full of clothing that time lined all the different styles of clothing throughout the ages. There was one of Queen Victoria's black dresses from her period of mourning which was almost sad to see because you think of her story and why she wore black for so long. But in one section we were able to be young girls again playing dress-up. We were able to put on the large tie up skirts and corsets and be a part of a different time.
After all that I walked around the town, it’s full of shops and has an abundance of street performs, so it will never be boring on the streets of Bath. Whether that is musicians, statue performs or magicians there will be something to see.

A night in Cardiff

A few days before we left for Cardiff Michelle and I asked one of our bus drivers what Cardiff was like. He responded with "it’s like Carmarthen but bigger" and that was all he had to say.
We arrived in the Welsh capital on Thursday morning, we were lucky to have such amazing whether as we walked around, exploring the city. And it was exactly what the bus driver said, a larger version of Carmarthen. I personally enjoy the larger cities more and Cardiff was beautiful in the way that the history of the city was present but it is also mixed with the urban city centre. Once we arrived the group of people that were staying over night went to the hostel to check-in.
We stayed at the River House Backpackers and this would be my first hostel experience and I loved it. For my first hostel it was so nice, very clean and organized and everyone in the room was someone that was apart of our group. I'm worried though; this hostel set my standards of hostels quite high so if my other hostels that I will be travelling to aren't as nice I'll be a little disappointed. But it’s all in the experience.
I went to the Cardiff Museum, and then the next stop was shopping. Cardiff has an amazing mall and shopping centre, so after spending good money on clothes we all went back to the hostel had a quick cat nap and then got ready for our night out in Cardiff. The night led us in the direction of the Cardiff gay clubs. This was an amazing night, lots of fun, dancing, drinks and even new friends.

You never know where the night can take you.

Jess

After Wales...

It is less then two weeks away that the Wales Field School trip will be over and we will be going to London for the weekend. The weekend in London is meant to end the study abroad trip but for me it starts another adventure. After the month here in Carmarthen is over I will be continuing my travels to Glasgow, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona and then back around the London before I fly home. There will also be day trips here and there to other cities to see other sites and all of that will be happening over the course of three weeks. It is going to be very busy.
The group that I'm travelling with decided not to book all of our planes and accommodations until we got here in Wales. Whether that was a good decision or a bad one I don't know but I think either way it will be stressful, and it was. We finally finished booking everything today and it took a lot to get there. It took over the course of four separate days to find hostels, booking them, planning how many days to stay in each city, finding airlines and flights that wouldn't make us go broke. It a lot to coordinate but I did it and I feel so relieved and less stressed. I also feel more experienced and that is what travelling is good for, to learn how to do things on your own and if I make a mistake then I will know for next time but its all in the experience.
With only two weeks left before I take off on my own I feel very excited to go to new countries and cities to explore what they have to offer. Today was a day of relief.

But it won’t last long...

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Monday June 14th Day Trip:

Dylan Thomas' Boathouse along the river in Laughharne is small cottage that is definitely not made for tall people like me. I discovered this is I walked through the house ducking and crouching around the rooms, and as I began to walk back downstairs I banged my head on a support beam. It really, really hurt. Possibly people were shorter back in the time of the famous poet Dylan Thomas. It is a house that over looks the water and it was one of Dylan Thomas' main homes for himself and his family. The house is now preserved as a museum and tribute to his work and his life.
In the upstairs rooms are numerous books, pictures, photos and newspaper articles that display Thomas' amazing writing career. Hanging on the left side of one of the walls is the local newspaper's obituary page. In the upper right corner of the page is a picture of Dylan Thomas and with it is a brief excerpt of how and when he died.
The way in which he died would be described as tragic: he died in a coma mostly likely caused by the excessive drinking that spanned his life. His wife Caitlin was not with him at the time when he went into the hospital in New York. She flew out to be by his side but she would never see her husband conscious again. I found this piece of documentation interesting and it felt even more tragic because it is always hard to watch as a person of great talent be brought down inevitably by their own demons.

Day 2 at Newton House

Monday:

The second trip to Newton House was met with sunshine opposed to the downfall of rain. When I first arrived there yesterday I was surprised to see so much wildlife surrounding the house. And not off in the distance either but very close to the house without much of a barrier to keep them away. There were families of deer sprawled out in the field basking in the sun, the sheep grazing on the grass and in some cases a cow that looked like a very large bull that was a little too close for comfort sometimes.
The sun brought out lots of tourists and viewers of house. From what I observed it is mostly a more elderly generation viewing the house today. The senior couples view the inside and the outside; they take a stroll through the garden admiring its historical beauty. However as one older man stated "the outside of the house doesn't really do anything for me at all." Perhaps he enjoyed the inside more, with its antique furniture and historical reference. For instance one room in particular is displayed to be an old hospital ward. Against the wall is an old wheel chair that soldiers with lost limbs would have used. It strangely reminds me of the wheel chair that I would see constantly in the Douglas College theatre production of Imperfect. It more or less looks like a rocking chair with wheels.

Day 1 at Newton House

Sunday:

Newton House is a wonderfully, beautiful estate home which is surrounded by lots of open fields and wildlife: families of deer, sheep and cows. Today’s attraction is a travelling production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. A tempest would be described as a big storm out at sea; lots of wind and huge waves and this naturally occurring disaster is exactly what starts of the first scene of the play. The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s most reputable written plays and one of my personal favourites.
For this performance the stage was located on the outside of Newton House in the courtyard, or garden. We were not aware of the fact that it would be taking place outside so I was not entirely prepared for it. And lucky enough for us there was a huge down pour of rain. Fortunately I was able to get a garage bag to put on my chair and then I held an umbrella up to cover me, it was still very cold and I don’t know how the actors felt about performing in the rain but they did a very good job in staying focused.
There were points when there was rain and then sunshine and then rain again, times when it was so loud there was about fifteen minutes where I couldn’t hear anything the actors were saying. And then ironically at the end of play when everything was beginning to get resolved the sun came out again. That did tend to happen a lot; the weather flowed with the plot of the story which was amazing to see.
As I sat and watched the performance I couldn’t help but feel like I was back in Shakespeare’s time when the performances could be done in the rain and the audience would get rained on in the Globe theatre. Or back when there used to travelling pageant wagons of actors putting their show and moving from location to location because that is exactly what these actors were doing. It felt like I was taken back to a more simple time when there weren’t elaborate sets and lighting but just the bare minimum and the text and words of Shakespeare.

Miss Julie

It is opening night and opening night is always filled with energy and anticipation for actors. Now is time for everyone who has been involved to finally present what they have worked on for so long. I now what it feels like on opening night, in your costume and ready to go; the nervousness but its more of a jittery, excited nervous because this is what we have prepared for. It is the time to show off what you do, what actors do.
Miss Julie is wonderfully, passionate play by August Strindberg. Seeing as I have studied this play before I was so excited to be able to go see it. Every director has their own interpretation of every script and one of the most exciting parts of the theatre is watching in how the director and the actors make a story that has been put on over and over new again. The play only has a cast list of three: Miss Julie, Jean and Christine. This is extremely exciting for the actors to be involved in a play like this but also puts the pressure on for them to keep the stakes up all the time. The opening scene takes place on a midsummer night, Miss Julie and the servants of her household are enjoying themselves with food, drink and dancing. This first thing that happens before the three main characters come out is a group of people dressed in black enter the stage and begin to sing and dance around the table, then they all take their place in a chair onstage, and then the story begins. This is something I haven't seen or expected. Throughout the whole play the chorus would sing and sit and watch as the story unfolds. They are the servants, the people of the household and they surround the stage and the actors to extenuate the pressure and the trapped feelings Miss Julie and Jean feel. The walls are closing in and they are lost in knowing what to do or how to escape when everyone is around them.

Another play to see today... The Tempest!

Jessie

Free Writing

It has almost been a full week since I've been in Carmarthen, Wales, but strangely it feels like it has been longer then that. Today we had the morning off and didn't have class until one so many of us took advantage of having a free morning by going out last night. Unlike Douglas College Trinity have a bar and a night club type place for their student union right on campus, very lucky the students are to have this. It was the end of the year grad/celebration ball for the students at Trinity and I guess you could say that we crashed it or joined in their party. It was a lot of fun; all the students were all dressed up and ready to have a good time. The majority of my night was spent on the dance floor, and every once in a while taking a short break to enjoy a drink. I discovered that the drinks are really cheap which was nice not having to worry about spending ridiculous amounts of money. Even though last night I didn’t feel up for a lot of drinks just a couple was good for me.
The group was able to meet some new and interesting people and even met some of the actors from the show Derek that even bought us "Canadians" a round of shots. I was delicious and very ice of them to make us feel welcome.
Apparently here in the UK people dance differently then us, I don't know how but this is what I have heard. From what I have observed so far I feel like I'm a little more committed and big in my dancing along with the other girls in the group. While the locals I have noticed are more subtle and conservative about their movements. Maybe some people thought we were a little out there and maybe that’s the reason why we got some weird looks and pointing. I was wondering about that. But I guess its all in the experience, the rest of Carmarthen better get ready for the Canadians crazy dance moves.

Jessie

A walk around Carmarthen

So today was our first class with our Trinity University Welsh teacher who is teaching us the history of Wales. He is really funny and makes all the history very interesting and easy to listen to. Just from the first day I know that he has a mountain of knowledge on not only Welsh history, but the town of Carmarthen and all of Europe. In just the first three hours of his class I feel like I have already learnt a lot, there is so much more to Wales then I thought.
After the class in the morning we took a break for lunch and then after we went for a walking tour of Carmarthen with the same teacher being our own personal tour guide. I haven't really walked through the town yet during the day just to walk and observe so I really enjoyed being able to do that. We were shown some of the famous streets, churches and chapels and then we went to my castle #2. It looks exactly the way you would think a castle should look. It sits right between a restaurant, a bridal shop and other stores. To see it now where it lies right in the middle of this modern town is very interesting. I guess to the natives of the town it might not be anything special to have a castle right in their own backyard because its been there their whole lives but for me I still enjoy seeing and learning the history of the architecture.

There is still lots to learn,

Jessie

Castle #1

Llansteffan Castle is located just eight miles southwest of Carmarthen to the small village of Llansteffan which means “the church of Stephen.” This castle is where I went today for the class’s first day trip excursion. We drove for a bit in a huge bus that seemed to go down the narrowest streets and corners. We stopped at what appeared to be the base of the castle at a very white, sandy beach. From the beach we walked up the paths to the top of hill to see the ruins of the castle. Lucky for us today was when the rain showed up when we spent the majority of our afternoon outdoors. Everyone got quite cold and wet.
The towers of the ruins were extremely tall and full of history. The stone castle was originally a Norman possessed castle but would go back and forth between the Normans and the Welsh over its ownership constantly over its history. We were able to go up the very narrow staircases to the top of the castle. The view was amazing and I could see the green, rolling hills for miles.
Apparently this is the first of many castles that we will see on our stay here in Wales and once this program is over and my personal travelling begins into the rest of the UK and Paris I bet I can count on castles there too. I am very excited to see many, many castles.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Jessie

Arrival

The group of us arrived on Saturday afternoon after a very long, ten hour flight direct from Vancouver to London. Once we arrived and got off the plane, we went through customs, picked up our bags and then got on a hot, stuffy bus to happily drive for another five hours to the college. It was a very long day.
Once we arrived on campus we were shown our dorms. The rooms are definitely used, there not bad but suffice to say the carpets are bright blue. I’ve never lived in a dorm before so I’m excited that I am living the college experience; a tiny room with a single bed and communal washrooms/showers.
The group was then shown to Tesco after we dropped off our bags. Tesco is more or less like the Wales version of Superstore, but it is so much better. Everyone needed to pick up toiletry type things that we didn’t want to pack in our suitcases. I’ve already gone to Tesco twice and I could still spend a lot of time in there just wandering around looking at what they have. I realized on my second trip to Tesco that I will be coming to this store a lot, seeing as we have to provide our own meals on the weekends.
Just on the first day I think I went to and from town about three times. I went o Tesco, to explore the town and then finally to The Spread Eagle which is a very interesting bar. A bunch of us went to the bar for our first night out and it was a lot of fun. When I tried to order a drink with what I thought was a recognizable name I found out it wasn’t as well known here, which forced me break down the ingredients of the drink to the bartender. I feel like such a tourist, and when we were all walking back to the college a drunken Welsh man beside us asked “Where are your wacky accents from?” I think I responded back to him with “We have wacky accents?” I don’t really think of myself as having an accent but I guess no nationality does either.
You find something new out everyday and apparently I have a wacky accent that is similar to an Irish accent, says one man from the pizza place where we went later that night.

And that was only day one…

Bye Jessie

Time to depart

I feel very proud of myself right now because I normally leave my packing until the last minute and end up doing it until about 1am. But as of about fifteen minutes ago I did finish all my packing and I didn't have to sit on my bag or stuff anything in to make it fit. I am definitely a girl when it comes to over packing but I think that I did an okay job at being more efficient. Even though I am sure there are things that I brought that I still didn't need, lets hope my bad weighs less the 44lbs.
It's approximately 14 hours until my plane takes off to Gatwick Airport in London. The flight is about nine hours long and then once we arrive we get on a bus and drive another 7 hours to Carmarthen, Wales where I will be spending the next month. And then after that for three weeks its just traveling all over. The group of friends I'm going with have definitely not planned that part of our trip yet which makes me a little nervous but we can book stuff while were in Wales, I hope.
I'm starting to get really nervous and jittery. I really don't like flying and saying goodbye, basically I don't like departure day. But I know as soon as I arrive I will be so excited about everything that I will be experiencing. I was successfully in spending the last three days with Blake and tomorrow I know its going to take me a while to say goodbye to him. My mom, my aunt, Blake and my friend Paul are all coming to the airport tomorrow to see us off which I very much appreciate.

Only 14 hours left,

Jessie

Graduation Day

Today on this wonderfully rainy June day I and the rest of the graduates from the Douglas College Theatre program gathered in the Laura C. Muir Theatre to receive our diploma. It had been over a month since I've seen many of these people so today was very exciting. This morning Blake and I woke up early to get all dressed up for the ceremony. We arrived at the school, checked in, received our black and ridiculously hot graduation gown and then picked up our credential.
Our 2010 class ended with nineteen people, and I'm going to miss all them so much. For the past two years we have spent more or less everyday with each other. We work late into the night, perform together, laugh and cry together. I think we've experienced all emotions with each other and have gotten to know one another very well. We have created an ensemble and today we were able to join together and celebrate all the work and emotions we have put into the last two years. I loved every minute of my time here with them and I'm glad I had today to see them again.
From the nineteen people that were in our class, fifteen of us came to graduation today. I think we were the largest group in one category at the ceremony. Speeches were made and then finally one by one we re-entered the stage to publicly shake hands and get our photo taken. As each one of us enter as our name is called we all cheer each other on because we did this together and I am proud of everyone who has made it where we are now.
Once the ceremony concluded we exited the stage and went outside for a reception, which I was very happy about because I was hungry. But first before food all fifteen of us had a very loud, group hug. And then it was time for food and mingling.

I love you all Theatre Class of 2010

Jessie

Feeling the Pressure

So yesterday I had a little freak out in reference to the time remaining before we go and the stuff that still needs to be done before I leave. And today I'm still feeling a little overwhelmed. There is still schoolwork to deal with, packing, doing errands and being able to go out a little bit to say goodbye to people. Tonight I've tried to do travel stuff, homework and in about twenty minutes I'm going to a housewarming party for some people from work and then after that I'm going to go pick up Blake so I can see him tonight. There is a lot to do still!!
Blake got back from Prince George this morning and I'm very excited to see him. I got a little bit sad that he was going away and then right after he gets back I'm going away pretty much right after him. So now I am planning on spending as much time with him over the next three days as possible, whether he likes it or not. But I hope he will want to, we've been away from each other for two months before but that was last year. When you go to school with a person and see them everyday you definitely get used to having that person be only a phone call away. So after Friday I am going to very sad and have to get used to the idea of not seeing him or being able to talk to him frequently since I'll be in Europe and communication will be difficult. I'm going to miss you lots and lots Blake!

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT... and feeling stressed,

Jessie