June 29

I am having such a wonderful time in Oslo!

Monday, we had this incredible welcome ceremony.  After dinner, everyone dressed up and went down to the University of Oslo downtown campus by bus.  There, we had a ceremony in the University Aula, a room that has been under renovation for 3 years and has just opened in time for us to be the first group.  It is a beautiful room with high ceilings, grand furniture, and paintings by the artist Edvard Munch.  The ceremony started off with music by the Bygdelagskoret choir.  The music was so beautiful it gave me goosebumps! During the ceremony, we were further welcomed by the director of ISS, a professor of the University of Oslo, the Minister of Research and Higher Education, Pat Shaw (a member of the ISS class of 1947- its very first year), and a member of the student parliament. 

When the ceremony was done at the University Aula, the entire ISS parade down to City Hall where we had a reception.  Everything was very elegant with a live band, wine, and a beautiful view of Oslo Fjord.  Upstairs rooms of City Hall (that usually remain closed to the public) were opened for our viewing pleasure. 

Overall, this night made me feel so welcome and so honored to be able to attend Oslo International Summer School.  As they said, we, as important people, needed to be welcomed by important people!

Tuesday was the second day of classes.  I am already in love with my Norwegian Architecture class! Just this week we already get to go on three excursions.  Starting off, we are talking about the Vikings!  My other class, Scandinavian Government and Politics, seems interesting as well but it also seems like I’m going to need to work a lot harder.  There is just so much reading!  Between my two classes, my stack of books must be 4 inches thick… all to be done in 6 weeks!

Tuesday night I was also able to buy my month long transportation pass.  Now I am free to travel as much as I want on any t-bane (metro), ferry, bus, or tram in the Oslo area.  Guess it’s time to do some deeper exploring!

Being Wednesday, I already feel like it has been such a long time that I’ve been in Norway.  It also feels impossible that less than a week ago I left home.

Things I am looking forward to: excursions in both my classes tomorrow, the reindeer safari and hike in Jotunheimen Park that I signed up to take next weekend, the hike in Nordmarka on Sunday, and more adventure in general!

And that’s the way the cookie crumbles…

Danielle

P.S. That was for you Jon :P

6/26/2011

Today I participated in a tour of Oslo.  It was quite speedy and didn’t have too much time to explore.  That’s means that I’ll just have to go back!  It was a great tour though.  We saw some major sights in Oslo while getting acquainted with the city.  Taking a bus from Blindern Dormitory, we headed to Holmenkollen to see the ski jump.  My was it big! It’s a huge, silver structure that reaches into the sky.  We didn’t have time to go up into the tower to see how high it gets, but I can imagine it would be nerve-wracking standing up at the top, let alone heading straight down it.  

After Holmenkollen, we went to the peninsula of Bygdoy where we went to the Viking Ship museum.  The building holds two complete and one partial ship.  They have incredible construction and detail.  I was amazed at how well the ships had been preserved (in blue clay) and much detail was incorporated.  Of course there was the amazing scroll at the bow of the ship but there was also a dragon border as well.  At the museum, there were also bones of two women and one man who had been found with the ships.  The ships had been incorporated as part of the burial.

 

We drove along the marina and saw good views of the Oslo Fjord (which is not technically a fjord) and stopped to take in the new opera house.  Unfortunately there was construction all around it, but it was still amazing.  The building was made to look like an iceberg jutting out of the water.  It was also fun to see people walking all over the roof.  

After driving along Karl Johans Gate (the main and expensive part of town), the last stop took us to Vigeland Park.  Here, there are an incredible number of statues.  What I really loved is that the artist decided not to give names to the majority of his creations.  Instead, you are supposed to decide what the statue means to you.  I definitely plan on returning to the park not only to take more time to view the art, but also to bring a picnic.  There are vast amounts of grass and trees and walking trails.  It’s a wonderful place.

Arrived

6/23/2011

Waiting… waiting…

I’m happy to say that the first leg of my trip went well.  No major turbulence, no pat downs or naked body scanners… I’d say that’s a success.  The flight did arrive about an hour late, but that’s great. Now I only have a four hour layover instead of five. I’ll take it! I was also excited to be coincidently sitting next to a woman who would be going to Oslo on the same flight as well.  Instead of summer school though, she’ll going on an arctic adventure and hoping to see polar bears! I just think that sounds so cool! We have such amazing places and sights on our earth… it just makes me want to explore!!

6/24/2011

Arrived.  After a long and restless flight, I am glad to touch ground.  My first impressions are that everything is so green! Colorado just isn’t like this.  What I’ve seen of campus is pretty… there’s a big water fountain in a main courtyard, everywhere is cobblestone with grass growing up between the stones, and there’s nice big trees from which the birds like to sing. 

I’m getting settled into Blindern Dormitory.  There’s some cool nooks with couches and the building is a striking yellow.  The rooms are basic. The window’s a little drafty… hoping it doesn’t get to bad. And the shower is... interesting.  Being from the U.S., I have trouble understanding why there’s a shower and sink between rooms but the toilet is down the hall.  It just doesn’t make sense in my mind but I guess we shall see how it works.

I was feeling a little discouraged when I first arrived, probably not helped by how tired I was.  It was nerve-wracking getting from the airport to campus.  I first had to take an airport train, which was pretty during the first half before it went underground, and then transfer to the metro.  I’ve definitely had to ask a lot of people for help in order to make that work.  Luckily I’ve ran into some nice people who could help me out.

My day started getting better when I began meeting new people.  I ate lunch with a new Facebook friend… now we can actually get to know each other! My roommate just walked in.  She’s from Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan?) and it sounds like we already have a lot in common. 

Well I’ve gotta go and try to figure everything out.  It’s confusing with so many people speaking different languages and not being able to read any signs…

Wish me luck!

Danielle

1 Day?!

As part of my preparation, I needed to exchange money.  Here's a picture of the Norwegian Krone.  Now I'm all set to make my way to the school and get settled in once I reach Oslo! Doesn't it look cool?

4

So I had this realization last night about how different Norway is going to be:
 I was thinking to myself about how I wanted a fun, cute jacket so that I wouldn't be cold if I was dressing up and going out with friends to dinner or out at night.  Yet this thought process goes along with the assumption that the temperature drops when it gets dark like in Colorado... and I forgot the fact that it's going to be light most of the time! Norway, also known as the "Land of the Midnight Sun" stays light during most of the day during the summer. This is going to be totally different for me because I seem to like it dark when I go to bed.  I'll definitely be bringing my eye cover to keep out the light when I sleep.  Anyways, I just thought it was funny how things like that can slip your mind when you're getting ready for this long, amazing trip!

Peace,
Danielle

P.S. Dad, even though I only got to see you for a short time (and that most of that time was working), I'm really glad you came out this weekend.  I love you and Happy Father's Day!!

P.S.S. Jon, thank you for a wonderful three and a half years.  Love you!

5

5 Days until I leave!!

I've been continually getting ready for my trip.  My suitcase is full of a mess of things, and I'm working on figuring out which specific clothes I will be bringing.  I need to make sure that I have a few pieces of clothing that I can work in a lot of different ways!  I think that's the key to "packing light"... making sure I can get different looks by mixing and matching a few pieces of clothing.  My mom was also sure to help me out with picking out a some yummy foods which will be filling in any gaps in my suitcase.  That way I will be sure to have a couple snacks with me such as my Newman-O's (a more natural version of Oreos).

I'm still trying to get in as much time with family and friends as possible before I leave next Thursday.  We had an awesome get-together at a park a couple nights ago where we had some delicious barbecue food, interesting talk, and fun play time.  My brother brought a new toy... his slackline. Basically, it is an inch wide rope that you tie between two trees and walk across like a tight-rope.  It was definitely challenging, but we had a lot of laughs too.  I made sure to spend time with my mom before she left for her trip to Canada.  I'm excited that we're both going on amazing adventures, but I have to admit I'm a little sad that I won't be seeing her until after I return (our trips just barely overlapped so we will be missing each other next week).  My dad just arrived in Colorado today (from Nebraska) and I plan to spend all weekend with him... and help out with some manual labor. You're welcome Dad ;). Yet even if I know I'll miss everyone in Colorado, it just gives me more motivation to go and grow in Norway and meet more amazing people.

Here are a couple pictures from the barbecue:

Balancing on a slackline is hard!

We all decided to climb a tree! Here's Jeff, Chris, Dawn (mom), me, Alex, Jon and brother Caan.

Later alligator!

Danielle

9 Days to Go

Wow, there are officially 9 days until I leave for Norway.  Let me just take a breath!  It's been a whirlwind of a summer so far, and I'm sure that will continue throughout my time abroad.  I've been so lucky to have great family and friends joining me for a good time and it will be hard to leave especially knowing that I've never been away from home on my own for longer than 2 weeks before.  That was when I participated in a school trip to France.

But this is my dream to study abroad and experience a whole new world.  I know that I will make many new friends from across the world.  I am so ready to experience new cultures and traditions and see how different people view the world.  At the same time, I want to share myself so that others may understand me and my values.

With 9 days to go, I've starting packing... well piling really.  I have a pile of things that I will be taking with me and to which I keep adding.  I have learned well to minimize in packing, but this is truly testing me!  The biggest debate on my mind: which shoes should I bring?!

Stay tuned,
Danielle

At Red Rocks seeing Footloose

Mommy and Me

Lovin' Colorado

18 days to go!

Despite the anticipation for my trip, I have also been loving my time in Colorado.  A few days escape to Winter Park, CO and Hot Sulfur Springs did me well (besides the lovely sunburn I am now sporting on my legs).  I always love getting out of town for a couple of days... away from noise and distractions.  I can just sit back and relax before returning to the real world.
I have also been taking advantage of Red Rocks, one of the most beautiful places in the world, that's a 15 minute drive from home.  A couple scenic hikes are hopefully preparing me for some Norwegian mountains.  Although all of the excursions with my summer program sound amazing, I look forward to hiking in Jotunheimen Park and around Oslo and Bergen.
At Red Rocks, I have also been going to Film on the Rocks, a night of music, comedy, and a movie in the best outdoor amphitheater in the U.S.  It's a tradition to go with family and friends and bring a picnic for a wonderful night.

As my time in Colorado is winding to an end, I can't help but appreciate what wonderful opportunities I have been given! I am excited for some new Norwegian experiences!

Thank you for taking part in this amazing adventure!
Danielle

(Red Rocks Park)