"The Black Forest cake comes from a place called Black Forest in south-west Germany, and that's where half of my family is from!" That's Helen, from University of Newport. She teaches at a primary school, and studies Fashion Design, and she loves Welsh cakes.
"My dad's Indian, mom's Portugese. I studied in Delhi till about grade 7, then moved to Canada. And I'm here in Wales as an exchange student now. So yeah, I'm from all over." That's Anika, from University of Newport, fond of salmon and photography.
"I used to dance with my brother in Tokyo. But I'm too short to be a professional performer. So I took up stage management. I know nothing about theatre, mind you. I just deal with people, lighting and sound." Akiko, from Japan, full of vim and humour.
"I went to Bath (in England) when I was fourteen, and on going back to Colorado, I decided to work hard on my grades to come back to the UK for college. I'm happy to be here, studying piano." That's Lauren, from the USA at the Royal Welsh Academy of Music and Drama.
These aren't characters from a film (would make interesting ones though!) They are real people. I met them.
You may ask:
how did I meet them?
I went to a St. Davids' Day Reception. St. David is the patron saint of Wales and on the 1st March of every year it is St. Davids' Day. Wales celebrates everything Welsh on this day - it's their national day. The bright sunshine and children scampering about, the red Welsh dragon costume parades, daffodils, the delicious Welsh food festival - its all there, all over the city of Cardiff.
The Welsh Assembly decided to make this day even more memorable by inviting international students from all the universities of Wales for a reception at The Senedd (which houses the Welsh Assembly) by the eternally pretty Cardiff Bay. The Senedd (pictured) is a beautiful building, like a glass house, and follows all the 'green' principles of construction.
At the beginning, I felt a little awkward. Going all alone for a party with a slight hope of finding familiar faces was not my idea of fun. But then, I simply went. And boy, am I glad I did! And I learnt that chatting to people isn't hard at all, as long as you strike up the right topic. It was fun.
Ministers from the Welsh Assembly were present, and were very friendly, going up to students and talking to them. Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales, gave the opening speech, remarking that he hoped we had learnt by now that Wales was not a part of England. That's the beauty of the Welsh. They are brilliant at self-deprecating humour. And they are ALWAYS happy.
The food was traditional: lamb cawl with laverbread, salmon and cream, Welsh sausage and mash, wine, sparkling water and tons of Welsh cake. I enjoyed the cake, obviously!
The day was fantastic. Thank goodness I went! Now I know people who will keep me updated on all the musical concerts and theatre performances around town. And I know places around Wales I have to visit next.
Awesome.
Supriya is an international student from Delhi, India
She is studying MA International Public Relations
You can read her first blog post here.
Her second blog post here. Her third blog post here.
