A new year has emerged and school has started for a new term. I have officially helped start Tromsø International School and it looks to be a wonderful experience. The school is composed of 3 teachers, 9 students, 2 language teachers, and a principal. We have all been busy ordering textbooks, designing the classrooms, and planning for the first few weeks of instruction, and it looks like we have a great group of kids to work with. The students range from 6 to 14 years old and they are from Norway, Russia, New Zealand, Sudan, and the US. It looks be a great challenge and a lot of fun for everyone.
As for Chasa and I, we are doing great. We are moving into our new flat this next weekend, and we are very excited to establish a new home abroad. Our new flat is closer to the school and the university, and will be a nice change of pace to living in the city center of Tromsø. Chasa and I have been discovering the city and the island one day at a time, and New Years Eve was an experience in itself. We got all dressed up and ready for a night on the town, and as we walked down the EMPTY streets of Tromsø we noticed that every bar, restaurant, and pub was closed and dark. After a long search we found a great Italian/Greek restaurant, where the food was phenomenal followed by a few drink at the one pub that was open. At approximately 11:50 the place emptied out and since we didn't speak the language, we had no idea where anyone went. The clock struck 12 midnight, we cheersed and brought in the new year with a kiss. About 10 mintues later, people started to trickle back into the bar and all went back to normal. We later met some locals and found out that everyone left to go look across the water to the mainland where there was a HUGE firework display...so basicly, we missed it all. We did however learn that NO ONE stays inside for midnight in Tromsø....lesson learned. hahaha. Next year we will be ready.
On a side note, we love talking with everyone on skype and through our website, so keep the messages, notes, IMs, skype calls, and whatever else you can think of to stay in touch. We love you all and we wish everyone a very happy new year. Talk to you soon and much love to all. Cheers to 2011!
