Countdown to Christmas: Nellikappelsin

Nellikappelsin = Orange with cloves

This is something we used to do when I was a little girl. We took an orange and put in 24 cloves. And starting on the 1th of December we took out one clove each day. Nowadays all the kids get Christmas calenders with small presents, and the presents seem to get bigger and bigger each year. No, back in my days, we were happy with a simple orange. Haha

I made my own 'Nellikappelsin' today, and it made me happy.

Project Christmas spirit

The last days I've realized that I did not have the feeling of Christmas approaching at all. We're halfway into December, and I feel like it's June. This is probably the downside of living on the other side of the Earth. When you are used to the weather getting colder as Christmas getting closer, it is kind of strange that it is getting warmer. For me, snow is a very natural part of Christmas, and I just realized it is a big part of my Christmas feeling.

Having realized that, and the fact that there will not be any snow this Christmas, I decided to start project Christmas spirit. If the snow can not do it for me, I would have to do it myself.

Today I bought cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and a Christmas stocking at the store. The spices I will use to make 'gløgg', a traditional Norwegian Christmas drink made out of warm red wine and spices. It's not Christmas without it.

In the Christmas stocking I will put things and words that I associate with Christmas. Today I put in the lyrics of 'Deilig er Jorden, my favorite Norwegian Christmas carol and the recipe for homemade 'gløgg'.

I've spent this day in my room, sniffing the spices, lighting candles, listening to Christmas music and browsing the internet for Christmas spirit. Outside the rain is poring down, and inside it's warm and cozy. And, within a week, my parents will be here. Yeah, I feel it creeping in on me now. This Christmas will be different, but after all, it's all about the cozy feeling.

The joy of running in the rain

At the beginning of this year I told my self that I would make working out a part of my daily life. That was one of my goals for this year. As I previously have written, I actually have managed to do that. I have really started to enjoy working out.

Today I had my first run for a month. I've just been busy with exams, moving to town and traveling to Fiji. Yeah, you know the normal excuses. I don't get why we always end up postponing that work out, when we know how good it really feels when we manage to get into the running shoes.

Today it has been raining all day in Geelong, but I decided I needed to go for a run anyway. At first I was not sure how much my poor neglected body would take. And it was painful, the first run after a break always is. You just got to keep on running. Bring some good angry music and some built up frustration, and you can go on forever. And god, how good it feels. The rain is soaking you and you just don't care. It feels refreshing running in the rain. You just feel your mind clearing up. I love it.

And afterwards, get a quick shower and just jump into bed with a movie on the computer. All refreshed and feeling a lot better.

New Soul - Yael Naim

I love Yael Naim, I really feel like I can relate to what she is singing.

I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take.
But since I came here
Felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake

I think we all feel like this sometimes when we are operating in new territories and feel insecure. We just don't seem to get it right. But after all, it is a good feeling, because we must eventually get it right and learn 'a bit about how to give and take'.

Fiji 5: A trip to the village

I nice way to see how the locals live. And you can buy some souvenirs.

Fiji 4: Shuffling cards with giant arms

An Irishman asks:
'Has every Norwegian worked in a casino?'

Let's just say, we played a lot of cards on the trip. We did not have much else to do.

Fiji 3: The culture

On all the islands the locals presented dances and songs.






A bit commercialized, but yet, a piece of Fijian culture.

Fiji 2: Paradise?

You go to Fiji and expect paradise and luxury. You expect cocktails served in coconuts and just a lazy life on the beach.

It is not like the pictures. Even though the nature is absolutely stunning, Fiji is not like in the pictures. You get beds with bedbugs, because they never change the sheets and you get ceiling that leaks rain water down in your bed. You only get cold showers, if a shower at all. Most of the day they turn of the electricity and water, because of a shortage of resources. And if you want something done you have to ask at least two times. And it is a lot of poverty there, it is especially visible on the mainland in the cities.

Fiji was not like we expected. It was rain season, so we had three whole days of heavy rain, the resorts were not the standard we expected and it was a lot more expensive than you'd think.

But, once you get over the fact that you have to take cold shower and sleep in a bed far less comfortable than the one you got home, Fiji is wonderful. It is different, and it is beautiful. I don't mind living backpacker style, but not when I expect something totally different.

Fiji 1: Certified diver

This is the island I had my six dives and the exam that made me a certified diver. It is a tiny island, and if it had not been for the diving, we would have gone crazy after five days there.

Diving in Fiji is fantastic, we could access the reef straight from the beach. We just put on 30 kilo of equipment and walked down into the water. A bit of a work out, but surely worth it.

When I was a little girl a used to love being in the water, but the last years I've grown scared of it. If somebody had told me a year ago that I November 2008 would be swimming under water for an hour and enjoying it, I would have laughed. It is incredibly scary, but oh so fantastic. You really get the feeling that you don't belong there, and it fills you with a feeling of respect.

The end of a fantastic year

I hope that I never forget how lucky I am.

Next Saturday I will leave for Fiji and stay there for two weeks.

My parents will come down to visit me for Christmas. That's the best present I could ever get.

Then we all fly up to Sydney for New Years Eve, where Kristine will be joining us.

The picture is from Gibraltar when Kristine visited me in Spain.

2008 has been the best year of my life, and it looks like the ending will be just as awesome.

It just happened

I never decided to, but suddenly I was writing English in my blog. My blog is a personal one, it is a place where I write what I feel and what I experience. It is not a normal travel blog, because I'm not so good with updates. Sometimes I don't feel like writing, I only write when I need to. I will always express my thoughts in whatever way that feels natural to me. Right now, writing English actually feels more natural than Norwegian. I hope that whoever read my blog before will continue to do so, even though I have changed the language.

While preparing for exams...

Ah, the wonders of the internet.

If eBay can sell me ABC journalist Philip Williams (Yeah, I know, I misspelled it) it is a bit disturbing. But then again, maybe I can bring him to my exams in Broadcasting?

Life is a journey

I’ve subscribed to Paulo Coelho’s blog, and it is fantastic to know that every day a part of this man’s wisdom will be posted to my inbox.

Today’s Question by the reader :Benio
Published by Paulo Coelho on November 6, 2008

Before and after you became an author, you continue to travel around the world. Which travel was most influential to you?

Today. All wanderings are important since you can extract from anything in life a teaching, something that will make sense to you.
You have to look at life itself is a pilgrimage. Every day is different, every day can have a magic moment, but we don’t see the opportunity, because we think: ‘Oh this is boring I’m just commuting to work.’ But we are all on a pilgrimage whether we like it or not and the target, or goal, the real Santiago, if you like, is death. You must get as much as you can from the journey, because - in the end - the journey is all you have. It doesn’t matter what you accumulate in terms of material wealth, because you are going to die anyway, so why not live? When you realize that you can be brave and that is the first tenant of any spiritual quest - to take risks.

The last years I've traveled far. My journey has taken me further than I've ever thought I’d get, geographically and mentally. I am enjoying life more than ever.