Min Sommer i Norge: Ski Jumps, Tacos, and Prisons -- A Wonderful Day

The first part of my day was uneventful -- the usual classes and a Life and Society Lecture about Literature. However, after those events concluded, I took the T-bane to Jernbanetorget (the large square in front of Oslo S [Oslo Central Station]) and walked to a parking lot near the Thon Hotel Opera, where I met Vegard. He drove me to Berit and Vegard's home near Kolbotn, a city southeast of Oslo. I had a great time catching up in their wonderful home after three years of not seeing them. I had the esteemed opportunity to pick up some Norwegian (maybe?), eat great tacos and absolutely delicious "is og norsk jordbær" (ice cream and Norwegian strawberries), see Christian's astonishing Michael Jackson dance and his futbol moves, and Magnus' mad guitar skills!

Besides catching up, I learned a lot about Oslo and the surrounding area. Berit and Vegard took me to see the Holmenkollen Ski Jump. The area is still under construction in preparation for the 2011 Nordic Skiing World Championships, but the ski jump is huge! I never realized how big the jump is and how crazy the people must be the get up there and think it's a good idea to ski down it. I'd really like to see someone ski down it at some point.

After the ski jump, we drove to the prison where Vegard works. The prison was built right before Norway was occupied by the Nazis and was taken over as a prison by them. The Germans held prisoners there before exporting them to German concentration camps. The prison currently has about 120 prisoners with the average sentence for a murderer to be about 7-9 years -- a little bit different than the US. I should also mention that these prisons are really nice! There's art on the walls, a gym, a music room, a store, a large outdoor field, televisions, and a library. It looks better than some of the college dorms I've seen in the United States minus all the locked doors! On the way back into town, we also say about 5 moose in the field pictured below. It was my first experience seeing a large group of moose.

Well, I should probably get the bed seeing that I have to get up at 7am. I once again thank Berit, Vegard, Magnus, and Christian for the great evening and I'm sad that I won't get to see you again before you go to Trondheim and Mallorca! Also, be sure to let me know if anything I said is incorrect.