Final (big) Weekend Trip!

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Hiya!

Iโ€™ve completed my final planned weekend trip and it was an absolutely incredible weekend trip! I have decided that I have done an immense amount of traveling around Europe and Iโ€™m extremely satisfied with everywhere Iโ€™ve gone. I also realized that while I have done a lot of exploring around London, I havenโ€™t traveled around England at all. I would be very disappointed in myself if I spend 3 months in England and never see anywhere outside of London. For my last few remaining weekends, I decided Iโ€™d like to spend day trips going to other beautiful cities in England as well.

Go Gators!

But guysโ€ฆ Wales was gorgeous, and we filled it with tiring, yet extremely fun and memorable activities. We arrived at our cabin Friday night where we spent some time playing board games and enjoying board games with other members of FIE who were on that trip. Where we were was pretty far off from other parts of civilization, so we barely had any phone service if any at all. But it was honestly refreshing to have everyone take time away from their phones to just genuinely enjoy each otherโ€™s company.

Enjoying the hike with Kembra!

We started off Saturday morning bright and early with an eight-mile hike along the mountains and coastline. The views were indescribably beautiful! It was so nice to listen to music and appreciate the company friends while simultaneously admiring the views. In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to try surfing in the waters of the coast of Wales! Surfing is way harder than it looks. The best I can say is I did stand up but did not successfully ride the wave while on my feet. Not bad at all for my first attempt though! The waves were massive though and consistently knocking all of us over which was exhausting but definitely added to the experience.

Beautiful views from our hike!

Sunday morning, I had the privilege of going coasteering before catching the train back home to London. During our coasteering experience, we swam through caves, rock climbed, and even jumped off cliffs! I truly think our wet suit look may be the new fashion trend. The instructor also found a patch of fresh seaweed that he said is safe to eat, so naturally I had to try it. Itโ€™s all apart of the experience! It definitely wasnโ€™t the tastiest treat though as I felt like I was eating hair.

Jen and I had to stop to take in the views

Thank you all for following along with me on my incredible trip so far and please stay tuned for my next blog to hear about the adventures we decide to take this week and into the weekend!

Madison Mougalian

*FIE: Foundation for International Education Scholarship <i>Hello in your host country language</i>: Hello <i> University</i>: University of Florida <i>Expected graduation year</i>: 2021 <i>Destination</i>: London, England <i>Program Provider</i>: FIE: Foundation for International Education <i>Major / Minor</i>: Business Administration – Sports Management <i>Future career aspirations</i>: I see myself working with a professional or college athletic association in working behind the scenes with the business aspect. <i>Top 3 goals for study abroad</i>: To immerse myself into London's culture; To travel to other countries all around Europe; To utilize my internship to gain valuable, hands-on exposure to my future career path.