And God saw that it was good...

Every so often, you have one of those days that just leaves you in complete awe of God. This was one of those days. Wales is absolutely beautiful! And not like “oh hey, look at that” kind of beautiful, but “drop to your knees in worship as your breath is sucked right out you and the majesty of God’s creation leaves you speechless” kind of beautiful. Even the language is gorgeous! Welsh kind of defies the laws of English grammar (though in the words of my British coach, the Welsh live to defy the English), but it’s as beautiful to listen to and look at as it is hard to pronounce. When we went out to lunch, the owner actually told us that if we could repeat, with correct pronunciation after only hearing it once, the name of the Welsh city with the most letters, then lunch would be on the house…well…considering the name of the town is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch…I think it’s safe to say there was no argument over who was paying for lunch. Nerd Warning – the English translation comes out to "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave." But it really is amazing to listen to, and every sign is in both Welsh and English. And fyi for everyone, especially my sister, I was not in “Whales.” I am not Jonah. I was not, nor do I have the desire to ever be, inside of a large sea mammal. I was in Wales. Thank you, your English lesson is now complete.

Even on the way to our destination of Gwynned, I wanted to take out my camera multiple times, especially when we passed a massive castle built into the side of a mountain. If you’ve ever seen the last two Lord of the Rings movies, it was a lot like the castles from the battle scenes, but cooler because it was actually real. When we got to Gwynned, we went straight to the main attraction – the castle by the sea. I didn’t realize that Caenarfon Castle is where King Edward I lived and where his son was born, and that’s why the crown prince has always been given the title “Prince of Wales.” Prince Charles had his title ceremony at the castle, and it’s likely that Prince William will do the same after his father becomes king. Though in some places of the castle, only a shell of the wall remains, we could walk up through the original rooms and climb the original towers to look out over the sea (not going to lie, the steps to the top were narrow, steep, and many. It was like climbing up a spiral ladder, but the view from the top was magnificent, and well worth the risk of serious bodily harm…just kidding mom…). We also walked around the town for a few hours and even though I swore I wasn’t spending any more money, I shelled out some pounds for more gifts for my family members. Sometimes, spending money on other people is worth being broke. More importantly, though, I ate my first full English breakfast (I know, I was in Wales, but I’ll take an English breakfast when and where I can get it!) …it. Was. Delicious. Honestly, it was so good that I’m pretty sure I almost died from the euphoria of having it in my mouth. Eggs, fried hash brown, bacon, fried toast, English sausage, black pudding, and beans. And yes, let’s be clear, I know that black pudding contains pig’s blood, as my teammates were so apt to point out, but in the words of Andrew Zimmern, “if it looks good, EAT IT!” It looked good, it smelled good, and it tasted good. So I did eat it. I’ll be darned it I came to Britain to not eat like a local! Also, I bought my first alcohol as a legal adult…calm down calm down…we all know that I don’t drink, and for good reason! A shop was selling the world’s smallest bottles of Scotch Whiskey…so I bought all .5 milliliters of it for my parents! I figured it was easier to take through Customs in Chicago than a bottle of wine…

After leaving Gwynnned, we drove back through the prettiest parts of Snowdonia National Park. Technically, we had been in Snowdonia the whole time, but we went up into the mountains a bit more to get a good look at the natural beauty of the area and take some pictures. We stopped in a valley town on the edge of a massive lake, and the mountains towered above us on all sides, reaching up into the heavens, the tops covered by clouds. I was awestruck by the pristine clarity of the lake water; you could see the rocks at the bottom, dozens and dozens of feet down. Everything was just so beautiful and so calm. I have no doubt that many a Welsh person has stood in that valley, looked up at the splendor of his country, and been filled with immense pride in where he is from – I know I would be if I were Welsh.

So now I'm sitting back at the cottages, eating birthday cake in honor of two of my teammates who are celebrating brithdays on this trip, and watching Titanic. Seriously, this has just been an awesome day.I’m running out of words to convey just how spectacular today was…there was just something about today that made me so…I don’t know…joyful. And I don't easily run out of ways to say things...So I wrote a poem. You don’t have to like it, but I figured I’d share it with you anyway…

You said, “Let there be,”

with words you formed the mountains;

your voice set their foundations.

From empty space you fused

hydrogen and oxygen

into crystal clear lakes,

and surrounded them with the beauty

of trees and flowers.

You formed man, and with your breath,

You gave him life.

How majestic are you, oh LORD,

Your creation is more than I can fathom,

how much more beautiful is the mind

that first imagined it,

how much more worthy the hands

that brought it forth?

Your glory is proclaimed throughout nature,

What you have made declares your splendor.

Let me shout it from the mountain peaks,

And let it ring out in the lowest depths,

“The LORD our God is awesome in power,

There is none like Him in all the earth!”

Glory be forever to the God who fashioned eyes

that can see His wonders,

ears that hear of the songs of His creation,

and hearts that can rejoice in His love.

Let all the earth together sing

“Glory in the highest,

glory to the LORD of all creation,

who said, ‘Let it be’

and it was,

and what was,

 was good.”

My name is Amy Swearer, and POTS stole my life. I’m taking it back. (In England!...and Wales!).