Nada much here

Not much is new, to be honest...just going through the motions with school and everything. I still try to get out and do something every weekend. Or as this week has gone (since it included St. Paddy's day and a friend's birthday) I've had the pleasure of going out dancing! It has been quite fun and I really love the friends I have made here.

And now for my glorious (and late...sorry...I forgot about it) OP Journal! Wooo! haha

Enjoy! xx

Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A) Log
Today’s Outdoor Pursuits session took us into the forests of Gwydyr in Betws y Coed, located in the heart of Snowdonia. The weather was quite cold with rain beginning to fall as our group awaited Laura’s arrival. We had been told the previous week that we would be mountain biking today so all of us were anxious. This rainy weather came with us all the way to the Conway Centre as well as up into Gwydyr Forest. The slight stirring of wind along with the rain made us all very cold and inevitably soaked through the layers of clothing we had on while the rain on the ground soon turned the dirt to mud, and the rain on the rocks made the terrain very slippery. Regardless of these slight hindrances, we all found it quite fun to ride in such weather and made the best of the day. This being mentioned, the main focus of the day was Physical Challenge which included coordination and team morale; this being the main objective was definitely tested as the weather made it more difficult than it would have been on a sunny day.
The paths we took in the forest were either man-made specifically for mountain biking or more natural paths in nature that people have used for biking. There were multi-person paths that were easier to ride on and usually made out of gravel that resembled that of a road or walking trail and single-person tracks that were rather tight and had a dirt – or mud as it was in our case –, rock and sometimes grass floor. The man-made paths were typically easier than the natural paths, as the rocks were placed where they were specifically and not just jutting out from the ground at random times unexpectedly. Moreover, though the paths were difficult at times, this activity was quite enjoyable and a new, interesting way to experience a forest.

B) Journal
Going into Mountain Biking, everyone was a little bit apprehensive. I personally was excited as I love biking, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking about the accident my father had mountain biking when I was younger in which he broke three of his ribs and sprained his collar bone. Despite having these thoughts lingering in the back of my mind, I was ready to set out for the day.
Once we arrived at the Conway Centre, we were instructed to gather only a few necessary items and kit for the day which included waterproofs – it was raining, it only made sense – and a bike; we were told we would get our helmets and gloves later. Laura led us to meet the biking instructor Steve (not to be confused with the other Steve we had with us during the High Ropes Course during the first session) and to get our bikes. We learned from Steve that Mountain Biking is the highest risk activity that they have at the Conway Centre, but as long as we follow his instruction and did not do anything reckless we would be safe. He then took down one of the bikes and told us about the parts. First he showed us that the seat of the bike needed to be level with your hip; this is different than riding a normal bike because here we have to be positioned in a kind of leaning forward way rather than sitting straight up as on a regular leisure bike. We next learned that the right brake was for the front brake and the left brake was the back brake, which is the exact opposite of what it is in the states. He also told us that the front gear switch on the right handle bar was to make the gear go up, and the back gear switch was to make it go down. This was the same on the left handle bar, but instead this gear is called the “granny gear” meaning you only use it when you are on a really steep incline and need to put forth as little effort as possible. Steve then took down each one of the bikes that we would be riding and had us take a little spin around the courtyard to check the feel and brakes of it.
After testing out our bikes and securing them back on the rack, we all piled into the mini bus and made our way to Betws-y-Coed’s Gwydyr Forest. However, before we got there we had to make a couple trips. The first trip was to a building on the Conway Centre property to replace Allison Ford’s lunch (Laura accidentally ran over her bag!) and then to a supply building in Anglesey to get Laura a bike because we were short one. After these brief stops and once we arrived at the Gwydyr Forest, we got out of the bus and gathered around Steve who passed out gloves and helmets. We then took our bikes off the rack and took a little practice spin around the parking lot, making sure our helmets and everything felt right one last time before we left. Once everyone was ready we began our journey into the forest.
The paths were easy enough at first. We began on a man made path made of gravel that was wide enough for everyone to fit on as a group. After conquering our first very large hill, Steve had us stop to teach us how to stop properly when going down hill. He showed us two different ways. The first was the improper way to stop, which involved sitting down and flailing your legs around and yelling, while the second way was the correct way. The correct way to stop is to stand up on the bike with your feet flat on the petals; your kicking foot should be the foot in the front. Then as you near where you would like to stop you gradually put the brakes on and ease to a stop rather than stopping abruptly and falling on your face. Steve had each of us show him we were able to do the proper way and then we moved on. We rode on some more simple paths until he stopped us for our next challenge. He told us that we would be going down our first rocky natural path. We were instructed to not put on the brakes when going over rocks because this would result in us flipping over the handle bars and possibly getting hurt. Once we all mastered this we rode on rocky terrain like this as we moved on to our next challenge. Steve taught us next to go up a steep, rocky path. To do this you have to be in a low gear and lean forward, because if you do not your front tire will go up in the air. However, if you lean forward too far you will not get it right either so you have to lean forward just enough so that you can get up correctly. Most people, including myself, got only half way up this little hill before messing up and falling off or slipping on a rock, but regardless, we all laughed in doing so. We then rode around on more uphill trails like this, which I found to be quite difficult because I could not get my balance just right, but I finally got it at the end and did well on this for the rest of the trip. Our last challenge was to learn how to stop and do tread stands, which are good when the person in front of you comes to a stop and you do not want to get off your bike. To do this, you have to ride and then come to a gradual stop while standing up in the same proper position you do when you are stopping when going downhill. We all thought this challenge was fun and tried our best to stay up for 3 seconds while Steve observed and laughed with our failed attempts. One thing the other group was taught that we were not were bunny hops and hopping over your bike with your front tire only and with your back tire only. I wish Steve had taught us these; they would have been useful at times.
We carried on by testing out our new skills in various uphill and downhill natural and man-made trails. We only had a few slip ups and falls along the way, and everyone did a great job pushing themselves even when the task seemed scary or difficult. Our group members only really stopped when they just knew they could not force themselves to do something, like going over a scary big rock or riding all the way to the top of a steep hill. All in all I feel that our group did a very good job helping one another out and making sure the people around them were safe and have not fallen off their bikes as well as to get through this rough physical challenge. As each person made their way down a hill we all cheered them on to show them they had done a good job. In saying that, as I have mentioned in the past, I would say our group does a great job at keeping the spirits and self-esteem up of all of its members. We cooperate with and lean on one another really well to get done what we need to and make sure no one falls behind.
I personally found this trip to be the most difficult of all of the Outdoor Pursuits sessions. This is because I had an accident as I was coming down one of the hills. The entire day I had made sure I pushed myself to do things that were difficult: I made myself go as far as I could up a very steep hill, which resulted in me having a small asthma attack; I made myself keep getting back on my bike as I slipped on the mud and rocks when going on single-person uphill natural paths; and I made myself go down the hills with speed even though it scared me. However, all it took was one time for my brakes to fail and for my gears to get screwed up for me to have an accident. As I was coming down a hill enjoying the ride I realized it was time to start applying the brake because I did not want to go too fast and get out of control. However, when I pressed down my left brake for the back brake to kick in, nothing happened. I tried the same for the right brake and I just did not stop. However, at this point I did not fully realize it was my bike brakes. What eventually happened was that I lost entire control of the bike, hit a rock and flew over the handle bars of my bike and landed on my face and head, resulting in a bleeding fat lip. However, I got up off my bike, and after regaining my composure I tried going down the next hill. When I did not stop for this second time and almost had another accident I told Steve that something was wrong with my bike; sure enough both brakes had failed and the gears had gotten tangled somehow. Steve and Laura worked together to fix my bike as the others in the group supported me and told me everything would be okay.
Once my bike was back together, Steve had me go on a safe trail while the others went on the last downhill trail because he knew that my brakes were faulty and he did not want me getting hurt. Once everyone finished this trail we made our way back to the road that led us to the Conway Centre. We were all very proud of our accomplishments. I was very proud of myself for staying strong after my accident and still persevering even though I was afraid of falling again. All in all, I did enjoy the activity. Even though I did slightly end up following the path of my father’s accident, I did all that I could to stay focused and happy even though it was tough for me.

February 10, 2009
A) Log
In today’s session of Outdoor Pursuits we were told we would be gorge scrambling. After hearing rave reviews about the sport from the Thursday group that had done this the week we went rock climbing, we were all very excited to begin. This week was another rainy week at the start, but thankfully shortly after we started our scrambling the clouds cleared up and the sun came out for the rest of the day! It was so very nice to see the sun glistening on the water and across the landscape as we made our way higher and higher.
For our scrambling we made our way out to Afon Ddu (Welsh for black river), a gorge in Snowdonia that flows from Llyn Cowlyd on the south-eastern edge of the Carneddau range to join the river Conwy. We met up with the gorge by going through Conwy. The terrain for today was a lot like what we faced when we went rock climbing – rocks with small spots to place your feet and hands – but this time they were covered in water, moss and sometimes mud, making them very slippery and hard to stay on at times. The focus for the day was Group Leadership, and we had to learn safety, route choice suitability and team roles throughout the day. In general, everyone said they enjoyed this activity the most out of any of them so far even though we all got soaking wet and were freezing by the end of it.

B) Journal
In today’s session, we took a 40 minute mini bus ride to Conwy, landing us up in the hills overlooking lush farmland, many houses and wooded areas. We turned into a parking lot surrounded by tall trees, and Laura had us eat a quick lunch and then get kitted up in our gear. Before leaving the Conway Centre, Laura had us gather in the classroom to tell us about what we would be doing today. At this time we also met our new instructor for the session who was called Jade; Laura said Jade was just there to give us some extra help. Laura informed us that today we would need to gather together waterproofs, buoyancy aids if we wanted to jump in at the end, wellies, harnesses and long john wet suits. We have never worn wet suits while doing Outdoor Pursuits, and I have personally never worn one before, so they were really fun to test out. These suits are different than regular full body suits because they have no arms to them like long johns. In this discussion, Laura also tried to explain to us what a gorge was, and she could not really explain it. From my experience, I would say that gorge scrambling itself is a lot like rock climbing, there is just water coming down between the rocks; so a gorge is kind of like a rocky mountain cliff with layers that has water running down the middle of it.
After we got out of the van and put on our harnesses we made about a 3 minute trek in the rain up a slight gradient that was full of lush trees and other plants; we found ourselves facing the great Afon Ddu. Even from a distance we could tell today would be much different than anything we have done before. Luckily, Laura had us start out slowly so that we could “learn how to walk”, and we all soon picked up the right and wrong way to go about things.
Just before we began our scramble, Laura stopped us along side a sign that had a few guidelines on it for visitors. Apparently Afon Ddu is an SSSI, which means it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. This is because it has special types of ferns and other kinds of plants in which new research is being conducted on. As a result, we were not allowed to forge new paths in the gorge; we had to follow the paths that had already been made so we did not hurt any of the plants involved in the research. In addition to this, we also had to take any trash we brought with us because littering in a spot like this one is not acceptable. Laura then led us down to the edge of the gorge and instructed us that she and Jade would have hand signals they used because at times the water is rushing so loudly that we cannot hear them. For example, she would point left if she wanted us to go to the left; she would but her palm out if she wanted us to stop; and she would wave her hand toward her if she wanted us to come forward. She also told us that we would need to help one another out at times, and that we should grab either the harness or the wrist, not hand, of the person to pull them to us. She then instructed us that it takes a bit of time to “learn how to walk” in the gorge, because the path is not smooth – we are walking on wet rocks of different sizes.
We started off on an easy enough path, with most of the rocks being fairly similar in size and distance apart. We had to either step or jump between rocks and still maintain balance so we did not fall into the water, which could vary in depth from ankle high to neck high depending on the pool. At the beginning, the paths were fairly horizontal, but once we climbed higher, we had to actually do some climbing. The first difficult part was where we had to cling to the wall and climb sideways while we edged our way around a waist-deep pool of water. From here we had to start actually climbing upward next to the water at a more 60-80 degree angle; we would always keep climbing until Laura motioned for or told us to stop so she could give instruction. The next difficult spot came when we had to be attached to a rope by the carabineer on our harnesses and climb up a waterfall. All of us were very excited because we had never done anything like that before. This was slightly challenging because we had to find foot and hand grips in the water while simultaneously being pulled upward, getting splashed in the face with freezing water and making our way up the slope. Regardless of its difficulty though, this was a very fun thing for me.
After we all finished making our way up this slope, we made our way along more horizontally positioned rocks, helping one another as we went, until we came to something that Laura liked to call “the Elephant’s Bum”. They call it by such a name because it is a waterfall with two walls on each side that is positioned between two very large boulders that could, I suppose, resemble an elephant’s backside. After we all giggled at the name momentarily, Laura told us that we would have to stay along the right side of the waterfall because it had kind of steps to walk up. She went up first, securing a rope at the top with hand holds that she had placed and had each of us make our way up the “bum”. This waterfall was fun to climb because we kind of had to shimmy up between the two rocks at the top on our knees, getting us quite wet and cold but it was definitely worth it. Once at the top, we had to push our way out through the rocks by standing up and pushing with our arms and legs. This part was not that hard, but I kept getting yelled at by an instructor from another group to get her rope that had fallen into the “bum” so I could not get out as quickly as I was anticipating. (Oh well.) From here we were instructed to go straight across to some steps to sit on; this was told to us with some force and caution as if we went either to the left or the right we risked falling down a very high waterfall with a not very deep pool at the bottom to catch our fall.
After we all made it through the “bum” and straight across to the steps, we paused for a moment to rest. Laura then told us that we were next going to go through the woods to climb up higher and enter the gorge at another spot because where we were now was a high waterfall that we could not really get to without swimming, and she did not want us to get that wet yet. After climbing along a pretty little wooden path we re-entered the gorge and began again on a fairly simple path. However, Laura led us to a spot where we had to jump from a rather small rock to a very large round rock. While holding onto to the rock and staying on we had to reach up to a hand hold and use all of our weight to slide across to the other side and land on a rock that was set back further. Now I am pretty short and do not have much upper body strength so what happened with me did not go over as smoothly as it did with everyone else. I jumped onto the big round rock just fine, but when I reached up for a hand hold I could only grasp it with my finger tips and ended up sliding down the rock into the water causing me to slightly panic because I was not sure how deep it was. However, as soon as I landed, I stood up and laughed, as the water was only up to my knees.
The next hard part came just after this when we were given the choice to decide if we wanted to literally walk through – as in across – a waterfall. We had to find hand holds and foot holds in the rock while water gushed down onto us and reach across to the person in front of us so they could pull us across. This part scared a few of us because a couple people ended up slipping and falling down the waterfall, but in the end we all made it across safely. Because we were now fairly soaked and freezing, Laura had us stop to eat a little something and to get some warm drink in us. While here, Laura told us that we were about halfway through the gorge. From here we would be making our way up higher until we could get out onto the road, as we would not be doing the whole gorge today.
Once we finished our short break, we continued on through the gorge. This part was the most fun for me, as we had to do a lot of clinging along side walls and scurry around the edge of the water before making it to the rocks that sat in the water. Here Laura told us that we would have the right to pick the level of difficulty of the path. Red means it is very difficult and unsafe, green means it is really easy and safe, and amber means it is safe but slightly challenging and involves help from one another to get through; of course, our group picked mainly amber paths because we like a little challenge! This part was kind of sad too though because we spotted a dead badger laying on one of the rocks in front of us. After we did this type of scrambling for a while, we made it to a large pool of water with a waterfall at the far side. Laura told us that if we wanted we could swim out to touch the waterfall, which most of us did. It was a very beautiful unique experience in which I had never gotten the chance to have before. The water was cold and got in all of our wellies, but we were happy to have made the short journey to do something like that. Once we were done with our fun, Laura said we had to climb up the rock – with no restraints! – and make our way up the steps at the top into the woods. We helped one another by acting as spotters and all made it up into the woods. At this point it was really great to look back and see what we had just climbed as well as the beauty of the scenery below us.
From here we made a steep climb through the woods until we reached the road. The terrain here was no longer the rocks we had been used to all day, but muddy grass and plants that made us slip a bit in our water filled boots. Once on the road we left our harnesses and bags, but kept our helmets and buoyancy aids, and made our way up a small path near an interesting brick building with an unknown purpose, through a wooded path, over a fence, down some stairs and down the rock. Laura said that if we wanted to, we could jump into this pool of water as long as we had a buoyancy aid on. She told us that because the water was so cold, our bodies would kind of go into a state of shock, but we just needed to stay calm and take a deep breath when we came out and make our way over to her. She also mentioned that none of us should touch the bottom because it has a very deep pool but has an edge around the outside, so we had to jump right in the middle for safety. 11 of us took turns jumping into the water, except Rebecca who does not like water so she did not do it, and all were really glad we did so. We then made our way back to the road – which we found to be quite steep and that the sun was shining beautifully down upon – that led us back down to the parking lot in which we started. Once here we gathered our dry clothes and scurried off into the woods and changed. We left the parking lot around three so we were back to the Conway Centre by 4 and just had to do a quick cleaning of some items and return them to stores, and we made our way back to campus.
On the whole, I do believe today has been my favorite session out of all of the Outdoor Pursuits classes we have had. Yes, some spots were difficult, but I pushed myself to take risks, like going through the waterfalls, swimming in the pool with the waterfall and jumping into the deep pool at the end when I did not have to. I always made sure the people around me were safe by giving them very specific directions and guidance of where to step, what to avoid and what to do in certain circumstances. Laura told us at the beginning that even though we would want to make sure we were safe and dry, we had to focus on the person behind us to make sure they were safe, too. I think I did a good job of this because I always helped him or her by grabbing them when they needed it or giving them special direction in cases when they wanted it. The only real hindrances of the day were that the water was quite cold and made me chilly at the end and that my boots got full of water so it made it hard to climb through the woods comfortably at the end, but I feel that both of those things were worth it for the experience I had. I feel all of us learned safety and route choice suitability because we all made sure everyone was safe at all times – we went at a fairly slow pace today but it was best – and we typically chose the amber difficulty paths so that we would remain safe but have a challenge and rely on one another to get through. Overall, as I said, today was the most fun for me, and I really think we all learned more about how to be leaders and helping one another and bonded even more than we had in the past. Great day! I am so excited to continue on next week!

I FORGOT!!!

How could I have forgotten about going to STONEHENGE and BATH!?!?!?!?

Woah. Creepy. As soon as I typed that enthusiastic sentence, mister Saxophone Man from across the hall started going nuts on his instrument! Not gonna lie, but to be fair, sometimes he sounds like I did when I played clarinet in the 5th grade band.

Right. Stonehenge and Bath!

WAAAAAY too many of us (8 of us to be exact) decided to travel to England to see the sights. What ended up happening was that 4 of us (us as in I was there too, tee hee) got "lost" on our "special new shortcut way" to the train station thanks to Dani's marvelous night time navigation. haha. But it was alllll good. The others left without us but we just took the next train. Then after a 6 HOUR train ride we had arrived in Salisbury.

While waiting for the others to come back from lunch, we stumbled across QUITE the crazy sight. There was this little girl around the age of 12 (who we decided to call "Devil Child") that was begging her mom for a snack. Her mother replied, and Devil Child decided to start yelling profanities and dumped an entire bottle of Pepsi on her!

But that's not the worst of it...

Devil Child kept yelling profanities at her family, and then picked up her cell phone and started dropping the "F-bomb" and telling the person on the other end that she was going to kill them.

And then she started smoking.

(This is a picture of her yelling at her family)

CHILDREN THESE DAYS!

Anyway...after that incident we got on a double-decker tour bus that took us around the town of Salisbury and lead us to Stonehenge!

(Picture of Stonehenge from the Bus)

(Stonehenge!!)

We stayed at Stonehenge taking pictures for about an hour then got back on the bus. We then had to catch another train to Bath. Remember...all of this deals with eight people so we all had to make sure everyone was together at all times! Frustrating!

Once we finally made it to Bath, we walked to our nice little hostel (the White Hart Hart Inn).

(Our Hostel!)

Then...thankfully...we broke up into two groups of 4 and explored the city until bedtime. The next morning we woke up, took showers in a pump (FREEZING) shower, checked out of the hostel and went to go see the Roman Baths. These were quite beautiful!!

(The Bath)

After that Dani and I broke off and went to go see the Fashion museum where the fashions date back to the 1700's to now. In one room, however, we had the best part of our whole trip. At one point in the museum you are allowed to try on corsets and petticoats. Well...we did that and laughed. But just as we were about to leave, two boys (gay and American) came in. We had them put on the outfits and we took pictures of them! Haha! It's so silly seeing boys in dresses.

After that we just walked around the city until our train had to leave. Tried to find the Jane Austin Centre but failed. :( Oh well! Maybe Mom and Dad can see it!

Theeee End.

xx

P.S. Here is a picture of the yummy French Toast Dani and I made a while back. I think our Moms would be proud. :D

Busy Busy Busy

Not much has been going on with me...and the reason I have not been able to update this often...because it has been Midterms the past couple of weeks here at Uni. I've only had two tests and one project to complete but it's still pretty ridiculous around here.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Going to Manchester, England.



We didn't do much. Just shopped a lot and went on their version of the London Eye (much MUCH smaller and only lasts 12 minutes).



And catching myself by the face after flying over the handle bars of my bike in my Outdoor Pursuits class.



No. It wasn't my fault. The brakes went out on the bike and the gears got messed up.

Other than that my life has been pretty peachy. Just busy, as I said. I hope to have more of a story next weekend after my field trip to Harlech Castle and what not.

On a different note...I love tea. :) I know it's not really any different here than it is in the states...but I'd like to at least pretend it is. :P



I've also learned to love biscuits...or digestives as they are also called. Though the plain ones (as you can see in the picture) are quite good - they taste like graham crackers! - I really enjoy the chocolate flavored ones. Yum yum!

Another thing I have learned to like is corn on pizza.
Corn on sandwiches.
Corn in salad.
Corn is everywhere!
I LIVE IN IOWA AND IT STILL FOLLOWS ME! hahaha :) But it is very yummy!

The best place for pizza here in Bangor is at a little place called The Pizza House. It is run by this Welsh lady in her late 50's-early 60's (I think!?) named Hillary. She is this cute little woman who works 5 PM-2 AM 7 days a week making pizzas and hamburgers and chips and things for people. She's very nice but hardly smiles...hmmm...she's very busy! I feel for her! But her food is delicious! :D

I think I'm kinda stretching for things to say. Honestly, not much has happened! It's quite sad. But as I said...tune in soon after this weekend and hopefully there will be an update!

Thanks for reading!!

xx