I got myself a really nice little home under the big tree! I used old branches from surrounding trees as my mattress and to make thicker "walls". I found a large log and made a nice campfire so I could cook my meal and keep warm through the night. 
It was just amazing to sit and stare into the flames and follow some of the sparks.....flying like fireflies up up up to the stars...

THE GRAND OPENING OF QUEEN'S NURSERY & PRIMARY SCHOOL
So excited all of us were!!
Finally the school opened Monday the 5th of February.
All of the kids in this area, haven't had a school since the crisis in 2016.
During the July crisis of 2016 the villages adjacent to the UNbase Nakituni and African Queens were harassed and attacked, the area was heavily contested over a four day period resulting in the looting of most of their belongings and total destruction of community areas including the local school.
Village elders have worked tirelessly over the past 12 months to rebuild their lives, unfortunately with a dire economic situation, fragile security and scarce employment they have been unable to re-establish their lost school without assistance.
This Monday was a very important day for all!!
All the children and all their parents had dressed up in their nicest clothes. And the first once arrived already one hour before the opening ceremony.
And then it all started; the opening ceremony with all the speeches under a big mango tree. They all sat so patiently.
After one hour they finally could run around and try their new class rooms and play ground.
They were all so excited and told me what they wanted to become when they grew up; one wanted to be an astronaut, one wanted to be a driver, one told me he wanted to be a shop keeper.
And very many of them dreamt about being a teacher.

With 72 percent of children out of school, South Sudan ranks worst in education among all African nations, according to the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF). One of the most common reasons for non-attendance is the long distance students have to walk to school. School enrollment, which was 42 percent at the start of the war, has plummeted. Only 700,000 school-aged children out of a total of 2.5 million attend classes, UNICEF says. The world’s youngest nation gained independence in 2011, but civil war erupted in late 2013. Tens of thousands have been killed and one-third of the country’s 12 million-strong population has fled their homes, creating Africa’s largest refugee crisis. In the capital city Juba, UN has two large bases, one housing UN staff and approx. 40,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). These IDPs are now receive protection and support from the UN and Inter National Humanitarian agencies, including free education. However, the communities adjacent to the base and IDP camp receive very little support either from the Government or the International community.
During the July crisis of 2016 the villages adjacent to the UNbase Nakituni and African Queens were harassed and attacked, the area was heavily contested over a four day period resulting in the looting of most of their belongings and total destruction of community areas including the local school. Village elders have worked tirelessly over the past 12 months to rebuild their lives, unfortunately with a dire economic situation, fragile security and scarce employment they have been unable to reestablish their lost school without assistance.
CURRENT SITUATION: In direct cooperation with the community of African Queens village, four buildings have been sourced (three classrooms and an office/store) two teachers have agreed to return and funding has been agreed to open the school and provide free education for three months, after which the school will be self-funded by the community - as it was prior to Jul 16.
At the 5th of February 2018 the school opened with 51 children but they expect to attract up to 100 within weeks and potentially numbers will rise to several hundred or more within months.
Being in school gives children some protection from being recruited as child soldiers or forced into other dangerous means of survival, such as selling sex.

NEW SCHOOL UNIFORMS for the new school!
Tomorrow is the official start of all schools here in South Sudan, the youngest nation on this planet. 
You can come with me to Queen's Nursery & Primary School here in the outskirt of Juba the capital of South Sudan. 
The preparations have been going on for a while. 
I have been lucky to be working on this project with the local community and my colleague Rog; thank you for your great effort! 
This school will open tomorrow after two years without any school for this children.
They are all so very excited!!!
And they all need new uniforms; so this weekend the tailors came to the village to measure all the kids for their new school uniforms. All the kids were queuing patiently. They were excited, very proud and some of the youngest were afraid.
Thank you so much Jerry Bueno and Atle Haugland for your contribution to help them getting school uniforms!  I also want to say a huge thank you to Ahmed ‎احمد كون‎ ‎ who supports us every step along this road.
Many months of planning will come to an end on Monday morning and many happy kids will finally be back in school. 
New hope for the future of this young country.

NEW YEAR'S 2018 CELEBRATION IN SOUTH SUDAN
How wonderful to be back home to my dear friends.
And how amazing it is when they welcome me like this. 
They give from the very little they have, they sing and they dance. 
I was so lucky to celebrate New Year for the second time with my dear friends here in the countryside in South Sudan. They prepared the best coffee you can ever dream of getting, the best tea and the best pancakes!!!
And thanks to my good friends and colleagues at Sessvollmoen I managed to fill 2 bags x 23kg with clothes and toys. Thank you Camilla Furuseth-Bjørkheim, Grete H. Hustad, Endre Nedberg, Cathinka Landmark Haakonsen and Nadia Kristine Warvik Voukelatos! Also a huge thanks to Eric who supported with a lot of toys and clothes!

ANTARCTICA
Looking out over the endless expanse of snow and ice... just breathtaking and a huge reminder of how extremely isolated we are on this continent.
The summit of Mt. Vinson, Antarctica’s highest peak and my Seventh Summit! Clear sky, temperature -28 degrees C and the winds whipped at 15 knots.
Just amazing!!!! Sooooooo happy!!!!
Thank you ACLIMA AS and Jentesport for your support!!
More pictures soon 😊

ANTARCTICA what an amazing place to be!!! 
To live down here for a little while, 
to breath this cold, dry, fresh air, and to enjoy every single step to the top of Mt Vinson... 
I am so humble and greatful! 
Thank you @aclima_norway for keeping me warm!! 
And thanks to @jentesport and @aclima_norway for supporting me all the way to the top of Mt Vinson and being with me at all the 7 Summits #aclima#jentesport #mtvinson #antarctica #climbing #7summits 
Photo credit: Tommy Danger

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Over 600 pounds of gear packed and ready to go. This is only some of our gear as we all have carry on gear and will be wearing 10-20 pounds of gear as well.
Let’s hope for good weather tomorrow and get down to Antarctica.

The travel bug has started her marathon Juba(South Sudan)- Nairobi(Kenya)- Amsterdam(NL)- Oslo(N)- London(UK)- Madrid(ES)- Santiago(Chile)- Punta Arenas(Chile)- Union Glacier Antarctica....
Met new friends and old friends and a wonderful crew on the flight to Santiago. Thank u!!!
I even managed to put in the whole Christmas day with my Chilean family in Santiago. Thank you for making this xmas special!!!