Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
A brief Bio: Scott Norris (American)
I am a 22 year old from Fairfax, Virginia. My life that lead me to this bike trip was quite a journey in and of itself!
I went to school at James Madison University for two years, which is located in Virginia's country side, however my interest in French and Arabic was telling me it was time to go abroad for a while (I have had excellent internships at the Middle East Institute in D.C. and as an Arabic Analyst for the government). I was accepted to study abroad at either Oxford University for a year, or attend the American University of Paris, France. Deciding that my english needed no real improvement, and also realizing that Paris is one of the most beautiful cities on earth, to Paris I went!
Arriving there, knowing not a soul, I chose to rent a room in Paris's Latin Quarter, in my eyes, the most beautiful section of Paris. Notre Dame could be seen from my window, and I was only a few blocks away from the famous Saint Michel fountain, where cafés and shops abound. Yes, I was living the high life (quite literally as well, I had a room on the top floor of a French apartment building).
My roommate: oh boy. Kris Gronlie, who will be going on this trip with me, shared my interest in biking. The fact that he is Norwegian but lived 15 minutes away from me in Virginia, and we never met each other until I randomly chose that specific apartment in Paris is strange enough, however realizing that we both shared a common love for the outdoors and biking added to the strangeness!
Consequently, we decided over our spring break to bike from Paris to London, which only wet our appetite even more to do an even bigger trip, one that would encompass many countries and indeed, many challenges.
Our friend Ramsey also inspired us greatly, doing a trip from London to Istanbul, Ramsey not only wet our appetite for this kind of adventure but more importantly, proved it could be done without dying. Thank you Ramsey!
I met other Kris, the infamous Kristoffer Forshufvud of Sweden, through Gronlie; Forshufvud actually lived in my room in Paris before I did - scary? Yes. Note of refrence, as you will see in pictures, Forshufvud has lovely long blonde hair, so if you see someone being called "goldie locks" in these posts, it is a reference to the lovely Swede.
We all have our reasons to do this trip, as you shall see in the other guys posts. I am fortune enough to have teamed up with Opportunity International, which is a non-profit microfinancing institution dedicated to helping the poor. I will be setting up a link soon for people to make donations to Opportunity, for I hope to raise more than $5000 for the organization! I hope to inspire others to do what I am doing to help Opportunity, their institution is incredibly successful, as I have had a first hand account when I visited Nicaragua with my father, and saw that a little money can go a long way towards helping the poor - it really made an impact on me. Not sure what micro-financing is? Go to their website, and become a supporter!
Thats all from the American for now...
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