Visiting My Heritage, Norway!

For those of you who don't know anything about my heritage, I am 50% Norwegian, 25% Swedish and 25% German. (There is a reason I have bright blonde hair!) I have spent the last 5 days in Norway spending time with some distant family and getting to know part of my heritage.

My great grandfather was born in Andoya, Norway. I didn't go to Andoya, instead I went to Oslo. But for those of you who are curious, check out http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=andoya+norway+map&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Andøya&ei=Gnu4Ta6EBIuhOoWiyY0P&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ8gEwAA

you will be able to see andoya on that map!

I spent my time staying and visiting Gunnar and his wife Mette. Gunnar is my grandmothers cousin! They live in a gorgeous house with an incredible view! it was stunning!

I arrived on a Saturday, but we mainly stayed around the house and had a great meal with Mette's family and a couple of friends. it was a great meal and a wonderful time! then on Sunday, I went to church. Now for those of you who do not know me very well, I know absolutely no Norwegian. It is nonexistent, but I went to church and it was great. I didn't understand a word of the service of the hymns (I got Alleluia and Amen) but I read my Bible and it was just really fun!

After Church I started the sightseeing tour. We went to the Ski Jumping place (I know I would spell it wrong, so I am referring to it as ski jumping place!) It looked a lot different than I imagined ski jumping would be. I didn't know it was a giant pit that they jumped in to! Seeing the enormity of the facility made me realize two things:

1. It was very very steep and

2. I should probably never try ski jumping, because I am quite sure I would end up flat on my face and very injured

at the base

view from the top

side angle

looking straight down

side view!

After that we went to the sculpture park were we saw the statue "The angry boy"!

There were plenty of other great statues and amazing sights. It was such a pretty day outside, so many people were sitting in the park and enjoy themselves! That night we had a BBQ and had a lovely time with the whole family!

Monday was the museum day. We spent time at the folk museum which was awesome! it had a bunch of houses and farms and such from different centuries and time periods. It also had a really old church that was beautiful on the outside!

After that museum we got to head over to the viking museum. This is where I get to brag about some of my ancestors. Although I cannot trace them back to the vikings, we are quite sure that we have viking blood in our family genes. Now the vikings traveled the world on these boats (see below). I think it is incredible that they traveled so far on these boats. It is amazing! 

(we also have reindeer herders and royalty in my genes, ya, i am a little odd!)

So on tuesday we traveled to some of the coastal towns in norway. I had great fun with this because i loved seeing the smaller towns, especially the ones on the water. My great grandfather was a fisherman (ironic because i don't eat fish) and although he worked in the United States it was still good seeing the lives of people who live on the coasts! The towns were very cute and cozy! 

Today, we went and explored Oslo. We started on the top of the Opera building and made our way on the street towards the palace and then moved to the harbor. It was great fun! The city is really pretty and a great place to walk around it! I loved being able to stroll through the area!

And tonight i got to watch a really pretty sunset! I have been blessed with some awesome weather here in norway because it has been sunny and in the 60s the ENTIRE time! (which is rare in april, apparently it is summer weather!)

But here are some facts i didn't know about Norway until I came here:
1. Did you know it was once called Christiania? I didn't!
2. Trolls are a big deal. There are lots of trolls, I find that kinda cool
3. Norway is really (well i did know that, but I felt like I needed another fact)

I leave Norway tomorrow morning to head back to London and then on Saturday I head back to the US. I am not going to lie, I am SO excited about the next couple of day! It will be so much fun being in London for the royal wedding and then heading back to the states to see some family and some friends! I am thrilled, but I am going to be sad leaving Norway. I want to come back and visit again, and travel to Bergen where more family lives hopefully make it up to Andoya one day and see more of my family history!

Next stope, the Royal Wedding so stay tuned!!

Saying goodbye

As i write this i have my last batch of chocolate chip cookies in the oven, my room is packed, my luggage is being stored for the week and it is my last night in South Kensington. I really want to know where the semester went, because it went by in the blink of an eye, and I can't believe it is all done.

Before I spend time reflecting over the semester, i think it is important to talk about my last week here. Las classes and finals are always interesting, it always amazes me when they are done. you take a test, do a presentation or turn in a paper and your life over the past 14 weeks is finished. That was my Monday and Tuesday, finishing up my classes. (i still have one paper due on monday but that will be turned in tomorrow before my trip to Norway!)

Work on wednesday was a typical work day, writing articles and updating information. I did a lot with the competitions and it was all really fun. Thursday was an interesting day on so many levels. Since I have been honest through the rest of my posts, i am going to continue that here. Going to work when you know it is your last day is always a challenge. I mean, it was not hard to motivate myself to go to work, but there is never too much for you to do. you can't start a new project because you will not be able to finish it. I spent a lot of time working with the competitions and making sure everything was up-to-date and everything had been completed. I made sure all the emails had been answered and the companies were aware of the prizes for those individuals. 

You see, even though I did complain in a much earlier blog about the placement of my internship, i actually did love it. the people I worked with were incredible and I got so much experience and gained so much knowledge from working there that I am going to miss not seeing them all the time! it was just really great!! 

so after work yesterday was unexpected. around 4:30 they brought out cake to say good bye. They also got champagne and we all ate and drank. I was a responsible drinker, i only had about 1.5 glasses over an hour and i drank it very slowly along with eating cake. We then proceeded to a pub around the corner where i got some cider which i also drank really slowly because i didn't want to get really drunk, especially in front of my bosses! My boss kept telling me that it was alright and that if i did get drunk she would take me home and i could sleep in her guest bedroom, she said she would take care of me and would make sure i made it home. after the pub we then went to another bar. They asked what i wanted to drink and I had no clue so i just got what everyone else ordered which was vodka lime soda and they all had a 'shot' (it was like a double shot) of sambuca. so i had that, and at this bar i again was still a relative responsible drinker and i only had the one vodka lime and soda and then i ordered water for the most part. when we did leave though, we did have another round of 'shots' but this time was black sambuca, which apparently tastes nasty, but i chased it with water, so i didn't even really taste it.  By this time it was about 10:30 pm and we hadn't had dinner so we to a diner and got some food. after this two members of our group left and the three of us left (me, my boss and my bosses boss) went to another club. Once again we ordered drinks (vodka lime and soda) and the bosses boss ordered us shots of gold tequilla. (again these were like double shots) we had those, danced a bit (it was a samba club) and then we left around 12:30. I can't believe it was 8 hours! but it was so much fun hanging out with them outside of work. so many times i have looked back on last night and have laughed and smiled at the great memories. (i should note that I did make it home and slept my own bed and did not have a hangover the next morning. It is not my typical night, but it is fun to go out every once and a while.)

during this week I also met up with another old friend, she was my fourth grade band teacher and was the choreographer in all of my musicals. It was great catching up and what is amazing is she is letting me keep my luggage at her place until I get back from norway, and is letting me sleep there for the couple of nights until I head back to LA. It was the nicest offer. Trust me, i will have more about this and have some of the details on meeting up with another old friend in a post next week!

Speaking of keeping my luggage there, I learned how awesome Londoners truly are. When you are carrying two bags that are probably between 55-65 pounds each you struggle. I was having to take the tube and transfer tubes while maneuvering my luggage. This means there are lots of stairs one has to take. I cannot carry both bags at he same time (they have wheels for moving them on flat surfaces) so I would leave one bag at the bottom of the stairs and that race up the stairs with one of my bags and run back down to get the other, or at least that was my plan. Every set of stairs some really nice person would grab my other bag and bring it up or down the stairs for me. at one point they even carried it to the tube, which they did not have to do. Other people would help me get both on the tubs and things. They were all just so incredibly nice and so helpful. it made me want to cry seeing them come together to help me out. I mean having to walk and things i have huge bruises and actually skinned my leg on my suitcase! So it was great relief when people stepped in and offered a helping hand!

So this is a rather long post, but i have had a great time here in london. At times it has been lonely and other times i questioned why I was here, but at the end of the day i had a great time. I made some really awesome friends and I will be sad to leave this flat tomorrow morning. I have so many incredible memories about the time, that i don't know where I would even start in describing it! i think anyone who gets the opportunity to study abroad really should, it is truly amazing.

fo all of you interested, tomorrow I head to norway until the 27 when i come back to london and then on the 30 i fly to the states and on may 4 i go home. I can't believe it is summer already. Im a senior, now that's a scary thought! I will be sad saying goodbye and leaving, but I will be excited for the adventures and the memories that each day holds and to be seeing my friends in family in such short time!

A blast from the past

As I write this I am taking a break from writing my papers and studying for my exam. it is hard to believe that I am going to be on summer break after Thursday! Where has this semester gone?

This past weekend I went to Wolverhampton to visit an old friend, Emma. Emma was my next door neighbour growing up. We saw each other everyday, no joke. From the age of one until I was 9, she lived right next door. We both moved away from Saudi in 1999 and I saw her briefly in 2006 when my parents went to Bahrain to interview for a job, but that was a large dinner with lots of folks and old friends so it was hard to pay attention to just one person. So before saturday I hadn't hung out with Emma for 12 years, yes, it had been that long. Isn't it scary how fast time flies when you look back at it?

Anyways, we got together and just had a great time. we reminisced about life growing up and the compound we lived in, Green Valley. We both agreed that Saudi Arabia is possibly the best place to grow up. We lived on a safe compound, had pools, play grounds, tennis courts, a rec center, a store and a restaurant. Our parents didn't have to worry about cars because everyone who lived there had kids and drove slowly around the compound. One of the best things about the compound, is that there was always someone to play with. We played so many games, bike tag (don't ask me how that worked), tag, 40-40 and so many others that escape my mind at the moment.

We took ballet lessons because everyone else was taking them. I do not believe we were very good at ballet, but we wanted to be there with everyone.  The photo below is one of our ballet performances. I have the bright blonde hair and Emma is leaning over talking to me. You see, we both had solo performances at this show, I was a sailor and she was the lady who swallowed the fly (i believe). Leah, sitting between us, got to wear the pretty ballet outfit.

You see meeting up with old friends is always so much fun! It was great just hanging out for the five hours that we had. Hopefully it won't be that long before we see each other again. We have changed a bit as there is now proof that we have hung out in the photo below!

its a monday night. I have three finals due tomorrow. two of them are essays that I have written and ready to turn in. One of them is in class with notes, so I have that all prepared. I can't believe it is the last day of class! I have two essays due later this week and then I am on summer vacation. I have my internship on Wednesday and Thursday but come friday it is summer. Summer is April? that is SOOOOO bizarre! I am going to norway on saturday, coming back to London for the royal wedding (yes, i am a tourist) and then flying to Los Angeles for a couple of days and back to saudi in 2 weeks! it is insane!

I will write more on friday as a reflection to my time here, but until then I hope all of you have a great week!

Although it is not Sunday, I hope everyone had a blessed Palm Sunday and I hope you enjoy your Easter Week!

you can get burnt in london???

Ive gotten really bad at updating this lately, sorry! im sure so many of you are disappointed you don't hear about my adventures regularly!

so lets talk about the last two weeks. Not gonna lie, my weeks are very routine. I go to class on tuesdays and I work wednesday, thursday and friday. Many of you all know that I work at gurgle, an online magazine and social website for parents and parents-to-be. I am getting to know A LOT about pregnancy, giving birth and kids. It is information that i don't really care about knowing at this point in my life. Since working there I have had two dreams that I am pregnant (im not, and they were NOT good dreams!) and that means i am spending wayyyy too much time at my job. I write about four feature articles a day as well as update the competition section, approve images and things like that. I will have a nice sized portfolio by the time I am done. Granted, it will be full of articles on kids and babies, but everyone has to start someplace right?

Two weekends ago I went to windsor on saturday and a football match on sunday! It was a lot of fun. Windsor is a massive castle! We got there at the end of the changing of the guard so we got to witness that which was loads of fun because it was a parade of the men in the red uniforms!!

The castle was huge so we walked around the area and just took in the area. it was really pretty brick with some really nice flowers all around! it is kinda on a kill so it looks over the rest of winsdor. Apparently, this is the favourite residence of the Queen!

(yes i was a tourist and took a picture with the red guard!)

Sunday we went to watch a football match. Blackpool vs. fulham! i always root for the underdog and since everyone around me was rooting for blackpool, i went with fulham. (i didn't cheer loudly or anything, but in my heart i wanted them to score!) It was also relaly cool because the US national player, landon donovon plays for blackpool so we got to see him play! for those of you who do not know football, he helped the American team out in the world cup back in june!

this week was class and then work (which i have already explained) but over the weekend I went to brighton on saturday and hung out in hyde park today (sunday).

Brighton is a beach town with a pier, so it reminded us of santa monica (except for the fact that we were in england and the beach was pure rocks!).

we roamed around the town and stopped into the royal pavilion that was shaped similar to a mosque but decorated in a Chinese theme. Somewhat odd, but it reminded me a lot of my life, you know, Saudi Arabia and China....

We also just relaxed on the beach! Kelsey and I got strawberry lime cider and it was really good. It just kinda tasted like strawberry lemonade! We sat enjoying that for about two hours just soaking up the sun!

Anyways, for those of you who do not know me, i am rather white, i mean, my ancestors came from Norway, Germany and Sweden, so I am kinda as white as a person can get. This means I generally do not tan. I burn. It was rather sunny in brighton and at one point Mia looked at me and went "you are really red", yes I had managed to get burnt. You see, i do not even own sunscreen in england becuase who knew it would be sunny enough for me to burn? I got the most burnt out of anyone on the trip. I passed one guy on the street and he said, "looks like you got some sun there missy." To be honest, if people hadn't pointed it out, i wouldn't have known until i got to a mirror. getting burnt does not hurt. I have been burnt so many times I am kinda immune to it and it doesn't bother me anymore (i know thats probably bad). The burn isn't that bad in my opinion, ive had worse..

Today I went to hyde park after a five mile run (oh yeah, im signing up for another marathon, so training begins now!) and i sat down to read for my classes. Again, it was a beautiful warm sunny day! Again, I got burnt. Now it is just a really awkward burn. I got burned on top of my burn and then i got a nice farmers burn on my arms...yeah...thats attractive. I think it might be time to invest in some sunscreen, but who knew i could get burnt in england??

People wonder how i survive saudi with the sun. You see, I do not get burnt in Saudi, i actually do tan in saudi! I know that is surprising, but its true. Some places in the world i just burn more easily than others, and saudi is one of those places that i don't get that burnt (pretty much every other country in the world is on the list of getting burnt!)

So yes, for those of you who burn easily, it can happen in england.

I can't believe I am going to be back in the states in exactly three weeks. That is really scary knowing all that i have to do for classes, all i want to do here and everything that is going on between now and when I leave! i am really loving london and I am in love with this weather. it is so pretty! Since it is so pretty here right now with flowers blooming, I am going to leave you with some of the images that I took today!!