Amlwch and other adventures.

These past couple of days haven't been my best. Things just don't seem to be going my way, really. But I do have spring break starting on Friday after class, and I really can't wait. It'll be a welcome distraction.

Anyway, let's start with updates from yesterday since my computer was quite dead last night.

Melisa and I slept in--kind of. I woke up at about the same time I normally do, which counts as sleeping in since we get up early on most Saturdays. We hopped on a bus to Amlwch. I asked this man behind me in line how to pronounce it...it's AM-look. Which kind of makes sense...the w makes an "oo" sound, sometimes but not always. I really like the local people here...the Welsh ones, not the British ones. I don't dislike the British people, but they aren't as fun or friendly as the Welsh. When I ask questions, the Welsh people take it as a sign to start conversations. They usually know right away that I'm American. The man I talked to wanted to know where in the US I am from--he's been to the US nine times. I couldn't understand everything he said, but I just nodded and smiled. He did say that he thinks Americans are incredibly nice people--and nobody likes the English. Ha.

The bus ride to Amlwch didn't take too long. When we got off the bus, we discovered that Amlwch is actually a very small town. There were only a few stores, and only one of them was open. They did have a post office, but it closed at 12:30, not long after we arrived. We had no idea what to do. We wandered around, and tried to get to the water. We hit one dead end, but eventually found the coastal walk. It was a bit windy, but absolutely gorgeous:

I really enjoyed the walk with Melisa. We have a lot of fun when we go places...I'm not totally sure what I'd do without her. It was a very long walk...according to my pedometer, we walked about 8 miles total around Amlwch, including our coastal walk. It was muddy at times, and kind of...rocky. They don't really take good care of the paths and walkways around here, but it was definitely worthwhile. Apparently people are able to see dolphins on that coastal walk--we didn't see any. We're not sure if there is a specific time of year when people are supposed to look for them, but it would have been nice to see them.

Our walk put us out at a random part of town, and we hopped on a bus back to Bangor. We were back before too late, and I took a nap. I didn't have much choice...my computer was dead. The charger finally stopped completely. I didn't take it well--the computer is my link to the entire world. Melisa let me hang out with her, and we watched a movie online (She's the Man) which made me happy. I went to bed kind of early, and Melisa and I made plans for today.

This morning, Melisa and I met at 10:30ish to try to catch a bus to the Tesco area. Not many buses run on Sundays, so we weren't sure if we could find one. We couldn't, for a while. We had lunch at Subway (not quite as good as the US) and that was nice. Then we DID find a bus that took us to Tesco, which is near all the electronics stores. I have a presentation this week, so I kind of need my computer so that I can work on it. I gave in and bought a new charger. I didn't want to, especially since I'll have to buy a converter to plug in my computer when I get home. Plus it was really expensive. But let's not get ahead of ourselves--trip 1 to the store, Comet, was not successful. I wasn't sure that the cord I found would work, but the man working told me that it would be fine. He also wasn't sure if I could use my credit card because it was American. He had to ask his boss. That's the first time that has happened. Anyway, they took my credit card, and I was able to buy a cord. Melisa and I wanted to take a bus back to Bangor, but we asked the bus driver who took us to Tesco--apparently no buses run that route on Sundays, so he couldn't see us a return ticket. Then he got really confused, because he looked at the timetables in his booklet, and technically, his bus wasn't supposed to be running. I felt kind of bad for him...he had no idea what to tell us, and I don't know that he was sure he should be driving the route.

So, Melisa and I walked back from Comet to our dorms. The cord I bought had several different ends, and one of them was supposed to work with my computer. None of them did. I was a little bit upset. So, I walked all the way back to the store, knowing that no more buses were running. I think I may have talked to the manager this time...I just walked in and asked for help. I will say this, I've had excellent customer service here in the UK. He found a cord that would work, and compared it with mine (since I brought it with the second time). He also plugged the end into the Toshiba Satellite laptop that was in the store, and used my cord to double-check that it would fit. I was very happy. I walked back to my room (making my total for the day around 8 miles, again) and somehow managed to lose my pedometer on the walk back. I never heard it fall, but I have NO idea where it went. And then, I couldn't get the cord to work. I found the end that fit in my computer..but it didn't charge! Luckily, there was another end that also fit in my computer, and THAT one charged my computer. Now I have a fully charged computer, and working internet. Success, I guess.

It was a really long day. I just can't wait to get out of here and on spring break. 3 weeks of traveling and seeing some really great places should definitely help my mood.