First weekend in Wales!

This is the first email I sent out to family when I got here. It will get you up to speed on my arrival here and whatnot.

Hello All! I arrived in London at 10am yesterday, and we took a train to Paddington Station. Then we took a train to Swansea. What a crazy 48 hours!! We arrived yesterday in time to get our keys and check in, which was a relief. When I walked into my room I was SO excited: a single room with a full, panoramic window full view of the ocean. To the right all I see is the town of Mumbles, and lots of houses placed into the side of a large slope. There is also a point with a lighthouse at the end. To the left is the city of Swansea, which is also beautiful. Unfortunately this is my temporary room until I move to my permanent place, which is about 2.5 miles away from campus. They stick us all in here until we can get a little more comfortable, and until the school buses start up for the year. After checking in, we went to a great welcoming dinner at a local pub. Fun time! We go to meet everyone else in the American Exchange program which was nice. The group of 5 from Iowa is great. We all get along really well, and we work well together. It was so nice to have people to travel with. Today, we had breakfast at a dorm, and then we headed to a brief orientation in a lecture hall. Following this we went on the most interesting bus ride of my life. The bus driver was extremely... confident, so much so that he cracked his rearview mirror (by hitting another bus...) and then we got stuck in a flooded street. They have been receiving rain straight for 2 months, so much of the country is flooded. Not quite Iowa flood equivalent, but non-the-less it was crazy. We stopped at Oxwich Beach and I frolicked barefoot in the ocean (more like full fledged ran to the water, ripped off my shoes and jumped in. Rolling up my pants did not help). We saw lots of Welsh countryside and huge homes, and quaint homes as well. The sky has been grey with lots of sun in-between showers. Think wet, early October weather. From my room, I can watch the parasailers, the sailboats, and storms blow in. Nothing short of amazing :) The tide is pretty large. I have only seen it at low-tide. It was a good 1/8-1/4 mile walk from the beachline to the actual water today. Gorgeous! Tomorrow I need to see a techie at the library to get my internet up and going, so I won't be in touch until then. Jet lag hasn't really been a huge issue. I didn't sleep much on the plane, but I took many catnaps throughout the day yesterday, and just woke up from another one. We are 6 hours ahead of you, so its about 7 pm here. Dinner time! Tomorrow, we are going into town to figure out essentials. I can't wait to explore! Campus is out of town, (think of St. Olaf's distance into town). The standard of living here isn't too expensive at all. We have found numerous restaurant deals that, when converted, equate into a 6-10 US dollar meal. We were all relieved to see those deals! I will be keeping an online blog so you can read about my adventures, and you won't have to receive mass emails, but I have to wait until the internet is started up on my computer. As soon as I start up my internet I can also call you from my computer using a program called SKYPPE. If you also sign up on your computer, we can talk for free. I hope this email finds you all well, and I look forward to keeping you posted and mailing pictures of the countryside!!

Cheers (yup, they really say that a lot),

Amy