Woah, Nellie! Where did the week ago? Oh, that’s right, I spent it watching The Nanny. Netflix has done horrible things to my motivation.
I just found this post on Tumblr that says “Laziness fuels more laziness. Activity fuels more activity.” and I have to say nothing else could better describe why I haven’t blogged in a week. Being sick for a couple of weeks resulted in a very messed up sleep schedule which, despite my best efforts, has thus far refused to allow me to sleep earlier than 4:30am no matter when I need to be up the next day. So instead of being productive, I fill that time watching The Nanny, and then I feel unmotivated and lazy during the day and watch more of The Nanny. For a while I averaged 8 episodes a day.
Of course it doesn’t help that I haven’t seen the sun in weeks. You know that kind of white glow you get when there’s sun covered in overcast clouds? That’s our new sunny, and it’s gone by 4pm. After that it’s all pitch black, and with that messed up sleep schedule I’ve ended up living most of my days in what felt like night. It’s better if you’re downtown where the Christmas lights are, but no one where I live has bothered to put any up yet.
Coming here I of course knew the days would get shorter. In Oslo in particular there’s about four hours of sunlight in the height of winter, which some would say beats the 24-hour darkness that lasts for weeks in most of Norway. The thing is, even though us exchange students knew it would get dark, and even though I’ve lived in Vancouver for the past two years (a city that spends over half of the year raining and overcast), everyone I’ve talked to agrees: there’s really no way to prepare yourself for the darkness.
It’s not like overcast weather. It’s like the sun has just forgotten you exist. It is depressing, and unmotivating, and causes you to suddenly start sleeping in.
That’s okay though, because it’s all a part of the new experiences and adventure I sought out when I applied for this exchange. Granted, my second choice, Cape Town, is sounding like it should have been my first choice right about now, but that’s just the pessimistic parts of me. School is winding down as quickly as the temperature, and now I’m spending what little time I’m not watching The Nanny planning my next adventures. My money anxiety I posted about earlier has passed thanks to the US loan department issuing me more student debt, and I am ready to put that debt to good use with my friends in new places.
So far what’s planned is a trip over about two weeks starting December 18th. I’ll meet the three girls I was visiting in Scotland in Amsterdam this time, and from there we’ll go to Milan, Munich for Christmas, Prague, and Edinburgh for a big New Year’s Eve street party. After that a friend will come visit me for two weeks in January, and together we’ll spend three days in Berlin, two days in London, and one day in Edinburgh. Needless to say, I am eeexcited.
More coming soon the planning process and how to balance life!
Hope you all are doing well.
-Amanda
dream.think.work. 