All set for travel!

I'm a gadget-person. And I mean any useful, practical, "I need this" sort of gadget. It doesn't have to have buttons or wires or funny sounds, as long as I think it's ingenious. Or even just slightly clever. I have a iPod USB charger adapter gadget, an iPod mini-speaker system gadget, headphones you can fold together, a fancy laptop rucksack complete with raincover, webcam, fancy protective case for my sunglasses, and of course, the gadget over all others; my beloved iPod itself.

Ever since I was 15 I've felt like I've lived in a suitcase. Or a bag. I moved out early, but went often home, and moved again when I was 19, 20 and 21. I have friends spread over much of Norway, and a boyfriend a 100 kilometres away. I've been to Malta, Kenya, Uganda, Spain, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, and I intend to work in Africa as a nurse eventually. Safe to say I tend to travel a lot, and am planning to continue. Time I got a descent travel bag, ey? And I somehow think it's fun to search the net far and wide trying to find the cheapest and best gadget. In this case, bag. And it's so much easier to justify buying something when you "think" you need it AND it's (relatively)cheap! After a few hours of searching I actually ended up with buying this bag (picture) from Nomaden, a great shop in Oslo that has just about every gadget a backpacker need. Very dangerous and money consuming place. For the interested persons out there it's a 75L Salewa traveller backpack with a 15L daypack attatched, and isn't top loaded like most bags but can be laid down and opened like a regular bag. Easier to get to your stuff in other words.

Now I just hope I'll get to use it this summer. I'm going to Øyafestivalen and Vestfold Vikingfestival this summer, and hopefully on a trip to Valdres with my boyfriend and his family. So I'll get a little use out of it.

On a closely related travelling subject; I've sent an application to become something called "Folkereporter", or "People's reporter". Norway is going to have a Telethon fund raiser on the 21st of October called "Together for kids". It's a cooperation with UNICEF, and the money will benefit people affected by HIV/AIDS in a number of countries (among others Uganda *wub*). Now they're looking for 4 norwegians 18+ who they'll send to Malawi or Zambia for a week in august as amateur reporters. Dear god how I'd love to go! Trying not to get my hopes up, probably I won't hear from them at all, but I would definitely not have a chance if I didn't throw an application at them. The only problem is that departure is set to be at the beginnin of august, and I have a festival to go to on the 8th and 9th of august. So in the off-chance I might get a spot, I might have a problem. Not going to start worrying quite yet, tho.