December is the most wonderful month of the year, if you ask me, and I’ve been so happy to be able to spend it with great friends and my family here in Nuuk!
The Christmas month
The first few weekends in Nuuk were full of Christmas events. Father Christmas arrived and lit up the big tree in the center, the girls and I attended a Christmas concert in the Hans Egede Church and spent time making Christmas treats and trying to make decorations.
On December 11th, it was time for the Christmas celebration with some of the exchange students, where we ate way too many unhealthy snacks and exchanged our Secret Santa gifts! And on December 13th, we watched the most darling Saint Lucia parade, as a bunch of small children walked across uni, bringing light and joy to our hearts. Nuuk sure does the Christmas thing well!
All good things come to an end
December was a month of endings. I had my last uni classes, finished my Greenlandic class off with an exam (which I passed!), and it was time for several goodbyes to the people I’ve spent my time with during the past 3,5 months in Nuuk. First Barbara left, and then it was time to say goodbye to Maria and Regine. Three roommates less, and the apartment suddenly felt very big and empty with just Charlotte and I left. I also said goodbye to some of my friends from the climbing club, a good friend from the Bahá’í community and later in the month, it was time to say goodbye to my colleague Nele.
There were a lot of sad moments in December, as I really hate endings, but every time I’ve been thankful it wasn’t me that was about to leave, as I’m not finished with Nuuk yet. A chapter of my life here may have ended, but a new one has begun, and it’s just as wonderful!
The good life in Nuuk
Life in Nuuk in December has been mostly about hanging out with my friends and the Bahá’í community, attending devotionals and Ruhi study classes. At work, we spent our last day playing pool at the local pub – and I even won some games – with the help of my boss hehe!
December was also the month where I finally got my much wanted tattoo of Greenland, as well as a tattoo with Mesolithic symbols from my favourite archaeological period! I love decorating my body with tattoos that have meaning, and these two certainly do!
And then there was the polarplunging – a bucket list item I never knew I had. It was FREEZING, and I honestly don’t know what made me do it, but I did it. But one thing is for sure – never again!
Christmas and New Years with my family
On December 24th, I finally welcomed my family to Nuuk after they had been stuck in Kangerlussuaq for two days because of a storm in Nuuk. We spent the day getting ready for the evening, with my roomie Charlotte and friend Nnamdi. Despite the stress of not having them there on the 22nd as planned, we managed to create a cozy environment and enjoy our Christmas together.
The next week was spent showing my family around Nuuk, taking them to all my favourite viewpoints, bars, shops etc., and climbing Mt. Quassussuaq with Charlotte and my younger brother Brandon. It was wonderful to be able to share my love for the city with them!
The 31st came and it was time to celebrate the end of the year 2018! What a grand year it has been, and the celebrations of it couldn’t have been any better. We spent the evening with Charlotte, eating delicious foods and watching the fireworks at 8 PM for Denmark, 9 PM for Faroe Islands and Iceland and then midnight for Greenland! It was a brilliant end to the month, and the perfect end to the year.
Destinations visited in December 2018
- Nuuk, Greenland
Highlights
- Watching Father Christmas light the Christmas tree
- Getting two new beautiful and meaningful tattoos
- Christmas with family and friends
- Climbing Mt. Quassussuaq with Brandon and Charlotte
- Celebrating New Years in festive Nuuk
Challenges
- Polarplunging!! What a crazy thing to do
- Saying goodbye to my friends
- The storm in Nuuk, which got my family stuck in Kangerlussuaq for two days
Most popular post
- Christmas time in Nuuk – The most wonderful time of the year spent in my favourite city
The other posts
- Post-excavation thoughts at Ulbjerg Klint – My thoughts on a two-day archaeological excavation of a kitchen midden
- My November 2018: Falling in love with Nuuk – All about what I got up to in November
- Quassussuaq: Fun in the snow 450 m above Nuuk – The first climb up Quassussuaq with the best view in the city!
- Thy National Park: Discovering remnants of the Second World War – Walking amongst war ruins in North Jutland
- Down south with Sarfaq Ittuk: Sailing from Nuuk to Narsaq – The beginning of my journey to South Greenland
- Hanklit on Mors: The largest diatomite cliff in the world – One of the natural wonders of Denmark!
- A battle with time: Climbing Saqqaarsuk in Qaqortoq – 2,5 hours to climb a mountain for the sunset!
- How I fell in love with Nuuk, the city of my heart – A love note for my favourite city
- Hunting for minerals on Kuannersuit in Narsaq – Finding beautiful rare minerals in the mountains of Narsaq
- My travel year of 2018 – Recap of my travels last year!
- In the footsteps of the Norse in and around Narsaq – Finding remnants from the Norse in Narsaq
- Mother of all reflections: Sailing from Narsaq to Narsarsuaq – One of the most beautiful sailing trips of my life
- My 18 favourite new destinations of 2018 – The 18 best places I visited in 2018!
Most popular Instagram picture
A picture taken during a beautiful sunset in Nuuk, seen from Noorliit.
Coming up in January 2019
January is sadly my last full month in Nuuk, so I’m going to spend it exploring some new spots and revisiting old favourites, as well as spending some quality time with my friends. But I also have to focus on exams and my upcoming bachelor’s thesis, and finish up my work at the national museum. I’m sure that January is going to be a great month – I’m going to enjoy my last time here to the fullest!
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