Quality Hotel Grand, Gjovik

... the sun was mostly shining and the temperatures were pretty decent (you may even spot me outside in a 3€ t-shirt in one of the photos) for the whole week. We even took the car for a spin to watch the beautiful countryside and look for moose and other dodgy characters roaming the local highways and byways. Most of the days we just relaxed though, slept late and spent time with friends, Jesper (who is growing fast) and the rest of my family.

... room, dinning room and two bedrooms- for three people). So it is beautiful here (not right now though, it's very cloudy). Spent a lot of time walking the last couple of days... since that is pretty much our only form of transportation. If we have to go to the other side of town then we will take the bus. Everything is so expensive... Get this... our first meal was McDonalds, and my double cheesburger and Coke cost ...

... time, where we did things like pull a tractor up a hill, throw milk jugs, fixing chain saws and more. it was very weird, and very fun all at the same time. we've also been to a concert at the school pub, with this awesome band that was just so dynamic. they had such a great stage presence, and people were just dancing like nobody was looking. it was great. friday we got bikes. it is a riot to see all of us ...

... fantastically cheap and fashionable clothes. I am in heaven. However, i was pretty good and only bought 3 things...so it could have been worse...right? But after all of this, the best part of my trip so far took place. We all bought 6 packs of beer, and despite the cost (i can't even talk about it right now, it is too terrible of a thought) we went to an opening day BBQ (on campus) and sat in the grass with all the other students and drank our ...

... that is not unusual for the airport area, as it is somehow close to the sea and hence got more of a coastal climate (Vidar Theisen correct me if I'm wrong here). Surely there will be plenty of snow when we hit Elverum a couple of hours further north. Rolling into my "cosmopolitan pueblo" 90 minutes later and well into the night, the thermometer showed -7 degrees. But where was the snow? I could not believe it ...

... immigrants to Norway understood me better than my mom's cousins had. When the teacher asked me to introduce myself, I explained in Norwegian who I was, where I was from and that I was studying "Democracy and Development" (the title of my 2nd module) at the college. A man from Iraq interrupted and asked in Norwegian "And how can you study Democracy when your country doesn't know anything about it!" I was floored. I really didn't know what to say. I mean...what is ...

... s only adding to the experience. Now that it's 4:10pm, the sky is completely dark and all I want to do is cozy up and read. I love the perfect Norwegian snow outside my window, the glow of the candles in this library, and this peace of this country. Even in the midst of a busy, stressful time, I am enjoying every minute. :o) Med beste hilsen fra Lillehammer, Christy :o) P.S. Pictures from this amusing adventure are now online at www.flickr.com/photos/christyolsen!!

... girls I have met here in Norway. Cecilie and I have actually talked about her coming to visit me over Easter this year. I would love to have her visit!! I am so bummed that I didn't meet these two earlier in the semester. I would have had a totally different experience. But its okay because I have had a great time. The only thing I really regret is not traveling alone. I should have listened to myself and taken mid-semester by myself and travelled to one or two ...

... pizza prepared for the gang when they got back. Since it was Halloween and we are Americans, we had planned to throw a big party. Things didn't work out and we enjoyed an evening to ourselves with a few people and had a great time. Marie and I carved a pumpkin (which we named Walter) and we bobbed for apples. It was pretty funny. I grabbed my in the corner, but had my entire mouth open so when I lifted my head out, water sprayed everywhere. I was a little embarrassed but I ...

... with Norwegian subtitles. It was fun to hang out with the girls and speak Norwegian! Again, I didn't get EVERYTHING that was said, but I got most of it! I also got to see some paintings that one of the girls had done in a little studio area that they created in the attic. She has lived in South Africa for some time, and I could see the influence in her style. I absolutely LOVED her paintings. They were very colorful, but what drew me to ...