As I walked to class this morning, after a brisk night that covered the layer of ice with a nice layer of powdery fresh snow, I kind of zoned out while Libby and Brad talked about fishing. Now I love fishing, but these two...they live to fish. And they have so many fish in their freezer that their apartment now smells like fish. So as they talked about it and I remembered the fact that I left home exactly two months ago from today, I couldn't help but think that life...is kind of like walking on the snowy/icy ground below. You [View Full Entry]

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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain It is with cold ears and a humble heart that I write these words. My camera is still cold to the touch, my legs still reddened from a chilly afternoon walk here in Norway, and my mind still wandering. Today is Sunday, one of my favorite days to just relax at home and have time [View Full Entry]

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It's snowing! Okay well, it was snowing last night at approximately 3a.m. when I was walking home from the student pub, Samfunnet, after a very fun and interesting night with some old friends and some new. So not only did the snow put me in an even better mood, it just made me smile which hasn't happened a whole lot this week. It's been a LONG, quiet week here in Bodø. And it all started after coming back from an exciting trip, but the weather had taken quite a turn for the worse. All week has been hail, snow/slush, rain, and [View Full Entry]

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Day Three had to be my favorite day in Bergen. It didn't start off the greatest though as bad dreams, constant snoring from the Spanish guy, and people whispering and packing up their stuff to leave early in the morning caused mine (and Destinee's sleep) to be a little interrupted. The joys of staying in a hostel though I guess!! However we were surprised to find that two of our 6 roommates were American cousins from Minnesota just enjoying a Norwegian vacation. It was nice to meet some fellow Americans. So even though it had a bit of a rocky start, [View Full Entry]

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The past week has been a bit of a blur as I set off on my first Norwegian vacation. But there were things that occurred the night before I departed, during the trip, and last night when I returned that I have been thinking about a lot. I did something...something very unlike me. I finally found my anger and I did something sneaky. And perhaps the concept was for the right reasons, but in actuality, it should not have been carried out the way it did. I don't regret what was said...only the recipient and I know now that I needed [View Full Entry]

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It's Sunday and another rainy day here in Norway. There is a sense of calm on the horizon and a sense of unrest in my room. It has been a very trying week...okay, it's been trying for awhile, but this week was especially trying. Why? Well, the weather has been very dreary. It's been raining with heavy winds all week. And the sky is filled with a gray hue that everyone can sense in their hearts. The fun-loving Norwegians are not their usual boisterous selves as Fall really starts to set in, it's getting dark much earlier now than a month [View Full Entry]

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Hilsen fra Bodo. It's nighttime here again in the small Norwegian city above the Arctic Circle. And today was not an over-active day by any standards, but not my slowest day either. It started a little too early and I had a bit of trouble pulling myself out of bed at 7a.m. to get to my one and only class today, Norwegian language, at 8:15a.m. And after putting in my eyes (aka my contacts), I popped open my computer only to find that the internet was down. Sad day...so I took my time getting ready and played some tunes then headed [View Full Entry]

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What's one way to get a homesick, grumpy, fish-loving Alaskan to lighten up and smile a bit? Bring on the fish!! Over the past week, the Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture have invited all of the International Exchange students studying Bioscience (aka me, Brad, and Libby) to join the Masters students on two excursions and then ALL of the international students from 29 different countries were invited on a cod fishing excursion with the Student Chaplain. It was nice to finally get out of my room and out to the seaside for a little Norwegian fishing introduction. On the first excursio [View Full Entry]

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"I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever know. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone..." Well that is the tune I've been humming for almost two weeks now. And it's a very true song to me -- flying solo always comes at a price. And although my homesickness has been a million times more severe this time than any other time I've wandered off on my own (for reasons that I'm sure all those close to me know), life in Norway is starting to have certain appealing aspects. In [View Full Entry]

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Rain rain, go away, come again another day? I'm sure that is what most Norwegians are singing this weekend in Norway. It has been raining quite a bit which is kind of nice, but very wet! Of course, the rain is not the only thing that brought us back from the Lofoten Islands early. We set off Thursday morning around 8 a.m., caught the bus downtown, then walked to the ferry terminal to catch our boat out to the Lofoten Islands. Of course, given the early morning rising and my inability to get to bed before 2 a.m. yet, I was [View Full Entry]

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