So time really flies by.
I've been in Norway for over a month...nearly a month and a half now. Wow...it's going so unbelievably quickly! Two months and I'm home; I'm nearly a third of the way finished with this adventure. Kind of incredible. Yikes!
A quick recap of the past week:
My weekend in Tromso was spent laughing, deep coversations, playing Legos & Polly Pockets, skiing, sledding, eating wonderful food, reminicing, and soaking in the presence and company of some dear friends. It was such a life-giving three days, refreshing me, rejuvinating my soul and spirit and empowering me to become more comfortable with travelling solo! What an exhilerating experience to fly/train/bus alone, make plans & carry them out successfully! What a drastic change from my mid-January (pre-Norway) airport experience in which I was nervous and anxious about navigating the airport...and that was in the company of two adept travellers and dear friends~and here I was, manuvering through check in, finding my gate, and making the journey all by myself. No mishaps, no(t much) worrying, and a wonderful experience!
And here we are yet again, poised on another weekend here in Lillehammer. This week has gone quickly; Monday was a travel day, followed by classes about an hour after returning to our flat (whew) and Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday (today) have been fairly standard days of homework, classes, hanging out with friends and marveling that we are in NORWAY! That's still such a strange thing to realize! I often catch myself surprised at how normal this place has become; it's another home. I'm comfortable here, cherishing these days and weeks of learning and engaging in conversations. Oh yeah, and we saw the Northern Lights: so incredibly beautiful! Funny story about that: It was Tuesday night, and we were all still sleep deprived from our weekend travels and a very long day on Monday, so I was headed to bed early. Lights out, dressed in my standard sleep gear: tie dye t-shirt and running shorts. This was at about 10. Around 11, I heard a HUGE commotion from the living room, complete with yelling, shrieks and running for the door. Obviously, I woke up, and went to see what was happening. Did I manage to throw on sweats or mittens before I went out? Of course not. So when I arrived beneath the dancing green glow of the Northern Lights, dressed in my winter boots, nice pea coat, running shorts, spectacles, and scary sleepy hair, it's no wonder that my fellow Americans gave me funny looks. Oh well, I got to see the Northern Lights in Norway. Win-plus it makes a good story to tell!
In other news....I'm officially a resident of Norway now! My visa came through early this week and I moseyed on down to the Lillehammer police station yesterday, answered the necessary questions, took a (terrible!) visa picture, and waited to get that beautiful sticker in my passport that allows me to live here--no longer a tourist! Yay!
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