A NIght on the town!

Last night was an absolute hoot and a holler! I started off by going to a local show at a place called KluBb En (Club 1) with Kate, Kista, Siv, and Roger. There were two bands playing and one solo musician. The first band up was a group called Junior Kiss. When I had heard the name I assumed that they would be a teenage emo rock band (considering the name) what I failed to realize was that they were indeed a "Junior" version of the band Kiss! haha The band consisted of 4 boys (probably around the ages of 12) who were each dressed up like their Kiss counterpart. They played 4 or 5 Kiss tunes and they tore it up! I was very impressed considering how young they were. Their set was complete with a fog machine and crazy lighting hahaha The next performer was a man who classified himself as a peaceful protest artist. He sang in norwegian mostly but there was one song in which he sang in both Norwegian and Spanish which was pretty cool. The last band was absolutely fantastic (a blues rock outfit) and I had the opportunity to chat with the Guitarist/lead singer. He's from Moss and get this....he's an incredibly skilled banjo player and he plays in a bluegrass band! haha He had heard through the grapevine that I play in a bluegrass band and do solo stuff and after some chatting we exchanged number and I was invited to his home/studio to jam!!! So needles to say I was a "little" excited, so we'll see how that pans out.

The show ended around 12pm and after that I was invited by some of the students to go out and do some karaoke at a local bar haha I can officially say that I have sung Wilson Phillips in Moss Norway...although I'm not sure if I should be proud of that hahaha

Overall, it was an epic night filled with fantastic musical excursions.

-Xavier

It's the weekend :)

Today is Friday, and since we don;t have school on Friday's it's officially the weekend here :) Not too much has happened lately, just been busy commenting on drafts and playing music. I've recently become obsessed with Tabasco. I mean, I've always liked it but as I was walking through the Rema 1000 (grocery store here in Norway) I saw some small bottles. My mouth began to water and I had to make the purchase. I've been trying it on different things and so far it tastes good on anything that I put it on. Spaghetti...check, Grilled Cheese...check, Egg-in-a-hole...check. It also goes well on pizza, although when I did this it immediately reminded me of Rhombus Guys and the Girlfriend Diovolo...the best pizza ever made on the face of the earth. It needs no additions to make it better, but I do love throwing some tabasco on it. GAH! now I'm hungary.

Norway is an amazing place and one can get caught up in the wonder and awe of it, and that's exactly what happened to me. When I was in Oslo I went to a Jazz Cafe. It was amazing. They had vinyl, CD's, and on the top floor there was a cafe/bar. After spending some time there I got the feeling that it would just be wrong if I left without buying something so I found a CD by Houston Person, previewed it, and loved it. I went up to the counter and bought it and walked out in a great mood. It was only after the wonder and awe wore off that I realized how expensive the CD actually was haha I remembered someone saying that CD's in Norway are pretty spendy, that's why a lot of people buy from iTunes. After thinking about how much I paid in kroner and converting it into US dollars, I discovered that I spent $34 on a 9 track CD hahaha I really do enjoy the CD, but I won't be making any more musical purchases while I'm in Norway lol

Other than that I've just been taking it easy. I finished a black and white roll of film and am almost done with a color so we'll see how those turn out. I miss you guys!

-Xavier

I went to Oslo on Friday and Saturday and it was a blast and this time I actually took some pictures and video so you guys could see what it was like :) I finished the black and white roll of film on my Argus C3 and will try to get it developed sometime this week. I heard it's pretty expensive but I'm super excited to see how these pictures turn out. I just loaded up a roll of color, and I've never shot with color on this camera yet so I'm excited to see how they turn out. I just finished reading the Photo Issue of Outside magazine that my mom sent and it had a lot of great articles in it, like tips on how to become a better photographer, thought and opinions on photo editing, and a section on different cameras and lenses (eye candy!) I'm really enjoying photography and I hope to become better, so we'll see where that goes :) Although I'm having a great time here in Norway I just want you all to know that I miss you very much :)

Also: Episode #4 of Xavier in Norway is up :)

Distance

Things are changing. Whether it be for the better or worse I'm not entirely sure yet, which makes it difficult to gage. I would hope that it would be for the better, and not just for me, but certain situations have arisen causing me to believe otherwise. Distance is a double edged sword allowing you to fight off your thoughts, feelings, and insecurities but it cuts up your hands all the while leaving you scarred and red for all to see. I'm going to Oslo today, and I'm bringing my scarred red hands with me and I won't mind if people see them. I'll hold them up high knowing that I've grown, that I've learned my lesson, that there are others with scarred red hands just like mine.

-Xavier

Music nut

Three posts in one day is a lot so I'll shut up after this, but I just have to share an experience. I was walking to the post office to collect my Antlers concert tickets. As I said before, it's snowing here, not like a hard snow, but like, slow motion snow. I brought my camera with me to take some pictures and I also brought along my iPod. Now, those of you who know me know that I'm a music nut so brace yourself for an attempt at musical insightfulness. On this particular trip through town I decided to listen to the Sigur Ros album með suð i eyrum við spilum endalaust. I've had the album for quite some time and I really enjoy listening to it because it's a beautiful album, but there was something missing, and that something was Scandinavia. It's hard to explain, but the best way I can put it is like this...listening to Sigur Ros while walking around in the US was good, but walking around listening to Sigur Ros in Norway just fit because I feel that there is more to that album than just music; there's culture and scenery. I don't know, I guess I just felt like it was complete. I can't get over how beautiful it is here and I look forward to what Spring has to offer.

-Xavier

Snowing in Moss

It's 1:45 and I'm done with class for the day. It's snowing in Moss today, big fluffy snow flakes and it looks beautiful outside. There's a Magpie sitting in a tree outside my window. The Magpie's here are beautiful and I was amazed with how pretty it was but I was unaware of the stigma that goes along with the Magpie. It has several different associations in relation to different cultures but in Norway, the Magpie is often referred to as cunning and represents thievery (hence the title of the Rossini piece "Thieving Magpie"). In other cultures it represents bad luck, witchcraft, or even death. I just think it's interesting that a bird so pretty can bear such an ugly mark.

Things are changing.

-Xavier

4 am

It's currently 4:00 in the morning here in Moss and I am laying awake due to my cold...fantastic :S I believe that the common cold may very well be one of the most annoying things ever. Stuffy nose, popping ears, balloon head, I'm counting down the days until this thing goes away.

Two weeks in Norway

As of today I've officially been in Norway for two weeks and although its only been two weeks, they have been absolutely amazing. On Friday I went to Oslo with Krista and Kate to take care of some school business and after that was over, we spent the rest of the day shopping in Oslo which was incredible. Oslo is pretty fantastic. It had the big city vibe and feel but it wasn't overwhelming. Krista's husband Roger joined us later and he showed me around Oslo, taking me down to the wharf, showing me the Nobel Peace Prize Center, and other great attractions of the city. I was on a mission to find a new scarf and hat, which I found at a pretty schweet skater store. I bought a black and white checkered scarf and two stocking caps for 149 kroner...which is roughly $26. Later we all met up and ate at Egon which was delicious. After a tasty and filling meal, I was still on a search for a peacoat. I have always wanted one but never got one because they were either too expensive or they didn't fit me, but I figured that I would take a look. After looking at several stores and finding snug coats for 3000 kroner I thought my search was going to end with me being empty handed but lo and behold, I found the perfect coat at Dressman. It was exactly what I was looking for, so I tried it on with fingers crossed and sure enough it fit me perfectly, but before I got too attached I had to look at the price. It was originally 1000 kroner and it was marked down to 500! Which is about $87! I was so pumped! I bought the coat and walked out of Oslo a Sharp Dressed Man (thank you ZZ Top. now all I need is a texas goatee).

Saturday was a pretty chill day. I slept in and woke to find myself stuffed up and feeling the first symptoms of a head cold so I went grocery shopping and got some medicine to hep battle the congestion. Later that night I went to a birthday party which was fun, but I called it an early night and got some decent sleep.

It's a cloudy day today. No sun shining here and it proceeded to get darker when a cloud came over my head and delivered some crummy news to me. I was planning on going to Oslo tomorrow night to see The XX in concert. They're a great band from the UK and when I saw that they were playing in Oslo I wanted to jump at the opportunity for 2 reasons 1.) As I stated before, They are quite fantastic and currently hold a place in my "Top 10 Favorite Albums of All Time" and 2.) I was introduced to them by Chris Nelson, a professor back in Grand Forks, and I thought it would be funny to maybe brag about it a little bit ;) Anyways, as I was looking at the venue page reading about the concert I saw that there was two opening acts. One was a group from Canada and the other I had never heard of before. They had all capital letters and their name read UTSOLGT! I proceeded to look them up to see what their music sounded like and when nothing showed up my brain shifted into Norwegian mode. I looked at the name and remembered that "UT" means "out" and then it clicked, but just to be sure I turned to my trusty translator and it was confirmed...UTSOLGT also known as "Sold Out" is not a band but a word that smashes the hopes of seeing a killer concert. So...I will not be seeing The XX, but I will be getting my tickets for The Antlers concert in March tomorrow so I can secure my viewing of one of the best new bands on the. While today was a bit of a bummer, I'm still felling good about the day :)

-Xavier

A teacher's dream

Alongside Intro to Film I'm teaching English 120: Writing the Research Paper and we are currently reading "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman. Today was our first day of in class discussion and it was honestly the best class experience I have ever had in my life. I've never met such an active or enthusiastic group of people before. The class goes for an hour and a half and we pretty much discussed the entire time focusing on research techniques, organization, content, audience and purpose, credibility, and the content of Klosterman's work and how he's using the aforementioned techniques. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I had an amazing time discussing with my class. They had so much to say and offer and it was so great to see them formulate ideas and speak their minds. My primary goal being a teacher is to create an environment where people can learn and also have fun while they learn and I just felt like my goal was accomplished today. It was so productive and yet we were laughing and enjoying the conversation. I'm really enjoying my time here in Moss, especially the time in the classroom. I'm just very thankful for this opportunity and all of the friends that I have met while here. You might have a hard time getting me to come back haha. Jeg elsker Norge!

-Xavier

Hospice

I did my reading for my classes and found myself with a large chunk of time on my hands. I proceeded to waste some of that time sitting in front of the TV listening to the Norwegian channels to better my hearing/understanding of the language and then it occurred to me that I needed to get out, just get outside. I then went for a walk around the city of Moss. It was brisk outside but not too cold, perfect for my walking. I probably walked for half and hour and when I came back I discovered that I yet again had some time on my hands. I decided to listen to some music, but not just listen, read along with the lyrics and analyze. There's a band called The Antlers and they will be playing in Oslo on March 15th in which I hope to attend. A good friend of mine gave me their newest CD entitled Hospice before I left for Norway and I listened to it here and there and liked what I heard, but I never REALLY listened, so tonight I decided to read up on the album and read the lyrics while I listened and I can honestly say that it is one of the most creative and darkly beautiful pieces of music I have heard in recent years. It's so nice to see a well thought out work of music that goes somewhere and tells something. The record is a concept album about a man who works at a hospital and falls in love with an abusive depressed bone cancer patient. Like I said, it's dark but incredibly moving. I guess it just reminds me that I need to take the time to listen more carefully and really take things in. I highly recommend listening to this album because it will move you and maybe do to you what it did for me.

First Day Of Class!

Today was my first day teaching at ACN and I felt that it went really well. My students are all fantastic and I'm very excited to be teaching my courses. Krista had said that my film class would be very popular, and she was right haha I had about 55 students in that class today, although this first week of class is like a trial run where students can sit in and decide next week, it seemed that most of the students were interested in the class so I'm excited to have so many people interested in one of my courses :) My one section of Comp went well too. It's a required course so that kinda gives it a stigma, but I'm going to try to make the course as fun as possible for them, and with a book called Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, I don't think that will be a problem haha The hardest thing right now is learning all of the names, there are just so many students so Im going to try my hardest to get to know them by the beginning of next week. Other than that I'm just going to to be busy with reading for the courses and making copies for the students until their books come in. I'm really excited about this opportunity to teach at the ACN. It's only the first week of class but I feel like that this is going to be a fantastic semester and a wonderful learning experience.

7 am

I can finally say that I've seen Moss in the morning. It's currently 7:45 am and I'm watching the new A-Ha video on MTV and I must say, it's no Take On Me but the song is decent. I took some melatonin last night to help with my sleep, and it did its job. I fell asleep around midnight and woke up at 7, so hopefully I'll get sleepy tonight when I'm supposed to and I can begin my new sleep routine haha I had no idea that traveling would affect my body so much haha.

I got a chance to meet some of the students last night and that was a blast. I was able to spend some time with them in their lounge area and just chill for awhile while we listened to music and discussed films, family, Michael Jackson, and new upcoming musical artists. I'm really looking forward to teaching them in class, they seem like a really great and eclectic group of people :) The students and faculty are all going bowling today and having tacos afterward so that should be a good time.

I know I posted this on my facebook but I figure I'd post it here for those of you who don't have one. Since I've been in Norway I've heard a lot of new music from some great bands and artists so I thought that I would share them with you here and if there's one that you may be interested in, check them out :)

1.) Jaa9 og UNKLP (Norwegian Rap haha it's pretty great. Listen to "Fredag")

2.) Ane Brun (Norwegian singer/songwriter with a beautiful voice/nice to mellow out to)

3.) Sigh and Explode (Norwegian screamo band similar to The Blood Brothers.)

4.) Kings of Convenience (Norwegian acoustic duo. "Boat Behind" is a good tune.)

5.) Little Boots (UK synth pop w/ female vocals. Great to dance to! "Remedy" is a good tune. The song is catchy like a Lady Gaga tune but rather than wishing for a lobotomy, I like that the tune is stuck in my head.)

6.) Alphabeat (If you want to take a trip back to 1993 this is the band to listen to! Think of an old Paula Abdul tune and mix that with some modern synth. You'll be teasing up your hair in seconds after listening to "The Spell.")

7.) La Roux (Great electro/synth music from the UK. "Bulletproof" is so catchy and the video is awesome. Not only is the music great, but the singer's hair makes the video well worth watching haha)

So there ya go, some new music to listen to while you enjoy your Saturday. Miss you guys!

-Xavier

Chill day

Today was a pretty chill day. Not a lot happened, but that's bound to change here soon. Sleep is still seldom. I fell asleep around 4am and woke up at noon. Hopefully I can actually get some decent rest tonight.

I went out and got a few more groceries and explored the mall a bit. As I was walking around outside I was approached by two men. One of them began to speak to me, so I pulled down my head phones and said, "Hva?" which means What in Norwegian. He began to speak again in Norwegian and I responded with, "Sorry, jeg snakker litt norsk." which means, I only speak a little Norwegian." He then asked me if I speak English, I said yes, and then he says, "Great, well my friend and I here are from Oregon and we were just wondering if you would like to talk about your relationship with Jesus Christ." We exchanged a few friendly words, they gave me their card if I wanted to talk sometime and that was it. It's not a very eventful story but I thought it was kind of funny.

Today was a pretty cold day in Moss, I mean, not nearly as cold as it would be in Grand Forks (muahaha ;)) but I guess it's been colder than it usually is, but it's supposed to be around 30 degrees this weekend which will be super nice.

I'm considering going to a concert in March. The Antlers and Islands are playing shows in Oslo so 1.) I'm trying to decide which one I want to go to, and 2.) if there would be anybody here who would want to go with me. so we'll see how that pans out.

I put new strings on my guitar today, and I may be onto a new song. I've been fiddling around with garage band and laid down a few guitar tracks, a harmonica track, two vocal tracks, and a drum track. I like the sound of it so now I just need some lyrics, which always seems to be the most difficult part for me but I'm sure that there are some lyrics that will work their way out soon.

Well....that's about all I got for today. Hope all is well.

-Xavier

Woot Woot Grocery Shopping!

So today was a fantastic day :) I woke up at noon, (still trying to get used to the time haha) and walked around the area a little bit. I took a few photos on my 35 mm but I'll take some digital photos tomorrow and post them on facebook so you guys can see what things look like :) I walked down past the movie theater and that was cool. You can see the ocean from the campus, it's really beautiful.

I walked to the campus and was greeted by a sign on the door that said Welcome Xavier! haha so that was very nice and made me feel even more comfortable with my new surroundings. I got to talk to Krista, the Director of the ACN, and she greeted me with a hug and was very welcoming. I also met Heidi who had been helping me out with my questions via email when I was still in the states. Everyone that I have met has been incredibly nice and super supportive. After I visited and got a tour of the ACN, I went home, had some lunch, and watched The Simpsons with Norwegian subtitles haha

I just got back from grocery shopping a few hours ago. That was actually a lot of fun. Heidi showed me around town and took me to the grocery store in the mall. The Mall was pretty hoppin' and was pretty cool. The grocery store was super nice and had everything I needed. I ended up spending 216 kroner which is about 35 American dollars so that's not too bad at all. I started eating some of the hazelnut chocolate that they put in my apartment and it was probably the best chocolate I have ever had haha I have yet to buy some cloudberry jam though. That was about 35 kroner which is like 6 bucks, but the 35 freaked me out hahaha

Anyways, today was great and I'm really looking forward to teaching next Tuesday. Miss you all.

-Xavier

It's 4 am...

So, I never thought that I would be using this blog as much as I have been, but I'm really enjoying it. So, I know the last entry was quite a downer but I am feeling much better now. I was just super stressed from all of the traveling and I was scared. I eventually went outside and walked around a bit, just to get a grasp that there was actually other things around me than just my apartment. That helped a bit, It made me feel a little less isolated. I also just wanted to say thank you soooooo much for those of you who have ben thinking about me and praying for me. Your words of comfort and thoughts have helped a lot with this transition. I received some emails from two wonderful friends, Ben and Katie, and they really brought some perspective to my situation. So thank you both so very much. If I hadn't had gotten those emails from you I would still probably be a little crazy haha. I also got the opportunity to talk with My mom and our friend Jaana and Kristen. That also helped a lot. A wave a relief is finally starting to sweep across.

Im gonna try to get some more sleep. I went to bed at 11 here and woke up at 3:45 so I feel like it;s getting better haha. Thanks again everybody.

-Xavier

harder than I thought

I'm having a real hard time with this. My body feels like crap, I can't sleep, and I miss home terribly. I absolutely hated the trip over here, I just don't think that I'm made for International travel. I know it's only the first day. I'm hoping that things will get better once classes start up, but right now...I just feel so alone. This blog, facebook, and skype are the only means that I have of contacting people right now and it's already wearing on me. I've gotten so used to the luxury of having a phone and being able to instantly contact my loved ones, and without that, I just feel ten times further away and it kills me. Don't get me wrong, the people of moss seem very kind and it seems like a great place, I just don't know if I belong here. I will try to maintain a positive attitude and to keep my head up, but right now I just miss everything. The comfort of MY bed, MY surroundings, and my loved ones and friends. This time difference is killing me too! I hate how drastic it is. My day is pretty much over and everybody else's is like half way through. It just makes it difficult to find a time to talk. I keep telling my self, "18 weeks...18 weeks." That's all it is, but I know that I should be cherishing my time here in Norway. I'm sorry for being a downer, but this is just how it is. I've never felt this isolated before. I miss you Mom, I miss you Kristen, dad, grandpa and grandma, all my amazing friends in Sioux Falls and Grand Forks...I miss you all.

-Xavier

I am currently sitting in my new home for the next 18 weeks. Moss seems to be a very beautiful place. There are a ton of hills and trees which I think will make for some great photos :) This was a very very very long journey for me. I have never traveled internationally before or traveled alone for that matter so this was and is a big deal for me. I'm not gonna lie...it was pretty hard for me. I'm not very good at saying good by and I've been know to not handle change very well so this will definitely be an opportunity for me to grow.

I flew out from Minneapolis to Newark , NJ. The flight was pretty good. I was sitting next to a young girl and her mother. After about 45 minutes into the flight the young girl whipped out her copy of twilight. This made me laugh and feel bummed. I laughed because Twilight really is everywhere, I was bummed because I had forgotten my copy at home, luckily, I had brought along my copy of Chuck Klosterman's IV, which is very entertaining . That flight lasted about 2 hours which wasn't bad at all. We landed in Newark at night which was pretty sweet. The city at night from that height reminded me of the embers glowing in a log that is burning out, either that of a circuit board...which reminds me how excited I am for Tron Legacy. Jeff Bridges+Light Cycles+Daft Punk=AMAZINGNESS...anybody else agree? Anyways, when I arrived in the Newark airport I grabbed a bite to eat and headed to my terminal. I ate at McDonalds, which wasn't my first choice, but it was quick and I had just finished reading about Chuck Klosterman's McDonalds experiment in which he ate nothing but chicken McNuggets for a week. I don;t know how he did it, but he made McDonalds sound good. I have to say that the part I hate most about traveling is waiting in terminals. I always feel like I have no home...it sucks. The closer I got to Norway the better I started to feel because I knew that I would be arriving in a place that I could call mine for awhile.

The plane to Olso was fine. It was a 7 hour flight which was a bit rough but I got through. I was already feeling a little homesick, but when I saw that I could watch The Office as part of my in flight entertainment, my mind was put at ease :) There's something about watching Dwight, Andy, and Michael doing Parkour that just warms my heart a bit hahaha.

Sleeping on a plane is THE MOST DIFFICULT THING EVER! I have no idea how people do it. I mean, being 6'4" doesn't help but no matter how hard I tried, it just wasn't going to happen. I guess you could say that I rested my eyes but that's about all that happened on the 7 hour journey.

The Oslo airport was wicked cool. Lots of Hard wood floors and lots of glass. My plane was delayed an hour but I arrived in time to make my shuttle bus to Moss, which was about an hour and 20 minutes. Colin, the RA of the dorms, came to pick me up. He's a grad student working on a Masters in Accounting. he also teaches an accounting course. He was super kind and showed me around my place. He lives next door to me which is nice...i don't totally feel alone. And that leads me to now. Im showered, full, and wanting to sleep so badly but am trying to stay up to get used to the time change. Anyways, enough babbling for today. I miss you all very much and I'll see you in 18 weeks :)

-Xavier

Day before my flight...

It's Friday January 1st 9:10 pm, and my journey to Norway begins tomorrow. I'm currently in Minneapolis with my mom, my girlfriend Kristen, and my grandparents. We met up with my Uncle Mark, my Cousin Carrie, my dad, his wife Shelly, and my little half bro Kryston. It was such a wonderful feeling to be surrounded my the people whom I care about soooo much and it reminded me how blessed I am to have such incredible people in my life who support me and love me. I am truly grateful for all of you. I had been doing a pretty decent job of holding it together but a few tears began to flow when I said goodbye to my dad, and I'm positive that there will be some tomorrow but these will not be tears of sadness, but rather tears of joy. I am extremely excited for this amazing opportunity and my family is excited for me as well so with their love in my heart and the scenic beauty and wonderful teaching opportunity that awaits me in Norway, I am positive that this will be one amazing experience.

-Xavier