First Day of Classes at UiT!! & Tromsdalstinden!

Okay, so I know I said I would tryt to write shorter posts, but give me one more chance:) I guess I got busy! So it is Tuesday, and I had my first class today! It was titled Arctic Norway-Aspects of Culture, following both my sociology and Scandinavian interests. The class was cozy, about 24 of us, while there were some Norwegians, a majority of the class were ISU students, whether I knew them personally or not, it was a room of friendly faces. The professor was a hoot, and I am looking forward to class. With the smaller class size and hefty reading material it felt like I was back home at Concordia:)

$10 raspberries, the sweetest and most expensive treat I have had
 in Norway thusfar.

I am currently in Café Bodega, just enjoying some downtime and company of new friends. This past week was spent doing numerous activities. Last Wednesday, Ashley and I along with other ISU students travelled to the student house, driv to gather for more information about volunteering for the two-week event, Debutuke. It is a kick-off for the school year including events such as Waffle Thursdays, various sporting events, and numerous concerts and parties throughout the city. Ashley and I signed up for decorating for the events this coming Friday and Saturday. Because of decorating, we also get free admission, a free tee, a free meal, and discounts on beverages! Anything free in Norway should not be taken for granted!! After the meeting, Ashley and I familiarized ourselves better with the city center and bought some garden goods from a local market. I mistakenly purchased a tin of raspberries for 60 kr ($10) I thought he said 16 kr, honest mistake but they were a good treat after a long week! Wednesday night, I met my roommate for the first time. Her name is Madelen and originally from Norway, taking her second year at UiT for political science. That night two of her other friends came over and we all enjoyed some drinks and chips—it was quite a treat!

Thursday morning I went for my first run around the island, I headed north and being on that end of the island there wasn’t much to see. It was a nice morning even with the constant clouds coming off the sea. I hope to run often and the persistent hills and curves should benefit me in some way or another. I know that it will never get boring! Thursday night, Ashley, Johanna, (from Germany) Madelen and I watched Shrek 2 at Ashley’s apartment. It was nice to kick back and relax.

Friday, Ashley and I came in for the Student Expo, and many UiT students were friendly and approachable. The only problem was that every time they excitedly talked with us, we had to shyly exclaim, “English, I speak English.” After the expo we enjoyed a nice waffle and coffee in Café Bodega—it was quite cold. Friday night, my kind roommate offered to make Ashley and I tacos! So we went to the nearest grocery store and bought some goods. It was a wonderful meal in comparison to the bland peanut butter sandwiches I had been eating the week before, and going to the grocery store allowed me to buy jelly and some more bread. After tacos, we scooted on over to Ashley’s again to watch Madagascar—we like the animated films.

Saturday morning, I went for another run but ran west instead of North and found a set of trails that went in and around a group of lakes that are higher on the island. While I was running, I realized that I was approaching a fenced in area. Running beside the fence, I came across a reindeer! It was quite the sight to see:) Saturday night Ashley and I headed over to meet our friends Jana (Canada) and Holly (also Canada) who were meeting their friends in Ordalen. There we met a handful of wonderful Norwegian guys and enjoyed a good night of laughter, inquisition, and beer.

Sunday, we conquered Tromsdalstinden!! –one of the highest summits near Tromsø. The summit measures 1238 meters above sea level. Funny thing is, my friends Ashley, Holly (Canada) and Leonard (Belgium) wanted to leave by 9a so that we could hopefully reach the peak by noon but we had a little trouble with the bus system that morning so we didn’t get to the base of the mountain until 11:30a. But because of it, we climbed alongside a group of 80 some med students from the university. Leonard, the trooper, had done the exact same climb just the day before but we were definitely glad we had him by our sides the entire trek. As we got off the bus we walked a good hour until we started the incline. It wasn’t bad at first but once we got out the valley we could see that it got really steep, fast. All in all, it was an amazing, rough afternoon—very joyful finally reaching the summit. It was seriously breathtaking. We were grateful to start the trek down, taking a longer more gradual route than our trek up. It simply was an experience. After six hours, we got onto the bus with sore limbs ready for bed.

Monday, I woke sore and headed to the library on campus to follow up on some readings that were due for class today. It was interesting being on a different campus, but my heart still belongs at Concordia. Monday afternoon, Ashley and I made an adventure to the grocery store! It was a success and my tummy has been very content since then:) Tomorrow, Ashley and I are planning to meet for waffles at Café Bodega and then enjoy an afternoon in the city—should be fun!

It has already been quite the experience being here—and already for 15 days! I am anxious to get into a routine with classes and continue meeting new people. It seriously is beautiful and I feel like I am still walking around with a postcard in front of my face. My heart is at home, but I am very grateful I am here. I can’t help but think of all the Cobbers starting classes next week and my XC team in Park Rapids this week—speaking of which, I will now go on my third run since being here in Tromsø. It’s only 50 degrees so I think I’ll just run in shorts this time!! Have a wonderful day:) Until next time!