Merry Christmas!

I never thought I'd say this, but getting online was easier in Uganda than back home in Norway...


I got back just over a week ago and I'm getting used to the cold and talking Norwegian all the time. I'm realizing things like "hey, there's pressure on the (warm!) water in the shower - getting the shampoo out of my hair only takes 30 seconds and not five minutes anymore!" and "wow, people here have way too much stuff and way too much money..."

Christmas so far has been alright, started out crappy but got better. It's been a peaceful few days.

Hope you're all having a good time out there, wherever you are.

Last pages

As I'm writing the last pages of this chapter in my life, I'm thinking of all the people I've met, all the new experiences I've had and the conversations that could never have taken place anywhere else. I know that these few months here have affected me in ways I am not yet aware of, and in the future I will think back to this very moment as a period in my life that helped shape me into the person I will become.

Right now I just want to cry my eyes out, and I think that's a good thing. It means I had fun, I enjoyed this time and I will miss it. Even if I did start crying I still couldn't stop smiling. There are people I have seen every day, people I have spent so much time with, people I will never meet again. Some I hopefully will, others will disappear out of my life the moment the plane takes off and MTN can no longer reach me.

This moment in time, this hostel, my class, the people here... I might come back to Uganda, but certain things will have changed. Things always change and life goes on.

This moment, this precise moment, will never come back. I only have a few days left and a few more memories to create.

Bagnapper

Walking along the road to the hostel, back from Ground Zero, a reggae club here in Wandegeya, J and I are talking about going to the zoo in Entebbe this weekend, when I feel something at my shoulder. Then there's someone tugging at my bag.
Instinctively my arm locked over it, I remember thinking "Wallet, key and I really like this bag so you're not getting it". The guy pulled on the bag and I pulled on the straps (I still can't believe they didn't break). He'd pulled me off the road and off my feet, I was still not letting go of my bag.

It can't have lasted many seconds before J managed to chase him off. When the guy was standing a few meters away, reluctant to give up but realizing he wasn't going to get this one, all I could think to do was shout "You ruined my new skirt!" (which must have seemed kinda funny to people around - a guy's trying to rob you and you're worried about your skirt getting dirty).
A man came and said the would-be robber must have been following us. He obviously wasn't expecting a fight.

I have a few cuts and bruises on my arm, leg, shoulder, side and butt (no, you're not getting pictures) but nothing too bad. I'm just glad my instincts said "fight" and not "give up". Like most girls, I do think about what I'd do if someone tried to snatch my bag, and remind myself to hold onto it, but this time I was anything but prepared. I didn't have a chance to think, I just knew what was happening.

Still, I don't even want to think about what would have happened if J hadn't been there - I guess he kinda saved me. I've never been saved before...

One.. Two.. Three...

For the first time in my life I feel as if I've slept with too many guys

When the guy you're with, who looks like a model (and actually was one for a while), who knows everything he should do in bed and seems to go on for ever and ever... a guy who makes you understand that if Ugandans have sex the way they dance (and boy do they dance), there's no wonder they're happy and content despite all their material problems.

When this guy tells you he's 28 and has only slept with two girls because he wants to have feelings for someone before he sleeps with them; when he says it's hard for a guy, that I will never know how hard it is for him (or any other guy) not to sleep with beautiful girls who are more than willing to do so, when this happens, it's the first time I've ever felt I've slept with too many guys.

I won't tell you my "magic number" - it's not that scary and it's not that high, but it is higher than two.

When I'm with this guy (who by the way is even weirder than me (when you get to know him, yet normal on the outside), which is quite an achievement) and he tells me he wants to be in love and not just sleep with all the girls around, and for once, for once... I actually trust the guy (I don't trust people easily yet this time there's just something...)...


Different people want different things and I guess I just haven't quite figured out what I want, what I think is good, or right, or how I want to do whatever it is I want to do.


What is in a number.... A rose by any other name would smell as sweet... right?

East African Guys

Why didn't anybody tell me they were so damn cute? No wonder I never liked Norwegian guys (and they never liked me) - there's so much more out here!


The guy from Rwanda
He was cute, I liked him. I wanted to trust him and my instincts were shouting "Nonono!". Unfortunately they were right - he was so pushy it wasn't even fun, and a little weird, and when he realized the girl wouldn't sleep with him (because he was way too 'hands on' from the get go), he went all quiet. Then he regretted his decision (they always do) but then it was too late. Way too late.

The guy in class
He's fun and I liked him from the start. He's always smiling, you can see it on the back of his head and hear it in his voice that he's smiling, still it took two months before we started talking about more than school and how my culture is different from his culture. Unfortunately, this is where the Ugandan hospitality may play tricks on you - he took me back to his sister's place and he keeps saying he misses me and really likes me - the problem (my problem) is that people here are so friendly you never know when they mean "you're fun, let's be friends" and when it's something more than that.

The guy at the internet cafe
There are two guys - one friendly and one cute (why does it always seem to be that way?). The cute one reminds me of one of my cousins and I have no idea why. He's kinda... I would say cocky, but I don't think he's like that, he just seems that way. It's a curse I guess, just like people always used to tell me I looked sad when I wasn't.

The tour guide
I met him on the street outside the hostel. He said he'd seen me walk by so many times and finally had to come and say hi. He's a tour guide of the national parks and Kampala, and he took me to all the places I wanted to go in the city. We went to a crafts market and went back and bought way too much stuff... I'll have to go back there... He says it's his task to make sure I experience as much as possible so I don't forget him, which is good, but I don't really like being seen as a "job", Something you have to do (not "do" do... well actually that too...). I'm kinda starting to like him though... (which is good considering what you might read into that last sentence).


And then there's all the other guys, in my class, in the shops, on the streets, that I just talk to but have never really got to know. They're from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo... Basically all over East Africa. There are a couple who have the most amazing eyes I've ever seen - I don't know, it might be the contrast between their dark skin and shining eyes. I'm really rather starting to enjoy being the "odd one out", then again I'm used to that. I'm strange, I know, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

And finally.... all the guys who come up to you (when you're walking on your own) to tell you they want to marry a white chick, they want a European woman, "I love you", I want to make mixed-colour babies, "I want to make an Obama"(!). Don't let their good looks fool you, their pick up lines are somewhat lacking...


I don't wanna go home!

That previous post...

...didn't really work as it was supposed to. People who visited a lot, now that they know I know who they are, seem to have disappeared.

Maybe I should modify my statement a little - I don't know who you are, I just know where you're from. That is, when my parents visit my other blog (they don't know about this one and I prefer we keep it that way), it says they are a few hours drive away from where they really are, so I don't really know where you're from either...

So don't worry, you can be as anonymous as you want to be - as long as I get the same in return, at least towards the rest of the world.


..still, there are a couple people I really wish would speak up just to see if they are who I think they are, and another I'm afraid what will happen if he does...

You are allowed to say something, you know.-

There are some people who visit several times a week. There are some who visit several times a day. If you're that interested to know what I'm doing, don't you think I'd be interested to know what you're doing?

You know who you are (and I certainly do), so I won't be naming names or nationalities. I like that you stop by, even if you're bored and just checking all your bookmarks. But I'd still appreciate it if you took the time to say something.

Comment, send an email, whatever.

Don't be a chicken - girls don't like that, remember? :)

Can I just ask something?

How come so many people end up on this blog when they're searching for some variation of "pakistani sex life" ??

I wrote about that once four years ago, and suddenly, these past few months, half the people who get here through a search engine are looking for it.

And they're not only Pakistanis, they're people from everywhere.

Does anybody know if something about the sex life of Pakistanis has suddenly become much more interesting?

Obama is the new Muzungu

People always shout "Muzungu!" after us when we walk outside. Muzungu means white person and it's not meant in a bad way although it does make you very self conscious since everybody is always looking at you. Plus, imagine standing on the street in whatever city you live in and shout "black person! black person!" every time you see a person of a different skin colour. Would that work?

People are just less politically correct here. They say it as it is, and I have to say I prefer it this way. It's a little "ehh... what did you just say?" at first when someone says something you'd never say out loud at home, but I really like the honesty. They manage to do it in a good way that's just honest but never rude - most people other people seem to see honesty as an excuse to be rude.


As for Obama - after he won the election last week people have started shouting "Obama" at us instead of "mzungu". I don't know why. Some girls had guys shout "Hey, Obamas wife" which doesn't make much sense either...

People at campus are selling photos of Obama, laying hundreds of them out on the ground. Photos work a little differently here, few people have cameras so it's a little special to have a photo of yourself and your friends. A friend in one of my classes gave me six photos last week; four of himself, one of the Main Building on campus and one of Obama.


This is a little funny and a lot strange...

I am officially single again!

After two years it feels a little like coming out of prison. It will probably be strange when I get back to Bergen but I've had three months to think about it and I've never looked back.

Now I just hope we can still be friends, that he finds a nice girl and falls in love (although he says he won't ever find anyone as strange as me), and everything will work out.

As for me... boy am I gonna miss Uganda! :P

A vote for change

The collective sigh of relief issued from the world this night was only rivaled by the cheers.


The hostel is throwing a party for "Our Barack Obama" this evening. People were shouting "Obama! Obama!" all night and when the victory was a fact, the shouts and cheers were loud enough to wake those who dared sleep.

It is a historic election, it would be no matter what the outcome was. I won't comment much on what this means for policies within the US, but outside this is potentially huge. That Barack Obama won this election signals to the rest of the world that the US is willing to change, and to take a chance to do so.


We don't like the position the US has had in the world the past decade, and Americans have now proved they don't like it much either. My hope for the next president is that fear and cynicism will be replaced by hope for the future. It's not about the man, it's about his opinions, policies and views of society.

Much can be said about the guy himself, all I'll say is although it might be true he is inexperienced in politics and might have a lot to learn, he seems to mean what he says, and say what he means. He seems to have a very different outlook from Bush and McCain and I hope and believe this will prove to be a good thing - both within the US and as far as relations with the outside world goes.


The world wants to like the US again. We want this superpower to be nice again and we hope the most powerful man in the world, starting in February, will have a broader perspective than the current one. Obama talks of us and we, not you and me.

And listening to his speech from Chicago, I hadn't realized how great it would feel to hear a man who will have such an important position in the world express opinions I completely agree with. He won't be able to do all he wants, but just the fact that he wants to try and do the right thing, in what I believe is the right way, is a good start.


So from a European in Africa - America, you did good!

Election Day 08

Americans have started voting, and the world is watching.

Ugandans are all over this election - I've seen "Barack Obama Club" t-shirts, bumper stickers and the papers have had the American colours on their front pages the past days.

Yesterday a guy came to the lecture shouting "Pray for McCain!" and another shouted back "No, pray for Obama!"


I wish I had a tv or a computer and didn't have to go running to internet cafes all the time. Last time, four years ago, I was up all night watching, and I really wish I could do the same now.

It looks like Obama can do this (I'd say more but I'm afraid to jinx it!) but you never know how the Republicans will do until it's over.

I'm hoping for no surprises this year, just a smooth running election with a historical outcome.

Go Obama!

Go Vote!

The election is Tuesday, the poll is on the right.

Let's see what the rest of the world thinks.

edit: come on people, I know you visit, you might as well click it!

Dear Americans

An American flag? Here? What happened??

One week left and I'd just like to urge all Americans to vote.



Americans might find it strange to see the world so preoccupied with what is their election, but the past century Americans have made it their business to make the world their business - thereby making the election of their President something which concerns the entire globe.

Whereas taxation and local governance is important for the average American, being able to hope for a little peace, less scare tactics, someone who sees foreigners as fellow inhabitants of our planet, and not just potential enemies and terrorists - a little hope and a lot of change, that is what the world is hoping for.


We want and need an America we can like again.

Vote Obama!

Someone stole my phone!

On my birthday!

I was walking along, looking for the market, when I decided there were so many people around I needed to put my phone inside the zipper of my bag (as opposed to in the side pocket over which I held my arm).

When I looked for it, it was gone!

I loved this phone, I never really wanted one in the first place but when I'd spent a month researching and decided on that one, and I got it for Xmas, I absolutely loved it - it was the nicest phone you could ask for. And now it's gone.

I got a new one, decided to go with the sleeker, more expensive one rather then the more bulky, cheap one. Now I just realized this one won't have Norwegian language so I'll have to get a new one anyway. *apples is having a dumb day*

I'm trying very hard not to think of everything I've lost - my photos and text messages I tried to save before on my laptop before I came here, and I think I succeeded (it wouldn't really cooperate). But all the phone numbers, the games (I had a really good one!), the recent messages... the music, the..... oh I really don't want to think about it :(

The boyfriend

I guess it might be time to say something about this now... The Guy and I started dating two years ago, and we broke up before I came to Uganda. He didn't want to lose me as a girlfriend and I didn't want to lose him as a friend, so it's not quite official yet... Facebook still says we're together, if that's anything to go by.

I'm supposed to think, experience something new and see if I'll change my mind. But I won't, I know that now. I'll just have to find a way to tell him that, it doesn't seem fair to do it online - "oh btw my feelings won't change, gtg, cya!"

Might not seem very fair to put it on a blog either, but he doesn't read this - he says he doesn't and I trust him.

I just felt it was time to put thinks straight. I've been on here since long before I met him and it doesn't feel like I'm being honest with myself or anyone else when I don't tell this story, as I've told so many others.

Anybody got any idea how to break a heart without actually breaking it?

Garden City

In Kampala there is a mall called Garden City. Well, it's not a mall in the sense most of us think of them with lots of shops of all kinds - but it does have a small clothes store, a shoe store (where three quarters of the store is reserved for mens shoes - very strange), a grocery store, a book store and a few others.

Garden City is also a place in New York State. It's a village on Long Island founded in 1869, landmarks include The Cathedral of the Incarnation, St. Paul's School, Adelphi University and Apostle Houses. You'll also find the Cradle of Aviation Museum located at Mitchel Air Force Base. Although the base is no longer used as a US Military Air Force Base, the town is still headquarter to some units within the US Military.

In New York State we also find Jamaica. Jamaica is located in Queens, New York City. Under British rule, from 1664, it was the centre of the Town of Jamaica. When Queens was incorporated into City of Greater New York in 1898, both the Town of Jamaica and the Village of Jamaica were dissolved. The name comes from "Jameco," from the Jameco Native Americans, and means "beaver".

Jamaica is also an island in the Caribbean. It has a population of approximately 2.8 million, and is the home of the Rastafari Movement, now counting somewhere between 600,000 - 1,000,000 members around the world.

The Rastafari Movement emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s under the influence of the "Pan Africanism" movement. They believe the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I (1892 - 1975) to be, along with Jesus, the incarnation of God. He is seen as the returned messiah, a part of the holy trinity, who will lead the people of Africa, and the African diaspora, to freedom. The term Rastafari comes from the Ras Tafari - Ras meaning prince or head, Tafari coming from Haile Selassie's name from before he became emperor - Tafari Makonnen.

Haile Selassie I was the regent of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930, and emperor from 1930 to 1974. It has been said that Selassie "declined to refute the Rastafari belief that he was God", then he later "according to some sources, denied his divinity". Selassie received many honors, or orders, among them the Order of the Source of the Nile and as the Commander of the Order of the Shield and Spears.

The Order of the Source of the Nile and The Order of the Shield and Spears are both given out by the East African country Uganda, which takes us back to its capital Kampala.



See - everything is linked!
(... however amateurishly it might be done ... :)

One month in Uganda

I'm still alive and doing well!

Everything is different from home, but then that was what I was looking for, and it's what I love the most about it. People are nice (even though they shout mzungu (white person) after me wherever I go).

We live in the poorest area of town and all around us the houses are basically shacks, some are made of bricks and doors are rare. We're staying in one of the new student hostels with a big gate outside so it does feel a bit like we're going inside and shutting the door on poverty, even though the lack of warm water, the mosquitos and the power going out when it rains help us remember where we are.

The weather is warm, around 25 degrees. It rains every second day, the roads turn to mud, and the rain drops are so big it hurts - I understand now why people here never go out in the rain.. I did last week, and when I got wet everyone was pointing and laughing (even more so than usual!). Not quite like Bergen - if you decide to wait till it stops raining there, you might be stuck for a couple days...

School has started and the first two weeks I attended around 10 lectures, but only twice did the professors show up. And we don't have any books! We have to get hand outs at one of the dozens of photocopiers spread out around campus - and I seem to be the only one who doesn't know where to get them. Well, that's not true, whenever I ask someone, they don't seem to know either. Then next time, as if by magic, they have them, but they still don't know where to get them! It is frustrating, and I have to say I have new appreciation for how easy everything is at home.

In a few of my classes I'm the only white person, and the only one who is new here, and it does give me more attention in a day than in a year of lectures at home. It's easy to be singled out, commented on by the lecturer, and have the whole classes looking back over their shoulder at you for the remaining hour of class. I'm kinda looking forward to being invisible again.


I'm also looking forward to Christmas, I miss warm water in the shower, washing machines, fridges and being able to do more cooking than just boiling water.

But I also know that I'll later look at these few months as an experience of a lifetime, and now that I'm in the middle of it I am determined to make the most of it.

Ready to go

In four hours I'll be on my way to Uganda. My suitcase is packed, almost doesn't weigh more than it should, and there's even room for more.

I've got all my shots, packed my malaria pills and accidentally thrown my cholera vaccine in the dumpster. I'm all set!

This all means I won't be checking in as much the rest of the year. I would have kept posting about my stay, but it would be necessary for me not to have to moderate comments. Due to unfortunate incidents here I won't be able to do that.


Which means I'll have plenty of stories when I come back.
See you on the other side :)

Eee!!

I love my Eee. And I mean love it!

I've had it for six days now and I've figured most things out - with the help of my bf who just happens to be a linux wiz. I actually managed to get him to exclaim "wow, now I'm actually impressed" when I was able fo fix the wireless connection. Here at home it wouldn't let linux connect, when he visited he wasn't able to make it work, but I did!

As far as the eee goes, it's tiny, it's cute (although I wish I had it in white), and it's.... well, I just love it. The keyboard is small but typing works fine, the only problem is you have to hit the keys harder than usual to get them to register. Annoying at first, but you get used to it (just pretend you're real angry when you type).

The camera now works. I can't wait to start taking and posting pictures. The wireless works - it's better to experience problems here where I have four(!) other computers to help me solve the problem, rather than sit in a foreign country and not know what's wrong. I just want to have most of the difficulties now, and I'm trying my best to mess with the eee so I'll learn how to fix whatever I'm doing to it..

Did I mention I love my eee?

Tagging at Night

The bf and I were out walking Thursday night when we came across these guys decorating a wall somewhere between the cinema and the theatre. Now, most graffiti artists aren't as much artists as punks who spray words or just blobs on the wall. These guys, however, sure knew what they were doing.

Iris Robinson, MP

Iris Robinson, UK Member of Parliament and wife of First Minister Peter Robinson, during a debate on the assessment and management of sex offenders in the House of Commons;

«- We all agree that few issues arouse as much interest or concern in the community as that of sex offenders. The sentences served and their subsequent placement back in the community cause considerable disquiet among the public. There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children. There must be sufficient confidence that the community has the best possible protection against such perverts and it is important that there be a mature public debate on the issues, but the security of our citizens must be our overriding priority. »

Later, after protests and official complaints, she issued a statement via the party's press office stating:

“I clearly intended to say that child abuse was worse even than homosexuality and sodomy ... at no point have I set out to suggest homosexuality was worse than child sex abuse.”

When explaining her statement to the Belfast Telegraph;

“Can you think of anything more vile than man and man or woman and woman and sexually abusing children? What I say I base on biblical pronouncements, based on God’s word. I am amazed that people are surprised when I quote from scriptures ... I cannot think of anything more sickening than a child being abused. It is comparable to the act of homosexuality. I think they are all comparable. I feel totally repulsed by both.

... I am trying to reach out to people. That is what Christ teaches us ... Anything I say is out of love. I am not hate-mongering. I cannot leave my Christian values hanging at the door when I go into politics. I am speaking out more now because we are getting it more and more rammed down our throats that the minority views are more important than the majority views. I am not trying to alienate anyone ... I do not turn anyone away. I would never water down anything with the scriptures and I don’t think I should. I find it amazing, if not unexpected, as these days Christians are persecuted for their views but that will not stop me. There will be a judgement day and when I am judged I want to know that I did all I could to spread the word of God.”

I don't know about you but if someone I'd voted for started making statements like these, I'd feel I'd been duped. When a politician makes it their business to spread the word of God in order to be judged favorably when she's dead, that makes me concerned.

Especially when, to her, "the word of God" includes, making it clear that homosexuality is comparable to, if not worse than, child abuse.

She claims anything she says is out of love. If this is the kind of love her God wants to share with the world, then I'll pass.

Renting out my room - part II

As I wrote in this previous post I'm trying to rent out my room.

I've had some progress but I've also had a couple of set backs. Let's start from the top.


Possible Tenant #1
First days of April
She left a message on the Facebook-group of the student apartment building. She wanted to rent a room, and she seemed very nice. She wanted to see the place, I gave her a few days and times I'd be home, but she never showed up.

In the middle of May I sent her a message, asking if she did want to come. She then replied that she should probably have told me, but she'd decided 5 months was too long and she couldn't promise to stay that long. Seven weeks in she'd changed her mind, and not thought of telling me.

Possible Tenant #2
Middle of June
I put an ad on Facebook and got a response. This girl couldn't come to Bergen to see the apartment, but that wasn't absolutely necessary. She says she's very interested, but after a few days I get an email saying "It's only for five months??", admitting she hadn't read the ad properly.


Two and a half months in I'd had one changing her mind because five months was too long, and one because five months was too short.


Random Possible Tenants
Early July
I'd put an ad on hybel.no and got about 15 responses the first day and had to close it down. Some I had to rule out but I was left with about 10 possible. Two girls called and wanted to see the apartment, I arranged to meet them last Saturday, and also listed it as an open viewing in the ad. The girls didn't come, the only ones who did were the parents of a guy who'd told them to go, but not where it was.

Possible Tenant #3
Middle of July
After much deliberation I decided to go with the guy whose parents I'd met, even though my gut told me to go with another guy who was in Germany at the moment (but was from Norway, not too far from home). I decided to be on the safe side - it felt safer to choose someone I'd get to meet first, and whose parents had already been here.

Last Thursday I sent emails to all the others telling them that "I'm sorry to tell you I've decided to go with someone I'll get to meet first." I sent the guy an email on Friday but didn't hear back. Today, Tuesday, I called him. He was in a cabin and *snort of laughter from him* hadn't got my email. "Oh yeah, and I've decided to rent another apartment. Bye."


If I hadn't had such a hard time deciding between the two guys, I should of course have got a 'Yes' from someone before I said no to the others. Lesson learnt.


I immediately sent off an email to the guy who is (or was) in Germany, and hopefully he'll want to rent it. In a way, I did get my wish. I'd just told my boyfriend last week that "I've chosen this guy, but I hope he says no so I can choose the other one". I guess you really do need to be careful what you wish for...

Diseases I will not catch in Africa:

• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Yellow Fever
• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Poliomyelitis
• Typhoid fever
• Meningococcal infection
• Cholera
• Malaria

My camera is broken

A few weeks ago I ordered two new batteries for my camera from online store altitec.no. When I first put the new one in, there were strange lines across the screen. I changed back to the old battery and all was good again.

Today I tried the camera again and it had gotten worse. This time it didn't help changing to the old battery (or the very old battery), and the whites in the photo are now pink.

One month before I go to Africa and will take a million photos, my camera dies..


I really wish I hadn't just spent a few hundred dollars on good quality memory cards and batteries...

Plane tickets: Check!

I've finally booked my plane tickets and August 12th I'll be off for Uganda!

I'll have to spend a bit of time at airports (Oslo and Heathrow), including the night of December 22nd, but at least I'll be home in time to help put up Christmas decorations. I can't wait!

Sasha Gabor

Sasha Gabor, Norwegian-Hungarian porn star died in Thailand a couple of weeks ago.
He was a Burt Reynolds look-alike, but for me he'll always be the Sean Connery of porn.

Not that I've ever seen him in any. Not that I've ever seen a lot of porn. Maybe I should...

R.I.P big guy

Renting out my room

I have to find someone to rent my room from August till December seeing as I'll be going to Uganda (yay!).

15 minutes after I put the ad on hybel.no, It'd had 15 hits, and I'd already set up an appointment for a viewing this Saturday.

Now, two hours later, I've already rejected one (he had to move in before I'm able to move out), and I'm in touch with one more. My biggest concern in trying to find out who I can trust.

Three hours ago my problem was finding someone to rent this place. Now the problem is figuring out to whom I want to rent it. I think I prefer it this way... :P

Stranger still

A couple days after I found the other thongs by the bridge, this one showed up just outside the door downstairs.

I can't help but wonder who wore these thongs before they were discarded. They do look rather... worn.

The strange things I found.

Monday night someone decorated the grass between here and the bridge with somewhat puzzling ornaments.


These included several pairs of thongs, yellow rubber gloves, plastic, paper and some other rubbish.



I'm sure there's a story behind this, I just can't imagine what it could be...

Horten, Norway

The day after my last exam, June 7th, my boyfriend and I went back to his home town. It was a cute little city called Horten on the east coast of Norway. No mountains but one hill and a lot of ocean (although not as far as the eye can see).


This might sound strange, but my favourite experience there was the first night when his family (mother, aunt, uncle, grandparents and others) came by for dinner. They were nice people and it reminded me that the best experiences you have almost always include other people. It's something that's easy for me to forget.

more photos on appleshots

An aquired taste

Is it just me or does Gunhild Melhus, part time model, medical student and girlfriend of Norwegian hotel magnate Petter Stordalen look somewhat like a drag queen?

Strange U.S. Sex Laws

Oblong, Illinois
It is punishable by law to make love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day.
- while hunting or fishing? I should certainly think so...

Nevada
It is illegal for any member of the Nevada Legislature to conduct official business wearing a penis costume while the legislature is in session.
- I feel very strongly I should comment on this one, but I'm trying my very best not to burst out laughing while imagining a Nevada governor wearing a penis costume..

Tremonton, Utah
No woman may have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance. If caught, the woman can be charged with a sexual misdemeanor and "her name is to be published in the local newspaper." The man isn't charged nor is his name revealed.
- need I comment on this one or do you already know what I'm gonna say?

Merryville, Missouri.
Women are prohibited from wearing corsets because "the privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male."
- it's strange to see lust as a good enough reason to pass a law... I agree to some extent though - curves are wow!

Romboch, Virginia
It is illegal to engage in sexual activity with the lights on.

Illinois
All bachelors should be called master, not mister, when addressed by their female counterparts.
- bite me.

Newcastle, Wyoming
An ordinance specifically bans couples from having sex while standing inside a store's walk-in meat freezer.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
In hotels every room is required to have twin beds. And the beds must always be a minimum of two feet apart when a couple rents a room for only one night. And it's illegal to make love on the floor between the beds!
- because two people can't have sex in a single bed? Fine, it's hard to sleep in one, but you can have sex pretty much anywhere so..

Minnesota
It is illegal for any man to have sexual intercourse with a live fish.
- no arguments there!!

Bakersfield, California
Anyone having intercourse with Satan must use a condom.
- !!

Adapted from Lectlaw.com

June

It's so friggin hot!

How do you even sleep in this heat? (I don't know cuz I don't).

But I'm not complaining. I'm enjoying every second of it. Being able to think it's hot in Norway is something you cherish, because you know soon enough it will be raining non stop, yet again.


It's just so friggin hot and my windows aren't big enough to let the air in! I am so loving this!

Kiss sound test

Kiss came to Bergen on Sunday and the city was filled with people wearing black t-shirts and painted faces. The BF and I went for a walk through a park and came across the stage being put up.

It was huge! We stuck around for about an hour, watching them build it. There were hundreds of builders, all wearing different coloured hard hats. Then hundreds of teenagers joining up as staff to get in for free. Then another 20 or so ambulance personell. Not to mention all the security guards - they were everywhere!

In the end some guys from the military came and chased us away. They were closing the park all around the stage, so no one could see anything for free. Even people sitting 250 meters away, playing with their kids, completely oblivious of what was going on on the other side of the park, behind several buildings and trees, had to leave.

I heard the show was good though, much better than the night before in Oslo.

Dooooaaadooooaaa: part XLVII

Fire alarm. What else is new?

- I'll tell you what else is new. -

Last time the alarm went off I went downstairs, checked where the "fire" was and waited for the firemen to show up. When they did, they waited a bit, then asked - very loudly, and very angrily - "aren't there anyone responsible here?". One guy stepped up and said "I am". I assumed he lived in the apartment where the "fire" started, and that he, for some reason, didn't walk up to the firemen right away, and instead waiting a couple minutes.

The next thing that happened was one of the firemen started yelling at this guy. He was shouting; how could he not tell them right away, what was happening, how were they supposed to know? The person responsible should come right up and tell them. "But I...." was all I heard from the other guy.

I realized by then it was not the time for me to declare that I was the elected representative for the apartment building, that I should be told what's going on. I went back upstairs and after 20 minutes the alarm stopped.


So today, when the alarm went off, I went outside to look for smoke. When I didn't see anything, I went downstairs. I saw the alarm was set off by one of my neighbours and went back upstairs. On my way there, the sad girl in the wheelchair asked what was going on. I told her I was going to check on it. When I got to the door, knocking a few times, a guy I see all the time, who I thought lived on the 3rd or 4th floor came over, telling me he lived there.

I asked if he knew what it was, he said just cooking, with a bit of smoke. I went back downstairs, making sure to tell the girl it was just cooking. The firemen came, I told them what was going on. They asked if I knew for sure (no, I'm just making an educated guess.... which I would be quite qualified to do by now). I told them I'd just talked to the guy who lived in the apartment (which I can't quite understand since I know for a fact that it's another guy (who looks like a lot like this guy) who lives there).

They told us to stay downstairs for a while. Then they tried to stop the alarm, but it kept going for twenty minutes. One fireman came back downstairs and told us we could go back upstairs ("just someone cooking... guess this isn't too uncommon, eh? heheh"). And we all went back to our rooms. Nothing scary. Never anything scary. Except the one time I wasn't home.


Just an ordinary Monday evening. I'm glad it's not like when we first moved in though - this was a three-times-a-week occurrence.

Weird crime in Bergen

Stole 15 jackets

While the residents were in the appartment, thieves sneaked in and stole 15 jackets from the hallway.

The theft was to have occured on Nygårdshøyden tonight.

Several of the jackets are supposed to have been expensive, and three of them have a total value of 12.000NOK (2300USD).

Police does not yet know who is behind the theft.

bt.no

I think the most expensive object I own is my laptop. Four years ago my parents paid my brother 5.000NOK (1.000USD) for it and gave it to me. Then again, its value today is close to zero.

The most expensive piece of clothing I own is a pair of pants from a few years ago that cost 600NOK (120USD) and which I don't wear anymore as they were worn out years ago.

The most expensive object of current value I have is probably... my camera... but again, it's 5 years old and the value is next to nothing. So I guess my my external hard drive (a MyBook). Two weeks old, worth about 900NOK (580USD). The most expensive piece of clothing must be a pair of shoes - about 400NOK (80USD).

What I'm trying to get at here, apart from the fact that I sound either very poor or very cheap, is: who the hell wears 4000 kroner (800 dollar) jackets and manages to lose 15 of them?!?

Email from Uni / Student Council

TOMORROW - Friday May 30th - our dear Martha in the Social Sciences canteen celebrates her 50th birthday.

The Student Council wishes to honour Martha on behalf of the social science students - and we hope YOU want to show up if you're still in Bergen.

SHOW UP
outside SS at 12 tomorow.

- To join us honour Martha.

The Student Council will bring a gift - if anyone wants to bring a cake or anything else you are more than welcome to do so.



I'm so glad they send out things like this to remind us what's really important. Exams? Hah! Who cares - most of us won't find proper jobs for a decade anyway (that's provided we've finished studying by then).

Happy b'day Martha - don't know who you are but apparently the others love you!

Being way too honest

Once upon a time I knew a guy. I told him about another guy I'd met, and how we'd spent sometime together before he said we probably shouldn't see each other again. I knew that would happen, but the fact that it happened the very next time I saw him, the first time after I'd slept with him for the first time - with anyone for the first time - it did seem a bit.... fuzzy. That's the best way I can explain it.

The guy called me a week later and said "oh hey... guess what... I want to see you." Just like that. "Goodbye, we should never meet again", then "I want to see you again". What did I do? "I said "We've already said goodbye and... That's it. The end." He said "Errr...ok!" And hung up the phone.


Now, I told this other guy the story and his reaction was "what, you felt pleasure telling the guy no? Why would you do that?" - and it's true, it felt good. It felt very good to say no. To know he wanted to see me, that, perhaps, he regretted his decision. Probably (ie. definitely) just cuz he wanted sex, but still - I got the last word. I didn't want to see him again. I wasn't bitter and I wasn't mad... It was just.... "on a dit adieu" - we've said goodbye.

But it's always followed me, that comment. "You felt pleasure in saying that." And it's true. I did. I do. And I don't think that's too bad a thing to do. Still... the comment has always stuck. And it hurt. Why couldn't someone I care about see that I neededto get over him? When someone treats you badly, you don't just pretend nothing ever happened. At least I sure as hell don't.

But... Do I want to build my life around hurting other people? Do I want to be the kind of person who takes pleasure in other people's misfortune? Don't I want to find joy and happiness in what makes me happy at the time - rather than what makes me smirk at others in the future?'

As my sister's MSN status said a few days ago:
"Never regret something that once made you smile."

And that guy sure made me smile. But so did the other one, who critisized me for my reaction to the first.


The first guy I only knew for a few weeks, but I experienced a lot of firsts with him.

The second guy.... although I never really knew him, we talked for six months, met once, then he disappeared. If there's every any bitter in me, it's because of that. But he taught me things, probably without knowing. He made me want to be a better person.

And I realized that someone who gets to you physically is so much easier to get over than someone who gets to you mentally. Someone who can get under my skin, someone I look forward to talking to all day, waiting for hours every night.... then realize he's never coming back. I'd truly never felt that kind of pain before. And it'll never go away. It will forever be a part of who I am. How can I ever claim to be looking for the truth in life, when I can't even find out the truth about what happend in my own life?


I've never felt either that physical or mental attraction to anyone else since I met those two guys. How wonderful would it be to one day find both those qualities.... well.... both those way of attraction, to me (very subjective), someone I could be attracted to physically as well as mentally. Someone who makes me want to be a better person. Who makes me question my own statements and decisions, yet in the end make me feel good about myself and what I'm doing.

I do believe my decision was right - when someone hurts me, I don't go crawling back. I don't crawl. I'm probably too proud and pretend-confident for my own good. So if you do something to me I don't like, don't just expect a second chance. You'll have to earn it.


And if you know me, you'll know exactly how to do that.

I've got chat!

Found this today, it's called a "Google Talk chatback badge", and it will let me talk to talk to you when you're on here (or rather, allow you to talk to me).

Not sure if I'll keep it but I thought I'd try it out.

Don't be shy, just say hi if you see me online :)

We've got summer clouds!

Tengaged

This is me on tengaged.com, which is supposed to be like online Big Brother. With avatars.

10 people, 7 days. Give points, talk, and each day one person is voted off. I haven't tried Tengaged (aka. The Stupidest Online Game Ever according to one Norwegian web page) yet, and I'm not sure I will as:

1) it seems a little stupid,
2) it would take a lot of time, and
3) I've never been good at ass kissing and manipulation


But I just had to make an avatar! Ain't she cute?

Kjell Kristian Rike

12.07.1944 - 19.05.2008

One of Norway's two best sports commentators passed away today. Whether you watch skiing, or other sports, or nothing at all, if you're Norwegian - you've still heard his voice hundreds of times. The Olympics, World Championships, and biathlon during winter was not as much fun if a certain two guys, Kjell Kristian Rike and Jon Herwig Carlsen, weren't commentating.

There are some voices that strike you, and this is one of them. That deep, grandfatherly voice weighed up perfectly with Carlsen's sometimes childish optimism - "they will win, they're only two minutes behind with one kilometer to go!", countered with "well, we'll see..". Last winter they didn't commentate the regular skiing and it somehow wasn't that interesting. It took me a few minutes each time to find out why it wasn't fun, what was missing. It was those two guys, and somehow it wasn't the same. I found myself migrating to biathlon instead.

Personally, what I'm feeling right now is "Noooooo! I'll never want to watch winter sports again! What's the point?" It's like a big part of it has just disappeared. I grew up hearing his voice when the tv was on during weekends, before I was old enough to know what it was all about. It was like the 'pings' during the Saturday football matches from England - whenever I hear those sounds, it takes me right back. I'm three years old again, on the floor playing while my dad is watching tv. Waiting for the evening to come, so I can watch cartoons and eat my candy.

I'll truly miss his voice, and the energy between those two partners. I have a feeling next winter won't be the same.

Salmon Sausages

Norwegian company Mills have just launced salmon sausages. They also make salmon burgers and a couple other things. 65% of the contents are actually salmon, which makes me wonder what the remaining 35% are....

Now... my being a sucker for whatever is new, tastes good and is seemingly good for you, I just had to try these things out.

The sausages are supposed to taste just like regular sausages. Just like the burgers are supposed to taste like regular burgers. According to my boyfriend, they actually do taste like regular sausages. According to me, they smell like:


"Not necessarily samon, but fish smell as in "now we've been out rowing in a tiny boat for four hours wearing our wellies and getting soaked. We've caught some big fish and now it's around midnight, we're going home to cook fish and 'fresh liver'.""


In other words, salmon sausages might smell slightly odd to you, but to me they smell like summers when I was a kid. It really is true that there is nothing that takes you back as much as smell. Whether it is flowers, the ocean... or, for me, the smell of freshly caught fish.

Fact or Fiction: Corporate Clouds

A US entrepreneur has come up with a way to create foam clouds shaped like corporate logos that will float up to 20,000ft into the air.

The 4ft shapes, made from tiny soapy bubbles filled with helium, can travel for 30 miles before evaporating into thin air, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Francisco Guerra, whose company, Snowmasters Inc, makes machines that churn out fake snow for Hollywood films, is the man behind "Flogos".

He has developed a machine which can manipulate the bubbles into any shape and pump them into the sky at a rate of one every 15 seconds.

The concept has already attracted attention from The Walt Disney Co and Mr Guerra has been commissioned to send clouds shaped like Mickey Mouse into the sky above Disney World in Florida.

Mr Guerra said: "Flogos are a revolutionary way to market products, services and events. It's a shock factor when you look up and there's a logo over your head.

"They will fly for miles, they are durable so they last a while. The secret is our formulation and equipment. We're able to keep the cloud together for a long time."

He insists the Flogos are environmentally safe because they are made from just water, air, helium and a soapy agent.

ananova.com

Yeah that soapy agent sounds real environmentally friendly... This is, in fact, a fact. They do make, and sell, soapy flying logos.

More videos at YouTube

Footballing Fish

A Californian man has trained his pet goldfish to play football, basketball and even limbo dance under a bar.

Comet the goldfish can also play fetch with a hoop, slalom around a series of poles and push a rugby ball over a set of posts.

Dr Dean Pomerleau, 41, from Los Angeles, used a training technique called positive reinforcement to train two-year-old common goldfish Comet to carry out the tricks.

He said: "There is mounting evidence that fish are more intelligent than people give them credit for.

"With the correct tools and the basic promise of a food reward, fish can very quickly learn complex tricks - like the limbo, slalom or playing fetch.

"Now people in the market for a dog might want to consider a fish instead."

Positive reinforcement is a training technique where the fish is rewarded with food when he successfully completes a task.

More videos at YouTube

Dr Pomerleau added: "We've used techniques that we've customised for pet fish, but are based on those used to train dolphins and other marine mammals."

He has teamed up with pet product firm R2 Solutions to design a special kit to help people train their fish. It features goal posts, slalom poles and tunnels, as well as an instructional DVD.

The R2 Fish School kit is available from online retailer Amazon for around £16.

ananova.com

Pamela, DXD Models

kjendis.no

Those are the longest legs I've ever seen!

> Black is finally in fashion at Vogue <

Visuelt 08

I love it!

Who's to say they'd come to the humans first? Animals outnumber us by far, there's no particular reason they wouldn't be the first they'd seek out.

As they say about dogs - who's really the boss, the one who craps on the street or the one who picks up after him?

From Visuelt 08 via Dagbladet.no

My TV just sighed!

It's on, but in PC mode, just waiting for me to pull a window over there, give it something to do. And then it sighed!

First once, then a few more times. Now it sounds like it snores about once a minute.

I'm thinking it's just tired of waiting, but that answer seems just a little too obvious...

What could possibly cause my TV to snore?

Happy b'day Baby sis

My baby sis is 15 years old today!

And it's so sad!

She'll always be my baby sis, but 15 is such huge difference from 14. I mean, she's already had a boyfriend (and dumped him) - what they did as bf-gf, I don't know. She's old enough to have a bf, but still young enough to ask me "How do you know you're boyfriend-girlfriend? How can you really tell?"

At 14 I've got every right and reason to be overprotective. When she's 15, it's borderline adult (well, sorta). In a year she'll be allowed to have sex (nonononono!). Which means in many ways society thinks she'll want to have sex. If she's anything she'll like me she'll want to - and boys will expect her to want to (her bf was 18 - what do you think his mind was on?).


Alright, I'll stop telling you all about her personal life. She'd kill me if she knew, but hopefully she never will... or maybe when she gets a little older.


I'll never stop feeling protective of her though. She's my baby sis. She's always wanted to be a big sister and just like I don't know what it's like to be the youngest, she'll never know what it's like to be the older one, to watch your nine year younger sister grow up. Maybe if we were closer in age it would be easier, but I wouldn't trade this for anything.

I do remember what it was being that age though, but we're so different - she does things I only thought of doing, so I'm not entirely sure what she's up to... We're very similar in one way though - we're both responsible and smart, neither naive nor cynical. Not that we do everything right, we just have a pragmatic view of the world. My brother is exactly the same - I guess our parents did good :)


Happy b'day sis - I hope you haven't found this blog yet but give it a couple years and I'm sure you'll find anything you want :)

The Blood Bank

My blood has been approved!

Just after Christmas I finally got around to registering with the Blood Bank. The way it works in Bergen is you get registered on their page, they send you a notice and give you come in to have your blood tested.

I did that in February. I went to the hospital, got a little lost in all the corridors but eventually found my way there. You have to fill out a form every time with questions such as;
- "Have you had a new sexual partner in the past six months?"
(six month quarantine)
- Have you had a tattoo done since last time?
(six month quarantine)
- Have you been in the UK for more than 12 months in the period between 1980-1996?
(you are excluded and will not be able to give blood. ever.)


Then I had a talk with a friendly guy who kept looked for my pulse. He couldn't find it and proceeded to ask me if I was sure I had one. Eventually he found it and when he was convinced I was really alive, he measured my blood pressure - which is high. Apparently not too high though.

I was brought into another room where I was put in a big chair tilted back. The nurses weren't exactly friendly (will it kill you to sound more like a nurse and less like the head mistress from "Mathilda"?). There was a tiny pin prick and my blood flowed out. They put some in each of five or six test tubes, and that was it. I barely felt a thing and asked if "surely it has to hurt more when I'm actually giving blood, and not just being here for the test?"

She reassured(?) me that next time they'd use a much bigger needle. Oh yay...

I was told to wait about two months until the results came through, then I'd find out if I'd been approved. I just wondered what would happen if I wasn't - if my blood wasn't good enough to give to bleeding, dying people. Would they give me new blood? Replace it with good, approved blood? Anything?


But I've been approved! I'm healthy, my blood is healthy and I'm going back next week to give blood that will actually be inside another human being a few days later. I'll help someone. I just hope I get rid of this cold, because you're supposed to wait 7 days after you've had one.

And I can't wait to find out what blood type I have! What sucks is I'm going to Uganda in August and after that there's at least 12 months quarantine, after which I might not be in Bergen any more. Which in turn means I'll have to start this all over again. But at least 450ml of my blood might help a little and I'll be in the system.


It's such a little thing to do. It might hurt a little, it might be uncomfortable and take a bit of time. But my body will adjust and produce more blood, and I can help a person who really needs it.

I'd encourage you all to give it a go. All you have to do is look up your local hospital or blood bank. Give them a call, check out their web page. Get registered and help someone who needs it. Who knows, chances are you or a loved one will be injured and need surgery. And then it won't matter how many surgeons you have if they don't have enough blood to keep you alive.


By giving blood, you can help save lives.

The Friendly Swede

I just got the best email from a Swede, offering to send me chocolate. Not just any chocolate, THE chocolate. If you knew me, you'd know that ranks pretty high among the best things anyone could ever do.

I replied, but forgot to tell him how his email made me laugh and feel all fuzzy and warm inside, so I'll put it on here instead and maybe he'll see it. It's so nice when people are nice! Offer to send me chocolate? Who does that, right?

Oh, and I needed to sound all Swedish reading it - the only way I can read Swedish is when I read it in Swedish - with the proper pronunciation - (and I have a cold so my voice is all sexy today too - that's the only good thing about having a cold). The language looks very different from Norwegian but sounds similar (whereas Danish looks very similar but sounds completely different).

Anyway, Swedish Guy, thank you. I needed that laugh today :)