Thank you for joining me on the past years exploring the "Motherland" of Norway. I have moved locations and will soon take the time and energy to sit down and properly reflect on my experiences in Norway. Check back for the reflections soon.
In the meantime...new adventures are beginning. And with the new adventures come a new blog that will (soon) be both a visual and textual experience. I hope you join me as we take a walk through and with places, people, and experiences. You can join the journey at: http://scottfromsouthdakota.blogspot.com/
Thanks for following me, wherever I tend to amble. Be sure that I am thinking of you and am thankful for your thoughts, comments, and curiosity.
Last (for a while): beautiful snowfall, time I see the ekspedisjon lady, bodega coffee and waffle, time i pee in the huge handicap bathroom, time i buy first price toilet paper
First: time i kept a key long enough to get my deposit back
that you experience a single bolt of lightning and a single roar of thunder that briefly knock out the power...while it's snowing. But i guess it happens at least once every two years in Tromsø.
I had the "pleasure" yesterday of experiencing first hand the transition from fall to winter in Tromsø. I was walking home from town in a constant, and annoying rain. Suddenly when I was close to my house, it grew ominously silent and suddenly a noise starting building like people shaking a tree. I suddenly realized that the rain had changed to ice. This transition continued throughout the night, and this morning we were greeted by this idyllic scene of thin layer of snow covering Tromsø. Looks like I made it up Tromsdalstinden just in time (see below).
On that note...I bought my ticket to Spain! I do love winter and snow, but I'm ready for a little change and some time on the beach. So as of October 22nd, I will be living in Laredo, Spain. It is a small, old town right on the beach in the north of Spain. More info will be coming on that adventure as well as a new site prepared for a multimedia (multimedic?)account of my Spanish adventures. Check back here for more information soon. In the meantime, happy winter!
After two and half years, I have finally accomplished one of my goals here in Tromsø: climbing to the top of "my" mountain, Tromsdalstinden! I have spent the last two years looking out my window at the mountain looming over Tromsø at 1238 meters high, always showing the changing of the seasons as snow and sun would creep up and down the mountain, until both disappeared at opposite ends of the time spectrum. I finally decided that I could wait no longer and with winter looming around the corner, I knew this weekend it was my last chance before I leave Tromsø. So, I talked to my friend Maaike who I used to live with and who had previously attempted to reach the top with me before we were stopped by snow last fall. Maaike, her boyfriend Erik who just moved her from the Netherlands, Erik's boss from Tromsø, and I all met behind the Arctic Cathedral for our long walk up the mountain.
We had a great tour, starting at 11am. I was the unprepared one with only a few sandwiches and a little chocolate. Fortunately, everyone else had treats as exotic as manchego cheese and belgian chocolate. We filled up our bottles from the stream running down the mountain and enjoyed possibly the best water I have ever tasted. We walked up the slightly steep trail, stopping for a while near the top wondering if we should continue. Clouds were rolling over the mountain and Tinden as it is called is notorious for fast-changing weather conditions. We ultimately decided to go for it and it paid off. We were rewarded with an amazing few at the top! We could see the ocean on both sides, nearby villages, and fjords cutting into the land. On top there was a huge rock tower built from people putting a rock on top to mark their success, plus a small book where you could write your name to document your triumph. I added my name with a message of farewell for Tromsø.
It felt great to finally be on top of this city I love so much! I'll be leaving soon for a new adventure in Spain, but I think these mountains (not to mention the people, cafes, bars, university, and everything else in Tromsø) will call me back soon, either to visit or work or even live. Who knows. But for now, I can rest my sore butt and tired legs after 7 hours of hiking to the top of Tromsø.
Oh, Norway. Sometimes you're too healthy for your own good.
I woke up this morning and after a few days of fighting the onset of the cold, my nose finally gave in and sprung a leak. I was blowing my nose all morning and finally decided to walk to town to get some pills to help plug my nose up. Something like Sudafed.
So I walked into the pharmacy and had even written down the scientific name of Sudafed, and asked if they had anything. She looked at me very confused and said, "is it a tablet?" "Yes, of course, I said." "No, we don't have anything like that."
WHAT?! Nothing like a common cold pill to solve all my problems?! Don't you have any pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, or phenylephrine, or some other drug that I can make meth with? Come on.
But no. What did she offer me instead? "Actually the best cure is to spray saltwater in your nose." Um, what? Are you telling me spraying a little salt water will make me feel better? Thanks a lot Grandma.
But, with no other options, I purchased the very hightech "Salt water" spray. Now I will give a tour this afternoon as the drug addicted guide who has to shoot up every 10 minutes...with water. I guess it's my first step to being drug free and a reminder that (for better or worse) not every culture is as drug/pill obsessed as the old US of A.
Craziness this weekend in a few different ways, well four to be precise. Which means of course, we start by setting the stage with the 4 x 4 art show.
This weekend there has been an interactive, modern art exhibition here in Tromsø called 4 x 4. There was an amazing mix of video art, live art, dance, sound, and improvisation. My favorite was probably the hypnotic modern Sami joik combined with random instrumentation from a Portuguese guy named Nunu. It made sense at the time. The exhibit did a great job of making me wonder what was real and what was part of the show because artists were throughout the building and occasionally there would be a dancing tree on the stairs or someone with their head in a pile of moss. All in all, great fun.
The second randomness of this weekend was on the way to the show tonight when I saw the craziest dog collar I've ever seen. There was a big dog sniffing a tree and around its neck was a bright, multi-color, blinking collar. It was like a disco ball on its neck, or maybe better described as a Simon dog collar. You remember that game where green, yellow, red or blue would light up and you'd have to push it. Well, I guess it was useful so the owner didn't lose his dog...but also in case of parties.
The third, not so random more just fun, was a welcome party for the first year peace students! Everyone brought food from their home countries so I enjoyed a Sudanese salad, rice water from Mexico, and whale meat from Norway. I contributed my mom's nacho dip, which I guess is a bit Mexican, but I think that since it is layered it is also American.
OK, finally the big finish. My day as a hero! Yes, I'm a local hero for one lucky 18 year old boy...at least I hope I am. I was walking to town on Saturday and saw a young kid who was obviously drunk and staggering down the street. It normally wouldn't worry me too much but the street was next to a big drop off and it looked like he might fall over the guard rail and down the hill. So I went over to home and made him sit down when I realized that he was in severe pain (beyond the alcohol). I lifted up his shirt and he scratch marks all down his stomach and back as if he had gotten into a fight. I decided that I should call the ambulance and reached for my phone...unfortunately I didn't know which number to dial! Here in Norway, they have a separate number for the fire department, police department, and hospital. I knew it was either 111, 112, or 113, so I went with the first one. Sure enough someone picked up right away and I told them the story. They paused and said, "you know that you're talking to the fire department?" So they connected me and eventually the police came and took my statement and number in case I was needed as a witness. I like to think that I helped the kid out, but I'm not quite sure since the whole time I was on the phone he just said "don't call the police, don't call the police." Maybe I should lock my door so he doesn't come scratch me!
So, an average weekend here in Tromsø. The snow is already on the top of the mountains, and oh yeah, the fifth exciting thing, the first northern lights! Saturday night they appeared for the first time which means it is getting dark and winter is coming...but it is beautiful none-the-less, and as you can tell, never dull.
It's been a tough week. It seems like everyone around me, including myself, are going through this big decision phase of deciding where to live, what to do, and who they want to be with. It's insane. I really enjoy living the ex-pat, international life. I'm constantly learning, exposed to new people, and in general enjoy the challenges, so I feel bad complaining. But I've had numerous conversations with a variety of people lately about how hard it is too. I mean, it seems like most of my friends are living the same type of life, and it's frustrating to constantly build strong relationships only to see the friends leave, or to leave myself. It's as if I'm constantly rebuilding instead of being able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
So the question is when do you decide that, yes, I can be satisfied here or with these people or doing this thing. Or do you? On the other hand, I am making lots of friends that are doing amazing things all over the world, so it's great to know that I can go visit them and see the world...although it would also be nice just to have a coffee on my veranda with them regularly. I know that if I had the settled life I would be dreaming of the international life, so I'm not complaining, just thinking.
This morning I stood waiting for the bus and the stereotypical Norwegian arrived wearing his "Skullcandy" headphones, tight jeans, and leaning casually on the bus stop. We both minded out own business of course, but we were briefly united as a car sped by splashing a big puddle of water across both of our legs. We simultaneously looked down at the damage, and then look at each other, and laughed. Then, back to the solitude, but for a brief moment, I think I bonded with a Norwegian.
I made an important discovery this weekend, that despite two years of studying peace studies, I am not a hippie. The big discovery came thanks to the Karlsøy music festival.
The Karlsøy music festival is a five day music/art/political festival that takes place on a small island about 1 and a half hour boat ride from Tromsø. Apparently in the 1960's, a group of people moved to the island to form a unique living community, or commune, in which the ideals of peace, love, and community would actually exist. These ideals are embodied in the festival which gives space for political demonstration, political films, political music groups, and a week of community in a wind-swept, small, isolated island only accessible by boat three times a day.
It sounded like a great chance to take part in a unique festival here in Norway, so Elisa (who has been visiting me from Spain!) and I decided to go a day before the music to enjoy three full days of community. We arrived and saw the small number of buildings painted with sunshines, rainbows, and doves. We walked by the large tents where the music events would take place and headed to the field to find a place to set up our tent. We had packed well for the trip with enough food for a week, even though we were staying three days, including: Spanish tortilla, pasta salad, meat and vegetables for grilling, a one time use grill, 6 litres of beers, a little tequilla, bread and peanut butter, and lots of salty snacks. Unfortunately, our outdoor skills paled in comparison to food abilities.
We arrived to a location that looked good to our untrained eyes, and as soon as we started setting up the tent, the storm arrived. Suddenly the wind started blowing it started to downpour, not in the typical vertical way, but in a horizontal, wind-driven rain that penetrated our gore-tex, getting our tent, our bags, and us completely wet. We got the tent set up and sought refugee inside (of course after helping another girl set up her tent in the name of community). Once inside we took off our wet clothes and realized that everything was wet, from our extra clothes to our tortilla. We ate our Spanish tortilla trying to stay positive, and went into a small building where they showed a documentary about the occupying/squatters movement in Copenhagen. We then went to the large tent where there was a fire and enjoyed a conversation about the medicinal power of red root before heading back to our little tent.
We then endured an extreme night of continuous rain and wind. A constant 30-40 mph wind with constant rain meant that we got little sleep and where constantly shivering. We thought that morning would bring new hope, but instead we awoke to the same strong wind with occasional downpours. One of the sticks of our tent that was facing the wind was starting to bend, and we were nervous that soon we would be blown away like Dorothy. We headed to "town," meaning the one building by the dock where the cafe and post office were connected, and had a cup of coffee with the locals. We started talking with one of the locals who said that there was a boat leaving at 12:15. We looked at each other and decided that was it.
We dashed back to our wet camp, tore everything down and shoved it in my backpack and did our typical dash to the boat just in time to come home. When we arrived from the boat we saw the huge line of people heading to Karlsøy. They looked a little curious wondering if we knew that the festival was just starting, and we just had to nod and admit that, no. We're not hippies.
We headed home to hot showers, movies, and began to eat our food that was already prepared. Pasta salad, grilling, and lots of great snacks. Not bad. Of course, today it is sunny and would have probably been a perfect day for a festival, but I think both Elisa and I are content to support alternative living from a distance. Peace and love from the couch.
The multimedia has been lacking lately from the old blog, so I thought it was time to catch up, in a big way! I have added photos, complete with the locations where they were taken, captions, and space for comments. The pictures start from my family's visit in the middle of June until today. To enjoy them, just click on the photos link above.
I also added a new link: video! We made a few videos singing on the bus on the way to town, so if you want to hear some bad singing and smiley faces, check out the videos.
Hopefully I'll keep up to date now, so keep checking back for more multimedia!
I've had a great time this summer showing off Tromsø to the friendly hoard of silver haired tourists. As you can see from these photos, it's fun stuff! Today we had a perfect, sunny day and a great trip to the Wilderness Center on an island near Tromsø where we had a great view and lots of fun with their Alaskan husky sled dogs. Props to Stewart for the great photos.
Holding one of the two week old Alaskan Husky puppies at the Wilderness Center. Hard not to love them, even if you're not a dog person.
Our puppets, I mean, tourists waving at the camera at our behest while sitting in our traditional Sami lavu. Kind of like a teepee outfitted for lots of tourists
And the great view from the Wilderness Center of both the landscape and the meet and greet for the tourists and dogs. Over 200 dogs and just under 100 Brits. A good ratio I think.
If you want a tour, feel free to come to Tromsø! We'll be happy to show you this beautiful city.
The past weekend has been spent enjoying one of Tromsø's summer highlights: the Bukta music festival! I had the chance to enjoy some great acts like Calexico, Johnossi, and Sivert Høyem and some crazy acts like Iggy Pop and the Stooges. Yes, iggy in all his 90-ish years of glory was on the stage prancing around in his leather skin, sans leather jacket (or shirt). I even got into the front row after moshing around with the relatively peaceful Norwegians. It was a great concert that seemed to follow the typical music festival pattern of lots of rain! But with plenty of layers of rainproof clothes, I stayed warm and had a great time!
Now it's back to the real work, and I'll start by giving two tours tomorrow to a bunch of old British people! But they're usually very friendly so I'll be ready to show of Tromsø.
I just returned home having survived the second attack of the day. Yes, it is the beginning of July and I am quickly learning that it is seagull hatching season. This means that suddenly the bushes and lawns are suddenly filled with ugly, furball baby seagulls. They have an ugly white and grey speckled color like an ugly, old man sweater and they cackle incessently, seemingly protesting their inability to fly. To compensate for this important defect, their parents (and their parents' friends) hover over the babies to protect them.
The parents position themselves on lights and chimneys keeping watch, and when someone approaches their helpless babes, they call out for help. Within seconds two birds are flying circles around the baby while the third is on attack mode...literally. It dive bombs the innocent passerby (me), diving directly at my head with its mouth open, cawking and shitting in its attempt to scare me away...and it usually works. Those ugly beasts of flight are not to be trifled with, so I usually make some weird noise (like uhaww!!) and duck, trying to avoid the onslaught.
It's a dangerous season here in Tromsø, but I will do my best to enjoy the amazing weather and midnight sun while surviving the unprovoked attacks.
What is this weird Crazy Horse-like shape on my blog? Well, the path of my recent summer travels! I have enjoyed a few great weeks traveling with my family through Norway from Kirkenes all the way to Trondheim, then from Trondheim to Asturias, Spain to spend time with my friend Elisa, and now on my way back to norway...unfortunately, Norwegian airlines is a bit slow coming to London so I'll be late getting back to Norway. But, with free internet and plenty of e-mails to catch up on, hopefully i'll keep busy! More to come soon.
It's great to be done, but also to share my hard work. If anyone is interested, you can get a copy of my thesis online at this address: http://hdl.handle.net/10037/1033
The end has officially come, and I can now call myself a "master"! Monday I had my oral exam, and it went well. Stian and Elisa came to the defense at first the professors had to make sure that it was a public event (I guess people don't usually come!) After they were allowed in, the defense began. I summarized my thesis and told them what I would have done differently if I had time. Then the panel had their chance. I had a great panel, which consisted of my advisor, an examiner from the University of Tromsø, and an external examiner from Finland. They asked a lot of challenging questions and brought up a lot of points that I basically agreed with. After about an hour, the questioning was over and they told me they were impressed with the thesis! They said it was creative, elloquently written, and addressed important issues. It was so great to finally receive a little academic encouragement. We even started talking about PhD programs, and they encouraged me to think about publication and a PhD. So exciting!
The day after the oral exam, we celebrated as our whole program had a graduation ceremony with a nice dinner and lots of laughs throughout the evening. The highlight was Stian giving "a student's view" of the program.
We laughed about doing almost the exact same thing (with the same fish soup) two years earlier. It's been a fun ride, but I think we're all ready to be done with the program. Norway on the other hand is a bit more difficult to think about leaving. I've made such great friends that it will be hard to leave in September.
After our class party Tuesday night, I got up early and left for the exotic city of Kirkenes next to the Russian border in the far Northeast corner of Norway. I'm excited to meet my family this evening here in Kirkenes and then take the boat around the Northern coast of Norway back to Tromsø! I've spent the afternoon in Kirkenes and well...it was underwhelming. Kind of a sad town. I had the map of the center of town and was excited to see all the museums. About 5 minutes later I had.
I was so surprised at how the distances between places in town where almost to scale with the map I had. Fortunately, we will be leaving tomorrow at noon to start a 1 and half day trip around Northern Norway! It will be so great to see them and celebrate the end of a master's degree as well as my brother Paul's graduation and my sister Andrea's graduation. So much to celebrate, and I'm glad we can do it here in Norway! So...time to close the master degree chapter. On to the next adventure.
Summer has arrived, and I couldn't be happier! I am (almost) completely done. I finished and turned in my master thesis on Wednesday, and two hours after turning it in I had my oral Norwegian exam, which I felt went quite well. I then took a quick trip to Oslo where I met up with two Luther alum and my friend Andre who studies peace studies with me. Today I arrived home to Tromsø to BEAUTIFUL weather, seriously amazing. About 70 degrees with sun (all day and night). So, now I am falling in and out of sleep on my porch overlooking the mountains and ocean. Great. Unfortunately, my body is also done finally succumbing to a cold after fighting it off for a few weeks. But, if that's the worst of my problems I'm doing pretty well! Now, I have the defense of my thesis on the 11th and will meet my parents a few days later for a few weeks of travel and relaxation. I can't wait!
This weekend has been a bittersweet weekend as friends have started to leave Tromsø. Before this, however, we had to go out in style...which of course means a South Dakota party! I "treated" my friends to South Dakota party where we had South Dakota trivia (they got 3 out of the 6 bordering states), South Dakota music (South Dakota, my home), and taverns (or sloppy joe's to most of the world). They were amazed that someone could use so much ketchup, and my Italian friend Marco commented that he could only make it if his mom wasn't looking. Despite the foreign food, we had a great time chatting, listening to music, enjoying the midnight sun, and my new veranda and view.
Saturday was round two with a huge grill party at the student housing where most of the international students live. Almost everyone I knew (and didn't know) were there trying to stay warm in the misty, cloudy weather. It was fun to chat with everyone and to enjoy some crazy group photos! We ended the night in typical fashion going to Driv, the student bar/disco. There we dominated the floor and everyone was in a mixed moods between wanting to have a great last night and realizing that the year was finishing. We had a tearful goodbye as some of the students got ready to leave this morning.
It's been a great year and again, I've had such an amazing time meeting the international students and learning about the rest of the world. There are so many people to visit and so many more adventures to embark upon. I'm thankful I had the opportunity this year to meet all of this wonderful people.
