I♥New York

I miss New York. Terribly.  

I miss my life there - its crazy busyness and never ending array of shopping sprees, dinners and social events. I miss the dizzying cultural scene with its constant flow of free, or almost free, concerts, movies by starlight, and theatre performances. 

I even miss the less likeable parts, such as the indefinable fumes, the overwhelming humidity and the crowded, decaying subways. Hell, I even miss the oversized rats. Well, almost.

I have however been comforting myself with the general knowledge that New York is supposed to be an incredibly unpleasant place to be in winter. But my mood dropped today when I discovered that the temperature is still in the lovely mid-20s (80 Fahrenheit). 

As much as I miss the place I cannot really go back right now though. There is this master degree of mine that is taking up a bit of time, and there is the slight issue of money. And I honestly do not know if  the US immigration  officers would welcome me  back. They seemed slightly suspicious I would refuse to leave the last time I entered. 

So, instead of boarding the first plane to New York I am making due with boring everyone about how much I miss/love the city,  shouting excitedly every time time I see a scene from New York in a movie/TV show, and loudly sobbing my way through Empire State of Mind – whatever version is playing. 

As they say:  “You can take the girl out of the city, but you cannot take the city out of the girl”.

Free James Bond screening at Bryant Park.

Intern Newsletter Issue 2

The second issue of our intern newsletter is out. I should probably clarify that the newsletter is not a part of my work at the UN, it is just something extra we are doing on the side. Ah, the fun I have.

An Afternoon at the Iranian Mission

Photo with the Iranian diplomats, stolen from the UN intern newsletter.

I went to visit the Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations the other day with a group of interns. A UN mission is sort of like an embassy, just to the UN instead of a country. The visit was pleasant enough, with refreshments and free promotional material, and the Iranians had set aside a lot of time to answer our questions.

The tone of the meeting was set when the opening question from a member of our group was about Iran’s nuclear technology. I loosely quote a part of the answer one of the diplomats gave:

“We all agree that a knife is dangerous, but what is a kitchen without a knife? It is the same with nuclear power. We need it to generate electricity for farming, hospitals and so on… And we need to make our neighbours think we’re dangerous – look where we are positioned on the map”.

And equally uncomfortable questions followed with themes such as divorce, women’s rights, the Iran-United States relationship, and stoning:

“There is no stoning in Iran. And if there is, the stones are a lot smaller than described in western media. Besides, a person should feel harm when he or she betrays his significant other, no?"

I have to give them credit for answering everything though. We asked some pretty sensitive questions that I know were not received as openly at some of the other missions.

Moment of the day: One of the diplomats was solemnly explaining how they were not allowed to go further than 20 miles (or something like that) from the Iranian Mission or they would get in trouble with US immigration, to which one girl blurts “but what if you want to go shopping!?”

UN Intern Newsletter

I somehow decided it was a good idea to join the intern newsletter committee. And after two weeks of threatening people to write stuff and finding volunteers to pose for pictures, the first issue is now out. Hopefully there will be a second. But then again, there's just so many things to do in New York that no one seems to have time to write about them. Happy read (there's three pages, just click on the arrows at the top).

Key to the City

I have the key to New York City attached on my key chain, but it is not as great an honour as it might sound. The Key to City is an interactive public art project, where you get a key that actually unlocks various things, such as gates, boxes or secret rooms, around the city’s five boroughs. 

We tracked down a few of the places the key unlocked in Manhattan on Sunday, and despite a few disappointments, we did experience some pretty cool stuff. Perhaps more importantly though, was that the mission gave us an incentive to visit places we would not normally have gone to.

This key opens doors, boxes and experiences all over NYC.

St. John's Cathedral, one of the world's largest cathedrals, was one of our first stops.

My key opened this padlock that gave us access to part of the church not open to the other visitors.

 

My flatmate and his friend enjoying the privilege of being in the "VIP" section.

New York, New York

My travelling days are over, at least for the summer, as I am doing an internship in New York City. I have been here for nearly three weeks now – and I am loving it. I am of course missing the thrills of being on the road, but NYC is definitely not the worst place to live for a few months.

Here is a recap of May and June:

• Finished exams and left Kentucky.
• Visited some new states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington.
• Survived a 37 hour Amtrak train ride.
• Grabbed coffee from the original Starbucks in Seattle.
• Popped over the border to Canada to check out Vancouver.
• Fell in love with lox and cream-cheese bagels.
• Got detained at the Mexican border due to a missing stamp.
• Checked out movie stars at Universal Studios, California.
• Got my bag “stolen” at the JFK airport.
• Gave up my freedom and started an internship at the United Nations.
• Now busy saving the saving the world and exploring NYC.

California Summer

Hege and Sally busy crab hunting at Venice Beach. Summer has finally arrived.

Sunny, Warm California

17 May in Seattle

Celebrating Norway's Constitution Day in Ballard, the Scandinavian neighbourhood of Seattle, was a bizarre experience. The place was booming with Norwegians living or visiting Seattle, Americans with Norwegian heritage and other Americans curious to see what it was all about. The dress code varied from the traditional bunad to viking and troll costumes.  The scale of the festivities surprised me; there must have been thousands of people there to watch the parade that lasted over two hours.

There were various things going on from about 11am until 8pm. These people are listening to a male choir of Norwegian-Americans singing in Norwegian. The songs were supposed to be traditional , but besides the national anthem, I had not heard a single one of them before. 

Usually rainy Seattle surprised everyone with temperatures in the 20s and sun.

There were a lot of Scandinavian, Nordic and Norwegian clubs participating in the parade.

All the local schools participated and we had some great marching band performances.

I met two Swedish and Finnish girls on the train to Seattle, and they decided to join me celebrate.

Norwegian soda. Unfortunately, no one was selling Norwegian sweets.

My very Scandinavian lunch. 

Dagfinn Høybråten, a prominent Norwegian politician, was also there to celebrate.

Biking Minneapolis

Lovely bike trip. Lovely people. Lovely weather. Lovely Minneapolis.

Lake Harriet, one of Minnesota's many lakes. The temperature went from 6 Celsius to well over 20 in mere hours, and the locals knew how to take advantage. People were riding their bikes, tanning, walking, playing ball games and simply enjoying being outdoors after a long winter.

Minneapolis is a very green city. There are several parks and green areas to enjoy.

On my bike trip I saw garage sales everywhere; the locals seemed to take great pleasure in them.

Nordic skiing is not so common outside of Scandinavia, but I saw several pairs of Nordic skis at the various garage sales.

These girls where selling lemonade and homemade chocolate chip cookies,  just like in the movies!

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota is the land of 10 000 lakes,  and I am about to go see if I can locate three of them. I have borrowed a bike, the sun is out and the temperature is expected to hit 20 Celsius. My only concern is to find the bike path.

A lot of Scandinavians settled in this Minnesota, and most people in the region has some Scandinavian blood in them. Maybe moose-in-sunset painting is genetically determined?  

Cool Milwaukee

Milwaukee is a cool city, both in terms of its weather and its vibe.

People: Milwaukeeans are so friendly and polite. “You only need to use internet for a few minutes? Well, I guess I cannot charge you for that” and "Let me help you with your bag mam, you want me to carry it up the stairs?"

Food: Milwaukee is known for beer and cheese, so I obviously ate beer and cheese soup, which was not as bad tasting as it sounds. I guess someone had the brilliant idea of combining their two favourites one day. And I also scoffed down some frozen custard, a local specialty fairly similar to ice cream.

Weather: The locals joke about Milwaukee having a ten-month winter, and it is not very far from the truth. The weather was pretty miserable while I was there – foggy, rainy and cold – but I still found the city worth a visit.

What’s there: Art, museums, theatre, music and beer. Milwaukee has several local beer breweries, and more museums and theaters than I could count. It is a great city to walk in, with manageable distances and some great buildings. I particularly enjoyed some of the suburbs, with their stunning houses from the early 1900s.

Despite the miserable weather, there were definitely promising signs of spring.

Indoor food market with all kinds of yummy stuff.

Wisconsin is the cheese state. Can you spot the greatest cheese of them all in this picture?

The people I stayed with had two beautiful cats. Unfortunately most of my photos with them are saved in the camera memory, meaning I cannot get them off till I find a USB cable that fits.

Chicago: Take Two

It is cold. And windy. My second trip to Chicago has not been quite as I envisioned it, mainly due to a sudden weather change. I had been planning to stroll the streets of Chicago, wearing flimsy spring clothing,  simply enjoying late spring. Unfortunately, strolling had to be replaced by fast walking, bordering on running, to stay warm. And instead of a tan, I have wind burn.

But the food was good. And so was the company. Pauline and I have managed to eat Chinese, Japanese,  Greek and Chicagoan cuisine in the few days we have been here. The NKU cafeteria food is just a faint memory by now. 

Enjoying famous Chicago-style pizza at Giordano's. While usually quite pricey, they have deep-dish pizzas from approximately 6 dollars between 11-3pm. 

Chicago is known as the Windy City. It definitely lives up to its name. 

On the Road Again

First stop Chicago. Then Milwaukee, followed by Minneapolis and a number of small cities in South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana,  before ending in Seattle/Vancouver. I am hoping to use about two weeks on my mission across the Midwest; I have only booked bus tickets as far as Minneapolis, and will be winging it from there.

As I am not returning to Cincinnati, I have to carry stuff with me that I normally would not bring on a trip like this, such as my fairly heavy laptop. On the plus side, this means that there will be more blogging. As long as there is internet access in the Midwest.

Pauline, a French exchange student from NKU, is joining me on the first leg of the trip. We are currently on the bus to Chicago, where a fellow traveller was kind enough to lend me his wireless internet device, as Megabus’ network is down.

College Days

My American college life is almost over. All that remains is to hand in a few assignments and pack up my room. It has been a fun couple of months, but I am ready to move on. My entire world these past months has been the NKU campus. Besides my trips to Miami and Chicago, I have only left NKU a few times to go the movies or to get my hair cut. Not that I have been in need of anything, the campus really is a small world in itself, but I think if stay here any longer I will go a little crazy.

The NKU campus, with its beautiful gray buildings. Spring definitely improved the rather dull-looking campus though, with its flowers and greenery.

One of NKU's many fine dog sculptures. I think they are a part of a student art project, but I am not completely sure. Some of them are cute, while others are downright creepy.

Creepy: They are placed in various locations around the campus lake, and look real enough to give you a fright after dark.

I am sick of the cafeteria food, which tend to vary greatly in quality. Since I am living in a dorm without a full kitchen, I have to have a meal plan. With my meal plan I can eat 15 meals a week  at the college diner. The food was great the day this picture was taken and the theme was "breakfast at night".

I think the staff is a little overworked  at the moment. The conveyor belt concept is clearly not working, as the dishes pile up quicker than they can remove it. 

Merry Christmas

Changing countries every six months, or so, has some interesting side effects. One of them is mail situations, with parcels and letters being lost for months before they finally find their way to wherever I am at the time. Like with a Christmas package from South Africa that I think must have travelled the world before it managed to find its way to my local, Australian post office in late May. Needless to say, the contents were inedible by then. 

This week I received a Christmas card from my friend Sally. The card was sent to my address in Denmark in early December. It lingered there till February, when someone was kind enough to gather all my mail and send it to my home address in Norway. In Norway the process stagnated, before the card was again travelling at the beginning of April. As Sally lives in California, the card has basically done a nice little loop. Merry Christmas!

On a completely different note, I was amused to see this video clip on VG of a dog, cat and rat on top of each other. As some of you might remember, I have a photo of the same trio from my trip to San Francisco last year. 

Go Reds!

I have a new team – the great and mighty Reds, which is Cincinnati’s baseball team. This evening they played the Chicago Cubs, and I was of course there to support and cheer. Well, at least I was there. I did not really pay too much attention, not until the last two innings (yeah, I picked up some jargon) when I have to admit it did get a bit exciting.

I actually wanted to go to this game, despite most people telling me that baseball was boring. And even though I doubt it will ever become a favourite sport of mine, I am glad I got to see a game. It does of course help that we won. I quite like winning. Go Reds!

Hege the devoted baseball fan.

Yegor and William were ecstatic about winning. At least when posing for the camera.

My new team is apparently not that good, so it was a pleasant surprise that they won. Unless you are a Cubs supporter of course.

Oh Sweet Happiness

An Easter parcel  from my mother arrived today packed with Norwegian sweets, including the popular Freia Easter eggs. However, I am sorry to announce that not all of the eggs made it; there was quite a few causalities and the messy cream filling made it necessary to wash all the other sweets. I am just happy it was  cream and not mackerel oil, which was the case with another package. That one had to be treated like toxic waste.

Also a big Hip Hip Hurray for Vasos who is turning 25 today (Friday), and can now rent a car without the extra insurance fee. Road trip?

In addition to a small amount of sweets, I also got an Easter card from Ingrid. Thank you!

 They will still be eaten, but I guess I cannot exactly give them to others. Oh well, more for me.

Norwegian Bachelor Farmers

“It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, my hometown, out on the edge of the prairie."

This is the standard opening words of a weekly feature called News From Lake Wobegon  on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion.  The popular segment features stories and news from the fictitious “little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve ... where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."

The show often parodies the Scandinavian-American communities living on the prairie, with Norwegian bachelor farmers, lutefisk and the Lutheran Church being important ingredients. About 3.4 million Americans tune in each week to get the latest news from Lake Wobegon.

The show is proudly sponsored by the fictitious company Powdermilk Biscuits: "Made from whole wheat raised in the rich bottomlands of the Lake Wobegon river valley by Norwegian bachelor farmers; so you know they're not only good for you, but also pure ... mostly", which "give shy persons the strength to get up and do what needs to be done. Heavens they're tasty and expeditious.”

Free podcasts can be downloaded from the  A Prairie Home Companion website. Or click here to listen to an online Christmas episode.

Easter Feast

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day spent in great company at Don and his wife’s farm. They had well over 20 students from NKU over for Easter dinner, games and fun, and their grandson even arranged an egg hunt. Not that I managed to find any – he  was clearly a highly skilled Easter Bunny.

The weather was amazing and people were running around barefooted playing ball games or chilling on the grass. The smell of barbeque and some sun burnt people added to the perfect summer feeling.

International students from NKU, with the Easter Bunny in the middle.

Happy Easter

Even though my university has no days off for Easter, there is still a a bit of a holiday feel. The dining hall sure did their bit by decorating cup cakes and providing Easter snacks and food. Not that there were many people there to enjoy it - the  campus is nearly empty as most people have gone home to celebrate Easter Sunday.

I will be going out to a farm later to join in on a Easter Feast. If the weather holds, it should be good fun. We have been having extraordinary weather the last couple of the days, with the temperatures in the high 20s. Summer is here. At least for now, it actually snowed during the night last week.