House of benthos

Barrack 11, just about as high up the valley
as you can get without having to carry a rifle.

My third full day of coursework in Longyearbyen is complete, and it's been pretty laid-back so far. We've had introductory lectures from a few different professors, and several pages in my notebook have already filled with notes. We actually had a short day today, so I used most of my afternoon to read. We have 450 pages of scientific papers to make it through in 5 weeks, so I definitely have to stay on top of my reading!

You might be wondering where students live in Longyearbyen, since the town is so small and remote. Well, thankfully, UNIS has student housing, and everyone is guaranteed a spot. Most of the student housing is at Nybyen, a cluster of dormitories and hotels at the head of the valley where Longyearbyen sits. There's also one dorm right next to UNIS. I stayed in Nybyen when I was up here last fall, and even though it's 3 km away from UNIS, I don't mind the distance. In fact, I requested to live in Nybyen again just because I love the long walk up and down the valley. Each morning, my day begins with a 3 km walk downhill to UNIS, and every night, I walk that same distance back. Granted, the evenings are a bit more difficult, since I'm going uphill, up-valley, and often against the wind, but even so, the trek is one of the best parts of my day.

Our fossil find

There are 17 people in my class, and UNIS put almost all of us in the same Nybyen barrack. Yes, barrack. That's the direct translation from Norwegian, though a more accurate word in English is actually "dormitory." There's a series of single bedrooms in a long hallway, and we share bathroom and kitchen space. It's plenty roomy. I call it the House of Benthos.

I'm sure I'll get to know my classmates very well over the next few weeks, considering that we spend all day at UNIS together, then hang out in the evenings. We hail from 11 countries on 3 continents, but we share a love of the ocean and a sense of adventure.

Longyearbreen

Tonight, we met after dinner for a nice evening stroll. It's possible to stay outdoors quite late around here because even though the sun sets this time of year, it usually stays right below the horizon, and the sky never really gets dark. We borrowed a rifle and headed up the valley, past Nybyen, to the foot of Longyearbreen glacier. The location is known for having fossils, and if you hammer something sharp into the sedimentary rocks, they'll split to reveal the impressions of ancient leaves. A few in our group spent about an hour hammering, and they came back to the barrack with a good 10 fossils. I was pretty impressed. The rest of us explored the glacier. There were frozen meltwater streams at the edge - well, frozen on top, but with cold water running underneath. We didn't get too close, because we didn't have the proper shoes and didn't want to break through the ice.

Life is good in the House of Benthos.

Us with Longyearbyen in the background