Two months in Andenes

Sorry for the extreme long  silence (one month). I have been crazy busy with work and then there is not that much to tell. But after a month I think I can fill a blog somewhat again. And I had two days off in which I spend one day driving around, so I have also some pictures to share :) http://albumizr.com/a/JS0

Unfortunately I did not find my sealegs. I have been on boats before in rough weather years before without problems, so I didn't understand why I got sick all the time now. And every time it got worse. The last time on the boat it was actually extremely calm. Like no waves at all. And I was still feeling like crap. The only think I can think off is that my meds are messing with my head. So I told my boss, do what you need to do, but I am not going back on that boat. I felt like such an idiot. You are trying to help the puking tourists and ten minutes later you are standing next to them. Also I am not able to help the other guides with everything that needs to be done on the boat. I first asked my boss if he could keep me from guiding on the boat so I could try to get used to it, but apparently that wasnt possible. So luckily for me, he has decided he has enough work for me at reception and I can also still work as a guide in the museum. So I still have enough work to do, I did feel like a complete loser for a moment and it still is disappointing sometimes, but I like the work mostly and at least it is Norwegian work experience. So since I am not on the boat and my hours are very irregulat, I am trying to make as much money as I can. One of the things which people request is a dogsitter for when they are on the boat. So far I have been able to take care of 5 dogs, all of them adorable:)

From the 4th of August I will be working reception fulltime again until the 14th of September. Time flies. I am already half way through my stay here. So I also tried to figure out how to stay here after I am done with this job. To apply for "dagpenger", norwegian unemployment benefits, I need a form from the Dutch social services that indicates how long I have worked in the Netherlands and how much I have made in the last three years. I first applied for this form before I went to Norway, but since I was still getting dutch unemployment benefits they couldnt (or wouldnt) process my request. So in June I applied again. A couple of weeks ago I finally got my form, but of course, the data was incomplete. They only gave me the salary of my last job, while in their own footnotes it says that for Norway you have to give one or three years, Since I indicated in my request I needed three years I would expect to get the requested information. So after I called them they let me know I should send an email. As a response to my email I received a message that they viewed my email as a complaint and it needed a signature.... So after cooling down from being very very angry at these idiots, I send in an official complaint. Now they send the confirmation of my complaint with the response that they will give me my results before the 3rd of November, which is about 5 MONTHS after i applied, and 2 MONTHS after I lose my job here..... This is driving me nuts!!!! So, if you plan to move here and you dont have a job yet. prepare for the bureaucratic bullshit! And this is only from the Dutch part. I havent even applied for the dagpenger yet, and I think Norway is probably also very good in trying to disuade you from getting money. But I will persevere (or find a job).

But besides this crapfest, I also had some fun. I finally had some days off while one of them was nice weather! So I rented a car (they charged my creditcard twice, so also complaining to them.... aarrghh) but anyway. I had a car and just decided to drive south. I was here years ago with my sister and not that impressed with the Lofoten then. But maybe it is the fact that it was FINALLY sunny, or I have changed, but I loved this trip. It was soo nice to just drive around and have no obligations. I loved the mountains and nature and had fun. I accidentily went I little off road, but I didnt get stuck and I love this kind of driving. I think I might need a 4WD when I ever get a car. I had no GPS so I decided to just drive round the island, but the road turned into gravel and then into mud... by the time it got really bad I was already on the road for quite some time and I expected it would turn to normal road any second now :) But it was immensely fun. Back home I showed my colleguage on the map where I had been and it clearly said on the map <Not suitable for driving> :)

I also tour the lighthouse here sometimes, and the view is very nice, the climb up is quite exhausting, so when you are asked to do it four times in a day, it is really tirying, but good for my physicial shape :) One group also wanted to go up during midnight to see the midnight sun (if you ever are here, since it is summertime, the midnight suns lowest point is I think at 1.00 not 0.00. But anyway.) Since the midnight sun was almost gone then, it would go very low to the horizon and create nice sunset colors (midnight sun ended yesterday). But since we are here, the weather decided to put one big cloud in front of the sun. The rest of the sky was lovely and blue, except in front of the sun....

I still had fun though :) So just two more months left, a lot of bureaucratic bullshit to go through, and I need to keep applying for work, but I am enjoying myself, especially when the weather is nice. This week I have two days off again, so I am hoping again for nice weather. I might go do a puffin safari or climb on of the mountains here... See if all that lighthouse climbing has prepared me for that already. 

First weeks

Sorry, no pictures this time. I have been working too hard to take pictures. After I arrived and unpacked I joined a boat tour. I was supposed to start work on Wednesday so I thought I had some days to just do nothing, but they started training me for the work immediately so not much time for discovering the town. The reception work is fun to do. It can be very hectic and then very quiet. But there is always something you can do.
After one week I still hadn't heard anything from the bank. So I called. The guy on the phone explained to me that they could have just opened the account then and there. This pissed me off a little. And still no response on the email. So on Monday I had a day off and immediately went to the bank here in Andenes (different bank) and they gave me a bank account immediately and two days later my card arrived in the mail... so just don't go to DNB bank. They suck.
The rest of the time here I have been working. They have this system that one day you work the whole day (11 hours) and the next only two. Which sounds great, only that day you are exhausted and I still need to learn the museum tour and go to the store and then my energy is gone. But doing this for awhile now it is getting better. But now Wednesday I'll start as a guide.  I mistakenly thought since I was scheduled to work that morning at the reception I would start a day later, but no i'll just start in the afternoon;) gonna be a busy day. After that I only have 1 tour a day so I have some time to relax as well. I am a little worried about the job.
 I have been sick on the boat twice, but they assure me that when you go out everyday you will get your sea-legs soon. Or this job is going to be a very effective diet.
I'll keep you posted when I have found my sea legs. Now I need to get back to work...

Arrived in Andenes

Sorry voor al de Nederlanders, maar de blog schrijf ik weer in het Engels, voor een Nederlandse update geef maar een gil.

So, after working in the Netherlands for some weeks...I am back in Norway on my quest to find work here and emigrate permanently. When I was here the last time I was lucky enough to find work for the summer which is why I am back in Norway now.
I stayed a couple of days in Oslo, saying hi to the people I met last time and flew to Andenes on Sunday where I will start work on Wednesday. In Oslo I also tried to take care of my tax card (you need one if you work here, it tells the employers how much tax to deduct, and a norwegian bank account). The tax card was easily taken care of. I only had to wait for almost two hours to just drop off my form and show my ID) but no Norwegian Bank account yet. Apparently this takes some time. I went there and I had to show my ID and fill out a form. Now I have to wait for an email with further instructions.... I will wait until Wednesday and then I will call them and also try another bank. See if they are faster. This of course means I dont have a bank account for my first paycheck, so I will get that at the end of June...:( Pff... Bureaucrats

The flight went from Oslo to Tromsø and then you take this little tiny plane for 20 minutes to Andenes (see picture above). The view from the plane was amazing. You fly over all these islands and most of them still have snowy peaks. If you ever go the northern Norway I can definitely recommend this flight, but also just the drive from Tromsø to Andenes by way of Senja.

So Sunday I arrived around noon in Andenes where I will start work at the reception of the Whalesafari (whalesafari.no) and in the high season I will work as a guide, to end as a receptionist again after the high season ends. I was picked up by some of my soon to be collegues who informed me that they were going out on a trip in an hour and if I wanted I was welcome to join. So ofcourse I wanted... Everything is closed here on a Sunday so besides unpacking I didnt have much to do.

 My (tiny) room is in this building which is directly next to the whalesafaro office. So I can literally roll into the office. After unpacking I joined the whaletour, to see what my future job is partly going to be all about. I was very lucky, since the weather was very nice and therefore had a great first experience.

 With the boat going to open water there was this amazing sunny view of the Andøy Island and which Andenes lies. The boats that are being used for the whalesafari are quit small and since we go out to open ocean the waves are big. This causes a lot of movement and I already heard from the other guides also a lot of seasickness.. Something I do not look forward to. They do have seasickness pills for everyone (also the turists) now I just hope they they puke over the railing or in the bag... So no need to clean up...blegh
Anyway.
After an hour we spotted our first spermwhale. I have been on a whalesafari before in Iceland and saw humpbacks and minke whales there. They breath at the surface and then dive again. Sperm whales are these amazin creatures that just lie at the surface for a couple of minutes. Just chilling and breathing,creating nice fountains. And then they deep dive which always has this amazing sight of the tail going up, since they are so heavy and the tail makes sure that they sink faster. In all we saw 4 whales (I think we saw two twice) and some more in the distance. Great experience on my first day!

So today is day 1 in Andenes. I walked around the town a bit, but since it is so tiny I was done in half an hour. I got some instructions about the reception already, and will learn more tomorrow and join the museum guide so I can get an impression on how that tour works. And then on wednesday I will actually start working officially at the reception. Should be fun!

I'll keep you guys posted.

I am coming back to Norway

Ik ben de afgelopen tijd een beetje stil geweest hier. Ik moest helaas terug maar Nederland, werk zoeken, geld verdienen en hopelijk zo snel mogelijk terug.
En nu kan ik weer terug!
Ik heb een zomerbaan gevonden! Ben hier ontzettend blij mee en hopelijk leidt het tot een leuke vaste baan. Hoe dan ook, Noorse werkervaring opdoen is altijd goed. Nu moet ik natuurlijk wel nog een Noorse bankrekening openen. Ik heb de DnB bank een mail gestuurd of het ook vanuit Nederland kan. Eventueel skype ofzo. Maar nog geen antwoord op gehad. Anders wordt het zo snel mogelijk regelen als ik in Noorwegen ben. Ik hou jullie op de hoogte.
Qua woning krijg ik er een bij mijn zomerbaan dus dat is ideaal! Betaal maar een klein beetje huur dus kan nog geld sparen ook.
Heb er ontzettend veel zin in!
Volgende week heb ik ook weer een Skype interview voor een vaste baan dus ga daar ontzettend goed voor voorbereiden. Het is verbazingwekkend hoe snel je de taal vergeet als je het niet dagelijks gebruikt. Dus ik ga de aankomende tijd wat Noorse series kijken enzo. En alvast antwoorden

voorbereiden.
Spannend!