From London to Dunfield

We’ve been at the Dunfield House in Kington, Herefordshire, for a week, and this is by far the best wifi signal I’ve gotten. We left London on Sunday and took a three hour bus ride to the middle of nowhere to be dropped off in front of a mansion built in the 1300s.

Dunfield: a kingdom of its own. The citizens: herds of sheep.

Actually, we are in a town called Kington. The people are lovely, and its bigger than Lamoni. Finally we get to see the legendary “rolling green hills” of the U.K. With no wifi, we’ve all learned that cabin fever is a real thing. This has led to many dance parties just to get our energy out. Every day starts the same: 8 a.m. breakfast, then many of the other students leave for their day classes. (Dr. Moreira blessed us with afternoon classes for the communications course.) We eat at noon then class from 1-4 p.m. The times average depending on how quickly material is covered, but usually we go until 4 p.m. Dinner is at 6, and then we are free to do as we please. Yes, our lives have started to revolve around when they feed us (food portions are smaller here, exposing us to the reality of American portion sizes).

This place is a lot like camp, and we all jokingly sing camp songs from our childhoods. Also, we’ve begun to have evening games together. We gather in a large crowd, and the more the merrier! We have learned riddle games such as “green glass window” and “black magic.” Of course, I can’t explain the games because the point is to figure them out. Card games like, [BS] and Mafia have become a popular night activity as well. Then there’s Isaac rallying the troops to try their hand at ultimate frisbee with him… Believe me. There’s no chance of anyone beating him! The man is a monster on the field, and I say that with the most love possible.

We’ve taken a few day trips out of town. As a whole group we took a day hike on the Welsh Coast. I cannot pronounce the town, let alone try to spell it; Llangrannog. Try to pronounce it if you dare. The coast was beautiful! The hike… not so much, but completely worth the pain in my calves. After the trek, we hopped on our bus to visit a seaside town Abyerswith. Still in Wales, we got dinner here and walked along the boardwalk enjoying ice cream and the beach life. There was another “hike” up a hill to see a ruin castle, but I wasn’t making that one. With a nice pink sunburn and a sugar rush, we got back onto the bus to head back to our home away from home.

This place is lovely and terrifying at the same time. I love a good ghost story, though there’s a difference in believing in ghosts while staying in a house that dates back to longer than you can count. The 1300s is a LONG time ago, so I wasn’t surprised to hear the tenants speak of ghosts. And leave it to us to pick the room where the supposed “White Lady” resides…. White Lady, I say this with the utmost respect if you’re watching me type this right now. WE MEAN NO HARM! We’ve all turned into scaredy cats when it comes time to turn the lights off. Have we seen her yet? No. But there is a painting on the wall with a “white lady,” in

the window of the exact room we happen to be staying in. Coincidence?

Maddie Jaggars ’17