November 18
Today I went on another free tour offered bu UiO, to the Akershus Castle! I had even heard that a lot of inspiration for Frozen cam from this Fortress and Castle. After lapping the grounds a couple of times, I finally found the group just as the tour began. It was really cool and we got to see different rooms, the dungeons, halls, where some of the royalty is buried, where they hold important government dinners, and even some secret passageways! It was really cool and after, I walked around the grounds of the Fortress some more, taking it all in. After my tour, I headed downtown to meet Frieda and Lotte for some shopping and just hanging out and talking, which was nice and fun! After we headed home, I also set up my new Kindle that my mom had brought with her (Thank you!). I hadn't wanted to do it before now, because it would have been just another thing to procrastinate with when I needed to study (not that that helped lol). I downloaded a couple books and spent the night reading, which was absolutely perfect. I can't remember the last time I read something that wasn't for school or homework, which if you really know me, is a huge deal! I felt so much better though! I have been feeling a little down and homesick lately, so reading was the perfect and most relaxing thing to do just then, and I am definitely feeling better! :D
November 19
I spent most of the day curled up in bed reading, since it was so rainy out anyways. It is also getting really dark here! The sun raises around 9ish (or at least that is when I get up...) and then it is already setting around 3:30! It is really hard to get used to and feels so weird! I feel like I should be home and in bed, but it's not even dinner time!? I also got to skype my mom and Jim to catch up, which was nice! Tomorrow, I was invited to have dinner with my family here in Norway again and I am so excited to see them again! Can't wait!!
November 20
Today was full of errands and getting ready, not only for dinner tonight, but also for packing and getting ready to leave Friday morning for Dublin! After doing laundry and some other chores, I quickly showered and then got ready to go and have dinner with my Norwegian family! Tezz, very kindly, invited me to go over to the house with them, and so after meeting up at Jeanette's apartment I tagged along with them as we took a cab to Kjell and Lill's. It was great to see everyone again and Lill cooked us a very traditional Norwegian dish called potetballs. They are kind of like potato dumplings filled with meat and they were absolutely amazing! Super filling, but they tasted great! After dinner, we sat around and talked... well they talked, I tried to keep up with their Norwegian :) But it was fun, kind of like a game of trying to pick out the few Norwegian words I know and trying to follow along, or someone giving me a pitying look and translating the conversation for me. It is honestly just great to be able to sit back and listen to real Norwegians talk and really get to hear the language. It seems so complicated, but beautiful at the same time. While I am grateful that the majority of the people here in Norway speak in English, it also makes it really hard to learn the language. In most situations, people either automatically switch to English once they realize I am American, or in my case, I live with a bunch of international students and it seems like English is the default language. So even though I was lost the majority of the time, it was nice to hear everyone speaking Norwegian. :)
We all spent a lot of time talking and catching up and before I knew it, it was time to go. Caroline and Christain rode the bus home with me and I was even able to say hi to my Sogn friends at the Pub quiz before calling it a night and starting to pack for my Dublin trip tomorrow. I also got to Skype with my mom and Jim and they helped me with my frustrating housing situation for next semester that I will hopefully get straightened out soon! Overall, it was a great night and I was so glad to see my family again and meet some new people! I am so grateful that they invited me over and included me in their fall celebration and wonderful dinner, Thank you all! :)
Today I went on another free tour offered bu UiO, to the Akershus Castle! I had even heard that a lot of inspiration for Frozen cam from this Fortress and Castle. After lapping the grounds a couple of times, I finally found the group just as the tour began. It was really cool and we got to see different rooms, the dungeons, halls, where some of the royalty is buried, where they hold important government dinners, and even some secret passageways! It was really cool and after, I walked around the grounds of the Fortress some more, taking it all in. After my tour, I headed downtown to meet Frieda and Lotte for some shopping and just hanging out and talking, which was nice and fun! After we headed home, I also set up my new Kindle that my mom had brought with her (Thank you!). I hadn't wanted to do it before now, because it would have been just another thing to procrastinate with when I needed to study (not that that helped lol). I downloaded a couple books and spent the night reading, which was absolutely perfect. I can't remember the last time I read something that wasn't for school or homework, which if you really know me, is a huge deal! I felt so much better though! I have been feeling a little down and homesick lately, so reading was the perfect and most relaxing thing to do just then, and I am definitely feeling better! :D
November 19
I spent most of the day curled up in bed reading, since it was so rainy out anyways. It is also getting really dark here! The sun raises around 9ish (or at least that is when I get up...) and then it is already setting around 3:30! It is really hard to get used to and feels so weird! I feel like I should be home and in bed, but it's not even dinner time!? I also got to skype my mom and Jim to catch up, which was nice! Tomorrow, I was invited to have dinner with my family here in Norway again and I am so excited to see them again! Can't wait!!
November 20
Today was full of errands and getting ready, not only for dinner tonight, but also for packing and getting ready to leave Friday morning for Dublin! After doing laundry and some other chores, I quickly showered and then got ready to go and have dinner with my Norwegian family! Tezz, very kindly, invited me to go over to the house with them, and so after meeting up at Jeanette's apartment I tagged along with them as we took a cab to Kjell and Lill's. It was great to see everyone again and Lill cooked us a very traditional Norwegian dish called potetballs. They are kind of like potato dumplings filled with meat and they were absolutely amazing! Super filling, but they tasted great! After dinner, we sat around and talked... well they talked, I tried to keep up with their Norwegian :) But it was fun, kind of like a game of trying to pick out the few Norwegian words I know and trying to follow along, or someone giving me a pitying look and translating the conversation for me. It is honestly just great to be able to sit back and listen to real Norwegians talk and really get to hear the language. It seems so complicated, but beautiful at the same time. While I am grateful that the majority of the people here in Norway speak in English, it also makes it really hard to learn the language. In most situations, people either automatically switch to English once they realize I am American, or in my case, I live with a bunch of international students and it seems like English is the default language. So even though I was lost the majority of the time, it was nice to hear everyone speaking Norwegian. :)
We all spent a lot of time talking and catching up and before I knew it, it was time to go. Caroline and Christain rode the bus home with me and I was even able to say hi to my Sogn friends at the Pub quiz before calling it a night and starting to pack for my Dublin trip tomorrow. I also got to Skype with my mom and Jim and they helped me with my frustrating housing situation for next semester that I will hopefully get straightened out soon! Overall, it was a great night and I was so glad to see my family again and meet some new people! I am so grateful that they invited me over and included me in their fall celebration and wonderful dinner, Thank you all! :)