The End is Near

'I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy.”' ― Sylvia Plath

So I have been very behind in keeping everyone updated on my life this last month, but it has been uneventful and eventful, busy and not, all at the same time. I have been trying to get as much out of this last month as possible and so haven't really sat down to keep everyone updated. I'll do my best to get you all up to date, but this too must be a short and quick entry because I'm off to a meeting and a end of the semester barbeque!

Since spring break, my life has been filled with finals and camping. So far now, I've taken 2 exams, 1 oral exam and written 1 paper. I've got one more paper to go, due by the 16th, then I am free! For Norwegian, I had to have a conversation exam with my friend David. For a week or so we spent about 2 hours each night just speaking Norwegian to each other (with a little help from GoogleTranslate) but I got so much better. Once I got to my oral exam, my grammar went straight out the window, but I am still happy at how much I have improved. I am not quite confident enough to speak it with Norwegians yet, but maybe one day!

In between a few of my exams I went on a couple of camping trips with some friends. The first was with Meg and Abbie. We decided one night to pack up and head out behind one of the student housing areas to camp by a lake out there. We didn't head out till about 9 p.m. and even though it stays light pretty late now, it was dark by the time we made camp. And after getting turned around a couple of times on some logging trails we decided to find the lake in the morning and set up camp in the woods. We discovered the next morning we were only about 3 minutes away from it.

The next day, I went on a quick day trip with Meg and another friend Kris to a neighboring city- Notodden to see a Stave Church, one of the biggest in Norway actually. We spent the afternoon hiking out to the church and then wandering about the town, doing our best to stay dry and warm.

I also took another night camping trip with Meg, Kris and another friend Nelson, just a little ways outside of Bø. We hiked for about 9k and set up camp overlooking the city. We had a gorgeous view and spent the night hanging out around a fire and watching the city from about. The next morning we got up and hike to a top of a mountain next to our campsite. We spent a good couple hours up on the top, and then some more good hours back at the base warming up in the sun.

Just late last night I got back from my last major adventure here in Norway. Meg, Kris and I went on one last major hiking adventure over to the west coast of Norway. Late Friday night, we caught the train into Stavanger in order to hike Preikestolen. I was there in the fall, but the other two hadn't and I didn't want to pass up the chance to head out there again because it was so beautiful. We got into Stavanger early in the morning and caught a ferry and eventually hitch-hiked our way to the base of Preikestolen. Then, due to our giant packs which weighed about the same as I do on our backs, we made our way slowly up to the top of Preikestolen, Unfortunately it was a little rainy and cloudy, but it was still worth it. Eventually we made our way back down a little bit and camped by a lake not too far from the peak for the night. We got up the next morning and made our way back up to the top. From far off we kept hearing music and when we made it to the top again, we discovered a band was filming a music video up top. It was a little upsetting because they took up a lot of the area, but they were really nice about it and even let us pose with their instruments. That afternoon, we broke down camp, caught the ferry and made our way back to Stavanger. We spent the evening walking about the city and made camp by the harbor.

The next morning, we were up by 5 to break down camp and catch our bus to Odda at 7 with hopes of hiking Trolltunga- another famous hiking spot in Norway. After a couple of bus switches and a ferry ride, we made it to Odda. Unfortunately, after talking with the tourist information there, we were told it would be impossible to hike Trolltunga, because it is too early in the season and it is still covered in snow up to our waist. So after a trip to the library to use the internet and some quick research, we changed our game plan and headed over to see the City of Bergen. We hopped on a bus and made it into the city by about 8.00. We took the funicular up to the top for a nice overlook of the city and hiked back into the woods to set up camp. We were quite sneaky too because camping wasn't really allowed in the area we stayed in, but thankfully it was quite foggy and rainy so we were well hidden.

The next morning we packed up camp and then headed down to see the city. We walked around the old town and saw the fish market. Eventually we stopped by a restaurant and grabbed some Chinese food for lunch and hopped on the train back home. It was quite a long ride, but it is one of the best in Norway as you go through so many beautiful fjords and mountains. We finally made it home after midnight and it was straight to the showers!

Now I am on the home stretch. I've got just one more paper to write up and as I write, my mom is on an airplane on her way over to see me! We'll spend the next few weeks traveling to meet family and then its off to Istanbul for one last European adventure and then I fly home in the 25th. I cannot even believe that I will be homebound in 16 days. My time here has gone by way too quickly.

Rusted Root

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” -Marcus Garvey

This weekend I had the most amazing opportunity- I was able to go and visit some relatives and to see the house that my Great-Grandmother was born and raised in. In the fall a woman named Lillian contacted me over Facebook, saying my Uncle Kirk (Thanks, Kirk!) had let her know I was in Norway this year and invited me out to come and visit her and her family. They live in a very small town called Årdal in the Sogn og Fjordane. This town is right across a mountain (really through a mountain) from Oferdal, which is the place my Great-Grandmother, my Grandma’s mother, came from. After some back and forth with Lillian we were finally able to find a weekend that worked for both of us- so off I went back to my roots!

Because Årdal is in such a remote location and over quite a few mountains, it is only accessible by bus. On Friday morning I picked up the 5.15 train out of Bø and headed into Oslo. After about a two hour wait, I picked up the bus for Årdal. Fortunately, the bus driver was kind enough to let me I had to switch buses partially through my trip, but unfortunately, I did not bother to ask him about how long that would be. So instead of taking a nice long 3 hour nap like I could have done, I said the alarm on my phone to go off every 15-20 minutes so I could wake up and check if we were stopping or not. After my bus transfer I had about another hour and a half on the bus. It snowed most of the way through and in fact, once we were up in the mountains, it was difficult to even tell where the mountains stopped and the sky started. After dropping off some skiers at the top, we made our way down the mountain to Årdal and after about 9 hours of traveling I finally made it at 3.30.

 

Lillian, her husband and her youngest daughter, Ingrid, picked me up at the bus stop and took me back to their home. I cannot even imagine growing up in this town. It touches right on the fjord, with a lake right behind it and mountains completely surrounding it. And their house not only had a spectacular view, but it looked as if it was right out of a home design catalogue- absolutely beautiful and so chic. After dropping my things off in the room, we all had a bite to eat completely with some good conversation.

Both Lillian and her husband are teachers. Lillian works with 7^th graders and he with 10^th graders. They have two daughters. Ingrid is 24 and works as a nurse in Bergen. Catherina is 27 and is married with two children- Casper (2) and Ella (1). She and her family also live in Årdal. In fact much of their family- aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents- all live in Årdal. Including, Lillian’s mother and father. Her father is my Grandma’s cousin.

Afterwards, Ingrid took me a drive and showed me around the town and some of the houses of her relatives. We stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things and then headed back home for some supper. Not only does Lillian know how to decorate, but she also knows how to cook. We had a delicious salad and some homemade pizza. We finished out the night talking and watching some TV.

Saturday morning, after a quick breakfast, we headed out for Offerdal. To get over to that side of the mountain we had to take a few tunnels, which included Northern Europe’s steepest tunnel, which was slightly terrifying. Once on the right side of the mountain, we drove as far as we could get, but then had to park and walk about ¾ of a mile due to icy conditions. The weather and the view were absolutely beautiful so it didn’t matter. At the house we were met with Lillian’s parents and also her sister and her husband. They gave me a tour of the land and the house. The house itself is not the same one my Great-Grandmother was born in. It has been rebuilt, but it is on the same exact location as the old one. The house is surrounded by about 4 other buildings, all used for storage and keeping animals (when they had them) and an outhouse. One of the smaller buildings is actually the same as it was when my Great-Grandmother lived there. They also showed me a bunch of pictures of my different Norwegian relatives and even some pictures sent by family members in the States. I was also shown pictures of the time when my mother, uncle and grandparents came to Norway back when my Momma was about my age now.

We spent a good part of the early afternoon sitting on the deck eating and drinking tea and coffee. I was able to ask lots of questions and learn a bunch about my ancestors, with the help of Ingrid and her parents translating for me- Lillian’s parents do not speak English. After eating, they took me down by an old mill which my great-great-grandfather used to work at. In fact, he was the boss or so I’m told. Soon enough though we hiked back up the mountain to the car.

 

We made our way back to the house and after a quick shower, Catherina, her husband and her children joined us at the house for a while. The kids were so adorable. Casper is just learning to talk and so he could understand I didn’t speak Norwegian and that made him very shy. But I did get a big hug from them before they left. Ella is just about 1 (it’s her first birthday next Saturday) and so she was just as curious as could be. They stayed for about an hour or so and then had to head home, the kids were getting very tired.

Ingrid took me on another drive to show me the other half of Årdal. The city is separated by a lake and she showed me where she went to upper secondary school and where she used to work and such.  We made our way back home to more delicious food for supper and finished the night with a movie on TV and some more conversation.

Today (Sunday) after breakfast and packing, we made our way to the elementary/ middle school where they work. They gave me a nice tour of the school, showed me their classrooms and offices and other main spots. We then made our way over to Lillian’s parents’ house for lunch. Traditional meatballs and mashed potatoes, followed with some riscream for dessert. I do not think I have ever eaten so much in my life. After stuffing ourselves, they dug out some old photographs and we spent a good hour or so looking though old photos of the family. Soon enough it was time to head out so Ingrid could pick up her train back to Bergen. We dropped Ingrid off and then headed back to the house. I was able to finish up packing and then soon enough it was time to drop me off at the train station. Now, after a bus transfer and a transfer to the train I’m about a half an hour away from home, which sounds so wonderful after 8 hours of traveling.

My visit was short, but very sweet. Lillian and her family were so wonderful to me and I cannot begin to explain the simple amazement and honor I felt by being to go back to the home of my ancestors. It was quite the experience and I cannot thank them enough for having me.

With this trip completed, I’m back to Bø and back to finals. I have my first one on Tuesday and then will be finishing up hopefully by May 3^rd. I’m going to push myself to get all of my papers done before my mother makes her way here.

It is the most terrifying thing to think I will be going home in a month and 10 days. Don’t get me wrong- I miss you all back home dearly- but I am just not quite ready for this grand adventure to be over with. Actually I don’t know if I could ever be ready for it to be over with.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most. ” ―John Ruskin

Lisbon         

Day 1- Happy Easter everyone! I hope you have (had) a wonderful time celebrating and were together with friends and family. My Easter started off rather early this morning. Europe’s daylight savings happened today, well last night, and so Abbie and I knew we had to be careful in setting our alarms to make sure we got up in time to catch our flight from Madrid to Portugal. We had about a 15 minute walk to a bus that we were told that’d take 40 minutes to get to the airport (really it only took half of that), so that meant alarms would go off at 5.45, so we could be leaving by 6.00 a.m. But also because of the time change that actually meant our alarms would be going off at 4.45. The alarms were set and we attempted to get a few hours of sleep, but soon enough my alarm was going off, so up I got, as quietly as possible, and got ready. About 5 minutes later I noticed Abbie’s alarm hadn’t gone off yet and she wasn’t moving. I got worried that we were going to be late, so I was about to wake her up when I checked my watch. My watch said it was only 3.50. My phone was smarter than me and changed itself ahead an hour, so I was up and ready a whole extra hour early. Slightingly I crawled back into bed and lay awake waiting for Abbie’s alarm to go off, knowing I’d be kicking myself later for loosing that sleep.

Once we were both up and ready, we walked over to the bus stop. I know Spaniards are known for being night owls, but it was crazy the amount of people who were still out at 6 in the morning! We made our way, hopped on the bus, made it through security and after an hour or so, jumped on the plane to Lisbon! Once we landed we grabbed another bus and made our way to our hostel. We checked in and dropped our things off and went to find something to eat.

The colors in this city are incredible! Every building, every house, is beautiful! I feel like I am living in an Easter basket right now. Unfortunately the colors are slightly dampened because it is currently pouring buckets of rain outside. We made our way to a little café and grabbed some lunch. Afterwards, we wandered through the city a little bit, but were soon driven back to our hostel from the down pour of rain and being soaked to the bone.

 

We are resting in our hostel now for a little while. I was able to skype a little with my Momma and then my brother Kevin and his girlfriend Kari. I got caught up with my pictures and even posted some of my earlier writings in my blog, while Abbie took a nap. Soon I’ll wake her up and we’ll head out to find some food!

Well, our original plan was to hit up a grocery store and make ourselves a meal, but, being Easter, it was closed. In fact, most things were closed, so we ended at a Hard Rock Café. It was kinda pricey, but we thought we deserved a nice meal on Easter. Our waitress let us know that at night there was a free concert starting at 11. So as Abbie and I finished up eating, we decided to head back to the hostel, shower and change and then come back to see the free concert.

 

I hopped in the shower first and as I finished getting ready, Abbie was borrowing my computer to skype with her family. I lay down and decided to take a quick nap while she was getting ready. Next thing I know, I woke up at 11.05 to Abbie coming in from the shower in her pajamas. She told me that skyping and her shower took longer than she thought and it was raining, so she thought she’d let me sleep and we could skip the concert. So after a quick change into my pj’s I was in bed and sleep away our long day of travels.

Day 2- This morning we awoke to sunshine, even though it was forecasted to rain all day. Having the Norwegian saying ‘There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing’ drilled into my head and not wanted to be caught off guard, I still packed along my umbrella.

Today we hopped on one of the famous yellow Lisbon trams and headed to a part of the city about a half an hour from our hostel. Here we spent the afternoon wandering around the Geronimo’s Monastery and the Belem Tower- two World Heritage Sites. Unfortunately, both were closed on Mondays, so we weren’t able to go inside. I’ve heard a lot of really good things about the monastery, so if you ever get a chance to go to Lisbon, don’t go to the monastery on Monday so you’ll be able to go inside. We spent the afternoon wandering through the streets and down by the harbor and looking at a statue they have of famous Portuguese explorers (including Vasco da Gama) called Padras dos Descobrimentos. I was lucky to bring my umbrella because it did start to sprinkle a couple of time.

 

Eventually we made our way back to the tram to catch a ride back to our hostel. The trams are always very full of people, so sometimes you get to stand pretty close to your neighbor. When we first hopped on the tram back, we were packed like sardines. Then gradually after a few stops the crowd thinned out; however there was an older man standing next to Abbie and I who was not backing off of our personal space. At first he was standing basically on top of Abbie, practically forcing into the lap of the person sitting next to her. I kept my eyes on him and if he got too close, I was going to pull Abbie back by me or go up and stand between them. Eventually the girl sitting got off, so Abbie hopped in her seat. I went up and stood next to her. Unfortunately the man came and stood right next to me. I kept moving closer and closer to Abbie, widening the space between me and the man, but he just kept moving closer. At first I thought he was just a creepy old man, that was until I felt him try to slip his hand into my back pocket and then I knew he was a pickpocketer. When I felt him do that, all I did was turn blatantly around and stare at him- throwing daggers with my eyes, the look I’ve picked up from all the times I’ve seen my Momma do it. At this point in time he backed off and even switched the area he was standing in. All I could think was did he think that I was that stupid to keep my money in my back pocket? (Like a good little tourist I keep my money and all of my valuables safely in front of me and in my hands. And then I slightly wish he had taken what was in my back pocket and then he would have been walking feeling really cool haven stolen a bunch of receipts and a half of a map from a little girl on the tram. I checked with Abbie and she had all of her things, so we got off lucky. Both Spain and Portugal (more so Spain and especially Barcelona) are known for theft, burglary and pickpocketing, so we have done pretty good with not having lost anything.

 

After a little shopping (shoes are super cheap in Portugal!) we made our way back to the hostel and rested. Soon we headed out for some supper at a restaurant recommend by our hostel. We stopped back in our hostel, planning on changing before we headed over to a Fado bar. Fado is a traditional form of Portuguese singing, which often sounds very mournful and is typically talking about love and life. At the bar we were going to, Monday was amateur night and free entrance. Unfortunately, we never ended up making it there- about 30 minutes before we were going to head out, a giant thunder storm came rolling through- lightening, heavy rain, thunder, the whole shebang. So once again we were stranded in our hostel, but that just provided another great night’s sleep.

 Day 3- Last day of spring break and our wonderful adventures and the sun never stopped shining! After a quick breakfast, we were out exploring the neighborhoods more in our area of town. We were gradually making our way to a flea market our hostel had told us about that runs every Sunday and Tuesday. The streets were winding and the house beautiful and the sun was shining down- everything was perfect!- except our map. I would say only 1/5^th of the roads were marked and in the area we were walking, I’d say maybe 1 out of every 10 were marked. This of course makes it very difficult to find your way around. After about an hour of wondering, and getting slightly on each other’s nerves, we found our way to the beautiful Sao Vicente de Fora Church. We were able to walk around inside, even use the bathroom, and enjoy the simple garden outside.

 

Thankfully, we wandered a little bit more and found the flea market right behind the church. The rest of our morning was spent wandering through the market and people watching. I even bought a couple of picture of Lisbon, done by a local photographer.

 

In the early afternoon, we took a trip up to the castle and spent a couple of hours walking around its grounds. The castle had been built in the 11^th century, so all that mainly remained were the walls of the structure and an archeological sight, but you were able to walk around and climb up there. There was an amazing view of the city from up top, which provided for some great pictures.

 

Also, wandering around the grounds was a bunch of peacocks. Quite a few females and then some very brightly colored males. As Abbie and I were busy taking pictures of one of the males, we look right next to us and another one had opened his feathers! That was the first time I had ever seen a peacock with open features and it was quite a sight to be seen.

 

After the castle, we had a quick lunch and made our way to the harbor. The rest of the afternoon and early evening were spent soaking up the last bit of sunshine we could get.

 

Eventually the time, and an oncoming migraine for me, sent us back to the hostel. There we finished the evening packing (another super early morning flight for us), stopping and picking up fruit for breakfast at the grocery store and a quick dinner. Eventually we found our beds for a short period of time.

Day 4- Our morning started entirely too early. A taxi picked us up at 4.45 (it was even too early for any public transportation) and our first flight departed at 7.00. We had a 3 hour layover in Madrid and now a 4 hour wait for the train in the Rygge airport. Soon, I’ll find my bed back in Bø at 12.30 tonight. It’s a long day of traveling.

Overall, my spring adventures these past two weeks have been wonderful. It seems like ages ago since I was in Scotland. I’ve been asked what city I liked the best, but that’s like trying to pick your favorite child- you just can’t do (or maybe you can, but you shouldn’t!). I loved the pubs in Scotland, the beaches in Barcelona, the parks in Madrid and the colors of Lisbon. I loved the lively atmosphere in them all! But I will say I did appreciated the warm weather in Spain more than the cold of Scotland and the rain of Lisbon, but you can’t let weather dampen your parade!

But now I must be back to Norway, back to school and back to the books. April brings a month full of finals and I want to get them all done before my Momma rolls into town! 36 days until she’s here and 52 days till I touch down in the States!