A Lovely Week in Cymru

It's been a great week. I miss my family a ton, but it has been SO wonderful to be here in the UK, especially in my PhD town (which I will confess is in Wales) spending time attending some theory modules and also talking about my dissertation with my supervisors. I don't get too many chances to talk about my topic (my husband, a math/engineer guy, is tired of feigning interest, I think), and it's been ten years since I finished my MA, so it's fantastic to spend so much time talking about my topic and other ideas related to my field. Plus, my supervisors rock.

And I have to say, I just love Wales. Granted, this is only my second visit and I haven't seen a LOT of it, but it's a beautiful place, and I love listening to the language, which many people speak. It's a bilingual nation; everything (signs, menus, etc.) is in both English and Welsh. I do not speak Welsh, so I find myself in social situations during which I have no idea what people are saying, but that is an interesting experience in itself, disorienting in a good way (partly because one knows it's temporary). And the language sounds beautiful (even though on paper it looks absolutely impenetrable!).

Today, as I waited for the taxi that would take me from campus back to my hotel (it was raining and dark, so I didn't want to walk), I felt sad that I would not be back on campus for a while. Tomorrow, after I get an amazing lunch at my favorite charcuterie, I will take the train back to London. It is nice to feel a bit sad about leaving since during my previous visit, I had so much anxiety about being so far away from my children that I was unsettled and didn't thoroughly enjoy the trip. In fact, I felt very apprehensive about future trips. This trip, however, has been much different. I have missed the family but have not been in the grip of anxiety. I have enjoyed myself and the experiences in ways that allow me to look forward to (rather than dreading) the next visit. I imagine this feeling will persist as long as there are no severe hang ups on my journey back to the States.

Now, I just need to decide how I will spend Sunday in London (thanks for the suggestions!), and I'm sure I will start to get more and more excited about the reunion with my family, especially my amazing and adorable kids, at the airport. Shall we take bets on whether or not I will weep? If you'd like to improve your odds, I can tell you that last week I wept at my son's parent-teacher conference (because of my pride that he got high marks for how hard he works in kindergarten). I wept as I imagined his earnest little self cutting, drawing, and carefully writing letters as he holds his pencil gripped in his fist. It was very embarrassing.

Now it's time for me to enjoy my hotel room dinner, during my last evening in Wales. Perhaps I should be out on the town, but I don't want to spend more money, and I don't feel like going out alone on a cold night to a pub. But I have some leftover cheese, apples, and chutney purchased earlier in the week, and this afternoon I knicked some leftover bread from todays' lunch buffet. Add to that my Spanish wine and my dark chocolate? A feast.

Iechyd da!

P.S. Here is a clip of children singing the National Anthem of Wales (and the Welsh word for Wales is Cymru--pronounced sort of like "COOM-ree"), followed by the English translation.




The National Anthem in English
"Land of My Fathers"


The land of my fathers, the land of my choice,
The land in which poets and minstrels rejoice;
The land whose stern warriors were true to the core,
While bleeding for freedom of yore.

Chorus:

Wales! Wales! fav'rite land of Wales!
While sea her wall, may naught befall
To mar the old language of Wales.

Old mountainous Cambria, the Eden of bards,
Each hill and each valley, excite my regards;
To the ears of her patriots how charming still seems
The music that flows in her streams.

My country tho' crushed by a hostile array,
The language of Cambria lives out to this day;
The muse has eluded the traitors' foul knives,
The harp of my country survives

Parliament

These Brits sure are rowdy as they govern, aren't they? Grumbling, shouting, and so on. Good show.

Stretching the Apron Strings

My husband says that everything at home is great but that whenever the Girl gets sad about something, she says, "When is Mommy coming home?" (and I'm sure there is crying or near-crying involved). This gives me a great desire to snuggle with the children. I miss them terribly.

Times like this, it's hard to feel like a good enough mommy.

Top Reasons This Trip to London has Started Off Better Than the Last

1. There was no storm with gale force winds at my hometown airport.
2. There was no loss of power at my hometown airport.
3. My first flight did not get canceled because of weather.
4. I did not have to ask my husband to drive me to SF to catch a connection the next morning.
5. I did not get re-booked onto a flight that went through Chicago. (Thus, I did not miss a connection in Chicago).
6. My aircraft did not get struck by lightening.
7. I did not have to walk through a tunnel at Heathrow that smelled like pee.
8. My B & B room is not dingy, depressing, or unsafe.
9. The breakfast area at my B & B is not in a hot basement with no windows.
10. Because I have my computer, a few DVDs, and access to Netflix, I am not stuck with late night British TV when the jet lag kicks in.

In fact, my flights were on time (gasp!), smooth, and relaxing (I'm not kidding!). I even had podcasts of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" on my i-Pod to give me laughs along the way.

Now, I'm in my B & B room, enjoying fresh air though my OPEN window that looks out over a small garden, taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi. I think I'll make some tea before heading out to check out the local eateries.

Too bad it's Sunday and the British Library (which is only two blocks away!) is closed (I think). Tomorrow morning, I take a train to PhD town, but do any of you, dear readers, have tips for what I should do next Sunday when I have a full day in London? I'm thinking maybe the British Museum or possibly the house of a famous writer.

Why is it so stressful to prepare to leave town?

Everytime I get ready to travel, I say, "This time I'm going to be organized and relaxed before I go on my trip." But here I am, stressed out, thinking of a million things I need to do and organize before I go (e.g., type out the childcare schedule for while I'm gone, pay bills, clean the house, request an exemption from jury duty, go to the bank, buy some film, get my hair cut, make sure my husband knows where The Girl's ballet and tap shoes are, print out my travel documents, pack, try to get all of my toiletries to fit into an absurdly small ziploc bag).

Years ago, I had a friend who said that preparing to go on a trip is like preparing to die. She had a point, except for the film and toiletries.

Today's To Do List

1. Take the Boy to school.
2. Take the Girl to school.
3. Shower.
4. Volunteer at the Boy's school.
5. VOTE!
6. Write this blog post.
7. Find passport.
8. Find power adapter for UK electrical outlets.
9. Pay bills.
10. Pick Boy up from school.
11. Eat lunch with the Boy.
12. Pick Girl up from school.
13. Drop kids off at my mom's.
14. Go to my actual office at my place of employment to upload info for online course for next semester (after locating FTP disk).
15. Turn in book orders for spring (which are overdue).
16. Go to travel agent to pick up train tix.
17. Come home and clean (if there is time)
18. Get kids.
19. Make dinner, do bath, etc.
20. Watch election returns!
21. Celebrate!
    

No wonder I never get anything done.

Irregular Schedules

Not much time to post what with Grandma in town, short days at kindergarten for the boy (parent-teacher conference), and prep for the trip to PhD town in the UK. But I found out I'll have Wi-Fi in London and in PhD town. Woo-hoo!