han har jo ikke noe markert hakeparti

As Hanne, Kjersti and I googled our famous new neighbor, Hanne made the unfortunate, albeit true, discovery that Sigurd Rushfeldt - although conventionally attractive - "har ikke noe markert hakeparti." (He is lacking in the defined chin deptartment.) Chin or no chin, however, the professional soccer player has signed a contract with TIL and will be moving into our building this summer. Hjertet hans sa at han måtte nordover....but everyone's heart is saying that. They just need to listen to it.

Go North, my son!

the sun also rises

I don't have curtains in my room and I just moved my bed closer to the window.
Because there's nothing better than being woken up by the sun, reaching blindly for my glasses, seeing that it is only 4.30 in the morning, and falling back asleep for another three hours.

I went to a place called Oldervik with Tove and Espen and Lars yesterday. The weather was beautiful and we had a picnic. These things happened:

- Espen found a long, red, hollow pole that made fantastic noises when he blew into it in the water.
- The water was so still that I couldn't see it when it pooled on the rocks. I stepped into at least three small lakes. Very wet.
- We could break rocks in half with our hands.
- Lars defined the word "gondola" as "anything that floats."
- There was slate everywhere.
- I found a perfectly flat and thin triangular rock. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't break. It broke. Not so triangular anymore.
- Tove supplied us with bags so that we could take some rocks home with us. I found about fifty pounds worth.
- My bag broke.
- We got a flat tire.
- Espen changed the tire.
- I smeared dirt on my hands and jeans to prove to my choir director that "I really was stuck in Oldervik with a flat tire and that's why I'm 30 minutes late to rehearsal." He believed me.

ha det, mj

Today is Marjaana's last day in Tromsø for a while. She is off to southern Norway to work at a fancy hotel before heading to Thailand to do fieldwork. We'll miss her up here, but I'm sure she'll have a great time. See you in September, Mj! We'll split a bottle of wine at Circa when you get back.

stamsund, lofoten

I have had two fantastic trips this Easter - to Sweden to visit family and to Sortland/Lofoten with friends. I have posted some of the many pictures I took during the last ten days. I chose the ones that I think best capture the essence of my adventures.

Marit - the cupboard at the place we stayed at in Lofoten was FILLED with red Waechtersbach. No hearts, but still totally delightful. I took a picture for you.

nyksund - to and from

sortland and rusty fish factory

cheez doodles in my blood

Perhaps the most exciting part of my Swedish adventure was finding out that my favorite snack food in the universe - Cheez Doodles - are made super close to the family farm. Can you belieive it?! It's like fate! I got so excited hearing this that I had to take a picture of the factory through the car window. Look! There's some Cheez Doodle smoke coming out of the chimney!

sweden

Peace student visiting Alfred Nobel's home. This thing was just kind of parked on the lawn.

the girl is back in town

OK. Now I am back in Tromsø and I thought I should write a little somethin' somethin' before people started thinking that I had disappeared. I am going to the Uni tomorrow and will post the vacation stories and pictures from there - a stronger and not-so-stolen wireless connection. But now I am going to bed to dream sweet Sweden/Sortland/Lofoten dreams.

Until tomorrow....

asphyttan, värmland, sverige

Yesterday we drove to the family farm in Asphyttan, Värmland. It was cold and rainy, but while we were there the sun came out. And it stayed. The farm is on a beautiful plot of land that backs up to a forest and goes down to a lake. I was glad there was a lake there. I knew there had to be a lake. The couple that owns the land now, Rune and Berit, bought the house from Erik Karlsson (b. 1835)... my grandpa Dayle's great grandpa. They invited us in, showed us pictures, read us letters and notes, and told us that the living room looked almost exactly the same as the day they bought the land.

Now we know where we come from, and that is a wonderful feeling.

(More pictures and stories coming soon.)

watch out ancestors, here I come

I'll turn in my exams tomorrow and then catch a plane to Oslo. I get to hang out with Andre and see his new apartment and then catch a train to Sweden on Saturday morning. And my grandparents are coming, too! So I won't be able to write for a little while, but I'll have lots of ancestor/heritage/roots stories when I get back. And then it's off to Sortland/Lofoten to see my friend Anne and her family. This adventure includes a six hour car trip with a crazy Swedish baker named Daniel. Word.

Happy Easter, by the way.
And speaking of Easter, I advise you all to read the best thing ever written about the holiday. You can find it in David Sedaris' book "Me Talk Pretty One Day." I won't tell you where this excerpt is in the book because the whole book is worth reading. You'll laugh until you pee your pants.

PS: I'd just like to add that this excerpt I speak so fondly of involves the phrase "two morsels of wood." Oh heavens....!

one guy with a tie

When I told my parents that Wangari Maathai had been at Luther College for the Peace Prize Forum, they didn't seem too impressed.

Me: Wangari Maathai was at Luther for the Peace Prize Forum.
Parents: Ok.
Me: Do you know who that is?
Dad: Who?
Me: Wangari Maathai.
Dad: I thought you said "one guy with a tie."
Me: Well, yes, I'm sure there was "one guy with a tie" there. Probably many men with ties.

bones

You know that something is amiss when the most exciting thing that happens all day is feeling your sternum crack when you throw your body backwards against the couch in a dramatic sigh of frustration and restlessness. I never want to write another paper in my life, which kind of sucks considering that all next year I'll be writing one really long, never-ending paper.
BUT. I leave for Oslo/Sweden on Friday. I get to go back to the homeland. Back to my roots. Back to the farm and the family. This is exciting to me. I just hope they don't make me try to speak Swedish.
Ok. Now I'm gonna crack my knuckles and write some more crap.

you are my sunshine, my only sunshine

This is what it has been like for six days straight. It is the best feeling in the world to have to squint all the time and readjust your computer screen so you can see the text and dust the table and chairs because you can see that it needs to be done.

the contents of my pocket

Yesterday I found a piece of paper in the pocket of a pair of pants that I hadn't worn since some time in late July. The pants had been through the wash, so the paper was more of a hard wad than anything else. But I was determined to figure out where it was from and what it said. Most of the text had disappeared - in the spin cycle, I'm sure - but that made the forensic work even more exciting. You understand what it is like, maybe. When you know you are on the verge of being reminded of something that you had forgotten about for a number of months or even years. Like re-opening a letter you recieved in 1987, or feeling with your fingertips that a photo has slid behind the piano. Who knows how long it has been there?