Where do I even begin?
To say our Transatlantic Storytelling trip to Cardiff, Wales, in partnership with Cardiff Met University was life changing would be an understatement. From the stories we told, to the people we met, to the friendships we made, this trip will always be something I look back fondly upon.
It really began to hit Monday evening, as I scrambled to pack for the trip, we were really leaving for Europe tomorrow morning. A buzz filled the room as I walked into the Sports Link lab Tuesday morning, with everyone sharing the same excitement I felt for the trip.
Accompanied by our excitement and donuts, we loaded onto the bus and left Ball State’s campus for our journey. Before we could even land it truly hit us, looking out over the Welsh countryside as our plane began to land.
Upon landing we hit the ground running, eating lunch as a group and exploring the Cardiff City Center. The night capped off with us meeting our partners from overseas, making memories as the night went on.
The next day it was time to get to work, as our crew left Sport Wales National Center on a Mainline bus and headed over to Cardiff Met’s campus. There, we began to plan for podcasts, live productions, shooting assignments, and our documentary stories.
Over the upcoming days our bonds would continue to strengthen between our universities, working as a team during the days and spending time as friends during the nights.
Throughout this trip we were able to experience a different culture as well, not only through our personal experiences but through the stories we told. To be a five-minute walk from a castle seemed unfathomable to me before this trip, but that’s been the norm in Cardiff for centuries.
Dishes like sticky toffee pudding, Gregg’s sausage rolls, authentic fish and chips, and so much more will always stick with me, but not like the memories we’d make at the table every lunch and dinner.
Seeing the history of the Roman baths and Cardiff Castle’s ancient walls left me blown away. To capture the crowd at a Cardiff Devils hockey game showed a different level of sports fandom. The sense of community in Cardiff is something I will never forget.
Nobody helped show Jack Ashby and myself the community of Wales, specifically Ely, like our feature story subject Liam Mackay. Liam immediately welcomed us into his life to allow us to tell his story and the story of Ely.
Not only was Liam open with us, he introduced us to others who could help tell this story, a story about people who care about their people. Of all the lessons I learned on this trip, I believe the story of community amongst the people of Ely was amongst the most important.
As we have been back in the states for weeks now, I look back on our time abroad and can’t help but smile. The friendships we brought with us strengthened amongst the Cardiff 16, and we left the country of Wales with even more.
We all formed memories that will last us a lifetime, and for that, I can’t be more thankful for the opportunity to have participated in this trip.