Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! The view from my parents house out towards the Oslo Fjord on x-mas eve! And it has snowed ever since!!
We are going home for Christmas!! But it was not without anticipation... bad weather in Norther Europe caused delays in the air traffic, and fog and snow in Atyrau made us a teeny bit nervous! With just one hour delay from Atyrau (due to delayed incoming flight, as it had been stuck in Amsterdam for 4 hours yesterday) off we went to Europe!
y. So after landing in Amsterdam we were pretty happy! Closing in on winter wonderland! Just a 1,5 hour flight to go!
The girls have (again) gone shopping!
of wine, we laughed a lot!!
The Kazakh winter has arrived! Last week the cold weather came (around minus 12-15), with strong winds from the north east, and the Ural river froze over quickly. And yesterday we got the first snow. Well, I would not call it snow, it is more like fine white powder. Snowing and minus 15, strange combination, maybe that is why it was only powder?? Whatever it is, it brightens up our day!! That is the most important thing!
In our lunch break today we went to the market!
Last night Knut had invited to a great, but sad party; his going away party! Knut has been on the project for 2 years!! Quite an achievement Knut!
Great party Knut! We are going to miss you!!
A great way to enjoy both the Kazakh and Norwegian culture is to mix something you know very well and love (waffles), with something new and exotic (camel milk)! A great combination! The waffles become really crunchy and tasty!
essful waffle-night in Kristin's apartment! Knut even brought some brown cheese to the waffle-party!! A sure winner!!
Sunday was a hard day.. it is not an understatement to say it was very tough for some...
Today is the day for the big party here i Kazakhstan! The Winter Holiday Season Party! This year it is a Costume Party! And in KZ-style, there will be entertainment, lottery, surprises and dancing! The girls working in the office have been rehearsing for days on their entertainment pieces, either dancing, singing or playing an instrument. This will be a night to remember!
Today is the first day of December! Hurra! Time to open the first door on the advent calendar! Well, I do not have an advent calendar this year, but I do have my advent candle. Can not burn it at the hotel or at the airport, but will burn it when I get to the apartment tonight!
It is KZ time, again. Let us hope the next couple of weeks will be ok! Exiting things are happening I hope. X-mas/winter party in KZ will hopefully be a winner! And off course the usual x-mas songs and cakes will brighten up our long working weeks. My bag is full of goodies!! Chocolates, cakes, marzipan, gingerbread men, and spices to make x-mas cakes! And even Catrin´s special glüwine-gummy-bears! And I have brought my Danish advent candle, brought home from Copenhagen by my dad. So everyday I will light my candle and keep track of the days until x-mas. Nice!
This heavy (1,9 kg) and glossy book dictated my life for the last three weeks!! Had a good study-weekend with Gjertrud last weekend, so much nicer to "suffer" together! Good luck with your exam in two weeks G!
It is great to be home! My apartment had a magic transformation while I was away! It is now fabulous! The living room and kitchen are both completely repainted and have great wallpaper on one wall. This is a picture of the kitchen wallpaper, so nice! The living room wallpaper will not show on a photo, it is almost silver-white with a white flower pattern, looks great in the living room! And last but not least, the old chair! It has been re-upholstered with a fantastic striped pattern! And the best thing of all, my great family had moved my furniture back in its place, cleaned the whole place, eve
n the windows! And they had not told me! So imagine my face when I got home! I have been smiling ever since! Great to be home!!
The time has come! The girls are going home! Well, crazy Kristin is going directly from here to Bali for her 4 weeks off. Have a great time Kristin! Catrin is already home in good old Oslo! Oslo here I come at last!!
We had a great night out yesterday! The quiz was a success (some of the questions were too hard though...), the black and orange punch was tasty and full of vodka, and the crowd was happy! In total, a fun event. After the Quiz some of us continued the night at a restaurant/nightclub across town. Halloween entertainment and dancing, a fun night out in Atyrau! It was not easy getting up at 07:00 today to go to work, but what's a girl to do....!
Time for some fun in Atyrau! Tonight it is Halloween Quiz at the pub! Kristin and I are the judges tonight, and yes we accept bribes! All the money goes to an orphanage here in town, so it is for the kids!!
How wrong can you be...! I was all wrong about my comment that the helideck on Ersai 400 would be my ticket home... After 3 hours of waiting at the heliport check-in, they finally announced that my 
flight was cancelled. But good news, they had an extra crew boat!
Nothing much to see but dry straw/rush, run down fishing boats, some run down huts/shacks, and the occasional camel, cow and goat. Nice crew boat though, plenty of space for the 15 of us!
It got us home eventually! All comes together in the end! Just remember, never expect an uneventful day in KZ!
The Island is showing itself from its good side today. I had an ok nights sleep, and have plenty of things to do before I get on a helicopter after lunch! This great vessel, the Ersai 400, is my ticket to get home. The helideck is on this vessel! The helicopter is already delayed 1 hour do to weather conditions... but they tell me I will make it home today! Lets hope so!!
Good news! I have a "dinner-date". The dreaded dinner at Caspian Princess is no longer a worry. I will be dining on board the grand old Russian river cruiser Shkotov. Life is great....!
After a bumpy helicopter ride I arrived on D Island, hungry (but just in time for lunch) and in a good mood. But when the girl told me which vessel I am assigned to my spirits dropped slightly. But I though, it is just for one night, how bad can it be?! I got the most dreaded vessel... the Caspian Princess! Trust me, it is not a princess! But it will have to do for one night! It is damp, rusty, and smells bad... I survived lunch with no major incidents. But seriously, hoping to be taken "out" for dinner tonight. Just have to make it through the night (have brought flip-flops for the shower, and have ear-plugs for the night, so hoping for the best...) and then make it trough breakfast tomorrow morning! Other than that, offshore has been good! Got my huge warm orange winter jacket now, to have over my coveralls, so I am ready for any weather! Felt like a child in kindergarten! Had a good walk-about with the Services Supervisor, so I have been climbing in modules and pipe-racks! Fun fun!
Girls are girls! We always find ways to go shopping, even in KZ... Catrin, Kristin and I basically bought half the store... lots of x-mas gifts are now crossed off the list. So for obvious reasons, I can not post pictures of all my shopping! But I can show you some x-mas decorations I bought for myself. This little x-mas tree and two girls have bells inside and swing from side to side! Fun fun!
My 2nd trip to the Island in the Sun was also before this blog. But just about! It was on the 23 of October!
days at the Ravel. A nice "new" German river cruiser, with small rooms, but great food! And the best dining hall on the Island!
My very first trip offshore was before I started this blog. But I think it still deserves a post! It was a big experience in my KZ-life! 
The flight went fine, it was actually fun. Take-off was super!! It was great to fly in over the offshore installation for the first time! Everyone keep saying it is huge. But you do not understand what that means until you see it. It is HUGE!! It is an island, but also a whole society! 
I was meet in the debriefing room by a very nice Aker guy, Agnar! He walked me to my boat, the Shkotov, an old Russian river cruiser. I got a nice double room, all for myself!
This is the view from my window. To the right I saw a big Module, M 12, the Living quarter. When the island is done, this is where the people operating the Island will live. To the left is the open sea, with the ice-breakers protecting the island from the thick drift-ice that moves quite a lot during the winter.
Just had to share this great picture of Kristin! This picture is taken at Torleif's going-away party a few days ago (Torleif is leaving us for the Sakhalin I project... we do not like that...he will be missed!). Torleif got the camel hair slippers as a present, and Kristin is testing them out. Apparently very warm and nice! And great looking!
Today it is cold! The first cold day this season. Minus 5 and ice-wind from the north this morning when we left the warm apartment to go to work. Well, we did not walk to work, we took the Prado as usual... Yesterday's storm has left some snow/ice on the streets, but not too bad. Yet another beautiful and sunny day in Atyrau!
