Replies:

Debbie:

Even in "those large cities" people are often too dependent on their cars. The rail/bus system here in Atlanta has already been crappy andrecently bus services have been reduced even more on nights and weekends. Way too little protest about this, mostly only from people who cannot afford a car.

Posted by Swan @ 06/22/2002 09:41 AM CST

I would like to add my two cents (or should I say pence) worth. I suspect that I am not the only one who came to Wales expecting things to be vastly different, only to discover that when it comes to what matters, things are greatly the same. Many of the people we have met remind us of friends and church members we know or have known in other places. Walking into the churches these last two Sundays has felt like stepping back in time to places we have been before. On our excursions through the countryside I sometimes have to remind myself that I am across the Ocean and not traveling through Tennessee, North Carolina or Virginia - the countryside is very similar. There are more sheep, I have to admit. When it comes to differences, I would havde to say that Americans in general, except perhaps those in large cities, are too dependent on their vehicles to take them places. Someone here in the church was surprised to find out we had been doing alot of walking. We are helping to reshape the image of Americans as people who don't like to walk. "Unfortunately," I replied, "many Americans tend to walk primarilly for exercise, not to get somewhere." This may be a generalization but it is interesting how we who depend on having a car can get up and go at will and when we are ready. If you have to depend on a train or bus schedule you just cannot take your time about getting out of the house.

Well, I tried baking the other day - British measurements are slightly different than American measurements, and what can I say, I am not the best at baking, but it certainly did not meet the taste test of my finicky family. I think I may leave the baking to the many neighborhood bakeries who do a wonderful job of Welsh cakes (my favorite), Bara Brith ("freckled bread" which is like a fruitcake or fruitbread, and other baked goods. It has been nice to walk to neighborhood shops. There is something quaint and nostalgic about the corner grocery store, pharmacy and bakery which America seems to be losing so much of. Swansea is a city made up of little towns and villages which seem to retain some of their small town flavor. Or so it seems to me. Probably the biggest surprise to me was the City Center shopping district which has many varieties of stores. We thought we were showing Richard and Jayne something great with the mall in Leesburg. It is nothing like what is here in the way of shopping, although not necessarilly in a mall format. It was then that I realized that the Halls have gone to a small town and we have come to the city. Now to borrow from Richard's format:

Likes: the weather- it is cooler, but sometimes I have had trouble getting warm

walks around town flowers and gardens everywhere

watching the birds

listening to people talk; it is amazing how one can hear the Bible in a new way just by hearing it read with a different accent. I hope that is not taken in the wrong way-- it is just that one can hear it from a different perspective.

Dislikes:

Weather: it has rained and been dreary too many days so far, but we are assured that this has not been typical of the season. Everyone has apologized for the weather as if they could do anything about it.

Narrow roads - even though I am not driving

Seeing too many young people smoking