'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.
