Stian recently asked a friend: "Why do you live in Tromsø?" He responded, "because it's like giving Mother Nature the finger." Yesterday, I tried to give Mother Nature the finger, and Mother Nature won.
It all started at 8.36am. At exactly that moment, the sun peers over the mountain, through my window, and into my eyes. It's great though because it is not every day that you get to see the sun, so you have to enjoy it while you can, even if it wakes you up. Well, for some reason on this particular morning, I decided that Mother Nature had something to offer me, so I texted Maaike and woke her up, and we decided it was finally time to tackle Tromsdaltiden, the tallest mountain near Tromsø, and the mountain I look at every day outside of my window. 
We packed food, hot chocolate, and plenty of layers of clothes, ready for the snow and wind that awaited us...or so we thought.
The hike started innocently enough. We started at about 10.30am and made it to the tree line by 12.30pm. There we were treated to a sighting of reindeer! There were over 20 reindeer wandering around the area where the snow began and the trees ended, drinking water and finding the last remaining blueberries. 
We were only 20 feet away and just watched the awkward creatures stumble around. We even got some great photos of the reindeer and the hike if you want to check them out.
This is the point in the mountain tour (fjelltur in Norwegian) that we should have gone home happy, but we were determined to go to the top. So we continued as the snow began to increase in depth. Soon, the trail we were following disappeared and we just started going up the mountain. Literally up. There were quite a few big rocks and I would kicked my feet in the snow, dig my hands in, and pull myself up as if I had ice pick shoes and was climbing a glacier. After I would move up a few feet, I would then turn around and give Maaike my hand and would help pull her up. It was after a few minutes of doing this that we realized we were not on the trail and were climbing an incline that was about 130 degrees in 3 feet of snow. Well, at this point we thought about turning around, but it seemed almost safer to continue going up and walking around the top to try to find a less steep way down. 
So we continued, slowly scaling the mountain and trying not to slip and fall through the drifts of snow, and trying to stay positive.
We finally arrived to the crest of the mountain. It wasn't the official peak, but about 800 meter from it. We didn't even think about going to the very top because we couldn't even see it through the snow that was falling and blowing in the wind. We were however treated to a nice view of water all around us. The ocean on the far side of Kvaløya (the island protecting Tromsøya from the ocean), and water cutting into mainland Norway where we were standing. 
It was also very impressive and depressing to look down and realize how far we had come and how far we had to go, but it was beautiful to see the streams cutting black lines through the snow and to watch as the snow eventually turned into yellow and gold birch trees which in turn became a small city clinging at the water for survival.
We didn't linger too long at the top as the snow continued to fall, so after a few moments we decided to head back down and to get out of the cold and blustery wind. We thought we had found a safer way down, but after about 20 minutes, it was impossible to walk. 
Maaike and I sat on our butts and would literally slide for 50 yards hoping that we would not discover a rock underneath the snow. Snow went up the pants, down the shoes, and in the face, but looking back, it was quite fun! The only scary part was when Maaike started sliding and couldn't stop. She even took a little jump while sliding, but got up with just a sore wrist. We slowly traveled down the mountain in this way, falling, sliding, and tasting snow the whole way down. The whole time I kept thinking that the yellow luftambulanse, or air ambulance helicopter, that I see almost every day fly by our house towards the mountain might soon be coming to rescue us!
Fortunately, we smoothly slid to safety. We sat on a rock when we again found the trail and ate our matpakke and hot chocolate out of relief more than enjoyment. We walked down into the valley and got to the bus stop just in time to catch the 5:30pm bus home. 
We stopped and bought frozen pizza and refused to move once we got inside and stripped off the five layers of wet clothes. I must say though, that my Great Outdoors clothes did very well and kept me warm the whole time!
So, when the snow settled, we walked for 7 hours and roughly 26km (16 miles) according to my podometer. Crazy. Needless to say, I felt it this morning as I woke up with sore legs and a runny nose. Now I'm laying bed, taking Aleve, blowing my nose, and shaking my first: I'll get you next time Mother Nature.
The proud mountains and the valley that was so green and welcoming only days ago, like the Great Valley in The Land Before Time, have now become a sign of the impending winter. It's fun to watch as the snow moves lower and lower until finally we are inundated by it! Looks like it's making an early attack this year. Fortunately my long underwear and I are ready!
And, I got to test out the long underwear for the first time last night. Petter, my Rotary contact in Tromsø, called me up and invited me to go to a huge football game as Tromsø played against Bergen's team: Braunn. The match was very important for both teams, but for very different reasons. Tromsø was in last place of the league when the game started, and in the Norwegian football league, if you finish in the bottom two places you are automatically relegated to the lower division where there is less money, less TV deals, and worse teams. So basically, Tromsø was playing to stay alive in the major leagues instead of being demoted to AAA. Braunn was in first place and was playing to move a game in front of the second place Trondheim team.
Since I was with Petter who used to be a trainer for the TIL (the Tromsø team), we were treated to the VIP treatment. Pre-game meat and potatoes as well as coffee and fruit for dessert. We also got to sit inside while it started to dump snow outside...perfect for the home field advantage! 
TIL scored quickly and the crowd was into it the whole first half. Starting the second half, Braunn scored a goal and it looked like the wheels were going to fall off. Then, with about 20 min left, Tromsø had a free kick at about the 18 yd. box. The Norwegian kick taker took a perfect curving shot around the wall, over the defender's head, and into the corner of the goal. Just like something out of "Bend it Like Beckham!" The crowd went nuts and the Bergen players looked ready to escape the North. TIL then added another goal late in the game just to rub it in and to move out of last place! They now have four games left to get another win and hopefully avoid relegation. Exciting. The game was the headlines of the morning papers with the title: Winter War! I guess there are some benefits to having September snow.
I have been adamently studying lately on an important Norwegian skill: opening a bottle with random implements such as a lighter, a box of snuss, or a spade. On Friday I had class with Stian, Martin, and Eric. After three tries, I was pretty smooth at opening a beer bottle with a lighter. Unfortunately I think I got a little cocky. Last night I was at a student house and wanted to open a bottle. There was no lighter in sight, but there was a huge knife. Now, I had seen Stian do it a hundred times so I figured that I could as well. So I had a firm grip on the neck of the bottle as instructed and put the flat end of the knife under my knuckle and pushed upwards. And pushed upwards. And pushed upwards. Finally, the cap flew off, beer sprayed over the counter, and the knife drilled me above my left pectoral. It must have been the flat end that hit me (otherwise I might not be writing this), but I still got a nice cut to help remind me that I continue to fail at being truly Norwegian. I'll get it someday...but maybe I'll just work my way up to the knife.
and it's hailing out right now...what a weird weekend.
and again I have to edit the post. The hail has now changed into snow, so this afternoon, as the green tree with bright red berries stands defiantly outside my window, I can say we've had our first snowfall. September 24th. Not bad. I'll eat a snowflake for all of those missing out on the unique opportunity for tasting September snow. Yummy, my favorite.
It's been a few exciting days here as we are quickly transitioning into winter. The first big moment came last night when we looked outside at our thermometer and for the first time this fall it was at 0 degrees Celsius. That's right, freezing time! Maaike, Stian, Tsvetan, and I decided to celebrate the end of green-ness by walking on our new road to Bobo's at 11pm. That's right, the street in front of our house that has been under construction since last March is now newly paved. Just in time for a nice layer of snow (which is slowly creeping in from the mountains).
The other big event was tonight while walking home from a great international seminar about Israel and Palestine. While walking back with Stian and Tsvetan, a small green line began to show in the sky. By the time we were halfway home the northern lights were out in full force, dancing and guiding our way home. They were a very Tinker Bell-like green and served as a reminder for the beauty and cripness of the coming winter. I guess we're losing one green and replacing it with another. That's alright with me.
I wanted to give you a look at the new peace house! 
On my right is Ida from Trondheim who is studying to be a X-ray reader. She's very energetic and kind, and she adds a little energy and pop to our house by turning the radio to the pop music station in the morning. Great morning music! She has a Mac iBook.
On my left is Anders who is from Molde and studies art. He is a friend to all the ladies and likes to display his sentimental side with his blue finger nails and love for classical music. He has a Mac PowerBook.
Maaike in the bottom center is writing her master's thesis on fishing, oil, and the culture surrounding it in Finnmark. She is from the Netherlands and likes to share great music with me and learn American slang. She has a MacBook Pro.
Next to her of course is Stian, the proleteriat-loving, revolutionary that studies peace with me and keeps me entertained on the top floor. He bought a laptop for a six pack of beer from a friend, but it has to be plugged in to work, so I think it's called a walltop?
In the picture we're missing Andre, who is a gym rat and a quiet Norwegian from Lofoten and Marjaana who just left the coup-ridden nation of Thailand. Tsvetan, from Bulgaria who is studying peace is a soon-to-be father, is currently living in Marjaana's room, giving the peaceful men the majority! It's been a great house thus far, and how could it not be with so many fun looking people!
It's day four of the rain, only 36 more to go. Saturday we had a brief view of the sun, and we should have left immediately for the mountain, but instead we stuck to our plan to climb on Sunday...well, that didn't work too well as we couldn't even see it behind a wall of rain clouds. So, life continues on Stakkevollveien. Rain, construction, and fun indoors. We continued our tradition of playing Diplomacy on Sunday and this time I extracted revenge for last week's defeat. Otherwise, it's been mostly hanging out, working, and working out as Stian and I have been running sprints over the fjord. Not something I got to do at BHS. Finally this week my indigenous law class kicks off, which I'm excited about. Maybe this weekend the clouds will part so we can conquer the mountain. We'll see...
I'm hoping to avoid snow Sunday as I head to the top of the mountain, where winter has already begun.
I learned last night that one of the birds on the University of Tromsø's logo is named Hugin. In honor of Hugin, they have a monthly open mic night at the local student pub called Driv. Last night Rachel and I went and knocked him dead. We were the first act and sang "Killing the Blues." She hung on the blue notes while I ripped on the harmonica. 
It was a great show, and we had great support. Nearly all the Mosjøen men were there and all but one of my new housemates were there. It was awesome! (You can check out new photos posted to see all the action.)
The show progressed and since it was the first one, they didn't have many acts. They asked if we would be willing to do antoher song, so I decided to cover one of my favorite bands: the OC All-Stars! In honor of Dain and Nick, I busted out a little Careless Whisper, just like the old days. So if you guys are out there, know that you are well loved in Tromsø. Unfortunately the dance moves were not as crisp as they once were and it is higher than I remember, but I wailed it out and they seemed to like it. It was fun night either way.
Now the weekend has arrived. Tonight I'm playing some poker here with teh Mosjøen Men (Stian and his hometown friends) and tomorrow I think I'm going to Driv for a four floor party they're having. I'm not sure about the mountain top though because as of yesterday, I can now see snow outside my window on the top of the mountain! Yikes. I hope it melts away before Sunday, otherwise we're doomed to watch as it slowly creeps towards the city. Enjoy the fall weather. I'm bundling up!
It's back to the real world this week, and I'm realizing though that my "real world" here is pretty cool!
Saturday I kicked off my second year of peace studies by meeting the Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai (in the bright dress). She is a Kenyan woman who focuses on the connection between the environment and peace and she talked in the Peace Center to crowd of students and talked later in town to a huge audience of Norwegians. 
It was pretty crazy to just sit in this tiny auditorium in Tromsø, Norway with such an important difference-maker. Inspiring to see that you doing your thing and working hard sometimes equals big results.
Saturday night was also a blast as we had a double-header of birthday parties. Maaike (housemate from the Netherlands) bought toliet paper with me (at the request of the birthday girl) and we joined a group of peace students met to celebrate Silje's birthday. 
After some lively conversation, we eventually migrated to a birthday party for an American living in Tromsø named Jeremiah. Just when I was about to head home at a decent hour, Stian called and I joined him and his hometown boys for a nattspeil. I had a great time seeing everyone again and seeing the sun rise on Sunday morning!
Sunday was intense because it was Diplomacy Day! Stian and I now have playmates in the house who will play conquer the world games with us, so Mostopha joined Maaike, Stian, and I as we meticulously began dividing up Europe. Just when it looked like I might be able to assert my dominance, Maaike stabbed me in the back and won the game. Needless to say, there is no more trust in this house. We had a great time though, and have already played some Yahtzee and Settlers of Catan since. It was also a good activity for Stian. 
He had a little accident when his bike hit a rock in our driveway and went head first over his bike. He was left with a nice beauty mark and was definitely ready to hide in the house behind a boardgame instead of showing his battle scar!
The rest of this week has been diving into the thesis project. I'm now focusing a little more on if and why people give charity/aid to places that are far away rather than locally. We'll see how it goes! Besides transcribing and talking with my advisor, I also had the opportunity to meet the mayor of Hiroshima. He gave a lecture at the Peace Center as well talking about a movement he started in which cities basically request that their city be removed as targets for nuclear weapons. The hope is that with enough pressure from the local level that national governments will be forced to reduce and hopefully eliminate nuclear weapons. It was a little idealistic for me, but interesting and just refreshing to be thinking and learning on a daily basis again.
So life is back in motion. I'm having a great time with everyone here and although the weather is pretty gloomy, I'm finding plenty to do. The next big event is tomorrow night when Rachel (the other American in the peace program) and I make our musical debut singing "Killing the Blues" at an open mic concert in Driv. Off to play a bit and get ready to take Norway by storm!
I just got back to the university after taking a break to go for a run, and I literally felt like the guy in the Nike commercial who is stunned by a crazy new place, only able to say "I've never run this far." Today I got on the lighted ski trail and ran north on Tromsø island. Now I have rarely gone north, but I might have to do it more often after my exciting discoveries. Five minutes into the run I saw a big fenced off area and as I jogged by an albino raindeer raised its awkward head and just stared at me. I felt like I was on another planet. I didn't know there were raindeer on Tromsø island, let alone albino raindeer. I keep running, and heard a quack and looked to my right to discover a lake that I didn't know existed! A little further up the hill was a water/radio tower that looked like something used to contact the supernatural. I reached the top of a hill after burning my calves into the group, and had a beautiful view of Kvalsøya which is a big island between the ocean and Tromsø island. I had a beautiful view and just had to laugh. The only explaination was: I've never run this far.
More on the past couple of days soon...
It has only been two days and already I feel at home back in Tromsø! I hardly missed a beat upon arrival Wednesday night, and Tromsø didn't disappoint. I landed about 8.30pm Wednesday night after a delay in Oslo where I got to talk in Norwegian with a Norwegian about hunting in Finmark and how water affects the taste of beer. After that enlightenment, I sleptt almost the whole way to Tromsø and got by massive bag without a hitch. I hopped in a cab and started asking about how the weather was this summer, and started talking about how it was raining. Then the taxi driver turned to me and asked if I had a reflector on. How perfect! I, unfortunately, was not prepared with a reflector so he opened up his glove compartment where he had about 100 extra reflectors ripe for the taking. He gave me one and told me to put it on my coat immediately. So I safely returned to my house and took a big breath in a smelled the fish scented air. It's funny that I don't notice it when I live here, but when I've been gone and come back, it has such a distinct smell.
I was literally home for 30 minutes, just enough time to read a pile of rotting mail, before I headed down to the student pub Driv to meet up with old and new classmates. We had a great time talking and meeting everyone. We stayed until it closed and enjoyed the cold walk home in the rain. Perfect Tromsø weather!
Yesterday I headed to the university and saw a few more international friends and claimed a new desk in the reading room and dropped off some books. I did the monster shopping trip getting a hundred dollars worth of groceries and finally getting back to the house. When I came back, I finally met a few of my new housemates and they are great! Very fun and social. If we can figure out the dish washing we'll be great. So, now in the house we have 3 Norwegian guys: Stian who was here and two new guys named Andre and Andreas. I haven't talked to much to them. We also have two new girls in addition to Marjaana: Maaika from the Netherlands who is working on a master's thesis in fishery management and sociology and Ida who is studying to be the person who reads X-rays. Ida is very perky and happy with stereotypical Norwegian blonde hair and blue eyes. Plus, she has the unenviable task of living in Igor's old room! Maaika is very chill and is willing to sit in the kitchen with Stian and I and keep up with our ridiculous banter. Plus, she likes board games so I think we are busting out Diplomacy this weekend!
It should be a great year and a great house. I'm excited to get started, and no better way than doing some laundry! Ha det fra Norge!
I finally have a moment with internet so I am excited to write and say hi and that I made it to Switzerland! It was an eventful trip but it ended up working pretty well.
A friend from Oslo, Richard, picked me up from the airport in Oslo and I spent the night at their house which was beautiful. Lots of trees, Norwegian food and cheese, and a bed to crash on. They even took me to the airport the next morning for my flight. And, when I got on the plane I recognized this guy and girl. After we hit 30,000 ft. I walked back in the plane and sat down by them and started talking, and it turned out that it was the guy in charge of Bergen ultimate frisbee whom i had met when I went to an indoor frisbee tournament in Oslo last spring. He and his wife were going to an ultimate frisbee wedding of an ultimate player from italy in italy. pretty cool! so we talked a long time and we started sharing some ideas about ultimate in Tromsø. Basically, he is in the Norwegian sports organization which can give me a bunch of money if I can get a group of people playing. I might try to start a team at least once a week and go down to Oslo for one tournament in Dec and the one we went to. So, we'll see!
But I landed in Milano and John and I walked around there for the afternoon which was alright. Kind of just a big city. But we did see the fashion district with a ton of high class stores all along this huge block. There were men and women all in black waiting at every door to open the door for you. Pretty posh! We took the hour and a half train back to Lugano and went out that night to a city concert that was in the plaza downtown. We heard some good blues music and had some great wine and pasta!
Yesterday was fun. We got up and went to a town about an hour north in the mountains. There they were having a beach ultimate frisbee tournament! There is a river and next to one part of the river is a beach area where there is enough room for one field. It was gorgeous. You could see vineyards on the mountains surrounding us and a little swimming hole with lots of beautiful Swiss people jumping off of rocks into the water and sunning on the rocks. There were even a few topless Swiss women tanning unbashfully. We didn't get to play, but we met a lot of people that will be good contacts for John and will hopefully find him a team he can play with.
Today we've been chilling in town. I helped John move in a little more and we did a major grocery run so he has some food. Lugano is a beautiful town that reminds me a lot of Bergen, Norway with green mountains with houses dotting the slopes and a big body of water cutting through the mountains. Plus, it's pretty small and quaint and it feels safe, so I think John feels comfortable here. A good place to study and enjoy a new culture. And that's one thing that has surprised me, is the amount of Italian John will have to know to get by. Since English is the fourth language here after Italian, German, and French, very few people speak it. So I think John will be doing a lot of pointing and hopefully a lot of learning throughout his time in Lugano.
It's been good to be here with him a little bit. Now he's at class so I'm at his library finally checking the internet. He is supposed to have wireless access in his common room of his dorm, but it's pretty spotty. i'd say it works maybe 10% of the time, and i get way to click happy to actually read anything. But I think it's good because it will force him to get off the internet and out into the culture (I should work on that too).
Tonight he is having a meeting with a few of his study abroad compatriots who are also keen on traveling. They are getting together to try to gather information on the best places to travel and hopefully plan trips together. They are already planning on perhaps going to Amsterdam this weekend, so John has the opportunity to do that, and he also was asked to play at the Swiss Ultimate Frisbee National Championship game this weekend in Bern, Swtizerland. Pretty cool choices! I'll be sticking around until Wednesday morning when I head back to Norway and back to the academic life. In the meantime, I'm going to soak up this Southern European weather (in the 90's today with a ton of sun) and eat as much food and drink as much wine as possible!
Ciao from Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland!
I am now comfortably sitting in the typically beautiful Norwegian apartment of my friends Kjersti and Richard. It's covered with wood from floor to ceiling and it is so korselig! I am very fortunate to have such great friends. Richard came and picked me up at the Oslo airport and brought me back to his house before he had to go back to work so I've been able to clean up, brush my teeth (with that mysterious liquid called toothpaste that i can't take on the plane), and have a little time away from a herd of frustrated travelers. Not a bad ending. Plus it's so great to be back in Norway. 
I stepped off the plane into cool, crisp Norwegian air and Richard and Kjersti's apartment is next to his father's farm where they grow wheat and oats and a rolling forest. So beautiful! It's also great just to get off the airplane and feel comfortable. Even though I'm far from being at home in Norway, it definitely is a comfortable place, both the people and the environment. After spending a few days in NYC, Oslo just feels like being in Brookings. Chill, comfortable, clean, safe, and a place I really enjoy being. I even sat outside on the porch for over an hour just reading and sitting the late hanging sun. It felt so great to be chilly and tranquil. I guess I'll shake the tranquility tomorrow when I hop on a 9.40am flight from Oslo to Italy and will catch up with my brother only about 12 hours late....
Even though it will work out fine, I feel like I failed a little bit. After the mechanical problems in Iceland, I went on the internet and tried to find a way to get to Switzerland before nightfall. I had a host of options, including flying from iceland to copenhagen instead of norway, then flying to zurich and taking the last train to arrive in lugano by 2am. Despite myriad of options, the Icelandic air people just weren't very creative. They said that since I had luggage they couldn't go into the luggage and get it to put it on a different flight. 
Come on people, we can't win the race with that attitude! So in the end, a new ticket from Oslo, but it's probably best that I get some rest and take a break from hectic travel.
I uploaded my photos so you can see my awesome time in Iceland. Just click on photos at the top of the page. Signing off from continental Europe. *sigh*
Oh travel. I am currently sitting in a place I have always wanted to visit: Reykjavik, Iceland. Unfortunately, all I can see is a vast expanse of emptiness surrounding the airport. That's right, I'm stuck at the gateway to Europe. I took a flight from New York last night to Oslo through Iceland. Unfortunately, when we got on the plane this morning in Iceland to take the short two hour flight to Oslo, our plane had technical difficulties and since we are at 66 degrees North in the middle of nowhere, the next flight out isn't until 4pm. Plus, the airport shuts down because they basically have two waves of flights, so all the stores are locked up and i'm just listening to a large group of Asian tourists playing an intense round of cards. It's actually kind of funny in a Ze Frank sort of way. Also, they keep giving us information like, "it might leave in two hours" so I can't even go to the Blue Lagoon to soak in a hot geyser. Well, on the plus side, Iceland's airport is the first one I have found that has FREE WIRELESS! Or as the sign above me is informing me: ϸrá∂laust net. It came it really handy to finally change my flight to Italy. That's also correct. I should be on a plane to Italy in about 20 minutes, but instead I got to bust out my dusty Norwegian cell phone and go through my phone book looking for someone to stay with. Fortunately, my friend and classmate Kjersti is in Oslo and is willing to help me out, so I'll crash at her place tonight and for $250 dollars head to Italy tomorrow at 9am. So, free ham sandwiches instead of pasta and pizza i guess.
But, it's all part of the amazing race and of course I've gotten to meet some interesting people b/c of the delay like a college kid from macalaster who worked for two summers at the Mack beer brewary in Tromsø and the Norwegian guy sitting next to me who works with metal smelting. I have to admit i wasn't quite brushed up on my norwegian words having to deal with minerals, but i was able to hold my own. So, as I withstand a weird mix of jet-lag and fatigue thanks to some homopathic pills called no-jet lag, i'm left to do the last sane thing i can do: take weird pictures. Enjoy. and I hope to see you on the continent soon.
