A wholesome update :)

Hi there! Last Monday marked 1 month since moving to Norway! How crazy is that?! So I'm reflecting on what a crazy month and a bit this has been and re-telling what I've been up to the past little bit! Get ready for a sappy post!

Ok so flashback to when I started writing this: I had a very relaxing Sunday and felt quite peaceful. That afternoon I went on a walk by the beaches and water with some friends and had dinner with some of the students a year ahead of me in my programme. I read in the library with the warm sun shining in through the windows, I baked cookies, planned out my week ahead, and put in a solid effort at my knitting project (hehe). That morning was very wholesome and I was thinking about how I feel very at home here in Norway. I really like that there's always something going on at some student associations, there's always a new workout class that I want to try, there's a new area to explore or a trip to go hiking or skiing or play games, and I've also really enjoyed just spending time by myself. I feel like I might be maturing or something!

I've been having peaceful mornings more and more frequently and I've been loving it!! The sun comes shining into my window at 8 AM now and I am like a plant photosynthesizing and I love just sitting in front of my window.

I warned you that this post would be sappy and the sappy stuff just keeps on coming! Maybe I'm just leaning too much into the mandatory reflecting that we have to do in our "Experts in Teamwork" class but I feel really happy about the place I'm at now, and I want to share some things that I'm proud of myself for in the past month.

Firstly, just in general, moving to Norway is a pretty big thing. Coming into a new place where there were only 3 hours of sunlight a day, everyone speaking a different language, having to get used to a whole new system, that's a pretty big change. But I am really happy here! I think that I fit in really well with the whole Trondheim mentality and atmosphere. And just arriving here wasn't the only thing on my mind a month ago. I moved here while being in the middle of 7 exams, just after saying goodbye to my family again and having a lot on my plate. So I am so happy that it all worked out as well as it did.

Secondly, related to the previous point, I passed all of my Ghent exams!! That is a huge weight off of my shoulders and I am really pleased with all of my results! A fun part of our report card is that it tells you the percentage of students that scored above you and below you and (without sounding like I'm bragging), I am very proud of myself that I had 3 courses where I obtained the highest mark:))

Thirdly, I think I've done a really good job putting myself out there, making friends, and joining things here. I've joined a tennis club, 5 new workout classes, the ocean club and the student association for the MSc Ocean Resources programme (not my programme but they adopted us), and I've made a lot of new friends in my classes too! I think in Ghent I was starting to feel quite claustrophobic only having classes with the same 24 people over and over again and while some of the best friends that I made weren't in my programme, I'm really glad to be getting to know a lot more people. These clubs have given me the opportunity to meet so many fun people and do lots of fun things!! Last weekend I was at the Njord "Winter Olympics" with the Ocean Resources students and had so much fun tobogganing, winter bowling, and running relay races and then having a fire!

Fourthly, I've really enjoyed exploring Trondheim and the surrounding areas. I loved getting to travel all over western Europe while I was in Ghent and now I'm really liking exploring the forests and parks and city centre and little suburbs all around Trondheim. AND there's so much more exploring I want to do in Norway! This winter I need to take advantage of the free cross-country skis and the crazy amounts of trails as well as the alpine ski hill only 30 minutes outside of Trondheim. Then when the weather gets better, I want to hike through the mountains, go into the Arctic Circle (how cool is that??!) and go to the Loften Islands as well as Bergen and Ålesund. There's just so much to see!

Fifthly, I think overall, I'm getting more comfortable doing things on my own and that's a big step for me. This weekend, I went to a sauna on the Trondheim Fjord and relaxed and just took in all the stream:)

I'm feeling really happy and grateful to be in Trondheim and while I miss everyone and everything back home, I am so so grateful for all of their support! FaceTiming and catching up with my friends and family is always a highlight of my weeks:)

Ok, that's enough sappiness for today but this post kind of acts as a point on the roadmap of Katie to Katherine. I'm reflecting that it is not such a quick change from "Katie" to this adult named "Katherine" doing her Master's and I feel like there is a lot of growth going on and that makes me happy:)