“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!