Study in Svalbard: LIGHTS OFF, LIGHTS ON

Picture of the week: Moonlight bathes the mountains across the fjord from our apartment. We are going to miss this view!

The sun closing in on the horizon over Longyearbyen.

The smile of victory!

After a dark, wet and gloomy couple of weeks, the cold is back, the light is painting the surrounding mountains for about 6 hours a day, and the snow is starting to accumulate. The mood in town has shifted from one of disbelief to one of urgency to get out skiing, snowmobiling and hiking. While we are transitioning to leave, it is bittersweet. We are looking forward to getting back and getting resettled, but at the same time, I know that March, April and May in Svalbard is magic and really wanted the family to experience it. We will simply have to come back! It has been a week of packing, dinners with friends and trying to wrap things up at UNIS. We had friends over for dinner on Monday and Friday, dinner with the Rasmussen’s on Thursday night after basketball and dinner tonight at our neighbor Kjersti’s. People have been so welcoming and we will miss them all! The highlight of the week for me was a crushing victory over the Russian settlement, Barentsburg, on Saturday. Back in October or November (I should read my owe blog!) Barentsburg came to Longyearbyen for a sports tournament. Because there was no ref for the game, I volunteered, was unable to coach the team and we lost by 2 points. In January, the team went to Barentsburg while I was on the cruise and they lost by 1 point. Last night, I was able to coach and play and we won 50-24! It was great to see the players really cherish the feeling of winning. I only realized what it meant to this mostly under 25 group (half still in high school) until after the game and it looks to me they are now motivated for a repeat in March. It was great to be a part of.

Trying to soak up the last few days in this special place!