The bags are packed, exam turned in, and the taxi is coming in 6 hours. Time for Poland! We celebrated the end of our semester with a homemade pizza party tonight accompanied with a few fun hours of catchphrase. I never realized how American that game is until I had to explain "bubbling brook" to a Norwegian! It was great though, and so fun to relax with my good friends. We will definitely have a good time in Gdansk. I will be trying to add some posts from our hostel, so stay tuned to hear updates from Northern Poland. I'll be in Gdansk from tomorrow until the 6th of December and will be chilling at the Baltic Hostel (baltichostel.com) if you want to see where we'll be. Welp. Until the next post...vi snakkes...
Sunrise: None
Sunset: None
Happy Thanksgiving all you Americans out there! Following American tradition, I too watched football today with a bunch of Serbs. Typical. Tonight was a UEFA cup football (soccer) match between Tromsø and Red Star, a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. It was a great Tromsø night for football with the temperature at freezing and light snow in the air, and home field advantage was apparent. Tromsø played well despite the fact that the Red Star players looked like giants next to the short Norwegians, and Tromsø ended up winning 3-1! Excitement.
It was a fun night, even though I ate peanut butter sandwiches and soup instead of turkey, but fortunately on Saturday Rachel and I are going to an American celebration in Tromsø where Americans are gathering to have a Thanksgiving feast. We are responsible for bringing a dessert, so I guess we'll get to experience Thanksgiving pot luck style.
And finally, on another "celebratory" note, it is official: the sun is gone. For all practical purposes the sun's been gone for a while hiding behind the mounting, but today was the first day that the sun did not come above the horizon. Now I guess I start the longest night of my life. It's been going fine though, kind of used to it now. Now, back to writing about how the concept of motherhood does not make women more peaceful. Yep. Happy T-day!
I got on the bus yesterday and noticed a strange change: suddenly, what was normally a smooth, uneventful bus ride had turned into an unwelcomed 15 minute session on a vibrating bed. The ride was incredibly bumpy, noisey, and slow. I knew it was icy out, but this was ridiculous! When I finally got off the bus I looked down to discover a change on the Tromsø buses: chains! Now, all the Tromsø buses are equiped with chains on the tires, ready to eat up the road and ice...and our stomaches.
I guess the chains are necessary, especially now as rain has turned a winter wonderland into ice. I was able, however, to capture Tromsø before the sun completely disappeared and before the snow turned to ice. In fact, I was so inspired by the short-lived beauty of winter here that I started the following blog that I never got around to posting. It seems false now, but you can take a look at the new pictures, read the old blog and see what we enjoyed for about three days. I guess it was a sign when our snowman was decapitated that troublesome weather was a-head...eh? anyone?
Incomplete (and now inaccurate!) Blog Entry from Nov. 16:
After a steady snowfall all night and this morning, Tromsø is now officially a winter wonderland, and I think it is here to stay! It is amazing to me how the trees are absolutely covered in snow. It looks very different from South Dakota because there isn't as much wind, so the trees just droop with snow. It looks like something from an old calendar's December portrait page. Not only is the snow make Tromsø looks more beautiful, it actually adds (a little) light. We need all the light we can get!
I had a long day full of artifical lighting as I studied today at the University. And, in the midst of this studying, I took a break (or a couple) to chat with a classmate...unaware of the open ink pen under my arm. Well, much to my surprise when we stopped talking, my sleeve was newly decorated with a blue ink spot. I thought that was the end of a new shirt from Spain, but no. Once again Norwegian chemicals came to the rescue. I went to the grocery store and bought Bio-Ex, the clothing equivalent of Plumbo. I sprayed my shirt and put it in the washing machine, unable to read the exact chemicals in the product (probably for the best.) And amazingly, when the shirt emerged, it looked new! God bless you chemistry nerds.
In addition to a newly found chemical product, I also have been given a new name from my Norwegian housemate Teresa. As many of my friends know, I tend to wear my socks half on my foot and half off. Well, this trait tonight earned me the nickname, (which I think is taken from a Native American language), of "Naked Foot." Catchy, huh? Although I wanted to tell them that the correct phrase was "bare foot," I decided I liked the new name better. So here's to podiatric nudity!
We have this great game we play in our kitchen. The name is kind of a working title, but it is called something to the extent of: "Dig through the pile of lids and try to find one that fits your pot." It's great. A game for the whole family. We have one cupboard with a random collection of pots spread out over two shelves, and all the lids on another shelf. A couple of days ago I took 5 different lids before I got the right one. Now, I don't know if this says something about my abstract mathematical ability or something about the difficulty of this game, but needless to say, I need to practice. Maybe by the end of two years I'll be able to get the right lid on the first try everytime! What a day that would be. Off to make some pasta...here we go again...
Tonight on the sloppy walk back from downtown, I took an unexpected turn away from the Kebab and hot dog stands that are usually visited late at night and instead went to what could be a tourist attraction: the world's northern most Burger King, and the only American fast food chain in Tromsø. They had two guards at the door who opened the doors as if they were bell boys at a hotel instead of security trying to keep unruley drunk people from coiming. I promptly ordered a hamburger and fries for 34 kroner, which is roughly $5. Sounds cheap to me! But, let me assure you, it tasted just like the 99 cent burger and fries you get in the states. I guess I had it my way, and I think I'll be done for a while.
A few weeks ago, some "peace friends" and I realized that we had a week off after our last exam. What better to do than travel together right? So, 7 of us started looking for places to go. Most places seemed to expensive so I kind of abandoned the idea. Then, I got an urgent phone call from a friend at school. She said, "We're going to Gdansk!" And I, probably much like you, said, "G-where?!" After a brief question and answe session, I learned that Gdansk is town in northern Poland on the Baltic Sea, that Gdansk has incredibly cheap food, drink, and hostels, and that it only cost about $200 round trip from Tromsø to get there (maybe a sign that it isn't the high season?). That was enough for me!
So now, Rachel, Hanne, Marjaana, Silje, Teresa, Stian, and I will be heading out on the 29th of November for a few days in Gdansk. Not sure exactly what we'll do, but apparently the girls want to go to a spa, so I think I will go with Stian to the shipyards and see the place where a rebellion against the communist rule started. I think our trip will consist mostly of relaxing, eating, drinking, talking, and maybe some karoke? Scary, I know. I am excited to travel to a random place, and pumped to see a little bit of Eastern Europe. I have my Lonely Planet in hand, but if anyone has any tips or knows anything about G-what, please let us know! Back to writing my exam and identifying the causes of war. Uplifting stuff.
I've been curious who actually reads this blog, so I found a fun solution to find out. If you look on the bottom of the right side of the page, you will see a small globe like icon. If you click on this, you will be able to see how many people have been visiting the site and where in the world they are located. Hopefully it will be interesting and not depressing! Check it out if you're curious. I know I am.
Today I walked home from the University with my eyes closed in response to the best song I have heard all year: Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek." The sun was peeking over the mountains, as if it didn't have enough energy to get to the top of the mountain, spreading an early morning light onto the the snow covered mountains, and I put my ear buds in and listened to "Hide and Seek," which I downloaded last night after listening to NPR's "All Songs Considered." The song seemed to control my head as I bent and swopped with the melody. It floats like Frou Frou, but drips with more pain and introspection. It perfectly fit the day, the cold air, and the walk among Norwegian residences. If at all possible, download the song and going for a walk. It's gorgeous, both the walk and the song.
Sunrise in Tromsø: 9.26am
Sunset in Tromsø: 1.31pm
Sunrise in Barcelona: 7.40am
Sunset in Barcelona: 5.32pm
Sunrise in Canterbury: 7.15am
Sunset in Canterbury: 4.04pm
I just flew home from a random, sun-filled holiday to Barcelona and Cercedilla, Spain and London and Cantebury, England and boy are my arms tired. It was an amzing trip filled with friends, adventures, and people. Despite all this fun, I have to admit that it feels great to return to Tromsø, which is feeling more and more like home.
My journeys started in Barcelona, Spain where I met my parents and enjoyed the sun, the food, and the people. We spent two days being tourists and two days just sitting at cafes eating, drinking, talking, and watching everyone. Gaudi architecture, conversation with the parents, and of course ultimate frisbee were all highlights.
After Barcelona, I headed to Cercedilla, Spain where our family friends, the Fernandez, live. It was great to see Cercedilla in the fall and to get a taste of the normal schedule and life of the Fernandez. I spent a lot of time eating (again), relaxing, and chatting (often in Spanish!). A visit to Madrid added a little variety to the routine, but for the most part the trip was, like my entire holiday, just time with friends. The best kind.
After Cercedilla, I headed to London where I was picked up by my friend from Luther, Sarah Frydenlund. Sarah and I immediately began the purpose-driven mission of visiting the oldest and artsiest pubs in London. We visited about 8 different pubs, the entire time carrying my three bags, two of which were full of new purchases from Barcelona. At the end of the evening, Beth Borowski, another friend from Luther, flew in to London to join us. We picked her up and chatted for awhile in another pub before heading for the bus station to get on a bus to Canterbury where Sarah studies art and lives. Little did we know that the last bus to Cantebury left at 11.30pm. When we arrived at 11.45pm, we looked around at the empty bus station and freaked out for about 5 minutes. Then, we settled down and bit the bullet, realizing we'd have to stay in London for the night. Sarah knew of a hostel near the London Bridge so we hopped on the last metro and got off about four blocks from the hostel. We hiked from the tube stop to the hostel, now with all of my bags and all of Beth's bags. We finally got a bed at about 1am and laughed for a short while before deciding to get up for the first bus to Canterbury at 7am. After 5 hours of sleep we looked desperately for a way to the bus station, finding only an unmarked cab willing to take us. We were the trusting midwesterners, got in, and miraculously arrived safetly at the bus station 2 minutes before our bus left.
After crashing for a bit at Sarah's house, we headed out to explore Canterbury. We walked around town, ate the best fish and chips I have ever had, and joined in with the movement of the city. I loved it! There is something incredible about traveling to another part of the world and just feeling the pulse of the city and the people. It reminds me of going on a college search in high school when you would visit college campuses, eat the food, talk to the people, watch everyone carefully, and in the end try to pinpoint the atmosphere of the location. But, traveling is much better because there is an infinite number of locations to explore, and I don't have to make a decision on where to stay.
At the end of our day of exploration, we headed to the historically massive Canterbury Cathedral where we attended a hauntingly moving Even Song service, complete with the all male choir with the soprano and alto sections comprised of young boys. After the service, we made a delicious meal at Sarah's house and headed to, that's right, a pub about 5 miles outside of town where Sarah works. There we had a great time chatting and meeting some of Sarah's classmates in her Master of Fine Arts contemporary art program. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a classmate from Oslo! I didn't realize how comfortable I had become in Norwegian until we started talking. It felt so great to speak Norwegian again and got me excited to get home. After an evening of talking among the many locals at the pub, we ordered a cab to come get us. After numerous phone calls, the cab finally arrived one hour late. We got home in time for me to re-zip my bags and to crash for about 4 hours before getting up to catch my 6.20am train to London where I caught the plane home.
The trip was great, the food and sun were welcomed, and the friends and family were the highlights. I have always remembered this line from a play called "Here Lies Henry" that my friend Eric Holm performed in high school. In the play, the main character informs the audience that "when you die, you enter a room covered with photographs of all the people that you have ever made eye contact with and a gentle man takes your hand and tells you the story of each person." The past week and a half dramatically increased the number of photographs I will get to see and the number of stories I will have the pleasure of hearing, and for that I am thankful.
I was struck in Barcelona but the international brotherhood of ultimate. I arrived at a field in the middle of nowhere based on information found on a website. I scanned the stadium, and based solely on looks, was able to quickly identify a few ultimate players. They were of course, very casual, hippish, and interesting people from all over the world. They all had crazy stories about how they started ultimate and how addicted they were to it. Players from Brazil, the UK, Spain, the US, Italy, and Colombia were all in Barcelona playing disc. I don't just mean playing, they were of course, hard core disc players. Laying out, running all over, and joking the entire time. I felt so welcomed at home the first night at their practice.
I quickly learned some important ultimate words in Spanish, such as "el dump," "el swing," and "con los dientos" which they said for getting low and tight on the mark. I also got a quick crash course in the European/South American "el stack horizontal." All in all, it was an incredible experience. And it got better.
The next day I traveled about a half hour on train to a beautiful, quiet beach south of Barcelona. There I had my first ever intense game of beach ultimate...the same as regular ultimate except five on five and on sand. It makes a world of difference! I felt half as fast and my arches felt twice as big after a couple of hours running barefoot. It was incredible to play as the sun set along the beach. I just looked around at the international group all laughing, sweating, and sharing a passion together and felt entirely content. I did notice however that I wasn't playing ultimate in the States when the girls started changing out of their sports bras right on the beach. I guess when you're on the coast of the Mediterranean, anything goes.
I had an awesome time with Patatas Bravas, the team in Barcelona, and I highly recommend anyone looking for them on the web because their website is incredible. My time in Barcelona just confirmed the fact that I'm addicted to ultimate, want to play it the rest of my life, and that wherever you go, ultimate players are ultimate players. The fun, interesting, crazy people that I love interacting with.
I just returned to the hotel after an afternoon in the sun, enjoying coffee, time with the parents, and the ever popular sport of people-watching. The short holiday in Barcelona has been a perfect break. My parents and I spent the first two days seeing all the sights in Barcelona, most revolving around Gaudi. La Sagrade Familia would have to be the highlight. An enormous church started by Gaudi in the late 1880's that is still being built. Incredible. After these two days, I was able to play ultimate frisbee in Barcelona! It was so great to play withi people from all over the world and to just enjoy the sun and running around playing my favorite sport was invigorating. Besides ultimate, both at a stadium and then at the beach, we have spent a lot of time sitting, eating, and watching people. Who could ask for anything more? Throw in a random night out on the town with a girl name Elisa who was a friend of a friend who I had never met, and you have a fun, random, holiday in Barcelona! Pictures are being added as we speak, so check them out on the link to the right. I'm heading to Madrid tomorrow to spend time with the Fernandez, our family friends, before heading to London and then back to Tromsø. I have to enjoy the last few moments of the sun while I can!
I am giddy today as I had the best mail day of my life! Today I received a great package from my friend Emily and a fun package from my mom. On top of that, I also received a post card from Alison and a letter from my sister. What a great mail day!
I thought that while I was thinking about it, I should use this opportunity to send out my thank yous. I have been blessed by lots of letters, e-mails, and thoughts from friends and family. Although I haven't been the best at responding individually to the kind words and thoughts, I want you to know that they are very appreciated. I have felt at home thanks to all the contact I have been able to share. I hope that everyone who has been writing to, thinking about, and praying for me can be repaid in some small way by my attempts at sharing my thoughts and experiences from Norway. I am thinking about everyone and even if I don't write back individually, the mail, e-mails, and random messenger conversations help me to continue grinning from ear to ear. Off to make lunch with the housemates! Thanks for making a great day awesome!
Sunrise: 8:07am (Our clocks 'fell back' on Saturday too)
Sunset: 2:47pm
Darkness is descending on Tromsø, but unfortunately there are not any gouls or goblins trick-or-treating to welcome it's coming. Only kids playing with bright reflective yellow safety vests and girls wearing funky, furry, high leather boots to keep their feet, (and upper calves) dry. This new darkness has come with an unexpected partner however: summer! In the matter of three hours a few days ago, Tromsø changed from a winter wonderland to a spring-like sopfest. Suddenly, the temperature hit 11 degrees (52 farenheit) and a steady rain descended on the haunted land. When the clouds parted, the snow had eerily disappeared, replaced with unusually warm temperatures. Much to my surprise, I was able to sleep with my windown open for the first time all year! I am seriously beginning to think that the weather here in Tromsø is haunted, or at least plagued by indecision. Although the warmth feels good, the lack of snow has deepened the darkness, creating the perfect Halloween mileau.
Although I won't be trick-or-treating tonight, I am happy to say that a few weeks ago I attended an Oktoberfest party with a Hollywood Costume Theme. I just pretended like this was Halloween, and I was impressed by some great costumes. I had to throw mine together however without the help of the downstairs dress-up clothes, but I managed to look something like Harry Potter. Maybe. Happy Halloween to everyone. I hope you have a dark, eery, and fun night!
