“You were the future once”

Another week, another blog posting. The sun is setting over Cardigan Bay as I sit here writing this, reflected in the waves as they crash onto the beach below.

The other day I was asked what adventures I had been on lately. Last weekend, a group of us international students made a trip up to north Wales, spending the better part of three days exploring Snowdonia National Park and the town of Caernarfon, home of Caernarfon Castle. All things said, it was a great experience.

The trip began with our arrival in Caernarfon by bus early Friday afternoon. Along with two other guys from my flat, I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area around the castle walls, and the town itself. It was a perfect day weatherwise, and it made for some excellent pictures, some of which I’ve posted here (I also created an album on Facebook).

The others arrived a few hours later, and we met up at a hostel that we had reserved for the weekend in the countryside, about twenty minutes out of town near the small village of Waunfawr. It’s a beautiful area, and it made for a great place to stay. On that first night we were there, the sky was perfectly clear, and as we were returning from a stroll down to the pub that first night, I remember looking up at the stars and thinking that it had been a long time since I had seen so many at once.

The following morning, we took a bus to a trailhead leading up to Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales, and spent the rest of the day hiking up the mountain and back. It was a three-hour hike each way, but there were a bunch of us, so it made for quite the experience along the way. Standing on the top of the mountain with the others, with incredible views all around us, made it all worth it. The next day we found our way back into town, and after some more sightseeing, reluctantly climbed onto the bus to take us back to Aberystwyth, and our lives as college students for the time being (regardless of how far we are from home).

One thing that I’m realizing more and more these days is just how far I am from home. The distance is something that’s on my mind more these days, and I’m starting to feel really removed from what I imagine is going on back home, both literally (of course) and in a figurative sense. Aside from trying to stay in touch with people through e-mail, Facebook, instant messenger, the random phone call, etc., I think that keeping this blog is my way of trying to make sure that I retain some links to the world I’ve known for so long. As much as I tell myself I’ll only be here for a few more months, a sense of longing to be around what’s become familiar to me over the years (call it homesickness, or whatever) does come up from time to time, and it helps to know that people are reading what I’m taking the time to write down and reflect upon during my time here.

In other news – to follow up on what I wrote last week – things are really getting interesting in the British Parliament. Today’s Prime Minister’s Questions session had some real zingers on both sides, with Gordon Brown struggling to defend his policies (and decision not to call an election in November) and Conservative leader David Cameron labeling him a “phony” and advising him to “find a bit of courage, get a bit of bottle, get into your car, go down to Buckingham Palace and call that election.” “You were the future once,” he said to Brown, in a roundabout reference to Tony Blair, whom he served under for a decade. It’s all over the headlines here in Britain, and it makes me wonder how much of it is actually being covered by the media at home. You can read more about it here, if you’re curious.

I don’t want this to turn into a blog on British politics, though, so I’ll finish up with a few more observations on what exactly I’m doing over here. Right now, my housemates are cooking dinner in our flat, and by now the sun has made its way completely below the horizon, and dusk is settling in. One thing I should mention is that in a couple of days, (surprise surprise) my mom and her partner are coming here. They’ve been touring around England for the last few days, arriving in London last Saturday after a week-long tour of New England “to see the fall colors,” as I remember them describing it. They’re coming to see the sights around here, and either on Saturday night or Sunday morning, we’re going to head over to Ireland for a couple of days. From what I’ve gathered, we’re going to catch a ferry to Dublin and tour around for a day or two, before coming back on Tuesday. One of the only times in my life that my parents have actually encouraged me to skip class (I’ll miss two lectures and a seminar on Monday). It’s going to be great.

Again, thanks for taking the time to read this. As I said earlier, it helps to know that people back home are reading about my adventures, and sharing to some extent in the experiences that I’m having over here. Best of luck to you in your journeys over the next few days. -1104- out.