OSLO!!!!

Well, I'm back in Bergen now but I sure have a lot to say about the capital city of Norway, Oslo! I will say right off the bat that I am very glad I study in Bergen and not Oslo. It is WAY colder there and does not have the charm that the wonderful city of Bergen posseses. However, I did enjoy my time in Oslo! I saw a lot of different things, went to museums, did some sightseeing and went to Fashion Week there which was definitely the highlight of my trip!
But let's start from the beginning. I left on Monday and was planning on spending the next 4 days in Oslo alone (which was totally fine-I'm an independent woman, I do what I want), but my friend Alise decided she wanted to come literally hours before I was leaving for the airport! So, that was great! After discovering where my hostel was located, I was glad I didn't have to walk there alone. But we will get to that later.
After arriving in Oslo, Alise and I wanted to have a good dinner, and she knew of a place that served traditional Norwegian food. As long as it wasn't lutefisk, I was interested. I ordered the traditional beef stew/soup/random brown stuff with flat bread.

It tasted a lot better than it looked, I promise!!

After dinner, we walked to our hostel. Oh, Anker Hostel. What fond memories I will have of that place. Except not really. When booking my hostel, I looked for the aboslute cheapest place I could find. It looked nice on the website, but what I didn't know was that it was in the ghetto. Let's just say I was very glad I was wearing my money belt under three shirts and my pants on our walk over there. I was glad to have Alise there with me, not that she could defend me or anything but I think two backpackers looked less vulnerable than a blonde one walking alone completely lost at 10:00 PM. Mom, I didn't tell you about all of this-but don't worry, I'm fine. ANYWAY, we went to sleep that night in a somehwat dirty bed shared with 6 other girls (don't even get me started on those crazies) and woke up bright and early the next morning to do some sightseeing!
We started at the one and only "Viking Ship Museum". The last time I was at this museum was when I was 10 years old, so it brought back great memories of my first time in Norway with my sister, Britt, my Mom and my Grandparents.




Then, we made our way to the Norskefolkemuseum. Unlike most museums, this particular one is an "open air museum". In other words, most of the exhibits are outside. It is set up like a village and people usually make there way through different periods of Norway's history. We went through many different buildings: churches, schools, tipis...However, it was a challenge seeing everything when it was FREEZING outside! Usually people go in the summer and partake in a lot of traditional Norwegian activities. As a result, nobody was there when we went to visit. We made our way around trying to navigate our way through the whole place. I'm hoping to go back in May, but it was still great to be back!








Then it was off to Vigeland Park! 10 years ago, I came to this place and was disgusted because all the statues were naked. My Mom basically had to physically force me to get close to one for a picture because I was so uncomfortable. Still not a big fan of nudity these days, but I can handle statues so I was able to take a lot of pictures. I was definitely able to appreciate the beauty of all the sculptures this time! I won't try to describe them as the pictures will speak for themselves.









By this time, both Alise and I thought our toes were going to fall off so we stopped for coffee/lunch in a little cafe. We used our charm to make the barista let us eat our packed lunch in the restaurant. He even gave us free ice cream for dessert! SCORE! We left him a note of thanks using all the Norwegian phrases we knew by heart.


Then, we went to the National Art Gallery which housed the famous painting by Edvard Munch "The Scream". It was cool to see, but after the whole day I was very very tired. Alise and I decided to go back to our hostel for a nap, and then went out for dinner. It cost me an arm and a leg, but it was the first time I had been out for dinner since I arrived in Norway, so I felt it was justified.
Wednesday was filled with less sightseeing and more shopping. I waited and waited and waited but found the PERFECT pair of shoes for $6 so...I was pretty stoked. Then, the big event for the night was OSLO FASHION WEEK!
Alise and I got ready in our hostel and tried to prepare ourselves for the cold weather. Wearing tights and high heels during the winter=NOT A GOOD IDEA, but it was totally worth it.

Before my cousin, Siv Elise's show we were going to see another designer's show: Nina Jarebrink. Long story short, our invitation didn't work so we had to wait with the rest of the people who wanted to get in. I was basically in a mosh pit for a half an hour except there wasn't any music which made it not so fun. BUT, we made it in and randomly ended up getting FANTASTIC seats! Here's a little taste of the event!





After that fashion show, we had to wait an hour until Siv Elise's show, so I had an apple martini which was wonderful. It cost me over $10, but it was my first drink of alcohol since I've been here as well so...again, I felt justified.





Then, I was able to catch Siv Elise just before the show and it was crazy because I hadn't seen her in 10 years! We caught up quickly and then it was time for the big show!!





The show was great. We had front row seats and although I looked like a tool videotaping...it was awesome.


The next day we woke up at 6:30 to go home on the train. It was a little bit of a gong show because I was in a compartment with four kids who kept listening and singing along with Shakira, but I got some great pictures!



Needless to say, Oslo was an adventure! It was great to get away for awhile and see some new things, but I'm happy to be back in Bergen! Today I went for a beautiful walk with Michael and Simone and the sun was shining! Of course I forgot my camera, but I will be going back again and will definitely remember it!
Sending love, hugs and smiles to you all!

Food & Friends

Hei Hei!!
It's been a great week here in Bergen filled with, as the title of this blog states: food and friends! I would first like to announce that I can make crepes. To some people, this isn't very exciting. But the fact that I can make something entirely from scratch is a BIG deal for me. My dear friend Michael was heading back to Germany for a week, so we had a special dinner together before he took off and I COOKED!!! I took pictures for those who won't believe me.



On Monday night, I joined my friends Bernhard and Morten for dinner at our mutual friend's house, Kjetil. He lives in a little apartment in the city centre that was very cozy! He prepared a wonderful meal for us: pasta with salmon and vegetables. For dessert, we had ice cream and my favourite Norwegian chocolate: Firkløver! The evening was filled with laughter and great conversation- mostly about dating, love lives, and relationships. For those who know me well, this is a usual occurence as I am ALWAYS interested in people's love lives ESPECIALLY when they are men and have a completely different thought process when it comes to romance.

On Tuesday, I joined my friend Mathilde and her roommates for dinner. Mathilde is my "Bergen Buddy". At the beginning of the semester, I signed up for a program that matches up an exchange student with a local student depending on interests, hobbies etc. Basically, she is AMAZING and I love her. She is an avid skiier and loves hiking. She also is just really great to talk to and it's fun hanging out with a true Norwegian. She prepared a traditional meal for us all on Monday: kjøttkaker i brun saus AKA delicious meatballs with sauce. Her roommates Ingeborg and Katrine were also wonderful and it was fun to eat with them. For dessert, I prepared my favourite: banana with peanut butter (which they don't eat very often here, by the way) with vanilla yogurt and honey. I was a little nervous because it was very different than what they usually eat, but they seemed to like it!
On Wednesday, I was supposed to go out to a popular pub, "The Scottsman" for international quiz night, but I threw up instead. Needless to say, I stayed home and am feeling better now.
Friday night was another night filled with food. More specifically, CAKE! Lots of it. I joined a group of people from NHH for a "cake party" at one of the Navigator members house. Although most of the conversations were in Norwegian, I piped in from time to time and had some great one on one conversations with people who took the time to speak English with me which was fantastic. :) I often think about how I'm seen as somewhat shy because I don't speak very often at these functions for obvious reasons: I can't speak Norwegian...yet. However, in the corner there was a piano...and I played it...and then people realized that I wasn't so quiet. haha My friend Erik played guitar, and we had an awesome jam session! It was the first time I had played/sang since I got here and it was absolutely WONDERFUL!!!
As a side note, the weather has been beautiful this week! I was able to capture a photo as the sun was setting, and thought I would share it with you!

The days are getting longer, and I can't wait for SPRING!!
Last night there was a "traffic light" party for the exchange students. Here are a few snapshots from the night:




Today I am studying and packing for Oslo. My flight leaves tomorrow and I am so excited!! Before I leave, however I will leave you with a story.
I spend quite a bit of time at the gym here since it's so close, and I've really come to enjoy lifting weights. I am usually the only girl lifting weights, but I go right up to the front where the buff guys and lift my 6 kg weights proudly. One day, I saw a guy out of the corner of my eye clearly looking for some weights. He was talking to his friend in Norwegian and all I could understand was that he was looking for the 6 kg weights. In Norwegian, the number "6" is prounounce "seks". So actually when anyone says it, I take notice because it's not something that finds its way into my everyday conversations in English. Anyway, after I was done I thought I would be nice and give them to him. I went up to him, holing up the weights and said "Do you want these?". He looked confused, so I pointed to the number "6" on the weights and said "Seks. Do you want the seks from me?". He started laughing which makes sense because I said everything in English excpet for the word SEKS. He said that he would take the weights, but wasn't on the market for any sexual encounters at the time. We both laughed, but I left the conversation a brighter shade of red than him, THAT'S for sure.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I wanted to wish you all a lovely day! This would be an appropriate time to say "Jeg Elsker Derre Alle" and appreciate all the love and encouragement I've received from you all since I've been abroad!! Even if you don't have a significant other, as my Dad says, "Jesus loves you, and so do I" and that's all that matters. Anyway, celebrate the gift of LOVE!! I will most likely celebrate by going on a shopping spree...DBJ.
Updates to come after Oslo Fashion WEEK!!!!!
Sending hugs, love and smiles from Norge. :)
A

A Weekend Spent Well!

Hello bloggers!
I am sorry it has taken me so long to post a new entry! In all honesty, life hasn't been too crazy over here! I am starting to settle in very well, and I definitely feel at home here in Bergen. I am beginning to understand what people meant when they said "Your semester abroad will go by so fast, you won't even notice!". This has proven to be true as it is already February and I can't believe it!
School has been great! I'm enjoying the lectures, but I have one class on Friday that lasts 4 hours, so it can be hard to concentrate for that long. As the weeks have gone by, it has been interesting to see the class sizes diminish. I suppose when finals are worth 100%, nobody is motivated to attend class. I, on the other hand am even MORE motivated to come to class because I'm terrified that I will miss something that's worth 50% of the exam. I've actually had that nightmare more than one time.
ANYWAYS, the main purpose of this blog is to tell you about my exciting my weekend! Since I've been here at NHH, I have tried to get involved with the student body in multiple ways. My plan an auditioning for the choirs failed as a prerequisite for the audition is "able to speak Norwegian". As tempted as I was to check off THAT box, I knew that I would be greatly over estimating my abilities. I didn't give up, though! Last Wednesday, I found myself at the worship service on campus led by a group called "The Navigators". It was all in Norwegian, but my friend Bernhard (from Sweden) translated for me. I was feeling a bit out of place until I met a person who spoke English VERY well. Almost as if it was his first language...I asked him where he was from and he said MINNESOTA! I was very excited and asked what school he went to, and he proceeded to say that he graduated from ST.OLAF in 2008!!! I didn't waste any time "acting cool", but instead started listing off multiple names of people that I knew from Olaf, the professors I had met when I had a gig there, and tried to make jokes about Norwegian Lutherans in Minnesota. I wouldn't say he was SCARED of me, necessarily. He had more of an overwhelmed look on his face for the entire conversation.
ANYWAYS, Bernhard told me about a retreat that the group was going on that weekend. He asked me if I wanted to join, and I decided to say YES and just go with it. On Friday, I met Kjettl, Bernhard's friend and we had some pizza at his house before I boarded the bus with 60 strangers. Who were all Norwegian. I would LOVE to tell you where we went on this adventure, but I was in the middle of Norway for a weekend, and didn't take the time to actually ask where we were. Nevertheless, it was BEAUTIFUL and reminded me of one of my favourite places: Flathead Lake.

I WILL say, it was a tad awkward trying to make small talk when I couldn't speak the native language of everyone there. They were also confused as to why I was there. I obviously had the impression that exchange students came on these trips all the time, but apparently not. I'm SO thankful that Norwegians have to take English in school and can speak it SO well. I was also thankful, however that nearly everything throughout the weekend was tailored to a Norwegian's needs rather than a foreginer. I definitely got to experience more of the Norwegian culture, and I quickly felt like part of the group after the first night. The worship services were also in Norwegian, so it was fun to sing the song! I will admit, I often had no idea what I was saying, but I'm sure God appreciated the effort anyway. At breakfast the next morning, or "frokost" as we say here in Norway, we made a packout lunch. Something interesting about Norwegians is that they don't eat sandwiches like us North Americans. Instead, when packing their lunch, they make 2 or 3 open faced sandwiches, and separate them with pieces of paper. Seriously, they are ALL about the open faced sandwiches! I took a picture of my friend Erik's masterpiece:

After frokost, we were given an hour for "silence and meditation". I chose to sit in a couch, looking out the window as the sun made a valiant effort to shine for the day. Each day we had this time, and I treasured it so! I did a lot of journal writing which I loved, and also got to take a moment to just breathe and take in all that was around me.

Thankfully there was an international bible study group that I could join, and we had a great time discussing so many things!

That afternoon, I went on a walk and talked with my, now friend Bjorget. He is studying law, comes from a family of five, and it was his first time being at the retreat so we got along really well. The walk was also beautiful!



After more worship services, seminars, and great late night conversations with people, we all went home on Sunday. As I rode home in the bus, I thought about what a random weekend I had, but how FANTASTIC it was! I met people from other schools, and connected with people that I would have never met, otherwise. While I'm here, I'm trying to do things that I wouldn't normally do, step out on a limb, embrace the randomness of life, and I must say it has been wonderful! Yes, I had multiple "Oh my land, this so random. What is going on in my life right now?" moments, but each moment was beautiful in itself. I'm really excited to be part of the group on campus and hope that I will have more wonderful moments with this group of people.
Other exciting news that I must share with you quickly-I am going to Oslo fashion week!! My cousin is showcasing her designs, and I have a front row seat to the event! Needless to say, I'm very excited and MUST find a trendy, european looking outfit for the special ocassion. I will DEFINITELY be keeping you posted about THAT!
Anyways, I think about you all often! As much as I'm enjoying Norway, it always feels like there's a LITTLE bit missing. It's weird coming home and there's not CONSTANT noise from my family, for one thing. But, I'm happy to be here! I'm learning a lot, and can't wait for the adventures that lie ahead!!
A