Monday, June 17th, 2024: Learning about Aberystwyth
Monday, June 17th: The City and it's History
After breakfast, we met up with Marian and Luther to walk around Aberystwyth University's campus. We got to see the political science, psychology, zoology, and fitness buildings. We even got to see a student ran garden (see the bird that was greeting us there). I was overall surprised with how expansive this school was. I didn't expect a small town's college have such a large variety of educational services. All of their options may slowly be convincing Zahir and I to move here and finish our degrees.
Once we stumbled upon the art center, we made our way into their current curation. The current exhibit is labeled "Teulu", or family in English. The name makes complete sense as soon as you step foot into the building. Not only are the pieces on the wall showing moments between family, the room itself has works of art lower to the ground for children to view and multiple interactive pieces. There were sculptures and pieces that allowed the viewer to touch and interact with them. We were told this was so families could feel more comfortable with bringing their children in. The exhibition was organized by destination. In the back right corner, there was an ocean theme. There were photos of bottles dumped into the ocean, as well as paintings of people walking along the beach.
The way this place was curated made the entire space feel welcoming. Although it was catered towards families with young children, a large group of college students sat down and did coloring sheets. It was perfect for all ages and told such a heart-warming story.
Once we were finished at the arts center, we took a bus to the college's old building. We were given a presentation on the history of Aberystwyth and the university. The school wasn't always on the hill, but they faced too many weather issues and the school was expanding too rapidly.
After our lecture, we were allowed to wander for lunch. However, instead of recharging, Brandon and I decided to view the remnants of a castle nearby. It was surprising to see locals act so casually around a literal castle. People were walking their dogs or on the phone when a castle was two feet from them. After looking into it more, I learned that the castle we climbed was built during the first Welsh war during the Edwardian times. There is little left because Oliver Cromwell ordered for it to be destroyed but the pieces left standing were beautiful. The lack of maintenance allowed for flowers and grass to overcome the bricks and although it was a bit of a fall hazard, it was exciting to wander around the old architecture.
During our wandering, we also found a WW2 monument that had not been spoken about in the lecture. Poppies are spread throughout the entire scene as a way to show remembrance for the lives lost during the war.
On our way back to the meeting spot, Brandon and I settled on ice cream over lunch. Once we met back up with the group, we all made our way to the national library. Here we were able to learn about the preservation of the archives. They preserve thousands of documents through temperature and light control. Due to building preservation, they are no longer able to expand and will have to work with what space they currently have to keep all publications. Seeing the restricted areas of the library was fascinating and again it is interesting to see how such a small town holds such large significance in Welsh history.
To end the day, Zahir, Lilly, and I went to the White Horse with a larger group to eat and inevitably lose at pool. We got to watch the sunset at the beach and continue to see the local spots. The day was beautiful and very informative.
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