Wayne
I know Abergavenny well. Family holidays in Wales and all that. I have spent many holidays in Talybont, with hoards of family friends engaged in jolly hearty outdoor pursuits followed by much noshing of cherry pie. Yes, it was always cold there in April which is when we went. The mountains are fab, not sure I could handle the peace and quiet for that long. Nothing against old people though!
I moved to the US to start an MA program in Spanish-American literature. My long term boyfriend, now my husband, had come to Pennsylvania (bloody freezing cold in Winter, horriffic amounts of snow, damn sweaty in Summer, impossible to breathe, sleep in the basement stuff) to do his PhD and I was terribly lonely in London without him. When you find your soul mate, to me, you might as well go to the ends of the earth to be with that person. THen I had my first child Martha, took some time off, kept teaching Spanish which I really enjoy, then started PhD program myself. Stopped it when my husband finished and got a job in Michigan, which is where we are now, in Ann Arbor (not as cold as PA, doesn't snow much, quite hot in Summer, they call it the armpit of Michigan, but it's preferable to PA and anything South of here, like Mississippi!) at the Universty of Michigan, a fine institution at the forefront of the Life sciences research, etc. Then I began my PhD again here and I really still love the teaching more than anything. Research gets me down, even though I love the intellectual puzzle that literature and cultural study present. I hate writing papers. I am still engaged in this.
I am working on a dissertation on masculinities in Cuban narrative, contestations to the dominant state discourses of hyper-hetero-sexuality from a queer studies perspective. So I get to deal with issues of power, sexuality, gender crossings, cultural transvestism, race-crossings, queer sexuality, the closet, etc. The 20 th century in Cuba is fascinating and there's so much political change going on as the nation strives for it's independence under US imperialism, and all this affects the sorts of masculinities which may be performed/lived/articulated and enjoyed.
I've probably told you way more than you needed or wanted to know. I get carries away sometimes, sorry! Anyway, listen, if there are in future things you need from fitness websites out here, please think about whether I can help you reduce shiping fees, OK?
So, am I right? You work as a fitness instructor/personal trainer? I am impressed that you can make a living out of this in Abergavenny. What else do you get up to (that you can print ;-) )?!?!?!?!
See ya,
Clare