This week has been long and exhausting, as the first week back after the holidays always is. I'll try to run through some of the highlights quickly to give and idea of what's been going on.
On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I had morning lectures in my course on Marine Ecology. It seems like an interesting course, and we even get to go on a week long research cruise in April, very neat! The only downside is that the course is supposed to carry on until the 16th of June. I know that I just can't stay here that long, I need to be home in the end of May to help with the garden and the market and everything. Hopefully I can make some sort of arrangements so I don't have to drop the course.
On Monday we also had the first meeting of the new semester for the university paper Utropia. Deadline was on Friday as per usual, and there were plenty of articles to write. I claimed 2 and a half articles for myself. The first was a race report on the Mørketidsløp which the culture section editor asked me to do. The second was an article about a photo exhibition on whales called Øye Til Øye or "Eye to Eye" which is currently being displayed at the Polar Museum in Tromsø. It's basically an exhibition which has been designed to be shown in countries where whale hunting is still practiced since the global ban in 1982. The idea is to try and revitalize the movement to protect whales and hopefully stop the hunt for good. I also helped write a short bit for an article on the upcoming TIFF film festival.
On Monday my friends Josh and Miranda also returned back to Tromsø after the holidays. It was great to see them again, I went out to the airport to meet them and help them carry their bags. Miranda has now moved into the same house as Josh so it's even easier to go hang out with my friends than it was before. My own house filled up slowly during the week and now all 6 of us are back, feels like the place is properly lived in again. This also means that it's hard to find place for stuff in the fridge again, but that's ok.
On Tuesday I went out for my first run since the race. Did 6km and took it easy since it's still icy. I haven't run since then because it continues to be slippery and my right knee has been a little sore off and on, I'm hoping that it passes quickly.
On Thursday I had my first lecture in General Toxicology and Pharmacology. The lecture was interesting and not too difficult, but I was upset to discover that there were no textbooks in the library and that a new book costs 798 NOK = 140 USD = 97 € to buy! I'm hoping that the professor can get me a copy of an older edition to borrow because that's just too much to pay for a book that I will only need for one class.
I've been feeling the economic pressure in general lately. After buying an expensive plane ticket to get home for Christmas and various other unexpected bills I have ended up with a 500€ hole in my budget. I tried to get by this week by buying almost nothing but after 4 days of going to bed hungry I got tired of it. I've updated my CV and am now actively looking for part-time employment. I'm also going to put up some fliers at school offering to do English tutoring and correction of term papers. That would give me some quick and easy cash, and I'm sure it's something that people could need as well.
On Friday some of us exchange students congregated to pack up some second hand blankets, clothes, dishes, etc. to send off to the people in need in Haiti. After three hours of sorting, folding, boxing, bagging, labeling, and stacking we were all pretty exhausted. Luckily the ISU coordinator was kind and ordered us all pizza to thank us for our efforts. So I went away that day well-fed and I also brought a couple of shirts, a jacket, and a nice cast-iron wok home with me.
Later that day Utropia also sent me to cover a concert at the student club Driv called Zoom: Urørt. It was a kind of competition between up-and-coming bands from Norway. This was the northern Norwegian semi-finals. There were 5 bands playing, Swankmajer, Acid Garden, Trendsettarklubben, Jackie Moonshine, and Cyaneed. They were all very good and I got some excellent photos, had fun, and saw a few friends. Check out my flickr gallery for some photos from the concert.
After that I've had a relaxing weekend. I finally got sick and tired of my poor students diet of bland and tasteless carbs (aka rice & pasta) and went out and splurged 111 NOK on just fruit and vegetables. It feels so nice to have tasty veggies to eat again, they really are my life force in so many ways.
So there you go, a (relatively) quick recap of week #2.
4 months ago
2 comments:
Cool! Have fun working on the newspaper. That sounds like it will keep you busy. Looks like we're leading parallel lives now. I've been creatively frugal, cleaning out the freezer and cupboards without running to the store all the time. Fresh veggies can be expensive too. Can't wait for the garden again. We're also packing up some clothes, shoes, blankets and rice to donate. Now I just need to get running again! way to go! ((hugs))
I do love working for the paper. It's really a nice paper and the experience is really good for my resume also. I'm trying to get my articles scanned in so I could send them to you, my mom, and Granny to read. Most of them are in English you see.
Being creatively frugal with food can be fun but also challenging. I'm coming up with so many different ways to cook with cheap vegetables such as cabbage and peas. :-)
Good luck with the running! I hope it isn't as icy there as it is here.
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