Life back in the US.

As most of you know, I made it back home to Sioux Falls and Grand Forks. Re-adjusting to life here has been very easy, thanks to my family, girlfriend, and amazing friends. I'm currently back in Grand Forks, sitting at Urban Stampede drinking some coffee and checking up on my emails. It feels so great to be back home in the US, but I do miss all of the amazing people that I met in Norway. I know I keep saying this, but it's so true...my trip to Norway was something that enlightened my life so much. It opened my eyes to things I hadn't noticed before and it also made me realize and appreciate all of the beautiful things that had been surrounding me here in the states. I have a new found appreciation for things here and my new perspective on things has made me incredibly happy.

This summer should be one for the record books. I have the following week off and then I'll begin work at Dakota Harvest again and Im really looking forward to that. The band has a ton of shows set up for the summer as well and I am ecstatic. I've missed playing with them sooo much. I ordered a stand up bass so that will definitely transform our sound and bring in some more of that authentic bluegrass vibe. I'll also be doing a lot of artwork. I didn't have my supplies while in Norway so I have a lot of artistic inspiration that had been building up. A friend of mine has asked me to create several pieces for some art auctions this summer so I'm very excited about that because I have never done anything like that before. Hopefully they sell and raise some money for a good cause :D

I just wanted to say thanks again to al of my friends and family here in Sioux Falls and Grand Forks. I missed you all so very much and thank you for keeping in touch with me while I was so far away. I never would have made it without you. Also, thank you to all of the wonderful people I meet in Norway, I miss you guys so much and I'm always thinking about you. You definitely made a great impact on my life and for that I am forever grateful :)

I'm back in the US and life is absolutely stellar. I look forward to whatever adventures life has in store for me. This concludes Xavier in Norway: Becoming a Viking. Thank you to all who followed my travels and journeys. I may end up staring another blog sometime down the road, but until then, peace :)

I MADE IT HOME!!!

But I've been up for about 24 hours, so I'm going to sleep and I'll write one final entry later, when I'm not a jet-lagged zombie.

Guess what?

I'm on my way home! Happy 17th to all the Norwegians! Can't wait to see everybody when I get back!

Last day in Norway - A Thank You

Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing this trip to Norway has been, but I will try my best to explain it.

When I was first told that I would be traveling to Norway for a semester, I was a little shocked and scared because I had never been out of the country before and I have never been away for such a long period of time. I mean, I've been away at school, but that's only a 4 hour drive away from home, so this was a little bit different. As the time grew closer for my travels, I became excited and nervous and probably experienced every single emotion that a human being is capable of haha. When I finally arrived in Norway it really hit me and I realized just how far away from home I was. That would usually make me feel pretty uncomfortable, but lucky for me, the people of ACN were there to welcome me and created a home away from home for me. When I first walked up to the school, I saw a sign that read, "Welcome Xavier!" I felt a sigh of relief and a smile came across my face because I felt that things were going to be okay, and they were better than okay.

Over the past 4 1/2 months I have gone though so many changes, learned so many things, and experienced something that can never be taken away. This trip has broadened my horizons and thoughts, and for that I am forever grateful. Amongst the many things that I've discovered about myself, there are several big things that stand out to me. 1.) I've seen why I love this job and what being a teacher is all about. Being a teacher has given me the opportunity to not only visit a foreign country, but it's allowed me to meet an amazing group of people. The faculty and students at ACN have become an extended family to me. I will forever cherish the time spent discussing in the classroom and hanging out outside of class and all the help that Krista, Heidi, Siv, and Colin have given me. To the students: I said this before, but I feel the need to say it again. I know that you guys are so used to me standing in front of you teaching, but you have also taught me. You've reconfirmed my thoughts of pursuing this as a career and you've shown me the real advantages of being a teacher, which is seeing my students flourish, grow, and move on to bigger amazing things. After working with you on school work and college applications and then hearing that you got accepted to the school of your choice and seeing the excitement on your faces is what makes being a teacher worth it. 2.) This trip has allowed me to grow as an individual. I used to live in a bubble. Although I was aware of the world around me, I never really took the opportunity to get to know it or experience it. Being in Norway has definitely opened my eyes and made me realize that there is a WHOLE lot of world out there, and I am merely just a little spec that's trying to live amongst it all. Through this, I've been able to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and it's been a real blessing.

I've encountered a lot of changes in my life while here, but all of those changes have attributed to something amazing and great. Although some of them were scary or maybe difficult to deal with at the time, the negativity drifted away and worked toward building something positive. I am incredibly happy with the direction that my life is heading in and I am so so grateful for this trip and what it has done for me.

So, to wrap things up, I just want to say thank you. Thank you Krista for all of your guidance and help here at the ACN. You've made me feel right at home while being in Norway. Thank you students for educating me in life and thank you for the friendships we've built. Like I said, I feel like I'm walking away not with just fond memories of a great class, but with great friendships. I'm so proud of you all and I am honored to call you my friends.

You have all been so incredibly supportive of me and I will miss you all. You will always be in my thoughts and prayers and again, thank you for an experience of a life time. I will never forget the time I spent in Moss, Norway.

-Xavier

My Last Week

Today marks my last full week in Norway. Classes are done and all that remains are finals. I'll be putting on my game face this week because I'll be a grading maniac. Some of my students have turned in their papers early which has been nice but I'll still have about 73 papers left to grade by the 18. My plan is to get them all done before I leave so I don't have to take any back with me so we'll see how that goes. I guess I won't be able to complain about having nothing to do this week :P

Amongst grading I'll be packing up and getting ready to make my journey back home. Words cannot describe how excited I am to get back home. I just cannot wait to be wrapped in the arms of the friends and family that I love and the surroundings I've grown up in.

In other news I've been working on yet another CD project. I just finished my 4th album called "Under Stars and Overseas" which contains all new songs that I've written while in Norway, but now I've shifted into a new direction. Lately I've really been into instrumental music, bands like Explosions In The Sky, M83, etc...and so I thought that I would try it out. So far it's been a great experience. I wanted to try this because while I love singing and using words to get my feelings or thoughts across to the listeners, I wanted to rely solely on the music. I want to compose a song that only uses music to speak rather than words, and so far it's been working I think. I only have three songs but it;s a work in progress :)

Other fun news...I'll be seeing the band Muse in October!!!!!!!! I AM SOOOOO EXCITED! They are by far one of the most incredible and talented bands out there right now. They are incredibly talented musicians who put forth a full effort in their shows. They're playing at the Target Center in Minneapolis and I'm going with three of my really good friends so it should be a wonderful experience :)

Well, I'm off o begin my day of grading. I hope everyone is doing well and I can't to see you all again!

Do You Know What Time It Is???

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! BAH DA DA DAAA, BA DA DAT DAT DA! Only 10 days left in Norway!

She & Him

Last night I went to see She & Him in concert in Oslo. They're a band consisting of Guitarist/Vocalist M. Ward and Vocalist/Keyboardist Zooey Deschanel (who is also an actress. She was in 500 Days of Summer, Elf, Yes Man...) Anyways, the show was absolutely amazing! Their style is something similar to that or Roy Orbison, kind of 50's throwback vibe. It was probably one of mist fun I've had at a concert, the music just puts you in such a good mood because it's so upbeat :) Before the concert I went to the Rice Bowl for supper with some friends, which was great because it's the best Thai restaurant in Oslo and my favorite restaurant here :) I ended up buying some concert goodies :) I got a copy of She and Him's second album "Volume 2" on vinyl, and the Split LP of the opening band The Chapin Sisters. I also got another copy of "Volume 2" and a really cool canvas bag for a super special person ;)

The Chapin Sisters opened the show and they were incredible. It was just the two sisters for the first few songs and then they were joined by a back up band later on. They had some very beautiful harmonies and they're music was almost hypnotizing haha They played this song called "Digging A Hole" and it was epic. It kind of reminded me of "Woman King" by Iron and Wine.

She & Him took the stage at 10:00 and rocked the night away :) They had so much energy and put on an incredible show. It was just so much fun. Zooey was jumping around with her tambourine and M. Ward was shredding away on his guitar...it was a blast. I was also super close to the stage. I was probably about 7 feet away from them! They played alot of stuff from their first album "Volume 1" and then near the end they played more of their new stuff. For their encore they played Roll Over Beethoven and that was suuuuper awesome! The show overall was just fantastic.

The fun experiences didn't end when the concert was over though. On my way back I saw a guy with dreadlocks down to his feet, I mean, they were about half an inch from dragging on the ground lol and I also came across a super drunk guy dancing and singing Bad Romance by Lady Gaga....awesome hahahaha

I have 11 days until my return!!!! I miss everyone sooo much and I can't wait to see your faces again!!!!

May Is Here

Today is the first of May and a holiday in Norway. They celebrate Labor day on the first, so everything is pretty much closed down for the day. The sky is overcast today and it was raining earlier on this morning, but I've always been a fan of rain, I just find it to be relaxing. The days are dwindling down until my departure and it's just amazing at how fast my time here has flown by. I'm leaving for home in about 2 weeks and I am ecstatic to get back. There are a ton of great things, opportunities, and people waiting for me back in Sioux Falls and Grand Forks and I can't wait to be wrapped up in all of it :) But until then, I'll soak up what's left of my journey here in Norway.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. I went to the Kon-Tiki museum in Oslo with some of the faculty from ACN. Steiner, The founder of the ACN, was good friends with Thor Heyerdahl, the man who headed the Kon-Tiki expedition, so he gave us a special tour of the museum. I hadn't heard about the Kon-Tiki expedition but what I learned I found to be very interesting. Thor Heyerdahl was a norwegian explorer who had studied geography and zoology. In 1947 he set out on a journey from South America to the Polynesian Islands. He and his team believed that the people of South America could have settled the Polynesian Islands before the Columbus-era. So, they built a a raft using only material and techniques that the people of that time would of had access to and sailed across the Pacific Ocean. The journey took 101 days until they reached the islands making their theory plausible. The museum was pretty incredible and they had the actual Kon-Tiki raft that the men used on display. When I heard that they used a raft I was thinking about something fairly small, but the raft they built was pretty epic haha. It was made from balsa wood which is incredibly light and floated in the water very well. Anyways, like I said before, Steiner was good friends with Thor Heyerdahl and his family and still keeps in contact with Heyerdahl's son Thor Heyerdahl Jr. (who is also an explorer). He was supposed to come down and visit with us but his wife was sick so he was with her, but he relayed a message to us saying that we could pick out any book we wanted from the gift shop and he would sign it for us and ship it to us later! I thought that was pretty cool. So when I get back to the states I'll be getting a book signed by a Norwegian explorer :)

Tuesday is the She & Him concert and I'm very excited. It's at a pretty small venue that holds about 200 people so it should be another great intimate concert experience :) After that it's just a few more days until I make my return home, and I can't wait. I keep saying this, but it's just so true. This trip to Norway has changed me and made me grow in ways I never thought possible. I used to be afraid of change and I was never very good at dealing with it, but this experience was all about change. It challenged me and pushed me, but the changes that I've experienced while here have been life altering so incredibly positive. This is an experience that I will never forget because it has played such a big role in who I have become. This was exactly what I needed in my life and I am forever grateful.

Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, II Allegreto

If you have not heard this beautiful piece of music created by Beethoven, I suggest you check it out. It is incredibly moving. I first heard this particular symphony in the film The Fall. It is repeated throughout and definitely has a way of seeping its way into your brain.

Anyways, here I sit at my place in Moss, listening to Beethoven, trying to find a new book to teach from for the Fall semester. I'll be teaching Comp. 120 again which is "Writing The Research Paper." I've narrowed it down to a few choices. "This Is Your Brain On Music" by Daniel Levitin, "Pop Culture: The Culture of Everyday Life" by Shirley Fedorak, "Superfreakonomics" by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner, or "Eating The Dinosaur" by Chuck Klosterman. I want a book that focuses on more current events so my students can relate and I also want something that will generate some good in class discussions. As interesting as "This Is Your Brain On Music" is, I feel that the content may be too limiting and specific for thorough discussions. The Pop Culture book could be interesting, but I fear that the writing style may be somewhat bland. "Superfreakonomics" is a sequel to "Freakonomics" written by the same authors. The first book had been taught before, but they pulled it out of rotation at school because it's been used so often, but this new one just came out, so that might work out well. I really like Klosterman's work and I recently taught "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" this past semester. The book went over well and prompted a lot of great in class discussions on our society and the mass media's effect on our lives, thoughts, and perceptions, and the students generally had a lot to say not only in class, but also in their papers, which was great. The only negative about Klosterman's work is that, when being used as a teaching tool, his work is pretty informal and unorthodox, which can confuse some students who are developing their writing abilities. Alongside "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" I also taught from a book called "Cod," which was about the Scandinavian Cod Wars, and that was more of a research book with good examples of how to cite sources and what not. Looking back at what I have written, it looks I've narrowed it down a bit. "Superfreakonomics" and "Pop Culture" seem to be the safe bet...but sometimes playing it safe stifles creativity..hmmmm :P We'll see how things play out. I just need to figure it out By this week so I can turn in my book order.

Only three more weeks until my return. I miss you all and can't wait to see you!

A New Mantra

Today was a beautiful day, not just physically, but also emotionally, spiritually, etc... It was kind of an overcast day and it rained here and there, but there was definitely a certain beauty to it, and it made me feel good. Lately I've been listening to a lot of instrumental music, specifically the music from a band called Explosions In The Sky. They have an album called The World Is Not a Cold Dead Place and I've been listening to it on Spotify. The more I listen to it the more at ease I feel. It's very powerful and moving music. After listening to it on an online radio, I felt the need to search for it, and sure enough, I found a vinyl version of it at Tiger Records in Oslo, so I decided to take a spontaneous trip. I had gotten all of my work done and figured "you only live once, right?" After I bought the record, I opened it up and began looking at all the great stuff inside. It's a double LP set, meaning the music is spread over two records, but there are only three sides of music, so the blank side of the second record has doves etched into it and this phrase, "The world is not a cold dead place because you are breathing, because you are listening." and I just found that to be incredibly moving and quite fitting. There are times when we feel like our lives are the pits, things are too difficult to over come, or we just have this constant idea that life won't get better, but it can and it will. There is beauty everywhere, we just need to open our eyes to see it, perk up our ears to hear it, or hold out our hands to feel it. Beauty and love is all around us.

P.S. Mom, I know what you're thinking..."More records!?" hahaha but look at the wonderful insight I got from it ;) haha love ya.

-Xavier

National Record Store Day!

As you can tell, I am pretty excited about today :) I was planning on taking the train to Oslo to go check out the record stores on this day of vinyl celebration, but I decided to stay in Moss and check out the local record store again, which ended up being quite a fantastic experience. The owner was working there today and we ended up having a pretty great conversation about music, different styles, and how it's a universal language. He makes his own music, mostly hip hop and house stuff and he played me some of his stuff that he's made over the years. It was really great stuff, especially the hip hop stuff. The rhymes were in Norwegian and they were super sick and flowed insanely well! I told him about my music and what I've been up to lately and he seemed pretty interested and said that if I ever have anything I want to sell in the store I was more than welcome to send the stuff his way because, as he stated, "My mission is to expose the world to new music." which I thought was pretty cool :) I ended up buying some more records and he knocked off 50 kroner! (which is like $8!) I got the soundtrack for A Clockwork Orange, The Warriors soundtrack, No Jacket Required by Phil Collins, and Them by King Diamond. My national Record Store Day was pretty epic, how was yours?

The Record Books

Friday brings joy, and tomorrow is National Record Day...so it looks like this will be a weekend for the record books :)

I ♥ Bonfires.

Today was another great day in Moss. After class today I went down to the beach with my friend Tor. We just hung out and watched the seagulls and swans chill near the water. We thought they looked hungary so we went to the grocery store across the street, got some bread, and fed some of the birds haha which was something I haven't done since I was a little kid. Later on in the afternoon, after some relaxing at the house, I went up to the dorms to get ready for a bon fire :) Me and several of the other students walked out into the woods behind the dorms to a fire pit and had ourselves a nice bonfire. We made hotdogs and smores and just had a great time. The weather was beautiful and I absolutely love bonfires, so it was an epic night :)

I discovered that Saturday is National Record Store day, so as much as I would love to save some money, I'm feeling a calling to go to Oslo and just spending the day in several of the record stores and maybe making a single purchase. I say single purchase because I'm trying to save up for an Engelhardt Swingmaster upright bass :)

So yeah, it was a great day and it looks like it should be a great weekend :)

A Beautiful Day

Today was a gorgeous day in Moss. The sun was shining and it was about 54 degrees :) After some breakfast and guitar playing, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day. I went for a walk down near the harbor and decided to explore a little more of Moss. I went around the harbor and crossed the bridge to the other side of Moss and stumbled upon the beach that I had been told about before. There were quite a few people out today, considering the weather, and everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I had brought my camera and took a ton of photos haha Just more to add to my collection. Speaking of photography, I've been thinking about trying to set up a show for when I get back; maybe asking a coffee shop in Sioux Falls or Grand Forks. We'll see what happens :)

Other than that, it was a pretty chill day. I tried something different for supper tonight and made a stir fry. I had never tried it before, but it turned out pretty good and I really enjoyed it. I also have a bunch left over which is nice...saving some money!

Yesterday I was looking back at my previous blog entries, especially the ones that i first wrote, and it's crazy to see how much has changed, not just with my attitude but also my life. I knew that this experience would change things, but I had no idea how big or positive those changes would be. Although I had some rough patches, there was always something good to help me get though. This experience has been absolutely amazing. I've learned a lot of things about myself and life and Im eager to bring the things I've learned back to the states with me. I have 5 weeks left. Only 36 more days. I can barely believe it. Time certainly has flown by and I seemed to have missed it haha. I can't wait to see everyone. I miss you all!

Råkk og Råll Brukthandel og Museet for Samtidkunst

Today was a pretty great day. I went with another instructor here at the ACN to Oslo for the afternoon. First we went to Råkk og Råll Brukthandel which is a huge record store in Oslo. It's three floors of records, CD's, cassettes, and other trinkets haha It was quite an amazing place. I ended up making a few purchases. I bought a record by a group called The Ozark Mountain Dare Devils. I've never heard of them, but they're a string band and they looked pretty cool :P I also bought The Graduate Soundtrack, The Byrds Greatest Hits, and a record called Rap Attack 1 hahaha It has songs by Grand Master Flash and Sugarhill Gang on it :)

After the record store we went to the Museet for Samtidkunst which is the Museum for Contemporary Art. They had some pretty cool exhibits there and I really enjoyed it. They had some great media art of huge psychedelic projections and some awesome wood prints :)

After all the record shopping and the art admiring, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants in Oslo, The Rice Bowl. It's this amazing little Thai restaurant that makes some of the best food ever!

Now I'm back in Moss, enjoying the amazingly beautiful weather. I have the windows open and a cool breeze is blowing in. Things are good :)

A deep rooted happiness

Last night I had one of the best conversations I may have ever had. It left me feeling complete, happy, and just absolutely satisfied with my life and things happening in it right now. It also opened my eyes to some amazing opportunities in my near future. Life works in mysterious ways, and it never ceases to amaze me.

My time in Norway is coming to and end soon. I have about 5 weeks left. I'm incredibly excited to get back home and begin even more new journeys. The band has a bunch of shows booked for the summer and I absolutely cannot wait to get back with them and make some music. I'm also hoping to play some shows on my own so I can get some of these new songs out.

So yeah, things are absolutely incredible and I feel like things are where they should be :)

Easter in Copenhagen...

doesn't compare to Easter at home. Miss you guys.

Copenhagen: Part Deux

I'm currently sitting in my hotel room at the Radisson in Copenhagen, Denmark. It's an absolutely beautiful day here today. The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and the many people of the city are out and about. The day has been pretty great thus far. Me and my friends, Tor and Truls, went out to get some burgers because we were starving, so we found a nice chill place and got our eat on haha Then we walked down to Urban Outfitters and did some shopping. I got the Where's Wally: Ultimate Travel Collection woot woot! haha Tonight will be a low key night I believe. There's a casino in our hotel, so I might be playing my first slot machine tonight lol

Mom, I didn't get any danish chocolate, but I've discovered a new chocolate bar from Freia that has milk chocolate with salted/roasted almonds in it and It knocks the Firkløver out of the water, so I'm picking up one of those for you lol

Radical

Today day has been a nice day thus far. Woke up at 7, ate some breakfast, and then went for an early morning walk. It's been raining all week here in Moss, and although one may think that this kind of weather is a bummer, I must admit that it has made for some great photo opportunities. It also gives me the chance to mellow out and listen to some acoustic sulking music :) I'm not sad or anything, just nostalgic; thinking about home :) Other than that, I'm getting ready to head to Denmark tomorrow for another weekend in Copenhagen, which should be great. I'll have to pick up some more Danish chocolate for you mom ;) haha

Påskeferie

I am currently on Easter break and things are going well. My vacation began on Friday March 26th and goes until April 5th...a nice long break, which is super nice :) I've just been trying to keep myself busy now that I have so much time on my hands. My students turned in their 3rd papers for the semester so I've been grading those daily. I'll be done with them on Wednesday so then I'll have the rest of the week free, which works out well because I'm going back to Copenhagen this Friday :) I'm very excited to head back because it is such a beautiful place.

Other than grading I've just been taking some more pictures. I've really gotten into photography over the last year or so and I feel like I'm making some progress, in a sense that I may be developing a better eye for good photo opportunities, so that's been fun.

I went shopping for some vinyl in Oslo on Saturday and that was a blast. I ended up buying three records, which was good because I easily could have spent all of my money in the two store that I went to hahaha I bought Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin, Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, and This Will Destroy You - Self Titled. I was super pumped with my purchases and might have to make another stop later on during my stay :)

Since my arrival in Norway, things have only gotten better. It started off kind of rocky but I am at a place in my life now where I just feel super content. I'm surrounded by amazing landscapes, making connections with amazing people both here and back at home, and learning life lessons. One of the many things I love about life is that we are never too old to grow or learn. There are always new things to be explored and learn from. I'm happy, and it feels great.