I'm moving to Copenhagen

I mean it. I'm leaving everything behind and moving to this amazingly beautiful city. I've never been to a more beautiful place. I feel that it has a New York kind of vibe but the architecture is absolutely beautiful. The weather here is great too. It feels like an early spring back in Grand Forks or Sioux Falls; fairly chilly but standing outside for hours is tolerable.

The boat trip over to Denmark was a blast. We explored the boat, hung out on the deck and watched the ship glide through the icy water and enjoyed the beginning of our adventure. I had never stayed on a ship before so it was no surprise that I totally nailed my head on the top bunk when I woke up in the morning haha

When we arrived in Copenhagen we made our way to our hotel and hung out for a bit. We then went out to eat and do some shopping. As some of you may know, I'm a bit of a sunglasses fiend. I could have a totally fine pair, but if I see some that I like I feel the need...the need to buy haha so it took me about 30 minutes in the city before I dished out some Danish Kroner on a wicked pair of sunglasses...but I made sure I got a good deal ;) I've also been taking a lot of pictures so I'll try to get those up soon.

This trip has opened my eyes (both Norway and Copenhagen.) The world is a big place, much bigger than I realized. I was always just content with being in my little world. Content with knowing that there was a big world out there, but now that I have seen what else is out there, knowing just won't cut it. Like I said, the world is a big place, filled with many sights, many cultures, and many people. I'm like a tiny dab of paint in a Georges Seurat painting. I'm growing. I'm learning. I'm living. I'm moving on, leaving the debris of my past exactly where it belongs.

Wednesday Brings Happiness

So today was quite possibly THE MOST EPIC DAY IN NORWAY...EVER! Tor and I woke up early and went to pick up Fe at her friends house. We then went into downtown Oslo and met up with our friend Kyle. From there we went to the amazing Frogner Park. It's a park in west-end Oslo known for the Vigeland Sculpture Park. The sculptures are very famous and quite beautiful. They are men, women, and children in many various poses and situations. Some are funny, some are sad, intense, beautiful, scary...etc. There was definitely a certain kind of atmosphere. The park was covered in snow and felt kind of mysterious...which I liked haha I took a ton of pictures and had a blast.

After the park we went back downtown and went to eat lunch at Egon. Amazing food and a great time. From there we went to the Bristol Hotel cafe and had THE BEST HOT CHOCOLATE EVER. It was really that good. As we were leaving the Bristol Cafe, we passed the opening of the hotel and I noticed a man smoking a cigarette in front. He looked very familiar to me and I knew I had seen him before. He had kind of a crazy haircut and was wearing some crazy pants. As we continued to walk I leaned over to Kyle and said "I'm pretty sure we just passed Johnny Rotten." He said, "What! Are you serious?" We al stopped and looked back. I was about 99% sure. Fe suggested that I go up to him and say hi, but I was scared that he would spit in my face...as he is famous for doing such things. She said she would go with me, so we walked back and Fe asked, "Excuse me, are you Johnny Rotten?" and he responded with a "Ello." and smiled. JOHNNY FREAKIN ROTTEN! LEAD SINGER OF THE SEX PISTOLS! FORE FATHER OF PUNK ROCK MUSIC! I said, "It's very nice to meet you." and shook his hand...SHOOK HIS HAND! We asked him what he was doing in Oslo and he said "skiing." and I was like, "Are you serious?" and without a beat he responded with, "no." hahahaha and that was about it. We said goodbye and wished him well and he the same. Today I meet a pioneer of teh punk rock movement and shook his hand...and he didn't even spit on me! bahaha

After our celebrity encounter we went to pick up our friend Anna at the train station and I ended up buying a watch at a shop there. It's a Neon, black and gold. I was very happy with the purchase. Now I don't have to keep asking others for the time or keep checking a cell phone.

So yeah, today was absolutely epic. Best day in Norway by far.

-X

Tuesday Bloody Tuesday

I've been in Oslo since Sunday enjoying the winter break. I've been hanging out with some friends in the city and it's been a great time. We went to see Avatar yesterday and ate supper at the Hard Rock Cafe which was a hoot, and then today we did some shopping, sightseeing, ate at the best Thai restaurant in Oslo called The Rice Bowl, and watched Scareface. I'm very excited for tomorrow because we'll be going to Oslo's famous Frogner park. I've been wanting to take some pictures there so we'll see how those turn out. We leave for Copenhagen on Thursday and I'm really looking forward to it.

Other than that, I guess I've been feelin a little on the bummed side. I mean, I'm really enjoying myself and the break and I'm having a great time, but part of me is a little bummed. I think I may have said this before, but memories can be deceiving and I guess right now I'm just dealing with some of them. I recently wrote a song dealing with this situation and that helped a bit but it's something that will take time. I just need to continue to look at the full picture as opposed to small candid moments.

I'll try to keep up while I'm on break but it may be awhile until you hear from me again. My days have been keeping me very busy :)

-X

If this blog was a News program

Hello, and welcome to What's Happening In Moss. I'm your host Xavier Pastrano. Today was a pretty great day. After class I came back to the house and was looking around on itunes when I remembered what my friend Beth told me. She had mentioned that a Mumford and Sons new album came out today. So I looked them up on itunes and sure enough there it was in all it's amazing folk/bluegrass/rock glory. Because CD's in Norway cost an arm and a leg, I've been buying online, and Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons was quite possibly one of the best purchases I've made while I've been here. The Album is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING the whole way through. So after making my purchase, I uploaded it onto my iPod and went for a stroll through snowy Moss as my ears were treated to sheer brilliance. The band is playing a show in Stockholm in April and I'm hoping that I will be able to attend, but it might be tricky. The concert is is on a Monday, so I would need to be back Tuesday to teach, and Stockholm is 6 hours away by train, but 1 hour by plane. Also, if I were to go, the concert starts at 8 and no other flights leave late that night so I would need to find a place to stay...soooooo, if this were to happen, I would fly to Stockholm (tickets here are insanely cheap), go to the concert, stay in a hotel, fly back to Moss early the next morning. I'm a little unsure if this can be pulled off, but my heart wants it to so badly because I know that this concert would quite possibly be one incredible experience.

In other news, as I was walking through the library at school, I came across a book called Skins, which just so happens to be written by one of my old poetry professors back at SMSU! I was surprised to see his book all the way in Moss, so I checked it out and have begun to read that in my spare time. I'm really enjoying it thus far.

This just in...Winter break begins this Friday and I'm very excited. I'll be taking a trip to Copenhagen with some friends. We'll take a ferry from Oslo, spend a 2 days and a night in Copenhagen and then ride the ferry back to Norway. I'm hoping for some great photos and some poetic inspiration.

Our final story involves a young man who misses all of his friends and family back in the states. Although he's thoroughly enjoying his trip overseas, he knows that there truly is no place like home. Miss you all!

-Xavier

Guitars, split pants, and the great outdoors

Today was a pretty fun day :) I woke up early and went downtown with a few friends. I have been craving pølse med vaffler (hotdog and waffle) for quite some time. There's a street vender who sells them on the walking street near the mall and they are pure heaven haha it's basically a hotdog wrapped in the traditional Norwegian heart shaped waffles. They have several topping options (jam, ketchup, etc...) but I usually opt for the ketchup and mustard. After we gorged ourselves with the delicious Norwegian treat, we made out way to the music shop in town. I ended up buying a new harmonica AND a Melodica! It's a 37 key portable organ that you operate by blowing air through a mouth piece and pressing in the keys. It's a hoot to play :)

Later on in the day I was able to attend a guitar workshop with a guitarist who played a show in Moss tonight. I'm not entirely sure of his name. Roger had told me but it's difficult to remember it without seeing it written. The workshop lasted for about an hour and it was great. We spent the time working in the D tuning and he definitely helped me broaden my knowledge of the the D tuning. I'll be experimenting with it for awhile :)

I was supposed to go to the concert tonight with Roger and his friend, but as I was getting into the back seat, my pants ripped haha It was a pretty big rip so I went back to my place to change, but when I got to my room I couldn't find any of my pants. I stood there puzzled for a moment when I realized that I had washed them but didn't put them in the dryer. All of my pants were sopping wet and I had no other nice pants (besides my frumpy running pants) to wear. So I had to miss out on the concert tonight. So instead of just sitting around, I went up to the dorms to see what the peeps were up to. a big group of us went on a little hike into the wooded area near the dorms and had a bon fire, roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories :)

Despite the ripped pants, today was a success :)

-Xavier

Good day...

Went for a walk around Moss today. The sun was shining and I figured that I should take advantage of it. So, With fleet Foxes serenading me and digital camera in hand I made my way around the city. I ended up coming across a music shop and they had some great stuff there. I might pick up a new harmonica because mine puttered out on me a few weeks ago.

Anyhoo, I went to see the doctor about my ear on Wednesday and it turns out that I just have left over fluid from my cold stuck behind my ear drum. They gave me some meds to help with it so hopefully it goes away in the next week or so.

I'm going to a concert tomorrow night with Krista's husband Roger. It's a guitar player who was rated one of the top guitar players of Norway so That should be exciting. I also get to participate in a guitar workshop with him before the show so I'm pretty pumped for that.

So yeah...good day.

-Xavier

Bleh...

So, that head cold I was trying to ward off didn't go away. Although all of my congestion is gone, it left me with what feels like a plugged ear. My ears have been popping for the last three days and my left ear just will not pop back and its been driving me nuts. I'm planning on going to the doctor tomorrow to see what I can do. I just hope that I can get some sleep tonight because my head feels are lop sided haha That's about it for now....just an annoying ear.

Tea and tunes

I'm sitting down, writing this blog entry on a full stomach, listening to The Antlers, and drinking some Mandarine Orange tea (for I am feeling the beginnings of a scratchy throat coming on and I am trying to fend it off in hopes of not getting sick again), and despite feeling a little under the weather, I'm doing well. Although I've been busy with school work, I've still had time to relax and work on some creative stuff. I've written three songs since being in Norway, bringing my "new song" total to 6. I've been recording while here in Norway, using the mic in my computer, just to get the songs down and hear how they sound, and I was planning on re-recording them when I get back to the states so I could use my good equipment, but now I'm thinking I might pass. Although the sound quality could be a bit better, I think the idea of listening to a song raw, recorded in an environment other than a studio would be kind of neat. At the end of some of the songs you can hear the clock in my living room ticking, and I think that might add something, add atmosphere, or take to you the place where I was when I wrote it and recorded it. We'll see what happens.

I've started to exercise more since being here. Since I don't have three graduate classes on top of teaching, I'm finding that I have quite a bit of time on my hands and instead of sitting around watching TV I've decided to get out. I've actually started to run, every other day for now, and it's been good :) (Although this cold might set me back a few days and ultimately, running in the cold could have been the cause of it haha) But I'm hoping to continue with the weight loss while here. I sometimes gage how fit I'm getting by the amount of pushups I can do. When I was at my highest weight I could only do 10, and just the other day I reached 45, and although it may not seem like a lot, it made me very happy.

I've been missing home lately. Not to the point where I'm crying at night about how homesick I am, but just thinking about Grand Forks and Sioux Falls, my apartment, the people there...I miss it. Sometimes when I'm sleeping here I imagine that I'm in my room back in Grand Forks. That probably sounds weird, but it helps me get to seep sometimes. I was listening to Charlie Parr and Split Lip Rayfield today and it really made me miss Grand Forks. I miss the drive from Sioux Falls to Grand Forks, listening to some bluegrass, and just watching the fields and hills pass by, I miss playing shows with the band and laughing about the ridiculous things that happen, I miss going to Urban with friends to grade and read, I miss everything. When I get back things will be different. Friends will have graduated and will be getting ready to move on and there will be stories that I will not be apart of, and that used to bother me, a lot but I've realized that that is just a part of growing. There's no sense in dwelling on the past because you can't change it. What matters is living in the now and making the most of what you have. So, when I get back, I won't sulk about not being around for the last 4 months, instead I'll soak up as much time as I can and create new memories and stories. Miss you guys :)

-Xavier