Shetland!

I met my classmates at the ferry terminal. The months preceding this trip had been filled with stories of a week of phenomenal jam sessions starting with the party on the boat. The rest of the class was concerned that if they had too much fun on the boat, they might ruin the festival ahead. Some of them went to see the on-board movie theater. A few of us took our instruments to the party in the middle of the boat; it was clear that the jam sessions were friendly, but not very Nordic. We retreated to the front of the boat to wait until it was ok to sleep there.

While my companions passed out on the couches, I tried to catch up on my blogging. That's when Andy found me. Our conversation went something along the lines of:

Him: Hey, there's a party in the middle of the boat, you should come.
Me: But I'm supposed to be watching our stuff. (with a vague hand gesture toward at least three sleeping classmates and a pile of instruments, snacks, and luggage).
Him: Right, but there's a party.
Me: I know, but the stuff...
Me: Wait! I'm coming!

The party in the middle of the boat was definitely in full swing. The ferry we were on brings the majority of the artists to the festival. Members of Frigg, Zar, and Box Club were definitely involved in the jamming. I sat with my new friends and listened. After a while the group I was sitting with started playing. They were clearly not the folkie type that plays fiddles; a couple gitars, song, and harmonica were present as well as recognizable blues hits. I made several new friends that evening and well into the morning.

We stumbled off the boat when it arrived and took a cab to the Youth Hostel. Reception wasn't technically open yet, so we hung out and waited for them with visibly low energy levels. Once the warden arrived to check us in, we found out that girls wouldn't be able to get into our room for another couple hours. We went off in search of food, abandoning our luggage at the hostel.

We found both our classmates who had been in Shetland for several days and food at the community center next door. By the time we ate breakfast and caught up with everyone (including meeting some of the other students who were taking part in the Nordic Tone project) it was time to pick up our keys. We took some very cold showers and headed back out for some exploring before the concerts started. By chance we found the preview concert, which was totally packed. So, we hung around the door, sweltering and getting our first on-stage tastes of the concerts to come.

The concerts that week were great. Great! But they were only a tiny portion of the festival. The concerts are very social events and the audience tends to wander around (usually to and from the bar) through out the entire evening. Each concert has between three and five artists - pretty much all of them exceptionally talented.

After the scheduled concerts people gather at the Festival Club to listen to more music (both unpublished performances by the main artists and other bands as well as jam sessions in every room and corner and stairwell). After the Festival Club closes at 5am (or a little before then) people wander off to house parties that tend to last until the restaurants open in the morning. The truly hardcore (not me) then go straight to the pub to continue playing after breakfast.



The festival planners don't schedule anything during the day. This leaves plenty of time for either sleeping during the day or sight-seeing. I did a reasonable amount of both. On Saturday, Birgit and I walked along the coastal path in search of seals. We did not find them, but we did get some good photos.

Sunday we went for a tour of South Mainland in less than inviting weather. It was windy and almost raining the whole time. We had with us our local guide, Cameron, whom I had met on the ferry and spent a fair amount of time hanging out with during the festival. A fan of music and Norwegian chocolate, he knew where to take us to squeeze the most out of our few tourist hours.

First stop - St. Ninian's Isle, connected to the mainland by the sand bar you see above.

Looking southward from St. Ninian's.


Next stop was Sumburgh, as far south as you can go on land in Shetland. The puffins just wait for you to take their photos. Below are a couple shots looking down from the point, next to the lighthouse.




After the final party on Monday (awesome music, but less fun due to the lack of a local guide), we scrambled to pack and get out of our rooms before check out. We went shopping in town. Some of us spent a few hours in the Shetland Museum; I recommend the museum as a stop at the beginning of the trip, if it's your first time to Shetland. Then we all piled in the hostel van and headed back to the ferry.

The boat ride back to Aberdeen was significantly less of a party, due mostly to the high waves we were sailing through. Nobody really wanted the festival to come to an end, but it's hard to play when the floor rolls out from under you. I slept happily under my new Shetland wool blanket, preparing for another day and a half of travel before finally arriving back in Rauland. I'm looking forward to next year's festival already!

A day in Aberdeen

I arrived in Aberdeen after flying from Seattle via Copenhagen. It was a long, long trip that was not made shorter by the fact that I had managed to dump most of a glass of wine on my lap in the early hours of the first flight. Having arrived in Scotland, I exchanged what was left of my US currency and hopped a bus to the Youth Hostel.

That sounds pretty good, except I didn't really know where I was or where I was going. At least not at the level that I like to know these things. The result was not catastrophic, but I did wind up getting off the bus about ten blocks early and hauling all of my luggage along the bus route to the Youth Hostel.

I got checked in, stashed my stuff (up three flights of stairs), and decided to go for a walk. Seeing as how I'd botched being prepared arriving in Aberdeen, I figured I might as well be prepared leaving the city. I walked through a long street of shops (stopping for coffee and a sandwich) and made a sharp right to the harbor. I had acquired a map, so I knew where I was headed.

I was headed to the ferry terminal. I wanted to know if there were luggage lockers that I could leave my bags in during the day, since check out was at 10am and the boat wasn't leaving until 5pm. What I could see through the tinted windows didn't indicate the presence of lockers, and I didn't really want to appear too suspicious on the deserted dock, so I started formulating a plan B. That consisted of 'there must be lockers at the train or bus station' which I had walked past on the way down.

I went grocery shopping and tried to refrain from purchasing the whole store. I only needed food for one day and I already had coffee. (I bought coffee and a travel mug/french press in Seattle) I found myself with cheese, crackers, smoothie, and a couple bottles of water. I'd been walking for a couple hours by the time I made it back to the hostel, ate, showered, and crashed.

In the morning, I got up, had breakfast, repacked, and checked out. I took a bus to the bus station and asked about luggage lockers; they directed me to the train station a bus away. At the train station I paid £4 to have my bags searched and stored while I wandered around. I figured both the search and the price were reasonable.

Freed from my burdens, I headed off to the art gallery. There I made a painstaking survey of everything (just about) on the first floor. Then it was lunch time (spicy carrot soup!) before almost the same consideration was given to the upper floor. There was a lot more to look at on the upper floor and I was getting tired so I didn't quite study everything. Also, there were a few rooms closed. I suppose I'll just have to go back if I want to really see everything!

Having exhausted the gallery, I headed into the toasty early afternoon sun. I read in the park for a while. I drank coffee in a shop where the Canadian barista asked if I was reading Swedish. I bought a pen to write postcards and then wrote them. Then, I reclaimed my bags and headed back to the ferry terminal. It was time for adventure.

Leave them wanting more

After three weeks in Seattle, I felt like I could really use another week there. I'd managed to see many of my friends and almost all of my family, but I would have liked to have spent more time with all of them. I managed to dance and fiddle, do my school work and relax. In three weeks, I slept in seven different locations, drank an ocean of coffee, and ate out an average of once a day.

Writing papers is a little like torture for me. It's not something I enjoy doing, even when the subject of the paper is something I absolutely love. Take for example the two papers I wrote while in Seattle - one on dance rhythms and one about singing for dancing Clearly these are topics that I enjoy talking about and have a strong interest in these activities themselves. I couldn't right the paper about singing until it was practically due.

(I was writing this on the boat to Shetland and at this point got coerced to the party in the middle of the boat. A story you will read later.)

I love Seattle. The people, the trees, the smell of the sea, the coffee shops, walks with the ladies, the weather (yes, really), everything except the traffic is great. December is a long ways away, but it will come and then I will be back home for another refill of life in the city. Until then, I have some good memories.

Staying with Warshaw family is always great. It is both relaxing and chaotic at the same time. I was fortunate enough to time my visit with passover, so I got to join them for their seder. Of course, my dad came too, and even on his best behavior (which he was on) he still manages to annoy me. Something about fathers and daughters, I suppose.

Springdans was fantastic! Lots of dancing, Norwegian and Swedish. It was fabulous to see folks I'd met in Sweden last summer. With a little bit of nudging we came to the conclusion that I can dance up again this summer, so I'm looking forward to that. Silver in Orsa, here I come! One of the highlights of the weekend was (after the traditional strip tease), of course, staying up really late playing music with Irene. She's just so much fun and so good! Not wanting the fun to end, I started scheming up a jam session for later in the week.

After camp, I spent a few productive days at Mom's. It was great to hang out with her, talking until late in the night drinking lambic and laughing. The second afternoon, Aunt Susie and Solvei came to visit. The weather was perfect and we crashed on the beach, watching the waves and talking about life. Those girls know how to have a good time. The sun went down, the beer was gone, and it was time for Susie and Solvei to head back to Poulsbo (Solvei had school the next day). Mom and I stayed up late again and I passed out after proclaiming that I wasn't tired.

I was woken up in the middle of the night by the feeling of a tail that was definitely not the cat's dragging across my foot. What followed was an hour long real-live cat and mouse game, essentially on the bed. I can't wait until Mom gets her cabin built. Of course, the cat (Finn the Hunter) won the game, with a satisfying, if revolting, crunch.

Back to Seattle for dinner in town with Mark A (way to represent!) and off to Anna's for a few days. If there's anyone who shares my love for chillin' like a villain, it's my best friend Anna. As an extra bonus it was her birthday, so we went out to as many meals as possible (not as easy as it sounds with a vegan). Then, to continue the Springdans fun, which Anna couldn't make it to due to work, we invited a star studded cast of the retired, self-employed, and unemployed to her house on Friday afternoon. It was a jam session for the record book and we could have kept going all night if we hadn't had to get over the the SCC to play the late night set at their happy hour.

Playing the happy hour is a very informal affair. You check with the Center to make sure you won't be conflicting with anyone and then you show up and play. The idea is to play for as long as people seem interested. After playing for 5 hours at Anna's, we played another two at the SCC. Almost all new tunes! What a day!

The rest of the weekend was paper writing crunch time and hanging out with the family. Both families really. I spent time with Sonya at the dental lab (holla!), had dinner with Mom in Ballard, one last night at the Warshaw's complete with Dad coming for dinner and the girls putting on a play. Perhaps a poor choice of pre-travel television, Mark and I watched 'Crashes that Changed Flight' until it was time to go to sleep. As much as I hate saying goodbye, setting off on the adventure to Shetland was exciting and I was really looking forward to getting back to Rauland.

Seattle Spring '09

I arrived in Seattle three weeks ago to warm sunshine and the usual family circus at the airport. Christa had been suffering an allergic reaction on the airplane for most of the trip and hurried off to her hotel. I was thrilled and surprised that the whole Warshaw family had made the trek to the aiport to meet me when I finally emerged from having all of my bags inspected. Dad still managed to not be at the airport waiting for me.

After a family dinner with Dad, Sonya, and her boyfriend at Dave's Diner, I decided to stay with Christa in the hotel. Both of us passed out pretty early. We both got up pretty early too. Dad came to pick me up around 8:30 and, in spite of my double checking the room, I managed to leave my broken by the inspection agent wallet in the room.The ensuing two day search of all of my belongings did end happily with the recovery of the errant wallet.

I spent a few mornings a Cafe Senso Unico. I love to sit there, drinking coffee and reading, watching the world I left behind scurry in and out between meetings. Of course, they are the home of the most amazing coffee, especially the soy cappuccino.

Preparing for Reentry

In contrast to the party I had on Sunday, the hotel party on Monday was a usual a drunken scene. I decided instead to dance like a fool, which was clearly the better choice. The plan had been to grill outside, but that plan was foiled by the weather (high winds are not ideal for BBQ). Instead we cooked in the kitchen and hung out in the lift house until 4am.

On Tuesday we set the program for our final concert in June and review masurka. I spent some time reading at the local cafe and then went to a friend's house for dinner. We wound up watching Finding Nemo in Swedish. It was great. I felt like I was in Sweden in the summer. That house is very cheery. I've got my fingers crossed that I can live there next year, or at least in the summer.

Wednesday was dance, first with the children (they are so cute) and then the adults. We have about ten kids coming to the children's group we started. I hope they keep dancing. The adults were visited by a couple very nice German tourists. I stayed up late packing and finished on Thursday morning.

On Thursday I took the long bus ride across Southern Norway to Oslo. Coming down from the mountains, the snow recedes and gives way to the grey brown gravel and mud underneath. Soon there will be leaves on the trees to hide the birds that are singing. When I return, it might even be Spring in Rauland!

A Weekend in Wonderland

After school on Friday we went on an adventure to Åmot. That is, we visited the liqour store. We knew we had a big weekend ahead of us, but managed to not buy the entire store. We headed home, made dinner and took naps. Around nine we called for a taxi up to the hotel.

I wanted to show my friends where I work. The hotel is decidedly more interesting than the dentist's office on a Friday night, but it still wasn't that busy. We hung out with the rest of the staff that had gotten off work, complained about the music, and looked at the paintings in the lobby. The crowd never reached critical mass to hit the dance floor, but that could have something to do with the music never being dance music. We took a taxi home and crawled into bed, happy and tired.

Saturday was loaded with potential. We started the day with mimosas (and mimosa floats) which may or may not have influenced the brilliant idea to build an igloo. Six hours later we had rolled some monster snow balls and formed them into the first two layers of a kids' igloo, right outside Åslaug's window. We were freezing, but I can't remember the last time I've had that much fun.

We went inside for some hot chocolate and wound up taking naps. We hadn't quite decided what we were doing with the evening, but we were certain that we weren't paying cab fare up to the hotel again and figured the local pub would be a good change of pace. We were right.

The bar was about half full. People looked at us like we were aliens. We acquired beverages and sat down. After about five minutes, a couple local guys (one in particular) decided that Rania and Christa were about the most interesting thing next to snow mobiles and started chatting them up. Rania, who is married, made a tactical bathroom break, putting Christa in the hot seat. Christa happens to be a pro at dealing with drunk small town boys.

They were about five minutes into conversation when he proposed marriage, which Christa declined. When the bar was closing, his friend wanted to head up to the hotel. We went with them, because that's where the rest of my friends were. We piled into the cab, the oil engineer, the factory manager, the fishmonger, the musician, and the law student, and headed off to breathe life into the the party at the hotel.

Christa's new best friend wasn't very exciting once we got up to the hotel. He mostly slept on the couch next to her. It gave me a chance to relax and talk to all of my friends, and there was definitely more dancing that evening! We waited for the bartender to give us a ride home, since he lives around the corner from me.

Sunday we had another long breakfast, this time without the champagne. We packed a lunch for Rania and took her down to the bus. She had to be back in London on Monday morning. Christa finished rolling snow balls for the igloo, while I cooked for the party I was hosting that evening. Åslaug came out to help us put the last layer on the igloo.

Christa and I managed to take a nap before my friends showed up for dinner. Usually, we don't get to enjoy dinner together at the hotel, so it was really nice that they could come down and spend time talking. The season ends while I'm in Seattle, so I won't see many of them again. It's a little sad, but a good excuse for a party.

Christa left on Monday for a business trip to Germany. I'll meet her again in Oslo on Saturday and then we'll fly back to Seattle together. It's crazy to think how soon I'll be home!

Visitors from abroad

Last weekend my wonderful friends Christa and Rania came to visit me in Rauland. Rania is studying in London right now and Christa made the trek all the way from Astoria. They had never met before, but the way the timing worked out, they were both available to visit me the same weekend.

Christa was scheduled to arrive from Sweden (where she had been visiting relatives) on Wednesday with the 6:20 bus. I went out to wait for it. A young man got off at the school, but I'd told her to get off at the student apartments, so I wasn't worried. I asked him if there were any girls still on the bus, and then if there was an American. He thought there was an American girl, so I went after the bus.

I walked up to the main road, thinking I might catch the bus there as it came back down from the rehabilitation center up the hill. When I didn't see it, I started walking toward the center of town. I walked on the road because I figured I would see the bus, and Christa, if it drove by me. It hadn't passed me by the time I got to the gas station, so I went in and asked if they'd seen the bus. After looking at me like I was crazy, they said no.

I headed back to my apartment. Slightly frantic, but telling myself the whole time that Christa is perfectly capable and it's not possible to get lost in Rauland. She must be coming on the next bus. I ate dinner and went to the evening concert. Not before considering calling or emailing Christa's company to see if they had heard anything from her...

The concert was Trio Nor, a star studded cast of Knut Hamre, Anders Bjernulf, and Arto Järvelä. As one can imagine, the concert was fabulous. They played individually and together. They played tunes that were related from each of their respective countries. They most certainly did not disappoint on the entertaining chatter.

After the concert, most of us were too shy to play solo. I had to run out to wait for Christa on the next bus, so I didn't get much time to dance. I headed back out into the cold mountain night with a glass of wine for company. Christa arrived at the student apartments shortly thereafter. I crammed some food into her and rushed her back down to the party.

Back in Årestoga, all of the students had started playing (strength in numbers), which left few people and not much space for dancing. That was fine, since I was excited to catch up with Christa. The jam session had taken an English turn, since we were also hosting a young English fiddler that week.

A tune came on that I really wanted to play. I had been talking to Anders Bjernulf and he said I could play his fiddle (mine was locked in the school). What a thrill! It is always a little awkward playing on an instrument you've never tried before, especially when it's such a nice fiddle. I must have looked terrified while I was playing!

On Thursday, Rania arrived on the 6:20 bus. She hadn't been stopped at the Swedish border like Christa, so she arrived on time! We had dinner with my roommate and one of the other art students. The art students had just finished all of their exams and were planning a party at my place that evening.

The party wound up being fairly low-key for once. A bunch of us sat in the kitchen talking and a bunch in Birgit's room listening to music. After a while, some more musicians (including the visiting Englishman) showed up and things got a little rowdy. Eventually though, it was time to go to sleep - especially since Rania had been travelling since 3am!