A whirlwind of a few weeks

The end of the semester always seems to be this way: a whirlwind that doesn’t stop.  It’s a combination of studying for finals, saying goodbye to friends and enjoying the beauties of Bergen.  Additionally, Bergen comes alive and there are so many things one wants to enjoy.  

Fortunately the days are long so there’s still time to enjoy bbqs in the park and hikes in the mountains on top of school work.  This photo was taken just before midnight this past weekend.

Last week was Norway’s national day, ‘Syttende Mai’, the 17^th of May.  There’s a parade throughout downtown and many people attend in their traditional dress- a bunad- which are really beautiful.  Each area or region has it's own design.  It's fun to see the different colors and influences.  Bunads, flags, hotdogs and ice cream- it’s a great day to experience here.  Hip hip hoorah!

Earlier last week NHH hosted the BEEER conference- the Bergen Economics of Energy and the Environment Research Conference- for two days.  The attendees and presenters were generally researchers from Scandinavian universities as well as a keynote speaker from Resources for the Future in Washington, DC.  I was invited to attend and it was all very interesting on a range of topics from  different policy instrument effects to new technologies as well as pricing and market power in electricity markets just to name a few.  There was also a last minute cancellation by a speaker so they asked me to present on algae.  Wow!  I can now say I've presented at a research conference :)  Tres cool.

And, as if all of this were not enough to keep a gal distracted from writing her thesis and looking for jobs, Bergen is having some of the most wonderful weather.  It’s so difficult to stay inside!  Today I allowed myself a little break from work, and we had a BBQ and jumped in the sea.  It feels like summer!

Also, for the music lovers, ‘NattJazz’, or a week long jazz fest, is going on nightly in Bergen.  Below are some of the awesome wood creations around town right now.

I finally got into the sea for the first time yesterday and was feeling so invigorated I felt like joining some crazy kids in some jumping off the roof.  Yup, that's me!

Back to thesis, thesis, thesis, thesis.........

hugs,

lisa

I'm still a girls girl

Dear blog reader,

I do, indeed, post a lot of stories about great hikes and weekends in the mountains.  And, I am loving my time in the mountains of Norway.  But, I'm still a girls girl and love pretty colors, baubles, clothes, and the like too.  I have less disposable income to indulge myself these days and am shedding material possessions by moving around (this is a whole other story about breaking bad purchasing habits and learning to do more with less which has all been very positive... I'm sure my father is scratching his head about my claims as he passes my bedroom in San Diego teaming with 'stuff'.. but, I digress). So, I thought I would share something that came through my inbox which is rather groovy and eco-friendly.  Staple another dream to the dream board for me for when I'm gainfully employed and decorating my own place again.  In the meantime, go forth and enjoy if you are in the market for some new adirondacks. 

god natt!

lisa liv 

falling to the earth....

... this is how one of my friends captioned the photo on facebook and I rather liked it.  A few days ago Bea, Vale, Stephan and I took advantage of a few hours of sunshine and hiked one of the seven mountains around Bergen- Løvstakken.  It was a bit of an adventure... indeed, such is life!... and we had some fun with jumping photos at top.  We also brought a little 'one time grill' and grilled hot dogs for lunch before heading down.  Yum!

Vale, Lisa and Bea
Photo credit: Stephan Duffner

looking towards Bergen city center- Bea, Lisa and Vale
Photo credit: Stephan Duffner

Stephan!  aka Charlie hiking with the 3 Angles
Photo credit: Vale on Stephan's camera 

Pølse (hot dogs) time!
Photo credit: Stephan Duffner 

Fun fun in the sun.

Thank you Stephan for all the great photos!

your sunny gal,

lisa liv 

another good, full and satisfying week

Ahhh Sunday.  Sunday tends to be my catch-up day in the sense it's when I skype home to Mom and Dad and maybe with friend... do some chores... ya know, kind of a normal Sunday.  And, I realize it's becoming my blogging day :)  I truly intend to blog during the week as well but I've been having rather full weeks.  And, for that I am thankful!  Life away from San Diego continues to be full of a good mix of life's offerings.

Tuesday some friends and I went to the two-for-one movie night at the kino (movies) because that's the only night students can possibly afford to go :)  We saw 'The Hunger Games' for 55 NOK a piece and a current conversion rates that's about $10.  Imagine what full fair is.. yikes!

Wednesday was 'Lamb-pot' dinner with my flatmates from last semester, and Thursday night I ventured out to play Cafe Opera's jam session.  Below is Cafe Opera.  It's almost starting to feel like Lestat's or Java Joe's to me (for all you San Diego friends).  A little music time is good for the soul.  It's part of me.  Sometimes I can't get songs out of my head however hard I try.  And, that's no good... thesis is priority for the next two months!  So, I figured the best way to get the music out of my head was to play it, right?  The best part about Cafe Opera is that the opening jam band always sits in.  So, I almost always have a backing band.  Fun!  

Cafe Opera. Bergen, Norway

Fortunately, the weekends have been providing nice weather so we've been able to enjoy some of Bergen's beauty.  Last weekend was a BBQ in the park at sunset with some friends after lacrosse practice and a run in the mountains. 

photo credit: Stephan Duffner 

This week is Easter break and Norwegians all head to the mountains.  I might get there for a day too but mostly I'm in Bergen continuing to work away.

Today has been a true fool from the month of April.  It's currently snowing but we also had rain and sunshine today.  Ohhhh Bergen.

klem,

lisa liv 

various and sundry.... quite a week

Ohlala I'm behind on things I've been wanting to share.  This last week was quite full and wrapped up with a weekend of sunshine.  I feel like a new woman!  Just what I needed!

Wednesday was quite a day and rather unexpected.

A Norwegian friend of mine, Egil, invited me to attend a 'meet-up' of BMUG: Business Model User Group workshop on Wednesday night.  It's a entrepreneurial oriented group and a mix of business people and IT app programmers.  We had some presentations about facebook and apps to begin... in Norwegian of course!  But, the best part was I actually understood a fair amount of the first presentation.  Yea!  The women spoke at a good pace and had a rather straight dialect which is helpful.  The second presenter had a pretty heavy dialect so I was outta luck.  It's all good.  Then we were presented with a business plan template, a new app idea, split into groups and set off for 30 minutes or so.  We reconvened and present our plan ideas.  I was chosen to present for our group ... somehow I always get roped into that :P  And, as I've mentioned before, Norwegians speak very good English so it was no problem to be involved.  I really appreciate this because it's been a great way to meet new people.  Overall it was a great night and I hope to take part in their future events.

Previous to the BMUG meet-up, I happened upon a royal spotting.  I was coming home from school, there was some commotion around Bryggen and I had heard Prince Charles and Camilla were in town.  I had a little time to linger and no sooner had I walked up than they walked out of a store front.  I kid you not.  Maybe 20 feet away... one of the perks of living in a town of 200,000.  Wild!  And, they were accompanied by King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway. 

Prince Charles and Queen Sonja
source: Bergens Tidende

Thus, quite a day on Wednesday and the week finished out strong.

I was fortunate to be invited to dinner on my friend Marius's boat with Trine, Christine and Kenneth on Thursday.  Good fun laughing and sharing stories.  And, Friday was sunset beers at 'the boathouse'. Always good company at the boathouse.  The photo below was taken from the deck there the weekend before.  I post it to show you the fantastic location and my good fortune that the 3 guys that live there have extended me an open invitation.  Ah yes, and, Sunday waffles in the sun with this view= la vida.  Jealous yet?  Just remember this sight is rare, most of the time it's overcast and rainy.  My flatmate put it well- if Bergen had this weather consistently, it would be the San Diego of Norway. True!

Pictures from my sunny weekend this weekend coming soon....

riding on my sunshine high,

lisa liv 

no joke

overcast, rain, overcast, rain..... that's life in Bergen for the past month. Oh yes, with one day of amazing sun about 2 weeks ago.  Who's ready for hibernation?!  Meeeeeeee.  Here's the forecast for the next week:

seriously seeking sunshine,

lisa liv

parlay

Parlay, I like how that word rolls off the tongue.  Random, I know. 

Last semester I was invited to be one of the 4 inaugural 'bloggers' on the NHH student blog.  So, I parlayed my experience from my personal blog into a slightly more professional blogging gig.  Fancy.  The blog just went live last week so I'll be blogging from there on and off before I complete my studies in June.  Click on the image below to check out the new NHH student blog:

Update:  there were NO northern lights last Friday.  Bummer!  It was still fun to think about.  The quest continues.

Last weekend kicked off 'Uken' at NHH which is a 3 week long festival of music concerts and events.  As you can imagine, there's a fair amount of beverage consumption involved but it's also quite a school spirit and community oriented event. 

There is a 'actors' group of 10 NHH economics students who write, stage and put on a show which is a collection of sketches as one of the Uken events.  It's a competitive audition process and a big time commitment for the semester.  My flatmate from last semester, Knut Anders, was selected as an actor so we all went to support him and enjoy the show last Saturday evening.  Yes, it was in Norwegian, but I got the gist and was VERY impressed with the performance level.  And, there was plenty of singing and dancing for this ol' musical theater gal to be loving it.  There's a whole crew of student volunteers doing all the behind-the-scenes work and the show was quite professional.  This is a super fun memory I will have from my NHH days.  Here's a few photos to give you an idea of the show (note- I only wish I skills and camera enough to take these photos!).

I'm hoping we shake the rain soon.  It's been overcast and drizzling for weeks!

raindrops keep falling on my head,

lisa liv

northern lights....

... there's a chance there will be some tonight in Bergen.  Sooooo excited!!  I'm not holding my breath, but some chance is better than no chance. 

My friend, Marius, lives on a boat just off gamle Bergen (old Bergen) and is having me and a couple of other people over for dinner tonight.  I know, I'm pinching myself.  Salmon dinner on a boat on the west coast of Norway with the potential of seeing northern lights?!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to the powers of the universe, you are so good to me.

fingers crossed,

lisa liv

Bergen love around the world

Sweet Genna and Camille thinking of me from 'Bergen' in San Francisco last weekend.  Rachel also sent me a photo from this street when she was in SF last fall.  I'm going to have to find it next time I'm in that city!

Another rainy day in Bergen, Norway.  But, I knew that was part of the deal :)  All the better to focus on my thesis, right?  Right. 

klem,

lisa liv

Back to B-Town, My Second Home

Aside from fighting some gnarly jet lag, it's great to be back in Bergen.  My body won't let me fall asleep so I just ran 7 miles, took a hot shower and am working on a generous glass of wine.  Come on home remedy!  Until then, I'm all yours.

I arrived in Bergen on Thursday afternoon and it looked much like this picture which I took from my flat in December just before heading home for the holidays.  Yup, from 70 degree sunshine in San Diego to this.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thursday evening some NHH masters friends were having a gathering a few blocks away.  Many of these friends were abroad last semester so it's great to have them back and many living close to me in 'sentrum'.  One of these is dear friend Bea who I got to visit in Paris last December.  Ahhhh Paris!

Fondue with Bea!

Notre Dame.. went to mass on Sunday for advent



Cite Universitaire- where Bea lived for the semester,,, rough life

Le Tower Eiffel

Back to Thursday night- I left the pre-party since it had been a long day of travel.  I'm so darn responsible :P  I swung by Cafe Opera to say hi to all the 'jam session' friends which was fun.  Then, upon arriving home, my fabulous flatmates, Bjornar and Kenneth, from last semester (I'm in a new flat this semester- sublet each semester) had texted they had a beer waiting for me.  Ugh!  How can a gal say no?!  So, like any responsible person, I promptly walked my way back out to meet up.  I love that I can walk everywhere in Sentrum- it's awesome!  So, Thursday night was a wonderful night of reconnecting.

A big thanks to all my wonderful friends in SoCal who made the winter break at home truly wonderful.  And, thank you mother nature for providing some insane weather.

Up next- a very full week at school.  And, I think I'm headed off to a cabin next week for some friend time and cross-country skiing.. so excited!! 

hugs from the great north!

lisa liv

48 hours...

.... until I'm up-up- and away back to lovely Bergen, Noway.  I've been enjoying a nice extended stay in San Diego while starting work on my thesis.  As mentioned I'm looking at algae as a biofuel source.  And The Algal Biofuel Organization (ABO) just launched AllAboutAlgae.com (click on it to head to the site).  Cool!  It's a nice little intro to everything algae.  Enjoy!

More posts about life in Norway soon, I promise.  I've been laying low at 'Garza', the family home.  A big thank you to all the wonderful friends I've been able to see while I've been in SoCal.  You've been a real highlight.  And, thank you sunshine for being so abundant.  I've soaked you up and stored you for the next few months in Bergen.

back to packing,

lisa liv

ps. weather looks good to go in all my connecting cities- Chicago and Copenhagen.

pps. i checked my seats and I have all isle seats, score! 

home stretch

I've wrapped up 4 classes and have one more to go.  My new favorite study place is the University of Bergen library.  My school, NHH, is about 3 miles away from the city center which is a nice walk on a sunny day or a short bus ride on a rainy day.  But, it's still simpler to head to 'HF'.  And, I meet my friend, Martha, at 8:15 which is *great* motivation to get me up and going.  Keep in mind the sun doesn't rise these days until 9:13 a.m.  Ahhh higher latitudes!! 

And, this has been the library entrance the past few days.  Sorry it's a little burry- phone camera..

Welcome to Bergen!

For some memories of just over a month ago and my last 'relaxing' weekend before hard core finals studying started.  I give you, Italy!  Ahhh, such a great weekend.

Hiking in Cinque Terra

Vernazza- where we stayed for the weekend

On the Mediterranean with Jamie!

Friends from NHH in Milan!  Joe (Minnesota), me, Stefano (Italy) and Coni (Germany)

The Duomo in Milan

And, kind of fun, I've been selected (hired?  I get money at the bookstore- nice!) as a 'blogger' for NHH to write about being an international master student :)

god natt!

lisa liv 

and it begins...

..... Advent that is!  The first weekend of Advent Bergen celebrates with 'lysfest' which translates to Festival of Lights.  Last year I was unable to attend because I was prepping Thanksgiving for 70 international masters students.  This year it was raining hard all day but Martha, Nici and I donned our best rain gear and rallied to partake.  

Wow, wow, wow.  Music, fireworks, and Christmas cheer.

**note: these photos are from the web but give you the idea. Exactly the same tonight but add umbrellas

All I have to say is- Christmas on the Prado (aka December Night), you have met your match.  I just witnessed one of the most spectacular fireworks displays I think I've seen.  And I've seen a lot of 4th of July fireworks!  It was 13 minutes (yes, 13, it's on the schedule) of July 4th 'finale-style' fireworks.  I kid you not.  Insane!  And, everyone is around the lake (picture above) with the fireworks over the lake so you are right under the fireworks.  Annnnnd, they let you carry fire torches here.  I know, right?!  Real fire?!  Ahhh the things you can do in a place where all people respect laws and don't slap lawsuits on each other every 5 seconds. (I know, most Americans are this way too, it's just the few that ruin it for the rest of us).

Anywho, what a fantastic kick-off to the holiday season.  

God Jul!

lisa liv 

Happy Giving of Thanks day!

Wishing you and yours, around the world, a very happy thanksgiving!  It's always a little odd being abroad on a day like today.  There are no turkeys in the windows or Thanksgiving garlands in the stores.  But, I relish in all I have to be thankful and continue to share the idea of giving thanks today here in Bergen.  Seriously, we are so blessed (if you are reading this, it means you are on a computer- you are blessed!).   I am thankful for the opportunity to be living and studying abroad where I have met wonderful people and explored the world.  And, I'm exceedingly thankful for getting to head 'home' in three weeks to spend Christmas and New Years with family and friends in California.  

While I'm not doing a thanksgiving meal today, my flatmates and I did a good ol' traditional thanksgiving dinner last friday night.  We made (and I can say we, they were excited to learn and help in the kitchen) turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (from scratch!), gravy and a carrot side.  Ida was super and made a berry dessert.  I am very thankful for all the fun I've had with these guys this semester.  They are the best!

Kenneth, Bjornar and Kunt Anders

Here's our spread:

Bjornar very excited for dessert

Tonight on my way home from the library my friend and study buddy, Martha, alerted me to the fact it's a special shopping day where all of the stores are open until midnight- wait, what?!  Has black friday infiltrated the serene and peaceful Norway?  I've never given in to black friday.  In fact, you couldn't pay me to participate in the insanity.  But, today it was alluring.  The shops were right on our walk home.  The night was nice.  There was a holiday cheer in the air.  Music was playing and they were making waffles.  What's a girl to do?  Indeed, shop.  So there I was, amongst the crowds (though, far more civilized... it is still Norway, no pushing and jockeying here) and Elvis was signing Christmas songs on the music system.  I may be away but not much changes.

And, with that, I'm off to ready myself for another day of studies tomorrow.  And, next week the guys are making me a traditional Christmas dinner- yea!  No Dad, not Lutefisk.  I'll be ready for that on Christmas Eve.  No taking that away from you.  They will be making Pinnekjøtt.

My amaaaaaaazing flatmates

with thanks and gratitude, 

lisa liv 

late night study aids...

.... My flatmate Kenneth got a wild hare to make some 10:30pm waffles on Sunday evening.  What a grand idea indeed!  He made the batter from scratch and didn't have to ask Ida, Bjornar or me twice to help him polish them off.  And, standard Norwegian heart shaped!

yuuuuum

And, Norwegians cover surfing too!  This was in the weekend paper... quite a big wave ride.  I of course told my flatmates these are the kind of waves I surf all the time.  Riiiiiight.  Though, I will admit I can't wait to get back in the ocean when I'm back in San Diego in December

Back to the books.  Finals- they just keep coming.  I'm done December 6th.  I can't believe this is semester number 3 down?!  Woah, it feels like just yesterday I was applying to programs.  And now I'm eating waffles at 10:30pm on a Sunday night in Bergen, Norway.  Goes to show you really just never know where life will take you if you are open to it.

xoxo, 

nerd girl

ps. gossip girl is a little indulgence here and there, especially during finals period :) 

pps. my flatmates and I are doing a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday!  So excited!

~sunny days are here again~

Literally. We have had some beautiful sunny crisp days in Bergen in the last week.  This is the Bergen I know and love!  (which of course I'm inside all day studying, but, that's how it goes)  

Though, I must admit I've been having crazy flashes of Christmas.  I'm sure it's because once Christmas is upon us that means I'm through finals, and I want that like I want a new wetsuit for Christmas ( <------- dear Santa, not so subtle hint).  But, the weather feels exactly like a SoCal Christmas.  Even the smells in the air- it's wild!  I'm ready to sing Silver Bells and pull out the mistletoe.

On that note, I just read a really cool blog post I wanted to share about how the kWh cost of solar energy continues to decrease- tres cool!  Solar has it's issues with predictability and the whole the sun doesn't shine and night thing.  But, it's still really encouraging to see and I encourage you to read.  See the post here 

It also makes an interesting point about shale gas.  My personal favorite line is '... special treatment for fracking makes a mockery of free market principles'.  Perhaps that whet your appetite to jump in and read.

Oh dear readers, I am studying energy.  I get jazzed on these kinds of things. 

***********

Ok, something fun for the day.  Do you know about 8tracks?  It's my favorite new place for music listening online.  Remember making mixed tapes?  Yes, totally dating myself.  Or, nowadays, my super awesome music club gals in San Diego- we make mixed CD's and share new music.  

Well, this is the same idea.  People from around the world have signed up, made profiles and put mixes together for all sorts of things- workout mixes, wake up in the morning mixes, sad and weepy breakup mixes, indie artists mixes, mash-up mixes, classical music mixes and... my very favorite at the moment... study mixes!

check it out for free listening here    And you don't have to have a profile to listen

radiantly yours,

lisa liv 

ps. I am on a friggin roll... 3 posts in 7 days?!  that's a new lisa o record.  yes, i want to make a lisa o record too, but, you know what i mean. 

Bergen in San Fran....

.... my dear friend Rachel is in San Francisco for the weekend to visit friends and run a half-marathon.  She happened across this yesterday and sent me this photo.  It looks like a beautiful fall weekend in NorCal.  And, I'm glad to know Bergen is ever present around the world.  Fun!

Wising Rachel, Jeff, Brad and Traci (I think she's running it?) good luck in the half-marathon in a few hours.  Lykke til! ... one of my favorite Norwegian phrases.

It's also my dear friend Bea's birthday today.  She's a classmate and studying abroad in Paris this semester so I'm wishing her a happy birthday from afar but thinking of her today.  Happy Birthday B!!!!!

L and B being silly

And that's all for today folks.

hugs,

lisa liv 

Studying November Away

I'm diving into serious focus and studies for the month of November and plan to emerge again around the beginning of December.  I've even put myself on a facebook hiatus for the month of November.  Woah, this is serious Lisa.

Yesterday I did some studying at a nearby coffee shop where my friend Andrew works, Kaffemisjonen.  It's super to have different environments to study in and it's some of the best coffee in town.  I heart coffee.

Check 'em out here http://www.kaffemisjonen.no/

Back to the books.

love,

lisa liv

I'm still here....

but I was here.... and that's why I haven't posted in a little while :)

I had an opportunity, got a bit of a wild hare and found myself on my way to Italy last weekend.  I've never been before and a fun long weekend trip presented itself as a little relaxation and sunshine before I lock myself away for 6 weeks and study study study.  Above is Manarola, one of the 5 Cinque Terre towns.  I met up with my friend Jamie and we hiked, surfed, boated, swam, ate, drank wine, drank cappuccinos and relaxed for three days in the Cinque Terre.  Then I headed back to Milan where I met up with 3 friends from NHH and toured around the city with them for the afternoon and evening.  Gelato was plentiful and I returned to Bergen feeling very refreshed.

I flew Norwegian Airlines to Italy and was pleasantly surprised to find the below on the last page of their inflight magazine.  

Plane travel does get a bad rap for CO2 emissions.  Norwegian seems to be making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint- whop whop!  Tres cool for an Environmental Econ nerd like me.

Lastly, the days are growing shorter quickly.  Here's Bergen by night on my camera phone so not the best quality.  But, you get the idea :)

All is well and I continue to feel blessed.  I feel I have a good mix of school and friends/fun activities going on.  I've found a great 'jam session' to play on Thursday nights at Cafe Opera.  I suppose you could say I'm building up a little fan base and reputation for myself.  It feels good to have a creative outlet.  The last few days have been abnormally nice, especially considering it's almost November.

Bed time!  The bar/club below my flat decided to have an impromptu DJ last night (tuesday night) into the weeee hours of the morning.  I imagine they wanted to capitalize on the nice weather.  Everyone wants to be outside.  Don't they know they have some serious students living above them?!  

I digress.

Goodnight and vi snakkes snart,

lisa liv