Oppland Hotell Lillehammer

... down the ski jump.As we were leaving we got to see the young ski-jumpers doing their jumps-the jump has a special turf on it so it can be used without snow in summer. Was amazing watching them do it. Looks like a real adrenelin rush! Had dinner at the hotel. Was actually very nice-one of the better meals we have had. The hotel is also very nice. Would definitely stay there again.

... with many shops and friendly people. There is a walking street with all of the best shops along it. I had my first experience on downhill skis since I have been here. We went to one of the Olympic ski areas, only a 15-minute bus ride from our flat, called Hafjell. It was an interesting experience! :) After spending quite a bit of time on the bunny hill, one ...

... is even better than the Rockies and of course that means a lot for me being from here and I find myself having tons more to talk about as you can make your commentary here much more personal.. Off to Copenhagen today to finish off this tour, only to fly back to Oslo the day after to pick up another one..really hope that one will be good as I'm stuck w them for 3 weeks since I'll be doing the cruise as well.. Will be nice to get a bit of a break on the ...

... it. During our 3 hour conversation with Steinar Bryn (who I did my field study under in November, and took a communications class from in January) on his deck overlooking Lake Mjøsa, he said that Lillehammer was given the opportunity to use its Olympic aid funds to begin the Nansen Dialogue Project in 1995 (to learn more, you should read my blog posts from that time), and change the lives of over 1500 people from the former Yugoslavia by creating ...

... season, but there is still no snow, so it's mostly just dark and dead here. Goodbyes have been a lot easier here than they were in Chile, I think for the most part because I haven't gotten as attached to my aquantances here. I've already gotten pretty good contact info for the few friends that I have gotten closer to here, so staying in touch should be pretty easy ...

... sure it will be worth it in the end for her. I missed her though. Christy and Jessica and I spent much of yesterday running around looking for the last-minute food purchases we needed. The most difficult item to obtain turned out to be the sweet potatoes which we could not have mailed to us. We found them at the little Asian food store in "downtown" Hamar. They were white sweet potatoes instead of the orangy-colored ones that I'm used to, but it ...

... flashbacks to my highschool experience. Wow, do I love college. Well, anyway, after a LONG discussion with Berit that probably should not have taken so long, we were able to agree that she would set me up for a meeting on Tuesday with a student who will be able to help me find other students to interview about mediation and conflict at Song. I've decided my main issue right now is to figure out whether or not this school really has any ethnic ...

... us "Sleepless in Seattle", they asked us in broken English about our favorite music, our favorite movies, and favorite sports, while filling the awkward, lost-in-translation moments with Serbian or Albanians folk songs (I couldn't tell the difference). Lauren and I just couldn't help but laugh... how many other times in life do you get to hang out with Serbian and Albanian politicians? Lauren and I tried very hard to extricate ourselves from the group ...

... the first time, and I've got to admit, I really enjoyed it. I'm not excited about having to walk everywhere instead of riding my bike (I tried to ride back from the train station last night and it made me way too nervous), but I like cold weather, wearing layers and having an extra excuse for hot chocolate or tea at all times of the day and night. There are some changes, however, outside of the snow. Tomorrow will be my first Halloween without a pumpkin in sight, and ...

... to speaking English in the classroom since the class is taught in English. Supposedly Norwegian students are timid about speaking English, although this has not been my experience so far. People in my generation are usually excited to practice their English with me, whereas people from older generations tend to be more timid. Anyway, it should be fun. Today the weather was very overcast, but I managed to get out on my bike with Nat for a good ride near ...