That's right, folks; this girl is leaving the country in two days. Not for good or anything (although, with the upcoming election, I might stay a little longer than planned...). The fall semester of my junior year in college will be spent abroad. For three months, I will be studying at Cardiff University, which is located in Cardiff, Wales. Before you open a new tab and type "Where is Wales?" into your favorite search engine, let me try to help you out a bit. Wales is a country in the U.K. North of Wales lies Scotland, England can be found to the right, and Ireland and Northern Ireland are just across the pond to the left. People in Wales speak English, but some also speak Welsh. Welsh is full of cool words like Cymraeg. Cymraeg is the word in Welsh for Welsh. Cymru is the word for Wales, the country. Cwn is valley. And my personal favorite: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the name of a small town. It translates to "St. Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St .Tysilio near the red cave."
While I'm going to be studying abroad in Wales for the next three months, that doesn't mean I'm going to stay in Wales and only Wales. I plan on traveling everywhere I possible can while in Europe. Traveling is slowly becoming a passion of mine. I love getting to experience new cultures, learn about their traditions, each place's history, try their foods, etc. Right now, I have a growing list of places I want to visit, things I want to see, and people I can't wait to meet while abroad. Along with that list, I've been adding to another list of my own every time I talk to someone about my upcoming semester abroad. I've formed a list of advice I've been given and would like to share it with you all. Some of you reading this might even see something familiar! Advice for Casey, provided by many.
As you can see, I've been given all kinds of advice (and too many places to visit to list them all). Will I follow all of it? Probably not. Will I try? Probably. What I am going to promise to do, though, is compile a list of advice based off this list given to me and my experiences while abroad to share with others wanting to spend a semester abroad.
As my friends who are also studying abroad either settle in to their cosy new beds for the semester or settle into their not-so-cosy plane seats for the next 8-12 hours, I will continue to cherish my last couple days in the good 'ole U.S. of A., sipping on a smoothie, snacking on leftover Chinese take-out, and watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix. Until then, see you soon, Cymru! P.S. Keep the advice coming! I love all of it, even if it's something I've been told a million a one times! I want to know all our your suggestions, too! Thanks!
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Casey HeinleinI'm Casey [current world traveler, food & drink enthusiast, novice blogger, lover of the ampersand, & the connections that come with it] in Cardiff. Contact me here.
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