Experiences, oh so many experiences:
For the first time in my life, the sun didn't set. My plane left Seattle at 4:30pm and I got to Iceland at 6:50am after 7 hours of flying in (extremely) sunny conditions. After a quick trip through security so I was able to join the EU air traffic, it was time to board the plane for Norway! Two and a half hours later, I was circling Oslo and catching my first glimpses of Norway. Shortly after, my plane touched down at 12:40pm at Oslo Lufthavn, Gardermoen.
After getting my bags and walking through customs, I found myself in a slight predicament. I realized that I had forgotten to call Bank of America to alert them to my foreign expenditures. Unlucky for me, Seattle is 9 hours behind Norway, which meant about three hours of waiting so I could call them -- as I had only one real way to get currency. At least I was able to use my debit card to buy a Flytoget (Airport Express Train to Oslo Central Station) ticket because it didn't authenticate the card while purchasing.
Once I got to downtown, I walked around a little while trying various ATM (hereafter referred to as MiniBanks) while waiting to call my bank. After being on hold for a few minutes, my predicament was quickly sorted out and I was able to get some Norwegian Kroner. (NOK) I purchased a T-bane (Metro) pass to Blindern and checked in and found my room easily.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I went and ate dinner and soon discovered that my roommate, whom I never had met before, actually goes to the University of Washington too. It has made for easy conversation, as we both know or had many of the same classes and professors. After dinner, my roommate and some other friends that we made explored our dorms and decided to head downtown to explore. We walked around seeing the Nobel Institute, City Hall, Oslo Harbor, Akershus Fortress, the Royal Palace, Parliament, the National Theater, and much more!
With a significant amount of sleep achieved by the next morning, it was time to wait in line for two and a half hours to register (a process that took 5 minutes). With my internet passwords in hand, it was time for something to eat. This is when I discovered a very cool thing -- instead of having rows of refrigerators in a convenience store, there was a refrigerated room! How cool is that?
Anyway, the next item on the agenda was the Orientation Meeting where we met the staff andlearned more about specifics of the summer school. Dinner was consumed at Blindern and the evening's adventure was planned. Many of my friends and I took the short T-bane ride to downtown and walked to Akershus where we watched the USA vs. Ghana World Cup game. It was a lot of fun, even if all the Norwegians were cheering for Ghana.
And now I'm writing this, informing you of my time in Oslo thus far. I hope to continue my posts regularly even through however much homework I may receive.
Random Facts:
-Greenland is Gorgeous! On the flight path from Seattle to Iceland, one flies over Greenland. See for youself!
-Iceland is covered in purple Lupines! People planted them because of their ability to spread easily and prevent erosion.
OMG THE REFRIGERATED ROOM!!!!
ReplyDeleteWalked into that to get a Solo. So crazy.