Adam: The Fall Weather Cometh

Fall weather has come to Oslo. It barely reached 60 yesterday and rained all day long.

Erika, Kirby, her friend Ingrid, and I went shopping yesterday at two H&M’s (only a hop and skip away from each other) and feel super European with our (mostly their) new outfits.

Friday night, we grilled with our “buddy group” at Sogn, another student housing village. We got hot dogs and a few other grilling essentials, but soon learned that Norwegians put their touch on everything, including hot dogs. So firm and, frankly, tasteless. Don’t get me wrong, I still gorged on them, but it’s one of the small difference I’ve stumbled upon.

We headed out around 1 a.m. and were hopeful the T-Bane would still be running. No such luck. We ended up bitterly walking back to our apartments. Needless to say, we will not be missing the last T-Bane of the night ever again.

Hulu doesn’t allow anyone outside the US to watch their millions of shows, but this H1N1 thing has decided to make its way to Oslo. The word on the street is that it’s expected to hit 1/4 of the population… Not great. It’s mostly just a precaution, but they have hand sanitizing stations with wipes that always look trashed (Norwegians litter. Disappointing, I know) with an embarrassing picture of a hardcore sneezer on it.

During orientation we were told not to shake hands, but that hasn’t really been happening because everybody wants to be friendly (FYI: Norwegians and Germans have the firmest handshakes.) Hopefully Katie Couric won’t be reporting on my swine flu death in the near future…

Tomorrow is going to be Erika and my first laundry day, and we have some reading to do for this whole school thing we have going on.

Adam: School Underway!

School is underway! The six of us in SUST started class bright and early on Monday with the typical orientation stuff. We got a tour of campus, bought our books and most importantly, found all the coffee shops on campus. Coffee, like everything else, is not cheap, so this is my time to get off the sauce. (I haven’t been extremely successful yet.)

This week has been filled with welcome activities the University of Oslo has thrown for the 1,000+ international students. All the international students went to a welcome ceremony which included a beautiful choir, orchestra, and about 12 words in English. The huge mass was lost, to say the least.

Orientation has been just like like freshman year. We were put into “buddy groups” with tons of French and German students and a handful of Spaniards, Italians, and one random Dutch girl. It’s cliche, but it really is great meeting people from all over the world.

I’ve had to start talking a little slower since English is a lot of people’s second language; simple phrases are the way to go. Kirby and I have decided to start using British English since most Europeans learn it. So I will now be waiting in a “queue” and “topping up” a drink.

I was able to find rain boots for 99kr which was pretty much a dream come true. I was so excited, so I wore them the following day…the one day it decided not to rain and be bright and sunny. I looked a bit ridiculous. Ok, a lot ridiculous, but they have been my best purchase thus far.

Shopping has been interesting. We’ve all been looking for the cheapest possible price. Since $1 is equal to about 6kr, the prices are jarring. But let me just say this, Norwegians know how to throw a sale. My boots were on sale and were only $16.50. Steal! We also took the store Kid (sort of Norway’s Bed, Bath and Beyond) by storm. There were curtains on sale for 70% off. Steal!

Something that was not on sale, but totally worth it was shrimp and cheese paste. It goes great with my Wasa crackers and Lixian, our assistant program director who has lived here for two years, says if you’re lucky you won’t get shrimp chunkers clogging the tube. As Rachel Ray would say, yum-o!

Since it was such a beautiful day on Tuesday we went to Sognsvann, a lake located in our backyard. A few people swam in the freezing water and everyone else enjoyed the sun. I got a rockin’ sunglasses tan.

Tonight, a few of us went to a bar-b-que on campus and chatted with some Norwegians (something we haven’t done a lot of). A lot of people have been saying it’s hard to crack Norwegians, but we met some very nice ones.

Chateu Neuf will become a diskotek tomorrow for Semesterstartsfest, as the Norwegians call it. A lot of dancing will be involved, so, it should be a lot of fun and will be a great start to the weekend!

Adam: Stop Dividing Everything By Six

Well, I made it. After months of saying “I’m going to Norway” I can finally say “I’m here.”

The flight from Newark to Oslo was definitely a long one. We sat on the runway for an hour or so as our baggage was still being loaded as we boarded. No sweat. Thanks to Continental’s television/movie selection, I was able to watch some 30 Rock and Top Chef which helped pass the time.

What also helped pass the time was the two meals that were served over the six hour flight. Let me tell you this, I will never be eating airplane food ever again! I don’t know what it is, but it never agrees with me and makes me want to jump out of the plane or complain to the captain. Whichever.

After landing I had a scary encounter with the lady who checked my passport. She asked what I was here to do. I said “study.” She asked “study what?” I said “school.” I was pretty sure she was going to turn me around and send me back to the States….

At baggage claim I was delighted to see my red bag, only to see it scuffed and dirty, and oh yeah, belonging to someone else. I was very surprised to see that Kelsey from Chicago (as the tag said) had such a high taste level.

Customs was a breeze. Well, at least we created one as we walked directly through. Also, I’m just gonna say that the Oslo airport is like an Ikea showroom in that it has a very contemporary design and is made mostly out of wood.

After taking out 800KR ($130) my new classmate Erika and I made our first Norwegian purchase: a bottle of water. It was around 30KR and now I know what it was like to live during the Great Depression and know “frugal” is my new mantra. I have to stop trying to figure out the American price for everything, even though my basic math skills could use some sharpening.

We were met by Margareta, our program director, and quickly set out to take Oslo by storm. We boarded a train and transfered to the T-Bane to get to our housing. Originally we were to stay in Sogn Studentby, but instead are staying in Kringsjå which is only five stops on the T-Bane than Sogn and has only two people to a bathroom instead of seven. Fine by me.

There are six of us total (me being the only male) and we did a little exploring, getting food at a kabob stand and eating in a park close by. I’m still waiting for my lutefisk.

To say that I’m exhausted would be like saying the cost of living in Norway is cheap. I kept dozing off when Margareta was explaining our plans for this weekend, but luckily we have it printed on an itinerary. I can barely type right now and I still have to put the sheets on my bed. Oiy.