Drug Busts & Being an Honorary Australian

I've been living with a criminal. Oh, Tall Harry, you sly, drug dealer, you. (Well, not so sly - hence the drug bust.)

Last Wednesday (12/3), Madz, Haz and I were minding our own business having a mid-day laptop party in the kitchen to book the rest of Ireland, when Tall Harry and two security guard/police peeps came strolling in. The guards asked if we could step out for a few minutes, so we did. Then, we watched them head into Harry's room. Oh, the drama (llama).

They spent a good hour or so in there, and then we watched (from the kitchen window) Harry being escorted to their police car and then they put some white stuff into an evidence bag in the trunk of the car.

Later, we found out from various sources he was dealing heroin, cocaine, MDMA (which is apparently ecstasy - I didn't know, clearly I'm not in the loop with drugs), etc. (Edit: Maddie told me she heard he was arrested for three Class A drugs.)

All of a sudden, the drunken foot tattoos he came home in the morning with, our hallway always smelling like weed, and his friends partying in his room until the wee hours of the morning made so much sense.

On Thursday, the po-po were back (and with sniffer dogs). Needless to say, I missed my lecture that day (and for good reason, if you ask me). Madz and I were sat in the kitchen talking loudly about drugs and Harry, when we decided we wanted to do a sweep of the building and find the sniffer dogs (I just wanted to pet a puppy!!!)....we walked out of the kitchen, and into three men in uniform searching the tiles in the ceiling. Awkwardness ensued, as they clearly heard us (the walls are thin). Plan B: we made a beeline for my room and sat in the window sill to watch all the commotion.

Welp, Harry has not been seen or heard from since. The building and all the corridor codes have been changed, and according to Short Harry they are planning another bust in a couple of weeks (another guy on our floor was arrested as well - so many drug dealers, so little time). This past week, Harry's Dad (I assume) was here to collect his things. Poor lad, he didn't look like the father of a drug dealer.

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On another note, people are starting to think I'm Australian because I hang out with the Australians so much.

Last weekend, while waiting in the queue to get into a club, I was having a conversation with an American girl. We were a good five minutes in, when she asks me, "Where in Australia are you from?" I stared at her for a good couple of seconds like she was on drugs (I mean, we can apparently easily get them in our hall), and then said I was American. She told me I didn't look American. I'll take it.

'Chav Night' last weekend, aka the night my Americanness was questioned.

PS: I've been given an abundance of baked goods and chocolate and ice cream this week. My people know me well.
PPS: I don't think people here think rain falling down sideways with wind about to pick you up is a good enough reason to miss your lectures/seminars. I do. (But then again, I think drug busts are also a good reason, so maybe my priorities aren't the best. But hey, at least I'm not selling/doing drugs.)

Pass or Fail

Am I a Bangor Uni Student yet? 29 Ways To Tell: read here. 

And/or take a browse at this one.

Let's just dive right in...here are my thoughts on my classes (so far):

Ethics: Religious Perspectives

• If this didn't count for a core class back at home, I would not be taking it.
• I don't consider myself religious, but I told myself "broaden your horizons, learn about other religions, blah blah blah." 
• Welp, I'm not learning about different religions - just the same thing in different countries/time periods/what am I even learning?
• Did I mention I'm required to read the bible? (Nothing against those who do enjoy that, but, no thanks, not for me.)
• My grades are made up of one 50% essay and one 50% exam (my only exam for all my courses, hallelujah).
• My essay is on ethics in the Ten Commandments (and let's just say, I win all the procrastination awards when it comes to actually doing said paper). 
• The only semi interesting thing about this class (and it's not that interesting) is that half of the students are Welsh, whereas my media classes are more diverse.

Cultural Economy of the Media

• This class isn't the worst.
• However, two 2,000 word essays as the sum of my entire grade, is.
• My first essay was about 600 words short (still passed though, so high five for me).
• The second essay is due two days after we get back from Scotland...so, if I'm going to get it anywhere near 2,000 words, I should probably do that before Easter Break. 
• Other thoughts: I like my teacher's accent and I'm glad he doesn't know my name so he can't call on me. 

Global News Agenda 

• More like my agenda is to not be in this class.
• Learning about the Middle East and censorship and all that jazz could be fun, if I was interested in any of those things.
• Same as above - two 2,000 word essays. So unfortunate. What kind of grading system is this?
• Final thoughts: why did I register for this?

Study Abroad: Why?

I think everyone studies abroad for different reasons - some solely want to travel/escape, others want to meet new people, or I suppose there are people who want to learn in another country. 

Well, as bad as it might come across that my main reason isn't academics.

For me, studying abroad has and will always be about seeing the world, growing and becoming a better, more independent person. Experiences first, academics second. 

Maybe it would be different if I was taking more production based media courses, rather than journalism courses (because I actually would love to study British Cinema), but I could care less about these modules.

At the end of the day, all I need to do is pass (which fingers crossed I should be able to do - awkward times ahead if I don't). 

PS: I'm not a fan of 2,000 word papers (or papers in general).
PPS: Today marks the two month anniversary of departing the States and embarking on the best journey ever.
PPPS: Scotland and Ireland are all booked for Easter Break - separate blog post coming soon. 

I Survived Mount Snowdon

This past weekend was probably the most productive one we've had so far...

On Saturday (8/3), I climbed the highest mountain in all of Wales and England (no big deal).

We (Maddie, Harriet, Alex, Emily [another American in our flat] and myself) woke up early and got a bus to Snowdonia National Park (which took about 30-45 minutes).

There are various different paths to go up Snowdon, but we decided to do the Llanberis one, as it is supposedly the easiest (that's debatable) and most pleasurable (if almost getting blown off the side of a cliff is your idea of pleasure). To the summit and back, it's supposed to take around 6 hours.

To get to where the actual Llanberis path starts, you have to hike up what I consider to be a relatively steep incline - upon going up said incline, I realized I don't work out (ever) and the idea of actually getting to the summit seemed comical. Earlier, we had joked that if we couldn't even handle Bitch Hill, we were going to have problems. This incline was Bitch Hill x10.

More and more I was thinking having an ambulance on speed dial seemed like a good idea (especially considering people have apparently died going up it before, yay).

About an hour or so in, it wasn't too bad. I didn't end up bringing my dslr out too much (so thanks iPhone for the pictures) because in the beginning it was raining and after it stopped, the wind was so strong that I was concerned about damaging another camera.

Speaking of the wind, we didn't reach the summit because it was too dangerous, with the winds reaching up to 115km an hour (what is that in miles?).

However, we did get rather close - to the point where the actual path stopped and we were climbing on all fours through icy snow. Good times (and by good times, I thought I was going to die).

Overall, we saw some pretty amazing views and Maddie's armband counter thingy said we hiked around 17km (10 miles ish). I think the summit is 1,085m and we climbed up over 900m.

We plan on going back again, as the trip was relatively cheap (£4 round-trip bus fare, free entry to park, and we just had to pack a lunch). In the Spring/Summer months, you can take a train directly to the summit.

On the way back down, we stopped into Pen Ceunant (a coffee/tea house). They claimed that they "probably" had the best hot chocolate in the UK - they didn't, but the cafe was really cute and cozy (so I'll rate it a 10/10 just for that).

In other news, I'm a grandma because on Sunday morning it hurt to move my knees (and move in general). I'm taking this as a sign that I should do more physical activity, even if it cuts into my Netflix time.

Sunday afternoon, a group of us went to the bar on the Halls site to watch a Six Nations rugby game (game? tournament? I don't understand). It was England vs. Wales. I was told that now that I have an English boyfriend, I have to root for England (and I did).

I'm not the screaming/cheering/chanting type, but I'll show my support by drinking cider and wondering why they are tackling each other in such short shorts. My support clearly worked, as England won 29-18.

Train Struggles & English Afternoon Tea

On the 2nd of March, I traveled back to Chester to meet up with Louise (my cousin who picked me up from the airport). 

I thought, no biggie, I've been to Chester before - how hard can it be to board a train solo and not get lost, right? Wrong (well, kinda). I got on the train, without questioning it could be the wrong one. To be fair, Bangor's station only has 2 tracks (1 to Holyhead and 1 to other places), so getting on the wrong one is nearly impossible. 

After 2 or 3 ish stops, they announced that the next stop would be Bangor - I immediately assumed that I somehow got on a train that just made a complete 360 and now I was going to be late arriving to Chester. Bonus: I had no way of checking train schedules or contacting Louise as my phone had stopped working that morning because I forgot when my monthly plan was up and didn't top up. Clearly, I'm an adult. 

Luckily, my worries were for nothing, because when we arrived in "Bangor" the signs outside said "Flint." For a hot minute, I thought about getting off the train (but I had a really lovely window view). Also, and maybe more importantly, I knew it did not resemble the same station I had departed from. This was not home. I was just having a blonde moment. Or the announcer who said Bangor, instead of Flint, was on crack. One or the other. 

Anyways, I arrived safely (and with serious doubts that I could ever backpack through Europe by myself like Maddie and Harriet have). Louise arrived shortly after me and we walked the entire Roman Walls surrounding the city (when Alex, Harriet, Maddie and I went we only walked a small portion). We also checked out the Roman Gardens and Amphitheater. I will never get used to using my legs so much (and at such a fast pace, I might add). People here walk with a purpose. 

After exerting ourselves, we had some hot chocolates (not the best I've tried so far - and I've tried quite a few) and a mixed berry tart at a lovely place called Patisserie Valerie. Then, I bought an expensive purse that I will likely return (buyer's remorse up in here). 

Louise had made a reservation for us to have a proper English Afternoon Tea at The Chester Grosvenor Hotel (which was ultra swanky). 

Louise had lemon-with-something-something tea, and I stuck with the usual English Breakfast. When the waiter opened up a box to show us the tea options, I thought it was just going to be tea bags - nope. It was just straight up tea leaves to choose from. So fancy.

Then he brought out a tray filled with deliciousness (sandwiches, scones!!!, and desserts). I ate a smoked salmon sandwich for the first time...never again. (Sidenote: since I've been here, I've been trying new food items for the first time left and right - prawns [ew, never, never again], steak [ew, never, never, never again], and the Australians made me try vegemite [so good]. I'm really expanding my pallet, even if most of the food repulses me.)

Once tea was over, I headed home and then...nothing too noteworthy happened (at least that I can remember).

When my new vlogging camera arrives (RIP old one), I plan to do an updated room tour (I have posters up!) and a kitchen/bathroom tour. I mostly want to do a kitchen tour because I just bought all these vegetables and salad mixes, so my shelf in our fridge looks really green and healthy (in reality, I've been eating a lot of pizza and pasta). 

That's it for now.