…but where would they live?
A note of warning, before I jump into the second part of our month long road-trip: Because our trip was so extensive, eventful and wonderful at the same time, I decided to split my blog into several installments. This first part deals with the initial jetlag, the rental car and the road trip that A had... Continue Reading →
To say the least, A and I are exhausted. We just returned from a month-long eat-and-drive-cation from the US and jetlag is kicking our butts. Day becomes night and night becomes day, thankfully this is not our first rodeo and we know how to deal with it: do not engage with other human beings because your... Continue Reading →
The last half year has been incredibly stressful for A and me. We desperately needed a few days to ourselves, away from home, away from responsibilities, away from everything that we love (except for each other). So we did the only sensible thing: going on an eat-cation. Remember Vilnius earlier this year? That's when I... Continue Reading →
You might not think it possible but hamsters can easily get depressed. Usually it's something simple that triggers it, e.g. cleaning their cage and the hamster feeling like they're not in their home anymore. When a hamster is depressed, they will likely sit in a corner, facing the corner and sleeping while sitting up. I... Continue Reading →
With every great opportunity comes great sacrifice. You cannot have the one without the other. For me, the sacrifice is a simple one, for all the opportunities I was lucky to have so far in my life, I had to give time, time away from A and vice versa. We have been married for almost... Continue Reading →
As the seasons change, I cannot help but think, that the running season is not over yet. So far I ran about 425 km in the past year. For some people this is little (especially if you're my dad, I guess by now he probably ran twice around the world already). For other people this... Continue Reading →
Rome is one of these undefinable places that somehow always makes everyone's top 5 city list and how could you argue against that? What's not to love about Rome? Historical ruins. Check. Great food on every corner. Check. Deserts for breakfast. Check. But with amazingly awesome cities there always comes unbearably great responsibility. Last week... Continue Reading →
Time flies. Somehow it has almost been 7 years since I first met A and we have been married for almost 2 years. As fall approaches, A and I try to make time for the little things in life. The things that too often get forgotten: date night. It's quite surprising, actually, how two people that... Continue Reading →
They say love travels through the stomach. Turns out, love is not the only thing that travels through the stomach. Basically anything you eat travels through your stomach (hopefully). For most Westerners this means pasta, pizza and ... (fill in the blank). Because of new knowledge we have acquired over recent years, we now also have... Continue Reading →
Staying positive is difficult. No matter how good the cause, I guarantee you, one cannot always stay positive. Not you and not me. For the past several weeks I felt gloomy, maybe even defeated. I buried myself in work and school and volunteering and yet I still had enough time to feel a bit out... Continue Reading →
It has been far too long since I've seen the deep blue, smelled the drying seaweed on shore and felt the cool wet on my hands. I didn't grow up at the sea, but my heart is where the ocean is. Now, don't get me wrong, Norway has plenty of the deep blue, but so... Continue Reading →
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." - W. Shakespeare I am a feminist and I took my husband's last name. I don't see anything wrong with that. Me changing my last name doesn't make me less of a feminist. It doesn't compromise who... Continue Reading →
I am an environmentalist, that doesn't mean I have to actually like every single environment in existence. I can appreciate the environment and it's biodiversity but I am far from loving the tropical jungle and all itsy bitsy tiny creepy crawlers. Also, if I had to choose my favorite place in the world, it would always... Continue Reading →
On August 16th four years ago A and I landed blue eyed in Oslo, not knowing what we would get into but ready to take on a new and life-changing challenge. It only took us a couple summers to adjust to the bright sunny nights in the summer and the freezing cold dark days in... Continue Reading →
I AM A GRAD STUDENT! These words fill me with so much happiness. I am not the first one in my family, but I am following in the footsteps of my parents who in their parental guidance had taught me one thing early on: The conventional way is not the one for me. It was... Continue Reading →
With this week to come I conclude another chapter in my life. It wasn't an easy decision, in fact it took me a whole year to follow through. But now, that the end is so near, I feel liberated. About a month ago I gave my one-month notice and will, with this Friday have my... Continue Reading →
As you might know by now, I just spend a few magical weeks in the Azores to volunteer at the Great Whale Project. My short time in the Azores was filled with so many ocean-related activities, it's impossible to count them all, but here is a brief overview: drink saltwater, get saltwater in your eyes,... Continue Reading →
As I raised my head out of the deep blue sea, I was gasping for air, I felt like no matter how hard I tried, there wasn't enough air coming through my lungs. I was surrounded by icy cold blue and desperately held on to a little white lifeline that was attached to a slowly... Continue Reading →
I admit it, openly and freely and with no regrets whatsoever: This summer I had a love affair. A magical one, one that changed my life forever. I didn't expect this to happen, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Once I realized what was happening, it was too late to stop and quite... Continue Reading →
Anyone who ever has been truly happy, knows that these precious moments can be gone in a heartbeat. In an instance everything you ever had hoped for can be gone and you will be left with picking up the pieces to your once so called life. But also, anyone who ever has been happy, knows... Continue Reading →
I am my mom's worst nightmare, in every way possible. I mean obviously I could have turned out way worse, than I actually have, and I do pride myself as a good daughter, but when it comes to life-choices, then yes, I am my mom's worst nightmare. I do things, that she would not do... Continue Reading →
When you are in a relationship you learn to compromise. There are, of course, different levels of compromise. Some compromises are tiny, like where you go out for dinner or who cleans the hamster cage, other compromises are a bit bigger, e.g. who pays what bills and who cleans the bathroom. For A and me,... Continue Reading →
Side note: You may replace the Twinkies with any sugary treat that you can personally relate to. I am not endorsing Twinkies, I just like the word. Let's get one thing straight: I am a woman and I am in charge of my own body. You'd think that a simple statement like that wouldn't need... Continue Reading →
As I scroll through my facebook-newsfeed this morning, a terrible feeling overcomes me. I scroll through posts and posts of sadness, suffering and sacrifice and I cannot help but wonder, what is wrong with us? Is this what we choose to do with what we have? Are we that self-involved that we feel the need... Continue Reading →
I delivered my bachelor's thesis about three days ago and ever since I clicked the button that said "deliver" I had absolutely nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to do. I am literally losing my mind, not doing anything. That's not to say, that I sit around on my sofa in my comfy pants and stare... Continue Reading →
I do believe that we make our own luck. Don't get me wrong, I am a social scientist, I KNOW that some aspects of everyone's life are influenced by one's upbringing, social standing and personal background. But a small part (or not so small part) of me believes, that with determination, compassion and fill in... Continue Reading →
When A and I first moved to Norway, some odd forever years ago (that's at least how long it feels), we agreed that hiking to Preikestolen is on our absolute MUST to do list! Every other month or so, we would go back and look at the breathtaking pictures, telling each other, that next vacation... Continue Reading →
It all started with my mom when she turned 33. I was 5 at that time and despite the 22 years that have passed since that day, it is still the most vivid memory I have of how to celebrate a birthday in style. I remember my mom being excited for days. I also remember... Continue Reading →
As I stare into the mirror, I realize there are wrinkles where there haven't been any before. The reflection I stare at shows discoloration and sagginess (also that's not a word) in the oddest places, has that always been there? Wear and tear everywhere but yet, I'm still happy with what I see, every single... Continue Reading →
One of my many teachers in Highschool once told me, that we all are like pianos. If you only partake in one activity, you only play one key and you quickly become bored and disinterested. But if you engage in many different activities, you play many keys and you can alter the melody you are playing, whenever... Continue Reading →
I tried to keep this blogpost light and airy and short, none of which I feel like I achieved, but this blogpost is also one that I have worked on for quite some time and now finally I feel like I reached a point where I'm comfortable with sharing it with you. I hope you... Continue Reading →
I'm a runner, not a fast one - quite possibly the slowest runner you have ever seen - but I am a runner. That's part of who I am. I am also a writer, a student, a hamster care-taker, a wife, a daughter, a sister. I am a dreamer, a Taurus, a dragon, a fearless... Continue Reading →
I know, having to convince yourself to exercise regularly is mentally challenging. If I could choose, I totally would spend all my days and weeks and months and years on my behind and not do anything all day, but unfortunately it just doesn't play well that way. So I have to use the force trying... Continue Reading →
There is no other way to say it, so I am just going to say it, the way I see it: Man, life is exhausting. Has it always been that busy? It seems as if it's not one thing, it's another, but mainly it's me juggling school and work and volunteering and exercising, and the... Continue Reading →
“Alice: How long is forever? White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second.” - Lewis Carroll February 27th, 2009 - the night A and I first met. The night when everything started. Still, now in his most confident manner (and A is a very confident man) A reminds me constantly, that he knew within seconds of us... Continue Reading →
You know, how they say all roads lead to Rome? Well none of them apparently make a detour through Beijing and there is a good reason for it: it is loud and messy and crazy busy and confusing. The biggest difference between Rome and Beijing, however, from my subjective point of view that is, must... Continue Reading →
This is the last of five installments of A's and mine honeymoon in Lijiang, China. We battled the first signs of a bad omen, glacial heights, sketchy bridges and leaping tigers. Under any other circumstances we would have probably packed our things within the first 24 hours and left LIjiang immediately for good, but we... Continue Reading →
This is the fourth installment of our honeymoon diaries, simply because the experiences we had were far too many to pack into one single or two or even three blogposts. We probably should have taken the first 24 hours as a definite sign that we weren’t meant to be in Lijiang, but we decided to... Continue Reading →
This is the third installment of our honeymoon diaries, simply because the experiences we had were far too many to pack into one single or even two blogposts. We probably should have taken the first 24 hours as a definite sign that we weren't meant to be in Lijiang, but we decided to stay despite... Continue Reading →
This is the second installment of our honeymoon diaries, simply because the experiences we had were far too many to pack into one single blogpost. We were still trying to decide whether the first 24 hours of our honeymoon were a bad omen, a sign for us to return home early. Or if we should... Continue Reading →
This is the first installment of our honeymoon diaries, simply because the experiences we had were far too many to pack into one single blogpost. Sitting at the beach, sunbathing while sipping a mai tai, watching the waves roll in. Being served fresh seafood whenever you want to and having a hotel room you never... Continue Reading →
A and I are about to leave Hong Kong for good in a couple days, embarking on a new journey to Beijing and Lijiang before we will return to Oslo. But here are my final thoughts on what can only be described as the greatest 5 months of my life so far (minus the part... Continue Reading →
The Space Between What's wrong and right Is where you find me hiding, waiting for you The Space Between Your heart and mine Is the space we'll fill with time (- Dave Matthews Band, "The Space Between") I'd be lying if I'd say, I didn't get excited when A's plane finally (after a 70 minutes... Continue Reading →
Today is day 110 of my 150 days in Hong Kong. And it has been quite interesting. Never thought, I'd be able to sweat this much without moving a muscle in my body. Also never thought I would use my SPF50 sunscreen until mid November. So far, I have observed a lot of strange behavior (from... Continue Reading →
First of all, let me make this clear right from the start, I am not expecting. I have to put that out there, as some people might suffer a heart attack reading the title and finding out big news like that on my blog. When you start thinking about the future, about the person you... Continue Reading →
Remember the plans you made when you were 17, sitting on your Hollywood swing on your front porch? (How many of you actually have done that? Well, not me, but I sat at my desk and thought about the future, same thing!) What job you were going to have, where you were going to live,... Continue Reading →
New York City is the Big Apple that never sleeps where everyone has sex with everyone (thank you SITC). Washington D.C. is where they make big decisions and obviously the best city to base half of the American action movies on. Las Vegas is the city of sins where when you visit you instantly have... Continue Reading →
Just a warning, this will be a long blog, you might want to get a cup of hot tea before you start reading! I won't include every detail of my trip, but I will give you a short (or not so short) overview of all the things that you can see in less than 72... Continue Reading →
There are different types of culture shock. There is the initial one, when you first arrive in a foreign place. There is a reverse one, when you return to your home country and lastly, there is the sudden one, that hits you in the face unexpectedly. The first type I experienced in Rome, only a... Continue Reading →
After last week's near death experience, this week I decided to take it easy and do an easy hike. Little did I know that easy is not always easy. So the task for that day was climbing the LION ROCK. It is a symbol of pride in Hong Kong and visible from almost anywhere in... Continue Reading →
A bird loves a fish 