Keely & Jan having a Guinness on St. Patrick's Day ... okay so I grabbed the glass for the picture! 

The Irishman pub - where we celebrated St. Patrick's Day! 

The band who played irish music on St. Patrick's Day - they were very good! 

The massive church built in the 11-1200s during the times of the Vikings. 

Look out tower -- used to look for fires in the city because all the houses were built of timber. 

Local bars in town - Stavanger, Norway 

Hi everyone,

I am still in Norway but this is my last night here. I leave tomorrow for Aberdeen, Scotland from Sunday to Wednesday ... then I will head to London for Thursday to Saturday ... then back home to Houston!

This week was our first week of training on the web-based system that we have all been working on for the past year ... so it was a pretty big week for me! I conducted 6 training sessions this week in Stavanger; 2 each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Jan, my client from BP, flew in on Tuesday from Houston and Chris, project manager at Biznet in Belfast, flew in on Tuesday as well for the big kick-off week. The week went well for the first week of training - we heard some positive feedback and I feel that things should get easier from here ... or at least I am hoping! There is a bit of news to update y'all on my travel schedule because as of now, Accenture will not allow me to travel to Pakistan for security reasons. They can only make an official decision closer to time - about a week before I am supposed to go. So, it is not looking good for me to make that trip ... and Trinidad will not be ready for us to go either; I think those two trips will drop off my schedule when it is all said and done. We are having to go through quite the channels to get approval for me to travel to Colombia but I think we are there - apparently, U.S. citizens are at a higher risk of traveling there than anyone else ... but where is that probably not the case?

I did have some additional good news to tell most of you because I had plans to head to Bali the weekend after I work in Jakarta, Indonesia. I was told that it would cost me $50 to go for the weekend, round-trip, and I could get back in time on Sunday to catch my flight to Vietnam. I was soooooo EXCITED! However, I thought that our point of contact over there in Indonesia was just being extremely friendly in providing me all this information - he even offered to make all my flight reservations and book my hotel, etc. for my stay in Bali. I just thought he was being very friendly and wanted me to have a really good time when I came to his country. In fact, the last email I received asked me all kinds of questions as to what I might like to do that weekend so he could give me suggestions ... sounds nice right? Well, I sure thought so! But - maybe a little too nice ... when I read back through the last email, the last sentence from him said something like, "Please let me know when you want to go to Bali so I can schedule my travel plans around yours" ... uh, I nearly fell out of my chair! I still would LOVE to go to Bali but somehow have to figure out how to still make it over there on my own. Jeeeez...

This past Thursday night was St. Patrick's day as many of you know ... so Jan, Chris, and I found the one Irish pub in all of Stavanger and celebrated there for the night. They had an Irish band playing live Irish music and they were FANTASTIC! The place was a great deal of fun and served its purpose as a place to celebrate St. Patrick's day indeed. Friday, I headed into the BP office for a bit of work and to say goodbye to the BP team that I had worked with all week. After lunchtime, Chris, Jan, & I went into town to do some shopping. It is a great little area that only pedestrians are allowed - you can walk to all kinds of shops in this area and it was so much fun! Luckily, my credit card was spared here in Stavanger because of the outrageous prices ... and I don't see shopping in Aberdeen much!

It is late already on Saturday night - Jan and I just got back from a wonderful dinner. We are headed onto Aberdeen in the morning. I hope everyone is doing well and I am excited to see some of you back in Houston in a week's time!!!

keely :)

Thomas & Keely at the parade 

People lined up in Piccadily Circus to see the St. Patrick's Day parade in London 

St. Patrick's Day parade in London 

Jeff & Keely at Trafalgar Square 

Norway!

Hallo! ("Hi" in Norweigen)

Yes, I am in Stavanger, Norway! This is definitely the furthest north that I have ever been ... I arrived here on Monday from London. Norway is 1 hour ahead of London, which means I am 7 hours ahead of most of you who are on Central time. I should have known that my flight to Norway was going to be an adventure in a sense from the get-go ... I realized after about 10 minutes in the taxi on Monday morning that my flight was not out of London's Gatwick airport but out of London's Heathrow airport instead! There is nothing like finding that critical bit of information out as you are already on your way ... unreal. I arrived at the airport 3 hours before my flight because the travel agency never reissued paper tickets to me for the flight - so I spent the first hour at the ticket sales office trying to get that cleared up ... then spent the next 6 in the lounge of the airport because my flight was delayed several times due to snowy weather in Stavanger!

So, once on the airplane - I fell asleep immediately. I was out cold before we even pushed off from the terminal. Apparently, this was quite the MISTAKE on my part - but I only found out why when we landed in Norway. I woke up a bit through the flight and once we landed, I started gathering all my things - but I couldn't find my medicine bag. For those of you who don't know, I have to keep some of my medication cold, so I carry a small bag with ice packs and medication as I travel. I distinctly remember putting it under my seat when I got on the plane, so I knew I had it with me when I sat in my seat ... but now it was no where to be found?!? I waited until the entire plane emptied out and got on my hands and knees to look for this bag - btw, it is green and blue - so it is hard to miss. Finally the flight attendants asked me about what I was looking for - so as I am explaining what my medicine bag looks like, they both start nodding and proceed to tell me what happened to it. It seems that the guy in the row behind me (okay, yes I shouldn't have put the bag under my seat cos they tell you to put it under the seat in front of you) - but he finds my medicine bag underneath the seat in front of him and thinks it is something that the passenger on the plane before us must have left; he proceeds to tell the flight attendant and she takes it OFF the plane before we even leave London! All this happened while I was asleep cos I obviously wasn't consulted as to whether it was mine or not ... I was so pissed --- I spent the next three days trying to get that bag from London to Stavanger --- unreal!

Anyways, I made it to Stavanger and to my hotel. It had snowed a great deal; it was the first time I had seen snow in about 5 years since our family trip to Tahoe. The town of Stavanger sits on the coast of the North Sea here in Norway. I have learned a great deal about the history of Norway as a country and the Scandanavian region as a whole ... so those who are not interested in this fun fact section, you might want to skip down to the next paragraph. Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland make up Scandanavia, which is not considered part of the Europe. Norway, Denmark, & Sweden all used to be one country, however, in 1814 Norway & Sweden gained its independence (as one country) from Denmark. Little did I know that Norway gained its independence from Sweden as recently as 1905 - they are celebrating 100 years of being an independent country of their very own this year, 2005. Norweigen, Swedish, and Danish languages are all VERY similar and most people who speak one can understand and communicate well in the others. The Finnish language, however, is unlike any of the other Scandanavian languages because it has a Russian/Latvian influence. Everyone here speaks English as a second language for the most part but what I have found to be the biggest eye-opener is that it is not so easy to tell who is a native vs. who is a foreigner in Norway. Why is that? ... because everyone here is white! That may sound ridiculous but think about it - usually, places you go to where English is not the national language, the natives are of a different ethnicity - even the majority of 'white' countries like France, Italy, etc. have distinctive characteristics in how the people look. Here, I can't tell if someone is from the States, the UK, or Norway until they open their mouth. Don't get me wrong, I know I stand out like a sore thumb - but yet every shop that I have been in, the people begin speaking Norweigen to me straight away ... only when I speak back do they know to change to English. AND - I must say, the language here is unlike anything I have heard before. We are so used to knowing what French sounds like, Italian, German, Spanish of course, BUT Norweigen is a language that just sounds so different to me - so interesting! What is especially neat is that they show some American TV programs up here with Norweigen subtitles ... you can follow along with the sentence structure of what some words mean. It is obvious that English and Norweigen are both germanic languages because the sentence structure is the same for the most part. I have learned two words here - "og" = and, "takk" = thank you --- pretty good, eh? ha ha...

I found out that Stavanger has the largest amount of timber houses per capita than any other area in the world. The style of these wooden houses is very distinctive and quite quaint. Stavanger itself is the 4th largest city in Norway with about 120,000 people. There is a huge church in the middle of town that dates all the way back to the 1100/1200s! It is gorgeous, huge, and it has Viking inscriptions on the inside of it, even though the Vikings were Pagan. I was told that Norway is 90% Protestant. Being a coastal city, Stavanger sits right on the water. The busy season around here is the summertime where a great many of outdoor activities take place. The center of the city where the port is located is full of ships and boats in the summertime. There are cliffs that you can climb and boat trips to take out to see the fyords, which Norway is famous for but I had never heard of them before this trip ... they are where cliffs of rock that just drop into the sea ... so again, where the mountains meet the sea.

The biggest surprise of Norway has not been the cold weather, which I was prepared to say that would be the answer most would assume I would say, but it has been the expense of this city!!! Seriously, I thought London was the most expensive place I had ever been - WRONG, oh so WRONG! Here in Norway, they use the Kroner for currency; 1 $US dollar = 6 Kroner. While dividing everything by 6 takes a bit of getting used to, the biggest shocker is what they price everything here before you can even start dividing. For example, a 10-15 minute taxi ride from the airport to the hotel or from the hotel to the BP office costs about KR 250, which equals around $40!!! To put it in another perspective, a candy bar at the convenient store costs KR 18 = $3, a beer at the pub costs KR 75 = $12!!! How 'bout that - a $12 beer? UNREAL - I have never seen anything like it. Hopefully this is the most expensive place I encounter on my travels ...

Alright, I need to post a few pictures and post another email ... bye for now!
keely :)

Out to dinner Friday night - Keely & Jeff 

Jeff, Keely, and Coby - we are at the Zoo bar in London! 

Thomas and I at O'neils ready to watch Ireland play France in rugby. Thomas is Chris's little brother and works for Accenture out of the London office... 

Picture of the bar - everyone grabs a pint and stands up to watch the game. 

Barry & I at the bar watching the rugby - he is wearing Ireland's rugby jersey while I am wearing Northern Ireland's rugby jersey. 

This guy and I wore matching Northern Irish rugby jerseys! I loved it... 

Hi all!

Well, I have been in London for almost a week now and I realize this is the first time that I am writing ... this week has not been what I expected in the slightest - MUCH more work and very little play (even though I had scheduled 3 days of vacation, I managed to work enough hours this week to wipe out those 3 days plus add a bit of OT as well!) But that is the reason I am here in the first place is to work, so no biggy.

We left Monday for London and due to bad weather, changed planes/routes and wound up at London Gatwick airport without luggage. We headed to the hotel anyways and because our plane landed at 7 AM and I hadn't thought to ask for early check-in, my room was not ready yet. So, my first few hours in London were not the best but I have to say ... it was better than spending them in London's Gatwick airport like my last trip to Belfast! After taking a walk to Trafalgar Square, catching a bite to eat, and walking around Piccadilly Circus for a good while, I figured my room was ready so I headed back to get checked-in and settled. My luggage arrived a few hours later and once I got situated, I headed to the Starbucks across the street to work a few hours. It absolutely amazes me that many hotels in the UK still do not have high-speed internet connectivity in their rooms! Starbucks easily became my friend this week considering it has been the only place I have been able to get connected when not at the office.

Wednesday morning, I headed to the BP office in Sunbury. Being that my hotel is located in Mayfair, I walked for 10 minutes to the nearest tube station, took a 10-minute tube ride to Waterloo, took the train from Waterloo to Feltham, then boarded a shuttle bus to the BP office. This commute took me about 2 hours after it was all said and done ... I cannot imagine having to do that every day! I worked Wednesday and Thursday at the BP Sunbury office - met some Accenture people from the London office that were working on a BP project too. Somehow, they knew I was coming to town for the week and I still have yet to figure out how they knew that exactly - they work in Downstream & Chemicals, while I am in Upstream and they had no idea who the Accenture Partner was that I was meeting ... so ??? Small world, I guess. Friday, I was planning on a full day of shopping and walking around the city; however, I was exhausted and managed to pull myself out of bed at the early hour of 11 AM! I think my body was telling me to get some rest, ya' think? I headed to my trusty Starbucks (the shopping would have to wait) and worked for about 2 hours - I planned on working longer but something told me that when I was nodding off in the coffee shop that it would be best if I took another nap ... oh don't worry - I did manage to get over to the shops in Covent Garden for a few hours!

Friday night I was well-rested for a night out on the town. A few of us headed out to dinner and then to the Zoo Bar located in Picadilly Circus. The Zoo bar was pretty cool - it always amazes me how many people who live in London aren't actually from England, much less London - the city is full of transients, especially from other parts of Europe. We had a great time and I was glad to be out on the town!

Saturday, I went to meet a few friends from Northern Ireland at an Irish bar to watch the Ireland vs. France rugby match. The Six Nations Tournament is still going on (Ireland, England, Scotland, Whales, France & Italy) ... but this week the only two teams that were still undefeated were both Ireland & Whales. These teams were the only ones with "Grand Slam" hopes - meaning they had the chance to win the tournament in a full out sweep. Next Saturday, Ireland plays Whales - so if Ireland beat France and Whales beat Scotland this weekend, then the two teams would be playing head-to-head for the Six Nations Tournament Championship PLUS the "Grand Slam". I have to say, and many of you will not be surprised, but my throat was a bit sore after watching the Ireland vs. France game! I absolutely LOVED it - every minute of it - I wore my Ireland rugby jersey and was all decked out!!! I know enough about the game now to follow it pretty well ... and it doesn't hurt when you are surrounded by loads of others in the bar screaming "C'mon Ireland!" - then there was little me screaming "GO GO GO!" ... it was humorous. Unfortunately, Ireland played a terrible first half and even though they gave us a great second half trying to come back - it ended up not being enough. I must say, there was the BIGGEST guy I think I have ever seen on the French team; he is the Captain of the team and just massive - all these players are - I think the circumference of one of their thighs equals my two put together! These guys were fast too - unreal. I have yet to get into the football here (soccer) but the rugby will do just fine ...

Today, Sunday, a few of us will head out to watch a bit of the St. Patrick's Day parade that they are having near Trafalgar Square. Apparently, there is supposed to be a great Irish band there playing traditional Irish music - so I am very excited about that! I find it funny that I don't have a lick of Irish in my blood yet I have such a connection with that country. I am half French and half Italian - yet I was pulling against France yesterday when they played Ireland and against Italy when they were played England ... I am sure my family is frowning as they read this! I couldn't help but think of my brother all day while watching the rugby --- I just know that he would have loved watching too and most definitely would have played it if we had grown up in the UK. I also had flashes of my brother-in-law playing the game as well actually, he is the fastest person I know and these little guys were the ones that were taking off and scoring - no one could catch them!

Anyways, I leave Monday for Stavanger, Norway. Norway is where I will be conducting training on the web-based tool that I have been working on for the past 18 months - it is our big kick-off! I am looking forward to it but will be glad when this first week is behind us because that will mean that most of all the prep work is finished ... now we just have to execute. I am hoping that when training starts, the hours will get back to normal. Also, Cathryn will now be working on the project full time (instead of part-time as she has for the past few weeks) - so I couldn't be MORE happy about having the extra help! It truly has made such a difference so far.

I hope all is well with everyone and I will write from Norway! Enjoy the pics from London.
keely :)