Sunday Update - Week 30

Well, hello there. Bet you are surprised by this post. Just because there is really a long time since the last one. It has been a hectic few weeks, arriving in Uppsala last Sunday and an intensive week with lectures and general tourist-ing. And geocaching because I just have to when I am at a new place.

I really should be studying, obviously. Even as I am writing this I really should be studying. And I probably won't be doing this post in Norwegian as it seems my Norwegian syntax didn't want to go to Sweden with me. Norwegian and Swedish are so close to each other, and my brain seems to adapt very well to hearing Swedish all day. So well, in fact, that writing in Norwegian is really hard right now. I know this because I've been logging geocaches all day from my trip to Stockholm yesterday. There were only 11, but it took forever because writing suddenly is a lot harder than normal.

Summary of the past week?
Sunday: I left my home around 11. I really don't remember the exact time. My train from Hamar left 1208, and I wanted to make sure I got on that because I had to connect to the train bound for Stockholm at 1442. And then I had another train from Stockholm to Uppsala 2111. I made all my trains and arrived at the hostel in Uppsala a little past 2200. I did not regret paying a little extra for a seat on 1. class. They had free mini muffins. And really comfortable seats.

Monday: We got our keys and had a late meetup dinner in the evening. But between getting the keys and the dinner I made my way to the station to get a bus card, and then to IKEA. I had to buy an extra pillow. I was really close to bringing my own, but I kind of gambled on the pillow they provided here being enough. It really wasn't. Also, I needed food and shampoo, conditioner and soap since I didn't want to bring that extra weight all the way here. With my hair, I can leave whatever little shampoo might be left over after three weeks. It probably won't be much. 

Tuesday: First lecture. Thankfully we start at 10, and so I am actually awake when it begins. We had some introduction to the course, plans and got internet access at the university, and then a course in Swedish pronunciation. In the evening I went exploring around town and discovered a rainbow. Among other things. 

Wednesday: Lectures about Swedish literature and language history. Most of the language history I already know, since it basically is the same as Norwegian language history. But it is my favorite subject, so I'm not unhappy.  Fell asleep really early in the afternoon, since I hadn't got a good nights sleep in ages because of stress and unfamiliar beds. Woke up again around 20 and went for a walk. It has been really hot here, and a late walk is really nice because the temperature is a lot more comfortable for a person that can't wait for fall. 

Thursday: A guided tour in the oldest part of Uppsala. And a trip out to Old Uppsala. You see, Uppsala was moved, I think in the middle ages. This was because of the land raising up since the last ice age. The Old Uppsala lost its close connection to the sea and a new cathedral was proposed closer to where the sea was then, in a town then called Östra Aros. The pope approved of this, as long as the name moved with it. But the Old Uppsala is most definitely a place you should go if you are ever in the area! I also bought dish towels with runes on them, and another Tors Hammer necklace, in the museum shop there. I love museum shops. They really are the best. It was really hard to choose a picture from this day, there really was a lot to see. But this is the first runestone I saw here, it is in the church wall at Old Uppsala.

Friday: More Swedish literature and a little on dialects and their status in Sweden. After school, I went to look for some more runestones, and found a whole bunch! Went to bed early after a long week.

Saturday: Went to Stockholm! Held a little geocaching event, met geocachers and had two of them show me the best caches in Stockholm city center. Went to the old part of Stockholm(Gamla Stan) and bought a handbag and churros on the shopping street Drottninggatan. Got really tired from all the walking, all the people, and the heat. I still did not get to do all the things I wanted to in Stockholm, I might have to go back. My bed finally felt like my own when I got home. 

Sunday: Today I've been taking it easy. Got out for a few hours to find some caches, to keep my streak. Ended up covered in seeds. The kind I hate it when Zelda is covered in. Missed Zelda a lot when I found a small forest to hide in, where there were shade and a comfortable temperature, and she would have loved running around in it. I miss my collie kisses. Went home, did some laundry, postponed reading and wrote this in stead. Going to bed early to charge up for another intensive week of learning. 

If there is anything you would like to know just ask, okay? 

Preparing for travel // Reiseforberedelser

I am currently officially on summer break. But not quite. At the end of July, two days before my birthday, I'll be traveling to Uppsala, in Sweden, for a summer course.  The course is in Swedish language and literature and lasts for three weeks. And I am so excited! First of all I "earn" 10 credits on it for my degree and second I get to travel. Traveling might be my favorite activity and it combines quite successfully with geocaching, another favorite activity of mine, as you might know. The reason for me not quite having a summer break is that I want to read as much of the course literature before I leave, so that I have as much free time in Uppsala as possible, to go geocaching and exploring.

Also, there is another trip in planning, with my friends in August. See if you can find a hint as to where I might be going in the pictures... Because there will be pictures. As the title says, I am preparing for traveling, and I do that by buying things will need for the trips. I think I am done now, though(Except for maybe a new trackable for the geocaching). The only thing I would like to have is a new suitcase with four wheels. A lot has happened in the world of suitcases since 2009 when I got my pink, two-wheeled suitcase. But it is not broken, and I do not have that kind of money to spend, so I guess I'll have to pull my suitcase for a little while longer.

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Jeg har egentlig sommerferie nå, men allikevel ikke helt. Siste uka i juli drar jeg til Uppsala, i Sverige, for å ta et tre uker langt sommerkurs i svensk språk og litteratur. Det er to fordeler med et sommerkurs, og det er at jeg tjener ti ekstra poeng til mastergraden min og at jeg får lov til å reise bort. Jeg liker å reise. Så grunnen til at jeg ikke helt har ferie er at jeg prøver å få lest så mye av litteraturen som mulig før jeg drar. For da får jeg mer fritid i Uppsala og den tiden har jeg tenkt å bruke på geocaaching og generell utforskning av byen.

En annen liten tur er også under planlegging, sammen med noen venner. Se om du ser et hint til hvor jeg skal hen i bildene som kommer. For selvfølgelig kommer det bilder. En måte å forberede seg for en reise er å kjøpe nyttige ting man kanskje kommer til å trenge på turen. Så det har jeg gjort. Jeg tror jeg er ferdig med det nå(med unntak av en ny sporbar til geocachingen, kanskje). Det eneste jeg skulle ønske jeg kunne kjøpe meg er en koffert med fire hjul. Det har skjedd mye på koffertfronten siden jeg fikk min rosa tohjuling i 2009. Men siden den fortsatt er i orden og jeg ikke har så mye penger, så ser det ut til at jeg er nødt til å trekke kofferten min etter meg en stund til.

First a picture of books. Because I like books. This is just some of the literature, there is also a lot online, that I haven't gotten to printing yet. 

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Første et bilde av bøker. Fordi jeg liker bøker. Dette er bare litt av litteraturen. Det er også en del på nett som jeg ikke har rotet meg til å skrive ut enda. 

I got some new sneakers, so that I can go geocaching in style. And more comfortably. 

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Nye joggesko, så jeg skal se kul ut mens jeg geocacher. Og ikke få vondt i beina. 

I think I might change the laces to the black ones. They are more me. But the pink laces are just so... pink. So I like them too. 

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Jeg tror kanskje jeg kommer til å bytte til de svarte lissene. Svart er mer meg. Men de rosa lissene er veldig rosa da,  så jeg liker de også.

Pretty pink bottles small enough to have in carry-on luggage. 

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Småflasker til håndbagasjen.

And even more bottles and jars of different sizes. 

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Og enda flere flasker og krukker i litt forskjellige størrelser. 

I won't be needing this to go to Sweden, but it is really handy if you are going a bit further. It is an adapter that can take in any kind of plug and also output any kind of plug. It even has a slot for USBs, which is very handy these days. It also came in a neat little bag with a tiny handle. 

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Jeg trenger ikke denne i Sverige, men den kan være kjekk å ha om man skal litt lenger. Det er et adapter som kan brukes med alle mulige plugger både ut og inn. Det har til og med en USB-port, noe som er ganske praktisk her ikke i fremtiden. Og den kom i ei praktisk lita mappe med glidelås og et lite håndtak. 

But the adapter itself it not really pretty. 

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Men adapteret i seg selv er ikke kjempepent.

Again a tiny bag with a tiny handle. Containing more bags. 

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Enda ei lita mappe med et lite håndtak. Med flere mapper inni.

I don't know exactly what I will be putting in these, but I think one will be my cache-kit. And probably one for power banks and charger cables. 

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 Jeg er ikke helt sikker på hva jeg kommer til å putte i disse enda, men jeg tror en av de kommer til å bli et cachekit. Og så blir det nok en til powerbanks og ladeledninger.

This brand is obviously all about neat little bags with handles on them. I'm not complaining, it is just a bonus bag! 

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Dette merket ser ut til å være veldig glad i små mapper med små håndtak. Ikke at det gjør noe, det er bare en ekstra liten oppbevaringsting til meg!

This one contained drawstring bags of different sizes. Originally I wanted bags with a zipper, but I could not find any. These are still good though. The largest one has pictures of shoes on it, so I guess it is great for having shoes in. I guess we'll see what I use the others for when packing day arrives.

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I denne var det poser i forskjellige størrelser. Jeg ville egentlig ha poser med glidelåslukking, men det hadde de ikke på XXL. Så vi får klare oss med disse. Det er bilder av sko på den største av posene, så det spørs om den passer å ha sko i da. Ellers får vi se på pakkedagen hva som havner i de andre.

This is the last little bag with a tiny handle, I promise. 

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Dette er den siste lille mappa med et lite håndtak, jeg lover.

This is a micro fiber trekking towel. It is not large, but it might suffice. This is not really for me going to Sweden, but maybe come in handy on the trip I am planning for next summer. Because it is of micro fiber it dries quickly, which is very practical when you are traveling.

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Dette er et mikrofiberhåndkle. Det er ikke så veldig stort, men det holder sikkert. Det er ikke egentlig meningen at jeg skal ha det med meg til Sverige, men det kan hende det blir nyttig å ha med seg på den turen jeg planlegger neste år. Mikrofiber tørker veldig fort, som er praktisk når man er på reise.

Lastly, for the days you don't want to wash your hair. I don't know if you have noticed, but I have very long hair. It does take some time both to wash and dry, and sometimes, it just feels like you don't really want to. The solution is called dry shampoo and it gives you at least an extra day. Just saying. 

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Og til slutt, for de dagene du ikke har lyst til å vaske håret. Jeg vet ikke om dere vet det, men jeg har veldig langt hår. Det tar lang tid å vaske og ikke minst å tørke. Så noen dager føler man bare ikke for å vaske det. Løsningen heter tørrshampo og det kjøper deg i hvertfall en ekstra dag før du må væte håret. Bare så dere vet det.