CYMRU

Greetings from Wales!

Wow, what an incredible place to begin to wind down our trip. It is absolutely beautiful here! I'm visiting the family of one of the girls I mentored in Denver ... as I look to my right there is a magnificent view of the city of Swansea (population around 300,000, I'm told) and the sea. Absolutely beautiful.

We got in yesterday around 4 pm and went straight to the grocery store next to the station ... it'd been about 3 days since we'd seen a regular grocery. We'd been into Harrod's (the Macy's of London) and Mark & Spencer (sells carry-away meals in convenient packaging), but they're not really normal grocery stores, if you know what I mean. Finding Pringles along the way has been a God-send since I constantly have the munchies.

We went to an area called 3 Points this afternoon. It was a really nice walk down to the beachfront where there were 3 rocky hills and an inlet. It reminded me of sitting by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia ... the tide was coming in and you could see the people there enjoying the fact that God had given another relatively warm day with sunshine. Being from hot and humid Houston, I thought they were crazy to be walking barefoot in the chilly water, but, hey ... who am I to judge?

Being on the road has been such a good reminder to me that life continues on around the world, even as we sit in our offices and homes in America. There's so much to see and experience. Since we've been here I've had interesting conversations with 15 and 16 year olds that are keenly aware that there's a world outside of their small town. One kid in particular asked about 45 random questions about life in America, including whether or not I'd been to Compton and Brooklyn (he's watched a lot of MTV and knows a lot about NWA, the Beastie Boys and Jay-Z), whether I liked Oreo cookies, what the real price of a Big Mac in America was, and if we had good Chinese and Mexican food in Houston. By the end of our time he tried to slide in that I'd invited him to come live with me in America.

I'm so sad that my trip is coming to an end! I thank God for every day of it, though. What an opportunity. Everyone tells me that I have to come back in the Spring or summer when the weather's better and I can take more photos. We'll see ...

Oh! I almost forgot ... my sister's started this rumor that I pushed her down the steps of Buckingham Palace in front of the Queen. Not true. She tripped and fell on the steps outside of Buckingham Palace and I had nothing to do with it. I actually stood there wondering why she was on the ground and how she'd gotten there. So, it's been a rough few days for her since she hasn't been able to stabilize it and we're on the move again. I think that she's glad that she'll get to put it up for a few days soon.

Right, well ... don't know if I'll blog again before home. I have to savor the last few days I have abroad, so that means staying outdoors and away from internet cafes.

Ta ta for now!

" )