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Sam McCarthy and Ela Cudlip are from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales and have been exchanging audio diaries with teens in Fayette County, West Virginia.
Appalachia has had hundreds of years of connection to Wales -- people have been immigrating back-and-forth between the two regions since the late 1600s.
Our Inside Appalachia team has continued this through its Folkways program, by connecting teenage students in both Wales and West Virginia.
Courtesy Mackenzie Kessler
Mackenzie Kessler, a high school student from Fayette County, West Virginia, has been exchanging audio messages with teenagers in Wales.
Originally, students from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales shared “audio diaries'' with students in Lincoln County, West Virginia in 2019 and early 2020. They recorded themselves discussing serious subjects, like what life is like in current or former “coal country,” and more fun topics like favorite foods and what these teens do for fun. Subjects included Tudor’s Biscuit World, “plain pizza,” Doritos with salsa and the FIFA World Cup video game. Can you guess which choices were from Wales and which were from West Virginia?