On January 9th I left my home and started a journey to study at UNIS on Svalbard. I flew from Düsseldorf and spent one night in Oslo. The next morning my plane to Longyearbyen left.
Mixed feelings
After getting all my stuff together and packing I had somewhat strange feelings. While laying in my bed at home for the last time several thoughts crossed my head. I was super exited but at the
same time I didn't really know what was expecting me.
Of course there are a lot of things that I heard about the student life in Longyearbyen but it hasn't been enough to paint a complete picture in my head. Well I'm on my way to see for myself and
probably it's a good thing not to have too many expectations.
My (few) expectations and plans
To be fair I have to confess that I do have some expectations and I'd like to share them with you:
First of all I look forward to spend a lot of time outside. I hope I'll do a lot of trips together with my new friends and my new skis.
Having said that I expect that the darkness will prevent us from doing so in the first time. Probably we will find (inside) activities to spend our time but I also think that the darkness
could be a tougher challenge than I admit to myself right now.
I 'm really exited about the university. I hope it will be even more interesting and very different from the places I studied before.
Of course I plan on taking a lot of pictures and maybe even shoot a short movie. During the flight I picked up that there is a BigBand and there might be an opportunity to borrow a trumpet. This would be awesome because I'd really like to engage more with music again.
Arrival
After a delayed start in Oslo due to a very slippery airfield and a short stopp in Tromsø we landed in Longyearbyen. Of course it was dark and flying over Barentsburg and Longyearbyen was extremely nice. Of course it was cold but not as cold as expected. Already in Oslo it was easy to identify a lot of UNIS students among the other passengers and get to know some people. From the airport we took the shuttle bus which brought us to our housing. The place where I live is about 3 km out of town. As it seems it is like a little student village since a lot of students and few other people live here. The houses are called "Brakke" and offer small rooms with shard bathroom and a cosy shared kitchen. After I unpacked my luggage and met some of my new neighbours I think I will have a very good time here.
I need YOU
Before I talked about my plans and expectations for the coming semester. I think it's going to be a challenge to keep up with this Blog. Therefore I'll be thankful for any feedback or inspiration
from you. Just leave a comment!
(English or German is fine)
Write a comment
Niebauer Family (Wednesday, 13 January 2016 18:25)
Hi Niklas,
we wish you a lot of fun, impressions and experience at your new study location. Your Swabian relatives will follow your blog with interest. Mara had to learn for her geography test tomorrow the reasons for "polar night and-day" and you can experience it yourself.
Warm regards from Hochdorf
Dani and Günne with kids
nordsheep (Thursday, 14 January 2016 20:43)
Hey :)
Nice that know that you heard about my blog and thank you for being the first ones to comment! I hope Mara did well on her test, its funny how thinks sometimes fall together. Right now the polar night is mostly dark but at midday you can already see that the sky lights up slightly.