Some City Sites

Vigeland Park



Some cool Scandinavian design

Blindern Dormitory

Arrival

Caved and shut my eyes at 6.

All day I simply floated from plane to plane, from plane to metro, from metro to dormitory. The Underground rarely is, underground, from what I could tell. But the weather was fine as we stepped from the train at Blindern station and found people there to direct us just up the steps, up the hill, and into a bright yellow building they call Blindern dormitory. Room is small, but perfect. With incredible weight we unpacked, showered, ate, explored the campus, and sat beneath a shady tree thinking about the endless daylight and this endless day. At five we came back to our room, swearing up and down we would not fall asleep before 8. Or maybe 7. But there was no internet to entertain, and reading forced our eyelids down immediately, and it took an amazing force of will to even sit quietly conscious. But, like I said, I caved and shut my eyes at 6.
Longest day followed by longest night.
Woke up at 11. No darkness.
And again at 4. Light again.

At breakfast we met a man from Wisconsin. He was eating pickled fish. I'm making it a personal goal to avoid eating pickled fish while here.
And then we registered.
And then had the enormous good luck of getting wireless in our room.
And now we sit until our orientation meeting, after which we will contemplate over the rates of exchange from kroner to dollar, which still seems to confuse us.

the dark continent is, in fact, brilliant

I am not traveling at all. Actually, I am eating a pop tart.
(common occurrence)
And it feels strange that I traveled through Africa uninspired.
Stranger still that I should find this moment, back in this bland room, at the bottom of this bland house, to choose finally to write something.
We took ten seconds of every day ingesting chemicals to repel malaria.
spent hours unconsciously scratching at my ankles.
spent nights on an inch of foam, in a flimsy shelter. we needed nothing more.
sometimes i think that was the ultimate lesson--we need nothing more.
we rode on the tops of cars and felt exhilaration every time as a fine layer of dust collected in our hair and on our skin. turned our faces against the wind, ducked our heads against a sky filled with tree branches.
Can you see the sky filled with tree branches?
Can you see the red earth and the brilliant green forest and the cloudless blue sky?
I would show you, but I didn't have a camera then, and don't have clear memory now.

Quite frankly,

I miss you.

The First

We arrived in Amsterdam with energy, the adrenaline of a late night and of what was before us. Conversely, we stepped out of the plane in Dar and into the thick swelter of the night. My contacts were packed safely in my bag and so i saw it all through the blur of exhaustion and my poor eyesight.
We slept under a veil of mosquito nets. We spent the following day wading into a steaming Indian Ocean.
The next morning we arrived at the Lazy Lagoon Island Resort. We tanned, we swam in the cooler waters, we snorkeled in the reef and woke to the cries of the bush babies.
We drove throgh Mikumi game park and saw animals unrestrained by cages. We, instead, were caged.
And yesterday we arrived on campus. They washed our clothes, which the rain then rinsed clean.

Also, Emily is wearing a skirt.

Canada Likes Me So Much They Tried To Keep Me

I guess this post could also be titled "America Hates Me So Much They Tried To Give Me Away" and if it was it would be more accurate, but I am trying to me a positive person so lets ignore that side comment and talk about my little trip to Canada that almost never ended.

Today The Pops and I decided to go up and see the falls. He hadn't been to Niagara since before him and mom were married and even then he didn't cross the border and see them from the good side so I said "What the heck, lets make a day of it." So after eating a good breakfast and playing ping-pong we left Houghton destined for The Canada. Here is what I learned from this experience.

1. If you get an hour out and realize you don't have your passport, its okay.


2. Canada loves old people so much that they just let you into their country without asking for ID.


3. The falls look cool in the winter, but the ice that is covering the viewing area looks cooler.


4. Cheep batteries might last as long Duracell at 70F but at 25F they lie down on their death bed and moan and complain and go into cardiac arrest ever two to three pictures. Though, once you get them back into the warm car they become more lively than Jenny is loud.


5. US Border guards bark loader than they bite. Lets say two guys only have their driver's licenses with them (which is not enough for crossing the border from Canada according to US Border Law) they will still let you in without even pulling you aside and looking though your car.
6. The Anchor Bar is considered (by one magazine at least) to be the best place to bring out-of-towners. The have good wings, and maybe every out-of-towner should go there, but the fact that a bar is the best thing a "major" city can offer sort of makes you wonder.
   
7. Oh... And Buffalo should stop trying to be NYC.
   
   

Lessons from California

After months of boycotting this blog I am finally writing on here because for the first time since May of 2007 I am traveling for fun. So here it goes...

1. Caitlin is not a bad driver (I would like to see any of you who make fun of her drive in LA)

2. Eating a frozen banana on Balboa Island is everything I thought it would be

3. Fast food really is better in California (In and Out)

4. Peaches is in fact the greatest cat ever...even though she is enormous

5. Sleeping on a street corner in LA is what Dan likes to call "Urban camping"

6. A statue of a raptor is a legitimate lawn decoration if you have millions of dollars

7. Point Loma University is what Houghton College dreams of being

8. Mexican food gets much better the closer you get to Mexico

9. If you have enough money, you can live wherever you want and do whatever you want

10. Finally, no matter what Tilson or Caitlin tell you...Del Taco is nothing more than Taco Bell with a different name

What I learned through my travels and lack thereof this semester,

I never feel like I've spent too much money when it involves books or plane tickets.

Even the biggest airlines lose luggage.

It is possible to feel more at home sleeping on the cold floor in a foreign country than in my own bed, if I'm surrounded by the right people.

Crappy internet and international calling rates are just minor inconveniences in communication.

Apparently I am the reason I skip class and don't do my work.

I did, despite what I may have thought going in, survive this semester. On to Africa.

No plans,

I haven't thought out this post. I have no grand statements to make. Just observations and documentations.

It rained the day we left California. Caitlin said that the skies were long overdue for a weeping. The sky here in London is always weeping, but I would like to imagine it felt a bit more sorrow yesterday. We walked through Hyde Park to have you're last meal in Kensington Palace and our ankles were all chilled from the puddles we stomped through.

We said goodbye in a tube station and I rode back by myself and listened to music and stared at my reflection in the window. I wondered how much of my story is visible to people who see me. It seems strange that people can look at me and not also see my friends.

I am far away this semester. There are events taking place without me in Houghton, NY. But this new form of friendship that I have been exposed to seems to stretch across farther distances than I thought possible. When we are younger, bonds are broken over summers apart. Now, the Atlantic doesn't seem to stand in our way.

I miss people, but it is a feeling I have become used to. Its insignificant now, in face of how thankful I am.

Why yes, there are more people than just Lindsay in London.

I didn't realize how thorough an updater Lindsay has been, but I suppose when I found this out, I figured that meant I didn't have to write. Others don't agree with this logic and are forcing me to write.

The excitement and adventure paired with traveling often blinds us from the obstacles. I feel as if I'm having the greatest semester of my college career, and yet when I look back at things that have happened, I've been through a lot of shit. My camera broke within the first two weeks, my identity was stolen because I'm an anxious poor fool, a fever drove me to delirium, and other more painful, personal experiences have followed; however, I could not be happier about any of these things happening. In fact, my semester would not be as incredible as it is if one of these stretching times did not occur.

I have 15 days left in London, and I haven't figured out how I'm going to say good-bye. How will Houghton's route 19 ever satiate my need to take bus 19 down to Tottenham Court? Will Big Als ever make me as happy as our regular Hope and Anchor? Damnit, Houghton, why can't you be a lot a bit more like London? Actually, the one thing Houghton has on London (besides the people) is milkshakes. I can't wait to have a good ol' American milkshake! Speaking of good ol' American...

Star Spotting: Kid Rock in South Ken with nasty white trashy hos. He wore a Detroit leather jacket. God bless America.