Norwegian Cultural Evening

Well, after almost two weeks, I feel like I can hold very basic conversations in Norwegian. Yay! Today was a little rainy and it matched my very tired mood. I got a second wind in the afternoon just in time to find out about Norwegian Politics and do laundry.

In the evening after dinner, it was time for the International Summer School's Norwegian Cultural Evening. The evening started with Norwegian Folk Dancing on the lawn in front of Blindern Studenterhjem. The whole group then moved to an auditorium where we saw some more dancing, heard a Hardanger fiddle played, and heard an alumni of the 1947 summer school read a fairy tale she translated from Norwegian. I learned about Sami culture and heard a Joik -- a Sami folk song. The program continued with Norwegian Folk Music played on a violin and an accordion. If you have access to Facebook, the videos are posted. I really enjoyed the whole evening. It was topped off by Norwegian party food - rømmegrøt, flatbrød, pølse, and cured lamb and pork.

In a way, it felt like being back in Hendricks during Syttende Mai. It was quite nice.

Norwegian Folk Dancers

Sami

Norwegian Folk Music

Norwegian Smörgåsbord

The 58th Variety

Well, as before, the morning was pretty uneventful. I just had classes. However, I did get a quiz back that I took yesterday in Norwegian Language class and I did very well. I feel like I've really learned a lot in a week and a half.

After lunch, I signed up to go on a guided walk along the Aker River (a small river that cuts Oslo in half -- East & West). The tour as a whole was very interesting and the man who led the tour was most definitely one of the most interesting people I've ever met. His name was Heinz and one of the first things he told us was "I'm offended by any ketchup jokes, however, I am the 58th variety." He led us along the river at a snail's pace providing commentary along the way interlaced with some colorful stories from the "olden days" and his own personal jokes.

After the tour and after dinner, Brady & I went to see a movie at Chateau Neuf (sort of the student union building) called "Et Rigtigt Menneske." This was a Danish film about a family in the modern day. A couple had a young girl named Lisa who talked to her brother in the wall of their home. We later find out that the parents had previously had an abortion and Lisa thinks that she is talking to her "big brother." The family gets in a car accident and Lisa dies. After the parents move to a new building and their previous building is torn down, we see a man emerging out of the ruble of their previous apartment building. We found out that he is supposed to be the aborted brother living in the wall. He goes out into the world knowing nothing and finding himself in some predicaments. I enjoyed the movie and I thought it had some interesting messages about society. It was a little strange though.

Finally, we went to a different area in Chateau Neuf where we watched the second half of the Germany-Spain World Cup match before walking back to campus.

Now, I must go to sleep so I can be rested for another long day.

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.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

Base of Holmenkollen Ski Jump

Ski Museum

Countryside Near Oslo

The Fourth of July

Sans the fact that I was out of the United States, my Fourth of July included many of the archetypal activities -- going to the park, eating hotdogs and hamburgers, getting just a little bit sunburned, going to a Fourth of July program, hearing Sousa, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" multiple times, going to the lake (Sognsvann), and hanging out with great company! I did all these things today and more at the Independence Day Program and Festival hosted by the ACCN and the US Embassy in Norway. Out of the ordinary was homework to be done and the lack of fireworks. Let me first comment on the latter -- remember the picture of how light it was at 10pm from an earlier post? Well, due to the fact that it doesn't get dark here means that fireworks don't work very well -- go figure.

Back to the former: I just had some basic reading to do of some Old Norse Myths and I had to write an essay about my family. Both were completed successfully.

Here are some pictures from today's festivities:

The Program at the Lincoln Statue

Roses in Bloom at Vigeland Sculpture Park

The Festival From Afar

Me, Alina, & Carly

The View of the Festival Facing the Central Fountain

Me & Alina

The End of Week 1

Well, it's been a few days since I've posted a new entry so here it goes:

Classes on Thursday and Friday were normal, so not much to report here, except that I've been learning a lot of Norwegian and it's amazing how much I can understand after a week!

After class and after some homework was done on Thursday, some friends and I went to Sognsvann, a lake within the city limits of Oslo, but it feels like it's out in the middle of the forest, because it is! Oslo is amazing because over 50% of its area is forested, and that makes it one of the largest cities, by area, in the world! We walked around the entire lake, which meant about 2-4 kilometres -- I'm not so sure.

When we returned, it was time for another Norwegian Life and Society lecture -- this one about Art and Music. I've discovered some amazing painters like Peder Balke, P.S. Krøyer, and Harald Sohlberg that I really enjoy and will have to research some more. I also learned a little bit about the history of Norway's National Anthem, "Ja vi elsker," and that there are more composers from Norway than just Grieg.

On Friday, friends and I walked around downtown Oslo and explored for awhile. This also involved having my first Scandinavian H&M experience. H&M is a clothing store for those of you who don't know. Wow, US H&M stores cannot even be compared to the wonder that is H&M here. Anyway, I found a new pair of sunglasses. We continued along Karl Johans Gate, got ice cream, and worked our way toward Oslo Central Station where we got on the T-bane and went back to Blindern.

After a quick change of clothes, my friend, Brady, and I went down to Aker Brygge to meet Sigrid and Hogne Borgersrud at DS Louise. They treated us to a wonderful meal and we had a great time discussing everything from the city of Oslo, the country of Norway, their visit to the US, a brief history of twentieth century Norway, Norwegian Politics, and American Politics. The food and company were both spectacular!

On Saturday, after getting a thorough amount of sleep, it was time to do some exploring. We went to the island of Hovedøya where it was very interesting to see ruins of a monastery built around 1100 AD. These are most definitely the oldest ruins I've seen. We continued on to the beach where we admired the surroundings and watched a cruise ship leave port.

When we got back, and after dinner, we went to watch the film, "Hamsun" about the Norwegian Nobel Prize winning author who supported the Nazis during WWII. It was very interesting and I would recommend it, however it is a little bit long (2.5 hours).

Well that's it for now. Tomorrow it is the Fourth of July and the Embassy is hosting a celebration in Frogner park which we plan to attend.

Before

After

The Birds (Not Alfred Hitchcock's Film by the Same Name)

One of the things you may or not expect from a Norwegian Literature class is a lot of reading. This is most certainly the case because I was given one day to read a 225 page novel entitled "The Birds" by Tarjei Vesaas. Well, as you may expect, I didn't have a lot of free time today so there is not a lot to report.

I was however able to attend the screening of the first time in the ISS Film Series. This film was a Norwegian film made in 2003 and is called Salmer

Fra Kjøkkenet (or "Kitchen Stories"). It was a really good movie about a man sent to observe single males and their habits in the kitchen so a Swedish company could design a better kitchen layout. The man is not supposed to form any personal bonds to the "host," but he does indeed and a strong friendship forms. I highly recommend this movie!

Well, back to reading!

Just another day...

Now that the opening activities of the International Summer School have settled down, my schedule is starting to fall into place. Every morning I wake up around 7am, which is actually 12am in Minnesota and 10pm the previous day in Seattle. After that, I get ready for the day which begins at 8:15am with Norwegian Literature. After which I have Norwegian Language for three hours starting at 10:15.

When class is out, I come back to Blindern Studenterhjem to eat lunch and gather my things to spend the afternoon studying, which I do in the library. This is how I foresee about every day to go. There are some exceptions like the Norwegian Life and Society Lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the Film Series shown on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. I also foresee being able to do some sightseeing in the late afternoons or evenings. This evening I walked with some friends around the Aker Brygge area of Oslo. This must be where some of the most expensive apartments in the world are located!

I took a short break to write this and now I must get back to reading my 225 page novel that is due on Thursday.

Here are some pictures from the walk:

Oslo Harbor

City Hall from Aker Brygge

Akershus Fortress from Aker Brygge

If you can see the time, it says 10pm! This is how light it is at 10pm!