September 2015 – 2 Months in Norway

You guys, it’s October! Also known as the month of gorgeous falling leaves, blanket scarves, boots, pumpkin EVERYTHING, and Halloween! Wait, don’t tell me Halloween isn’t a thing in Norway…

My second month living in Norway was a bit more hectic than anticipated, largely because I ended up spending a good portion of it in the U.S.

Back in the U.S.A.

One of my besties got married in D.C. this month, and while I had originally planned to just fly over for the weekend (insane but practical?) I ended up extending the trip a bit. I flew into Boston and spent a week with my family in Massachusetts, and then Alicia and I drove down to D.C. for the wedding! This meant putting the job search on hold, but it was worth it to get to spend time with some of my favorite people. Plus, ugh, who really wants to look for jobs anyway?

I was a little disappointed to see that it was still summer in America because autumn in New England is one of the most magical things I know, but my dad quickly rectified this by taking me hiking on Mount Wachusett. Fall colors!

I hadn’t been to D.C. in ages, so it was fun to feel like a tourist in the U.S. We stayed in the most expensive hotel of my life, and while my wallet is still sobbing over it, it was really fun having a luxurious weekend of fancy dresses, best friends, champagne, and dancing.

Back in Trondheim

I felt quite giddy flying back over Norway (actually a lot giddy – like… something about drugs?) and was reminded just how beautiful Norway is. Sometimes I forget that I now live so close to so many mountains and fjords. Gazing out the plane window was a good reminder that I need to get out and explore Norway more while I’m here!

Though while I love to hike, I’m tempted to just book a bunch of domestic flights around Norway, because this might just be the best way to see Norway’s mountains and fjords, don’t you think?

The Serious Stuff

Employment: Who really needs a job anyway? Actually, this girl does. Since coming back to Trondheim I’ve come up with countless excuses to put off the job search, but eventually I’m going to just have to do it. I mean, I’m sure there are tons of cafés and restaurants in Trondheim looking for a waitress with questionable balance skills and almost okay Norwegian! At least I smile a lot – the cafeteria staff at my university even nicknamed me “Smiley.” Can I put that on a resume?

On the bright side, I’ve been totally raking it in with this blog! Ha okay that’s a lie, I made like… $500 this month. But that’s 500 dollars more than I made when my number one hobby was tap dancing.

It’s actually made me a bit tempted to just pick up some virtual assistant work to cover the rest of my expenses, especially as I’m on Pinterest all day anyway, but then I remind myself that I have never wanted to make blogging a career. It’s such a fun hobby, but I think it would make for a very stressful and draining job (for me). Plus part of the point of moving to Norway was that I could get a well-paying, low stress job that would leave me time to continue blogging as much (or little) as I want. And as Norwegians are very pro vacation time, I’ll still be able to travel plenty too! At least that’s the dream.

Language: I took a break from studying Norwegian while I was in the United States, which gave me just enough perspective to see how much I’ve actually learned in these past months! When I returned to Trondheim I realized that I now understand about 90% of what I read and hear (though that dips to 20% if someone is speaking dialect…), which would be super exciting if I didn’t still talk like a two year old.

So now Dan and I speak only Norwegian to each other until 6 pm each day. Sounds like fun, no? (No.)

The Instagram

Some of you might have noticed that my Instagram went a little insane this month, as I got tired of only posting photos from Trondheim and instead decided to go through my photo archives and post some of my favorites! I know some people feel strongly that you should only post recent photos on Instragram, but I’ve really enjoyed getting a chance to share some of my travel favorites from the past. What do you think – is that a total Insta-no no?

My most liked photo this month was from Kazan, which got an extra boost when BBC Travel also shared it. Though… I’m fairly certain Dan actually took this photo. So I guess the key to Instagram success for me is just not to take any photos myself?

 

A photo posted by Silvia Lawrence (@heartsmybackpack) on Sep 4, 2015 at 5:23am PDT

 

The Blogs I ❤

I had both some returning blog sponsors as well as some new faces in my blog ads this month, so let me introduce them!

Kelly, aka The Wandering Blonde, is currently blogging about her travels through Central America. I love how unconventional Kelly’s story is in the travel blogging world – she didn’t sell her belongings to become a full-time nomad, but instead has kept her “normal” life (read: steady job and boyfriend) while managing to squeeze in tons of travel. This isn’t a blog geared solely toward digital nomad wannabes, but instead appeals equally to the rest of us looking to add more travel into our lives.

Alexandria is the founder of A Modern Girl’s Travels, which she works on with her husband Edward. I have a secret obsession with lifestyle blogs (as you might remember), so I love how Alexandria has managed to create a perfect travel-lifestyle blog hybrid. Her website is beautiful and I have yet to read through it without being overwhelmed with the sudden urge to plan a journey somewhere.

Van is a German graduate student studying in Tromsø and telling us all about life in the Arctic on Snow in Tromsø. I love how honest Van is about life in northern Norway, and I also love following her excursions to other chilly destinations like Greenland and Iceland. Her blog is unique and exciting, and her photos always pull me into her travels. In fact I think most of my bucket list now consists of places in the Arctic!

Mary at Nomadic Elephant has been a featured here before, but there have been some big changes on her blog lately, so you should go over and check out her new look! I love Mary’s blogging voice and the fact that she’s traveled to a lot of regions I’ve never visited, and I sort of feel like we’re real-life friends even though I’ve never met her. Is that weird? I know I can’t be the only person who feels that way about blogs!

 

If you’re a blogger interested in being featured just head over to this page!

 

So tell me, how was your September?