Alex Tudur, originally from Timisoara in Romania, has moved to Aberystwyth to live with her new husband, and has started learning Welsh in a virtual classroom. The course, which is for beginners, is run by Learn Welsh Ceredigion-Powys-Carmarthenshire at Aberystwyth University, on behalf of the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
Alex was born and raised in Romania, but moved to Oxford when she was 16 years old to study at a boarding school. She studied Mathematics at Durham University, before moving to work in a school and then to a charity back in Oxford, where she met her husband, Gwilym, who is from Cardiff.
The couple have now settled in Aberystwyth, where Gwilym works as a minister in a Welsh chapel.
I started learning Welsh a few weeks ago because my husband is a Welsh speaker, and I want to be able to communicate through the medium of Welsh with him, his family, and the people who live here in Aberystwyth. We've been made to feel very welcome here, and the area is wonderful. My ambition is to be able to speak Welsh fluently and to enjoy life through the medium of Welsh.
Alex Tudur
The pair spent the Lockdown period in Cardiff with family, and their marriage took place in Oxford during August, although they had to substantially change the arrangements.
Alex said, "We were sad that we were not able to celebrate our wedding as we had originally planned, but we are very grateful that we were able to get married and move to Aberystwyth to begin our married life together. We didn't have to change the date or venue for the wedding, but many of our family and friends had to watch the wedding on Zoom. Everyone was very kind, and we had a very memorable day.”
Alex enjoys learning in a virtual classroom for four hours every Tuesday. She said, “I love the classes. I enjoy being able to get to know the other learners and learn more about them and the reasons why they are learning Welsh. We are able to support each other, and are split into smaller groups to be able to chat and practise together. The lessons are fun, and there is an informal atmosphere where everyone can relax. My tutor, Zoë, is very friendly.
Our virtual courses have been successful over recent months. Although we can't meet in classrooms face to face, we are striving to ensure our learners have access to support and advice. We wish Alex well as she starts learning the language, and look forward to welcoming more new learners to other virtual courses starting soon.
Cêt Morgan, Learn Welsh Ceredigion-Powys-Carmarthenshire
You can go to learnwelsh.cymru for more information or to enroll on a course
