Hanauma Bay & BBQ

I’ve spent the entire weekend on the beach in the sun. It’s been great. Especially when I hear from people back home that fall is on its way. I’m so relieved that I won’t have to live though another Norwegian winter. Damn…. Those winters are looooong, cooold and daaaaark! (I’m sorry if I’ll make all you guys back home feel bad now… That’s really not what I’m trying to do, I’m just trying to tell you how much I like the whole idea of the Hawaiian seasons... Summer, summer, summer and.... Summer).

On Saturday we went to Hanauma Bay. I’ve probably been there ten times before, but the bay is beautiful and we had a great time. Although the visibility was poor we did some snorkeling, and two of the Norwegians even spotted a sea turtle.

It’s funny how I’m mostly spending time with Norwegians now. Having lived in Oslo for almost two years I feel the same sense of connectedness with Norwegians as I do with Danes. Probably because I understand the language almost perfectly, and because I know the culture so well. However… I thought leaving Oslo would be the end of “Vi forstår hinanden ikke” og “Kamoloso” jokes, but with 98 Norwegians at HPU that’s still all I hear when they’ve had a drink or two! And even though I’ve heard that joke at least 200 times before, I still smile politely every time a Norwegian makes fun of the Danish language. No… I actually do think it’s fun. At least most of the time. And if nothing else, it’s a good icebreaker. And Norwegians do sound kind of cute (Or rather stupid??) when they think they speak Danish – ha ha…

Today we had a GSO (Graduate Student Organization) BBQ at the beach for all the new graduate students. There was plenty of food and drinks and a lot of people showed up. We stayed at the beach for five-six hours just mingling and getting to know people. Lots of Scandinavians were there, so now I know quite a few Norwegians and Swedes, not so many Danes though. Most of the Danes here are undergrad and only here for one semester, which is really too bad. Anyways – I guess I didn’t move out here to hang out with Danish people… It’s so easy ending up doing that though!

It’s Sunday night and I’ve been trying to do some reading for my ECON 6000 class. I’ve read a chapter, and all of it is stuff I’ve had before. I’d better go and get some sleep now. Tomorrow waits another day on the beach… With my ECON book!!