It was Dark morning when I just arrived Tromsø Airport on 26/11/09 at 11:00 am.. Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county and the city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population, It is the largest city and the largest urban area in North Norway, Most of Tromsø, including the city centre, is located on the small island of Tromsøya in the county of Troms, 350 kilometres inside the arctic circle. So from this morning my great and special experience has started!
The midnight sun is above the northern horizon from about 18 May to 26 July, although the mountains in the north block the view to the midnight sun a few days, meaning that one can see the sun from about 21 May to 21 July. Due to Tromsø's position near the top of the globe, twilight is longer, meaning there is no real darkness between late April and mid August.
The sun remains below the horizon from about 26 November to 15 January, but due to the mountains the sun is absent from the center from 21 November to 21 January. The return of the sun is an occasion for celebration. Due to the twilight, there is some daylight for a couple of hours even around midwinter, often with beautiful bluish light. The nights shorten quickly, and by 21 February the sun is above the horizon from 07:45 to 16:10, and 1 April from 05:50 to 19:50 (summertime).
Kristen, the kind lady who’s working at KFUK-KFUM since month ago, and she looks that she’s working with them since many years ago!! So anyway she has picked me up from the airport and after an hour from my arriving, I went to an elementary school there and to be exact I have visited 9 grade to tell them about Palestine, so I started to talk with the students with an introduction about me and what I’m doing here, and then I have presented for them about Palestine, include maps and location, geographical, population, general information and the current situation in its political situation and Palestinians daily life and exactly children daily life to let them know and hear about Palestinians children, and how much they are lucky! How the Palestinians life going on at the tragic situation with Israeli soldiers.. how they are struggling to work instead of studying like the rest of the children world, so this is such a small issue to mention because I told them a lot or at least I have tried to effect them, as well as it’s not that easy for them understand !!
Something else was really interesting that they asked me to teach them some Arabic words and I was really glad from them for asking this, so I did! I have learnt them some important and funny words.
At the afternoon, I went to the host family house where I stayed through my visit, they have welcomed me in best way, I was really happy with them, they are 5 people, the parents who’s the mother Anna is a teacher at the school I visited, while the father Torstein has just stared his studying as social work at the university there after leaving his job. And the oldest daughter is 17 years old studying at high school, while the second one is 15 years and studying at school too, but the youngest son is 12 years old and he’s at school too, this kid is really interesting boy, smart and football player as well but he’s good in English too! Not every child trying to talk English with me, but he did! As well as he remind me for my little brother Leonardo 10 years old!
Anyway at the evening I went with Torstein to attend seminar by the Norwegian Doctor Mads Gillbert who has been in Gaza during the brutal war to support the humanitarian effort at al-Shifa Hospital during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, which he’s solidarity worker and a member of the socialist party Red. He is a specialist in anesthesiology and a leader of the emergency medicine department of University Hospital of North Norway, and has been a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromsø since 1995. So he has presented about the Current situation in Gaza in different issues, how this war affected by the Palestinians, and how until now nobody is helping and developing! The water issues becoming worst! Many Palestinians still Missing! No Houses! No food! Including some reports and more information and solidarity pictures! And I have got the chance to talk with him, he’s really caring person, positive, encouragement, powerful, you feel with him how he really was affected by Palestinians and by what he has experienced during this tragic war, and caring for human rights, our rights that will day will come and I believe in it, I really do!
The next day, Friday morning I went to visit Tromsø KFUK-KFUM, its nice and comfortable office! And located in the middle if the city.Then we started our tour in the city! In the beginning we went up to mountain called Fløya which mountainlift takes us up to the mountain Storsteinen, located 20 m above the sea. From there we have a magnificent view! It was unbelievable! We could see all Tromsø from there! Cold weather but never mind because we are enjoying! So it was such a nice tour with Kristin as she felt like a tourist with me, going here and there! But we really had fun!
After that we were invited for lunch at Jacoub Place, the secretary at Tromsø KFUK-KFUM, we had good conversation with each other as well as it was nice hosting from him!
Our Touring day of course haven’t finished yet, so we continued by visit Tromsø Museum..Different! Strange! I have never seen something like that! The Museum is the oldest scientific institution in North-Norway. It was established in 1872 and incorporated in the University of Tromsø in 1976. The museum has 80,000-90,000 visitors annually, andconsists of six departments Geology, Botany, Zoology, Archaeology; Cultural History maintains a photo collection of more than 100,000 (historic) pictures and Sámi Ethnography. It was just a new part and knowledge about Norway, and the north exactly! To see how they were living, their traditions, and the Sami People need a chapter to write or talk about, they are one of the indigenous people of northern Europe inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia but also in the border area between south and middle Sweden. Their ancestral lands span an area the size of Sweden in the Nordic countries. The Sami people are among the largest indigenous ethnic groups in Europe. Their traditional languages are the Sami languages, which are classified as members of the Finno-Lappic group of the Uralic language family.
Traditionally, the Sami have plied a variety of livelihoods, including coastal fishing, fur trapping, and sheep herding. However, the best known Sami livelihood is semi-nomadic reindeer herding - which about 10% of the Sami are connected with and 2,800 actively involved with full-time. For traditional, environmental, cultural, and political reasons, reindeer herding is legally reserved only for Sami people in certain regions of the Nordic countries.
In our way too, we have got the chance to see the Wonderful church, The Tromsdalen Church which is more commonly known as The Arctic Cathedral, literally "The Cathedral of the Arctic Sea, is a church in Tromsø, Norway, built in 1965. The church is a parish church and not, in fact, a cathedral. And its building materials consist mainly of concrete. Because of the church's distinct look and situation, it has often been called "the opera house of Norway", likening it to the famous Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.
Advent Fest Day, it was Saturday at Tromsø Catherdal, which this Cathedral is the only Norwegian cathedral made of wood, and is an example of wooden Gothic revival. It is likely to be the northernmost Protestant cathedral in the world. With 800 seats, it's one of Norway's biggest wooden churches.
The structure was completed in 1861, with Christian Heinrich Grosch as the architect. It was built using a cog joint method. It is situated in the middle of Tromsø on a site where there in all likelihood has been a church since the 13th century.
So the Advent Fest was organized by the Norwegian Church Aid in Tromsø, and held since 17 years old! So there were different children choirs with different Christmas songs as it was the First Saturday of Advent.. Clowns wondering around and making funny activities..The children playing and having fun together and with their parents too..But the special in this festival was the four houses they had..Guatemala House which they played music, Tromsø House which there were Tromsø kids playing, singing together while the clown is celebrating with children and the people there, and then we came to the third house, which it is Hope Land, where there was an man told them a story about Hope and how we have to keep the hope inside our heart whatever the life going on, we need it every day, every minute!! And of course between these activities and houses, the choirs were singing. Then the fourth and last House was my House, Bethlehem House, where Jesus was born, as the clown has played a role of Jesus Birth and then I started by Bible words in Arabic: “ Since Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, The Shepherds from the East came to Jerusalem, saying where’s the King of the Jews. We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him”.
And then I started to talk in English of course, which I talked about the Palestinians Children comparing them with the Global Children and Tromsø Children, as how they are living their life, how they are spending their Christmas with the Israelis, the bombs, gunshots, while the rest of the world spending it as a nice time with families and presents under their Christmas trees!! While the world Children dreaming about their gifts that they have received or they will next morning, while the Palestinians just wishing to still alive until the next morning with the tragic situations that they are living in!!!
It was really wonderful evening at the city with Christmas lights, Christmas Trees and the decorations, and what it continues this evening great is the snow! It was snowing and I was wondering under the snow in the city with my friend.. enjoying and feeling Christmas time while the people are spending their nice time too…
The activities there are not stopping..active with great people at nice time..I have ended this day by participating with “Lys Våken” that means: “Light Awake”.. The idea behind the project is light awake at all Norwegian churches to organize the church overnight, the first advent weekend.
This is inspiring. With all the ideas that pop up from people who have learned how much fun it is with such events. Program packages adapted to the diversified Norwegian Church geography is sent out. Several of the big church children and youth are part of the project and helped with program suggestions and resource materials.
As well as this event held the second year in all Norway, it’s really good opportunity to sleep over at the Church! I think anybody wish to do the same..Anybody would love to experience such like this event, ever body would be proud to live this great opportunity! There were different activities for the kids to do, to try, to share with each other! Singing..Playing..learning…So my role there was that I have learnt the kids Christmas Arabic Song , and let them heard it which this song for one of my favorite Lebanese singer, Fairouz.., it was nice to do that, to share with them my language and my songs in this Christmas time..and the important that they enjoyed it, so I feel satisfied and happy too
Here the First Sunday of the Advent, I have attended the service at Tromsø Cathedral too, and I have the pleasure to be there. In this day all the Norwegian people start to be ready for Christmas, start to decorate their houses, lighting the first violet candle with Christmas Star in the window that symbol for Christian tradition that revealed the birth of Jesus to wise men.As well as the seven Candles.
So it was nice service at the church, as well as this day was the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinians People, I tried to sell some Olive trees to plant them at Palestinians Lands in February, and I did sure! And I have continued this day with my great host Kristen.
But my last task and different experience too was that we went to another evening service at kvaløysletta, and we have met one of Ten Sing Group in Tromsø, which they are the biggest group there and they called: “ Smashing Ten Sing”. They were amazing, they had warm voice, it was nice from them, so I participated in this service by talked about Palestinians children too but in Arabic, as it’s my home language so no need for English, and the priest was translating to Norwegian, sure the people found it strange to talk in Arabic but they were happy and listening to me well and that make me feel proud to do it.
Finally I just would like to say these four days in Tromsø gave me an open-eye in different parts of Norway to see, to experience, to know and learn more, as I felt Tromsø as my home country as Beit Sahour, people there know each other more and have close relationships between each other more! I really like the place there, and I was so lucky to be there! And Thankful for the people who let me participate in different activities they held there.
