Ick

So today we got hit by a bit of a wind and rain/snowstorm. In the morning, I had to walk down to the bus stop down a large hill. I fell really hard on my ass within about 20 steps away from the door since it's still really icy. And because of the rain of course I fell right in a puddle. About 2 minutes later, because the universe obviously decided I should be equally soaked on all side of my body, I faceplanted into another puddle. So all in all in was a beautiful day.

...Funny part is, we were heading to the swimming pool downtown.

A very long hike/ snow day!

Dear Blog:

This past weekend was quite eventful. On Saturday I went for a hike with 4 friends. We started out around 830am and hiked ~2.5 hours in, had lunch and explored a bit and then came back home. It was a cold day, but not too bad if we kept moving. We managed to hike far enough for a good view of the mountains + ocean. It was very icy at parts since the first week or so was quite warm and a lot of the snow melted and refroze. So everyone is entitled to one good wipe-out during each walk (I had several!).

During the night on Saturday, it snowed quite a lot as I've heard it did in Saskatoon as well... we went out in the afternoon and had a bit of a snow fight -North Americans vs. Europeans - and then went tobogganing on a nearby hill. We only had 1 cheap plastic sled, so the rest made do with cookie sheets and shovels...there were some spectacular wipe-outs involved.

Aurora Borealis

Dear Blog:

Everything is going pretty swell here in Bodo. In fact it is Flott! which means great in Norwegian. Since my last post, I've mostly just been hanging out, pretty low key stuff. There was an epic hockey game on Sunday on a nearby lake that has frozen solid. I'm happy to say that the Canadian team + 1 polish member triumphed over the American/French team!!! On Mondays I have 3 classes, so I have school pretty much from 815 straight through to 4pm. But after Mondays, its pretty much downhill since I have one class per day for the remainder of the week. On Tuesday, I wen to join the local gym, Friskhuset, which is about a 5minute walk from my place. It was a bit pricey, but has nice equipment and lots of fitness classes to join. There is also a pool attached which is nice since I've been missing my swimming.

So the big news of the week: last night, after watching 2 episodes of Glee with the girls, we decided to go outside for a bit. And looking up, we saw some amazing Northern Lights. They were very bright with greens and purples and they danced around and filled the sky. It's so hard to even describe how beautiful they were in words. I tried a few pictures, but they came out kind of blurry. We tried to walk to the lake again to see them more clearly but it got cloudy by the time we got there. It was a pretty nice treat since other students who have been here for a few semesters said that the lights last night were some of the best they've seen while studying here. Vi snakkes! (talk to you later)

Saltstrummen

Dear Blog
Last night, we had the International Student's party at the Samfunnet, student pub, to welcome all international students to Bodo this term. The student society gave out coupons to get your first half-pint of beer for a cheaper price: merely 7.50 Canadian rather than the usual 9.00!! It is crazy how expensive everything is. It also costs roughly $6 dollars canadian to ride the city bus one way. Food is comparable in price but it's still more expensive to eat out.
So the international party was fun, getting to know everyone as we danced the night away.

This morning there was a bus trip planned for all the international students. A guide took us through Bodo to show where all the important places are and then the bus drove us to the Saltstrummen which is an area of whirlpools and fast currents (called maelstrom) that is famous in this area.

Jeg heter Zoe

Dear Blog:

Wow this was easier than I thought. Just a couple of clicks and I've evolved into the world of the blog! This is meant to document my incredible study experience in Bodo Norway. The last "o" in Bodo needs a line through it...so that it's pronounced kind of like "Boo-duh."
I arrived in Bodo on Jan 8th in the evening, after 4 flights and no sleep. At the airport, I was picked up and driven to my residence, Hoglimyra, which is on campus within walking distance of the university, grocery store, bank and all that important stuff. It was very disorienting for the first 4ish days since it was dark all of the time. It's hard to kick jet-leg in the butt without the sun to reset your system!
After a weekend full of sleep, orientation for internationals was on Monday and classes began on Tuesday. The classes I am taking are Molecular Ecology, Marine Biology, Animal Behaviour and Norwegian for Foreigners. I learned to say Jeg heter Zoe, Jeg kommer fra Canada yesterday. See if you can work out what that means :) The rest of the classes are pretty great as well. For Marine Biology, we are planning an excursion to Svalbard in early May!!! I'm excited already.
I haven't taken any pictures yet because it's been so dark! Within the last few days, the sun has begun to come back but doesn't stay up for long. I hope I can figure out how to post photos here as soon as I have some. It's very beautiful in Bodo.