Why you should avoid hunting aurora borealis

A word out there to the aurora borealis hunters: do not hunt aurora borealis, because it will most probably not reveal itself to you!
For my 30th birthday I set out to Tromsø, Norway to participate in an organized aurora borealis expedition. The moment I turned 30 I found myself in a freezing cold spot in the middle of nowhere, covered by multiple layers of warm clothes, staring at the ominous, black Norwegian sky. I was surrounded by strangers, united in the burning desire to get a glimpse of magic. Now I like to claim that there is a slight green shadow in one of the photos I shot and I don't understand why it is invisible to others! That night, my wallet felt suddenly a lot lighter, while my mind was travelling on a summer night almost 9 years back, in Finland, near Iisalmi, quite a bit further away from the Arctic circle.
Outside it was dark, we were surrounded by forest and lake and nature, no contact to the outside world, peace of mind, tranquility. Some had opted for a night swim in the lake, if you were standing by the wooden lake house you could hear them moving effortlessly in the cold water. If you entered the lake house, you would encounter an international student group, happily sharing a dinner of canned peas and tuna fish and beer in plastic glasses.
We were the kings and queens of that little universe, exchanging exciting stories in broken English, while playing Jenga, no easy task when you're drunk, but Jaime the Spanish made the losers drink disgusting shots of garlic vodka, which strangely enough proved to be really motivating for the players.
And then the magic happened. Screams outside the cabin, we run outside, and there were these milky strips dancing on the summer sky, as if they had life of their own. It felt dreamy, like something made from extraterrestrial material, hard to comprehend, like all things of value. I laid on a wooden platform next to the lake, in awe, trying to capture this miracle forever in my mind. It took me some time to recall the name for the northern light in my native tongue and it was the first time I heard the term "aurora borealis" in my life. I was thinking that the name sounded as exotic as the dancing strips themselves.
On that cold birthday night in Tromsø, I took a look around, disappointed faces. I went back to the truck, smiling. I had this tiny green shadow on a photo and this huge white dancing wave in my mind...I decided to call it a night and served myself some hot chocolate.