Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Aurora Borealis

Posted by Serena


If you spend a winter in Fairbanks, it is almost a guarantee that you will witness the northern lights. The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are a natural phenomenon that light up the midnight sky with stellar colors.

What exactly is the aurora?

The northern lights originate on the surface of the sun when a cloud of gaseous particles are ejected into space and carried by the solar wind. It takes nearly three days for the mass of gasses to arrive to the earth. As it nears the earth’s atmosphere, it collides with the earth’s magnetic field. When these electrically charged particles enter the magnetic field, they generate currents towards the north and south magnetic poles. The lights tend to band around the magnetic pole and the larger amount of charged particles means the bigger the band around the pole. As the band of particles begins to grow in size around the magnetic north pole, the further south the majestic northern lights can be spotted.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute is a great resource if one is interested in viewing the northern lights because they publish an Aurora Forecast every day.

 http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

On Friday, September 26th the forecast was “Active”. Looking out my dorm window on campus, I could see dancing green bands overhead so I decided to go aurora hunting, armed with my camera. I haven’t had much experience photographing the Aurora but I did not leave disappointed! 

Noah's Norwegian Narrative (An In-Depth Look Into International Exchange)

Posted by Noah


My name is Noah Betzen, and I am pursuing a bachelor of science in computer science through the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In August of 2013, I left the United States and travelled to Narvik, Norway to study as an exchange student through the north2north international student exchange program. I spent ten months there studying nothing but Norwegian language and social studies.

There is an old joke that goes: If you can speak three languages you're trilingual. If you can speak two languages you're bilingual. If you can speak only one language you're an American. This joke was, in essence, my motivation for studying abroad. Studying abroad and learning another language have always been on my list of things to do before I die. I studied Spanish for two years in high school, but I was never really interested in the language. I didn’t feel a particular connection to the language or culture. Norwegian was a language I felt that I could identify with. My ancestry is almost purely Norwegian, and it felt right. The majority of people I have talked to about traveling/studying abroad have said that their time abroad was the best period of their lives. I was always a bit skeptical that any time I spent abroad would be particularly amazing. I’ve always been a somewhat unadventurous introvert. There was something about this adventure that was different. I figured that learning the language would give me a more long-term result that I could show for my time abroad. I hoped that learning another language would broaden my perspective on life and the world. I wasn’t just going to learn another language; I was going to learn another culture by leaving my own. It was like a pseudo fresh start.

Before I got to Norway, I had no idea what to expect. I'd never really been out of the US before. I didn’t want to put much thought into it either, because in my experience it is best to go with the flow when it comes to big changes. I still had the occasional panic attack when setbacks came up, but for the most part I took things in stride.

When I got to Norway, I knew nothing and I knew no one. As soon as I landed in Oslo, I could tell that the atmosphere around me was different. Very few people around me were speaking English, and so the background noise was mostly Norwegian. I felt out of place, almost as though the people around me could subconsciously know that I was an American, even though there were no weird glances or stares. I shortly realized that, as far as anyone else was concerned, I was just a normal person. Even if they realized I was American, it’s not like it mattered. I stumbled my way through Oslo and eventually to Narvik with English. Luckily, most people under thirty have a decent to excellent grasp of English; it almost felt like cheating when I spoke English.

The culture shock I experienced in Norway wasn’t blatant; it was subtle and gradual. At first glance, Norway was a lot like the United States. Norwegians drive on the right (read: correct) side of the road. Most Norwegians speak English, especially if they are young. They consume American entertainment media. That’s about where the similarities stop. Norwegian bank notes are all different sizes and colors. Most places don’t accept credit or debit cards without an RFID chip. There is a different set of traffic signs that are difficult to learn. Most grocery stores don’t sell sliced bread; they have a special bread-cutting machine you have to use. Laundry machines operate slightly differently. Norwegian college students consume low-quality and cheap pizzas in the same way American college students consume ramen. There are two types of cheese in Norway: yellow and brown. There are electric water kettles in almost every room. The way doors open (push or pull) are generally reversed than what I was used to. Tipping your servers is seen as a strange thing to do. Norwegians rely heavily on the use of direct money transfers for everything not requiring a card or cash payment. Almost every single store imaginable is closed on Sundays by law. Grocery store check-out machines will not process any sales of alcohol after a certain time (even when the store is still open for another several hours). There is a period between May 1st and May 17th where high schoolers are allowed and almost expected to have a crazy and organized party where they drink and generally cause trouble for the sake of tradition. I learned of each of these things one at a time as I began to explore and communicate more, and every time I was confused and made a mental note of it.

Learning the Norwegian language was a roller coaster ride. The class itself was a single 30-credit class. We met five times a week for an average of four hours a day. In the beginning, things were reasonably easy. I learned the greetings, farewells, question words, and simple nouns/verbs/adjectives. Pronunciations got difficult with the letters æ, ø, å, and the different pronunciations of letters like o, u, and y. Things began to escalate quickly as we had to write our first 200-word essays in the third week. Shortly after we abandoned speaking English almost entirely. By December we were into advanced grammar and sentence structure. By February we were reading Norwegian novels and giving presentations. By the end of the course, we had gone through three sets of text books, had Norwegian-Norwegian dictionaries we carried around religiously, and I had compiled almost four-thousand words and phrases in an online quiz database. I spoke Norwegian whenever I could, using English only with those who couldn’t speak Norwegian (other international students who weren’t enrolled in the language course) or with those Norwegians who wanted to practice their English.

Norwegians as a people are very stalwart and patriotic. They love the outdoors, and they tend to keep to themselves (when they are not drinking at a social event). When they drink (and they drink often), they are much more social and outgoing. In either case, they love celebrating their Norwegian blood. Their national love of skiing is impressive, and televisions are always crowded when there are Norwegians participating in a ski event, especially against Sweden or Denmark. I purchased a book titled “Xenophobe’s Guide To The Norwegians,” and the first sentence of the book is, “Norwegians define themselves in simple terms: they are not Swedish.” Norway, Sweden, and Denmark are like awkward pale siblings who constantly bicker and fight for superiority in any way that they can.

Befriending a Norwegian is supposedly a difficult task without some concrete shared interest or reason to be around them. I received a bit of advice from a Norwegian I met during my time at the International Science Fair back in 2011. He told me, “to break through the crisp icy shields of my Norwegian kinsmen you’ll need more than a trained tongue.” I was lucky enough to make a good Norwegian friend (named Erlend, pronounced ‘Ehr-len’) through a mutual interest in video games. I also became pretty good friends with his roommates and friends, and I would occasionally join them in dinners or parties. This made my time abroad much easier.

As a country, Norway is very forward thinking. They are a well-functioning welfare state, so education and healthcare are paid for. Norwegians generally aren’t worried about being able to finish their education or receive care for any injuries or sicknesses because they know that they will be able to afford it. Norway regularly ranks as one of the happiest and richest countries in the world for a reason.

Technically I didn’t spend my entire time abroad in Norway. I made one notable trip to capital cities of Sweden and then Denmark during my winter break. If you don’t already know, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have extremely close histories. Norway was owned by both Denmark and Sweden (respectively) at one point in time. The languages of the three are all very similar, enough so that I could vaguely understand what was going on. Norwegian’s written form is more similar to Danish, but in pronunciation it’s more similar to Swedish than Danish. Essentially, Norwegian is Danish spoken in Swedish. I’m digressing at this point (although I did go to Norway to learn about language). To start my trip, I took a 24-hour train ride from my host city of Narvik (Norway) to Stockholm (Sweden). I didn’t particularly enjoy the train ride, especially since it was during the dead of winter. I decided to fly from Stockholm to Copenhagen (Denmark) due to my distaste of trains at the time, and I sure as heck flew from Copenhagen back to Narvik. While in Stockholm and Copenhagen, I stayed in hostels and walked around and took tours and bought expensive souvenirs and tasted strange new alcohols. At this point in my Norwegian study, I didn’t even know enough to hold a conversation with a Norwegian, let alone a Swede or a Dane, but I managed well enough with English. I spent Christmas in Copenhagen and was back in Narvik in time for New Year’s Eve. The entire trip was lovely, and it definitely helped revitalize my soul for the coming semester. My next similar trip wouldn’t happen until the end of my exchange.

Near the end of my Norwegian journey, I had the chance to actually travel around Norway with my girlfriend, mother, and mother’s friend in a typical tourist fashion. This was odd to both me and the Norwegians around me, as I had a decent competency of the language and vaguely understood Norwegian life. Employees of tourist attractions generally don’t expect their customers to speak their language unless they are retirees who finally have the chance to travel. Nevertheless, this was an amazing experience, as it gave me a big final chance to practice everything I had been learning for the past ten months. We travelled to Trondheim, Stavanger, Kristiansand, and Oslo. In each of these cities we walked around and visited the major attractions and generally hung out doing whatever we wanted. My favorite activity was a two hour (each way) hike my girlfriend and I went on outside of Stavanger to a rock formation known as Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), and you can see a photo of that at the end of this post. For most of the trip, I regularly translated and interpreted for my party, which made things much easier for all of us. It was a very empowering feeling to be able to communicate effectively enough with Norwegian strangers, and it definitely rounded out my exchange experience well.

Now that the entire experience is over, I definitely feel like a changed person. I learned a lot more than a language. I learned a lot about being in new surroundings on my own. I learned to appreciate not only my own country and people, but all countries and peoples. I made many good friends with other international students from countries all over the world, each with their own language and culture that was different from my own.

Someday I want to go back to Norway. In fact, I’d like to live there permanently if I can. That dream will take quite a while to accomplish, as Norway doesn’t allow dual-citizenship, and the United States doesn’t allow revocation of citizenship. Perhaps I will become a Swedish citizen and move to Norway. I will have to see what the future holds. In either case, I need to finish my degree. After that, I can consider my options.

If there is one thing I’m trying to say with this writing, it is this: at least once in your life you should travel or study abroad for an extended period of time. If you can learn another language while you’re there, do it. No matter what happens, your experience will be worth it, especially if you embrace the fact that you are in a completely different country. This is especially important for Americans, as many of us can easily live our entire lives without getting the chance to visit another country or learn another language besides English.

Photo 1: The town of Narvik

Photo 2: Høgskolen i Narvik (Narvik University College)

Photo 3: My classmates and teachers 

Photo 4: Representing UAF in Stavanger

Photo 5: Preikestolen outside of Stavanger

Monday, September 29, 2014

Student Jobs and Where to Find Them

Posted by Kayleen


Thinking back, I remember when I was getting ready to come to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. I knew I'd need a job while I went to school, but I just couldn't figure out where to go. It seemed like I would have to wait in order to apply for jobs, and that I would be better off finding one off campus. Boy was I wrong. It turns out that UAF has a phenomenal Career Services office, and their website is super easy to navigate. There's also the option to check out UAK Jobs, where you can actually find and apply to on campus jobs. Some people definitely prefer to get off campus for work--if you're already spending all your class time on campus, it feels good to get away--but on campus jobs are a great option if you're looking to save gas and work around your schedule as a student. 

I held an off campus job my second semester here at UAF. Though I enjoyed the work, it was hard to balance 5 classes on campus, 20 hours of work off campus, and living in the opposite direction as my job. The following semester, I decided to look at my options on campus. I'm so glad I did! I ended up being hired as a Student Assistant to a Dean, which has resulted in making some fantastic connections, a really fun work environment, and the ability to fit in work around my class schedule. Now, instead of only being able to work when I'm done for the day, I can work in between classes, and get home before 5pm. Before, I wasn't even able to start work before 5pm! Whenever I have a block of time over 45 minutes, I can come into work, get what I need to do done, and then head right back to class. They're even happy to give me some time off if I ever need extra study time. 

Next March will mark my second full year of working in this office. It's been such a fantastic experience. But what's even better about on campus jobs is that not all of them stick you in an office. If you love to shovel snow, there's a student job for that. If you're interested in a career in law enforcement, you can find a job at the Police Department on campus. If you have a burning desire to do research, there are many Research Assistant positions waiting to be filled. There are also many more that I'm not mentioning, as well.  

In summary, UAF has some great options for employment, and if you're not sure where to start, go towww.uaf.edu/career or call Career Services at (907) 474-7596. They're super friendly and always willing to help.  If you want to know what having a student job is like, don't hesitate to ask! 

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Zombies! Humans! Nerf Guns! OH MY!

Posted by Tiana


The third annual Humans v. Zombies game at UAF has come a little early this year. While it’s usually held in the spring, the Mod. Squad has decided that separating the snow and ice from running would be a better idea.

Set to begin on September 28 and finish with a big finale on October 4, Humans v. Zombies is keeping its usual week-long game and will only be happening once a year.



Humans are required to keep an orange cloth in between their shoulder and elbow to signify that they are humans, and zombies are required to wear orange cloth around their heads. The game is played by beginning with a set number of Original Zombies (or OZs for short) who do not have to wear headbands for the first 24 hours of game-play. Humans are encouraged to play out in the open so that the infection can be simulated successfully.

In order to turn a human into a zombie, a zombie must make physical contact with a human, much like the simple tap in a game of tag. The humans must then give their Human Identification Number to the zombie so that the zombie may input the tag into hvzsource, signifying that they have fed. If a zombie goes without feeding (i.e., getting a tag) for 48 hours, then the zombie will be turned into a corpse and will no longer be able to play. Thankfully, when getting a tag, you are able to share your feed with up to 2 other people.

Of course humans have a way to defend themselves from zombies, and that is by carrying around unmodified Nerf Guns, using marshmallow guns, or clean, balled up socks. While zombies do not die by being hit with these “weapons”, they are stunned for 15 minutes in standard game-play, or for 5 minutes in mission game-play, giving the human plenty of time to escape to safety.

Special missions that award prizes and power-ups happen every day for both human and zombie enjoyment. Of these power-ups you will find cures (turning zombies back to humans), stem-packs (making a tag not count), and the Witch upgrade (a Witch is a third-party that goes after both humans and zombies).

The players of HvZ have helped build it into not only a fun game, but a successful Residence Life program. In its first year, HvZ was awarded April Program of the Month, as well as Program of the Year. The game, played by just under 300 students in the past two years, has the purpose of getting students out and about campus to have fun, run around, and gain a sense of community amongst themselves. At the end of each game, a celebration known as the Apocalypse Party will be held in the Hess Rec. Center at MBS, this year on October 5.


Registration began on September 17, and tables will be held on Monday and Friday from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm, and on Wednesday from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. All tables will be held at the MBS Lobby on upper campus.