As is obvious, I have taken a brief hiatus from the blogging world upon my return stateside in late December. For the past five months I have been blogging about my time, experiences, and my thoughts whilst in Norway, but as that adventure has come to a close I think that I will try and continue blogging about my time, experiences, and thoughts about life in Minneapolis as well as mixing in my memories and feelings surrounding the transition back into life at home.
Yesterday was a big day both for me and for my country...we had a new President sworn in (despite a few freudian mishaps) and classes started for the semester at the University of Minnesota. Now, I do not want to try and make the argument that such events are equal in magnitude and historical importance, because that is definitely not the case...I merely want to highlight their significance in my life...for the both were.
Much like my arrival and stay in Norway, where I never really felt homesick and was just having a blast from start to finish...my return home has been very good with lots of enjoyment, friends, family, and little sadness surrounding my "not being in Norway". I would say that for better or for worse, I am a fairly rational and level headed person who tries not to make a huge deal of or over dramatize events. Thus when leaving Norway I tried not to get all emotional and nostalgic about it, for I knew that the people I really want to see again, I will see again, and it would do me no good to cry about it. Now that I know sounds quite cold, but I think that it is just how my brain functions, how I deal with emotion, and there is not much that can be done to change that...which I think is why yesterday was such a strange day. As I said it was the first day of class at the University of Minnesota, so for me it was the first day of a semester filled with business classes..."back to reality" as I joke with a buddy here. And while I have been wondering how it will be, how I will like my classes, how hard they will be, how much work I will have, etc...all of those thoughts have been about an event in the future and I had yet to actually confront them. But with the start of class yesterday, I was thrown full on into the shark pit of the business school and I just felt out of place. First of all, the undergraduate program of the business school has shifted to a new building this year. It is a nice building (brand new), but to me it seems cold, corporate, huge and un-welcoming. In addition to a new building, I had all new classes with all new professors. With the new building, the undergrad program started an expansion that has doubled the size of the program....so all of the required "core" business classes doubled in size as well, and I was assured that the quality of the class, the quality of the instructor, etc. would not diminish with this size increase....but I was duped. Of the three classes I had yesterday not one has a tenured professor for an insturctor, two have P.h.D candidates as instructors, and none of the three speak English as a first language (which I would like to point out is not normally a problem, after all I was just in Norway for a semester...however, some of my instructors here are very difficult to understand, which makes it much more difficult to learn...)...essentially I was thrown right back into normal life at the University, but I was just not ready for it. Additionally it was a long day (Tuesdays are my longest), and so by the end I was drained, tired, (and here was the unexpected part)...I missed Norway. I missed discussing the current political happenings with Eamon. I missed sharing meals with Tim. I missed doing a little dance with Kate. I missed runs with Steve. I missed sitting in U1 with Marianne, Helena, Peter, Sophie, etc., I missed Angelos Koret on Tuesday nights...I straight up missed Norway....and I suppose that that shouldnt be a strange feeling, I mean I just returned from 5 months abroad...but for me it was. For me, getting "back to reality" was more cold water on the face than I expected. The comfort level I had reached with my life in Norway has been thrown off balance, and I am now having to reestablish myself in Minneapolis. And I guess because my moving into a house with some good buddies has gone so well and been so great, I assumed classes would be the same way...but they are not...and so I have to keep working at that reestablishment. But its hard...
One of the great things about yesterday, was the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. It was a historic moment no question...but for me it was so much more. It was the swearing in of a movement, an idea, an expectation for the future...it was hope, it was change, and it was exciting. Barack Obama is just one man...but there is so much wrapped up in this one man, what he represents, what he symbolizes is so great and profound it is hard to articulate. Yesterday, the realization began setting in that this person, this idea, this movement, is now my President....and I am proud.
So while yesterday was tough in some regards, I was also reminded that hope can prevail. That just because it is hard now, does not mean that it will always be hard. And that while I may really want to be in Norway some days, I also really love life here too...
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
What does Christmas mean to me?
What does Christmas mean to me? As a kid in Fresno, Christmas was one of my favorite days of the year. It was the day when my brother and sister and I would wake up at the crack of dawn and go jump in our parents bed, eager to open stockings and presents. Of course in our family, my parents liked to see us children squirm a bit...so they would draw out the waking up process for ages (or well...to my parents credit, it seemed like ages). First they would pretend that we were not there and keep “sleeping” (how you can pretend to sleep with three kids jumping in and out of bed I do not know...)...then they would acknowledge our presence by making small talk, but of course not get out of bed...eventually they would get out from under the covers and claim they needed to get dressed (who needs proper clothing for opening presents!?)...and just as we thought it was time to go open stockings, my lovely father would insist on playing Bruce Springsteen's live version of Santa Clause is Coming to Town (which mind you, is a good version....but not when you have a pile of loot waiting to be opened...)...finally after all of the stalling shenanigans were over we were allowed into the living room to find our stockings filled so full they were set on the chairs or couch instead of hanging (usually the present opening process is very orderly in my family as it is closely overseen and regulated by my parents, one child at a time with a rotating order of who goes first each “round”...but when it came to stockings, anything went...so mayhem often ensued). After the stockings had been emptied and double checked for “hiding” presents, we would head to the kitchen to make breakfast...a hearty meal of pancakes or waffles with bacon and sausages and fruit. And it was not until breakfast was eaten, the dishes done, and the table reset for lunch were we allowed back into the living room to begin the big present opening ceremony.
When we first moved to Madison the traditions remained mostly the same...the one addition was a little sign strung across the top of the stairs forbidding us children (usually in clever riddle form) from going downstairs to the living room before our parents were awake (which was still the unrealistically slow process described above).
As we have gotten older the sign and traditions continued to remain similar , except that now the house is “pleasantly woken up” by the “melodious serenade” of my brother, Rein, on his tuba.
This is the tradition of Christmas morning in my family and it's evolution over the years....for me, it is the way I celebrate Christmas....it always has been for the most part probably will be. However for the first time in my 20 years of life, I am spending Christmas away from home and tradition. Currently I am in Berlin, Germany at the house of the Otto Family and am/will be taking part in their family Christmas traditions (a good friend, Tim, who I met in Oslo is also with us for the holiday). So far it has been wonderful (today we cut down the Christmas tree from their backyard and decorated....there are even real candles on it...) and I am quite excited to partake in the remainder of the holiday traditions (meals, gift exchanges, church, family, etc). But in this new new Christmas experience, I started thinking about what Christmas actually meant to me....is it the traditions? Is it the time with family? Is it the presents? Is it church? Is it snow? Is it particular food? What does Christmas mean to me? And while I do not think that I can answer that in full...I do think that I have realized this Christmas season, that it is the people you are with....be that family or good friends. Don't get me wrong, I cherish the Christmas traditions, the food, church, snow, etc that I have at home with my family and the fond memories of Christmas' past...but I am becoming keenly aware that those extra things are not the be-all-end-all of Christmas. Will I miss not being at home with my family? Of course....but right now, I am in Berlin, I am finishing out a wonderful and memorable semester in Norway, I am thoroughly enjoying this new and different experience, and I am with dear friends that are as close to family as it gets...and I am discovering what Christmas means to me.
When we first moved to Madison the traditions remained mostly the same...the one addition was a little sign strung across the top of the stairs forbidding us children (usually in clever riddle form) from going downstairs to the living room before our parents were awake (which was still the unrealistically slow process described above).
As we have gotten older the sign and traditions continued to remain similar , except that now the house is “pleasantly woken up” by the “melodious serenade” of my brother, Rein, on his tuba.
This is the tradition of Christmas morning in my family and it's evolution over the years....for me, it is the way I celebrate Christmas....it always has been for the most part probably will be. However for the first time in my 20 years of life, I am spending Christmas away from home and tradition. Currently I am in Berlin, Germany at the house of the Otto Family and am/will be taking part in their family Christmas traditions (a good friend, Tim, who I met in Oslo is also with us for the holiday). So far it has been wonderful (today we cut down the Christmas tree from their backyard and decorated....there are even real candles on it...) and I am quite excited to partake in the remainder of the holiday traditions (meals, gift exchanges, church, family, etc). But in this new new Christmas experience, I started thinking about what Christmas actually meant to me....is it the traditions? Is it the time with family? Is it the presents? Is it church? Is it snow? Is it particular food? What does Christmas mean to me? And while I do not think that I can answer that in full...I do think that I have realized this Christmas season, that it is the people you are with....be that family or good friends. Don't get me wrong, I cherish the Christmas traditions, the food, church, snow, etc that I have at home with my family and the fond memories of Christmas' past...but I am becoming keenly aware that those extra things are not the be-all-end-all of Christmas. Will I miss not being at home with my family? Of course....but right now, I am in Berlin, I am finishing out a wonderful and memorable semester in Norway, I am thoroughly enjoying this new and different experience, and I am with dear friends that are as close to family as it gets...and I am discovering what Christmas means to me.
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Permanence of Goodbye
At 6:15 AM on Tuesday morning December 15, 2008, the Norwegian part of my Norwegian Adventure officially came to an end as I left Oslo for the semester. To be completely honest, the reality of me leaving has not really set in yet and I suspect it wont for a few weeks yet. My last week in Oslo was an incredible whirlwind of activity and emotion that I think has left me in a bit of a haze...while all of my friends were finished with exams and beginning to relax and celebrate another semester gone, I still had to remain focused as I had an exam on Monday morning...I had two choir concerts on Sunday night after a full day of rehearsal on Saturday (*ed note* I did not know until I arrived on Sunday night that we actually had two concerts...I had been under the assumption we had only one...I suppose those details got lost somewhere in translation...ha hah!)...I had to pack up my belongings and check out of my room on Monday afternoon...and on top of all that I had the strangely difficult and foreign task of saying potentially lifelong goodbyes all week. I would argue though, that it was more than just a country or city I was leaving or saying goodbye to, but a home, friends, routine, and a life that I have come to know and love over the last 5 months. Am I ready to leave?...I am not sure. Am I sad?...of course. Am I excited to return home?...yes. Will I return to Norway?...someday definitely. These, however, are not the questions and answers that I have been and am struggling with...rather, it is my inability to explain why I have to live so far from all of the people and friends of this past semester? Why do some of my closest friends have to live in Australia or Norway or Ireland or Canada (ok, so Canada isnt so far, but its still a flight away), while I live in the US? Despite what I might like to think, oceans, continents, and hemispheres now separate me from very close friends...yet it is not simply the physical distance that I struggle with, but the permanence of that distance. Sure we can visit each other or vacation together somewhere...and the internet will provide us with a very effective way to stay connected...but the life, the atmosphere, the community that we have formed in just 5 short months is something that cannot and will not be recreated. Never again will I be able to just pop into U1 and grab a coffee with any number of good friends. Never again will I sing in Angelos Koret with a huge number of amazing and welcoming Norwegians. Never again will I be able to run around Lake Sognsvann with a friend. Never again will I sit around playing Risk in a student apartment at Sogn Studentby. Those routines, activities, and highlights are nothing more than just great memories now...and that thought, that permanent separation, is by far the hardest part about this semester ending.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Tusen Takk
This semester has been a semester of firsts for me when it comes to cooking. Until this semester I have been living either at home or in a University of Minnesota Residence Hall, both of which provided food. And while I liked to think that I could cook, that was a grave misconception. Sure I could cook a pre-packaged frozen pizza, or barbecue some pre-cooked brats, or stir up a pre-boxed macaroni and cheese...but if you notice, each of those menu items includes the word "pre-" before it, which implies and signifies that no creativity or culinary know-how involved in the making of said foods. Essentially I was following simple instructions on how to heat up the pre-packaged food (most of which include pictures with those instructions). So in coming to Norway and living on my own, I was forced to expand my cooking horizons. I learned how to make rice. I learned the importance of boiling potatoes before using for culinary purposes. I learned the difference in the Norwegian language between "ranch salad dressing" and "tartar sauce". I learned the value in finding sales at the grocery store. And the difference between olive oil and soy oil (and why you should have both around). Basically I was taking Cooking 101, on the fly, in a different language. And while it was difficult at first (the ranch dressing/tartar sauce mix up was a rude mistake), I have done just fine and not gone hungary yet. In fact, I have learned quite bit and look forward to continuing cooking when I return stateside where I will have an english-language grocery store and a full kitchen (my kitchen here is lacking some crucial cooking utensils and tools).
Thanksgiving, as you all know, is a traditional American holiday. It is my favorite one (not because the food is good, which it is) because it is the one holiday in my familiy where the entire family (or at least my Dad's side) comes together from around the country to celebrate. There are so many relatives (Poppy, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc) all in the same place, and I love, truly love the time together. I think I am very lucky in that our family is so close and we have such a good time together. So when I realized that I would be out of the country this Thanksgiving and miss all of the festivities that were happening in Madison, I was a bit bummed...in fact, the only time this semester that I have been a bit homesick and wanted to be home, was last Thursday on Thanksgiving when I knew all of my relatives were there. But being bummed and moping would have accomplished nothing, so as I had been planning to do all semester, I decided to put everything I have learned, all my acquired knowledge, my full cooking abilities, to the ultimate test as I attempted to make the traditional-very elaborate-often messed up-cooking equivalent of a marathon, Thanksgiving Feast. I decided that it should be, and was my duty as an American studying abroad to attempt at bringing at least one tradition with me, and that was to be Thanksgiving. The funny and ironic thing about that idea, was that I had never cooked any of the parts to a Thanksgiving meal, much less the entire spread at once. All I knew about it, was that my Mom (and many relatives) would spend the better part of a day preparing, chopping, mixing, stirring, mashing, basting, and cooking our annual Thanksgiving feast. So how, in the name of traditional American holidays, was I supposed to make such a meal?...well it was a good question, and I wasnt so sure of the answer...
The funny thing about a Thanksgiving menu, is that every household does it a bit differently, and every household thinks their way is the best way. So while I was keen to get the main recipes from my mother, I had about 3 other "mothers" telling me how they did it, or how their mothers did it, and how that was how I might want to do it. I was gracious for any and all tips, after all I needed all the help I could get...they were all very valid and legit tips, and were telling of the household from which they origniated. Yet upon recieving 4 different suggestions on how best to cook a turkey, I realized there were many ways to do this, and I was going to have to make the executive decision and choose one (Mom, you will be happy to know that your recipes prevailed more often than not when facing competition).
My Norwegian Thanksgiving took place last weekend on Saturday. A friend was gracious enough to lend me her wonderful apartment with a huge kitchen for the cooking and the subsequent meal. I had invited a few of my Oslo-"family" to come and take part in the celebration, and so 12 people were going to be eating...thus requiring a grocery list of a 6 kg turkey (which I had to order a week ahead of time because eating turkey is more common around Christmas, so it was not guaranteed there would be one in), 8 kg of potatoes (which we ended up eating about 5 of), 2 loaves of bread, 5 cans of cranberries (which I was not expecting to find, but did and it made my Thanksgiving...ha hah!), and many other veggies and fixings necessary for a fantastic feast. (*ed note: to get the number of lbs, just multiply the kg X 2....so 6 kg = ~12 lbs). After acquiring all the necessary grocery items, I spent almost all day Saturday at my friends, cooking and preparing the meal. She was gracious enough to lend a helping hand if needed, as coincidentally she had cooked a Thanksgiving meal before. But I am proud to report, that at no time did she have to jump in and stop something catastrophic from happening...in fact, I would say that everything I made I actually made.
After hours of cooking, all my pals showed up, and we had a feast that included a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, two salads, a green bean casserole-ish salad (that a friend brought), carrot jello (that the same friend also brought), cranberries, biscuits, two kinds of gravy, as well as a plethora of wine from around the world, and two pumpkin pies for desert. It was a feast. And while you may not believe my word, I would say that it all went off really well. The food definitely exceeded my expectations, and while they may not admit it, I think it exceeded those of my friends as well. However, while the food was good, it was also wonderful to sit around a huge table with some of my closest new friends and share some food, some wine, and some good times. The bit of homesickness and disappointment I had felt about missing Thanksgiving at home, was forgotten as I had a spectacular time at our Norwegian equivalent. It is a Thanksgiving that I will remember for the rest of my life...the smiling faces, the conversations, the jokes, the laughter. I was and am and I will be, giving thanks for the people, the experiences, the fun, the memories, and the wonderful semester that I have spent in Oslo, Norway. It has been truly remarkable and I cannot accurately articulate it all....so I will leave at a common Norwegian phrase for one-thousand thanks, "tusen takk".
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
I love snow.
I love snow. I cant decide if I love it for its beauty, or the sound it makes as it crunches under your step, or the fearlessness it gives me...whatever it is, when I am in snow I instantly become a kid again (6 feet 4.5 inches of me). I cant describe what it is about snow that causes me to literally dive in any direction, fully layed out, for no good reason. I cannot explain why snow incites the undeniable urge to tackle anything that moves (usually my brother). I dont know why snow causes a lack in judgement of personal safety as I barrel down a sledding hill towards a jump. If you think about it, its a bit nuts. A small cover of crystallized water should not cause such uncitely or spontaneous behavior...but it does...and I love it.
It is funny though, something that is so normal to me, something that I have grown up with, spent hours and hours tromping through...is also something that for many people around the world, is completely foreign. I have been reminded about this fact since coming to Norway. A few weeks back we had "the first snow" here in Oslo. To be honest it wasnt really much of a "snow", an inch or two at most, of wet, slushy snow. In fact it all melted away within a few days...however, its initial presence set off a plethora of excitement through the ranks of my Australian friends. They went nuts....they were taking pictures, they were reminding me every 3 minutes that there was snow outside, and they were running around like little kids throwing snow balls and making snowmen..
How, might you ask, are their reactions different then my own actions I descbribed earlier? Well they arent really...in fact their excitement around snow is identical to mine (with the slight exception that in this case I insisted they not get all hyped up, as more and better snow is yet to come). The difference being that my excitement comes from experience and expectations, and theirs comes from complete unknown.
This difference in excitement was highlighted again this past weekend as I and some pals spent the weekend in a cabin, in the mountains...where there was snow. The Aussies (in their newly purchased snow boots and snow pants) had overflowing excitement as we made our way from the car to the cabin, through a foot of snow. All they wanted to do for the first few minutes was romp around and experience the beauty (after those first few minutes however, they realized that snow is more than just beauty, and is in fact cold, thus requiring gloves, hats, jackets, etc...). I, on the other hand, could not wait to gear up and start tackling things. When we did finally put on all of our snow gear and get outside, it became very apparent, very quickly, that I had spent time in the snow and they had not. There was no question that I had had experience running, tackling, and then whitewashing people in the snow. Sure I abused my advantage a bit at the beginning, but over time (albeit the weekend) they learned how to carry themselves in this new, snowy environment. Whether it was learning how to turn the tackler into the tackled or learning the importance of not eating yellow snow, an unknown became a known. The excitement based upon the idea of snow became an excitement based upon reality and experience of snow. And while I will not be here when most of the snow comes to Oslo (in January and February and March and most likely April) and thus wont be able to share in that snow and snow activities....I was able to share a bit of my own excitement towards snow. I was able to expose these relative "winter climate newcomers" to a bit of the wonderful world that is snow.
It is funny though, something that is so normal to me, something that I have grown up with, spent hours and hours tromping through...is also something that for many people around the world, is completely foreign. I have been reminded about this fact since coming to Norway. A few weeks back we had "the first snow" here in Oslo. To be honest it wasnt really much of a "snow", an inch or two at most, of wet, slushy snow. In fact it all melted away within a few days...however, its initial presence set off a plethora of excitement through the ranks of my Australian friends. They went nuts....they were taking pictures, they were reminding me every 3 minutes that there was snow outside, and they were running around like little kids throwing snow balls and making snowmen..
How, might you ask, are their reactions different then my own actions I descbribed earlier? Well they arent really...in fact their excitement around snow is identical to mine (with the slight exception that in this case I insisted they not get all hyped up, as more and better snow is yet to come). The difference being that my excitement comes from experience and expectations, and theirs comes from complete unknown.
This difference in excitement was highlighted again this past weekend as I and some pals spent the weekend in a cabin, in the mountains...where there was snow. The Aussies (in their newly purchased snow boots and snow pants) had overflowing excitement as we made our way from the car to the cabin, through a foot of snow. All they wanted to do for the first few minutes was romp around and experience the beauty (after those first few minutes however, they realized that snow is more than just beauty, and is in fact cold, thus requiring gloves, hats, jackets, etc...). I, on the other hand, could not wait to gear up and start tackling things. When we did finally put on all of our snow gear and get outside, it became very apparent, very quickly, that I had spent time in the snow and they had not. There was no question that I had had experience running, tackling, and then whitewashing people in the snow. Sure I abused my advantage a bit at the beginning, but over time (albeit the weekend) they learned how to carry themselves in this new, snowy environment. Whether it was learning how to turn the tackler into the tackled or learning the importance of not eating yellow snow, an unknown became a known. The excitement based upon the idea of snow became an excitement based upon reality and experience of snow. And while I will not be here when most of the snow comes to Oslo (in January and February and March and most likely April) and thus wont be able to share in that snow and snow activities....I was able to share a bit of my own excitement towards snow. I was able to expose these relative "winter climate newcomers" to a bit of the wonderful world that is snow.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
International Implications
Over the course of the semester I have made a concerted effort to refrain from any overly political discussion on this blog. I have done so because I realize that not everyone has the same views and I feel that it is not my place to spout political opinion to an audience of people who are merely trying to follow my study abroad experience. It has been a bit difficult at times I will admit, in part because I do have strong political opinions, but mostly because the discussion of politics has played such an major role in my study abroad experience.
There is no hiding the fact that I am American, my accent is a dead give away...and when people (non-US citizens) figure that out, politics will almost always be brought up within the first 5 minutes of the discussion. Up until a week ago the questions were always about whether I supported Obama/if I thought he could win, and how/why President Bush was elected for a second term (now the questions/discussions usually involve a congratulations followed by a question of whether I think President-Elect Obama will be able to get anything done). Yet despite the biased question roots, I find them to be fair and non-aggressive...sure, in asking them the questioner is assuming that I share their liberal opinions, but I always feel as if the questions are coming from genuine curiosity and innocence....simply put, many non-Americans do not understand how Americans make the political choices we do. And I can see how if you are not from the US you would wonder a bit...so I have tried to explain the American political landscape in a bit more depth. It is through these questions, explinations, and ensuing discussions that I think I have come to realize, whether I like it or not, how influential and important the US really is...now this is not meant to be an ego-centric or self-centered statement, rather a realization of a truth that I cannot ignore. For the past three months I have had the unique opportunity to observe Europeans (and the World for that matter) as they dutifully and intensely follow the US Election like it were there own. I have watched the election unfold from a place where I am usually the only American and thus techincally the only person who should care about the results...but I am most definitely not the only person who cares about the results. Every newspaper for the last three months has had some sort of election coverage (usually on the front page) everyday. There have been all sorts of guest speakers and lectures about US politics all over campus here in Oslo. On election night I had invites to attend 6 different election parties....SIX! (For the record I attended only one and stayed up until 6:30 AM local time to get the results and see both candidates give there respective concession and victory speeches). Every person young and old is extremely well informed, every person young and old has an opinion, and every person young and old wants to share that opinion. It has been a truly spectacular experience watching the entire world as they watch my country and it's elections. And while the election itself is incredibly historic and monumental and would have been amazing to watch unfold from within the US, seeing it from outside the US as I have has really given me a new perspective on world affairs and politics. It has shown me that while my country is the barometer for almost every issue worldwide, we are not the only country on Earth. There are so many other countries and people worldwide who look to us and depend on us for things, and we as a nation cannot forget that. So as our country moves forward after the historic events of November 4th, 2008, as our country deals with issues both domestically and internationally...it is imperitive we remember that the world is watching.
There is no hiding the fact that I am American, my accent is a dead give away...and when people (non-US citizens) figure that out, politics will almost always be brought up within the first 5 minutes of the discussion. Up until a week ago the questions were always about whether I supported Obama/if I thought he could win, and how/why President Bush was elected for a second term (now the questions/discussions usually involve a congratulations followed by a question of whether I think President-Elect Obama will be able to get anything done). Yet despite the biased question roots, I find them to be fair and non-aggressive...sure, in asking them the questioner is assuming that I share their liberal opinions, but I always feel as if the questions are coming from genuine curiosity and innocence....simply put, many non-Americans do not understand how Americans make the political choices we do. And I can see how if you are not from the US you would wonder a bit...so I have tried to explain the American political landscape in a bit more depth. It is through these questions, explinations, and ensuing discussions that I think I have come to realize, whether I like it or not, how influential and important the US really is...now this is not meant to be an ego-centric or self-centered statement, rather a realization of a truth that I cannot ignore. For the past three months I have had the unique opportunity to observe Europeans (and the World for that matter) as they dutifully and intensely follow the US Election like it were there own. I have watched the election unfold from a place where I am usually the only American and thus techincally the only person who should care about the results...but I am most definitely not the only person who cares about the results. Every newspaper for the last three months has had some sort of election coverage (usually on the front page) everyday. There have been all sorts of guest speakers and lectures about US politics all over campus here in Oslo. On election night I had invites to attend 6 different election parties....SIX! (For the record I attended only one and stayed up until 6:30 AM local time to get the results and see both candidates give there respective concession and victory speeches). Every person young and old is extremely well informed, every person young and old has an opinion, and every person young and old wants to share that opinion. It has been a truly spectacular experience watching the entire world as they watch my country and it's elections. And while the election itself is incredibly historic and monumental and would have been amazing to watch unfold from within the US, seeing it from outside the US as I have has really given me a new perspective on world affairs and politics. It has shown me that while my country is the barometer for almost every issue worldwide, we are not the only country on Earth. There are so many other countries and people worldwide who look to us and depend on us for things, and we as a nation cannot forget that. So as our country moves forward after the historic events of November 4th, 2008, as our country deals with issues both domestically and internationally...it is imperitive we remember that the world is watching.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Exceptional Exceptions to the Norm
My parents are some of the coolest parents around. Now I know that most people are biased in thier opinions of their parents and I am not trying to put down anyone elses parents, but I would legitmately say that if there was some sort of "parent-coolness rating" my parents would get the top one. I think the thing that makes them so exceptional is that they are just normal people. My Dad for example...he has a Masters in Divinity, he is a man of faith, a pastor, but on top of all that he is just a normal dude. When I tell people who dont know my Dad that he is a pastor, their first thought of him and my home life is that I live in a real-life version of 7th Heaven, the WB show about a pastor and his seven kids and their unrealisitically complicated, life lesson laden, slightly corny lives. But its not at all, in fact I am willing to wager money (mind you, I am not a betting man...usually) that most people when they meet my Dad (unless they meet him at his church) would not guess or know that he is a pastor. Its not because he doesnt do his job well either, because he does, in fact I have a hard time going to any other church because in my opinion my Dad gives the best sermons...its simply because he is just a normal guy who happens to be a man of faith as well and he balances it all very well. Or take my Mom, she is an elementary school teacher (well, techincally now she is a reading specialist, but she still works with elementary school children). Stereotypically she should be an overly excited, ubber bubbly woman who may or may not talk to adults as if they are 1st graders...but of course she is not (also for the record, I dont know many teachers like the one I just described, but for the purpose of this post you can imagine the stereotype), she is a normal woman who is not overly bubbly or socially inept. And because my parents are so normal, they are able to relate to people of all ages, cultures, and disciplines...which is awesome. If I have a friends over and I have to step out of the room for a minute, I have no problem leaving my parents there with them to chat or hang out (now maybe my friends have a problem with it and have never told me, but I dont think so)...it doesnt appear to be awkward or weird, it just seems normal.
So when I found out a month or so ago that my parents, my cool normal parents, would be coming to Norway for a visit, I was thrilled. Sure I would make sure that we saw some of the sights of Oslo and saw some of the Norwegian countryside, but the part of Norway that I wanted to expose them to, the part that cannot be replicated, was my everyday life and friendships. I was so excited to be able to share with the dinners, the cups of tea, the conversations, the living, and the friends with my parents. I knew that my parents and my friends would get along great, and that we would all have a great time...and so as was expected, it was. On two different nights I had a plethora of my pals up to my apartment for dinner (prepared by my mother) and we sat around eating, laughing, talking and having a good time. One day we spent a few hours in the cafe that I work at just sitting around drinking coffee or tea and conversing with friends of mine as they wandered in and out of the cafe. They were all activities that I do on a very regular basis, and are the activites that make living in Norway so fun...so having my parents around to experience my normal everyday life was exactly how I wanted it.
The other part of my parents visit that was quite special was being able to watch my Dad interact and reconnect with people and places from his past. As many of you know, my Dad studied in Norway 30 years ago. And while his Norwegian is not as fluent as it once was, and most of his contacts in the country are lost, he still had some friends (Kjersti and her family) and of course lots of memories. So being able to share in his resurfacing memories and the rekindling of friendships was special. It was special in that a lot of what he experienced 30 years ago as an American studying in Norway, I am experiencing today as an American studying in Norway. I am finding that we both set out to study abroad for similar reasons, and so being able to see what he experienced helps me to understand his time here as well as my own. I suspect that when he studied here 30 years ago, he didnt think he would be returning some day with his wife of 25 years and 20 year old son...but he did, and I was honored and thrilled to be a part of it.
So my parents have come and gone...their brief personal interlude into my study abroad experience is over. And while it all seemed so normal to have them in Norway, it seemed so normal to travel with them, it seemed so normal to share my life here with them...it wasnt. Their coming all the way across the Atlantic for a long weekend was a truly exceptional event that was far above normalcy, and something that I will always remember.
So when I found out a month or so ago that my parents, my cool normal parents, would be coming to Norway for a visit, I was thrilled. Sure I would make sure that we saw some of the sights of Oslo and saw some of the Norwegian countryside, but the part of Norway that I wanted to expose them to, the part that cannot be replicated, was my everyday life and friendships. I was so excited to be able to share with the dinners, the cups of tea, the conversations, the living, and the friends with my parents. I knew that my parents and my friends would get along great, and that we would all have a great time...and so as was expected, it was. On two different nights I had a plethora of my pals up to my apartment for dinner (prepared by my mother) and we sat around eating, laughing, talking and having a good time. One day we spent a few hours in the cafe that I work at just sitting around drinking coffee or tea and conversing with friends of mine as they wandered in and out of the cafe. They were all activities that I do on a very regular basis, and are the activites that make living in Norway so fun...so having my parents around to experience my normal everyday life was exactly how I wanted it.
The other part of my parents visit that was quite special was being able to watch my Dad interact and reconnect with people and places from his past. As many of you know, my Dad studied in Norway 30 years ago. And while his Norwegian is not as fluent as it once was, and most of his contacts in the country are lost, he still had some friends (Kjersti and her family) and of course lots of memories. So being able to share in his resurfacing memories and the rekindling of friendships was special. It was special in that a lot of what he experienced 30 years ago as an American studying in Norway, I am experiencing today as an American studying in Norway. I am finding that we both set out to study abroad for similar reasons, and so being able to see what he experienced helps me to understand his time here as well as my own. I suspect that when he studied here 30 years ago, he didnt think he would be returning some day with his wife of 25 years and 20 year old son...but he did, and I was honored and thrilled to be a part of it.
So my parents have come and gone...their brief personal interlude into my study abroad experience is over. And while it all seemed so normal to have them in Norway, it seemed so normal to travel with them, it seemed so normal to share my life here with them...it wasnt. Their coming all the way across the Atlantic for a long weekend was a truly exceptional event that was far above normalcy, and something that I will always remember.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Wandering the West Coast
Ok...before I get any further behind in my blogging, I thought I should enlighten the blog-o-sphere of my weekend in Bergen. As can be seen in some pictures (they are not all up yet on Flickr) just over a week ago I went with 4 buddies of mine to Bergen, Norway's second largest city situated on the western coast of the country. It is a city with spectacular beauty known for its location among the mountains (7 mountain tops surround the city), the fjords (it is just south of Norways largest fjord, Sognefjorden), and the ocean (the North Sea). And despite getting rain almost 300 days a year, it is a wonderful old city full of surprises, and somewhere that I think everyone should visit.
In order to fully experience and appreciate the western coast, we decided to take the night train from Oslo on a Thursday night and then home again on Sunday night....by doing so we would get into Bergen early Friday morning and then have 3 full days to wander around the city and surrounding areas to see everything it had to offer.
One of the ways we decided to see the surrounding area was to go on what is called the Norway in a Nutshell tour. Basically the tour takes you through the typical Norwegian landscapes (mountains, fjords, etc) via typical Norwegian transport (train, bus, and boat). We started the tour by taking a train from Bergen to Myrdal (located at 886 meters above sea level), going through magnificent mountain filled landscapes. Upon arrival in Myrdal we had about 30 minutes to throw snowballs (much to the delight of my Australian friends) at each other before taking another train, the Flåmsbana, down the mountain to the small town of Flåm located on Sognefjorden (*note: the Flåmsbana train line is the steepest normal, or un-assisted train line in the world...). Now some of you may remember me taking about Flåm from my week long geology excursion in September. This was my second time visiting this tiny fjord-surrounded town, and I must say that it is one of my favorite places in the world. The sheer beauty leaves one in awe and searching for adjectives. After rucking around Flåm for about an hour, we hopped onto a small cruise boat and headed out into the fjord on the water. For me this was especially fun, for I had seen this part of the Sognefjorden from the ground (in Flåm) and from the adjacent mountain top (at a lookout point above the village of Aurland), but never from within. So being able to take the boat out and through the fjord was a highlight of the weekend...it was two of the most beautiful and magnificent hours one could ask for...we even saw where a rainbow came down and ended in the water (at which point we tried to convince our Irish friend to go and talk to the leprechaun that would be guarding the pot of gold found at the end of rainbows...but he wouldnt have it and thus we remain poor college students). After the boat we boarded a bus that wound back up and over the mountains to the city of Voss where we got on another train and returned to Bergen. This part of the trip was presumably beautiful too, but seeing as it was late October it was fairly dark so we couldnt see a whole lot...but I think by that point we had seen so much beauty that anymore might have caused sensory overload.
After a full day of beautiful weather and landscape on Friday, Saturday showed us a bit more of the true Bergen. From when we woke up until we went to sleep it was raining, it was cold, and it was not pleasant....but we did not travel so far to sit cooped up in a hostel all day, so we put on our rain jackets, grabbed our already broken umbrellas and headed out to wander the city. And while it was miserable weather, Bergen is a city that gets such weather frequently, so they (the city infrastructure and the citizens) are prepared. What we found as we wandered along the historic warf, was a system of small, covered, wooden alley-ways between the buildings that very effectively protected shops, residences, and people from the elements and wind that were battering the main warf. It is a system that was obviously developed back in the 18th or 19th century that was so effective, they just never bothered to change or update it. After palling around the alley-ways for quite some time with stops along the way for coffee and lunch, we headed back to the hostel for a quick nap and dinner before more wandering (this time in the pub/club/bar area of the city).
On Sunday morning we were lucky to get a bit of sunshine, which we utilized by taking a shuttle up to the top of a near-by mountain top. From the top we had a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains, the fjord, and the city. Additionally there were all sorts of hiking trails and paths that wove across the mountain top...which we readily explored. While looking out over this magnificent setting however, it was easy to see why people live in Bergen....when the weather is nice it is an absolutely beautiful place. But being Bergen, it was raining by the afternoon so we headed to a local pub where we watched a bit of English Premier League football and played some billiards for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to Oslo on the night train.
As I have said, the beauty of the trip was unbelievable and awe-inspiring...but I think for me the best part of the weekend was watching my friends as they were exposed to the natural beauty of Norway's western coast. It is something that I had, luckily, seen a bit of before thanks to my geology excursion...and through various mediums I tried desperately to convey that experience to them. And while they were all respectful and impressed with my pictures and stories from before, it truly is something that words and pictures do not do justice...it is something that must be shared in person...I have mentioned before (if I havent, I am now) that the one thing I wish I could do is share my experiences with my friends and family. And while this trip and it's beauty was with only 4 of my pals, for them to experience it and for me to share in it with them, was the true highlight that no mountain or fjord or rainbow could match.
In order to fully experience and appreciate the western coast, we decided to take the night train from Oslo on a Thursday night and then home again on Sunday night....by doing so we would get into Bergen early Friday morning and then have 3 full days to wander around the city and surrounding areas to see everything it had to offer.
One of the ways we decided to see the surrounding area was to go on what is called the Norway in a Nutshell tour. Basically the tour takes you through the typical Norwegian landscapes (mountains, fjords, etc) via typical Norwegian transport (train, bus, and boat). We started the tour by taking a train from Bergen to Myrdal (located at 886 meters above sea level), going through magnificent mountain filled landscapes. Upon arrival in Myrdal we had about 30 minutes to throw snowballs (much to the delight of my Australian friends) at each other before taking another train, the Flåmsbana, down the mountain to the small town of Flåm located on Sognefjorden (*note: the Flåmsbana train line is the steepest normal, or un-assisted train line in the world...). Now some of you may remember me taking about Flåm from my week long geology excursion in September. This was my second time visiting this tiny fjord-surrounded town, and I must say that it is one of my favorite places in the world. The sheer beauty leaves one in awe and searching for adjectives. After rucking around Flåm for about an hour, we hopped onto a small cruise boat and headed out into the fjord on the water. For me this was especially fun, for I had seen this part of the Sognefjorden from the ground (in Flåm) and from the adjacent mountain top (at a lookout point above the village of Aurland), but never from within. So being able to take the boat out and through the fjord was a highlight of the weekend...it was two of the most beautiful and magnificent hours one could ask for...we even saw where a rainbow came down and ended in the water (at which point we tried to convince our Irish friend to go and talk to the leprechaun that would be guarding the pot of gold found at the end of rainbows...but he wouldnt have it and thus we remain poor college students). After the boat we boarded a bus that wound back up and over the mountains to the city of Voss where we got on another train and returned to Bergen. This part of the trip was presumably beautiful too, but seeing as it was late October it was fairly dark so we couldnt see a whole lot...but I think by that point we had seen so much beauty that anymore might have caused sensory overload.
After a full day of beautiful weather and landscape on Friday, Saturday showed us a bit more of the true Bergen. From when we woke up until we went to sleep it was raining, it was cold, and it was not pleasant....but we did not travel so far to sit cooped up in a hostel all day, so we put on our rain jackets, grabbed our already broken umbrellas and headed out to wander the city. And while it was miserable weather, Bergen is a city that gets such weather frequently, so they (the city infrastructure and the citizens) are prepared. What we found as we wandered along the historic warf, was a system of small, covered, wooden alley-ways between the buildings that very effectively protected shops, residences, and people from the elements and wind that were battering the main warf. It is a system that was obviously developed back in the 18th or 19th century that was so effective, they just never bothered to change or update it. After palling around the alley-ways for quite some time with stops along the way for coffee and lunch, we headed back to the hostel for a quick nap and dinner before more wandering (this time in the pub/club/bar area of the city).
On Sunday morning we were lucky to get a bit of sunshine, which we utilized by taking a shuttle up to the top of a near-by mountain top. From the top we had a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains, the fjord, and the city. Additionally there were all sorts of hiking trails and paths that wove across the mountain top...which we readily explored. While looking out over this magnificent setting however, it was easy to see why people live in Bergen....when the weather is nice it is an absolutely beautiful place. But being Bergen, it was raining by the afternoon so we headed to a local pub where we watched a bit of English Premier League football and played some billiards for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to Oslo on the night train.
As I have said, the beauty of the trip was unbelievable and awe-inspiring...but I think for me the best part of the weekend was watching my friends as they were exposed to the natural beauty of Norway's western coast. It is something that I had, luckily, seen a bit of before thanks to my geology excursion...and through various mediums I tried desperately to convey that experience to them. And while they were all respectful and impressed with my pictures and stories from before, it truly is something that words and pictures do not do justice...it is something that must be shared in person...I have mentioned before (if I havent, I am now) that the one thing I wish I could do is share my experiences with my friends and family. And while this trip and it's beauty was with only 4 of my pals, for them to experience it and for me to share in it with them, was the true highlight that no mountain or fjord or rainbow could match.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Happiness Has No End
Since arriving in Norway I have been living in the present and not thinking too far into the future. I am loving what I am doing so much, that to start thinking about it ending at some point is very daunting and saddening....but for the first time today, the realization that an "end" of sorts will come, started creeping into my thoughts. Now obviously it is only the beginning of November, and this so called "end" is not for a while...and even then, its not like my friendships will end, or that my experiences and memories will end, or that I cant come back at some point in the future...but this chapter of my life, this semester abroad, will come to an end when I return to the States at the end of December, and I cannot ignore that fact. (*note: I want to stress that its not necessarily a bad thing, going home...I have a lot to return to, with loads of friends, family, activites, etc that I cannot wait to start up with again...its just that until now, I had not really thought much about that re-transition. So maybe this is my way of starting to think about that...)
What is it, you might ask, that will end? Well, I am not exactly sure.
Part of the uncertainty is that when I return to Minneapolis, I will be transitioning into a setting that I have not been a part of....when I return, I will be living with a few of my best friends in an awesome house in the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis. It is something that I have been looking forward to since last spring and cannot wait, but at the same time it makes me a bit nervous...they have been living and hanging out in this house for a semester now and presumably have settled in quite nicely. They have a routine, a system, a way of life that I have not been a part of...and how I am introduced to and received by it and them is a bit unknown. What will it be like? Will I be able to fit in with the living system that they have had in place for 5 months? Will I be encroaching on their routine? Will we be able to relate in the same way now that we have been living in different cultures and environments? Obviously they are some of my best friends and we wouldnt have decided to live together if there wasnt a strong connection that transcended simple lifestyle differences of who cooks when and who cleans where. And of course we are good friends and so living and hanging out together isnt a problem. But I think it would be incredibly naive and selfish of me to assume that they havent changed during this past semester, especially since I have changed and experienced so much...thus, figuring out and adapting to that change will be important. Do I think it will be fine...yes. Am I excited to return to hanging out with the boys of 1078 16th Ave SE...of course. Am I a bit uncertain about how quickly we will readjust to each others company...yeah a little.
I think the other part of my uncertainty, is that I dont know how I will react to life not in Oslo. My time in Norway has been nothing short of enjoyable. One of the things that I have most enjoyed (and hope to continue when I get home) is the tradition, or practice of cooking and eating meals together with friends. While living here in Norway, I have fallen into a small group of friends that you could call "family". We hang out together, we travel together, we drink tea (among othe beverages) together, and we eat together...even though we dont live together. We have created this system of sorts where we take turns cooking meals. It is a way to share both the financial and time consuming burden of cooking a meal, while a the same time bringing us together on a regular basis. My favorite moments in Norway have been sitting around a kitchen sharing someone's version of tikka masala, or chili, or falafal, or tacos, or frozen pizza, or whatever. And in those moments it is not the food that I am necessarily enjoying (allthough every meal has been thoroughly enjoyable), it is the joking around, the laughter, and the friendship that I cherish. It is in these moments that I am truly happy...happy in a way that I dont think I realized was possible before...so as I move forward in these last two months of my norsk eventyr, it is crucial that I enjoy my remaining time here, while at the same time learn to find true happiness wherever I am...because the reality is that it is not the city of Oslo or the country of Norway that makes me truly happy, it is the people I am with and the friends that I have. And while I have dear friends here in Oslo, I have the exact same thing at home in Minneapolis as well, and there is no reason I cannot combine my experiences from both and learn from both to achieve a happiness that does not end...
What is it, you might ask, that will end? Well, I am not exactly sure.
Part of the uncertainty is that when I return to Minneapolis, I will be transitioning into a setting that I have not been a part of....when I return, I will be living with a few of my best friends in an awesome house in the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis. It is something that I have been looking forward to since last spring and cannot wait, but at the same time it makes me a bit nervous...they have been living and hanging out in this house for a semester now and presumably have settled in quite nicely. They have a routine, a system, a way of life that I have not been a part of...and how I am introduced to and received by it and them is a bit unknown. What will it be like? Will I be able to fit in with the living system that they have had in place for 5 months? Will I be encroaching on their routine? Will we be able to relate in the same way now that we have been living in different cultures and environments? Obviously they are some of my best friends and we wouldnt have decided to live together if there wasnt a strong connection that transcended simple lifestyle differences of who cooks when and who cleans where. And of course we are good friends and so living and hanging out together isnt a problem. But I think it would be incredibly naive and selfish of me to assume that they havent changed during this past semester, especially since I have changed and experienced so much...thus, figuring out and adapting to that change will be important. Do I think it will be fine...yes. Am I excited to return to hanging out with the boys of 1078 16th Ave SE...of course. Am I a bit uncertain about how quickly we will readjust to each others company...yeah a little.
I think the other part of my uncertainty, is that I dont know how I will react to life not in Oslo. My time in Norway has been nothing short of enjoyable. One of the things that I have most enjoyed (and hope to continue when I get home) is the tradition, or practice of cooking and eating meals together with friends. While living here in Norway, I have fallen into a small group of friends that you could call "family". We hang out together, we travel together, we drink tea (among othe beverages) together, and we eat together...even though we dont live together. We have created this system of sorts where we take turns cooking meals. It is a way to share both the financial and time consuming burden of cooking a meal, while a the same time bringing us together on a regular basis. My favorite moments in Norway have been sitting around a kitchen sharing someone's version of tikka masala, or chili, or falafal, or tacos, or frozen pizza, or whatever. And in those moments it is not the food that I am necessarily enjoying (allthough every meal has been thoroughly enjoyable), it is the joking around, the laughter, and the friendship that I cherish. It is in these moments that I am truly happy...happy in a way that I dont think I realized was possible before...so as I move forward in these last two months of my norsk eventyr, it is crucial that I enjoy my remaining time here, while at the same time learn to find true happiness wherever I am...because the reality is that it is not the city of Oslo or the country of Norway that makes me truly happy, it is the people I am with and the friends that I have. And while I have dear friends here in Oslo, I have the exact same thing at home in Minneapolis as well, and there is no reason I cannot combine my experiences from both and learn from both to achieve a happiness that does not end...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Smokers are people too...
I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. I have absolutely no desire to smoke a cigarette at any point in my life...ever. But if you walked into my room right now, you would find an almost full carton of Marlboro Light cigarettes.
Before coming to Europe I used judge (negatively) any person I saw smoking a cigarette. The first thought into my head was always "Really? Your smoking?" whether I knew the person or not. And while this may have been an unfair judgment of character and personality based on one bad addiction/habit, it was the reaction I had. I couldnt understand why anyone could smoke knowing how bad it was for their health....I mean there is rat poison in cigarettes! What kind of person would knowingly subject themselves to such blatant poisoning? And the answer is, lots of good people. Since coming to Europe, and being exposed to a culture of smoking that is very different than that of the United States, I have come to realize that smokers are people too. This sounds childish and obvious, but it wasnt before. Its not that before, I thought smokers werent real people, I simply judged them prematurely as people that I would not associate with and could not relate to...because of the culture and societal taboo that surrounds smoking in America today, I never saw smoking from the other side....which is exactly what I have had the opportunity to do since coming to Oslo.
The first person that I met here at the university, my good buddy of mine, smokes. Now he doesnt smoke often, and has "quit" in the past, but as he would tell you and as every other smoker would tell you, it is an addiction. It is not easy to simply drop it cold-turkey and leave the nicotine behind. After initially meeting him, he introduced me to some of the other people he had met (roommates, friends, etc) which now forms the close circle of friends that we have. Of those friends, a few smoke....again, the amount that they smoke differs between them, but they smoke nonetheless. At first I was unsure about it...the questions of "Why? Do they know they are smoking rat poison? Have they tried to quit?" all resurfaced as my societal bred insticts about smoking resurfaced. But as I have gotten to know them (and we are talking about some of my closest friends now), and talk about smoking with each, one thing is clear...they all want to quit. Most of them have tried before but for one reason or another fallen back into the habit. I have learned that its not only the addiction to nicotine thats hard to push, but the habititual action of actually smoking a cigarette. It is an action that becomes a part of you life if you smoke, and its not easy to drop.
Over the semester I have kidded a bit with my smoking friends about how they should quit for real....I lovingly remind them once in awhile that "smoking kills", "that there is rat poison in that cigarette", and of course "that smoking is bad for you". These reminders are all given in a non-threatening, non-agressive way all with their health and well-being in mind. They have all taken it in good humor and jokingly tell me "after the next pack I will quit"....riiight. Until one day, when a buddy of mine decided it was time to quit, for real. He told me that while he would like to quit cold-turkey, he knows that if he did that it would not last....this quiting attempt, if it is to be for real, needs to be a planned, gradual process. So we made a plan of a daily ration that would decrease with time. It started out with something like 6 cigarettes a day for the first two weeks, and then decreased by one cigarette per day each of the following two weeks until it got to zero a day, when theoretically he would not need or want one. In order to truthfully stick to the plan, he decided (I repeat, he decided) that I should hold the cigarettes and give them to him...as sort of a reminder to stick with it. We made a deal that the carton of cigarettes he purchased at the start of the plan would be the last cigarettes he bought in his life...hence the nearly full carton of Marlboro Lights in my room.
So far the plan is working fairly well, he is down to 4 cigarettes a day for the rest of this week and next, and has agreed that he is already feeling better because he's smoking less. And while he is moving towards dropping a bad habit, I have had a first hand view of the quitting process. He has shown me the difficulties of an addiction, and while I cannot relate from personal experience, I can and do appreciate the effort he is exerting to kick it...and it is the least that I can do to help him out along the way. I am humbled and honored to be a part of such a significant change to my good friends life. And I think that throughout this process of quitting and exposure to the culture of smoking, I have been able to really see, that smokers are people too...
Before coming to Europe I used judge (negatively) any person I saw smoking a cigarette. The first thought into my head was always "Really? Your smoking?" whether I knew the person or not. And while this may have been an unfair judgment of character and personality based on one bad addiction/habit, it was the reaction I had. I couldnt understand why anyone could smoke knowing how bad it was for their health....I mean there is rat poison in cigarettes! What kind of person would knowingly subject themselves to such blatant poisoning? And the answer is, lots of good people. Since coming to Europe, and being exposed to a culture of smoking that is very different than that of the United States, I have come to realize that smokers are people too. This sounds childish and obvious, but it wasnt before. Its not that before, I thought smokers werent real people, I simply judged them prematurely as people that I would not associate with and could not relate to...because of the culture and societal taboo that surrounds smoking in America today, I never saw smoking from the other side....which is exactly what I have had the opportunity to do since coming to Oslo.
The first person that I met here at the university, my good buddy of mine, smokes. Now he doesnt smoke often, and has "quit" in the past, but as he would tell you and as every other smoker would tell you, it is an addiction. It is not easy to simply drop it cold-turkey and leave the nicotine behind. After initially meeting him, he introduced me to some of the other people he had met (roommates, friends, etc) which now forms the close circle of friends that we have. Of those friends, a few smoke....again, the amount that they smoke differs between them, but they smoke nonetheless. At first I was unsure about it...the questions of "Why? Do they know they are smoking rat poison? Have they tried to quit?" all resurfaced as my societal bred insticts about smoking resurfaced. But as I have gotten to know them (and we are talking about some of my closest friends now), and talk about smoking with each, one thing is clear...they all want to quit. Most of them have tried before but for one reason or another fallen back into the habit. I have learned that its not only the addiction to nicotine thats hard to push, but the habititual action of actually smoking a cigarette. It is an action that becomes a part of you life if you smoke, and its not easy to drop.
Over the semester I have kidded a bit with my smoking friends about how they should quit for real....I lovingly remind them once in awhile that "smoking kills", "that there is rat poison in that cigarette", and of course "that smoking is bad for you". These reminders are all given in a non-threatening, non-agressive way all with their health and well-being in mind. They have all taken it in good humor and jokingly tell me "after the next pack I will quit"....riiight. Until one day, when a buddy of mine decided it was time to quit, for real. He told me that while he would like to quit cold-turkey, he knows that if he did that it would not last....this quiting attempt, if it is to be for real, needs to be a planned, gradual process. So we made a plan of a daily ration that would decrease with time. It started out with something like 6 cigarettes a day for the first two weeks, and then decreased by one cigarette per day each of the following two weeks until it got to zero a day, when theoretically he would not need or want one. In order to truthfully stick to the plan, he decided (I repeat, he decided) that I should hold the cigarettes and give them to him...as sort of a reminder to stick with it. We made a deal that the carton of cigarettes he purchased at the start of the plan would be the last cigarettes he bought in his life...hence the nearly full carton of Marlboro Lights in my room.
So far the plan is working fairly well, he is down to 4 cigarettes a day for the rest of this week and next, and has agreed that he is already feeling better because he's smoking less. And while he is moving towards dropping a bad habit, I have had a first hand view of the quitting process. He has shown me the difficulties of an addiction, and while I cannot relate from personal experience, I can and do appreciate the effort he is exerting to kick it...and it is the least that I can do to help him out along the way. I am humbled and honored to be a part of such a significant change to my good friends life. And I think that throughout this process of quitting and exposure to the culture of smoking, I have been able to really see, that smokers are people too...
Show and Tell
So for the most part life around Oslo has been relatively laid back and normal as of late. I have really been able to settle into life as a Norwegian, complete with a regular schedule and regular commitments. But starting with last weekend my life has been and will be a bustle of activity, travel, and visitors. This past weekend, a good friend of mine from the University, Laura, came to visit me in Oslo. She is studying in Paris this fall and originally we had planned to meet up somewhere in Europe really cool (like Istanbul or Rome or Prague or something), but since I have been raving about Norway since the plane touched down, we decided to rendezvous here in the super cool, western-most Nordic country.
And I was excited for her to come for two reasons...one, it would be really good to see her and spend time with a good friend...someone I hadnt seen in many months. And two...do you remember the feeling that you had back in elementary school when it was show and tell day and you got to bring in your favorite toy or possession to share with all your classmates? Do you remember the excitement and joy you felt as you were able to share with you 4 foot tall friends one of the things that made you the most happy? Well thats kind of how I felt about having Laura come to Oslo...now I am not still in elementary school, Oslo is not my prized possesion, and I am definitely not 4 feet tall anymore, but the feeling of excitement and joy at the chance to share one of the things that makes me most happy was present nonetheless. Having her come was providing a great opportunity for me to show someone from home a little bit of what I love so much about Norway. I can write in blogs, I can take pictures, I can tell stories, but there is an element missing in all of those and that is the element of personal experience. It is very hard to grasp how massive a glacier is unless you are at the edge of it. It is difficult to try and get to know the awesome, awesome people I am meeting here unless you have met them in person. And while I am doing my best to paint the most realistic and accurate picture of those things and my life in Europe possible through my blog, my pictures, my stories...it is just different when you see it in person. So I was thrilled to have Oslo and Norway to show and tell.
Anyways, so she arrived on Thursday night and from then on it was a truly epic and awesome weekend. First of all, the weather was beautiful all weekend, which made showing off Norway very easy, because when the weather is nice here it is one of the best places on Earth. So with nice weather, we went hiking up near and around a lake in the hills just north of Oslo. The nature was pristine and we even stumbled upon a second lake that I did not know exsisted...ha hah! We also saw most of the main sights in Oslo (there were a few museums and such that cost some money, and as college students in Europe we decided against those options), including quite a bit of time in Vigelandsparken (it is a famous scultpure park in Oslo with interesting and compelling statues). We had a small cameo/extra role in the longest running Norwegian soap opera, "Hotel Cæsar". We hung out with my friends here in Oslo having tea, making meals, seeing the sites, dancing, and otherwise just chilling....basically it was just a great weekend.
I think that in the end, I was able to adequetely share and show my new city, my new friends, and this life that I have been living and loving for the last few months...my elementary school teachers would have been proud.
* ed note: While at Vigalendsparken, we (Laura, myself, my friend Kate, and my friend Kristina) were sitting on some steps enjoying the sun and the view, and the soap opera was filming near by. Then at one point the director came up to us and said, "Just so you know, you are in this shot, which is fine, but please dont look at the camera, just conintue to talk amongst yourselves and act like the actors arent there." And so they continued to shoot the scene, with us, two Americans, a Canadian, and a Norwegian as extras...so yeah, I have been in a soap opera.
And I was excited for her to come for two reasons...one, it would be really good to see her and spend time with a good friend...someone I hadnt seen in many months. And two...do you remember the feeling that you had back in elementary school when it was show and tell day and you got to bring in your favorite toy or possession to share with all your classmates? Do you remember the excitement and joy you felt as you were able to share with you 4 foot tall friends one of the things that made you the most happy? Well thats kind of how I felt about having Laura come to Oslo...now I am not still in elementary school, Oslo is not my prized possesion, and I am definitely not 4 feet tall anymore, but the feeling of excitement and joy at the chance to share one of the things that makes me most happy was present nonetheless. Having her come was providing a great opportunity for me to show someone from home a little bit of what I love so much about Norway. I can write in blogs, I can take pictures, I can tell stories, but there is an element missing in all of those and that is the element of personal experience. It is very hard to grasp how massive a glacier is unless you are at the edge of it. It is difficult to try and get to know the awesome, awesome people I am meeting here unless you have met them in person. And while I am doing my best to paint the most realistic and accurate picture of those things and my life in Europe possible through my blog, my pictures, my stories...it is just different when you see it in person. So I was thrilled to have Oslo and Norway to show and tell.
Anyways, so she arrived on Thursday night and from then on it was a truly epic and awesome weekend. First of all, the weather was beautiful all weekend, which made showing off Norway very easy, because when the weather is nice here it is one of the best places on Earth. So with nice weather, we went hiking up near and around a lake in the hills just north of Oslo. The nature was pristine and we even stumbled upon a second lake that I did not know exsisted...ha hah! We also saw most of the main sights in Oslo (there were a few museums and such that cost some money, and as college students in Europe we decided against those options), including quite a bit of time in Vigelandsparken (it is a famous scultpure park in Oslo with interesting and compelling statues). We had a small cameo/extra role in the longest running Norwegian soap opera, "Hotel Cæsar". We hung out with my friends here in Oslo having tea, making meals, seeing the sites, dancing, and otherwise just chilling....basically it was just a great weekend.
I think that in the end, I was able to adequetely share and show my new city, my new friends, and this life that I have been living and loving for the last few months...my elementary school teachers would have been proud.
* ed note: While at Vigalendsparken, we (Laura, myself, my friend Kate, and my friend Kristina) were sitting on some steps enjoying the sun and the view, and the soap opera was filming near by. Then at one point the director came up to us and said, "Just so you know, you are in this shot, which is fine, but please dont look at the camera, just conintue to talk amongst yourselves and act like the actors arent there." And so they continued to shoot the scene, with us, two Americans, a Canadian, and a Norwegian as extras...so yeah, I have been in a soap opera.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
I like to sing...no, in fact I think I love to sing. I am not much of a soloist, much to the chagrin of some friends here in Oslo, but I do enjoy singing in a choir. Since coming to Oslo I have joined a choir here, Angelos Koret, in which I am part of the bass section. For some of you who knew me in high school that may come as a surprise, as in high school I was a tenor...now I know what your thinking, "Oh Tallis, how great! You have matured, your voice changed and now your a bass...congrats!"...and I can tell you that that is not the case, in fact in high school I could sing bass too, but I sang tenor because thats what was needed...now I sing bass, cause thats what was needed. Nonetheless, I love it. There is something about singing bass that is quite enjoyable...maybe it is the really low notes, or the powerful simplicity of the bass line...either way, joining a choir and singing again has been a wonderful part of living in Norway. The choir is something of a community choir, its not part of the University but there are many university aged people in the choir. We practice on Tuesday nights at an old Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oslo. I got involved in the choir kind of by chance...when staying in Notodden in August with Kjersti and Jan, I was introduced to Kjersti's nephew Gaute, who is also a student at the University here. Over the course of our conversation the topic of singing came up, and he asked if I sang, and if I would want to check out a choir he was in, Angelos Koret. I told him that I had back in high school, but that that was over two years ago (since when did I get so old?) and I that hadnt sang since...but being as I am in Norway trying new things, I decided to check out the choir and am I glad I did. The choir rehersals are conducted and run completely in Norwegian...which one would think would be difficult seeing as the amount of Norgwegian I know is just about nothing, but since I have been in choirs before and am not completely tone deaf I am able to follow along for the most part. I am the only english-as-a-first-language member of the choir, so my fellow choir members have been very helpful in translating for me when needed, giving me pronounciation tips, and making me feel welcome.
Last night we had our first concert of the semester (there is another one in December), and I would say it went very well. It was a fundraising event to raise money for a new organ in the church where we practice...but despite the 100 NOK ticket price (equivalent to about $20) I still had quite the fan section. Tim, Eamon, Max, Steve, Kate, Kristina, Marianne, and Carine all came in support...for which I was very grateful. It is always fun to share with friends some of the things you truly love to do, and so being able to share my previously-forgotten-but-now-found love of singing, was a true delight.
Last night we had our first concert of the semester (there is another one in December), and I would say it went very well. It was a fundraising event to raise money for a new organ in the church where we practice...but despite the 100 NOK ticket price (equivalent to about $20) I still had quite the fan section. Tim, Eamon, Max, Steve, Kate, Kristina, Marianne, and Carine all came in support...for which I was very grateful. It is always fun to share with friends some of the things you truly love to do, and so being able to share my previously-forgotten-but-now-found love of singing, was a true delight.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Cappaccinos are supposed to have lots of foam...
As some of you may or may not know, I have been working (well volunteering really) at a student-run cafe here at the University. At every faculty on campus (Humanities, Math and Natural Sciences, etc) there is a student-run cafe-by-day/pub-by-night where students from that faculty can go and hang out, do some homework, catch up with friends, etc. Most of the time the people that work there are in the respective faculty (thus providing a means for fellow students to meet others studying similar things)...I however have been working in the Social Sciences cafe/pub called U1. I started there on a recommendation from a friend, and I can safely say that it is one of the best decisions I have made. I work in the cafe every other week on Friday afternoons serving coffee, tea, lattes, cappuccinos, americanos, etc to the faithful patrons. And while my barista skills are improving (at first there was absolutely no difference between the cappuccinos and the lattes I made), it is the people I have been meeting that are truly making my time there wonderful. I know I have talked about "the people" before, but I dont think that I can stress that element of my experience enough. Just this past week, one of my "bosses", Marianne (she is on the board of directors for U1, and is a champ...one of the nicest, most fun people you will ever meet), had a few of the international students who work at U1 (there are maybe 6 of us) over to her apartment and made us a 3-course, traditional Norwegian meal....it was amazing! She absolutely did not have to have 10+ people (some of the other Norwegian U1ers also came) over to make a traditional meal...but she did because thats just the kind of person she is. Or there is another one of my "bosses", Carine (she is one of the two people in charge of the cafe), who after a conversation about the financial crisis a few days before, saved an article she found in a Norwegian newspaper about it and translated it for me (she also works at a bank which is how the original conversation got started). Or there is Peter, who is one of the DJs at the pub on some Friday nights, who will come in once and awhile to the cafe and we will talk shop about new music, or politics, or whatever (he also studied last semeseter at UC-Berkley and spent some time in Minneapolis this summer, so we talk about some of our similar experiences in CA and MN as well). These are just a few examples of the awesome people at U1....none of whom have to take time out of their day to make international students, like myself, feel welcome...but they all do, and because of it I am making friends that will last a lifetime.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Running With Royalty
This past weekend I participated in the Oslo Marathon...it went well, I felt good throughout the race, the weather was absolutely beautiful, the course wound through the streets of downtown Oslo as well as along the fjord harbor, I was running with a friend which always makes runs more fun, I got a really cool race shirt and medal for finishing, lots of free bananas, AND the Crown Princess of Norway was running...so all in all it was a great experience.
...oh, I am sorry, did I forget to mention that I was running the 10k race and not the full 42k marathon? My bad...you know how those details sometimes just slip your memory...
Yes, I ran the Oslo Marathon 10k race with a friend and all those other things I mentioned and I really did have a great time...because whats not to love about running with royalty?
...oh, I am sorry, did I forget to mention that I was running the 10k race and not the full 42k marathon? My bad...you know how those details sometimes just slip your memory...
Yes, I ran the Oslo Marathon 10k race with a friend and all those other things I mentioned and I really did have a great time...because whats not to love about running with royalty?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tents with Windows and 1 Liter Steins...
The other day a couple of friends and I took this quiz found about 75 things to do before you die. The list had quite a few things on it (well, 75 to be exact), and as it turns out I have already complete 29 of them. One item that was not there, though an argument based on personal experience could be made for its inclusion, was taking part in Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Yes, what I am implying is that I have experienced, in person, the real Oktoberfest. I am sure some of you already knew this, as I have posted many, many pictures both on Flickr and on Facebook, but I thought that I would still try and recount the experience a bit.
And I think that that is the best word to describe it, an "experience". Before going in I did not know what to expect. I knew all of the stereotypes about how there would be lots of tourists, no Germans, lots of messy drunks, etc. and to be honest, that wasnt exactly my idea of a good time. But as the weekend went on I was pleasantly surprised by the event.
Our (myself and four other friends from Uni here in Oslo) trip started with a flight into Frankfurt, Germany on Friday afternoon. For those who are wondering, no, Frankfurt is not really that close to Munich. In fact it is a few hundred kilometers north west, so we rented a car (a Fiat Punto to be exact) and set off down the German Autobahn with a map and a vague idea of where to go...and since I was the only person among the 5 of us who drives on the right side of the road at home, I was the only person among the 5 of us who was going to be driving while in Germany. After 4+ hours of flying down the Autobahn (in many areas there are no speed limits, so I was free to drive as fast as the car would allow) at an average of 90+ mph, we finally arrived in the Munich suburb where we would be staying, Dachau. I suppose I should qualify that statement, for the first night (and really the entire weekend), we were not exactly sure where we would be staying. We had a friend of a friend who we thought we might be able to stay with....but in all reality we were prepared to sleep in the Fiat. Luckily the friend of a friend came through and we had a roof to sleep under for the weekend (even if it meant sharing single beds).
After arriving in Dachau late Friday night, we were up early on Saturday and into Munich to get in line for one of the famous beer tents (my alarm went off at 6:30 AM and we were in line at 8 AM and beer was first served at noon). You might ask, why get up so early just to stand in line? Well in order to truly experience Oktoberfest, it is imperative that you find a seat at a table inside a beer tent, for it is inside these tents where the traditional atmosphere of the festival is found. The "tents" are massive structures that are really more like temporary buildings (they take 4 months to set up and 1 month to take down), and each one can hold at least 1,000 people, most of who are dressed in traditional German dress, also known as lederhosen (the amount of traditionally dressed Germans depends entirely on the tent you go in...we sought out the tents with more Germans to get a more traditional atmosphere). Some tents have bands playing in the middle, there is dancing both on the ground and on the tables, there are different kinds of food (both traditional German and other) being served, lots of singing, and of course there is beer. Each tent is run by one German beer company, so each tent is serving a different kind of beer....but it is not just any beer, it is really good beer...and it comes in large quantities (the beer is served in "steins" or 1 liter mugs, and the waiters or waitresses carry them out by the dozen...a very impessive feat considering I had trouble picking up 5 at once, much less 12). As I have been in Europe and tried different kinds of beer, some good and some bad...but nothing compares to the beer served at Oktoberfest. It is far and away the best beer I have ever had (granted my beer tasting experience is relatively low...but I have a feeling that I have now reached the pinnacle of beer quality and it is all down hill from here). Each brew was a full, smooth, beautiful tasting beer that went down very nicely. So as you might be able to imagine, with a beer in hand and lederhosen clad Germans all around, the atmosphere was a lot of fun.
In addition to the beer tents at the Oktoberfest ground, there is also a massive carnival taking place (again, see pictures). There are more rides, carnival games, lights, and giant stuffed bears than you can shake a stein at...I would imagine that it was something like the Minnesota or Wisconsin State Fair, only it was taking place concurrently with one of the largest beer festivals in the world. Now, some of you may be wondering, did I go on any rides? And the answer is no, I decided given the amount of food and beer I consumed, that any ride where I am being spun in circles 60 feet off the ground would be a bad idea (for the record, I think being spun in circles 60 feet off the ground is a bad idea anyways). But despite not going on any rides I still thoroughly enjoyed wandering through this massive carnival people watching (Amy, Andy, Meg, and Sarah this event blew Summerfest out of the water in terms of people to people watch) and taking it all in.
After a very full and eventful day, we made our way back to Dachau for a good nights sleep, only to get up and do it all again on Sunday. Which sounds crazy I know, but in the grand scheme of things we were only at Oktoberfest for 2 days out of the three weeks it goes on. And yes they were action packed, carbohydrate filled days, but my motto is that you only live once, so I could not pass up this opportunity to experience a German traditional festival....and thats what it was...an experience.
And I think that that is the best word to describe it, an "experience". Before going in I did not know what to expect. I knew all of the stereotypes about how there would be lots of tourists, no Germans, lots of messy drunks, etc. and to be honest, that wasnt exactly my idea of a good time. But as the weekend went on I was pleasantly surprised by the event.
Our (myself and four other friends from Uni here in Oslo) trip started with a flight into Frankfurt, Germany on Friday afternoon. For those who are wondering, no, Frankfurt is not really that close to Munich. In fact it is a few hundred kilometers north west, so we rented a car (a Fiat Punto to be exact) and set off down the German Autobahn with a map and a vague idea of where to go...and since I was the only person among the 5 of us who drives on the right side of the road at home, I was the only person among the 5 of us who was going to be driving while in Germany. After 4+ hours of flying down the Autobahn (in many areas there are no speed limits, so I was free to drive as fast as the car would allow) at an average of 90+ mph, we finally arrived in the Munich suburb where we would be staying, Dachau. I suppose I should qualify that statement, for the first night (and really the entire weekend), we were not exactly sure where we would be staying. We had a friend of a friend who we thought we might be able to stay with....but in all reality we were prepared to sleep in the Fiat. Luckily the friend of a friend came through and we had a roof to sleep under for the weekend (even if it meant sharing single beds).
After arriving in Dachau late Friday night, we were up early on Saturday and into Munich to get in line for one of the famous beer tents (my alarm went off at 6:30 AM and we were in line at 8 AM and beer was first served at noon). You might ask, why get up so early just to stand in line? Well in order to truly experience Oktoberfest, it is imperative that you find a seat at a table inside a beer tent, for it is inside these tents where the traditional atmosphere of the festival is found. The "tents" are massive structures that are really more like temporary buildings (they take 4 months to set up and 1 month to take down), and each one can hold at least 1,000 people, most of who are dressed in traditional German dress, also known as lederhosen (the amount of traditionally dressed Germans depends entirely on the tent you go in...we sought out the tents with more Germans to get a more traditional atmosphere). Some tents have bands playing in the middle, there is dancing both on the ground and on the tables, there are different kinds of food (both traditional German and other) being served, lots of singing, and of course there is beer. Each tent is run by one German beer company, so each tent is serving a different kind of beer....but it is not just any beer, it is really good beer...and it comes in large quantities (the beer is served in "steins" or 1 liter mugs, and the waiters or waitresses carry them out by the dozen...a very impessive feat considering I had trouble picking up 5 at once, much less 12). As I have been in Europe and tried different kinds of beer, some good and some bad...but nothing compares to the beer served at Oktoberfest. It is far and away the best beer I have ever had (granted my beer tasting experience is relatively low...but I have a feeling that I have now reached the pinnacle of beer quality and it is all down hill from here). Each brew was a full, smooth, beautiful tasting beer that went down very nicely. So as you might be able to imagine, with a beer in hand and lederhosen clad Germans all around, the atmosphere was a lot of fun.
In addition to the beer tents at the Oktoberfest ground, there is also a massive carnival taking place (again, see pictures). There are more rides, carnival games, lights, and giant stuffed bears than you can shake a stein at...I would imagine that it was something like the Minnesota or Wisconsin State Fair, only it was taking place concurrently with one of the largest beer festivals in the world. Now, some of you may be wondering, did I go on any rides? And the answer is no, I decided given the amount of food and beer I consumed, that any ride where I am being spun in circles 60 feet off the ground would be a bad idea (for the record, I think being spun in circles 60 feet off the ground is a bad idea anyways). But despite not going on any rides I still thoroughly enjoyed wandering through this massive carnival people watching (Amy, Andy, Meg, and Sarah this event blew Summerfest out of the water in terms of people to people watch) and taking it all in.
After a very full and eventful day, we made our way back to Dachau for a good nights sleep, only to get up and do it all again on Sunday. Which sounds crazy I know, but in the grand scheme of things we were only at Oktoberfest for 2 days out of the three weeks it goes on. And yes they were action packed, carbohydrate filled days, but my motto is that you only live once, so I could not pass up this opportunity to experience a German traditional festival....and thats what it was...an experience.
Monday, September 22, 2008
"home"
Over the past few years my definition of the word "home" has changed, morphed, and matured to a point now where it is much different than what it used to be.
In the days leading up to my departure for college my freshman year, I had a "mental breakdown" of sorts as I came to the realization that "home" as I had always known it was about to change. I was leaving the neighborhood, the street, the bedroom, the city, the people, the lifestyle, etc. that I had always known, loved, and felt safe in for a new city with a dorm room where my lifestyle and friends would surely be different from anything I had ever known. At that moment I thought that I would never really have a "home" again until the day some time down the road when I got married, had kids, bought a house, etc. I thought that I would never be able to consider a different place home (of course my Mom, being the loving and concerned parent she is and was, assured me that I always had a home, that being the house she lived in...thanks Mom)...and at that time in my life, as a not even college freshman, such notions were terrifying. However it did not take long for those fears and notions of "home" to be written off as ill-conceived.
As I am now living in my third place in as many years, I am comfortable with the idea that "home" does not have to be and is not the two-story, suburban house with a yard to rake and a basketball hoop that was normal of my childhood. I love the fact that my "home" in the last three years has been in three different rooms, in two different cities on two different continents, with different people, cultures and languages...it is simply a testament to where I am in my life.
So as I continue to live that life, my life, here in Oslo...I am happy to say that I have found a new "home". And while my time of residence here may be temporary, my experiences and feelings are true and lifelong....I am right at "home".
In the days leading up to my departure for college my freshman year, I had a "mental breakdown" of sorts as I came to the realization that "home" as I had always known it was about to change. I was leaving the neighborhood, the street, the bedroom, the city, the people, the lifestyle, etc. that I had always known, loved, and felt safe in for a new city with a dorm room where my lifestyle and friends would surely be different from anything I had ever known. At that moment I thought that I would never really have a "home" again until the day some time down the road when I got married, had kids, bought a house, etc. I thought that I would never be able to consider a different place home (of course my Mom, being the loving and concerned parent she is and was, assured me that I always had a home, that being the house she lived in...thanks Mom)...and at that time in my life, as a not even college freshman, such notions were terrifying. However it did not take long for those fears and notions of "home" to be written off as ill-conceived.
As I am now living in my third place in as many years, I am comfortable with the idea that "home" does not have to be and is not the two-story, suburban house with a yard to rake and a basketball hoop that was normal of my childhood. I love the fact that my "home" in the last three years has been in three different rooms, in two different cities on two different continents, with different people, cultures and languages...it is simply a testament to where I am in my life.
So as I continue to live that life, my life, here in Oslo...I am happy to say that I have found a new "home". And while my time of residence here may be temporary, my experiences and feelings are true and lifelong....I am right at "home".
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Differential Analysis
Climate...
When most people think of Norway their first thought is probably something like "Brrr...sounds cold!"...and while in some parts of Norway that assumption holds very true, here in Oslo the temperatures and weather conditions are fairly similar to those of Minneapolis. Despite Oslo's high latitude of close to N 60 degrees (for those of you who were wondering, the Arctic circle is at roughly N 66 degrees while Minneapolis is at N 45 degrees) the climate here is fairly temperate due to the warmer ocean currents that blow up from the equator. The thing that is different between Minneapolis and Oslo though, is that the seasons change at different times (I cant speak for all seasons I suppose, just the current transition I am experiencing of Summer to Fall). For example, when I arrived in Oslo back at the beginning of August, it was fairly cool almost fall-like temperatures...so much so that I probably could have worn pants from then till now (howewver, me being the tough Midwestern kid that I am I have been able to tough it out in shorts until just recently). And now in mid-September, the leaf changing process is already in full swing whereas back home I am guessing that the temperatures are just recently starting to cool down and the leaves wont really start changing for a few weeks. So essentially Fall is well underway here in Oslo, whereas back home its just starting...
Football...
Back home the college and pro seasons of football are underway...and it is the same in Norway and Europe, but with a different kind of football...American Football (also called Gridiron by my Australian friends) is a relatively unknown sport around this part of the world. Yes they have NFL Europe...but who really pays attention to that? For the most part, Europeans think of American Football as a relatively stupid, slow paced, padded (and thus wussy) version of rugby (for the record, I went to a rugby match of a buddy of mine...it is crazy. I have respect for American Football players, but rugby...whew...anyways...). What really gets them going over here is football (or soccer). The English Premier League (for those of you who dont know, the EPL is one of the best, most respected, and most popular soccer leagues in the world) is obviously very popular in Great Britain (my Irish friend Steve is what I would called a mild mannered fanatic), but even here in Norway it seems as though everyone is paying attention. Norway played Iceland in a World Cup qualifier a few weeks ago and it dominated the papers and news coverage for a week on both ends of the game. Simply put, Europeans love football as much as Americans love football...its just that each continents football is a slightly different shape.
Climate and Football...
I think the reason for bringing up these two differences/similarties, is that I was alerted to them in a strangely culminating fashion this past weekend. On Saturday afternoon my pals and I headed downtown to a local pub to catch the Liverpool vs Manchester United EPL football game. It was a big game between major rivals (think Vikings vs Packers on Monday Night)...and was a lot of fun to watch, especially in a pub full of fans. Amidst it all I realized why it felt so normal...a typical fall Saturday afternoon for me, is spent watching football. It just so happens that this fall, and this football season, are happening European style...and I must say, it is different...but not that different...
When most people think of Norway their first thought is probably something like "Brrr...sounds cold!"...and while in some parts of Norway that assumption holds very true, here in Oslo the temperatures and weather conditions are fairly similar to those of Minneapolis. Despite Oslo's high latitude of close to N 60 degrees (for those of you who were wondering, the Arctic circle is at roughly N 66 degrees while Minneapolis is at N 45 degrees) the climate here is fairly temperate due to the warmer ocean currents that blow up from the equator. The thing that is different between Minneapolis and Oslo though, is that the seasons change at different times (I cant speak for all seasons I suppose, just the current transition I am experiencing of Summer to Fall). For example, when I arrived in Oslo back at the beginning of August, it was fairly cool almost fall-like temperatures...so much so that I probably could have worn pants from then till now (howewver, me being the tough Midwestern kid that I am I have been able to tough it out in shorts until just recently). And now in mid-September, the leaf changing process is already in full swing whereas back home I am guessing that the temperatures are just recently starting to cool down and the leaves wont really start changing for a few weeks. So essentially Fall is well underway here in Oslo, whereas back home its just starting...
Football...
Back home the college and pro seasons of football are underway...and it is the same in Norway and Europe, but with a different kind of football...American Football (also called Gridiron by my Australian friends) is a relatively unknown sport around this part of the world. Yes they have NFL Europe...but who really pays attention to that? For the most part, Europeans think of American Football as a relatively stupid, slow paced, padded (and thus wussy) version of rugby (for the record, I went to a rugby match of a buddy of mine...it is crazy. I have respect for American Football players, but rugby...whew...anyways...). What really gets them going over here is football (or soccer). The English Premier League (for those of you who dont know, the EPL is one of the best, most respected, and most popular soccer leagues in the world) is obviously very popular in Great Britain (my Irish friend Steve is what I would called a mild mannered fanatic), but even here in Norway it seems as though everyone is paying attention. Norway played Iceland in a World Cup qualifier a few weeks ago and it dominated the papers and news coverage for a week on both ends of the game. Simply put, Europeans love football as much as Americans love football...its just that each continents football is a slightly different shape.
Climate and Football...
I think the reason for bringing up these two differences/similarties, is that I was alerted to them in a strangely culminating fashion this past weekend. On Saturday afternoon my pals and I headed downtown to a local pub to catch the Liverpool vs Manchester United EPL football game. It was a big game between major rivals (think Vikings vs Packers on Monday Night)...and was a lot of fun to watch, especially in a pub full of fans. Amidst it all I realized why it felt so normal...a typical fall Saturday afternoon for me, is spent watching football. It just so happens that this fall, and this football season, are happening European style...and I must say, it is different...but not that different...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Glacier Hunting 1001
(*ed. note: to see pictures from the entire trip...please check out my Flickr page...http://flickr.com/photos/28276957@N03/)
For those of you who dont know, I have been absent from the blogosphere for the last week+ because I was on a compulsory excursion for a class of mine. Now you might ask, "what kind of excursion?" or "what do you mean by excursion?" or "where did this excursion take you?" or "what did you see on this excursion?"...I will be honest in telling you that it will be very difficult to explain exactly what I saw and did...but here goes....
I am taking a class titled Geomorphology of Nordic Countries, which basically means the class is about glaciers and glacial landforms in Norway. When I say glaciers, I mean massive, massive sheets of ice...and when I say glacial landforms, I mean the landforms that are created when a glacier moves over the bedrock such as smoothing of rocks, carving of valleys, moving of boulders, sorting of sediments, deltas formed when the glacier melts, and other physical markers of where a glacier was and how it moved. Glacial landforms are present all over the world, for example just north of Madison, WI is the boundary of the furthest glacial advance of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet that covered almost all of Canada way back in the day. Some of you may have noticed it as you drive north on I-94 between Madison and Minneapolis when the terrain changes from more jagged, fluvial (river carved) shaped landscape (where there was no glacier) to a smooth, rolling hillside landscape where there was a glacier. Anyways, it is signifiers like this that my class intended to find, document and study as we set off for a week-long excursion into South Central Norway.
In order to more fully appreciate the magnificence of the trip that ensued, I might redirect you to a previous post of mine when I was talking about how I didnt have enough adjectives to describe the scenery of the Telemark mountain region (near Notodden) when I visited with Amy earlier this summer...I am being completely honest when I say that that experience doesnt hold a candle to what I saw last week. The landscape, scenery, glaciers, mountains, fjords, glacial landscapes, wildlife, etc. was so unbelievably spectacular that no words or pictures can ever truly convey. Now yes, I was on this trip with a class...but no it definetely did not feel like school...in fact it was mostly just driving around to different amazing sites and experiencing Norway to a degree that I never would have gotten on my own.
Our trip started on Monday, September 1st. On this first day we drove for most of the morning (we left at 9:30 AM) and early afternoon, arriving in the Flåmsdalen region in late afternoon. We stayed in the little town of Flåm, which is located at the far end of Aurlandsfjorden. Flåm is known as the start point of a train journey that takes you up into the mountains (according to my Dad the steepest set of train tracks in the world). We did a little geology along the way and when we got to the region, but it the day was mostly for driving. However it was not the landforms along the way or the mountains we passed through to get there that made the first night so memorable. It was the view that I had from where we were staying that, at the time, was the most beautiful site I had ever seen. I took pictures (the first picture on this post is one of this view), I even took one with me in it...but it legitimately looks like I was put in front of a green screen, or some fake picture...thats how unbelievable it was.
Our second day started off with a bang and never slowed down...after waking up to what I thought was the most beautiful view, we drove up to the top of the adjacent mountain (which is basically part of the fjord), and had another view that was more spectacular than at the bottom. While taking pictures and trying to keep my jaw from hitting the ground, our professor was telling us all sorts of cool facts about the fjord and how it was made, pointing out the U shape of the glacial valleys and the V shape of the fluvial valleys, the difference between the old Tertiary Landscape at the top (mostly flat and plateau-ish) and the newer (remember these landscapes are on a Geologic time scale, so they "newer" still means tens of thousands of years old) Quaternery Landscape down the side of the valley, etc. It was a great way to start the day.
Over the next few hours our trip took us down the other side of the mountain, across a fjord channel on a car ferry, through some more mountains and glacial valleys. We finally ended up in Jostedalen ("dalen" is Norwegian for valley) at the base of Nigardsbreen ("breen" means glacier), a tongue of the big ice sheet Jostedalsbreen.
Again to put it in perspective, I say "tongue of the big ice sheet", but by no means is Nigardsbreen small...in fact, it was the first glacier I had seen up close in person and it was an impressively colossal thing. It is at the far end of a glacial valley with a lake between the entrance road and the glacial edge, thus requiring a boat to get close. One of the cool things about the lake though (other than the fact that its at the base of a massive glacial tongue) is that because it is fed by water rushing out from under the glacier, it is loaded with very fine, clay-like sediments giving the lake a strange, bright blue-green glowing color. ANYways, back to the glacier...did I mention it was big? If any of you have seen a glacier in person you can probably understand, but for those who havent, try and imagine a sheet of ice at least 5 city blocks wide, at least 5 stories tall, that stretches up a mountain side up and out of view...enormous right? In addition to the size, this 5 block by 5 story sheet of ice also has enormous crevasses that glow a magnificent blue that starkly contrasts the dirty white/grey that is the color of most of the surface...pretty cool huh? I thought so...After the glacier we boated back across the lake and drove on to a little cabin camping place near the town of Skjolden (my cabin was across the street from a water fall...no big deal). In the ensuing two days I would travel to the tops of a couple mountains, see a few more glaciers, go on a hike or two (in both good and bad weather), stay in the towns of Lom and Hjerkinn, and continue to see phenomenal landscapes.
On the 5 day we spent all day hiking in the Stroplsødalen part of Dovrefjell. This part of Norway is especially neat because in addition to the glacially influenced landscape, it is the home to Norwegian population of the "muskus" or musk ox. A musk ox is a prehistoric looking cross between a bull and an buffalo that has imposing horns and a thick skull, which are both used when they crash heads together in territorial or mate inspired battles. Musk ox are mostly found in Greenland, but there is a small population of roughly 200 in Norway, of which the majority live in Stroplsødalen. So luckily we got see nearly twenty of them at different times throughout the day from both far and too close. You have to be careful around muskus though, because if you get closer than 200 meters they can get unnerved and charge, at which point you are essentially skrewed. Luckily though, the one that we stumbled upon as we hiked over a small ridge (we were probably 75 m away) decided that going back to her herd across the river was more interesting than raveging 11 University of Oslo students...other than that brief episode of uncertainty, the rest of the day was filled with a wonderful hike in a glacially carved and molded valley. With mountains all around and wild blueberries growing everywhere, I dont think I could have asked for a better day.
On our last night we stayed in the small town of Grimsbu and essentially headed straight home the next day. All in all, the "school sponsored, educational excursion" was truly amazing. To see the landscapes and scenery I saw is the exact reason that I came to Norway. And it is a trip that I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Digital Postcard
For my online class I had to write a "digital postcard" of sorts...essentially I had to pick a picture and write about how it was a representation of my time abroad. And while one might think that choosing 1 out of over 1,200 pictures would be difficult...it wasnt really. So here is the picture and what I have to say about it and my time abroad...enjoy!
If a picture is really worth a thousand words, then my time in Oslo, Norway is worth well over 1,000,000 words. In the last three weeks I have taken more than 1,200 pictures of friends, sights, and the everyday happenings of an international student. As I have traveled and lived in Europe, it is one way that I can interpret and process my experiences. It is a form of expression that I use to document, remember, and share what I am seeing and doing. Every individual has their own form of expression and remembering: some use personal journals, many use online public blogs, others draw sketches, a few tell stories, most have internal reflection, etc., but no matter the form everyone in some way or another processes what they are experiencing. I personally use a few forms, but the most visible and rewarding are pictures taken by my Canon Digital Rebel. And while not every picture I take is an award winning photo, they all have some meaning, and help to tell the story of my life in Norway.
The picture I have attached to describing my time in Norway is a of me and two friends, Eamon and Tim, standing in an inflatable pool at a Pool Party that we threw in our student village. It was an Australian themed pool party (with an Australian flag and everything) that we threw outside our apartment as a way to meet new people from around the student village, grill food and have some fun in the sun. Now one might ask, why choose this photo, surely of the 1,200 pictures I have taken since arriving in Oslo there are others that better represent my study abroad experience thus far. But the answer is fairly simple, this photo shows me and some new friends. The only thing that is bad about it is that it only shows two of the many people I have met and spent time with. I came to Norway for the beautiful natural landscape and geologic features of the country. With its mountains, glaciers, fjords, forests, rivers, lakes, oceans, and beauty one is never without a spectacular view. And while so far the beauty is holding true (Norway is the most beautiful country I have ever been to), I have found and am finding that it is the people that are truly making this experience amazing. Since arriving in Oslo I have met so many wonderful people: there is Arvid, Millosz, Adam, Kent, Gaute, Kristina, Helena, Maral, Yosef, Ragnar, Kjersti, and Jan from Norway; Tim, Eamon, and Max from Australia; Kate from Canada, Steve from Ireland, Susanne from Germany, and the list goes on and on. The wide variety of the people I am meeting and spending time with is the kind of diversity that I think I have been craving for a long time. Its not to say that I don't value the amazing friendships that I have at home, because I do more than anything, but never before in my life have I been surrounded by so many people of such differing backgrounds and life experiences. And while I like to think that I am a fairly cultured and informed person when it comes to global affairs, the people I am meeting are helping me to learn and broaden the spectrum more than I ever thought possible. Our friendships are able to transcend potential differences in culture, politics, religion, upbringing, fashion or food tastes, and we are able to find some common ground and forge a bond that will last a lifetime. So while I am sure that there will be so many other things that will make my study abroad experience great, it is the people I meet and the friends I make that are and will make this time truly special.
If a picture is really worth a thousand words, then my time in Oslo, Norway is worth well over 1,000,000 words. In the last three weeks I have taken more than 1,200 pictures of friends, sights, and the everyday happenings of an international student. As I have traveled and lived in Europe, it is one way that I can interpret and process my experiences. It is a form of expression that I use to document, remember, and share what I am seeing and doing. Every individual has their own form of expression and remembering: some use personal journals, many use online public blogs, others draw sketches, a few tell stories, most have internal reflection, etc., but no matter the form everyone in some way or another processes what they are experiencing. I personally use a few forms, but the most visible and rewarding are pictures taken by my Canon Digital Rebel. And while not every picture I take is an award winning photo, they all have some meaning, and help to tell the story of my life in Norway.The picture I have attached to describing my time in Norway is a of me and two friends, Eamon and Tim, standing in an inflatable pool at a Pool Party that we threw in our student village. It was an Australian themed pool party (with an Australian flag and everything) that we threw outside our apartment as a way to meet new people from around the student village, grill food and have some fun in the sun. Now one might ask, why choose this photo, surely of the 1,200 pictures I have taken since arriving in Oslo there are others that better represent my study abroad experience thus far. But the answer is fairly simple, this photo shows me and some new friends. The only thing that is bad about it is that it only shows two of the many people I have met and spent time with. I came to Norway for the beautiful natural landscape and geologic features of the country. With its mountains, glaciers, fjords, forests, rivers, lakes, oceans, and beauty one is never without a spectacular view. And while so far the beauty is holding true (Norway is the most beautiful country I have ever been to), I have found and am finding that it is the people that are truly making this experience amazing. Since arriving in Oslo I have met so many wonderful people: there is Arvid, Millosz, Adam, Kent, Gaute, Kristina, Helena, Maral, Yosef, Ragnar, Kjersti, and Jan from Norway; Tim, Eamon, and Max from Australia; Kate from Canada, Steve from Ireland, Susanne from Germany, and the list goes on and on. The wide variety of the people I am meeting and spending time with is the kind of diversity that I think I have been craving for a long time. Its not to say that I don't value the amazing friendships that I have at home, because I do more than anything, but never before in my life have I been surrounded by so many people of such differing backgrounds and life experiences. And while I like to think that I am a fairly cultured and informed person when it comes to global affairs, the people I am meeting are helping me to learn and broaden the spectrum more than I ever thought possible. Our friendships are able to transcend potential differences in culture, politics, religion, upbringing, fashion or food tastes, and we are able to find some common ground and forge a bond that will last a lifetime. So while I am sure that there will be so many other things that will make my study abroad experience great, it is the people I meet and the friends I make that are and will make this time truly special.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Its been how long since I left home?
Before I write any further I just wanted to resolve the cliffhanger I left off with last post...in order to cover up the hair that failed to occupy a small area above my right ear, I wore a hat sort of low and tilted over to the side for the entire first day. Then proceeded to go and buy a hair clippers that would with out a doubt handle the 240V that Norwegian electric outlets emit...and on that Tuesday evening I was able to fully shave my head and avoid any further hair malfunctions/catastrophes.
Ok, now that that is out of the way...In an effort to avoid falling any further behind on writing about my Norwegian happenings, I have decided to simply fast forward the last two weeks to the present...but because so much has happened I will give a brief synopsis of some noteworthy items...
Over the last two weeks I have started classes at the University of Oslo (sort of). I am taking three classes, Geomorphology of Nordic Countries, Environmental Geology, and Introductory Norwegian Language...and until today (when I had a full 2 hour lecture in Geomorph) I had only had only met for 20 minutes in both Geology courses (Norwegian doesnt start until next week)...so the transition into Norwegian university life has been slow and easy.
Also over the last two weeks I have met boatloads of new people from both Norway and around the world (if you have looked at any pictures on my Flickr page, many of them appear there...). People from Australia, Canada, Northern Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Mozambique, Ethiopia, England...and the list goes on. It has been an incredibly refreshing and wonderful experience being able to talk, hang out with, and become friends with so many people from so many places, cultures and experiences. The diversity that I am surrounded by is something that I think I have been craving for a long time...and so now that it is here I am thoroughly enjoying it...
And as one might expect, new friends lead to new experiences...most notably the Australian Pool Party we had in Norway (again, if you have looked at Flickr, there are many, many pictures of this event). It was a spectacular gathering that we had in the middle of our student village...a multi-national barbeque of sorts that also happened to involve an inflatable pool, an Australian flag, disposable grills, and a various forms of grill-able meat...
So all in all the first two weeks of my life in Oslo has been full and wonderful...I have been so many places, seen so many things, met (and made friends with) so many people, and truly enjoyed life...
Ok, now that that is out of the way...In an effort to avoid falling any further behind on writing about my Norwegian happenings, I have decided to simply fast forward the last two weeks to the present...but because so much has happened I will give a brief synopsis of some noteworthy items...
Over the last two weeks I have started classes at the University of Oslo (sort of). I am taking three classes, Geomorphology of Nordic Countries, Environmental Geology, and Introductory Norwegian Language...and until today (when I had a full 2 hour lecture in Geomorph) I had only had only met for 20 minutes in both Geology courses (Norwegian doesnt start until next week)...so the transition into Norwegian university life has been slow and easy.
Also over the last two weeks I have met boatloads of new people from both Norway and around the world (if you have looked at any pictures on my Flickr page, many of them appear there...). People from Australia, Canada, Northern Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Mozambique, Ethiopia, England...and the list goes on. It has been an incredibly refreshing and wonderful experience being able to talk, hang out with, and become friends with so many people from so many places, cultures and experiences. The diversity that I am surrounded by is something that I think I have been craving for a long time...and so now that it is here I am thoroughly enjoying it...
And as one might expect, new friends lead to new experiences...most notably the Australian Pool Party we had in Norway (again, if you have looked at Flickr, there are many, many pictures of this event). It was a spectacular gathering that we had in the middle of our student village...a multi-national barbeque of sorts that also happened to involve an inflatable pool, an Australian flag, disposable grills, and a various forms of grill-able meat...
So all in all the first two weeks of my life in Oslo has been full and wonderful...I have been so many places, seen so many things, met (and made friends with) so many people, and truly enjoyed life...
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