Hi Hi!

"Hi hi!" is how everyone greets each other here. It's very cute.

Hello, I'm Emma, and I'm studying at UNIS in Svalbard this semester as part of my masters physics course in Aberystwyth, Wales. In Aber I wrote my third year project on the solar quiet current system and my fourth year half project on geomagnetic storms, so the modules here (studies of the upper polar atmosphere and radar diagnostics) are right up my street! I'm looking forward to starting them. I'm sharing my journey with Jen, Brad, Elliot, Chris, Brandon and Gabrielle. If you want to see their blogs/ vlogs, look here!
Jen: http://jen-in-the-arctic.blogspot.com/2017/01/journey-to-arctic.html
Brad: http://svalbardtheadventure.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-journey-to-longyearbyen.html 
Chris: http://mysvalbardadventure.blogspot.com/?view=classic
Brandon: https://vimeo.com/198567808

Myself, Jen, Elliot, Chris, Brandon and Gabrielle at Heathrow. Brad is there in spirit.

Things have been a bit silent from me, both in real life and on social media. My immune system decided to let me get ill just in time to travel here, and give me a swollen throat infection thing that's meant I've had no voice for 5 days now... I'm quiet enough as it is! So communication with everyone has been hard. It's got me down a bit, making me feel quite isolated. There is no sun or day time, and the shops/ universities/ everything are a 40 minute walk away. My friends and family back home are several long plane journeys away. It's been tough on my anxious self. I know I need time to adjust and heal, but there's no time when your exams are looming and you have to do 8 hours of safety training every day!

However, when I was 8/9 years old I read the Northern lights by Phillip Pullman, and became obsessed by the idea of one day seeing them for real. It was the top thing on my bucket list, the thing I will one day do. So when I was looking at universities four years ago and saw that going to Aber was a way to achieve that goal, there was no other university to go to. My time at Aber has been amazing, and I've met the best people who I know will be friends for life. And the whole time I worked very hard (too hard, I have been told, but that's what I do) to get here. And now here I am. This first week has been pretty crazy, and not ideal in a lot of ways, but I hope that with time this place will become special to me like Aberystwyth did.

I haven't written up much yet, but photos and videos will be coming soon. If you're interested in my journey here, check out the links above. And while I sort everything out, here is a small video of me using the last of my voice to squeal at a snowball outside Stockholm airport.

Emma xx