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Published: December 19th 2014
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So finally, the inevitable happened. I fell. The problem is, it has been snowing, and the snow has been compressed by cars, shoes, bikes etc. In some areas the roads are now literally smooth and icy enough to go ice-skating. I have these metal spikes that you can put under the shoes, here they are called ‘grandma socks’, but, being Dutch and all, I just had to fall at least once for me to realise that it might be nice to actually start using them. So I slipped and fell. Luckily I have been equipped since my childhood with a extraordinary thick skull, and I have reason to believe that my skeleton was reinforced with the strongest metal on earth during a super secret governmental experiment of which I have no memory, so I was fine. I did fell on my backpack however, so I had to check my camera and my laptop. They seemed ok at first, but a few hours later my laptop crashed and stopped working altogether. It was only then that I realised a large and alarming dent in the metal housing of my Apple laptop, roughly in the square shape of a hard-drive. During this project
(and during any other period of my life, although I will never admit it) I am quite depending on my laptop, so I was a bit stressed during the evening, alone in my cabin. I could not afford a new laptop, and any repairs beyond the price of a cup of coffee would have posed a problem. But I managed to repair my laptop by replacing the hard-drive. A new hard-drive was surprisingly cheap, almost down to Dutch levels in price, so that was a godsend. I think I have a backup of most of my stuff, except for the pictures that I have taken so far here in Tromsø…
Anyway, I will not spend my entire blog complaining about a broken laptop, as there are so much more interesting and more positive stories to tell. However, I will not be telling much new stuff, so if you are not interested in whales or in the northern lights, you might as well stop reading here.
Even after four weeks I am still absolutely amazed by some of the things that I get to experience here every day. I see the humpback whales and killer whales every day, which
is pretty amazing to me. However, seeing whales is one thing, but hearing them, in the middle of the night is a very different experience altogether. They breath, they snore, they imitate farting sounds, sounds from Jurassic park and war-horns. Yesterday when I was making the one hour hike from the bus-stop to my cabin I was walking right next to a couple of humpback whales for half an hour. They would come up every few minutes, perhaps 15 meters from the coast. It was dark so I could only just see their shape against the lights on the opposite site of the fjords, two kilometres away. But at such small distances their sounds are just like explosions, and if I would not have heard the sound before I think I would have needed to change my underwear right there and then… a few evenings ago, I have spent four hours outside, in the middle of the night to watch the northern lights. I went down to the shore to get a good view, about 40 meters from the cabin. There were whales around everywhere and they were close, although I could not see them. Now I have heard many instruments and music pieces during my study at the conservatorium, but I think that the sound of whales might very well be the most impressive sound I have ever heard. I stood there on the beach, grinning like an idiot, listening to these beautiful sounds, however disgusting, barbaric and revolting some of these sounds may be. I have been thinking about how I should describe the feeling of that moment, but I have no idea where to begin. I thought I was not a very emotional person, but apparently I was wrong. I decided not to attempt to describe my emotional state at that moment, all I can say is that it felt quite good. You should try it!
You might have noticed by now that I have been writing in English. I realised that not all people in the world have mastered Dutch yet, so I started writing in English. For those of you who could not read the previous posts, here is a quick recap on what I have been doing in the previous weeks:
I have seen northern lights almost every day and more whales than anyone has a right to see, I have seen them from afar and from meters away, I have heard them while I was watching the northern lights and I have been woken up during the night by the sound of their breathing. I have tasted the traditional ‘lytefisk’, I have climbed on mountains, I have been falling down from mountains, I have been at cocktail parties, outdoor dinners (with a campfire and northern lights) and a Christmas-beer contest, I have been completely wasted on akvavit, the previously mentioned Christmas beer and fancy cocktails and I have been roasting sausages over a fire during fieldwork, whilst drinking hot chocolate. I have had my beard frozen with snot, spit and snow during some fieldwork days, and worse: I have had it defrost in the car afterwards. I have been working hard and I have been learning a great deal and most of all… I have had a fantastic time so far. I know that things will become even better, because Linde will be joining me in my old and cosy cabin by the fjord in less than one week!
Ps. I am sorry that it took me so long to post an other blog, and I am sorry that it t
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Thank you for writing in English
I really am enjoying hearing about the whales and seeing the northern lights. I would love to stay in that cabin for a week. I'm going to go back and read some of your other blogs. Please keep writing.