because I promised pictures!

Dang it!!!! The pictures are all out of order. Well then this is all I'll submit for now. Besides it's 1 AM.

Anyway, I realized yesterday when I was out jogging (it was incredible...jogged right to the edge of Vigeland and back, but I'll save telling about all this another time maybe), I realize that I think my last full day in Norway was exactly 6 months from when I started my first day of classes here at the ISS, and I spent that last full day on the Blindern campus researching for my paper...funny how that works.

Anyway, without further ado, enjoy my scramble of pictures from the first few days!



SOGNSVANN!!!! I'll share more pics later. But I love this. Typically Norwegian, which means many good things in my opinion.

The main ISS building, picture taken sometime around midnight.

My room! Some have complained about the size, etc. But it's cozy and safe and clean, so I think I'm quite happy with it. Besides I look out my window and see trees. I like trees.

um....so this is a view of Oslo from near Ekeberg restaurant, along a very old path that led into the city. Yes, indeed these pics are out of order. Anyway it was very, very pleasant indeed.

This is the translated Dante stuff I told you about. I thought I should stick it in to prove that it's in New Norwegian, as well as because it's the only record I have in photographs that I had an amazingly good day that day.

Ekeberg restaurant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So well worth everything. And apparently the Aftenposten Aften addition gave a review of this restaurant the day after the day I was there---almost perfect marks. I'd say perfect, but that's just my humble opinion. haha.

So this is a view of the Oslo harbor at sundown..or at least around midnightish on the very first night I was in Oslo!!!!

I think this looks very Munch-like.

So this was the first picture I took while on my trip, at the Copenhagen airport.......

思故乡...hahaha

But in all seriousness, time flies quickly. Last time I was there they had these same kinds of ads for the Twin Cities. Little did I know............okay enough of my griping. But seriously, a free stopover in Reykjavik????? Jealous. Teensie-weensie bit. But I have no right to complain, right??? I'm in Oslo!!! :D

I haven't disappeared...

I just feel like it! So here is the short story before I go back and attempt to recap my adventures so far at the ISS: Internet is a bit of a challenge to say the least, so currently I am sitting outside, once again not on full battery (smart, I know) because it is near the library that I get the next inernet connection. I wish I could blog from my room, but so far I have had wonderful luck with that. Same goes for SIM cards. So I feel that I am in my own special little island, right in the middle of a very cosmopolitan, modern, and connected city.

Okay, so now that I have explained my situation, you will now understand why if all of a sudden I stop in the middle of a blog post, it is because the battery on my laptop died and I posted just in time.

I should start just by saying again that I have so far experienced absolutely wonderful hospitality here in Oslo. I am so grateful for the amazing experiences I have had so far just in the few days I have been here, and that I feel I have really been welcomed better than I could have hoped for.

That said....
So I had probably the most ungraceful beginning to my start at the ISS---namely, that I got out of my seat on the tram before the Blindern stop only to fall flat onto my luggage, and not even realize that I had fallen onto my luggage until it happened with a comically loud bang, and everyone on the tram was staring at me with those looks of awkward apprehension. Sigh.
Then I pulled all of my belongings up a hill of gravel, only to be directed to the wrong dormitory and go up two flights of stairs (which aren't that many except if you have a large suitcase....and then have to drag everything over more gravel to the other side and go up another three flights, afte ryou have already been pulling your bag all around campus because you were so clever you didn't see how close the tram stop was to the dorm...).

Because I was one of the first to arrive, also, it seemed a little bit strange and surreal, and more like a moving-out day at college than moving in. But guess what? the first person I met here at the ISS was someone from Washington state---it's very odd to open a door and stumble into someone wearing a UW sweatshirt, when all at once you think it's normal and then realize that, wait, you're in Norway and UW sweatshirts are a little uncommon. As it turns out, my roommate is also a Husky. Go figure. Actually, there are overall more Americans here than I would have guessed, but maybe not so surprisingly a very good many are from Washington, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. They are all very nice. just like in college, I haven't met anyone I don't like yet (to put it in fairly understatement terms), so that's great! Then I spent a long time having fun (AKA troubles) with a free SIM card I got. Actually just connectivity in general. I met this really sweet woman from Tanzania who needed to find out how to get in touch with her family back home, so we ended up running all around trying to find out more about phone cards from some UiO offices while also going with my roommate to figure out about locations for exchanging cash, and so we spent a long time with SIM cards and phone cards and trying to figure out how to call from the dorms and other things. A strange start, but I really liked being able to meet people.


I have already had so many incredible opportunities here on the campus. Classes will start tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to seeing how I do in my Norwegian course.

Anyway, here is a very brief list of some of the things I have done since Friday:

-Meeting people from all around the world, of course, including making many friends with a fairly good sized group of students from the Beijing foreign institute who are all majors in....Norwegian. Go figure. Anway, I have been speaking a lot of Norwegian here, because we are all very enthusiastic to practice speaking Norwegian, which is also really fun. We've hung out a lot. So far this had included a really awesome trip to Sognsvann yesterday with them and their teacher, being almost exclusively at the "only speaking Norwegian" table for meals (which has many other really interesting people), and taking a tour of the city of Oslo in Norwegian instead of in English. It's been a series of great opportunities, one after the other, and I have really enjoyed speaking with all the people who are studying Norwegian and finding out their reasons. Here at the ISS you get some really cool answers....
-Actually, the first part of the previous point really summarizes everything else. Whenever you go to a school like this, it's obviously the people who make the school. Yesterday I had a wonderful, long conversation with two Americans and a nice woman from Turkey, who is one of the most cultured people I've ever met. It's led to some very cool discussions already.
-Good Norwegian food, like fiskekaker. They're kind of like Holden Village, actually, in that they do a lot of fun stuff with making other dishes out of leftovers. And of course the Norwegian breakfasts.
-What else is fun to point out for now...? Ah. The rooms themselves. Some have complained about them, but I don't find it's anything worth complaining about. Yes, they're quite small, but frankly, they're clean and comfortable and you can open the window, so I like it just fine. Besides, the weather has been so wonderful here that it just means you can be outside enjoying life more.

I hope to go back into the city soon. My excuse is to buy shampoo or go running, and I'll see if I do that later.

Anyway, this blog post doesn't do it justice, but I kind of already wish that this school went on longer than six weeks. Sigh. Well we'll see when classes start tomorrow..haha.

Perhaps if I can get my act together, my next blog can have a sample of pictures I have taken.

Anyway, hope all is well with you who are/is reading this (how many are reading this, anyway..?)!
Talk to you sometime when I have Internet!

Oh....right....I'm here to study.

...Or at least that's what I kept remembering today, which turned out to be, I think, very much Norwegian, if I can be allowed to put such things in a box with a label on it. I had an incredible amount of fun today, and I'm sure that once the summer school starts it will continue to be eventful and adventuresome, but it just hit me that after this I'll have assignments and stuff like that. Well, such is life. At least I ended the "freedom" on a very good note, complete with a realization that my month between finishing finals and starting school again was actually better than I thought for picking up more Norwegian.

So I started my day at something like 9 AM--a bit more reasonable, and I am happy to say that except for waking up all the time during the night, I have had a very smooth transition with regards to time zones, so that's a bonus. Even more, I had my first real Norwegian breakfast of the summer, complete with fresh bread, cheese, and those fruity yogurt drinks. After that, I decided it would be a good time to hit the trails and revisit the spot I learned how to ski. After all, the weather was once again absolutely perfect---I honestly don't think it could feel any better. After all, with the days so long, you never feel chilly, there is no humidity, and the sunlight is just kind of there......so after a rather long preparation (part of this is of course due to trying to figure out where I stuffed everything in my suitcase....sigh....), I finally set off jogging and winding my way through an apartment complex to the Oslo forests. Needless to say it looks a little different from what it did almost exactly six months ago (or...exactly...? Okay...I'm looking at my photos...yes, exactly six months. Um..wierd.). The air was perfect for a jog, and it was great to run through the trees on these dirt roads with essentially the entire place to myself (considering it was the middle of a weekday..). After a while I decided to try out some of the paths I noticed when I was skiing and just go where my feet took me. I ended up crossing a field and ending up in more woods that backed up against peoples' houses. After a while I decided to turn back before I lost my way, but fortunately I have a pretty good sense of direction when it comes to stuff like that. So after the first 20-25 minutes I just walked and decided to enjoy the peaceful sound of the wind through the trees. The field I crossed again was just so beautiful. Today was just one of those perfect days: the wind swept over the tall grass, trees a good hundred meters away, and azure blue skies with little clouds off in the far distance. And then I entered the forest again, and felt incredibly in touch with my roots. Um literally. But only tripped once. Then I decided to explore another path, and ended up hiking up one of the larger hills for a ways. I saw what looked to be some kind of platform off in the trees, and thought that if I had packed any sort of food, that would be a really great place to sit down and have some sort of picnic. There were also a few old benches in the small meadow, too. Turning around, I looked down the path I had climbed and out in the distance, I once again had another view of the city of Oslo. That's about when I realized how unique this place is--that I could be in such cosmopolitan surroundings and yet be in something that really felt more like the great outdoors than a park. I could have kept going up and beyond, but I figured that it would be good if I was a little mean to myself. The whole way on that trail I realized I was slipping into Norwegian, sometimes just processing the language and other times just thinking in it. So another good sign, along with the fact that I saw a squirrel yesterday. So back to the main trail for a while, before finding another path I whimsically decided to take off on. And so instead of going up this time, I went down into a meadow with deep, tall green grasses. It was one of the most peaceful spots I had been, again complete with trees, a slight breeze, and small cumulus clouds drifting across a very, very deep blue sky. I could have kept going on this way, but once again I decided to return to the main trail. Then I also amused myself by thinking of all the slopes on this hill, remembering how six months ago these same now seemingly-harmless slopes were fairly terrifying. On one of these downhill legs, I caught another glimpse of the city, wondered how I couldn't have seen it before, and then remembered that last time my eyes probably had a death grip on the path in front of me. If eyes can grip anything.

So after a very nice jog that turned into a two hour scenic nature hike, I headed back to the house, where I decided I would grab a quick bite before going into the downtown to wander around aimlessly for whatever time I would have left. Soon after returning, then, I changed my clothes and was out the door again, this time walking up and down other hills to get to the nearest tram stop. So at least the King County bus system likes to put up poetry around its cars so people like me who forgot to bring books will have something to stare at, and as it turns out, the tram I was on had on it a translation of the first several excerpts of the opening passage of the Divine Comedy, which I found particularly interesting simply because it was translated into New Norwegian and not Bokmål, which of course makes sense because Nynorsk has always been considered more of a "literary" language right from the start (and, of course, like the poem itself, it has interesting connections with the rise of 19th century European nationalism, but anyway). But I guess I found it interesting to read anything in New Norwegian when I was on the public metro system in Oslo, where you'd be far, far more likely to run into English than this other form of Norwegian. So, in the reason for posting the poem on the metro walls in the first place, I don't think I quite saw the forest for the trees (ha, ha..oh I was in a forest today. huh.), but at least it's nice I got something out of my J-Term course.

And then I got off the tram at the National Theater, and had fun retracing my steps from January and marveling at how it was all so much the same and different all at once. Oslo makes for a wonderful summer city, that's for sure. It was fun to watch the tourists and overall see the different people dynamics of summer in the city. Just overall more cheerful, more people walking and eating and more outdoor cafes, brighter, happier clothes...and all the sights, sounds, smells (and all those nice food places along the main drag...) made everything very tempting, but in the end all I bought were a flexicort and some strawberries from a fruit stand because, well, they're strawberries. I visited some book stores, too.

And then after my brief but delightful time in the city, I headed back, quite in need of a shower and looking forward to a good dinner. And dinner was very, very nice, of course. Once again I was out on the balcony, this time enjoying fiskepudding, potatoes, grated carrots, a really, really great shrimp white gravy/sauce, and of course, strawberries. It's a really good thing I have actually been craving anything related to fiskeboller or fiskekaker, because that was quite nummy.

AND guess what-----the day was not over (and this part will make many a musical fan jealous). We ended up heading into the Oslo city center again, this time to watch what is I believe Oslo's
"biggest deal" musical production, Mamma Mia. I was expecting the lines to all be in Norwegian, because that's what I was told beforehand, but I was quite surprised to find that even all the songs had been translated into Norwegian, making for overall a really, really fun performance in which, once again, I found myself enjoying all the stuff the locals were enjoying and enjoying that I could understand as much as I did of it--so certainly I'm not fluent, but neither am I ashamed or feeling overwhelmed of what I don't know. But, of course, it helps I know the plot and the songs. I am very, very impressed that people went to all this trouble to translate everything into Norwegian (and songs can be very hard to do!), and glad that they made this effort considering the audience would have by and large had no trouble if it were all kept in English. And, of course, the acting, singing, costumes, and everything were very excellent besides.

And then while waiting for the train to take us back, we walked around on the roof of the opera building, and that was quite something for it to be 11 PM, warm, on the waterfront, and with plenty of light still in the sky.

And I will confess right now: today the only picture I took was of the translated poem on the tram, because sometimes you feel like taking a picture will only make you lose your sovereignty or something. In all seriousness, I do regret this for all of you, but sometimes a picture just can't do justice to a day like today, and something about it just didn't seem entirely right (besides, my camera wasn't with me on the trail).
And now....oh it's 12:41. Off to sleep, I suppose. And then go to Blindern.

My first full day in Norway

So, it is currently 12 AM, and it is getting dark, but it is still light enough that you could be outside. The weather has been perfect. I am tired, but I feel like I should write something anyway.

My flight to Oslo was about as pain-free as it could possibly get. I had a really nice person next to me on the flight to Copenhagen-an Anne-Marie from Germany who just graduated (from high school, I'm pretty sure, because she is considering what to study afterwards and is taking time off to decide..) and was extremely personable and friendly, so that was really nice. Then I got through the checkpoints in the Copenhagen airport in what seems like record time, and then I arrived at the platform for flytoget in Oslo just before the train pulled up, so all in all it couldn't have been much smoother.

I've been staying with the same folks who sent the book about Oslo to me a long time ago and also taught me how to ski in January, and it's been a very pleasant time. Yesterday we had a very nice dinner out on their balcony before going over to the beaches surrounding the Oslo fjord, chatting about various things including the Seattle area and the changes its seen and that early U.S. presidents (apparently there is a documentary series being broadcasted on Norwegian television on John Adams......!). We walked around there, and it was great to just walk around like so many others were doing, getting out to take advantage of the double-whammy of long daylight hours and really, really good weather. It really lent itself well to great people-watching: people just grilling food at 10 pm, parents trying to encourage their kids who otherwise would have been in bed a while ago to bike down hills, people splashing around in the water....it was really much like the Fourth of July at the lake, but without fireworks or American flags (some Norwegian ones, of course). We tried to scout for bonfires, considering that it was still Midsummer, but we were unsuccessful. It didn't matter, just because it was so nice to sit and look out at the water and the slowly setting sun, whose reflection looked like a Munch painting on prozac, but then I suppose this side of the fjord was the inspiration for many of the paintings, so go figure. Anyway, I had a really great time.

Today I woke up at noon, and figured that meant I should get up and enjoy the rest of the day. We decided to take it easy, and took the tram a little further north from where I've been staying/they've been living and then a very nice walk to Ekeberg Restaurant, a wonderful establishment still in more of the suburbs part of Oslo on the way to downtown. The whole way there as well as the restaurant itself all have a great view of the Oslo fjord/harbor, and as we ate lunch on a very spacious balcony where all the food and drinks are prepared as well (it just felt something like an outdoor party where you had your own table). I had a whole view of the islands in front of me, while behind me lay the city itself, where I could easily spot the opera house, Oslo City Hall, the King's Palace, and all the spots I saw or had been to in January, but this time greener, brighter, and overall more alive. The mood is just more lively overall, and overall there's just a pervasive sense that people are enjoying life. So that's always auspicious for a first day somewhere. A couple with a brand new baby sat next to us, and we struck up a conversation with them. What interested me and what caught me off guard was when I was introduced to them, and they immediately switched from talking about the new baby to asking about my time in Norway in January and why I was studying Norwegian. I was honestly a little surprised, considering I was a stranger and they had a new baby, which is always something people like to gush about. Well, I suppose it's probably not everyday you run across someone who's been studying Norwegian and Norwegian society, policies, etc, and especially not Americans. But anyway.

Then a really nice walk back along the path that led to another tram platform, complete with a camping ground, fields where some of the Norway Cup will be held later on, and a horse riding barn, furnished also with old farm buildings that have been converted into varous daycare centers and restaurants, while the land itself has become a series of picnic and sunbathing spots overlooking the water. Yes, overall I believe that Oslo is an especially people-friendly city.

Once we returned home, I just took it easy some more, which included studying some more Norwegian before classes start up on...Monday?! And that included watching Norwegian TV twice--first the news, and later sommeråpent, a nice summer program. And also ate some very nice Norwegian ice cream. Oh! That's what I watched that I found particularly interesting:

There was a documentary that NRK ran all about the life of Thea Foss, who was one of the early influential founders of Tacoma. So go figure that I learned about local history in Norway in Norwegian. Really quite incredible what you learn about your own country when you're in Norway. Of course, it helps that she was a Norwegian emigrant, so that always increases the interest. The only wierd part was that the narrating was in New Norwegian and I didn't even realize it. La-dee-daaaa.....

Anyway, I suppose now would be a good time to turn in. But it has absolutely been a fantastic, if albeit only 12 hour long, day.

Less than one week...

So. One week until I leave for Oslo. One week for me to look over some more Norwegian before I go, one week to look over all the logistics, one week to get my suitcase under the weight limit...It's strange to think that probably, once I return from my 7 weeks in Norway, this whole month I have had to prepare will have felt like a lifetime ago.

My interest in Norway has had something of an interesting start. Many have asked me, "Why Norway?" or just "So, you're Norwegian?" Yes, it's true that I am part Norwegian (my grandfather was), and there are many who have chosen to study Norwegian primarily because of their ancestry, but that isn't really the reason why I am a Scandinavian Studies major, or why I will be going to the University of Oslo. Even more interestingly, I will actually be the third generation in my family to attend the International Summer School, but this is certainly not the reason why I will be attending, either. I think it has greatly helped that I have been raised with at least a familiarity with this country that does not often get the attention it deserves from us Americans, and that I have grown up with people who know first-hand that this school is very well worth everything, but in the end, as any young person or anyone who knows young people knows, just because your parents like something does not mean that you automatically will. The same goes for my real interest in Norway/Scandinavia. If it were not for my wonderful opportunities to connect with Norwegian history, culture, and language on its own terms, it would be hard to say that I would be as personally invested in all of this. My first connection with Norway really began when I turned thirteen, and I got this surprise gift in the mail from some Norwegian friends who my parents knew from before they moved back to Norway. It was a tourist/souvenir book about Oslo that explained about its attractions - both historical and cultural, as well as of modern urban Norwegian life, and with it I began to pick up more about its socio-political dynamics and its role in world affairs (after all, this was during the start of the Iraq war, when matters of diplomacy and "drawing lines" were especially interesting....). The book gave me an insight into a country I realized I really didn't know very much of before, and thankfully, I was shown that there was much more to Norway than lutefisk and stuffy old worn-out Ole and Lena jokes, and it was actually pretty interesting.

My next experience came several years later when I was in high school and I was introduced to the Kent Sister Cities youth ambassador programs. My city has many great exchange programs with cities all around the world, and I realized that it would be a very meaningful way to really connect with another culture. One day, my school broadcast an announcement for the exchange program to the Sunnfjord area, and that if I wanted to do it, the applications were due in the next few days. So when I came home from school that day, I talked to my parents about it, pretty sure that I was springing this on them with too short notice and that the answer would be "no." But I thought it was worth a try. Besides (and this is really a whole other story), I had just recently won some money on a gameshow, and figured that traveling would be a nice use for some of it. Yes, really. Anyway, they actually encouraged me to apply, so excitedly I rushed to get together all of the things needed for the application, figuring at least it couldn't hurt. I was invited for an interview and went, but also thought I wouldn't really get any farther than that (after all, I was on the older end for eligibility, which was actually a strike against me). But then, a few days later, I got a call that I was chosen to be one of the two Youth Ambassadors to represent my city in the exchange program! It is funny to think how spur-of-the-moment this all was...!

The YA experience was, without a doubt, unbelievable for me. It was really fun to be able to host a Norwegian, show her a slice of local life, introduce her to some of my friends, and just be a Seattle tourist for a while. Then I traveled with her to stay with her family, and I just had an incredible time. The time spent there was not very long, but thinking back at all I did during the time I had in Norway (while still feeling like I was having a relaxing and a really good quality time with my host family) was extremely impressive. Not only did my family welcome me to a lot of the language, social/cultural issues, and political opinions, and even quirks surrounding Norway today, but they themselves were the most warm and welcoming people I've ever met. It was also really great for me to finally be able to meet the people who helped coordinate this program on the Norwegian end, one of whom I was emailing on a fairly regular basis and still keep in contact with to this day! So overall, I guess you could say that I wasn't going to forget about Norway any time soon.

So to make another long story short, I decided to go to PLU for college. And when I was choosing my classes, I saw that there was this January Term course that was going to Iceland and Norway studying language, culture, and identity in Scandinavia.....which seemed like pretty much the perfect course for me, considering these are all issues I was especially passionate about, AND I would be traveling to Scandinavia to do it. I asked the professor leading it if it would be possible for me to go, even though usually college freshmen aren't allowed to study abroad during their first year. I was told that if I were a Scandinavian Studies major, it would be much more likely that I could - oh, and by the way, think about taking Norwegian next year! And I figured....yeahhh....why not...? Besides, I was very interested in pursuing something with international relations, and why not view international relations through the lens of Scandinavia....

And thus I was sucked into being a Scandinavian Studies major.

And hence the reason for attending the ISS ....besides, as a triple major, taking classes during the summer was just a prudent thing to do. I will be learning more Norwegian in the context of a global community (a "mini-UN" as I have heard many put it), AND I'll be going back to Norway, AND I'll be able to travel back to Sunnfjord again.......so I am extremely excited.

And this is probably the place to mention (at least for the first time) how incredibly grateful I am for the generous scholarships from Nordmanns-Forbundet and the Sons of Norway. Their financial support really means a lot to me, because, well, Norway is expensive.

Anyway, my next post will probably be from Norway. So in the meantime, I will miss you all, and cross your fingers that my suitcase doesn't go over the weight limit!

So...welcome to my blog.

Hello, everyone!!!
Welcome to my blog. I mostly started this blog up because in almost two weeks (hard to believe, after all this time!!!) I will be traveling to Norway to attend the University of Oslo's International Summer School, and found that a blog could potentially be a very nice way to keep all who are interested informed. Considering I'll be going there to study and that the ISS enjoys keeping its students busy, we'll see how successful this scheme will actually turn out. Regardless, I learned a few new skills in how to set up a blog, so I suppose for everything there is a reason...

Anyway, I suppose I could introduce myself a little bit more and just say something about what I've been doing most recently.

Because this blog will (hopefully!) be documenting my seven weeks in Norway this summer, I should preface by saying that I have been extremely fortunate to have traveled to Norway twice already. The first time was when I went as a Sister Cities Youth Ambassador, first hosting a Norwegian, and then traveling back with her to stay with her incredible family. They really did an incredible job showing me what it was like to live in Norway, personally introducing me to Norwegian society and contemporary issues, and, of course, the natural beauty of the country and that it is all one big fishing spot. I am really excited that after completing my courses at the ISS, I will be traveling back to see them again!!!
The second time was on a PLU January-Term course this year to Iceland and Norway where we focused on language, identity, and culture in Scandinavia. On that trip, among countless other meaningful things we were able to meet with the directors of both countries' language institutes, have special viewings of ancient manuscripts at both Iceland's and Norway's national archives, visit the Aasen Center in Western Norway, ride Icelandic horses, and visit museums that covered everything from Viking history to Nationalistic paintings to modern Oslo's increasingly vibrant ethnic diversity. And considering the nature of the course, even a chat with a bus driver or a grocery store clerk or looking at the advertisements at the bus stops proved to be just as influential in helping me better understand these fascinating topics of language preservation and cultural identity against a changing and increasingly globalizing context....


A few weeks ago I completed my first year at Pacific Lutheran University and am triple majoring in Global Studies, Scandinavian Studies, and Chinese Studies. To summarize an amazing first year, I have absolutely loved everything about it and would recommend PLU to anyone looking for a really great school with a great community with students who are especially interested in placing themselves in a greater global community in meaningful ways. Okay, so I confess I work for the Admissions Office...but I wasn't paid to put in this pitch for PLU...! I really do mean it!

It's been nice to have a month just to be at home before traveling to the other side of the world. Since I've been home I've done a few pretty nice things. Another true confession: I do love what I am studying a lot, which means that I have tried to find time to further my understanding in my fields of study, which means I have been sneaking in some time to keep studying Norwegian and Chinese and reading both a Chinese classic and a contemporary novel (um..in English..). Next on the list: probably Sigrid Undset. So that's been a lot of fun. I took my friend and roommate out on a day trip around Seattle to celebrate her 20th birthday. A few days ago my grandma came up and we all went to watch a Mariner's game on "Nordic Night" with the Sons of Norway. A few days before that I had to bid a very sad farewell to the Fulbright scholar at PLU who was my Chinese teacher, as he could only stay for a year in the U.S. before heading back to China. There was a small good-bye party at PLU, and thus marks the first time I drove by myself to my college...and I wasn't even going for classes! I think I should get extra credit. : )
I've also been taking advantage of the suprisingly nice weather for May and been walking or jogging at the local trail as much as possible. I've helped out at the elementary school where my mom works. And it almost goes without saying that it's been really nice just to hang out with my family and be able to talk with them and share what I've been doing, and just spend quality time with the parents. And, of course, I have done some errands, cooking and various chores around the house, which have all been nice in and of themselves, perhaps simply because it is still a break from the pace of college life.

( Oh. And I love squirrels...This picture was taken at Holden Village, where I went for an "Alternative Spring Break" volunteer project sponsored by Pacific Lutheran's Campus Ministry. An incredibly rewarding experience---we worked hard, hiked a lot, and had a wonderful time!!!)