Spring's first attempt!

While I have been particularly busy with school and work the past two weeks, not much of interest has really happened here. Last Sunday we were awarded 20cm of new snow over night. However, Spring is trying to let us know that it will come; we have had several days with temperatures over freezing which means melting snow. Right now it's even possible to see the pavement on the road!

The big news at work is that I've started learning how to tend bar. Friday night was looking pretty slow, so the bar manager told the guys they could go home (they just go downstairs, change clothes, and then sit on the other side of the bar) and I would practice pouring drinks. Almost as soon as they had started drinking (making them ineligible to help out), a whole crowd of locals came pouring into the bar. Trial by fire! Apparently, I passed the test. :)

At school we currently have about one assignment per week, which is a lot of reading and writing in Norwegian. On Friday we will discuss the various terms used in social anthropology. Monday we will be turning in a tune analysis. We are also working on our term papers that are due the end of April; mine is about tralling for dancing. It seems like I have a lot of work to do before I come home!

Return to the Regular Rhythm

Rauland seems so much emptier now that the festival is over. We have returned to watching the road for entertainment. Now that it's winter there are additional forms of transportation that might pass by - we have the usual cars, bikes and tractors, plus skis, sleds, sparks, and scooters.

It has been relatively warm here the past few weeks. This causes melting snow during the day and heavy accumulation at night. So far, we have been fortunate that we haven't returned to the icy phase.

The path between my building and the road gets no special treatment from the snow-scraping vehicles. It's getting to the point where we might not be able to jump up onto the path from the road because the snow is piled so high. On the other hand, the hill isn't so steep on the way down, since it's been filled in with snow.

The excitement this week has been ordering our tickets for the class trip to Shetland. After I leave Seattle, I'll be meeting my class at the Shetland Folk Festival. We're all looking forward to a week of concerts and culture outside of Rauland!