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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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?