Norwegian wood, and some other thoughts.

I think Sognsvann is quickly becoming my most favorite corner of Oslo, even on cloudy days with plenty of overcast. With all the snow gone and the temperatures warming up, everything is gradually growing bright green; I spent a ridiculous amount of time just laying in the grass and moss quite a way's off the main path, listening to all the different natural sounds. It isn't that much different from what I'd hear on Monte Sano in Huntsville, actually; birds crying, wind in the trees, distant conversations, etc. And like Huntsville, it doesn't take very long at all to leave the heart of the city and find yourself sequestered away in a small, private corner of the wilderness. (Though I think I was less alone than I suspected at the time; I couldn't get a picture of it, but I think I glimpsed an elk near the dam.)

My final exams for my courses are coming up soon, and then my last trip with my friends here at the university. I think I've managed to see lots of new and exciting places this year; Glasgow in Scotland (even if it wasn't planned), Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Copenhagen in Denmark, the lovely Swedish countryside with all its massive wind turbines, idyllic "Gamle" Fredrikstad further south along Oslofjorden--and of course Oslo itself, a city I now feel I know as well as Huntsville, and love just as much. I still have plenty to see before I go home to Huntsville: a possible trip with my Norwegian classmates to Göteberg in Sweden next week, Bergen with Mike and Tim at the start of June, London with family, Winchester and Canterbury with Von, Norfolk with Alistair, a return to Cambridge for a day if I can swing it, and possibly a visit to my aunt and cousin in France. There's so much more to do, and though I'm sad I wasn't able to visit Helsinki or Stockholm, I know I'll find a way to visit both cities in the future.

I need to start thinking about what I am going to do with myself when I get back to Huntsville. I suppose the logical thing would be to start looking for a job, since by that point I will have my degree and be a university graduate (how scary is that?!). Do I want to move out and find my own place or continue living at home with my dad? What sort of job do I want? Do I want to start thinking about graduate school or delay those plans for a while? All these questions are swimming around in my head, and I can't really answer any of them until I am back stateside. The open-endedness of all my options is terrifying and exciting at the same time. I can, in fact, do whatever I want.