Forest Queen

Everyone here is gearing up for Norway's National Day (17th May), so everywhere you look in town is decked out in Norwegian flags and places to buy bunad, which is the name of traditional Norwegian folk costume, which is worn on the holiday. A person's bunad is different based on where they're from in the country, and they're incredibly beautiful.

Norwegians friends and food 2k15 Top Left: Christoffer and carbonara Top Right: Esben and Norwegian strawberries and cream & saft Bottom Left: Esben and risgrøt (Norwegian rice pudding with cinnamon) Bottom Right: Norwegian omelet sandwich with bacon, mushrooms, smoked salmon, nutmeg, Snøfrisk, cashew nuts, and Norvegia cheese.

My friends and I went on an impulse dive in the lake in the woods outside of my apartment complex last night at about midnight. The Norwegian lake was the kind of cold that cut like a knife and we were numb to our cores for about an hour after we finished our swim but it was totally worth it and I want to do it again. Coming to Norway and having the privilege of meeting such beautiful people has made me feel comfortable enough to open myself up for adventure. Had someone come up to me a year ago and said I’d be night diving in a freezing cold Norwegian lake with girls from Germany and Austria, I’d have laughed in their face and explained that that “doesn’t sound like me”. These girls and others I’ve met have helped me expand my horizons in so many ways and have helped me learn that being myself as I am is enough to find companionship; they make me feel like I perhaps wasn’t built to spend a lifetime alone after all.

A couple of pictures from this weekend. I’ll write a nice entry and add some pictures of the landscape later on!

Tromsø and me. c:

I’ll post some pictures of the scenery later this week.

They have no idea how much I’ll miss them.

This is as real as it gets.

We had such a fantastic time! If you ever have the opportunity to go, do! The town itself is very small, but we stayed in a cabin in Lakselvbukt, in a fjord. The natural beauty of Norwegian winter there was unparalleled.

Thank you so much. I’ve never been happier or more at peace in my whole life. <3 

Some pictures of me with my friends in Tromsø. We had a good mix--I’m American, Samantha is Brazilian, Gyujeong is South Korean, and Jorn is Dutch. We had an incredible time. c: