Sent to Coventry; Went to Wales

In the US, if someone has been ostracized we say they were voted off the island or sent to Siberia.  I recently learned the UK equivalent of those idioms is “to be sent to Coventry.”  That being said, my stay here at the University of Warwick, which is technically located in Coventry, has not been bad at all.  A great thing about Coventry is its central location and proximity to popular tourist spots--many only a few hours away.

The International Office at the University of Warwick hosts weekly trips to different parts of the UK.  Traveling this way is not the most cost-friendly, but it is extremely convenient as the buses pick up and drop students off on campus.  The only necessary planning is figuring out what to do at the destination.  Last week, I took advantage of this service and visited the coastal capital of Wales: Cardiff.

For some reason it never occurred to me how common Welsh is in Wales until I began wandering the streets of Cardiff.  All of the signs I read were in both English and Welsh.

Sign from Cardiff Castle.  Look at the stuff at the bottom: that is Welsh.

Another sign in Welsh with the Pierhead (left), Wales Millennium Centre (right), and Y Senedd--the home of the National Assembly for Wales--(far right) in background.

Cardiff is the filming location of the Dr. Who TV series.  I do not watch it, however many of my friends do.  When I shared some of the photos from this trip with one of my Whovian roommates in Columbia, she pointed out that I had photographed the Wales Millennium Centre, a building that has appeared on the show numerous times!

Wales Millennium Centre

Cardiff is also the hometown of Roald Dahl, one of my favorite authors.  Dahl, the son of Norwegian immigrants, was christened at the Norwegian Church which stands along Cardiff Bay.  The building is now the Norwegian Church Arts Centre and dedicates a portion of their second floor to Dahl.  There I found copies of Roald Dahl’s books in Welsh.

Norwegian Church Arts Centre 

Welcome sign (in Welsh, English, and Norwegian) inside Norwegian Church Arts Centre

Roald Dahl's Matilda in Welsh

A plaza nearby Cardiff Bay, formerly known as the Oval Basin, was renamed Roald Dahls Plass (Norwegian for Roald Dahl’s Place) in 2002.  It has appeared in episodes of both Dr. Who and Torchwood.  While Roald Dahls Plass was not the most aesthetically pleasing part of Cardiff, it was still inspiring to mill about a place dedicated to the man who conjured up James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Plaque at Roald Dahls Plass

Roald Dahls Plass

Meanings of foreign words can be lost in translation, but that does not make trying to understand them any less important.  In fact, words that are difficult to translate can be very revealing of a culture.  For example, the often used Japanese phrase ganbare means something along the lines of work hard, do your best, and hang in there.  However, ganbare has much more depth and even Japanese speaking bilinguals, like myself, have trouble explaining it to non-Japanese speakers.  When you truly understand the feelings and thoughts that are associated with ganbare, you understand the Japanese work ethic and collectivist tendencies.

The favorite word in Wales is cwtch.  From what I understand, the literal meaning is cuddle or hug.  However, there seems to be a more possessive meaning to the word.  Not possessive in a creepy way, but a you-are-a-part-of-me type of possessive.  I would need a much better comprehension of Welsh to fully appreciate cwtch.  I saw the word cwtch almost everywhere I went in Cardiff: painted on signs, embroidered on pillows, etc.  I had a lot of fun in Wales, but this new, loving word is by far the most interesting tidbit I gained from my trip, and researching the meaning helped me to have a slightly better grasp on the values of the Welsh.

Snow, Strikes, and One World Week, Oh My!

I have never had a snow day, even though snowfall is an annual occurrence in Tokyo. As my international school was less than a three minute walk from the nearest train station (which was on a major train line), and did not offer a school bus so as to not be held liable in case of an accident, school was on so long as the trains were running.  I have countless memories of weekday mornings spent slipping on packed snow as I trudged through the the streets using an umbrella as a makeshift cane in an attempt to regain balance.

Last week the University of South Carolina canceled classes for two days due to an unusual occurrence of snow.  I was sad to have missed it, but my dear friends in Columbia kept me up-to-date on everything via Skype!  One of my roommates, Margaret, sent me this picture:

My campus is always beautiful, but there is something about the rarity of snow that made being in Columbia especially special.  She even took a picture of Flat Claire whom I had drawn before moving to England and had left in my roommates’ care for the duration of my study abroad experience:

While my friends back home were enjoying the strange weather, I was also experiencing something new: a staff strike.  The University and College Union (UCU) have been pushing for higher wages for for their underpaid members at several higher education institutions.  While the vice-chancellors (presidents) at the various universities, including the University of Warwick, have enjoyed large increases in salary, the rest of the staff have not.  In fact, their wages have not increased enough in relation to the current inflation in the England.  Therefore, on Thursday some of my lecturers and seminar leaders who are members of UCU went on strike.  While it is unfortunate for those involved in the conflict, this is definitely a very interesting time to be an exchange student in England.

Amidst all of the newness, I was also able to experience something that reminded me of my years at my international school: One World Week.  The University of Warwick has a large international student population, and, with globalization, we are all part of a community larger than that of our neighborhoods, so it is only appropriate to dedicate a week to understanding the world.  One World Week is the largest annual campus event with activities running all day and night such as the International Bazaar, a carnival, and forums with guest speakers (I attended a talk on privacy in the digital age with several speakers, including an FBI agent).  It concluded with a Super Bowl viewing party in the Student’s Union building, which I had to miss due to catching my first English cold.

The SU decorated for a One World Week event.

I was feeling a little miserable when I was ill.  
Thanks to FACEinHOLE.com for letting me create this masterpiece!

As of today, I have been in England for a month and two days. Living here is an incredible experience.  While I do have moments when I am homesick, it is surprising how much I have already gotten used to this new country.  Studying abroad, I have noticed, is similar to one’s first year at college (and away from home): you grow a lot in a short period of time.  I can tell that I am already much stronger than I was before: I have survived a cold in a foreign nation and I know many more things, too.  I look forward to seeing how I develop in the following months.  Studying abroad is not easy, but it is definitely worth it.