Lisa Broekhuizen
Study: Biology
Destination: Norway
Exchange
Hello everyone!
My name is Lisa Broekhuizen. I study Biology at Wageningen University. The coming months I will be studying in Norway. At this page you can follow my adventures! You can also follow me (@lisabroekhuizen92) and other WURldexplorers on Instagram: search for #WURldexplorers!
Introduction
After a lot of struggles and rough contact with the university of Tromsø I'm finally accepted and received my letter of admission at the 18th of november. Right after that I booked my ticket. Now it's really getting closer! I'm very looking forward to it! There are a lot of enthusiastic reactions of friends and family but also some more negative reactions like: 'don't you get really depressed because of the lack of sunlight?!' or 'it looks really cold to me, rather you than me..'. The positive reactions are mostly about the beautiful nature and of course the northern lights! I also have some friends and family that will visit me when I'm staying there, because of the special place.
Arrival
It's now 10 days ago that I arrived by airplane in Tromsø. Jonathan Filius has studied in Norway for two years, so he nows already a bunch of people here, so we got picked up by a car at the airport. After a total revalidation of the flight we went to Ørndalen, which is the area with studenthouses where Tim Lardinois and I live. I've got a very cosy house with a lot of social people. Tim's roommates aren't that nice, so now he became my houseparasite.
Killer whales, reindeers and a lot of snow
The first month is already behind me! Times passes fast when you're having fun! Especially when the sun is back again! (See picture below)
Visitors
Time flies when you're having fun and when there is a lot to do, which definitely counts for me here in Tromsø! The last couple of weeks were mostly about friends and family visiting me, to see if my great stories are really true.
Greenland
After two and a half month, the moment was finally there: 16 march, the excursion to Greenland! Which means that I'll be on a fishing boat for 2,5 week together with 20 other students sailing along the coast of Greenland to do research to seals for my course Arctic Biology. The only problem was that I have never been on a boat over the ocean, not even on the sea. I've only been on some ferries or with a small motorboat over some small waters. This caused some seasickness in the first two days. At first, I thought I could handle it, but if you always have the feeling to be in an elevator, which doesn't stop, your stomach will give up some time. But you can get used to everything, so after two more days we were already in the ice where there were no waves any more.
Cruise Lofoten
In the end of march I've spend, with two roommates and three other friends, the night in a tent on Kvaløya. Therefore we had to walk two hours through a thick layer of snow, which was pretty hard for me. But the moment we arived, and we gathered some wood for the fire, there was immediately a good atmosphere and I forgot the rough tour. After a cold night (more or less -4 degrees) we went home the next day, and had to walk up a very high and steep mountain. But it was totally worth it, because it was such a nice experience to sleep in a beautiful quiet pristine nature!
The end is in sight
Exactly one week and then I'll be flying back to the Netherlands again! Friday the 12th of June I'm having my last exam here, and then I'll stay here that weekend and the monday after I'll be flying back. But if I come back it will be hectic: Re-exam and handing in my thesis and presenting it. But hopefully I'm having my bachelor degree than!