Flying solo: to Norway i go...

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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. 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 reason - this time was different. Could it be because the country in which I am now in goes by the metric system, has different currency, has food names that I do not quite understand, has limited street signs making it easy to get lost (yes, I have gotten lost once already), and most of the people around me are speaking a language that I don't understand?

Or maybe it was because I was in a bit of a tough place when I left, having learned some big lessons this past summer. However, this journey to Norway hasn't been completely rough. The first smile of my trip came when a young freshman girl approached me, asking how she navigates around the airport. She was leaving Juneau to go to Las Vegas to start college and before I pointed her in the right direction, she asked if it would be hard for her to make friends. She looked just as nervous as I was when I went to UAS and I couldn't help but feel comforted by the fact that there were so many other people in the airport facing the same thing I was -- the scary unknown. I just barely made my connection in Newark, but we got delayed so long that I missed my connection in Oslo. I was making my way through Customs and walking down the HUGE, INSANE, LONG window corridor to the end of the airport where we were directed. Apparently, you had to recover your luggage, go through customs, recheck your luggage, and go back through security. So of course, I missed my connection and had to rebook for a 3pm flight to Bodo (pronounced Buddha). During my wait, I saw a man with a tiny Little Mermaid purse and two men in kilts which brought a smile to my face.

I was kind of in a daze until I got to Bodo and met the International Student Office staff. Then I met my roommate who is from Missouri, dragged my luggage upstairs, unpacked a bit, got lost walking to the grocery store, and then had coffee with a couple of the students from the International Office. This kind of helped asking some authentic Norwegians about Norway and I learned a little about France from the French girl, Aezi. The past couple of weeks, I've ventured out to the store again (this time, I didn't get lost) and for a short hike to snap some pictures. I know deep inside that this experience is going to be wonderful and I'm going to meet a lot of nice new people. But I still miss you.

Watch out for my car...a little silver Ford Focus Hatchback parked at Robert's house. See you in January! Norway says goodnight...or rather, good day to you...

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Photos

Cool billboard
I don't know what it says, but it seemed very pretty

Comments

[mel]

thats a really pretty campus and buildings.

[Audrey]

Kari, that's so awesome that you're in Norway. I went to the Harvest Festival today in Juneau and met someone from Trio, and she told me you were studying abroad. Best of luck, you are so independent and strong to step into a new world like this...I hope you have a lot of fun there. -Audrey PS I am leaving Juneau in a week (!!!) and know I will miss it SO MUCH...and I haven't even been here that long. Anyways, email me and tell me what you're up to. :)

[Bob]

Bodo
I spent a week at Bodo in the early 80s on a protection mission for the Sec Def at a NATO Conference, he stayed in the InterContinental Hotel while we stayed on a Norway Naval ship in the harbor, the meeting was at the air base....your blog brings back memories...smiles and frowns