Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
back in nuuk
hey. i just got back to Nuuk on Tuesday from my sojourn up to Sisimiut and Ilulissat, 300km north of the polar circle. it was filled with adventure and danger and seasickness. i have about 1,000 pictures of ice and icebergs which i will have to share in about 10 days when i know i'll be getting access to some free wireless internet. it snowed all night last night and it snowed on me as i was walking to the library - the brief autumn seems to coming to a close here in Greenland.
i was going to write an exciting entry about all of my adventures in the past week, but that will have to wait, i think, as nothing puts a damper on fun like spending unfair amounts of money for basic necessities. ok, i just have to vent for a second. i just spent nearly 1,000 USD for my airfare out of Greenland and onto Iceland. this doesn't include of course me getting back to North America. i curse, curse, curse the weak US dollar. these are truly the most expensive countries in the world, make no mistake about it...everything from food to getting around costs about five times what it would cost in the US. my ticket from Reykjavik to New York will cost about a third of what it is costing me to take a domestic flight within Greenland.i feel that it is difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't spent time in places like this how frustrating it is on the wallet. also, in regards to Greenland, there are no roads connecting any towns in the country, at all.i think there is one exception in the south of Greenland. that means only flying or infrequent ferries - actually, i am in awe that people get what they do done here, considering that it is expensive for them too.
in other news, i think i may have sailed past the Pope this week, no joke. apparently there was some "interfaith rally for climate change" and he was in Ilulissat at the same time that i was praying over the glacier there so that it wouldn't melt so fast. too bad i didn't find out about this until i got back to Nuuk!!!
Yahoo News:
In Greenland, an interfaith rally for climate change
i was going to write an exciting entry about all of my adventures in the past week, but that will have to wait, i think, as nothing puts a damper on fun like spending unfair amounts of money for basic necessities. ok, i just have to vent for a second. i just spent nearly 1,000 USD for my airfare out of Greenland and onto Iceland. this doesn't include of course me getting back to North America. i curse, curse, curse the weak US dollar. these are truly the most expensive countries in the world, make no mistake about it...everything from food to getting around costs about five times what it would cost in the US. my ticket from Reykjavik to New York will cost about a third of what it is costing me to take a domestic flight within Greenland.i feel that it is difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't spent time in places like this how frustrating it is on the wallet. also, in regards to Greenland, there are no roads connecting any towns in the country, at all.i think there is one exception in the south of Greenland. that means only flying or infrequent ferries - actually, i am in awe that people get what they do done here, considering that it is expensive for them too.
in other news, i think i may have sailed past the Pope this week, no joke. apparently there was some "interfaith rally for climate change" and he was in Ilulissat at the same time that i was praying over the glacier there so that it wouldn't melt so fast. too bad i didn't find out about this until i got back to Nuuk!!!
Yahoo News:
In Greenland, an interfaith rally for climate change
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
ilulissat
hey. just a quick post. i'm now at a hostel in Ilulissat, where i'll be until Sunday, when it's time to embark on the 2-day return voyage to Nuuk.
the boat trip up here, which i got a through a friend of Mads and Trine, was amazing. the captain, Bo Lynge, and his partner Morten from Denmark were great company. the ride itself, however, at times was agonizing. at 26 knots the boat on the open sea would often just repeatedly slam against the water. we spent the night in the harbor at Aaasiat, but this morning was truly brutal. i feel like i was punched for 2 hours straight with not-so-soft pillows.
in any case, the arrival through the giant icebergs was nothing short of incredible. holy moly. i still haven't gone on my hike to check them out further because: 1.) i am dead tired, and 2.) I FORGOT THE PIN NUMBER FOR MY ATM CARD! no joke. um. i spent my last 50kr and luckily i have some US cash that i can exchange tomorrow that will hopefully last me until the bank sends the reminder to my mom's house in the next 10 days. anyway. i have plenty of time to see what there is to see in the area.
oh yeah, staying in a hostel in Greenland is kind of cool. in the almost 8 months i've been away, i've only stayed in guesthouses/hostels twice - once in Porjus, Sweden, and once in Stockholm. three guys staying here - two Brits and one American who all live in Hong Kong, just arrived yesterday from a 40 day expedition across the inland ice-cap. they are all suffering from mild frostbite and just got done eating a giant meal and talking about how glad they are to be alive. it was kind of heartwarming!
the boat trip up here, which i got a through a friend of Mads and Trine, was amazing. the captain, Bo Lynge, and his partner Morten from Denmark were great company. the ride itself, however, at times was agonizing. at 26 knots the boat on the open sea would often just repeatedly slam against the water. we spent the night in the harbor at Aaasiat, but this morning was truly brutal. i feel like i was punched for 2 hours straight with not-so-soft pillows.
in any case, the arrival through the giant icebergs was nothing short of incredible. holy moly. i still haven't gone on my hike to check them out further because: 1.) i am dead tired, and 2.) I FORGOT THE PIN NUMBER FOR MY ATM CARD! no joke. um. i spent my last 50kr and luckily i have some US cash that i can exchange tomorrow that will hopefully last me until the bank sends the reminder to my mom's house in the next 10 days. anyway. i have plenty of time to see what there is to see in the area.
oh yeah, staying in a hostel in Greenland is kind of cool. in the almost 8 months i've been away, i've only stayed in guesthouses/hostels twice - once in Porjus, Sweden, and once in Stockholm. three guys staying here - two Brits and one American who all live in Hong Kong, just arrived yesterday from a 40 day expedition across the inland ice-cap. they are all suffering from mild frostbite and just got done eating a giant meal and talking about how glad they are to be alive. it was kind of heartwarming!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
snow day
things are coming full circle. today, september 10th, i saw and felt the season's first snowfall in Sisimiut. before it happened i somehow knew it was going to be an exceptional day. the air seemed especially fresh and good to breathe, and my knee aches in the way it does to only certain kinds of cold. the mountains directly across from the kitchen window, some of the lowest in the area, are dusted with snow.
i commented to Mads and Trine (my hosts), who moved here one and a half months ago from Denmark, that the snow was coming to get them. it really is an entity all its own. the flat Mads and Trine (an anthropologist working for the municipality and a teacher, respectively), share has windows on opposite sides. one side frames an unobstructed view of the sea, the Davis Strait. directly on the other side of that immense water is North America.
tomorrow i will get up early and dress warm because through the magic of the universe i am getting a free ride up to Ilulissat with a boat captain M. & T. know. he and his crew are going up there to pick up a French film crew and the trip has already been paid for. also, i don't take up too much space. it's seven hours long, and then we will be in Disko Bay and then - the iceberg fields!
did i mention i left my laptop at my apartment in Nuuk for some reason? like, on purpose? along with most of my stuff, including my beloved maroon sweater. even now i am totally surprised that i did that. i think it was a test. i am anxious! it only made me realize how attached i've become to the things i have been carrying with me for these past 7 months or so. in my life, as it is now, they are basically the only things i can touch that are constant and available anytime, every day. they wear down much faster since they are used more, but everytime i unpack and repack these objects in a new place, in my mind i go through some slightly emotional re-telling of the how's and when's and who's associated with them. they fulfill small but real needs that make a long journey possible. i feel as if i could almost shed a tear missing my sweater, as if it were a friend, especially on a cold snowy day like today.
i commented to Mads and Trine (my hosts), who moved here one and a half months ago from Denmark, that the snow was coming to get them. it really is an entity all its own. the flat Mads and Trine (an anthropologist working for the municipality and a teacher, respectively), share has windows on opposite sides. one side frames an unobstructed view of the sea, the Davis Strait. directly on the other side of that immense water is North America.
tomorrow i will get up early and dress warm because through the magic of the universe i am getting a free ride up to Ilulissat with a boat captain M. & T. know. he and his crew are going up there to pick up a French film crew and the trip has already been paid for. also, i don't take up too much space. it's seven hours long, and then we will be in Disko Bay and then - the iceberg fields!
did i mention i left my laptop at my apartment in Nuuk for some reason? like, on purpose? along with most of my stuff, including my beloved maroon sweater. even now i am totally surprised that i did that. i think it was a test. i am anxious! it only made me realize how attached i've become to the things i have been carrying with me for these past 7 months or so. in my life, as it is now, they are basically the only things i can touch that are constant and available anytime, every day. they wear down much faster since they are used more, but everytime i unpack and repack these objects in a new place, in my mind i go through some slightly emotional re-telling of the how's and when's and who's associated with them. they fulfill small but real needs that make a long journey possible. i feel as if i could almost shed a tear missing my sweater, as if it were a friend, especially on a cold snowy day like today.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Sarfaq Ittuk
so, i meant to continue that entry below with more photos, but it look like that's not going to happen for at least the next few weeks. not only are all the wireless networks you can pay to use in Nuuk down all at once, i am leaving tonight on the Arctic Umiaq Line northward to Sisimiut and Ilulissat, and don't know yet when I'll return. maybe a week or two from now. perhaps some kind soul along the way will let me use their internet with my laptop like Pauli did, but it ends up costing the already-generous-host/hostess and that's not so nice.
all i know is, i am about to embark on the most expensive/epic transportation i have ever used in my life. hopefully the ship will be able to make it out of the dock, because last night there was a storm unlike any i have ever witnessed. every window in my apartment was rattling for about 18 hours straight and the wind was literally howling so loudly i couldn't sleep. this morning, i stared out the window as the lid off a large metal dumpster was ripped off it's hinges, and when i began the five minute walk from my flat to the library i had to cling to poles and buildings in order not to be knocked down/blown away. this storm is still going on and will basically be moving northward with the ship - it's supposed to last the whole weekend. i am really hoping i will be able to make it the whole way at once, because it would be nice to not to have to pay for lodgings due to delays. however, it seems thats the way the cookie often crumbles around here...wish me luck.
all i know is, i am about to embark on the most expensive/epic transportation i have ever used in my life. hopefully the ship will be able to make it out of the dock, because last night there was a storm unlike any i have ever witnessed. every window in my apartment was rattling for about 18 hours straight and the wind was literally howling so loudly i couldn't sleep. this morning, i stared out the window as the lid off a large metal dumpster was ripped off it's hinges, and when i began the five minute walk from my flat to the library i had to cling to poles and buildings in order not to be knocked down/blown away. this storm is still going on and will basically be moving northward with the ship - it's supposed to last the whole weekend. i am really hoping i will be able to make it the whole way at once, because it would be nice to not to have to pay for lodgings due to delays. however, it seems thats the way the cookie often crumbles around here...wish me luck.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
kalaallit nunaat, pt. 1
so, it's Sunday in Nuuk and i just got back from my first kaffemik, a Greenlandic social event that involves hours of drinking coffee, eating cakes and hanging out. the occasion was the first birthday of the daughter of a Faroese couple.
i'm going to post now some photos from my last days in Iceland, and some from my arrival/first weekend in Greenland.
the second to last day before it was time to fly away, the house mates and i made a trip to the Blue Lagoon - a geothermal lava pool created by the output of power plant. it's warm and luxurious, and rich in silica - the mineral rich mud is great for your skin.
however, for some reason the lagoon has been green for the past year. a mystery
OH YEAH, after the lagoon...
i had my first burrito in over 7 months. yes it was Taco Bell, but it was awesome. mmm.
the next day, i went to check out the Culture House. i looked at an exhibit of the manuscripts of illuminated Eddas, the ancient poems of Iceland.
on the top floor, there was the coolest exhibit of all time, about the island of Surtsey, the newest piece of land on earth created by a volcanic eruptions from 1963-7. this exhibit, and the space it was in, was one of the most beautiful i've seen in a really long time.
when you enter the exhibit, you are greeted by a giant mirror projection of lava exploding.
on friday i flew to Greenland.
first icebergs
glacial tounge, east greenland
view from Kulusuk airport
iced ocean
i arrived in Nuuk, and the airport was packed. the Air Greenland cabin crew had suddenly gone on strike a few days earlier, stranding over 1,000 people all over Greenland and preventing almost anyone from leaving or entering the country. except for me and the 15 passengers on the season's very last Reykjavik-Nuuk scheduled flight on Air Iceland, that is.
Pauli
...i'm going to have to continue this post later. i'm pretty tired and uniformly the internet here in Greenland is extremely slow. as of yet, there hasn't been any cables laid across the sea bed, thus all internet is from satellites.
goodnight...
i'm going to post now some photos from my last days in Iceland, and some from my arrival/first weekend in Greenland.
the second to last day before it was time to fly away, the house mates and i made a trip to the Blue Lagoon - a geothermal lava pool created by the output of power plant. it's warm and luxurious, and rich in silica - the mineral rich mud is great for your skin.
however, for some reason the lagoon has been green for the past year. a mystery
OH YEAH, after the lagoon...
i had my first burrito in over 7 months. yes it was Taco Bell, but it was awesome. mmm.
the next day, i went to check out the Culture House. i looked at an exhibit of the manuscripts of illuminated Eddas, the ancient poems of Iceland.
on the top floor, there was the coolest exhibit of all time, about the island of Surtsey, the newest piece of land on earth created by a volcanic eruptions from 1963-7. this exhibit, and the space it was in, was one of the most beautiful i've seen in a really long time.
when you enter the exhibit, you are greeted by a giant mirror projection of lava exploding.
on friday i flew to Greenland.
first icebergs
glacial tounge, east greenland
view from Kulusuk airport
iced ocean
i arrived in Nuuk, and the airport was packed. the Air Greenland cabin crew had suddenly gone on strike a few days earlier, stranding over 1,000 people all over Greenland and preventing almost anyone from leaving or entering the country. except for me and the 15 passengers on the season's very last Reykjavik-Nuuk scheduled flight on Air Iceland, that is.
Pauli
...i'm going to have to continue this post later. i'm pretty tired and uniformly the internet here in Greenland is extremely slow. as of yet, there hasn't been any cables laid across the sea bed, thus all internet is from satellites.
goodnight...
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