Northern Lights

The Northern Lights have been out a lot which has been amazing! There was one night that the whole sky was lit up and they were moving pretty fast. We went to watch them behind the barracks because there is no street lights so they are clearer! I was standing right under them which was so cool! It was an amazing experience that i will never forget! The whole setting was amazing because the glacier was in the background... That night made my whole trip! I think the Northern Lights is something that everyone should try and get to see because it was such a good experience! I didn't take my camera out as i was so excited i forgot! I went back in later to get it, but they weren't as good so my photo really doesn't do it justice!!

The view from my kitchen window...

To replace 24 hours of the sun- we now have 24 hours of moon light and its absolutely beautiful! It actually gives off a lot light- and we need it here as its so dark all the time!! It is so nice going out in afternoon and it being so clear and dark... it will be nice to get home and see the sun though! (and tress...!)

British meal for the Germans :)

We decided to cook a British meal for our German house mates to give them the British experience! We made Cottage Pie and apple crumble! It was so delicious and made me miss good food as i have been eating way too much pasta and sauce! :)

Christmas!

Last Saturday was the last night that our barrack would all be together as people are now starting to leave Svalbard! We decided to celebrate Christmas as a nice way to say good-bye! We started by watching films and cooking the duck and decorating the kitchen Then we all sat aound to eat dinner and did secrete Santa in between main course and desert! It gave us time to make room for desert- always the best part! After we sat around the table all night chatting and drinking nice wine! Overall it was a brilliant day!

Its now becoming very quiet in the barracks as everyone has exams and is studying or people have just finished exams and packing to go home! I am now starting to get very excited about seeing my family and friends back in Oban. It has been a fantastic trip- one i will never forget, and i have met some of the amazing people while staying here- they will not be forgotten either! So my feelings are mixed about coming home- very excited but also a bit sad as well!

Field trip in the snow! :D

Our last field trip on Svalbard! We went out to analyse a snow pact! We went out in the morning till the afternoon but as you can see from the photos it is pitch black!! The darkness is starting to get to me a bit... you wake up, and its dark- you go to bed and its dark... its so annoying!! But at the same time it is pretty cool! :D

The field work was really good, when you first look at a snow pit, it just looks white but when we got caught how to look for the different layers is was really good! (and helpful for the exam i just done!)

Floor to floor party!!

A few weeks ago, we had a massive party on every floor of all the barracks! Myself and two of the boys n my class organised the event and it was a complete success! It was one of the highlights of the semester and a really good way to get to know people better! Every floor had a nationality and had to dress themselves and the floor as that nationality! They also had to provide music and drink from there country and we spent half an hour on each floor. We started of in barrack 13 second floor in Italy! They had rifles on the walls and were all dressed as the Mafia and made pizza and lots of wine! We then went down stairs to Bahamas and had lovely cocktails and a limbo bar! Then we went to barrack 11 to Brazil. They had the best music and had floor over all the counters pretending to be drugs!! Then we went to Egypt then to Thailand in our barrack! We made hats and had palm trees on the walls, we made thai noodle soup and had a massage room!! The boys got dressed up as lady boys and gave people "Traditional massages". It was so funny! They put smelly honey stuff on my heater and turned up the heat to make my room smell funny, but it was horrible and the smell lasted for weeks! And i still keep finding oil on my walls!!! We then went to Ireland and they done the barrack as a pub!! Then we went to Kazakhstan and they had a big tent in there kitchen!! It was over all a brilliant night and the next day the barracks were very quiet as everyone was still in bed!!

Halloween, parties, and end of term dinner

The last few weeks have been pretty busy in Longyear. It has also been compete darkness for many days now and im starting to miss the sun already! It is also strange to how much you adjust to the cold... the last few days have only been around -2 or -3 compared to -15 the week before and it actually feels warm! I have been sleeping with my window open, it is so warm!

We had celebrations for Halloween... on Friday we organised a party at the Friday Gathering! We had games including bobbing for apples, and sweets on string... we also had music, vodka jelly shots and we made a massive spiders web on the entrance to the cantine! The party was a success apart from a big dent in numbers due to people being very ill. On the Saturday night, we continued celebrating and went to Husset, the night club in Longyearbyen! It was a really good night and you got free entry if you got dressed up!

We had celebrations for friends birthdays during the week! It is always a good chance for everyone to get together and eat lots of cake! On this occasion there was a massive cake made for it- it barely fitted through the door!

On Friday night, we had a big dinner at "Kroa" with all the Technology students and lecturers. We got a massive big round table, with big windows looking out into the snowy town. It was such a lovely setting and everyone seamed to have a nice time!

Tonight we are getting ready for a "Floor to Floor Party". Every barrack has two floors and each floor has a country that they need to dress up as and buy lots of drinks for. We all start of at Barrack 13 and finish in Barrack 4, so its going to be a long night....