Avebury and Stonehenge!

Yesterday I went to Avebury and Stonehenge on a trip organized by the school.

Avebury is home to the largest stone circle in the world. The site consists of one large circle with two smaller circles inside of it. We had gorgeous weather. The beauty of the rolling hills was only enhanced by the blue sky and fluffy clouds. There were also countless grazing sheep on the hills, which for some reason tends to thrill North Americans! There is a quaint little village which has geared itself to be a tourist friendly area with gift shops and museums.

Part of the circle and village.

Me and my gnome with one of the stones!

Following Avebury we went to Stonehenge! Stonehenge was much smaller than the circle in Averbury, but I enjoyed that because we were able to see the circle (or at least what remains) in its entirety. The weather had unfortunately changed between regions and there was even a brief period of snow. Luckily the snow didn't take away any of Stonehenge's glory. Stonehenge is located in the middle of nowhere. Once again standing amidst large rolling hills, the scenery is just as breath taking as the monument. As a child I watched countless documentaries on Stonehenge. Standing in front of the stones, I wondered how so many hours of footage could be collected. By the time I finished walking around the path (you cannot actually touch and walk among the stones), I had numerous picture with each new angle being revealing more of the mystery. Despite simply being stones, there is so much mystery and magnificence that I am no longer surprised at the collection of footage.

Me at Stonehenge!

Angle 1

Angle 2

Angle 3

Angle 4

Angle 5- As we drove away

Just me and 74,000 other fans!

In recent hours, an opportunity presented itself which I could not refuse... tickets to the Wales vs Scotland game in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.

Last night I went out for dinner with a group of friends. At the same restaurant as us was a group of Scottish men in kilts. My friend decided she wanted a picture with the kilts... it's not everyday you see a kilt in Tennessee! The conversation of course turned to the upcoming Wales vs Scotland rugby game. It was then discovered that the Scottish group had 2 extra tickets... how could we say no?!

Despite staying up way too late to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies, I woke up this morning very excited to the day's events. First came the bus ride to the city of Cardiff (the Welsh capital) which located approximately 1 hour east of Swansea. The bus dropped us off right outside of the stadium adding to my excitement.

Welcome to Millennium Stadium!

When we entered the stadium we took a chance to visit the field level. We were able to watch some of Scotland's warm up and I was quite thrilled to see that many of their drills were the same drills I had once done. There was also a male choir and marching band to help create the atmosphere.

Scotland warming up

When we eventually went to our seats, they were amazing. Second level, dead centre behind the posts.

View from our seats!

The game itself was incredible. Scotland carried the lead through the majority of the game (which was good since we were sitting in a section of Scottish fans). Wales rallied back with an astonishing final 10 minutes of play to win the game 31-24.

A little bit of rugby action...

...and a little bit more!

The whole experience was very surreal to me. I will admit that rugby was a large influence in my decision and persistence to study in the UK. The intensity of the game and the passion in the stands today created an experience I will not soon forget.

Mumbles!

Just a short bus ride away from me is an area called Mumbles. Located on the Swansea Bay, the town has a lovely coastal feel. There is a long strip of sea-front shops, restaurants, hotels and houses. There is also a castle looking over the town. Unfortunately we could not go into the castle, but it provided a great view of the town.
When we arrived, my friend and I commented on how large the beach was as the water seemed to be a great distance away. We decided it was necessary to make the trek out to the sea. The walk took us at least 20 minutes as we tried to avoid the large wet patches of sand (which we assumed was melted snow from the night before). When we finally reached the farthest point, we stopped to admire the view across the bay. When we turned around, the path we had taken was starting to disappear. We later found out the bay has one of the fastest tides in the world! We made it back to dry land safely long before the tide caught us once again.

Oystermouth Castle

View from castle

Low tide prior to our walk

(looking away from the shore)


The tide starts coming in as we reach the farthest point!

(looking towards the shore)

High tide about an hour after we returned to the shore!
(looking away from the shore)

How could I not take a picture of the rugby club?!

Welcome to Wales!

Hi Everyone!
I apologise for not writing sooner! After another trip across the ocean, I’m back in Europe. This time my travels have brought me to the UK! It is almost surreal to say this as the UK has topped my travel list for as long as I can remember! I am now in a city called Swansea studying at Swansea University. I am about three hours west of London by train.

I’m living in a university residence townhouse with 9 other people. It is quite an international house with 4 Americans, 3 Welsh, 2 British and of course me representing Canada. Everyone has been very helpful to those of us who just arrived.

Bikes are not nearly as popular here as they were in Finland. You see the odd one, but they are certainly not the primary mode of transportation for students. I have now paid an arm and a leg for a bus pass, but the buses here seem to have frequent service. The buses also cover a wide service area so I will be able to take some day trips (in fact I took one to Mumbles today... stay tuned for a post about that trip!)

I cannot say that I would give a high grade to the weather here so far. We’ve had a few days of sun and a few days of rain. Last night it snowed... for me this was of course devastating. Wales is supposed to be my warm climate! Guess I will just have to wait for spring.

The biggest contributor to my culture shock so far has certainly been that vehicles drive on the other side of the road. I always feel as though the bus is going to drive into oncoming traffic. Knock on wood, this hasn't happened. In Canada as you have likely notice even when walking, we tend to stick to the right side. Here I simply cannot figure it out. People seem to just walk wherever they please. Maybe there is a system that I have yet to figure out.

Queuing. People here love to line up. I will use waiting for the bus as an example. At Brock when a bus arrives everyone waiting will crowd around the door. Here, everyone lines up single file and waits patiently for the bus to park, this also allows room for people to exit the bus.

Check back soon for my post about Mumbles and of course a picture post!

This is the finnish, not the end.

Today is my last day in Jyväskylä, tomorrow I fly back to Canada. I am sad that my time here is over. I had such a wonderful semester. I met a ton of amazing people from around the world who I will miss dearly. I know that I have changed while I was here, but I feel these changes have made me a better person. This has been an experience I will never forget and I'm sure you will all have to listen to my stories for years to come. I hope you have enjoyed my blog so far but don't fret, it's not over yet! Stay tuned for my adventures next semester when I will be attending Swansea University in Swansea Wales.

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season,
Emily

My day in Tampere!

Earlier this week I took a day trip to Tampere. Tampere is located about an hour and a half west of Jyväskylä.

On the day we went to Tampere, the temperature was around -20C. This meant we couldn't spend a great deal of time outside, but the parts of the city that we did see were quite beautiful.

Tampere Theatre

Christmas Market

To stay out of the cold we spent a good part of the day in museums. First we visited a building which contained the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, a toy museum and a shoe museum. As I'm sure you guessed I wanted to see the hockey section. The museum was quite interesting with lots of English captions below exhibits which was very helpful. There was also a large section dedicated to Jyväskylä's professional team, JYP, as they were the champions within their league last year. I was quite shocked and excited to see a picture of one of my classmates who plays for JYP. I certainly didn't expect to see a picture of someone I knew in the Hall of Fame!

Finland Jerseys

Canada jersey...I couldn't resist!

I had this Ken doll as a child... I didn't think I was old enough for my toys to be in a museum!

We also visited a spy museum. Apparently there is a long history of spies within Finland because of its geographic location. There were some interesting facts, but if you ever go to Tampere I would suggest you skip this small museum.

All in all it was a great little day trip and I would love to return to this city someday for a longer stay!

Floorball Night in Finland!

Recently I have become very familiar with the sport of floorball. Last week one of my classes hosted a floorball tournament. On Saturday I was lucky enough to attend a professional game.

Floorball is basically indoor hockey played with a wiffle ball. The “rink” is lined by small boards, approximately 1 ft high. The game was very fast paced, much quicker than I had anticipated. I was probably most surprised by the style the goalies played with. Rather than what I will call the crouching position held by an ice hockey goalie, floorball goalies spend the majority of the game on their knees. Just like hockey, the game consisted of three 20 minute periods.

The Jyväskylä team, named Happee, unfortunately lost the game 6-2. It was however still great to be exposed to another sport. Maybe someday it will catch on in Canada!

Action shot!

Faceoff

This picture is for all you readers who don't particularly care for my sports banter. Here is a picture of my snack at the game..a traditional Finnish pulla!