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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Hilsen fra Bodo! Well it has been about five days since I've been in this new little city and it has been very up and down. It's hard to be excited about a new place when you constantly think of what's going on back home, but things here have not been all bad. Yesterday was my birthday -- my 22nd actually and it started with getting my new student I.D. from Hogskolen i Bodo. Then it was off to explore the downtown area of my new little city. The downtown expedition began with a walk inside the Glass Husset -- aka [View Full Entry]

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Dear Alaska, This is my first official blog entry from Norway, about Norway. I left you about 53 hours and it has been quite an up and down experience so far. I would be lying if I didn't first admit to you that I miss you. No, I don't just miss you...my heart is aching because you are not here. I have never missed you this much. It's true that I have often gone off for months before and left you behind, packed my car and waved goodbye, knowing that it would be awhile before we met again. But for some [View Full Entry]

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So, although this blog is a little late and I am not technically even in the U.S. anymore (being saved for my next blog entry), I wanted to update a little on some of my most recent adventures that I took before leaving Alaska. Well, my summer job was awesome in the sense that along with getting to take the occasional Helicopter rides, we could also COMP tours with our fellow tourist companies. The first comp took place with my coworker, Matt, where one day, we took to the seas. Okay, rather we parked my car and hopped on a bus [View Full Entry]

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Wow...I can't believe that it is already the 7th of August. I know my entries have been slacking, my pictures not being uploaded fast enough, and I have been neglecting a LOT of things lately, but it has all been for good reason. Well...most of it has been for a few good reasons -- two actually, one of which being the fact that I leave in 6 days (more like 5.5 now) for Norway. That...is...scary...okay, not just scary but also exciting, exhilarating, somewhat saddening, and just crazy. And the other reason...well I think that's a topic best saved for another place [View Full Entry]

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A little over a week ago, my work buddy, Robert, and I took to the trail and spent a few hours on our day off enjoying the silence that comes with a walk in the woods. Of course, being the curious person that I am, I didn't really stop talking for most of the walk (and neither did he) but I was constantly asking what plant is this? what tree is that? And so on and so on... Luckily, my travel companion is an avid hiker and pointed out some awesome things as we headed up the Lemon Creek trail behind [View Full Entry]

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It seems strange that June is almost over. Where has the time gone? I guess we all ask ourselves from time to time. I have been wondering it since mid-semester though...especially since I have not written to certain people in some time (*sorry Aunt Mimi and Bob*). But while I have been enjoying my classes being over, this summer has not turned out to be quite what I expected. In fact...there have been so many ups and downs that I haven't been nearly as happy as I expected. I wasn't really aware of my intense unhappiness until I journeyed above the [View Full Entry]

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