My great Welsh adventure has continued in an onslaught of meeting fascinating people, learning interesting things about common topics, and answering phone calls.
There wasn't too much to remark on that happened at the magazine this week, really. Tuesday I brought my GRE study book and reviewed some middle school math in between phone calls. Then Frances asked me to read a book--Sapphique, by Catherine Fisher, a young adult novel about...well, a living prison and some people who are trying to escape it, basically--and then review it for the magazine. I was about halfway through the book when she realized she'd actually already had it reviewed for a previous issue (well...that's Frances for you), but I really didn't mind because I was enjoying the book so much that it was hard to consider it wasted time. Seriously, though, it's a good book, though I do recommend reading the prequel, Incarceron, first. I didn't, but I rather wish I'd gotten to.
Thursday Frances and I ducked out a bit early to run some errands in Carmarthen. I finally bought contact solution--you don't even want to know the dark depths I'd stooped to in order to keep my contacts from drying out before that. She also took me along while she went grocery shopping, which sounds mundane but was actually sort of interesting. Grocery stores are one of those very non-touristy places where you start picking up on minute cultural differences. Also the young man working the check-out line told me he liked my accent. I told him the feeling was mutual.
Thursday night I had dinner with my landlords and a friend of theirs, who runs a Welsh-medium broadcasting company, and his 18-year-old daughter. It was a great dinner (especially since I managed to eat beef without getting sick) and, once again, I'm really amazed at how interesting all the people I've met have been. Ffion, the daughter, and I exchanged numbers and she invited me to come to the Royal Welsh, a giant agricultural festival, for a day or two next week, so I think I'll do that. When I mentioned Frances and I were planning to drive to the Eisteddfod each day, I also got an invite to stay with Ffion and her family overnight in their camper, since apparently there's a lot that goes on in the evenings that I shouldn't miss. So that's something to be excited about!
Friday I got off work early and enjoyed my afternoon off by doing absolutely nothing. I was hoping to get a chance to go investigate the castle that's right down the street but it was, as always, raining.
Saturday I went with Frances & family on a picnic at Llyn y Fan Fach--the lake of the small mountain. Some of their friends--including Wales' foremost painter and a well-known sculptor/actor--came as well, as did Tom's friend Diego, who is visiting from Paris. I had a great talk with the painter, John Uzzell Edwards, as we were leaving. We discussed the Mabinogion and history in the Welsh landscape and the artistic process...more and more I wish I had business cards I could give all these people I meet; he even said he wanted to give me one of his, but didn't have any on him.
...I'd also never met such an artist before. I took everything he was saying very seriously, and it was all very interesting, but he was also telling me things like "you have to make the painting as big as it wants to be. If you listen to it, it will tell you want it wants." Ooookay. I am not nearly artsy enough to truly comprehend that sort of advice.
The cool thing about Llyn y Fan Fach is that it's the location for some really great Welsh fairy tales; namely, the Lady of the Lake. We parked the cars and hiked up the mountain (took us maybe 45 minutes or an hour, I'm not sure)...in the ceaseless rain...I was actually soaked completely through by the time we got to the top, despite the "waterproof" I was wearing. It was beautiful scenery the whole way up, though, and at the top--where the lake is--it was very eerie. With the mist, especially, it was easy to imagine all the mythology that takes place in Wales. As we were eating the sun came out and rain cleared up, so we gathered at the edge of the lake and read the story of the Lady of the Lake out loud. At the risk of sounding corny, it really was cool. I'll retell the fairy tale some other time when I have a copy of it in front of me so I don't forget anything, but the man who was reading the story--I think his name was Richard, maybe?--was explaining to me how he has a theory that it's all based in fact, that there are caves and tunnels under the water.
Afterwards, Ed, Rhydian, Diego and I walked around the perimeter of the lake, which was a bit silly cause it was really rocky and unsteady in some parts...we're actually kinda lucky Rhyd didn't fall and get hurt or anything, cause I'm pretty sure I would have been deported for endangering a child.
Anyway, after that it was back to the Fig Tree for eating and resting and showering and most importantly, being dry, though warmth is, as always, still just slightly out of my grasp.
In other news, still no sign of giant resident spiders, but I did find a centipede in my shower this morning. Yuck.
I think this week should be an exciting one--I have a phone appointment with my fellowship adviser tomorrow night about the Watson, Wednesday I'm visiting a couple Welsh-medium schools, and sometime soon I'll be taking field trips for the magazine. Plus there's the Welsh Royal next week and the Eisteddfod shortly after that!
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