Last weekend, I hopped on a train (or two) to visit my best friend, Rhi, who’s currently studying for her Masters at Aberystwyth University.
Not only was it a special weekend because I’d discover where she’ll be living for the next year but this was the last time we’d be seeing each until December 2012. Having never really had more than a fortnight apart in the eight years we’ve known each other, we knew this was going to be an emotional time but decided to leave that stuff until the last moment and just make the most out of the weekeend to come.
If there’s one thing to be said about Aberystwyth, it’s a student town. It’s also a traditional seaside town. Non-UK based readers? Want to find out what British students are like? Want to find out what going to the seaside’s like for British families? Go to Aberystwyth. While it’s located on the coast of mid-Wales, I didn’t hear a single Welsh accent while I was there (other than mine and Rhi’s). The town is brimming with students and tourists clutching books, bags and cameras.
The air smells like salt, ice cream, and fish ‘n’ chips wrapped in newspaper while the call of a thousand seagulls, band music coming from the piers and seafronts, and the crashing of the unrelenting waves fill your ears.
I was lucky to arrive in Aberystwyth when I did. October is cruel weather for Wales, especially for coastal towns. Having arrived at midnight on Friday/Saturday night, I couldn’t stop shivering as Rhi led me the way towards her fabulous sea front house and only warmed up when she made me a stunning cup of tea to accompany our long-awaited catchup and talks that went on until 4 in the morning. Saturday morning we awoke to find beautiful weather waiting for us right outside her front door.
Our first stop was to the Farmer’s Market. I should have taken a thousand and one pictures of the absolutely mouth-watering selection of foods on display but was so entranced, I completely forgot.
The Farmer’s Market arrives in town once every two weeks and displays everything and more than you could ever hope to buy from your local supermarket.
Rhi pointed out a pie stall that she’d visited last time they were here and I was thrilled to discover that all the mini pies and puddings were vegetarian and vegan friendly. I quickly pulled out my purse and slammed down my money before going through the tough process of choosing which ones I wanted.
In the end I went with an ‘Indian Summer Pudding’ and one I can’t remember the name of that was filled with three cheeses, red peppers and other delicious ingredients.
Verdict: Best pies I’ve ever tasted in my life!
After buying our goodies, we headed into a small café to get some breakfast Rhi-and-Ceri-style – Two vegetarian breakfasts with Oreo Cookie Milkshakes.
Yes, this is genuinely how we roll.
With our stomachs full, we spent the next couple of hours walking up and down the seafront: Rhi pointing out the sights, giving me little historical facts about the buildings we passed (She’s such an historical nerd. I love her. 
) and showing me around the remains of Aberystwyth Castle.
Told you you’d be seeing my face all over this blog from now on. 
At one point we decided (well, more like, I dragged Rhi) to walk along the small pier. Half way down we each suddenly realised what completely noobs we were because even though we don’t mind a little splash or swim in the sea from time to time, being above the water is pretty nerve-racking stuff.
Observe below:
After our walk along the sea, Rhi announced we would be taking a little train up to the top of Constitution Hill:
As we neared it, I spotted some pathways and announced that we should save our money and just walk up.
Rhi was not amused.
I think she forgave me in the end, though. Not only did the climb produce some beautiful views of the town but it made us feel like we’d achieved something when we finally made it to the top. Especially as yours truly was wearing skinny jeans and Vans at the time.
I took this little video of the all-around view when we were half way up. Two facts about the video:
1) See that peak behind Rhi? Yes. We really got to the top of there!
2) Even though she’s smiling and waving, I think at this point Rhi wanted to kill me for dragging her up by foot.
When we reached the top of Constitution Hill, we sat back, relaxed, rewarded ourselves with ice lollies and took in the view.
The sun began to set and we decided to head back to Rhi’s place to get ready for the evening to come.
Rhi had been telling me for weeks about how her male housemates were quite the slobs and she had almost assigned herself the ‘mother’ role in the house as she was constantly picking up after them.
I finally got to meet them when we headed into to the kitchen for a cup of tea to warm up. The most hilarious thing came over them as we walked into the room. One minute they were all sitting around the kitchen table eating, the next they all jumped up and began washing dishes, sweeping the floor, taking the bins out, really getting domesticated and apologising for the mess. Rhi and I could do nothing but giggle: Clearly these guys just needed an outsider coming into their house to get them motivated.
Later on we joined Rhi’s friends at an Indian restaurant where we feasted on beautiful food and moved on to a quiet pub where we knocked back a few drinks accompanied by a (badly-played) game of pool.
At midnight, Rhi’s friends decided to call it a night but Rhi asked me if I wanted to stay out for one more drink. Even though I’d had a little too much Malibu, I knew I was leaving tomorrow and agreed.
One drink turned into many and, before we knew it, it was 4.30am. One of the greatest things about a student town? You can get a vodka & coke for only £1.90! In spite of the fact that we seemed to spend the majority of the night fighting off local freshers (who, incidentally, looked so young, you almost felt like you were breaking the law just by looking at them), we had a good night.
Funny thing about student boys: They feel the need to get absolutely shitfaced before gathering up the courage to make their move on you. Rhi and I agreed that this sort of move must have been somewhat appealing when we were doing our undergrad because we probably got equally as shitfaced too. But these days, now that we’re in our mid-twenties, that whole “Youuuu’rrrrre ssssssssssoooooo pretty … *belch* You’ve got theeesssssss fan-*hic* fn-fntsssstic brssssttssssss … *slobber*slobber*slobber* I wanna sssssqueeeeeeeeze ‘em!” approach just doesn’t cut it.
Or are we just too picky?
Anyhoo, following the epic venture into undergrad territory, Sunday morning began like this:
After finding the strength to roll out of bed, I began to pack my things. It was time to go.
I can’t speak for Rhi because I don’t know what was going through her mind. All I knew was that we were heading to the train station to say goodbye and wouldn’t be in each other’s company again for at least a year. Not only does that suck because I’d discovered what an incredible place she was living in (which, in turn, had made me realise how much I miss living amongst my peers) but it also sucks big time because she’s my best friend. And what does someone do without their best friend?
At the train station, I knew there’d be tears but I seemed to be holding up well so far. None of it seemed real. It hadn’t really hit me yet. Then Rhi began to tear up and I gave her the longest cwtch I could until I had to get on the train.
She stood by the window as the train waited at the platform for ten minutes and it was only then that I began to cry when she made some goofy gesture that should have made me laugh. I realised that you can email, message, Skype your loved ones every single day you’re away but there’s nothing quite like being in their presence, being right there in their world, to witness everything they do or say.
The train began to pull away, I blew her a kiss, told her I loved her and waved until I couldn’t see her anymore.
What’s 12-13 months? Neither of us are dying and it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. I know she’s got heaps of friends to look after her and a wonderful family right there, and I’ll bedistracting myself across the water discovering a new culture. But there’s no doubt that I will miss my best friend, my sister, the Yang to my Yin.
