Singing AND Hiking in the Rain

This blog entry comes to you on a Sunday night (although because of technical difficulties, it was actually posted on Wednesday. NBD.) I've just spent several hours baking with Simone, chatting with floor mates, and enjoying hot chocolate with friends. It was beautiful outside today! (See picture to the left). That picture was taken through my kitchen window. Ahhhh....this is the life.
This week has been fantastic and very busy!
On Wednesday, the exchange students had our special matriculation ceremony where we were officially declared students at NHH by the vice-rector. He was wearing a robe so...it was legit. We were told to get a little dressed up, and I was sad that I couldn't wear my heels because, well, I would simply break my neck AND my shoes trying to get down the stairs to the school. Speaking of stairs, this is what I deal with multiple times a day:


You're jealous. I know.
The ceremony was great, and we had sparkling apple juice and free fruit, so everyone was happy.



Now, the real meaty part of this blog entry is the Saturday hike that I went on with about 30 of the exchange students. It was definitely one of the most interesting hikes I've been on. Don't worry, I captured a significant amount of the trek on video.


Things were going really well until we got to a paved road that was more than just a "little" slippery...



The hike was great because the scenery around us was really beautiful, but it was difficult to appreciate at times when the wind was blowing like CRAZY, it was raining, and the snow was up past my knees. I tried to keep things light by singing with Michael and Simone in "Germish" (a combination of German and English), but it didn't take long until we were all getting cold and wet and a little frustrated. Nevertheless, it was still beautiful!



We took shelter in an abandoned shed...

But made it to our first stop!

After another hour of hiking, we made it to Floyen, a very popular place for tourists to go. Tourists, however,usually take the cable car. We opted for the cable car on the way down. None of us had the desire to walk for another 3 hours soaking wet.


After a shower and a nap, it was time to get ready for the homecoming party at Klubben. Simone and I were feeling like models, so we worked it out.



Klubben was great! Michael, Toby, Simone and I got there at 11:30 and...nobody was there. But it was fine. We took pictures of ourselves in mirrors to look cool while we waited for some more people to show up.



Not long after our photoshoot, I met my first Norwegian friend! His name was "Trygve". (Probably didn't spell that right, but trust me-it's even worse when I try to pronounce it). He helped me with some of my Norwegian, and it was nice to hear about Bergen from a local!

The night was filled with dancing which, of course made me VERY happy! Classes started on Monday, so now reality is setting in. However, I'm really enjoying getting back into the swing of things. My room is starting to feel like home, and I can't wait for the next few months to unfold!
All the best to you all across the ocean!!
A

I love my life :)

Hello!
I have officially been in Norway for a week and I'm still alive. PRAISE JESUS. Yesterday, reality set in a bit when people started going to classes. Fortunately, most of my classes don't start until next week, but my days have been filled with a lot of administrative work in terms of course registration, residence permits, gym membership etc. and of course, watching "The Vampire Diaries" with Simone.
The end of welcome week was great! On Friday, we went on a tour of the city with our group. For some reason, our group of 10 turned into 15. Basically everyone just wants to be like us. No big deal. I got some GREAT pictures on the journey. The picture at the top is the harbour next to Bryggen near the fish market. Speaking of the fish market...We went there! It was great and smelled FANTASTIC.

Another pit stop on our tour was "The Blue Stone", a popular meeting place for people in Bergen. It's at the centre of the city and we were just having SUCH a great time there-I'm very happy that George was able to capture this very candid moment.

Finally, we went to the Floibanen, a popular tourist activity. Basically, you go up in a cable car to the top of a mountain. We didn't go on our tour, but we will hike it when it gets nice! My group really loved it when I showed them the diva pose for this picture. They don't really understand the whole "diva/hustlaaa" thing, and they think I'm a little crazy, but it's fine. They had fun trying to learn the correct "diva stance".

On Saturday, we had the final party called "Sveiseaften". Essentially, you get put into groups with other exchange students and then go around to stations where the mentors have planned special events that you take part in as part of a large competition. My favourite station was the "boy band" station. Our challenge was to choose a song by a pop group, and choreograph a dance. Well...let's just say I didn't really hesitate to take control of THAT situation. We won. End of story.
On Sunday, EVERYTHING in Norway is closed. Although it can be frustrating at times because there's not a lot to do, it's actually really great because it forces you to relax and, well, do nothing. Simone and I hung out together which was really fun. Yesterday, Simone and I wanted to go to the mall near IKEA to get some clothes that we needed. Of course, we take the bus because that's the only way to get anywhere here. Anyways, I was trying to be Norwegian (of course), and asked the bus driver in Norwegian if the bus went to IKEA. Every time I ask in English they always say "Yes" or "No". However, THIS time, the bus driver answered in four or five sentences that I couldn't understand AT ALL while waving his arm in the air. I was too embarrassed to say "Umm..yeah, sorry I didn't understand any of that becuase I'm actually a STUPID TOURIST who is a Norwegian wannabe". So I just said "Ok, Great!" and told Simone to get on the bus. After going along the coast for a half hour, the bus stopped. Everyone got off, and the bus driver asked where we wanted to go. Simone yelled "IKEA" and he said in perfect English "Sorry, this bus doesn't go anywhere near IKEA".



Today, I went to a morning class and then got my gym membership. We had Norway's version of Kraft Dinner for lunch (which actually wasn't that bad) and then shared my FAVOURITE pastry from Norway!!

(Mom, do you remember when we got these in Bergen last time?? They're just as good as they used to be!)
Anyways, I bought chicken yesterday so I'm excited for dinner tonight! I hope everything is going well for you at home! More to come from me later!
A

Hei! Hei!

Alright, so it is almost the end of welcome week here at NHH. So far, I have been having a wonderful time! I'm starting to settle in, and have really enjoyed decorating my room and cooking my own meals! (Yes Mother, I am actually cooking. Believe it or not.) Anyways, on Tuesday, I went with 6 of my friends to city centre to get some important items: shampoo, conditioner, socks, tape, brush etc. It was pretty nice outside so I got to see the beauty of Bergen in daylight! For all of those who haven't seen what Bergen looks like, here is a little taste.

The picture above is a part of city centre called Bryggen. I can pronounce it really well with my awesome Norwegian accent. Anyways, more pictures to come of the beautiful scenery here! One of the great things about Bergen is the Starbucks-like drinks that you can get in convenience stores. All of us hadn't eaten in a LONG time, so we got food and then stopped at 7-Eleven for some drinks. It is funny though, because everyone here thinks that I'm from Norway so they all talk to me in Norwegian. The other problem is, I want to be seen as a local so badly that I never respond in English, I just smile like an idiot.

This is our group touring the city! Alise was taking the picture, but she's wonderful.
Then, we made the trip to IKEA. Basically, IKEA is awesome and is the only way that I could afford anything for my room because everything in Norway is so expensive! We had to take the bus back, though which wasn't fun because I bought quite a bit...

So...that was Tuesday. On Wednesday, we had orientation at the school in the morning and I met all of the other exchange students. There are nine Canadians here, all from the East but I don't know them very well. We met with our mentor groups for the first time after our morning session. I'm just briefly going to list the names of the people in my group and where they are from. I have three mentors:
Simon-England
Christoffer-Norway
George-New York City/Paris
Then, the rest of us!
Caroline-France
Michael-Germany
Carlota-Spain
Jia Yun-Singapore
Toby-Switzerland
Callum-New Zealand
Polina-Russia
Oliver-Finland
Jan Hendrik-Holland
Before our "Baptism into NHH" we had a pre-party where we got to know each other. It was really great, and I love everyone in my group! Then, we went to "Klubben", one of the many bars on campus for our first party. Lots of dancing, laughing, and talking. And...they played Single Ladies so I went a little crazy. But that's to be expected. Yesterday, we had course registration in the morning and then games at the gym in the afternoon. Then, my mentor group had a pre-party at Christoffer's apartment. On our way there, however, it was snowing like crazy! Here, the snow is very wet so we were completely soaked! I capture the moment with Caroline and Polina.

Then, went to "Metro", a club in city centre and had a great time!


Finished the night with some McDonalds (I know, I know-I'm a horrible person. DBJ), watched an episode of The Vampire Diaries with Simone while drinking tea, and then slept through the whole night!! I think I'm finally getting over my jet lag!
Anyways, more stories to come-I miss you all and hope you are loving life!
A

The Diva Has Landed

Well it’s my first night in Bergen and I still have a smile on my face. Yesterday afternoon I said goodbye to Calgary and began on my adventure abroad! As I waited for my plane in Calgary, I realized that I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and it was terrifying, yet exhilarating at the same time. There wasn’t a lot that happened during my plane trip to Amsterdam. I watched movies and fooled around on the computer (thanks to Keevin who fixed my computer when it crashed the day I left!). When I got to Amsterdam, I went through Customs which was an absolute PLEASURE compared to trying to get into the USA. My favourite moment at the Amsterdam airport was when I was going through security. I had to take my money belt off, and my shirt came up a bit so the guy who was organizing the line said “You know, feel free to keep going. I have a long day ahead of me.” It was great. Two seconds later another security guy asked me how old I was after finding out my plans for Friday night. (He was....45, maybe?) All I said was “too young for you!” He laughed, I laughed. The world was happy. Then, before I knew it-I was in Norway!!
Oh my goodness, I looked out the window and felt like I was in Narnia. This place is seriously so beautiful, I can’t even handle it. Side note-Mom, there is a lot of snow here. I didn’t really come prepared with footwear. Anyways, I got on the airport bus at 4:30 and the sun had already set. It was CRAZY! Then, I got off at the city centre bus station because I was supposed to walk to the student centre to get my keys to my apartment. In an e-mail, my exchange advisor had suggested I put my bags in a locker at the bus station while I get my keys. However, I could not find a locker for the life of me or anyone to ask anything to, so I figured I would just take my two giant suitcases with me! BAD IDEA. I don’t know what it is about me and hills, but they just love me so much that they can’t LEAVE ME ALONE! I basically trudged through the snow and sleet up a giant hill that would NEVER end. Eventually, three young lads came to help me! Two were from Belgium: Olivier and Jan (pronounced “Yan”, not “Jan”. We discussed this.), and Alexis from France. While at the student centre getting our keys, we met Laura and Juliet from France, and Evaline and Alise from Holland. Some were staying at Fanfoft, but five of us were staying at Hatleburg (the name of the building that I will be residing in for the next six months!!). Anyways, we all went to Burger King together, and then we made our way to Hatleburg. I’m not even going to try to explain to you how difficult it was to get to my “flat” because it was actually crazy. We were walking on abandoned roads in pitch black, climbing over construction materials and...well a lot of things went wrong. However, among all the chaos we met Rocher from Switzerland! He seems like a swell guy-I felt so bad for him because the airline lost his luggage.
After I finally got into the building, I couldn’t open my door and that’s when I met Simone (pronounced Simone-eh) from Germany. She’s just fabulous. Anyways, all of the Hatleburg crew is going into town tomorrow so we can see the city in daylight and get some essentials from IKEA for our rooms. Speaking of which, I love my room! Even though I only have a twin bed, the room feels so big which I like and I have a lot of space to put my clothes and such. My view is also really pretty! I will post pictures/videos soon! I don’t have internet yet so I’m not sure when this will actually be posted, but hopefully by tomorrow!
Love and miss you all!
Annika the diva