Germany and My Last Week

Hiya!

Its been awhile. Sorry for the long wait but I’ve been really busy since returning from Munich almost 2 weeks ago. Munich, Munich, Munich. It was amazing. The traveling to and from were less than exciting and very exhausting but definitely worth it. Munich goes on my list of favorite places to visit again. It took us over 24 hours each way to get to Munich and back to Carmarthen. There was a lot of waiting at airports and bus stations. We basically just slept in these places and waited. On the way there, the train station wouldn’t let us wait in the station from 10.30pm till our 4.30am departure. So we aimlessly walked around Cardiff looking for open bars. Instead we ended up at at a Burger King on a Wednesday night playing cards and waiting. And in Wales, Wednesday nights are the college nights. So drunk uni students stumbled in ordering burgers and chips till they closed at 4am. Oh the things you can witness at a Cardiff Burger King at midnight on a Wednesday night. By the time we arrived at Munich and to our lush hostel, it was around 11pm on Thursday. The hostel was pretty legit – I picked it out and reserved it for less that  £30 for two nights per person including breakfast and wifi. It was a 16 person room divided in two. It worked out perfectly, all 8 of us were roomed together.  I didn’t go on the walking tour or to Dachau. I wanted to but time and money were the reasons why. I did however go to the Christmas Market. It was wonderful. I drank mulled wine -Glühwein , ate this huge circular dough thing with powder with a hint of lemon. And had a potato like pancake with apple sauce. I forget the names of these foods but they were delicious. The Christmas Market was a blast – I bought lots of gifts and little ornaments for home. I’m excited to show my family pictures of Munich.

Alas, its getting closer. Only 8 days left and I’m on my way home. Its really setting in now that I’ve started to finish projects and hand them in. I’m leaving soon I won’t be here next term. Its sad but I’m  tired and ready to see my family and friends. If I could just bring my family and friends here life would be good. Those who study abroad are right, the moment you finally get settled its time to go home. Its all truly bittersweet as cliche as that sounds. I’m going to miss Carmarthen. Its been a wonderful ride. I’ve learned so much, met some amazing women and formed some wonderful friendships that I hope to continue even when I leave. I mean, who else am I going to say I go to Munich Christmas Market with? Or that I did a pub crawl in Ireland with? No one but these guys.

xx

 

BTW, sorry no pictures. I’m having a difficult time uploading them here. You can find them on my tumblr:  cupcakesdreams.tumblr.com

London!

Hiya!

Whew! The weekend trip to London went by really fast. I feel like we were just packing and heading down the M4. It was a really nice city to see.  Definitely different from anything I’ve seen before. Its like a metropolitan city meshed with Old English charm. And the diversity there was amazing and a nice change in pace. I loved hearing Greek, Italian, Spanish, and English, etc all spoken on the Tube and while walking around the city. Though, I doubt I could live there- visit on holiday or extended stay but not live there. It’s not quite me; as in the fit for somewhere I could see myself.

 

I didn’t see much because of the short amount of time. We were supposed to leave around noon and from Carmarthen to London, its about 4 hours and with rest stop breaks around 5 hour drive. Because of an accident and horrific traffic, we arrive around 8pm! Everyone was just tired and wanting to find their hostels and food. We walked around a while after taking the Tube and got lost and turned around. Finally some lovely people sitting outside of a resturant led us in the right direction. Upon arriving at our hostel, guests started to sniff us (yes, sniff) and shout at us in there native languages and laugh. It was really weird. Sometimes you get a lovely hostel with great service, nice guests and food – other times you get what you pay for. And paid for it by being out in the back woods of London basically.  Chelsea’s friend Maggie was surprised how far out we were. One day when we can afford London, we will stay in city center. We went to dinner at a place called Diner not too far from the hostel. It was reasonably priced and delicious.

 

But…I went to Tate Modern!!!! I psyched out a lot when I saw the Poetry and Dream collection. Because of the time crunch, I only saw that one collection. I’d love to go back and spend an entire day in the Tate Modern as well as go visit the Tate Britain. Seeing that particular museum would have been really useful for my research paper on 18th century British art. Also, I got a really great item at the Tate shop. A new planner for 2012! I love planners and organizing my day. It’s really beautiful; hard bound book with different artworks on each page. It’s quite lovely, well worth the £12.95. And I stayed within my £100 limit for the weekend. I even bought two scarves, two postcards and a keychain for my mom’s best friend.

We went on a free tour of London with New Europe. It was about a 2 and half hours of walking and we saw most of Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Eye, and castles of famous people. I really love New Europe tours, that’s who we got the free tour from in Dublin and who we will use again in Munich. They offered a discounted pub crawl in city center. It was different and eye opening. Not really a fan of the London nightlife I saw – it was too much for me but I’m glad I experienced it.

Now, we are off to Munich for Thanksgiving. We leave tonight around 8.30pm GMT. I’m excited about the Christmas Market, the free walking tour of Munich and touring a concentration camp. Well bye lovelies. Xx

 

 

 

 

 

London

Hiya!

Its been a while… I’ve been busy, busy, busy with assignments!

I have a digital project and a 2000-3000 word essay/15 minute presentation due by Dec. 8th. In addition, I have 9 studio projects to do by Dec. 14th, Whew! I’m tired and beat. Using clay has been challenging but fun and I’m proud of myself. I’m working on 7 different pieces at once! I feel like a true  artist, working relatively independent at my own pace.I wish I could do more projects in plaster but I’d definitely wouldn’t be able to take the pieces home because of the ridiculous price to ship from the UK to the States. Other than sticking to my budget (so far, so good!) and working on my projects, nothing too exciting has happened. Though last week, I went to my first house party here in Wales! It was fun and reminded me of home – people chilling and having a good time.  Its after 2am, so today is officially the 18th of November, marking 2 months since I left the States and 29 days till I head home O__O! But enough about assignments and leaving Wales — on to London!

Today, at noon I leave for London for the weekend with the international students here at Trinity St. David. I’m really excited because I didn’t get to see London when I arrived 2 months ago. I’m hoping to sight see, visit a museum or two; especially the Tate and maybe thrifitng? We’ll see. I hear the city is really expensive, so most of my group of friends are budgeting a certain amount for the weekend and saving for Germany next week. I will see how well my budget goes since transportation is already paid for and my budget is for food, small gifts like postcards, and misc.

I’m pretty excited but tired. I’m finally settling and finding my place here. Other exchange students were right, the moment you settle in – its almost time to leave. =/ This trip so far has really made me reconsider moving to the UK or Europe in general in the future. Once I’ve gotten used to things; like the money, lingo, food, culture, etc it was beginning to be fun and I relaxed. It almost felt like home – not quite, but close.

Good night loves. Talk to you after my trip to London. xXx

Halloweekend and Hairrrr!

Hello lovelies! I hope your October is ending well and ready to bring in November! Woohoo!

I am. I’m a bit more excited about my birthday in a 3 days – the big 22! haha. I don’t want to do anything fancy like I stated in my last post but I am going to appreciate the process of getting older and let the cards fall were they may. And enjoy the fact for my 22nd birthday I was in a different country surrounded by new friends. We may not always get along and being together for past 6 weeks is starting to get to us, but I do appreciate each person for what they mean to me and what they have done. I did go to the Halloween dance this past Friday and this was my costume. Yes, I was a lumberjack. I do like guys that have beards/facial hair, strong, and wear plaid. haha

Photo Credit: R. Paukett

Okay, onto other news… its been about 3 -4 weeks since I’ve trimmed my hair and cut the back of it. I was thinking in 3 weeks when we go to London for the weekend go to a hair salon and get a proper shape up/cut. But I’ve decided against it. Its growing. In the back its like 1 1/2″ -2 ” and in the front its a good 6” and on top about 4 1/2″. I think for the rest of the trip (and to save money) I’m going to wash it with shampoo and deep condition every other week and co wash weekly. I will style my hair in double strand twists using the Hairveda Almond Glaze and water (its soooo amazing). It makes my hair so soft and my curls shine. Tomorrow when I wash my hair, I will re-twist my hair; its getting a little frizzy. Now that I have my new digital camera I will take pictures of the process – my hair after shampooing with Miss Jessie’s  Super Slip Sudsy Shampoo ( I have the Creme De La Curl as well, I generally alternate based on what my hair needs when its time to shampoo). My hair is tangling a lot lately because I haven’t been properly detangling before I do my double strand twists. But keep my hair healthy, protective against the moisture and cold, styled and out of my way, less shampooing and co washing and less likely to cut my hair AGAIN. I’m going to try to grow it out ladies. I know I always say that, and every year around I cut it. I’m not going to again- only trims which I know how to do myself. I was having some trouble, and idenity crisis with the hair. It was too big, too loud, too obnoxious, too this, not enough that – I miss my really straight relaxed hair or my twa. As cheesy as it sounds, I’m rediscovering myself again. Loving my hair – every wave, curl, and kink that is on top of this head of mine and trying not to be so concerned whether or not my peers like it (being in a place like this; with so much whiteness, I questioned my blackness and beauty). I think each situation I’m in where I am one of the only or few, makes me value my blackness, difference more and want to learn more about. I want to hold onto my Black culture and our history regardless of where I am in this world.

On another note regarding the Hairveda Whipped Gelly – it was amazing as well. Its was moisturizing too and made my curls shine. Its something that I would use with my Ecostyler gel when I like to slick my curls down or have them really springy and defined, or alone; it works that well and smells that lovely. Since I’m running low on Ecostyler – I got the 32 oz  before I left home x___x I won’t use it often, probably not anymore till I get back home. Its really expensive even on Amazon.co.uk. plus they don’t have many and I don’t want to use gel everyday (can you say nasty build up, which is why I was washing my hair so much). Otherwise, my curls, kinks, fro or whathaveyou is going strong here in Wales! Also, when doing twists on shorter strands of curls, I usually use bobby pins to keep the down. Talk later!

Halloween and My Birthday and other Updates (sort of)

Hiya!

In exactly a week Halloween will be here. I’m not particularly excited or mad about it. I just don’t care about it. I’d prefer not to spend the money on either making a costume or buying one and then buying drinks (because obviously we will be drinking). I’m just not that interested in it. I was going to go as Medusa. But seriously, I’m just not into spending money right now. I’ve spent too much so far on shopping, eating and traveling (which I should do- because I’m here). Alas, I have responsibilities when I return to the States in December. I have bills to pay, an apartment to find , possibly getting a car and if things work out well I’m going to Spain in the summer (well maybe- lets see how my Spring courses go).

Also, my birthday is two days after that- I will be 22.  Woohoo! I really enjoy getting older, because I hope that as I get older I get wiser and become more mature. But that comes with experience more than again I guess. Its on a Wednesday this year and Wednesdays are Union night at the Student Union. Its usually themed and its lots of fun – if you’re really happy or drunk. Debating if I even want to go. I’d rather not do anything fancy. I’d rather have a nice dinner party with friends. I’m so just over spending  money and partying (the UK is hella expensive). I got a new tattoo for my birthday. Its of one of Salavdor Dali’s elephants on my thigh and I got more added to the dogwood flower on my foot. Also, I bought a Nikon  Coolpix S3100 digital camera to replace my dead Kodak (RIP Kodak – we had some lovely times). And all of that was quite expensive.  But I want to go to London – which is one of our cultural package trips during November. So I plan on saving my money for my hostel, food and other misc. I’d like to find something cool for my older brother and little cousins.

My new tattoo:

Photo Credit: C. Wynn

GUESS WHAT!?!?!

Only 54 days left. WTF. I can’t believe it – I’ve been here for 5 weeks, it seems surreal. Its like the moment you finally settle down its almost time to leave again. Oh dear! All in all, I’ve really enjoyed myself. I think I definitely needed this break away from UNCG and North Carolina in general because I was totally burnt out and just tired of the same thing. I would love to visit

the UK again and Europe too! Possibly travel a bit more (one day when I’m fabulous and well off ) We have the Dinefwr (I went there with my art history class – considering skipping it), Big Pit, London and Thanksgiving left in our cultural package trips.

Lastly, this is one of the first times in a long time I’m happy about Christ

mas. Not for the gifts or anything, more to see my family and eat my family’s cooking.  I can’t wait to just feel the love of being around them and cooking again. And I’ve already started playing Christmas music – I generally don’t do that before Thanksgiving but dammit, I’m excited to see them and tell them all about Wales.

Bye dears… P.S. are you guys doing anything for Halloween or Hallow’s Eve? If so, what?

It’s Been A Good Day

Today has been a good day. For starters I got my mom a pair of really cute shoes! She loves polka dots these red polka dotted wedges are similar to ones that she has but the heel on these are lower. And I got them at TopShop for £3! Great deal. I’m going to give them to her when I return to the States. Also, I made an appointment for my tattoo, Friday at 11 am (thank God for no Monday or Friday classes). I’m really excited to get a tattoo here! I believe next week is my reading week for the Art department here. Therefore I’m thinking about going to Scotland- we leave Saturday around 4am and return Wednesday early in the morning. We are going to Germany in November. I’m budgeting for travel, food, gifts and accommodations about $680. I’m hoping that when we go to Munich my friend Sarah can find us a place to crash so accommodation will be free. I’m hoping the same for going to London  in November. Therefore the costs of this will be a bit cheaper. But I think for 2 countries (not including London) that a pretty great deal. I’m still on the fence about Scotland- 1. to save money and 2. to actually work on my projects for reading week. But if I work on my projects and paper for classes like I hope too, I will definitely go. I need to make a decision asap though. But I may just go to Germany and go on a day trip or something this week with another friend whose theater department schedule prevents her from traveling at all during the term. BTW, my camera is dead. So no more pictures from me unless I copy friends’ off of facebook. I’m going to get a new one when I get back to the States. Oh well. Talk later! P.S. I should be posting my review soon about two products that I ordered from British Curlies by Hairveda.

Black Culture in Wales

Hi lovelies!

I know that I’ve been away for awhile, but I haven’t abandoned this blog. I’ve just been really busy with starting classes this week and getting finances in order. I’ve been updating my tumblr though but until now I really haven’t had much news to report till now.

So I started classes this week and they were pretty good though I dropped two of the four and added two new ones. The Brain and Behavior class was interesting but vaguely familiar to my Intro to Psych class at my home institution, UNCG. So I dropped that as well as the Painting Cultures and Identities course because I’d rather take a painting course at UNCG. I’ve heard that the instructor who is really good at her craft can be very critical, so I’d rather take it at UNCG and know for sure I’m getting credit for it verses it just being counted as an elective. I added a Collage, Assemblage and the Found Object class as well as 3D Mixed Media course. I’m very excited because I love collages and using various materials to create a project. Kara Walker and Romare Bearden are my favorite artists, I hope to introduce both to my collage  class if either are unknown to my professor and classmates. Which brings me to the topic of this post- Black culture in Wales.

In the past few weeks I’ve noticed the lack of Black culture (Afro, Caribbean, etc.)  and influence in Wales. I’ve seen Black people here yet there is no evidence of acceptance and understanding here. For instance, I went into Tesco’s and there are no hair products such as shampoo, conditioner, creams, pomade, grease, etc or makeup for the Black woman. Its almost as if we don’t exist here. I understand that Wales, especially Carmarthen as I’ve seen is essentially racial homogenous but its 2011 and I’ve seen a good number of Black faces here and still find it perplexing to not be able to walk into a super center store like Tesco’s and buy foundation or even cocoa butter for my ashy knees in the winter. When I was in Dublin, I did see some Black hair care products in the wig shop (yea, I won’t even comment about the irony of that shit).  And I ‘m sure in bigger cities like London and Dublin with growing populations of non-European whites they will and can cater to others. But I can’t even find Pantene Pro-V For Women of Color in the store. I’m generally not a huge advocate for the United States but I am grateful for the fact that their are products around for my natural hair. I can go into Walmart or Target and find products. The selection and expense of these products are a different topic for another day but its so mind boggling to me when other countries give off this idea that they are more racially tolerant and understanding. But what I’ve seen is that is not to be so true. I want to ask these women: how do you care for your hair? What do you use on your skin? Do you wear make up? I want to know. Like I’ve said I’ve seen some Black women around the town of Carmarthen and many of them have weaves (they unfortunately look matted and not put in properly) or I’ve seen one girl on campus with very dry and unhealthy hair. I don’t want to seem a know it all or better than, but I’m puzzled. Maybe its my US privilege showing or my ignorance but I genuinely want to know.  As a WOC who wants to be an advocate for other WOC, I want to know the needs, concerns, and desires of WOC around the world. I know, hair and hair care seems frivolous and unimportant but if we can’t even find a product intended for the WOC in mind that makes me wonder what other things lacking for WOC; particularly Black women here in Europe?

My, my, my…. Dublin. A wonderful city. Full of life and heritage. I really enjoyed our trip and I’m glad I decided to go a for once forgo my anxiety about my money woes. I only get to live once and who knows if or when I will be back in Europe. I enjoyed the change of pace and the city life that Dublin offered. I think for me the diversity and culture as well as pride is exciting and appealing to me because it reminds me of bigger cities in the States, which I’m more attracted too.  Unlike Carmarthen – the city I’m studying abroad in, I saw people that looked like me and that didn’t look like me! It was wonderful. The fashion was beautiful too! I saw girls in tights, heels, beautiful structured jackets and blazers, and they looked confident. When we go downtown here in Carmarthen you can see these things some times but I saw it all of the time in Dublin. But I love both places for different reasons. I think as a college student, being in Carmarthen is best. Its quieter and full of charm. If I want to shop or eat well on a budget its available in about a 15 minute walk. I think after graduation, Dublin is more of a city for me.

Okay, now onto the trip. It was long journey there. We left around 12:15am on Monday morning, we arrived in Dublin around 12:30pm. We would have arrived around 8pm because our wait for our bus after the ferry was like 8 hours but we met a nice man who let us on the bus early! This way we were able to get the hostel for the four staying in the hostel during the trip, eat some lunch, walk around a bit and rest up some before meeting up with friend of Chelsea’s (she’s who put the entire trip together…getting our tickets for the buses and ferry rides). After hanging out an too posh lounge for about an hour we all went in for the night. The next day we did a free walking tour of the city. It was amazing to learn the culture and heritage of Dublin. It was about 4 hours and we covered much of the city. All for FREE! The group leader, Robbie got us Pub Crawl tickets for a reduced priced.  It was pretty cool to have drink specials at each place and hit up spots that only locals usually go to.

The next day we did a bus tour and went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. I loved it! Too bad we couldn’t take pictures because the artworks were beautiful! And odd but that’s to be expected. And the gardens were lovely as well. I got some great pictures of that too.

Wales!

Hello world! I’m in Wales, been here since Monday morning. Its been an adventure these past few days getting settle and understanding the culture and the bilingual language. The Welsh language is interesting and I hope to learn some before I leave. I’m going to Ireland tomorrow night at midnight. I’m excited to get there and see the country. I bet its as beautiful as Wales. I’ve learned that the Welsh (and probably the UK too) love their potatoes. Potatoes are served at every meal in various ways. Chips, roasted potatoes, mash, etc. My group of friends (The Americans and Canadians lol) are kinda hating potatoes right now. Sorry. And I personally never thought I could. I mean, I love fries. But for now, I will take any other vegetable; don’t fret I will be back to you potato. Also, I’ve seen lots and lots of sheep! They are so adorable. And they seem content and relaxed. I kind of want one. The group of kids I hang with are made of  Americans including myself and 2 Canadians – Me, Lizzie (my roommate), Rachel Y., Megan, Eric, Carl, Chelsea, Sarah, and Rachel (Stealth – her nickname, Idk her last name) . It wasn’t purposeful, but as the only international kids in catered housing we are grouped together a lot and the 2 boys (1 is American – Carl and the other Canadian – Eric) live right beside us. We will get more suite mates, I believe 2 more international students and the rest Freshers (first years). We are a colorful bunch and I am so happy to have met them. This experience has only begun but we act like we’ve know each other for a long time. Last night we did the Pub Brawl where you basically bar hop. It was so much fun. I had my first Fire Ball. Whew! It was cinnamon-y and hot, but delicious. I want another of those shots. And I’ve learned that I like the taste of darker lagers and ciders. Interesting. And I was able to find sangria here! It’s not too bad.  Lizzie and I tried some red wine from Tesco’s – tasted like shit but at least Sarah was able to enjoy it.  We actually drank at 5 pubs last night but ventured to 7 in all.  Its about 40 international students and we were walking the streets of downtown Carmarthen enjoying life and enjoying being young. People were having so much fun drinking and dancing. We  went to Whetherspoons first, then a wine bar where everyone got really drunk, the to Karaoke,  and a few more bars. People got hungry so we stopped at a little restaurant and stood outside eating- I got chips and cheese. Today, the girls and I went downtown to shop a bit. I didn’t bring enough clothes! I brought too much practical stuff like blankets, paper towel, towels, etc. But its all good, gave me a reason to spend money in H&M and TK Maxx (yes, TK Maxx- its in the TJ Maxx chain here in the UK). I bought a maxi dress with long sleeves, 2 sweaters, some cute socks, and some other stuff. I’m excited to see what other things are going to happen. I gotta go, its midnight here and I want to sleep before we go to see a castle tomorrow and packing for Ireland. Plus, my roommate would like to use the internet. This whole ethernet cable thing…eh… Oh well, cheers! Posting pictures later hopefully.

Today is the Day

Hello world.

Today is the day. Its almost 6:30, so I leave in about  12 and 15 minutes. I’m excited and nervous. Yesterday I did last minute packing and checking for important documents, insurance cards, etc… I couldn’t find anything at first. I couldn’t find my immunization records or my Generalize Anxiety Disorder diagnose for school. I eventually found both documents after searching high and low, literally (I searched upstairs and in the garage). After I found that, my printer was being ridiculous about printing off the medical questionnaire and needs assessments the school sent me. Also, it wouldn’t copy, it kept saying  ‘No paper’. Which was false. It eventually worked and printed, copied and filled out the paper work. Made copies of my birth certificate, passport and SS card. I have folder for my important documents including my home and travel insurance cards and the acceptance letter from school that will go in my carry on. This is will make it easier to access the important stuff for customs and check in.

All packed! Well Big Red is (my suitcase). She is ready to roll. And she isn’t as heavy as before. I removed some things and rearranged while still having all my needs and some wants packed. I’m glad that its done, I’m not redoing it. I hope. I have my travel clothes picked out already. Black jeggings, a white tee shirt, gray cardigan (its cool here in NC and on air planes) and my boots which  slide on and off (and allow for extra space in the suitcase). Its going to rainy and in the low to mid 50s when I leave North Carolina and should be around the same when I arrive in London (I’m going to school in Wales, but the Uni is picking us up at an airport in London). In that outfit I will be most comfortable instead of wearing jeans like I originally planned. I have no clue what I was thinking. But, I will be served dinner on the second half of the flight!

Also, for all you curly, kinky, wavy girls traveling– how do you all style your hair for air travel? I’ve decided to wash my hair really well and double strand twist. When I finally go to sleep and wake up I will decide if I want to keep the twists or risk and undo them. I know I just didn’t want to rock and afro (it will flatten while I’m sleeping) or and updo (bobby pins galore and uncomfortable to sleep in). And instead of trying to find small containers, I bought full sized products and put it in my checked bag. 1. I couldn’t find what I use on my hair at Tesco (the store that my school will be taking us too). So instead of not being able to have nice hair while abroad I packed it all! lol. Its not that much really. I brought my Eco Styler gel ( I LOVE THIS!!! – just bought it Friday), Miss Jessie’s shampoo (cleanser & detangler) and conditioner (for my leave in), V05 (debating if I should, I’ve seen that on Tesco’s online), Roots of Nature Whipped Curl Cream and my Burt’s Bee’s Deep Treatment. That’s all for my hair. I only have 6 products for my hair not including water. I’m proud. haha.

Well I’m gonna hit the hay. Up by 12 to do some last minute checking and things. The next time I will be writing, I will be in Wales! xxXxx