Sunday & Monday - 17th & 18th August - Kirkenær and Bergen!!!

Well I didn’t manage to write at all for the last couple of days - I haven’t studied Norwegian for a few days either, just been so busy!

Sunday was nice - the day itself was quite slow, but I didn’t mind - it was our last day in Kirkenær and I wanted it to last for ages. I just did some washing up for Hans mum, and Hans sorted some old comics of his in the barn, then helped his mum to mow the grass - I was going to say lawn but that doesn’t do it justice - it’s more like a small field! It took about 3 hours I think! That night we stopped off to say goodbye to Hans’ Aunt Britt, which was brief, and then went on our way to Lill & Finns for tacos (nom nom nom) made with moose!! We sat and watched some Olympics, had some coffee and cakes and then went on our way - it was a nice goodbye though, they all wished me luck and a good journey, and made me promise to write! Hans mum is going to visit me at some point in September, and possibly his Aunt Britt if she can make it. Then we got home and had to pack, we needed to get up at 5:30 the following morning!

Monday was a long day - we got up at 5:30 and left the house at 6:15, and Hans mum drove us to Kongsvinger. It was pretty uneventful, and we caught the plane to Bergen on time. It was sad and really scary, and I wished so much that I was on the plane going home with Hans - I had really begun to miss my bed at home, and got pretty scared on the plane. It was only a 40 minute flight, and as we got closer to Bergen the views were amazing, suddenly I could see so much white out of the window, and I realised it was the tops of mountains covered in snow, at the same time it was sunny and a really clear day and it looked so beautiful. We started to descend and then the mountains and fjords became clearer, and I could see all of the little towns nestled in the valleys, then the towns got bigger and bigger until I realised we were over the city of Bergen.

We landed and got a taxi from the airport to Fantoft - which is the place I am staying. I was still scared though, but there is no denying that it is astoundingly beautiful here. It took us a while to get seen and get to my room; they had no spaces left for me to share with any girls, so I am sharing a kitchen and bathroom with an English guy! My room is a decent size, with a single bed, desk and cupboards and it’s very clean. I have not really met my ‘room mate’ properly yet so I can’t say much about him - when we first came to the room no-one was here and there were loads of pots in the kitchen and my heart sank a bit - as most people who know me know I am a bit of a tidy freak and like to have a clean house, and I think he must eat a lot of chips as the kitchen stinks of oil! We then caught the bus and went to look around Bergen (and when we did come back later he had washed up!)

Bergen was beautiful, the main centre (sentrum) is only 10 minutes by bus. We had a walk around, and Hans bought me some bedding for my room (cleverly picking colours that matched the curtains and walls in here - but it was an accident I think!) we walked around for a bit more and then went for some pizza, which was delicious, and then came back again. There is a supermarket here so we picked up some snacks (and air freshener!) and came back.

We were both exhausted and had headaches, which we both still have today, so we came home, unpacked a bit, and then lay down on the bed together and listened to some Eddie Izzard on my laptop - we both eventually drifted off to sleep and here we are - today!

Tuesday 19th August 2008

It’s almost 10:00. We are going into Bergen again shortly, I have a few more things I need to buy, and I am going to take my camera so I can get some photos, it’s really beautiful. Hans is leaving tomorrow night, and I can barely even think about it, so I want to spend as much time with him as possible. It’s really sad for both of us I think, he feels like he looks after me, particularly when I stress out or panic over things - and he really does, it seems like he is the only one who makes me feel better and knows me completely, and he feels bad that I’ll be on my own. I have told him that I will be ok, I will be! I tried to explain to him that I don’t feel like I had a lot of choice with this exchange trip - it feels like it’s something I am meant to do - just the next part of my life. He understands I think. I will miss him so much, but just because we are not together doesn’t mean that we’ll be completely apart. I will miss him and he will miss me, but it’s 4 months now and hopefully it’ll go faster then we both think and when we see each other at Christmas it’ll be amazing.

I really miss my hamsters too! And I miss everybody back in England already - keep in touch!

x