"Watch out for the snow banks, sometimes they have cars under them."

The past few days I've eaten more pasta than any human should ever have to consume. I’m going to blame Shelby for that one ;)

So Sunday was Shelby’s birthday, and so as my present to her I threw her a party (which ended up functioning as a pre-pre-party, as I had a pre-party at my dorm afterwards as well), made cake and pasta. Well, Shelby mostly made the pasta. She helped a lot.

I’m not sure how many people ended up coming, but to give you an idea, here is a picture of everyone packed into my bedroom:

Aaand to all you Harry Potter fans out there, you can tell I have some amazing culinary skills:

The party later that night was another great one, just like all the parties here.

Anyway, so, aside from always talking to someone, always going somewhere, and always doing something, the last two weeks have also been spent getting used to my living arrangements and some other things about Norway.

My bedroom looked like a prison cell when I got here. When I first arrived, that was the only time I ever “freaked out” (kind of) about not being home. BUT. It’s all decorated now, so I feel much more at home and I don’t feel like an inmate anymore. (: There are not too many differences here compared to the states, just a normal bedroom. It's what my mom would consider to be messy, so I feel the need to put a disclaimer: my room is a bit messy in these pictures, don't judge me. 

The bathroom does have some differences. The toilet, rather than a handle, has a button to push, and the shower is kind of just a corner of the room designated to be a shower. It took a while to get used to, but the floor is heated, so the water evaporates more quickly and you don’t feel like you’ve flooded the room.

I also started going to classes last week! That’s been fun. I’m enrolled in British Studies, Contemporary British Fiction, and Religion from a Social Science Perspective. All are proving to be very interesting thus far. Here in Norway, you generally have a two hour lecture and a 1-2 hour seminar for each class. A lecture is just how it sounds—you sit and listen to the professor talk about stuff for a bit. The seminar, though, is a lot more interactive. There is more discussion and group-work in this part of the class.

On Monday I had my first day of training at Østsia, the campus bar. (Yes, they have a campus bar here.) During my three hours there I served a ton of coffee, tea, and soda, because I worked a morning shift. I learned a little bit of Norwegian… someone taught me how to say “I don’t understand,” but, ironically, I can’t remember how to say “understand,” just “I” and “don’t”("not", technically—the literal translation would be “I understand not.”) Jeg ikke, guys. Jeg ikke. But, hey, I know how to say beer, wine, coffee, cola, thank you, Norway, no, and goodbye in Norwegian. So I’m pretty much fluent at this point.

Today is Australian day! So, after coming home around 3 or 4am, I woke up around 8:30 and went to eat breakfast and listen to the top 100 songs of the year with some Aussie friends. Some people went from one party (starting around 9pm) to the party for Australian day from 2am, and are still going at it. Aussies have some stamina, apparently.

Norwegian culture observations: No one litters. No one spits on sidewalks, and it really grosses them out if someone does (happy about this one.) Baby strollers have snow tires (and people are less concerned about leaving strollers places—ie at the front of the store while they grab something. Granted, I only saw this once, but no one seemed concerned so I’m assuming it’s a thing.) I keep seeing loose children around the town, and they often have sleds with them, and there appears to always be a field trip happening somewhere.

Humorous side-note: I think I’m going to get hit by a bicycle before I leave this country. Occasionally there will be someone ringing their bike bell behind me, and I just keep walking, in my own little world, and nearly get run over by a Norwegian on wheels. It’s a hazard.

Cheers!

“I’d say we should have a pillow fight to keep ourselves awake, but we don’t have any pillows.”

So this blog post doesn't say much about Norway, but it may amuse you.

As previously mentioned, it is super expensive to live here. Not only is this the case, but when I first arrived in Norway, I had a suitcase, a carry-on, and a backpack. In these three items I had clothes and some toiletries—no dishes, no food… no anything that is useful for apartment living. So, needless to say, my first day… or, rather, the majority of my first week, was very interesting.

BI (Before IKEA): Day 1

Shelby (my friend and roommate from the states) and I went to the grocery store upon first arriving in Kristiansand and bought a few days worth of food, including a frozen pizza and an orange. Now, keep in mind we had not eaten since about 5 am, and it was late afternoon around the time that we got that pizza in the oven. Also keep in mind our exhaustion, not only from travelling 5 hours from Oslo, but from the intense jet-lag that results from travelling to the darkest freaking country in Europe. 

15 minutes later, our pizza was ready. As our timer went off, Shelby and I both quickly realized that we both had nothing to put the pizza on and nothing to cut it with. BAM. Brilliant idea number one.

Pizza taco.

Our first stroke of genius innovation began with folding the pizza in half and digging in like we just bought a 5 buck box from Taco Bell. We felt simultaneously brilliant and pathetic.

After we got through the pizza, our next step was the orange. I thought for sure that I could get the skin off with my fingers, but, alas, neither of us were successful. After several failed attempts, we realized that, with our lack of knife, we’d have to be creative.

Adapters. I wasn't going to use the one from China, right? That sucker got through the outer layer and we were able to get the orange open… while dripping orange juice all over my table. But, hey, sacrifices.

Day 3: The “I-have-no-microwave-but-I-really-want-warm-corn Disaster of 2014”

It wasn't really a disaster. I just heated up corn in the can, but I was highly amused at myself.

Nights 1-3:  No pillow, no sheets.

One blanket, Callie taco. Apparently the concept of Mexican food really comes in handy here.

Nights 4-present( Post-trip to IKEA):

Confused Callie buys 2 duvet covers instead of sheets, because she was flustered and doesn't know Norwegian. Callie is still without sheets, and is so used to it is wondering if going out and buying real sheets is worth the effort. Sleeps on top of blanket instead. 

Night 6:

It’s really hard to open a beer without a bottle opener. My roommate showed me how to snap it off with another bottle… however… it is much harder than it looks. I tried myself and spilled everywhere. Oops.  

Another random thing that has made me feel really American: 

There are nearly inch tall ledges you have to step over when you pass into a room. If I have one complaint about this country it would be about those. I seriously always stumble out of my room in the morning because I forget those stupid things are there…and I completely face-planted leaving the bathroom in the hotel my first day here.

Well, I certainly hope this was amusing. More detailed posts about the actual country will be coming soon, but I figured this would be a good addition as well.

Cheers, y’all! 

“Norwegian is pretty much just drunk English.”

[[Disclaimer]] So I’m bad at choosing titles for my blog entries, so this is how it’s going to happen: Europeans say amusing things from time to time. I’m going to quote someone every week, and this will be the title of my blog post for that week.

In other news: HOLY CRAP I’M IN NORWAY!

In the past (almost) week, I have discovered the following about this country: It is always dark, everything is expensive, the men have an impeccable sense of style, and the parties put America to shame.

I have learned so much already since I've arrived. I learned that if you are flustered enough at an IKEA and don’t speak Norwegian you can very easily end up with duvet covers instead of sheets. I learned that it is possible to live somewhere where it rains constantly. I learned that you can meet 400 million people in one day and somehow still feel a personal connection with all of them. I learned that having a broken shower is the worst thing in the world, and warm water is the best thing in the world. In the past 6 days, I have heard more accents and been called “American” more than I ever imagined possible. I played English charades with people who only know English as a second language….and we were still on the same playing field. I spent a lot of time wishing that I knew a second language. I have walked all the time, everywhere. I learned I have no shoes that are good for walking. I also learned I have no shoes that are good for walking in rain. On a completely unrelated note, I should have brought more socks.

So what have I noticed about Norway and Europe in general? It’s the Twilight Zone. Everything is eerily similar, but slightly off. The showers have separate knobs for water pressure and temperature, like a sink. The light switches are higher up on the wall and smaller. Everyone recycles infinitely better than people in the states. There isn’t really such thing as “excuse me--” People will reach across you at grocery stores and bump you in the street without a word. There are small differences everywhere—things that make you double take. Things that have felt weird to me include Norwegian’s obsession with being EVERYWHERE on time (even parties! Which, by the way, in true viking fashion, parties generally start around 6pm. But hey, they’re punctual vikings. So there's that) and, strangely enough, the keyboards. Finding the question mark is really annoying.

All in all, my time in Kristiansand has been GREAT. I have met so many great people, and I can already tell that these connections are going to make me feel like I have a second home across the globe. Despite everything that has gone wrong (and a lot has gone wrong), I discovered that every unfortunate event makes for a great story, and every mistake, a lesson…. But mostly a good story ;)

Translation: I have no shame, so this blog should be amusing. Stay tuned!