Study Abroad In Wales

By Marah Hager

A personal account of University of Rio Grande student Marah Hager's experience studying abroad at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Carmarthen, Wales.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781365797071

Book preview

Study Abroad In Wales

Study Abroad in Wales

Marah Hager

Copyright © 2017 by Marah Hager

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing: 2017

ISBN: 978-1-365-79707-1

www.lulu.com

PO Box 342

Rio Grande, OH

45674

National Welsh-American Foundation

This book has been written for the National Welsh-American Foundation in fulfillment of the Lloyd Family Travel Scholarship project requirements. I would like to sincerely thank the National Welsh-American Foundation for supporting me in my desire to study abroad in Wales. It was the experience of a lifetime.

Acknowledgements.

To the University of Rio Grande and the Madog Center of Welsh Studies, specifically Jeanne Jindra, thank you so much for making this exchange possible and supporting me every step of the way.

To everyone at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, especially Kath Griffiths and Gruff Owen, for trying to make this trip the best possible, I am never going to forget my time in Wales.

To all the new friends that I made in Wales, my international family and the BA Acting students, you made this trip worthwhile and I am so glad that I got to share this experience with you.

To Jenna, Kasey, and Julia, I can never thank you enough for your company and your friendship.

PART I:

MARAH’S VERSION OF EVENTS

Journey to Wales

Tuesday, 20th September

This book in many ways is a reflection on goodbyes. Yet, goodbyes are never the same - depending on the person and the circumstances surrounding the goodbye.

Goodbye, I said to my mother before turning and walking towards airport security. I did not look back. It felt as if I was leaving a part of myself behind, as if I was crossing an invisible line between everything I knew and everything I would come to know in the months ahead. I wondered if the companions I would have for this journey felt the same.

CMH Airport. September 20th, 2016. Marah Hager, Julia Snow, Jenna Thompson, Kasey Eblin. (Photo credit: Julia Snow).

While I had been introduced to the three other students who would be traveling to Wales, we had not found time before the ascent of our adventure to feel the force of each other’s company. While we sat at our gate, longer due to the unexpected delay of our flight to Toronto, we looked at one another. There was a moment when the stress of getting through airport security and finding our gate fully exited our bones and laughter was expelled from our lungs.

There is something about going through a bunch of metal detectors that bonds people together.

Kasey Eblin, a social work major, immediately struck me as someone who was working towards a carefully outlined set of goals. When asked about her reasons for studying abroad, Kasey conveyed that she just needed a change of scenery for a while. I just want to see something beyond the familiar.

Jenna Thompson, an art education major, was striking not only with her bright silver hair, but with her carefree nature. Jenna would be the people-person within our forming group of four. When asked about her reasons for studying abroad, Jenna looked aimlessly out the airport windows and said that she had wanted to travel her whole life. This seemed like a good place to start.

Julia Snow, a business major, exuded this almost tangible enthusiasm over everything that occurred – somehow finding amusement in the oddest sights and sounds of the airport. Julia settled into the airport waiting room chair like it had been waiting just for her and explained that she had chosen to do this exchange purely for the chance to see beyond the borders of the United States of America before she became tied down further by her impending adult life.

As for me, the reasons for studying abroad stretched beyond the initial exploration of the unfamiliar. Wales sang to me, just as I had sung to Wales for what seemed like forever. I was not only ready to lay eyes on something beyond the borders of home – I was bursting with the desire to explore Wales.

From the age of fourteen, I had been singing in the Welsh language, carefully guided by a Welsh intern at the Madog Center of Welsh Studies at the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College. Lisa Jones formed Madog’s Youth Welsh Choir and it flourished for many years, bringing youth from the neighboring counties together to sing in Welsh and celebrate Welsh traditions, along with Welsh holidays – such as St. David’s Day. These events were carefully maintained and celebrated in our little corner of Southeastern Ohio due to the community of Welsh settled in the area.

After I had begun singing in the Welsh language, I was given the opportunity to take an introduction class on the Welsh language – learning numbers, colors, and basic conversation skills. As the years continued, I pursued the Welsh language through independent study with the gracious help of the Madog Center of Welsh Studies and the Welsh intern that resided there. I was not fluent in the Welsh language, but I had a healthy respect and admiration for the language.

Everything will be bilingual, I told the three settled beside me at the airport. But if we ever get lost and can’t find anyone that speaks English, I smiled knowing how unlikely such an occurrence would be, I know enough to be useful.

The three laughed, not quite taking me seriously, which I understood. I was sitting there for a completely different reason than the rest of them – a much deeper connection perhaps than the desire for exploration. However, time would continue on and we would get to know one another better. I was not worried about the formation of the friendship that was well on its way to blooming. There was an easiness that existed between the four of us that reminded me of certain people I was leaving behind – friends that I would miss while abroad.

We spoke about what we could do in Carmarthen, such as going to the cinema or ordering Chinese food. We shared previous travel adventures with one another, especially Jenna’s: Yeah, this will be the first time I’ve been on a plane since I was four. I don’t remember that though. But, new experiences, yeah?

We did not thirst for company. There were no awkward moments.

By the time we were finally called to board, the sun was setting over Columbus, Ohio and the beginning of something grand took its place.

…

During the flight from Ohio, U.S.A to Toronto, Canada each passenger was given a document to fill out, very much like an index card. Unprepared for such an item, I straightened my shoulders and hurdled through. I checked ‘No’ to all the boxes asking if I was bringing perishable goods or firearms into the country. I wrote ‘Studies’ as the reason for my visit to Canada. I drew a sharp zero in the box asking how many days I would be staying in the country. I hoped for the best.

These forms stayed clutched in each of our fists as we exited the plane. Upon realizing the time, we made a dash towards the direction we assumed our gate was located – or rather, we followed the general direction of every other passenger also exiting the aircraft. Due to the delay of our initial flight, the layover that had existed between our landing in Toronto and our takeoff towards London was nonexistent. In fact, our lungs began to strain as we ran and worried and hoped with all the hope inside of us that we would not miss our connecting flight.

The direction of the general public lead us to a room that looked much like an office – two desks were set up with one man behind each. The only difference was the line of rope that indicated where the queue began. Unsure about what the protocol was for this situation as well as unsure about exactly what this situation was, the four of us exchanged glances, took a firmer hold on our documentation, and tried to ignore the ticking clock in the distance.

Seven minutes until our plane was schedule to depart Toronto. I was considering what my mother’s initial reaction would be to hearing that I was stuck in Canada for a currently indefinite amount of time when I was gestured towards one of the tall, imposing desks. The documentation I had clutched in my hand – consisting of my boarding pass, passport, and the form I had filled out during the previous flight – sort of waterfalled out of my grasp onto the awaiting cold white wood of the desk. Somehow, detached from my body and only considering the six minutes left on the clock, I opened my mouth and I don’t know what you want, spilled out.

I was horrified. I clamped my mouth shut. I knew it was no use though. I would be bundled up, probably questioned for a tortuous amount of time, and placed on a plane back to Ohio, forever trapped in the endless highways and cornfields.

Yet, he only looked