Postmarked from Norway...

Hey there Bobkittens!

Have you signed up for your AESOP trip yet?? Well, if you haven't, now's the time 'cause AESOP is absolutely the best way to start your amazing four years at Bates! I met Josh on my AESOP (Prezzies!), and we've been besties ever since. In fact, we led AESOP together the next year (Saddleback!), assistant coordinated last year, and are back for AESOP round-four together as co-coordinators. So hey, you might meet a life-long friend on your trip like I did...better get movin' on that application!

I'm writing to all you incoming First-Years to get you pumped on Bates and adventuring because AESOP is full of both of those things. Right now, I'm finishing up a two month stint in northern Norway, well above the Arctic Circle. Here, I have been living with a Sami reindeer herding family. For those of you who don't know about the Sami people (because I hardly did before this year), they are Europe's only declared group of indigenous people, and many of them still continue the traditional livelihood of reindeer herding. And I'm not talkin' keeping reindeer in corrals and staying in one place all year. Reindeer are migratory animals, and the reindeer herders are basically here to move with and guide the animals, keeping them in relatively distinct herds as they move between the coast in the summer (where we just arrived) and the tundra in the winter. When a reindeer is slaughtered (something I don't get to witness because it happens in the winter) the Sami people use as much of the reindeer as they can. I've gotten to do so much more with the reindeer than I ever could have imagined, like sorting out the different herds in a sorting ring, moving with the herd over the mountains, and helping with the ear-marking of the calves (each herder has his or her own mark that they cut into the ears of the calves that they own). Check out my blog at seventynorth.wordpress.com if you want more details (there's so much to learn!), but for now, here's some cool pics:

On July 13th, I'll be heading even further north to Svalbard (still part of Norway!) with Bates Geology professor Mike Retelle to take some data for my year-long geology thesis. I have no idea what this will be like, but it's sure to be a whole other adventure! And the best part about all of this adventuring? None of it could have happened without help from Bates. That's right, Bates is there to give its students the experiences of a lifetime. So my best advice to you in your four years here? Make use of the resources Bates has to offer! And AESOP is the very first one of those experiences you get to have at Bates, so make sure to sign up RIGHT. NOW. 

I can't wait to meet you all in August!

Allie