GeoHarstad

I spent a day geocaching my way through Harstad with 2 friends. We got taken around the town and saw a soccer stadium, a church, the hospital and other crucial Harstad spots; it was chilly but we found 7 in total!  Then we spent the afternoon playing card games that we all learned from each other’s countries.  That evening, we went for a walk again near the ocean toward the old church to try to catch another glimps of the Northern Lights.  We walked for two hours and then gave up and went home.  A half hour later, the northern lights were spotted outside, but I wasn’t about to go on another two-hour walk so I just watched them from the driveway.... absolutely gorgeous!

Ive had my three classes so far; Norwegian language and culture, Tourism and Culture as well as an E-commerce class.  The Norwegian language and culture class ends sometime in February so I really only have the two other classes as well as an online course I am doing through UNBC/UArctic.  I have signed up to work at the student pub, but the shifts are only once every three weeks so Ill be looking for another job.  I am working on my resume then ill likely hand them out at grocery stores and hotels; the problem is, many of the other international students are looking for jobs too.

I went shopping for some essentials that I wasn’t able to bring with me from home; this included another pair of pants.  I ended up getting some nice black skinny jeans AND a black spring coat for 200NOK which is roughly $30!  I was feeling pretty good and thinking that maybe not everything is as expensive as people say in Norway. Then I went to find some hair product to keep my hair wavy.  I found and bought a bottle, which came to 235NOK, over $40 for a little bottle of hair product!  There isn’t much selection so it was my only choice, I will use it sparingly.  I have accumulated so much change because I just play it safe and pay with paper cash instead of sorting through the foreign change.  That just gives me an excuse to buy more coffee :)

I am waiting for it to snow so I can start skiing and snowboarding!  On Saturday I am take the ferry 2.5 hours north to the city of Tromso.  There is a Finnish voting poll there that my Finnish friend, Soile, has to go to.  I am going with her and 2 other Germans to check out the city as well as the Polar museum.  As for now, I will try to find where to buy the textbooks I need for my classes and get organized.  Tomorrow my new Danish roommate is moving in, it’ll be great to have another girl around!