This series of posts will vary dramatically from my usual method of
documenting adventures. Why? Because I got so sucked into the scenery that I
didn’t want to stop looking at it long enough to write about it (and I think I
just needed a break from blogging).
Blogging is a beautiful thing and serves several purposes. It keeps me
connected to family and friends, gives me a splendid outlet as an aspiring
writer, and helps me accomplish my goal of making the world a more accessible
place for people who want to travel.
It does have its downsides, though.
I pick my way through a woodland trail and think, “I pick my way through a woodland trail swallowed by a morning mist.
Filling my lungs, I savor the sent of the woods. The refreshing leaves and the
rotting branches. Opening my ears, I soak in the sounds of the forest. The
bubbling brooks, the bombinating bees, the whispering wind rustling the leaves.
Opening my eyes, I survey the sights. The gnarled and expressive trees grasping
this way and that, no rhyme or reason to where their ivy adorned branches --
ach, *Thump*, OOF!”
I poetically stumble over a raised root I hadn’t spotted because I was
far too busy narrating my life to notice it as it unfolded before me. This sort
of processing creates a lag time similar to the one I experience when trying to
decipher a thick accent or dialect. I have to repeat the words in my head
before I actually understand what the person has just tried to communicate. A
good reader can look at words on a page and not have to sound them out in her
head – she simply, efficiently, absorbs without having to reiterate. She
doesn’t have to put her voice to the words of the writer.
During my stay in Newport, I wanted to forgo this pesky lag time and
be as completely present as possible. I desired to experience the country and
culture without writing a blog in the back of my mind.
So I didn’t write, as you might have noticed. I jotted down
interesting facts and fun quotes when I felt an irresistible urge, but I
primarily let go of my blog/website for the week. I let go of my blog and I
tried to absorb. I focused on consuming, appeasing my hypersensitive guilt
complex with promises that I’d get back to that obnoxious creating business at
a later date.
I’ve consumed. Now I’m back. The experience of Wales won’t be as
intimate for my readers because there is a week of space clouding my mind, but
it was much more intimate for me.
Wales.
Why don't people talk about Wales all the time? I've heard
all about the buildings in Rome, the museums in Paris, the pubs in Dublin, and
the theatre in London, but nobody ever mentioned the walks in Wales.
Nobody even mentioned where Wales is. I probably wouldn't
have known if I hadn't been volunteering with Kim in Dunmore, Ireland of 2011.
My older brother bought me a Celtic cross necklace with a glossy green rock in
the center from Wales during a school trip when he was fifteen. If it had not
been for this cross, I wouldn't have known Wales existed. If it hadn't been for
Kim, I wouldn't have known of the striking cliff faces, vibrant greens, or
winding trails. She opened up her laptop on Sinead's couch in the old farmhouse
in Dunmore, showed me a few shots of the views from around her town of Newport,
and I fell a little bit in love (I find it very easy to fall in love with
oceans, jagged rocks, and rolling hills).
Wales is wonderful. How this country is not on everyone's
top ten destinations list, I have no idea. My experience thus far has been
friendly people, beautiful countryside, delicious food, and superb
coffee.
WALES
(CYMRU), PART ONE
FACTS AND
FIGURES
· The
national animal is the dragon. I find this awesome and hilarious and feel somewhat
embarrassed of my Colorado Bighorn Sheep. Walking down the street, through the
woods, down the aisle of a supermarket, or sitting on a bus, one sees dragons
absolutely everywhere. I suppose I’d find this somewhat overly patriotic under
normal circumstances (as I would if people from the US insisted on decorating
their homes and businesses and billboards with bald eagles), but I’m utterly
charmed by this Welsh dragon. I usually see the fellow wearing a dopey grin and
gazing up at me with big, puppy-dragon eyes.
And I just go, “awww....”
Which is not one’s normal reaction to
dragons. Or so I hear.
· The
flag is a red dragon on a white and green field. This is the only time the
dragon appears to be somewhat fierce.
· The
population is almost 3 million. A grand 4.8 percent of the population of
the UK.
And while I’m on the subject, let’s
talk about the UK and its constituents. The difference between Britain and
England has always been a bit hazy for this newly fledged American, so I’m
going to break it down here. That my readers might never offend a native of
Ireland, Scotland, or Wales (and that I might remember better in the future).
The United Kingdom: Made up of
Scotland, England, Wales and NORTHERN Ireland
Great Britain: Made up of England,
Scotland and Wales
The
British Isles: Made up of ALL of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales
With
this information, know that a person from Scotland is every bit as British as a
person from England. However, many people from Wales, Scotland and Ireland do
not call themselves “British” because they fear (correctly so) that many will
misconstrue them as English. Which they are loath to be.
Keep
in mind that the entire UK is part of the EU but NOT a part of the Schengen
Area. This is why I can spend three months in the UK and then hop on over to
the Schengen Area for another three months of travel without violating my
90-day tourist visa.
· The
motto is "Wales for ever."
· Anglicism
and Methodism are the most prevalent religions. Christianity as a whole
dominates the principality, boasting more than two million followers
· Wales
is every bit as Celtic as Ireland, having been settled by the Celtic Britons
after the Romans withdrew in the 5th century. This actually took me
by surprise – I wasn’t expecting to see so much Celtic art or Celtic culture in
Wales.
· The
highest point is 3559 ft. Mount Snowdon would tremble at the sight of the
14,440 foot Mount Elbert in Colorado, but Wales makes up for its rather
diminutive mountains with its breathtaking coastline. Something we haven’t got
a lot of in my homeland.
· Dairy
products are of extremely high-quality. The soil is too poor for agriculture,
so most of the Welsh economy is based off of livestock farming and
mining. However, the mining industry is in decline and the Welsh people
now have to rely heavily on tourism. Not American tourism, though. Most of the
tourism in Wales is supplied by their fellow British, the English.
· Roald
Dahl is Welsh! This alone makes Wales completely awesome and worthy of a
gander. My childhood was made magical by a Welshman.
· The
national game is rugby. *Ahem* The national identity is rugby.
· As
in Ireland, all public signs are written in Welsh and English.
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