Norway photo essay

I feel like I’ve been writing a lot of text on my blog lately and let’s be honest here – you’re busy and don’t want to read paragraph after paragraph about my adventures in Northern Europe. You want the quick and dirty! So instead of dolling on about my visit to Norway, I’ve decided to just include pictures with short captions.

Here’s the skinny: I was in Bergen and Oslo, Norway – 1 day in Bergen and 2 days in Oslo. In Bergen, I did a SAS-organized field program which took me on a fjord tour to Flåm and Aurlandsfjord. In Oslo, I went to the National Gallery to see the “Scream” painting and other artwork by Edvard Munch. I also toured the Royal Palace, which is a bit like the White House except with less security. You could basically walk right up to the front door and everything but knocking was allowed. The weather was beautiful and not surprisingly, I got sunburnt. (I am actually quite proud of this because I think it takes great skill to achieve a sunburn in Scandinavia.)

Enjoy the pictures from my visit to Norway! After Norway, we sailed on to St. Petersburg, Russia – more on this country in my upcoming posts!

Waterfalls seen on the bus ride up to Aurlandsfjord. 

I took a fjord cruise on Aurlandsfjord. The fjord was beautiful. As you can see, it was a cloudy and rainy day but the weather held for the cruise.

Aurlandsfjord, as seen from the boat cruise.

Sailing through Aurlandsfjord.

Big waterfall on the way back to the ship from Aurlandsfjord. There were many waterfalls seen throughout the day, snow pack melting and running down into the fjords. Yes, there was still snow on the mountains in July.

A staple on the Oslo waterfront - the opera house. It's built so you can walk on the roof for a good view of the city and waterfront.

View from the top of the Oslo opera house.

Oslo opera house. The inside looks a bit like the Sydney opera house.

Norway Royal Palace. I took a tour of the inside but wasn't allowed to take pictures.

No big deal - just plugging in my boat in Oslo!

The world is truly a small place. In the Oslo city hall, I ran into fellow spring voyager Phyllis! We sailed together on the spring voyage and were in Oslo at the same time! Great fun to see Phyllis again.

Just call me a Master!

I am happy to announce that about a week ago, I received my Master of Arts degree in International Education from SIT Graduate Institute. The degree has been a long time coming and it feels great to finally have the degree under my belt.

Rachel and I before graduation.

Upon returning from my trip around Ireland, I was home for one week before heading off to Vermont, where SIT Graduate Institute is located, for capstone week and graduation. I spent the week at home unpacking, repacking, trying to get over my jet lag, and preparing for my capstone presentation. A capstone project is a graduation requirement of all SIT students so for my capstone, I created a week-long cultural exchange program that Mexican students to a small college in Iowa (you can read about my capstone here). In order to graduate, I had to give a 75-minute presentation explaining the cultural exchange program I created.

Being back on SIT’s campus was a-mazing. It was great to see friends and also make some new SIT connections. My capstone presentation went off without a hitch and I enjoyed seeing my friends’ presentations as well. At the end of the week, it was on to graduation where my friends and I were hooded and officially named Masters! Yeah for finally being done!

Allie, Ilse and Krysta before graduation. 

Some of my floormates. Go IC2!

My fellow Semester at Sea/SIT staff members.

Dean Daniel Yalowitz opening the graduation ceremony.

Student elected speaker Manato Kaisho.

Foundations Team WISSK: Me, Ilse, Steph, Sara and Krysta.

One of my most favorite views in the whole world.
This was the view from my dorm window when I lived on campus.

Hiking in Hong Kong

Hiking along Dragon's Back.

In Hong Kong, I acted as a trip liaison for the first time on this voyage. Semester at Sea appoints a trip liaison to be the leader of each field program. The trip liaison is a go-between for the student participants and the tour guide, ensuring that the day runs smoothly, and is also in charge should a safety or security situation arise.

I was a bit nervous to be a trip liaison but it turns out, there was no need to worry. I had a wonderful day and a great group of students who made the field program a success.

Twenty-five students and I went hiking on Dragon’s Back in Hong Kong. I love Hong Kong because you can be in one of the most cosmopolitan areas in the world and 30 minutes later, you can be hiking up a mountain surrounded by trees in what seems to be the middle of nowhere. The balance of having both the city life and nature close by is wonderful.

I’m so glad I did this field program. Not only was it great to experience being a trip liaison, the field program was also very relaxing. My time in China was very busy so being able to get back into nature was just what the doctor ordered. Plus, what great views!

Here we go on Dragon's Back Hiking Trail.

Views during our hike.

My lovely hiking group.

View during our hike on Dragon' Back.