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Published: September 20th 2009
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It's Sunday and another rainy day here in Norway. 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 ago, and we have all been pushed back by the wind. My roommate is really starting to feel the effects and I'm trying to keep her from coming down with S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder). This weather is not entirely different from Juneau, but the quantity of the rain and the wind is so much more intense that I've found myself soaked to the bone a few days already this week, dragging myself back to my room with my teeth chattering from being so cold. I've only felt that a few times in Juneau in the 4 years that I was there. Here...it's becoming an every day thing.
A close friend of mine, who knows I've been struggling with homesickness, recently gave me some good advice: "Today, find one thing to smile about, one thing to be proud of and one thing to love yourself for. It's important you know!" She's always right!
So today, I'm going to describe some things I appreciate here. First is
Ismael. I live with a beautiful Norwegian black man that will open my door (some times without his shirt on to show off his abs) and say, "What? Don't hate...appreciate!" He's very happy all of the time and hardly home, but it is my first experience actually having a guy roommate. And it's going pretty well so far even though he and Destinee are sadly not talking now 😞. I hope they do soon. He has kind of become like a brother I never had and it's nice to have a male around who doesn't constantly make perverted jokes.
Our neighborhood is also pretty sweet as we live near a lot of families. Here at Hoglimyra, we are surrounded by little kids laughing and playing outside. The other day, Destinee and I watched these two little boys whack at the pop machine downstairs with a plastic shovel and ramble off stuff in Norwegian. It was very cute! And every now and then, the Norwegian ice cream man comes by in this huge truck playing fun little music. I haven't seen anyone chasing it yet though.
And about two days ago, these missionaries showed up at our door. They
were actually looking for a friend of theirs but I talked to them a little since they could tell I was American. One of them actually grew up in Fairbanks but had been living in Utah and both of them were over here on a mission. I didn't even know there was a Mormon church in Bodo. I guess you learn new things every day. And on that same day, the Canadian guy (very cute...very sweet...haha, maybe in another lifetime though) even sat near me and we ate lunch. Technically, we were not eating together as I was just sitting there and he came up to me, but...it was nice to have someone nearby to talk to during lunch on campus. Makes me feel like I'm finally being recognized by a few people and not just a lost American in a Norwegian world.
I'm starting to meet more of the international students. It's nice meeting people from other cultures and I've learned that we may not all speak the same language, share the same customs, or really understand each other, but we all can dance. And dancing is a great way (and lets me be as quiet as I
want) to calm the nerves. Last weekend, we went to Samfunnet and they were playing a lot of country music. Apparently, Norwegians like old-school American country music. And they have this chant when drinking. They yell, "SKOLE-----------and oh we ended up at the drunken party again!" I don't actually know it in Norwegian, just the skole part which is "drink." It's kind of fun to listen to the Norwegians chant it.
And the last sweet thing that made my day about a week ago...I got to dissect a monkfish, a shark, and a cod. For this fish fanatic, it was like Christmas! Ah, I even included some pictures of my heaven.
Well, those are all of the "little" updates for now although there are a lot of other things that have contributed to my days. My next update will actually include travel photos and be more about traveling and not just "traveling in a social sort of sense." The next actual adventure begins Wednesday as I head off to Bergen, a sea-side city in Southwest Norway. Should be fun even though it's like a 20-hour train ride. Well at least it's a change of scenery and time away
from room. I only hope Wednesday comes soon...
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Oystein
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Hii
It is interesting to follow your experiences in Norway here, always fun to read about foreigners view on life here.