Voelkommenn! I'm in Norway!

So a glorious thing happened at 6:00 AM Norwegian time this morning (midnight for my friends back on EST), we arrived in Norway! Hooray! Tokken tak Jesus! Translation: Many thanks, Jesus!

Last night was a flurry of activity on many fronts. A lot of the RDs had programs or meetings happening, followed by a pre port lecture, which every passenger on the ship is required to attend. At the pre port meetings, information, logistics and information about the field program are announced. There was definitely a buzz in the Union last night as I think everyone on the ship was bouncing off the walls and ready to see our first port of call. One thing that I am having a hard time adjusting to is the fact that since I left Columbus, we have gained 6 hours; which normally wouldn't be a problem if it is drawn out over the course of many days, but when you add to the fact that we are so far north that the sun does not set until 3 AM, your internal clock gets a little out of whack. I didn't get to sleep until about 1 AM and then awoke just before 6 when the sun rose to catch my first glimpse of Norway.

We first saw Norway a little after 6 AM this morning and what a sight. There were students everywhere outside on the ship, craning their heads to catch a glimpse of land amidst the vast ocean that we had transcended for the last nine days. I was a little surprised at my reaction to seeing land--it was a mixture of relief and disbelief in the fact that it felt like our trip was finally underway and that we had reached our first destination.

Norway at sunrise was beautiful. We encountered many tiny, uninhabited islands, followed by larger clusters of islands, nestled in the nooks and cranies of densely wooded hills. It was really something to behold...it felt almost otherwordly as you could feel you weren't in the US anymore. We arrived in Bergen shortly after 8 AM, and a few of us enjoyed a nice breakfast in the dining room when we finally docked. At about 8:15, a diplomat from the U.S. Consulate in Oslo came aboard to give a diplomatic briefing about U.S./Norwegian relations. And I found out a lot of fascinating things about our friends in the North.

First of all, Norway is the most expensive country that I have ever been to and collectively, one of the most expensive in the world. The country as a whole enjoys a great amount of wealth due to their vast oil empire (only Russia exports more oil each year) and fishing and seafood markets. Norwegians are extremely smart in the fact that they set up a Petroleum Trust in the 1960's right after the oil was discovered in the north. The trust does a lot of investing in multi-national, global companies to prepare for the future. The Norwegians still have a Royal Family, although they are more figure heads and have no real governmental authority. The heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haaroken is pretty cute, but has a pretty scandalous wife, who has a child out of wedlock with a convicted drug dealer....pretty scandalous stuff over here in the land of fish and fjords.

Norway has been under Danish and Swedish rule and was occupied by the Nazis during World War II. After the war, the Allied Forces freed the southern part of Norway and the Russians freed the northern area. Norwegians are an extremely wealthy people and as such, take care of their people cradle to grave. There is state assistance available to anyone who currently is unemployed, there is subsidized day care and college tuition, and get this ladies--Norwegian mothers get an entire year of maternity leave--and men get up to 2 months of paid paternity leave. Unbelieveable!

Norway is also home to recent refugees from Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, which has been an adjustment for the Norwegians.

Okay, now on to my day.

My friend Megan suggested that we get off of the ship to have our first taste of Norwegian coffee. We got off the ship quite easily, as we were far behind the rush of students bolting down the gangway after the all-clear had been given at 9:00 AM. We headed into the downtown area of Bergen from the pier, and just soaked in the sights. I still can't believe that as I am writing this I am actually in the country of Norway. Pretty amazing stuff. The country is just a feast for the eyes--rolling green hills to the north, cute little cobblestone streets and pastel-hued shops and restaurants, and of course the fabulous waterways in the town of Bergen. My camera was not able to do justice to the images that I saw today. The weather for the majority of the day, was overcast, chilly and drizzled rain, but by the end of the day, the temperature had perked and made for a beautiful sunset that I watched from the ship. Megan and I were able to find some exciting side streets in Bergen and wanted to find an authentic hole-in-the-wall cafe and just soak it in. We snapped some pictures along the way and came across a fabulous coffee shop and just took in the experience.

After coffee, ($5 a cup) we checked out some cute shops in the fish market area of the city and then headed back to the ship, where I had to meet Marco and our adopted Semsester at Sea grandma, Leah. S@S has a fabulous program that pairs lifelong learners on the voyage with students as a mentor/mentee/companionship piece of the voyage. Well Leah, who is a spitfire from Manhattan, wanted to adopt some students, so Marco and I both volunteered to help out. It was a nice thing to do because I miss my own grandma, and she was a joy to get to know. We got Leah off the ship and headed into Bergen so she and Marco could get their first glimpses of the city.

We ended our walk in Bergen's famous Fish Market Area. Tents are set up all along a cobblestone street area and vendors peddle goods, anything from seal skins to Norwegian-made sweaters ($200 US and up). The US dollar is not so good in Norway; $1 USD=5 Kroner. Just to give you an example of expenses, a meal of chicken McNuggets and fries at McDonald's in Bergen (yes, we actually had students eat there, cost close to 100 Kroner, which is almost $20 US). The fish market is a feast for the eyes and the appetite, and for anyone who loves seafood, it's quite a treat. Boxes of iced fish, fileted fish, sushi, fish burgers, crab legs, crab sandwiches, open faced salmon and shrimp sandwiches, lobster rolls, whale burgers, reindeer burgers, you name it, they make it at the fish market. After some perusing and some conversation with two Norwegian fish mongers (who speak 10 different languages including Russian, Flemish and Arabic), we settled on salmon sandwiches, which consisted of fresh, raw salmon on a bun. That's it, no fluff, no fuss, and all for 15 Kroner. Marco and I ran into some students along the way, who were in the midst of purchasing whale burgers for lunch. I was the only one brave enough to have a bit, and honestly, it wasn't too bad. It tastes a lot like beef jerky and has a tough jerky-like texture. And yes, it's legal to eat whale in Norway, as they do not hunt endangered species of whale off the coasts.

After hanging out with Leah and getting some gelato, we browsed in some shops, where for $3, I could pick up one post card! I am heading out tomorrow to buy some to send out. It's been awful being unable to communicate with folks!

On our way back to the ship, we were constantly running into students and hearing how excited they were. Some went on a variety of tours today and others will start tomorrow. A large group of students headed to Oslo, the capital, tonight, which is an eight hour train ride away. The RDs and the TAs went out to dinner in Bergen this evening and ended up at a fabulous Indian restaurant--I know, Indian food in Norway may not immediately sound tasty, but it was fabulous--and it was a great haunt for people watching. After our dinner, we walked into town a little bit more and then headed back to the ship, where we enjoyed a drink on the ship and enjoyed the sunset on the 7th floor deck of the boat.

Tomorrow should be a great day as well. I am headng off to bed in a minute to get ready for a hike that I am leading up to Mount Florien tomorrow. Should be fabulous and apparently is quite scenic for pictures, so I will be sure to include those as soon as I get them uploaded. After that, we are going to head into the heart of downtown, which is past the fish market and do some shopping and I would love to find a little cafe and write out some postcards.

It was great that I was finally able to talk to Brian tonight, for the first time since I left Halifax and it was wonderful to hear his voice. I love you, honey!!!

Alrighty, more to report from Bergen tomorrow. Have a great evening, I am signing off and off to bed!

Tonight's Norwegian vocabulary lesson:

Hvor er toaletter? Where is the toilet?

Tusen Takk for hjelpan. Thanks for helping.

God tur! Goodbye!!!