Post-Greenland: Life after my semester abroad

Leaving Greenland after my five-month exchange semester was not an easy thing to do. In fact it was one of the hardest days of my life. But I had so much to look forward to afterwards, and I still do. Since it was my fifth semester that I spent in Nuuk, I’m almost done with my bachelor’s degree now. I only have my thesis and one 15 ECTS course left. So what are my plans now that my Greenland adventure is over?

I am per definition homeless now. Or a nomad, whatever you choose to call it. I have no address, I live on the road. But I do have the safety net of my family home, where I’m always welcome. So I will never be living on the streets, just out of my backpack.

A month of travels

After I got back from Greenland, life has been pretty hectic, going from place to place while writing my thesis, with little time to rest in between. I flew immediately to Reykjavík from Nuuk, and spent four days there, just to revisit the city and get back to my previous “hostel-life” just a little. Then I went home for five days to see my family, which was wonderful. My younger brother Brandon wasn’t there to greet me though, as he had recently gone on his own adventure – to Edinburgh. I spent the next week in that very city visiting him and exploring his city and the beautiful Scottish highlands. Afterwards, I went back home for another five days, and then my mum and I were off to Ukraine on our annual mother/daughter trip. We got back home yesterday full of great memories from an adventurous week with exquisite churches, astonishing views, lovely shops and cafés, plenty of history and a bit of radiation in Chernobyl.

All of that in just one month – and now I’m back home in Eastern Jutland. And here I’ll stay (mostly) throughout March. I might take a trip or two to Copenhagen and visit some new places in Jutland, but I will mostly be at home spending quality time with my family (and becoming an aunt!!), seeing my friends and writing on my thesis.

Moving temporarily to the Faroe Islands

So what’s the next step in my life? Well, since I’m only writing my thesis this semester, I don’t have to move back to Copenhagen, so I chose not to. Instead, I’ve decided to spend some time on the Faroe Islands, my beloved favourite country. I’ve found a room in a lovely house on the island of Nólsoy, which just happens to be my favourite island! I will be living there through April and May, enjoying a quiet and slow lifestyle on this peaceful island with just over 220 inhabitants. Going for long walks, writing my thesis, cooking delicious vegan dishes, occasionally visiting friends on the mainland and going camping in the wilds. It will be like a beautiful dream.

Excavation in rural Russia

I will be giving in my thesis at the end of May, so my summer is free for fun and archaeological excavations!

If all goes to plan with the visa and excavation permits, I’ll be heading to Stepnoye near Chelyabinsk in Russia for all of June. I’ll be excavating an exciting Late Bronze Age site with a bunch of Danish and American archaeologists and indo-europeanists! The location is incredible – in the Ural Mountains just north of Kazakhstan. I absolutely can’t wait to experience a part of Russia that very few tourists get to see, and to work with such a wonderful team! I just hope that everything goes to plan.

Summer plans

My summer is still up for discussion as I might be going to Greenland for an excavation – there’s been some talk about this, but it’s not sure at all – or I might choose to go to Argentina or Chile for my fourth total solar eclipse. If I choose the latter, I’ll probably spend a few weeks there, and then spend the rest of the summer in Denmark with family and friends, attending Stone Age festivals and going island hopping. Denmark is beautiful and so much fun during the summer, and I actually can’t remember the last time I spent a summer here…

Internship in East Greenland

By the end of August, I will be heading to Greenland anyways, as I have an internship in Tasiilaq on the East coast for my last 15 ECTS course. I want to see my friends in Nuuk as well, so I plan on heading there first and then flying to Tasiilaq for my exciting ten-week internship at Ammassalik Museum. When I’m not working at the museum, I’ll be exploring Tasiilaq and the nearby villages, and hopefully going into the mountains and on sailing trips. And who knows, maybe I’ll finally see a polar bear!!

In November, my internship will be finished and so will my BA education. I will finally have a degree!

Life after my BA?

What I’ll be doing after my BA is still unknown to me, which I find quite exciting. Of course, I want to continue my education and do a master’s degree, but first I’ll spend some months working and travelling. I really want to go on a long backpacking trip to the Middle East and Central Asia and I also want to visit a friend in South Africa. For my master’s, I have a dream of studying Mesolithic Studies in York, and maybe combining it with a two-year archaeology programme somewhere in Norway, hopefully starting after the summer of 2020. No matter what I get up to, I’m sure it will involve lots of travels!

Although I miss Greenland a lot, I’m loving this new free location-independent life, where I can be wherever I want to be all the time!