Adventures in the Fjords

Back to Work

2006-05-11T14:00:00.000+02:00

Last week I was in Copenhagen for a short PhD seminar and then i went to Alta (in the North of Norway) for a darts tournament. I have a few pictures of both places but the server that hosts my website was hacked the other day so they are down for the moment.

In the meantime, check out my new ranking!!! Not too bad for a rookie.

And now there will be no traveling and no darts tournament until I am done with my exams (June 6th). I have three exams and my motivation level isn't very high but I'll give it one last effort before the summer break.

Trondheim

2006-04-14T11:49:00.000+02:00

I've posted pictures from a week-end trip I took in Trondheim in February.

For some reason or another I've misplaced the picture of the famous Nidaros Cathedral, but as the weather was rather gray and the cathedral very big, it wasn't a great picture anyway. For more information, click here.

New t-shirts

2006-04-14T10:43:00.000+02:00

The Molde Darts Club has new team t-shirts (which David designed. THANK YOU DAVID!!)

Famous in Norway

2006-04-13T13:45:00.000+02:00

Recently I've been in two newspapers in Norway.

The first time in the Romsdals Budstikke (the local paper in Molde) when I won the silver medal in the team regional championship. On the picture you see all the members of the darts club who participated.

The second time I was in Nordlys (the local paper in Tromsø) when I went up to help organize the Young Hearts conference a few weeks ago.

I was also on the local television. They were interviewing students regarding the upcoming career day at the college. I gave a great speech (in English) describing how career days are especially useful for international students since it's harder for us to network. I also talked about what international students could bring to a local company. Of course the whole thing is a sham since international students are asked to leave as soon as they graduate and work permits are almost impossible to get, but it sounded pretty good.

So what's cooking...

2006-04-13T11:27:00.000+02:00

It's the Easter break and I'm in school... I have my master's thesis to work on (yes, it's still early but things take so long to develop that I need to start this early. Right now I'm working on the theoretical framework and that's just fun intellectual stuff. Nothing too pragmatic, just a lot of reading and thinking. We'll see if it has anything to do with reality later!). Then I have exams in about a months and I'm not ready AT ALL. Finally, I'm going to Copenhagen in early May (Hello Michael!!) to attend a PhD course at the Copenhagen Business School so I have a lot of readings for that and a presentation to prepare.

Then I have been playing darts a lot. I went to the National Championship and had a lot of fun. In May (right after Copenhagen) I'm going to Alta for a tournament. My original plan was to go a couple of days early to visit the area, but since I'm going to Copenhagen that week, I can't. That's ok, I still hope to see a bit of the surroundings. And I am now number 25 in Norway, though I don't really think I play better than when I was number 33...

I'm also helping with the organization of the next Young Hearts conference which will take place in Tromsø in early July. I went to Tromsø a couple of weeks ago to meet with some of the organizers and now I have a few things to do until the conference.

I think that's about it, but that's partly why I didn't deal with the website fiasco faster. (I still blame Stephen Harper).

Oh and by the way, and this is for all you Torontonians out there, MONTREAL IS GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!!! GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!!!!

WEBSITE IS BACK!!!

2006-04-13T11:17:00.000+02:00

Yes, yes, yes, yes, it's true, I have my website back! But please adjust your bookmarks, the website is now a .com and no longer .ca:

www.moiraarountheworld.com

Thanks to some bureaucratic loonacy of the Canadian government (I blame Stephen Harper), it turns out I can't have a .ca website. But now that I have it back, I will be working at adding pictures and will let you know when they are up. I am also updating the links to the pictures on the blog so the most recent are back but not all of them as I am working backwards (for your comfort and safety).

News

2006-02-03T14:50:00.000+01:00

I have been SOOOOO busy and yet nothing really newsworthy has happened but here's an update:

- As you may have noticed, all the pictures are gone. So is my website... Apparently in order to have the website I have I need to be a Canadian resident and for some reason it was shut down because they did not have proof. I am faxing them my Quebec driver's license and hopefully the website should be back up and running soon...

- I am in the middle of 3 (yes, that's THREE) assignments right now...

- I went to a darts tournament last Saturday and played so badly... However I'm going to Oslo next week-end and hopefully I will do better there.

- THE SUN IS BACK THE SUN IS BACK THE SUN IS BACK!!! Molde isn't that far north that it disappears completely, but I think that today is the first sunny day we've had this new year.

- I went cross-country skiing again two weeks-ago and crashed on my butt. Not too much harm done though, and thankfully no one was watching!

- I got all my grades back from my first semester exams and did very well. I'm quite proud actually. As for this semester, that will probably be a whole other story...

- I am organising a one day conference on March 9th on "Women in science" focusing on women in higher education and in high positions, especially in the field of logistics.

- My migraines are back (I stopped the treatment in October) so I have an appointment with the neurologist soon and I might have to go back on the drugs, hopefully at a low dose.

- THE SUN IS BACK THE SUN IS BACK THE SUN IS BACK!!!!

- Arnt-Gunnar received an ice-cream making machine for Christmas and I made a citrus sorbet on Wednesday and it's FANTASTIC!!!

I think that's "all the news that's fit to print", but as you can see I'm running around all over the place and enjoying most of it!

Happy New Year!!

2006-01-15T15:18:00.000+01:00

Yes, I disappeared for a while but I needed a little break. Since the last time I posted I exams (that went surprisingly well), and then I went to Geneva for a nice three-week vacation. I lounged around, saw friends and then with Arnt-Gunnar and my mom we went to Villars for a little walk and a croûte au fromage at Bretaye and then in the evening went down to the bains de Lavey (thermal baths) to swim in the hot water outside. It was absolutely fantastic and I am definitively going back.

I didn't take any pictures during the vacation (as I said, it was mostly a "lounging around" type of vacation) but my mom has a few so as soon as she's back from Florida I'll post a couple.

And of course I saw little Maia who is so cute and smiles and says "areu" beautifully.

Finally, to make up for the lack of vacation pictures I have posted the pictures Arnt-Gunnar and I took to make a Christmas card.

So cute, so cute!!!

2005-12-19T13:08:00.000+01:00

I'm in Geneva and so here are the first pictures of the cutest niece in the world!!

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN????!!!

2005-12-11T12:22:00.000+01:00

Exams, exams, exams. I had one last Thursday and I have one on Tuesday. I also helped organise a party for the masters students, and I had a final assignment to hand it. But I'll be on vacation soon; Wednesday I fly out at 7 in the morning and I'll be in Geneva for three weeks. Arnt-Gunnar will join me a week later. Yes, some people have to work...

But I have had time to do something exciting: I went cross-country skiing yesterday for the very first time in my life. I didn't think it was too hard and I really enjoyed the excercise. I didn't go very far though because it was raining and the snow was quite sticky but I got a good feel for the skis.

The skiing place is very close to Molde so when I come back in January I look forward to going for little strolls in the woods. Yesterday I just skied around the start area but they have 2,5km, 5km and 10km runs. I'll bring cookies for the Big Bad Wolf.

Tournament in Namsos

2005-11-23T12:30:00.000+01:00

As promised, here are the pictures of my week-end in Namsos.

This week-end...

2005-11-13T18:08:00.000+01:00

... I played darts. And next week-end I'm going all the way to Namsos (north of Trondheim) to play in a national tournament.

In the meantime I think I did pretty well on Saturday (results) and if I can get over my bad habbit of losing in the last leg (set), I should do well in Namsos too! A whole gang of us from Molde (but alas not Arnt-Gunnar who is all dartsed out for the moment) will be going up and staying in a hut. Stories and pictures (and rankings) when I come back.

Trolls

2005-11-05T10:42:00.000+01:00

I have finally gotten around to putting the pictures of our little trip to the land of trolls on my website.

Click on the troll of course!

I have a new phone!!!

2005-10-28T14:17:00.000+02:00

And I love it, I love it, I love it!! It's so cool. And sexy... Yes, yes, I know, it's a bit materialstic (just a bit) to get this excited over a phone but come on, it's SOOOO cute.

So call me, send me an SMS, ask me what time it is, any excuse for me to use it.

(Want to know more about it? But of course you do! Just click here.)

Just an update

2005-10-26T13:41:00.000+02:00

I haven't posted in a while because nothing too exciting is going on. I'm going to classes (and exams are getting closer), playing darts (might go to a tournament next week-end) and worrying about my little cats when they don't come back from their walk around the neighbourhood.

Yes, the cats go out and they enjoy it a lot. They don't go out when it rains (come on, that's napping weather) and I always have them inside at night but during the day they like to take little walks around our house. I suspect that Gretl has a little (boycat)friend because she now stays out longer and longer and doesn't come right away when I call her.

And I have some medical news too. First I found an osteopath in Molde (yes, it's true. I believe there's only one, but that's good enough for me) and I will be seeing him on a regular basis because the other day he confirmed what I had known for years and that is that my back is a mess.

Then, as of yesterday, I am flying solo with regards to migraine medication. I started a treatment against migraines a year ago and this summer slowly started decreasing the dose. I took my last tablet last night and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will work. I ususally get migraines in the first two weeks after decreasing the dose, but we'll see after that. I look forward to being drug free again, not just because it feels good but also because while on this medication I gained 12 kilos (that's 2 stones or 26 pounds). I have already lost 3 kilos since I last decreased the dosage and it really feels great not to have the impression I need to eat all the time. I now eat like a normal person (I used to eat more than Arnt-Gunnar...) and I'm not hungry in between meals. In fact, now I have to remind myself to eat.

And the last bit of medical news is a rather odd one. I went to the optometrist while I was in Geneva to have a check-up and it turns out I'm colour blind!!!!! Not completely of course, I think we would have noticed that a while ago, but I have problems with green. I noticed it while playing darts because on the dart boards there are red and green areas and to me the green areas appear pale and I can't see the metal wire around them. The optometrist didn't have much of a solution for this (she obviously doesn't understand anything about my darts career!!) so I just have to deal with it. It's not a big problem of course otherwise I would have noticed it earlier but it's just odd to get to the age of 31 and discover grass is a totally different colour than what you see!! That's ok, it's pretty the way I see it too.

Off to the garage. Our car makes a very strange noise and we have finally acknowledged the fact that it won't "just go away".

I'm back from Geneva

2005-10-19T11:32:00.000+02:00

Don't be mad but ...

2005-10-10T13:42:00.000+02:00

... I forgot my camera when I went to the darts tournament on Saturday. And I really regretted it because it was an absolutely beautiful day.

And the darts tournament was a grueling but fun experience. There were 20 players and you play a total of 24 matches which means we played for 8 hours, almost non-stop. My back hurts, my shoulders hurt, (my throat and my head hurt but that's another problem) and I'm exhausted but it was all worth it. And I was 19th out of 20, which doesn't sound good but I'm actually pretty proud. First of all I played with the men (there were three women and one junior in the competition) and secondly apparently this tournament was moslty for the elite men.

And tomorrow I'm off to Geneva to see Little Maia. I REALLY REALLY REALLY hope the throat ache will go away...

And yes, I promise, I promise, I promise I'll take lots and lots and lots of pictures.

I just re-read my message and it's not entirely coherent but I'm a bit under the weather. I'll get back to you when I'm rested and I have more time to babble and post pictures.

Back in the pool

2005-10-06T09:48:00.000+02:00

I'm so busy right now that I've abandonned you. I'm sorry... Well on Monday and Wednesday I play darts (and this week was HORRIBLE! I've never played so badly and I hope it won't continue because I'm going to a tournament on Saturday!!) and then on Tuesday I went to the pool for the first time here. There's a municipal pool not too far from the college and where I live and there are a lot of kids jumping from the diving boards and screaming but it's still a pleasant experience. I might go tonight too but I have an entire day of lectures (argghh...) so I'll see how I feel.

I've been doing a million other little things but I just have the impression I'm always behind. On my readings for example...

But next Tuesday I'm going to Geneva to see little Maia and hopefully I'll get to rest and maybe even catch up on some of the readings.

So I have no cool pictures or stories to tell for now, but I might take pictures on Saturday. If I never mention the tournament again it's that I did really really poorly and I would appreciate if you didn't mention it either. It's not that I have a defeatist attitute, it's just that I'm playing really badly right now and that I'll be playing in the men's tournament (the women's tournament was full and they needed players for the men's tournament) and that usually the men play better. Sigh...

Long live Santa...

2005-09-30T12:26:00.000+02:00

... and thank you to the Danish Air Force for being so understanding.

Ranking

2005-09-26T13:52:00.000+02:00

Ok, this is how you can see that I am officially ranked as a darts player in Norway: go to the Norwegian Darts Federation, then click on "RANKINGLISTE" in the menu on the left, then on the top of that page click on "DAMER" and there I am, number 51! So cool.

A perfect week-end: darts and sheep

2005-09-26T11:08:00.000+02:00

I just had a(nother) great week-end. On Friday night I played an unofficial darts tournament. I didn't do well but Arnt-Gunnar got to the finals and won some money! Lunch in the cafeteria is on him. Then on Saturday I entered an official darts competition and won a match so I am now officially ranked in Norway.

And then on Saturday evening we went to an island to meet the sheep gathering crew. We had a barbecue dinner and sat in a tent listenning to brass band music (marches!). And then on Sunday we gathered sheep. We managed to gather 30 of 33, and one was found later but when we left a search party was leaving to find the remaining 2.

Some of the sheep will go to the slaughterhouse (in fact one of them escaped as it was being dragged onto the boat) and the others (the young ones like the one you see below) will be vaccinated and then set free.

And the ram will be exchanged so there isn't too much inbreading...

The truth about sheep

2005-09-23T11:20:00.000+02:00

Apparently what I wrote about the sheep in my last message wasn't right. Here's the honest and ugly truth: these sheep stay on the island all year, even during the harsh winter, but once a year they need to be gathered (and this is what we will be doing on Sunday). Once they are gathered, some will be chosen to go to the slaughterhouse and the others will be vaccinated and perhaps trimmed. No wonder they are so aggressive!!!

Wish me luck, wish me luck!

Back in Business

2005-09-22T10:32:00.000+02:00

As you can see, we're back in business. Apparently I had renewed my yearly plan with my service provider but I hadn't renewed my domain name (didn't know I had to...). The service provider people (who are very very nice) did that for me and now we can all see the pictures of little Maia. (HELLO LITTLE SUSHI!!!!)

Last week-end I was in Tromsø for some meetings and I didn't take many pictures (I might post one when I remember to download them from my camera) but this week-end promises to be just as exciting, if not more.

On Friday night I will be at a darts competition. The real competition is on Saturday and Sunday but Friday night is just an informal tournament. I don't expect to do well at all but it should be fun to participate as a solo since my last tournament was in doubles and triples.

And then on Saturday Arnt-Gunnar and I are going to an island populated only by wild sheep. We are going with a group and will have a barbecue in the evening followed by a night in sleeping bags in a cabin. Then on Sunday morning it will be our job to run after these sheep and gather them into the barn. They will then be taken back to the farm for the winter. Apparently these sheep are very aggressive because they don't see anyone all summer so running after them can be a bit dangerous. I have decided to spend most of the time taking pictures instead of running after woolly monsters but if you don't hear from me next week it means one of them wasn't too happy about being photographed.

?*Ø"Å¤"/&#%¤!!!!!!!

2005-09-20T12:01:00.000+02:00

I'm back from Tromsø where I went for the week-end to help plan for the next Young Hearts conference and what do I see? My webpage is down and since all the pictures on the blog are linked to the website, they're all gone.

I have written to the people at the server and I'm waiting for an answer. In the meantime you will just have to be patient...

So cute!! So cute!! So cute!!!

2005-09-14T13:46:00.000+02:00

The cutest niece in the world!!!

2005-09-12T10:45:00.000+02:00

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh.......

2005-09-11T21:37:00.000+02:00

I'M AN AUNT!!!!!

2005-09-11T12:21:00.000+02:00

Maia Anaella Boluda was born this morning at 6:11.

Mother and baby are doing very well. Father is recovering slowly!!

Bigger (and better?) pictures!

2005-09-07T14:05:00.000+02:00

As promised here are the pictures of our little trip to Ålesund. As you can see I have put larger pictures. For those with a slow connection this might be a problem but for those of you (a majority I think) with a fast connection it should make your viewing pleasure even more intense. (modesty is key here) If you have major problems with this change please let me know and I'll erase you from my list of friends.

I'm off to my Norwegian class now. When I have a few minutes I'll share with you some of the oddities of the Norwegian language, the first being that some Norwegian males are named Odd.

Major hair malfunction

2005-09-02T11:32:00.000+02:00

It was time (yes, already) to dye my hair because the dark roots were starting to show but I didn't want to go completely brown, I wanted to take advantage of the pale blonde to try lighter shades of brown and that was a big mistake. I thought of going very red and then decided I had already done that and that it wouldn't be that exciting so instead I chose a kind of raspberry blonde. A total disaster. The first two days my hair had serious greenish highlights and of course during those two days I had to go to class, play darts, basically see ALL the people I know in Molde... Now the green seems to have subsided but my hair is kind of greyish and it's really not doing anything for my complexion. So I think this week-end I will go back to the store and try again. (I should have told you to buy L'Oreal stocks!) Of course there will be no pictures of this major disaster. I will start taking pictures again when I have nice hair.

In other news we plan on going to Ålesund on Saturday so expect some more pictures soon.

And now classes. Yes, I actually attend, and most are ok. I had my first Norwegian class the other day and I'm a bit ahead of the other students but it was still pleasant. And I talked to the teacher because she will be teaching a German course in the second semester and she said that my German was good enough to follow the course (Business German II), I just need to review what I learned 15 years ago so when I'm in Geneva in October I'll get some books (all the books here have explanations in Norwegian) and review on my own. I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually look forward to the German class. I think it's because after all those years of complaning (5 years of German in total) I can't believe how much I actually remember. Some of it is pretty far in my foggy memory but it'll all come out when I start reviewing.

The other classes are interesting and seeing the chaos in Louisiana I'm starting to get ideas about what kind of "logistics" I want to do my thesis on. We'll see, we'll see.

Busy week-end

2005-08-29T09:55:00.000+02:00

This was another busy week-end. On Saturday Arnt-Gunnar baked bread. 13 loafs of bread! And left this mess in the kitchen:

And then we went fishing.

We didn't catch anything but we went back on Sunday, this time directly by the ocean, and Arnt-Gunnar caught a nice cod. I caught a halibut but it was too small so we had to throw it back.

And then we spent the evening at some friends' house so now the kitchen is still a mess and homework still needs to be done (yes, they give homework in Norway too. If I had known...) but we had a great time and our friend told us of a few more "hot" fishing spots so we might go back very soon.

Pictures

2005-08-24T16:40:00.000+02:00

I have put the pictures of the trip to Smøla for the darts tournament and of the road trip to Eidsvoll to get my cats on my webpage. I've also reorganized the webpage to have one folder for all the Norwegian pages. Click here.

Exciting week-end

2005-08-23T12:59:00.000+02:00

On Saturday we went to a darts tournament on a small island. We had to take two ferries and do quite a bit of driving to get there, but it was absolutely beautiful. (I'm preparing the pictures and I'll put the webpages of the whole week-end up when they're ready). We took our fishing gear because we figured that we would be eliminated from the darts tournament pretty fast and we would have to do a bit of visiting and fishing, but we never took the gear out of the car. The first tournament I played was the mixed doubles, which I played with another member of the Molde darts club and lo and behold, we won!! (that's one trophee. Count them!) Then we played the tripple-mix with Arnt-Gunnar and came in third (second and third trophees (one for me and one for Arnt-Gunnar)). Then after a brief intermission during which I went out for a walk to take pictures, I entered the women's doubles with a young local player. We played well but lost our game, but as there were only three teams entered, we were third. Another trophee. And finally Arnt-Gunnar and the friend played the men's doubles and won; our fifth and final trophee!! Yes, it was quite the darts day. I have to say that the player from the Molde darts club is very very good, but I think we did a pretty good job considering we've only been playing for about two weeks.

And on Sunday I went to Hamar to get my cats from the quarantine station. The station is actually in Eidsvoll, which is a 7 hour drive from Molde so I spent the night in Hamar, which, as some of you may remember, is near Lillehammer which is where the 1994 winter Olympics were held. So I got to stay in one of the rooms (used either by athletes or officials) which was right across the street from the Olympic Hall, or Viking Ship as it is known.

And on Monday I came back with the cats. Hansl didn't like the car at first and made a lot of noise and moved around but after a while he settled down and took a nap. He also spent a lot of time in the back checking out the view out of the rear window. Gretl was an angel during the entire trip and just stayed on the back seat. They are now at home and feel quite comfortable there. Hansl has already chewed on one of my plants (bad, BAD cat!!!) and Gretl is already tearing the carpet with her paws.

As I said, there will be more "scenic" pictures of the week-end soon.

DARTS!!!

2005-08-19T14:01:00.000+02:00

Big news, Big news! So first news of the class/section/first day fiasco: it seems that all has been arranged quite nicely. I am being transferred into another section but they will offer the course I want to take. Depending on how many people want to take the course it will be a regular course or a seminar where we meet less often. I'm very happy with this outcome and thankful that it was solved so easily.

And now on to more fun news. As some of you may know, my new passion is darts. I joined the Molde darts club when I arrived and went to my first "ladies night" (Monday nights. Please don't bother to call at that time, I won't be home) where I did pretty well for a beginner. I didn't win any matches but I won quite a few sets and never lost too badly.

And on Saturday Arnt-Gunnar and I are going to a tournament on a tiny island off a big island somewhere north of Molde. There is another player from the Molde darts club who wanted to go and since the tournament features pairs and triplets competition, he needed partners so we're going as a gang. Arnt-Gunnar and I figure we will lose pretty quickly and then have time to go fishing a bit. To get to this island we need to drive for a little over an hour, take two ferries and then a long bridge.

I promise to take pictures.

Shaky beginnings

2005-08-18T11:38:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was the first day of orientation and it was quite the ride. First I got a letter in the mail saying that the form I had filled out to get my social insurance number was the wrong form. I had a hunch it was but then Alf (the friendly person at the city administration office) gave it to me so I trusted him. I shouldn't have but this morning I had the pleasure of seeing Alf again and hopefully filling out the right form.

Then I went to school for an orientation session (lead by Stein Wallace, for those who know him) and at the end of the session it was revealed that the section in which I had registered wasn't offered this year (and apparently I wasn't registered for it. Mmmmm.....). So three of us found ourselves transferred automatically into another section, but one of the courses which was the main difference between the two sections might still be available to us. We now need to (find and) negotiate with the professor who organises the class.

If it doesn't work out it won't be the end of the world, but I was really looking forward to that class.

And then this morning I did all the required steps (5 in total) to register. I now have a photo ID with a dreadful photo (no surprise there) and I've also discovered that my computer doesn't have wireless capability so I'm writing to you from the computer lab. (but at least I have a password so I have access to all the computers in the building).

Deep breath, deep breath, it's not even lunch time yet.

Friendly apartment

2005-08-18T11:25:00.000+02:00

I've decided to make our apartment more friendly and welcoming so I've bought a few plants. I then bought some dirt and repotted them. Very enjoyable work and I really like the results.

And I also got some herbs. From left to right: thyme, basil and rosemary.

Finally pictures of Norway...

2005-08-14T17:50:00.000+02:00

... which I took during our little trip to Varden, on a SUNNY Saturday afternoon! Click here.

Newfoundland and Labrador

2005-08-14T17:08:00.000+02:00

The pictures are ready, just click here.

So far so good

2005-08-14T15:54:00.000+02:00

Here is a picture from Varden, which is just up the mountain from Molde. In the background you can see the town and the beautiful fjord.

So far I haven't quite gotten the internet connection time I need to update ALL THE TIME, but sometime this week I should get an account and it will be easier for me to have access to the internet. (Right now I'm sitting in Arnt-Gunnar's office, which is very nice, except that they turn the ventilation off during the week-ends so it's hot and stuffy. Mmmm, reminds me of Montreal.)

So, news from Norway. I haven't done that much so far. I spend my days unpacking (slowly. It's very depressing to have to unpack 4 suitcases after having packed non-stop for two weeks...) and driving around (YEAAAHHHHH BABY!!!!!). I have stalled a few times but never in crucial situations, like in the middle of traffic with an ambulance barreling down on me; just when I get out of the parking lot because the car is cold. And I pretty much know my way around town now. I don't always take the shortest path (sorry Irina! ;-) home, but I can always find it. I have gone to the police station to register, to the darts club to play darts, to the bank to get a bank account, to a few grocery stores to find out what I will be able to eat (the selection is not too bad actually), to the Asian food store (yes, yes, yes, believe it) to find Wasabi coated dried chick peas (no luck but the owner will look the next time he goes to Oslo to get supplies) and finally yesterday to the top of the mountain where the picture was taken. All in all not too stressful a week, but next week should be more active since the university orientation starts on Wednesday.

And for those who laughed when I said that I was dying my hair blonde to blend in more easily, well eat your hearts out because it works!! I have been asked 3 times for directions by people who thought I was a local, and when I talked to the owner of the Asian food store (who is Norwegian), he assumed I was in Norway because I had some Norwegian ancestors. Now all I need to do is learn Norwegian.

I'll be back with more soon. In the meantime I'm going to set up the pages with pictures from Newfoundland and Varden on my website. Stay tunned.

Oh and since some of you will no doubt be very anxious to know about my cats, here's the news. They are still in quarantine and I should be able to go and get them sometime in the next week. I spoke to the woman from the quarantine station who told me that they are doing fine, and that they are in the same cage and that they are so cute!! But I guess we already knew that :-)

Hello from Molde!!

2005-08-09T09:34:00.000+02:00

I'm sitting in the library of Molde College and I'm the only student here. I hope I get extra credit for this. So I'm here!! The trip went well (looooooooonnng) and Hansl and Gretl managed very well. I had Hansl who I think was a bit upset by all the moving and packing and Arnt-Gunnar had Gretl. They are both in quarantine now (together so they can share their experiences) and I will be able to get them sometime next week.

So, what is life in Molde like? I don't know yet, but I do know that we called the insurance company for the car this morning and all is ok for me to drive so as soon as I finish this post, life for Moldeners will no longer be the same. The beautiful safe haven which was once this quiet little town in the fjords will become a dangerous outpost of wreckless driving and persistant stalling.

The weather is cool (16) and today it's overcast but yesterday it was beautiful when I landed. And now I have 3 suitcases to unpack. I would have 4 if Arnt-Gunnar hadn't been so careless and lost one in transit.

I will leave you to go shopping (there's a kind of pollen attack right now here and I need tissues, a lot of tissues) and then I'm going to take a well-deserved nap. I'm too tired to remember why it's well deserved, but it is, I just know.

2005-08-03T23:32:00.000+02:00

I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it:

- MY DRIVER'S LICENSE -

And while I was at it I even got the International Driver's licence, so Peoples of the World, STAY HOME!!!!

(A special thanks to Pierro, whithout whom this would not have been as pleasant an experience as it was. The last two lessons just weren't the same.)

And the cats are participating too!

2005-08-03T03:18:00.000+02:00

Mother

2005-08-02T08:22:00.000+02:00

Apparently I wasn't very nice when I put a rather unflattering picture of my mother on my website (by all means, go and see for yourself: Mother Does Pool Toys) so here is one that is very pretty and suitable for viewers of all ages:

More, more!!!

2005-08-01T18:33:00.000+02:00

And another

2005-07-31T00:59:00.000+02:00

An attentive crowd watches as the future champion fires a brilliant shot to take the lead.

Since I don't have time to do my webpage for the moment.....

2005-07-30T16:25:00.000+02:00

..... here's another picture of Newfoundland.

And now the important stuff...

2005-07-27T15:00:00.000+02:00

While I was away these past few weeks I got:

- My Norwegian visa

- The confirmation that my Canadian citizenship application is being processed. Now I just need to wait between 12 and 18 months, or less if the Liberals decide they really need my vote.

- A date for my driving test!!!! When I was in Florida I checked the website of the SAAQ just to see and sure enough they weren't on strike anymore. I rushed to make an appointment and I have one for August 3rd, so keep your fingers crossed and STAY OFF THE ROAD!!!! (especially between 2:50 and 3:20pm...)

- Information about the Opening Week at Molde University College:
Day 1: Beer and then more beer.
Day 2: Coffee and cookies and then a football tournament. (the football tournament starts at 11:00PM which might explain the need for coffee)
Day 3: Beer and disco
Day 4: Beer and bowling
Day 5: Barbecue and beer
And there is some advising somewhere in there but with all the beer I'm not sure many people will actually get to it.

- A lot of bills I don't intend to pay because I'm leaving the country!! (just kidding, just kidding)

Back from the Rock

2005-07-27T14:48:00.000+02:00

I'm back from Newfoundland where I had an absolutely great time. It will be a while before I get the web page done because I'm in the middle of packing and organising my move, but this time I do have quite a few pictures (I didn't forget my camera this time) and none of them need special warnings.

In the meantime I will just say that Newfoundland is really beautiful and most definitively worth a visit. There are also very few tourists, which is always a big relief and yes, the people are friendly.

More pictures of Florida...

2005-07-17T17:06:00.000+02:00

... now available on my website.

And today I'm off to Newfoundland to get away from all this heat and humidity (and packing...).

Fun in the Sun

2005-07-15T15:53:00.000+02:00

I'm back from Florida, all tanned and rested. As you can see I made good use of the swimming pool. I also went to the Kennedy Space Center, St. Augustine and ate some alligator meat. Yes, it tastes like chicken.

Ok now on to more serious matters: when I dyed my hair blonde I was challenged to find two people who like it and even though I have found MANY MANY people who like my hair, none have written in so I have no proof to give to the mean person who is harrassing me about this. (don't look but just on the right of this post is a link to his blog. Feel free to go and tell him what you this of his behaviour).

So, if you would like to help me out, just click on the little "comment" below this entry and write in. In fact, do so even if you don't like my hair, at least that way I'll know... And you don't have to sign up for anything, give your social insurance number or solve any complicated riddle to put a comment in.

Thank you!!!

PAAAAAARRRTTYYYYYYY!!!!!

2005-07-02T01:37:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was my last day at work. I'm not sure I've realized that yet but it was a great day. I celebrated at work and then after with all the people I had met at work (plus a couple of Swiss people who showed up unanounced, which is not very Swiss, but who were very nice). I think it will be another few days before I'm able to take it all in but in the mean time I have a few pictures of the evening on my website.

Yes, I'm blonde on those too!

No blonde jokes please!

2005-07-01T16:52:00.000+02:00

Someone has challenged me to find two people who like the blonde hair. Any volunteers?

A second time, a first time, and soon to come...

2005-06-26T05:16:00.000+02:00

I had another Shiatsu massage on Friday. (yes, we got Friday off because it was the Quebec national holiday. I know, Quebec is a province, but I get a day off out of this so let's not get into it) It was great. And I'm in love with the guy who does the massage. He's so cute. And he really cares for my well being. In a raw physical way, if you see what I mean. But I'm glad some of the conversations we have are not carried out in public.

At one point during the massage he touched my lower back and I had to be scraped off the ceiling. This is the conversation we had afterwards about it:

him: "There's something going on with your coccyx"

me: "You noticed..."

him: "Yes, there's really a lot of energy down there."

me: "You don't say..."

And then today I went to a stand-up comedy show for the very very first time. It was a show to raise money for juvenile diabetes featuring Montreal comedians, and it was really good. I can't believe I waited all these years to go to such a show. It really is better live than on tv. I shall do it again.

And I'm going blonde. Soon. Very soon. Now you're warned.

Fun at the C.R.T.

2005-06-23T21:16:00.000+02:00

Since the month of April Irina and I have organised a series of 12 informal seminars about places we come from or places we have lived in. We've had a lot of fun attending all the seminars and I'll miss them a lot in the fall when Irina starts another series. And yes, my presentation was on Switzerland but I said only nice things. I even managed to avoid the "Big Three" topics: chocolate, cheese and the army. Instead I talked about hornüss, cow fights, Rivella and of course the Escalade.

On Wednesday Tanja presented Serbia and Montenegro and came to the presentation dressed in a Serbian outfit. Milenko is wearing a Montenegran outfit. In the bottom picture Mariam and Abdessamad measure up to Milenko! (Mariam and Abdessamad are from Morocco and Abdessamad was one of our presenters.)

And Bhutan would be...

2005-06-23T15:08:00.000+02:00

I love geography. I love it, I love it, I love it. And for those of you who really want to know where Bhutan and Kyrgyzstan are, here's a website you can waste hours on: Geography games.

And then just for fun: Beer geography.

More mountains near Molde

2005-06-22T20:35:00.000+02:00

Vacation!

2005-06-20T15:15:00.000+02:00

No, I'm not on vacation yet, but it feels like it. This week and next week Fridays are off (this week is the Quebec national holiday and next week is the Canada national holiday) and since I don't work on Mondays, I have two very short work weeks ahead of me. That and the weather is beautiful, the temperature is perfect, I'm going to see my nice osteopath today and my cats actually let me sleep last night.

I do have a paper do write for my class (and the final exam to prepare) and for a while I felt quite on top of things with regards to my move but now I realize I may be a bit behind. That's ok though; all the plane tickets are bought and the only vital purchase I need to make is a swimsuit for Florida.

Last day at work: June 30th (PARTYYYYYY!!!!!!!)
Departure for Florida: July 4th
Departure for Newfoundland: July 17th
Departure for Norway: August 7th

Oh yeah and I need to clean my apartment... I finally figured out what was oozing out of my fridge and now that I've stopped the outflow I need to clean up the mess. It kinds of takes away from that "vacation feeling" but that's ok, we all need to feel human at one point or another.

Oh and a few of you have already expressed an interest in coming to Molde. Think about it seriously and tell me if and when you want to come so I can plan the visits. We would love to have visitors and look forward to showing the area around to whoever is brave enough to come all the way out into the wilderness of the fjords. Pack a camera and a rain jacket!

A cool night in Montreal

2005-06-15T16:33:00.000+02:00

3 posts in one day. Aren’t you all lucky!

So last night I went to bed early, right after my class and after I had checked the baseball scores (Go Expos!!! Ok, nevermind…) and I was so happy to be able to curl up under my covers instead of lying drenched in sweat 2 meters from the fan. (no, this is not sexy at all! Stop that!!) But as soon as I went to bed I started suffering from seasonal allergies and my eyes started to itch and my nose to run.... Finally I fell asleep, only be woken up in the middle of the night by what I can best describe as a full fledged deployment of the garbage pick-up battalion of the Central Montreal division of the artillery. I have no idea what they were doing and what took them so long but these mammoth vehicles went up and down and up and down my street stopping and going at every building and cranking those monster diesel engines every time they had to lift a recycle bin filled with a single copy of this week’s Neighbourhood Friendly But Not So Newsworthy Newsletter.

After the battalion had moved on I fell asleep again but was woken up at 5 by my adorable cats. The poor kittens suffered quite a bit from the heat and for three days had just being laying there sleeping 18 hours a day instead of a more healthy 16. But now that the temperature has cooled down (if you didn’t know this you’re reading the posts in the wrong order. If you want to read them chronologically you should start at the BOTTOM of the page!) they decided to get back into the swing of things and started running after each other like bloody maniacs. Up and down and up and down my apartment and in the tub and out of the tub and up the sofa and off the shelves and up the kitchen table and back in the tub. I let it go on for a while thinking they just needed to exercise and then took pity on my downstairs neighbours and opened my bedroom door to sit them down for a little talk when one of them dashed into my bedroom. Using the “Divide and Conquer” strategy I closed the door quickly because if they are not together I know that they won’t run around like crazy.

So now that I had Gretl with me I thought I might get a bit more sleep but of course Gretl had other plans. First she played with her brother who was on the other side of the door but how fun is it to see if we can catch each other’s paws under the door and who cares if we make a lot of noise doing it, and then when she got bored with that she decided to see if I was REALLY asleep. No, of course not. So she stepped on me, turned round and round and round before she decided to settled down right next to my face, got up because the position wasn’t ideal, turned round and round…

I’m almost glad to go to work.

Mountains near Molde

2005-06-15T15:35:00.000+02:00

Can't take the heat...

2005-06-15T13:35:00.000+02:00

Last week the temperature went up suddenly and just like that it was 30 degrees (Celsius) with 99% humidity. And while we were still in the (air conditioned) office gasping in front of our computer screens every time we went to see the weather forecast that was fine, but on Friday evening I had to face the reality of three days (I don't work Mondays) of dreaded weather. And dreadful they were. On Saturday it was so hot and humid that I went to the movies, twice. ("Après vous" with Daniel Auteuil and "The Interpreter" with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn) When I got out of the second movie it was about midnight and I had a bite to eat and because this was the Grand Prix week-end there were so many people at one in the morning on Ste Catherine Street that you had to walk on the street if you actually wanted to move.

On Sunday I suffered some more.

And then on Monday I was suffering a lot still when I found out that someone I know who was going to Molde that afternoon was willing to take a suitcase for me. So I packed quickly in what must have been 45 degrees (heat and humidity combined) and brought the suitcase over. The thing is that it was so hot when I packed that I just put everything I had with long sleeves in the suitcase. I vaguely remembered that I was going to Newfoundland in July but I was mostly aware of the heat and of my upcoming trip to Florida.

So on Tuesday morning when the woman on the radio announced that it was 17 and that it was only going to go up to 22, I looked around my bedroom and realized I didn't have anything to wear. Not only that but the temperature will actually be going DOWN all week...

Now don't get me wrong, I'm very very glad for this and I would much much rather be cold than hot, but I just hope I don't get pneumonia walking around in little skirts and sleeveless tops during what looks like a week of cold drizzle.

A short update

2005-06-06T14:44:00.000+02:00

Not much has been very newsworthy these days. I've sent in my citizenship application (Canada), I've sent in my student visa application (Norway), I took my midterm exam yesterday (ok I think) and I've been to Switzerland and back.

I also wanted to say that my arm is better (my neck is now fully recovered, and yes, we're still talking about the injury I sustained during the play!) and it doesn't hurt as long as I don't do anything with it. I'm still not allowed to carry anything with it and I shouldn't really force it in any direction. The treatment I'm following now is osteopathy and I absolutely love it. (For information on what that is, click here. Lars Nordehus is an osteopath in Molde actually.) The treatment is very very gentle (unlike physio) and I've seen immediate results both with my neck and arm. The osteopath here in Montreal is also dealing with my chest which is a bit "congested" muscularly from the surgery and has given me very easy and painless excercises that take just a few seconds to do and that have helped "open up" my chest. They also help my arm and shoulder but I definitively feel as though my shoulders and back are more straight and that my chest is more "open". Even when my arm is fully recovered I will try as much as I can to continue seeing an osteopath so I can maybe get rid of the back pain I have here and then.

In May (which seems like such a long time ago) I had a shiazu massage which I really liked too. (For more information on that click here). The day after my massage I felt like I had a new pair of sneakers on because there was so much energy flowing in my legs. The massage is actually a series of pressure points and a few of them were painful (for example in my back because there are so many problems in my lower back) but I just mentionned it to the therapist and he released the pressure immediately. All in all it was a fantastic experience and the effects definitively lasted for a few days. I felt quite relaxed and yet more energetic than before the massage.

Other than that I'm trying to enjoy the good weather in Montreal. It's hot and sunny and I did do the "Montreal thing" on Saturday and went on a terrace to study. As I had showered myself with sunscreen lotion (yes, the lotion I have comes in the form of a spray, so "shower" is the right word) I didn't actually tan but it was nice to be out (and nice not to burn too!!). Tonight there is a big production of Carmen in one of our biggest concert halls and they are filming the performance and showing it live on a big screen outside so I'll be going with a few friends, armed with a sandwich and my camping chair.

Moirae

2005-05-27T21:51:00.000+02:00

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while but all of a sudden life took over. Not the one that we make for ourselves (job, meeting friends, activities) but real life. I was in Switzerland for a few days and in the past 10 days I have felt as though life (Life) has been right there in front of me with all its charm and whikedness. The three moirae. The one who spins the thread of life, the one who measures it and the one who cuts it. In the past 10 days I lived a life that will be, lives that were joined in order to be better fullfilled, and a life that ended. In the past 10 days Moïra actually lived the moirae, and was hopeful, happy, devastated.

And then because the world doesn't seem to care that sometimes we need to stop and enjoy and remember, I've had to come back to life (life). I'm back at work, back in class, back running around.

A little girl.
A happy couple.
A friend.

I've been working very hard...

2005-05-04T18:41:00.000+02:00

... and the pictures of the play are finally ready. You can find them here on my website.

The World is Conspiring against Me

2005-05-02T01:30:00.000+02:00

After the play I've been wanting to rest a bit and just have some "quiet time" to myself but somehow that seems to be impossible. On Saturday I was really looking forward to taking a nap, but it was not to be. First I had to wake up early in the morning to pack a suitcase which a student from Molde University College visiting Montreal was taking to Molde for me, then I went to the office and did my taxes online (not very lucky this year. Apparently I owe Provincial taxes. I think I made an error but I can't find it so I'll let them find it. They did a good job of correcting everything I had done wrong the first year I was here!) and finished my application for citizenship (I can send it on May 10th!), and then I went to my massage therapist so he could work on my neck. While I was there the owner of the massage place asked me if I remembered that Sunday was their "Open Doors" day, with free massages, workshops etc... AAAHHHhhh, no, I hadn't remembered, but there went my Sunday nap. So after the massage I was supposed to come back and THEN take a nap, but while I was packing the suitcase in the morning the superintendant of my building came to my door to tell me that a couple from Quebec City was going to come to see my apartment that evening. WHAT????? So right after I had my massage (and don't think this was in anyway pleasurable, my neck is killing me) I dashed home and cleaned all evening. And of course the couple never showed up. I should have gambled...
Then today I had to wake up early for a two-hour driving lesson (for those who think I already have a driver's license, yes, I had one, but thanks to the stupidity of the American authorities, I have to get another one, and that implies taking more driving lessons) which involved getting on and off the highway more times than I care to remember, and then I went to the massage place where I found out all about Shiazu massages and then finally I came back home and crawled into bed. And that's when Hansl and Gretl decided it was time to play and kept jumping on the bed and running after each other until I gave up and got up to make myself dinner.

Don't they look so sweet?? WELL THEY'RE NOT!!! They're mean, mean cats!! Actually no, they're so cute, but still, I really needed that nap... And so this is a typical week-end in my crazy life. Just when I thought that it would be quiet now that I have no lines to learn or textbooks to read.
Now Tomorrow all I have to do is go to the bank (somehow earlier this week some money mysteriously appeared in my account!) and that's it. I can sleep in, take a nap, enjoy my day off. SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP!!! (by the way, Hansl is now sleeping right next to me and Gretl is in the bedroom also taking a nap. Not fair!)

Back from my theatre experience

2005-04-27T03:52:00.000+02:00

I'm back after having been submerged in a world all to its own last week. We performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and I had a really great time. I had fun with the rest of the cast, had fun developping my character and finding out what I was capable of on stage, and I also really loved performing in front of the public. (Here is a picture of me with my make-up and costume. I played a TV hostess who is very nervous and a bit over the top)
The audience was very lively all three nights and they laughed and clapped and I think generally had a good time. I don't know if I would have the energy to perform again soon, but I am certainly ready to start preparing another play right away. That will have to wait until at least this fall though. I will be making a webpage on my website with pictures and a more complete account of how things went, including the small "incident" on opening night which has left me with a very sore neck but thankfully nothing more serious. Stay tuned.

The Show Is On!!

2005-04-20T17:40:00.000+02:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while but I've been extremely busy. I will make an exception to the rule of only posting news about Norway and mention that tomorrow is the start of the play I'm acting in, "Point Final" ("Done to Death" by Fred Carmichael). We will be performing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and tonight is the last rehearsal which we'll be doing with costumes, make-up, sets, lights and music, on the very stage we will be using for the performances.

The play is a lot of fun and I'm sure the spectators will enjoy it. I don't have a very big role but it's still been a lot of hard work. And as the money we make is going towards school programs it's already a very rewarding experience.
So I will be back with more once I have recovered. In the meantime just a quick update on the move to Norway: Hansl and Gretl have been vaccinated and microchipped but will still have to be quarantined for about a week when they get to Norway. Thankfully it is only a week, and they will be traveling with us in the cabin of the plane, not in the cargo so hopefully the trip won't be too traumatic for them. Arnt-Gunnar and I will not be on the same flight, so Hansl will go with Arnt-Gunnar and Gretl will come with me. As for my own visa, things are progressing too and I should send the application in very soon. I have also recalculated the time I have been in Canada since I became a Permanent Resident and it turns out that I will be allowed to apply for citizenship on May 2nd. The application is almost all filled-out and will certainly be sent out on May 2nd! Oh and I still have my taxes to do, but all of this will have to wait until Sunday, or even next Monday if Sunday is spent recovering from Saturday night's "end of play" party!

And by the way, the stamp is a painting of Thespis, the first reported actor in Western civilisation, traveling with his cart to perform short plays. It's here for a bit of inspiration for the days to come!

News from the land of Vikings

2005-04-06T15:41:00.000+02:00

	In case you were looking for a summer job and wanted to express your inner conquerer, the Midgard historic center in Vestfold county (Norway) is recruiting vikings to entertain and educate tourists. (Click here for the official job posting in Norwegian)
Also, if you're interested in Norwegian culture, the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has a section entitled "Only in Norway" with articles about crazy cows, crazier moose and the craziest Santas in the world.

Food for the Hungry Soul

2005-04-03T20:33:00.000+02:00

To follow up on the last post, I wanted to show you what awaits me in Norway:

This is a snack we enjoyed at Christmas. It was very tasty and had a small "barbaric meat eater" side to it: Me like meat. Me hungry. Me want whole leg. Me happy woman.

Food for the Soul

2005-03-31T03:16:00.000+02:00

In a previous entry I made a list of things I would miss in Montreal. Well, I forgot the most important thing I will miss: poutine. So to make up for this I have decided to compose an Ode to Poutine. The problem is that, as you will soon see, I'm not a great poet, or not even a poet at all, so I have decided to put this up and let you help me improve it. Below the entry you can click on the word "comments" and write in your suggestions. I will of course maintain artistic control over this masterpiece (just in case this makes me rich and famous!) and will decide what to integrate to make this the ultimate dedication to a most delightful dish.

Ode to Poutine

Quite a long time ago, along a frozen road
A young, hungry Anglo sought shelter from the cold,
Who had been driving forth, from Sherbrooke to Val d'Or,
North to South, South to North, in his truck foot to floor.

So hungry was he that, when asked what to put in
Of all of this and that, nothing did he want thin;
A bit of chunky cheese, a lot of thick gravy
That was all if you please, on his fries aplenty.

Put in! Put in! he cried, for such was his hunger
And though many have tried, with the food to tinker
No others can marry to make a real poutine.

For that is now the name, which throughout the province
And Canada has gained fame, though some outside might wince.
Fries and cheese and gravy, nothing equals poutine!

Birds, bees, flowers...

2005-03-30T00:12:00.000+02:00

It's spring time in Molde!

It's all on the Web!!

2005-03-22T00:11:00.000+01:00

This morning I tried to call the Norwegian consulate in Montreal but no one was answering so I called the embassy in Ottawa (yes, that's the capital of Canada) and was greeted by a very cheerful and very friendly person. Here's how our conversation went:

-Good morning! I called the consulate in Montreal but no one answered?
-It's Easter week, maybe she's coming in a bit later. (sure, but when the offices are only open from 9 to 12 Monday to Thursday, every minute counts!)
-I am coming to Norway this summer and I was wondering if the consulate had the forms I need to fill out to obtain a visa.
-Oh, you should get that off the Web.
-Ok. And I'm bringing in two cats and I was wondering if you or the consulate would have a complete list or information brochure detailing what I need to do to prepare them for customs.
-Oh, you should get that off the Web.
-Ok. And I would like to know if you can give me a student visa even though I am a US citizen or if I have to go through the embassy in Washington.
- (disapproving grunt) Yes, we can do that but you don't need to go to the consulate.
-That's too bad because on the website of the consulate (the one with the flexible opening hours), it says that Richard Pound is the consul and I wanted to meet him! (Richard Pound is a) former director of the board of governors of McGill b) former chancellor of McGill c) father of McGill classmate and opponent in the famous referendum incident that added excitement to my final semester and d) big shot at the International Olympic Committee)
-(laughter) Well, you would be very lucky if that happened!
-Why, he's not there often?
-No, this is an honorary position. We have someone else who works there and she's very competent. (except for the not arriving there on time part I guess...)
-Ah, and does this honorary position have anything to do with Lillerhammer being awarded the 1994 winter Olympics?
-(very loud and slightly nervous laugh) No, no, no, no, no, he wanted to, he...mmmm...asked...no, not at all.

And just like that we ran out of conversation topics and she hung up, which is very unfortunate because I was going to ask her to use the official channels she is privileged to in order to personally deliver my well-wishes to King Harald V who is about to have heart surgery.

Montreal vs. Molde

2005-03-19T00:20:00.000+01:00

As with every big change there are foreseeable positives and negatives. Here are a few things I think I will miss from Montreal, and then what I look forward to in Molde.

Montreal (in random order):

IRISH PUBS!! (just a comment about this. The partying last night for St. Patrick's day was a lot of fun. And I did manage to go to work and perform a full day of intensely focused labour.)

Bread and bagels.

People from everywhere in the world.

Restaurant and coffee shop or pub terraces in the summer.

Cultural events, in both official languages, especially those that involve fiddling and tapping.

This is a cliché, but the restaurants.

Curling and hockey on TV and baseball on the radio. No, wait, there is no hockey on TV. Oh and wrong again, there's no baseball team in Montreal anymore. Ok well then I guess there really is no point in staying...

Molde (also in random order):

Fresh air.

Going back to school and doing something I really like.

A new language to learn and a new culture to discover (at Christmas a discussion with a couple of Norwegians and a Spaniard lead to this discovery: in Norway, it is customary to remove your shoes when you enter a house. In Spain, it is seen as rude to remove your shoes because it implies that you are settling in, uninvited.)

A car!

Meeting trolls.

The mountains.

Hopefully a more quiet pace.

Gravloks.

Fishing in the fjord and in the ocean.

Biathlon on TV.

WHAT??? You're going to Norway????

2005-03-17T03:18:00.000+01:00

Yes, I can hear you, dear Readers, asking me all sorts of questions about my move, so I'll take a bit of time here to answer some of them.

Do you speak Norwegian?
No. But that's ok, I'm a fast learner. (Sure). The program is taught entirely in English and I will take Norwegian lessons at the College during my first semester. Also, many people in Norway speak English so I won't be too lost.

Where will you live?
With Arnt-Gunnar in the lovely apartment he occupies currently. He lives in a house which is just 10 minutes away from the College (walking) and a couple of minutes from downtown Molde with the car (YES! he has a car!!).

What will happen to Hansl and Gretl?
Hansl and Gretl will be coming to Norway too! They just need a couple more vaccinations and a microchip and they will be allowed to come. During the flight over they will be with us in the cabin and once we get to Molde we will try to see if they want to go outside a bit. Molde is a very quiet town and the apartment is in a quiet neighbourhood with few cars.

Are you moving to Norway forever?
Perhaps. Perhaps not. The Masters program lasts two years, and by then Arnt-Gunnar will have his Ph.D., so we'll decide then where we want to live. Any suggestions?

Didn't you almost die at Christmas eating that weird fish with lye?
Yes, but on a positive note, I did survive. And "lutefisk" (as it is called in Norwegian) is eaten only on rare occasions. I'm also hoping my body will build resistance to it and the shock to my system won't be quite as brutal. (actually, I'm kidding here. Though the dish does contain components of paint, it's not bad at all).

Can we come and visit?
OF COURSE!!! The fjords are beautiful and you are all welcome to visit.

In the beginning...

2005-03-16T19:44:00.000+01:00

My adventures in the Fjords officially start today. Today Arnt-Gunnar told me that I had been accepted to do a Master in Logistics Management (also called Master in Change and Logistics) at Molde University College. So now that I know what I will be doing in Molde, I need to start preparing.

I need to:

Get a student visa
Get my cats vaccinated and microchipped
Plan the move and storage of my furniture
Pack and get ready
Find my Intro to Statistics book...

We will be going to Norway at the beginning of August and the Masters is a two year program, so come and visit!

The emotions of the day have worn me down. More later, I promise!