Welsh Rec Time

So, I told you all about why I went to Wales after heading back to the British Isles. Now let me tell you about all the good fun that was had. Alex and I spent most, if not all, our free time hanging out with a few locals. The community around us was amazing and everyone was incredibly friendly. It was so connected that if you met someone, they likely knew the next person you bumped into the next town over. The day I arrived I hitched from the train station to the farm and was picked up by a young couple that took me right to the doorstep. Three days later I went with Alex to play football with some of his buddies. The dude that picked me up was there suiting up for his match. If I had to stop writing now, that would sum up the time in Wales with the locals. Alex and I spent most of our free time hanging out with the Grimshaw family. We fast beame drinking buddies, football teammates, and they were in a band so music was provided. Keep an eye out for them, Regime.

We were even able to take a few trips to some cool places nearby: Carmarthen (Alex had to stay home), Aberystwyth, and Cardiff. My first weekend in Wales, Regime was playing a gig in Carmarthen and there was only one seat left in the car. Alex took one for the team and let me have it on the condition the next time he would land the last slot (luckily, he was never able to capitalize on that). Mad love for not fighting me on that, Alex! It was a good show and it was the first time I really got to know the guys. Before the show, we had a bomb curry that we ate in the courtyard of a church (it really looked more like a graveyard if you ask me). The music is a sweet spin on reggae. After that, a few of us went down the street and got wrecked on ciders and shots only to return to Glandwr to catch the sunrise. It was a proper night out to welcome an American to Wales and set the tone for the following month :)

The next trip was when Alex and I went to Aberystwyth for the weekend. We didn't really have a plan, as you've come to expect from me, and just kind of showed up. We were able to snag a stay through a CouchSurfer called Tony and it turned out that weekend was the MidMad Festival. It was a day of good fun listening to music at the university and dancing about. Alex pranced around with Avatar like a mildly moronic fool (see photo). I had to do it Alex! It was good fun though and the day was spent slurping beers and munching down burgers. The night moved to a house party where I was offered my first ever line of coke. That was an interesting one and the exit cue for Alex and myself. The Aberystwyth crowd knows how to keep a party going, but I'd prefer the party that stays afloat because people want to be there. The next day, Alex and I hitched back to Glandwr rather easily in time for dinner with the family, yum! Throughout the rest of my time in Wales, we spent nights hanging with Theo, Toby, and Jez (The Grimshaw Boys) and some days we went down to the lake or on a hike.

The final trip in Wales was when Alex spent a weekend in Cardiff with me on my way to London. As far as we knew, it was going to be the last time I would see him for years to come. I found out later I would be going back to London, but at that time I had no intention of returning to England on this trip. We stayed with a lovely lady CS'er called Michelle that put us up for the weekend and gave us tons of freedom, even made us some fairy cakes! Alex helped me do some shopping because the farm destroyed my jeans and even though I tried repairing them several times they just kept ripping, we abused some marketing of Sobe energy drinks by walking by and grabbing some from about 3 different people (evening mixers people!), hopped into pubs for a pint or two, and he even overstayed when I missed my bus because of the traffic delays from the football match. Cardiff is a fun, youthful city, with a good nightlife and I would recommend anyone to visit there. If you can go with a great friend, it'll make the time even better. As they say, two people shorten a road. Thanks Alex!

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Sustainable Living

Not many people outside of Wales consider it a country separate from England. I can assure you nothing about my time in Wales reminded me of England. Well, except Alex... And the drinking... And the rain... Maybe I should talk about everything that is different in Welsh territory... Excellent suggestion people, I'm glad somebody out there has a good idea. I somehow always like to talk about the people I meet. Though that was a big part of my stay, the time I spent there was to slow myself down. Since beginning my trip in Europe, pretty much everything has been go go go. The four months that I've been on this side of the Atlantic, only about a week was relaxed. Think of those vacations you take and when you return, you need another vacation. Now multiply by 16 because they are usually only a week long!! Yea, you heard me... My job is tiring! So, what does someone do for vacation that is on an indefinite holiday? Good question, I volunteered for a month doing something that required little thinking and allowed me to work a daily routine. In essence, when you take a holiday from traveling it's to get a job. Weird, I know... To be fair, what I was doing shouldn't really be called work.

Job Title: Day Laborer
Job Definiton: Do what the boss says and have a beer at the end of the day (or in the middle of it)
Job Pay: Room and Board
Job Benefits: Holiday recovery, Meet locals, Learn something new

I must have shown up at the perfect time. The first couple days were doing hedging and clearing for the... Let me take a step back. The place I'm offering my assistance is a sustainable living village called Lammas (www.lammasproject.org). In brief, they were given a grant by the Welsh assembly to create Eco-homes in order to determine building regulations for the future and whether it is financially viable for communities. Though, everyone I met in the village had their own reason usually related in some fashion to wanting a connection to where they lived that wasn't through a banker. Okay, so back to the tasks... Clearing bushes and weeds and stuff. The type of work most people complain about because it makes their back hurt or they feel unproductive; it was just what I needed. Over the remainder of my time, we pounded stone, shoveled dirt, drank beer, sifted soil for stone, mixed limecrete, and filled earth bags amongst other tasks. All excellent endeavors for clearing my head. You're probably still wondering why I would say it must have been the right time. Well, because work had begun once again on the house; I was able to visually see the fruits of my labor whereas most volunteers contribute but never see any of the progress. Seeing the transition of the foundation from when I arrived to when I left was unbelievable. A mantra of slow and steady, much like a turtle, made the daily progression unnoticeable until you took a step back. Continuously, we need to be reminded that life is passing us by and we're missing it; please, stop and take notice and realize that you don't need fast cars, power suits, and 3 different ways to connect to the Internet in the off chance 2 fail.

The best part was the family hosting me; the food might give them a run for the money, but I'd like to think of it as part of the family :). They became part of my family (and me theirs) very quickly. When I first arrived, the kids were shy and scared of the new guy, but within a couple days it was as if I'd been there for their entire lives. In the course of a month, when you spend day in and day out with the same people a type of bond is created. If you're lucky you see it while you're there and can cherish the time that much more. At times I was their babysitter, teacher, or simply just a buddy to hang out with. The best was when I became the student (or even the babysittee...)! Don't ever underestimate the power of a child to share something you don't know; they're sponges man and all you have to do is squeeze a little for them to share their world. I went out to Wales to visit Alex, and we had a blast, but I never expected to take so many other relationships with me.

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