These past few days have just been full of new experiences!
August 9th
I Woke up for the first time in Norway, which somehow makes it more official to me, not just a dream. I met my last two roommates, Lotte from the Netherlands and Frieda from Germany. They are both really nice and I think we are quickly becoming great friends. They also needed to get a few things for their rooms, so we decided to journey to IKEA together. I felt more comfortable and accomplished taking the public transportation because I was the only one who knew where IKEA was and how to get there. I got the rest of the stuff I needed for my room and they helped a lot with translating and showing me the ins and outs of IKEA :) On the way back Frieda had heard about a cheap (for Norway anyways) grocery store, so we went to check it out. It was CRAZYYYYY. Maybe because we were there on a Saturday, but it was packed, all the labels were in other languages, and the lines wrapped around the store. I finally gave up at some point and just waited outside for them, but it was a very cute area with a lot of shops, so I will definitely have to come back later.
There was also a welcoming party for all of the international students in Downtown Oslo, so we decided to go together. *Parentals, Adults, and Government Officials please plug your... eyes?* I purchased my first beer! (68kr!!!!~~$10USD) Verrry Expensive... but I thought that it was odd/cool how the building (owned my the school) where the party was taking place had its own bar! And even every department building on campus (Math, Science...) has its own bar! ... In the School Building!?, for the students of that faculty/department to use. Interesting... So after meeting A LOT of new people, we decided to head back around 1:30 in the morning, but we had to take the night bus because the trains were no longer running. It took a huge group of us probably... 45 minutes to figure out which bus to use, but we finally made it back to our apartment around 3 in the morning, safe and sound!
On August 10th
Lotte, Fieda, and I decided that we wanted to take the ferry to visit some of the islands in the Oslo Fjord. After about an hour and a half of just missing trains and taking various buses in the wrong direction, we finally made it to the ferry and hopped on. The Oslo Fjord is absolutely breathtaking and none of my pictures did it any justice. Just... wow... The islands had beautifully painted houses, the city-scape from the water was amazing and the nature, everywhere, was stunning! We got to the island and walked around, then I finally got to cross something off of my bucket list! Swimming in a Fjord!!! It was very cold.... similar to Lake Superior in August, but very refreshing and salty! Which I did not expect. I hope we can go again before the weather gets colder, because that was so much fun and very beautiful!
August 11th
Today started orientation week. We were split up into buddy groups based on our departments and faculties of studies, so I was in the Social Sciences group #1. We met each other, walked around a bit of campus, and saw where some of my classes may be. There is also a welcoming get together tonight with our buddy groups and the rest of the international students. After that, I ventured to the market we saw in downtown Oslo the other day to buy more food. I have been living off of peanut butter, apples, and bananas for the past four days, so it was nice to get some real food! I got quite a bit of stuff and I was shocked to see that it was only 75kr (~$12). I am glad we found this place!!!
I am feeling a lot better, the more i get used to everything. I have made some friends, gotten to know some of the campus and city, and set up my room so that I have a home-away-from-home. I am excited and ready to start the semester and continue exploring!!!
August 9th
I Woke up for the first time in Norway, which somehow makes it more official to me, not just a dream. I met my last two roommates, Lotte from the Netherlands and Frieda from Germany. They are both really nice and I think we are quickly becoming great friends. They also needed to get a few things for their rooms, so we decided to journey to IKEA together. I felt more comfortable and accomplished taking the public transportation because I was the only one who knew where IKEA was and how to get there. I got the rest of the stuff I needed for my room and they helped a lot with translating and showing me the ins and outs of IKEA :) On the way back Frieda had heard about a cheap (for Norway anyways) grocery store, so we went to check it out. It was CRAZYYYYY. Maybe because we were there on a Saturday, but it was packed, all the labels were in other languages, and the lines wrapped around the store. I finally gave up at some point and just waited outside for them, but it was a very cute area with a lot of shops, so I will definitely have to come back later.
There was also a welcoming party for all of the international students in Downtown Oslo, so we decided to go together. *Parentals, Adults, and Government Officials please plug your... eyes?* I purchased my first beer! (68kr!!!!~~$10USD) Verrry Expensive... but I thought that it was odd/cool how the building (owned my the school) where the party was taking place had its own bar! And even every department building on campus (Math, Science...) has its own bar! ... In the School Building!?, for the students of that faculty/department to use. Interesting... So after meeting A LOT of new people, we decided to head back around 1:30 in the morning, but we had to take the night bus because the trains were no longer running. It took a huge group of us probably... 45 minutes to figure out which bus to use, but we finally made it back to our apartment around 3 in the morning, safe and sound!
On August 10th
Lotte, Fieda, and I decided that we wanted to take the ferry to visit some of the islands in the Oslo Fjord. After about an hour and a half of just missing trains and taking various buses in the wrong direction, we finally made it to the ferry and hopped on. The Oslo Fjord is absolutely breathtaking and none of my pictures did it any justice. Just... wow... The islands had beautifully painted houses, the city-scape from the water was amazing and the nature, everywhere, was stunning! We got to the island and walked around, then I finally got to cross something off of my bucket list! Swimming in a Fjord!!! It was very cold.... similar to Lake Superior in August, but very refreshing and salty! Which I did not expect. I hope we can go again before the weather gets colder, because that was so much fun and very beautiful!
August 11th
Today started orientation week. We were split up into buddy groups based on our departments and faculties of studies, so I was in the Social Sciences group #1. We met each other, walked around a bit of campus, and saw where some of my classes may be. There is also a welcoming get together tonight with our buddy groups and the rest of the international students. After that, I ventured to the market we saw in downtown Oslo the other day to buy more food. I have been living off of peanut butter, apples, and bananas for the past four days, so it was nice to get some real food! I got quite a bit of stuff and I was shocked to see that it was only 75kr (~$12). I am glad we found this place!!!
I am feeling a lot better, the more i get used to everything. I have made some friends, gotten to know some of the campus and city, and set up my room so that I have a home-away-from-home. I am excited and ready to start the semester and continue exploring!!!