Once a Viking, Always a Viking

Well, as most of you know, I’ve returned to my lovely homeland of Omaha, Nebraska, and I’m just about settled in. This last post shouldn’t be too long—I just thought I’d do a little wrap up regarding what I’ve been writing about the past few months.

Being home has been a strange mixture of so many emotions. I’m sad to have left a country have fell in love with, homesick for my lovely apartment in K4G, and missing my European friends like crazy. On the other hand, I’m so glad to be back, seeing friends I’ve known since I was little, starting summer classes at UNO, etc. This past week I’ve eaten a lot of food, a very small amount of which has been healthy. I haven’t even had time for Netflix because I’ve been reuniting with so many people, and everything’s been a bit chaotic getting ready for my brother’s wedding next Friday. My Winnie the Pooh blanket and I are now back together, though, so that’s happy.

Since I’ve been back, I have noticed a few cultural differences that I wasn’t able to see before. For one, I forgot how friendly Midwesterners are. Walking through the Chicago airport and seeing everyone smile at me, say excuse me, apologize, etc—that was really interesting. (Norwegians, no worries, this does not mean that I think you are mean or cold. This is a note about how overly friendly Midwesterners are, not judgment of any lack of friendliness I experienced over there ;) )Also, Americans all walk on the right. This is actually one of the first things I noticed about Europe—in public places, there is no order to the way people walk in public places. They just go where they need to go at leave it at that. If that means that people need to duck and dodge to avoid getting hit, then so be it. They’re like the freshman that just get into high school and think you can walk wherever in the hallway (Millard South kids, you get me.) On the other hand, Americans ALWAYS walk on the right side. It was beautiful walking in the Chicago airport, because all I had to do was follow the crowd, not dodge in and out of it while lugging my three pieces of luggage. On a completely related note, our toilet bowls have way too much water in them. And it’s amazing not having to pay to use a bathroom. THOSE DOOR CRACKS THOUGH--We need to fix the fact that I can stare into the eyes of someone while they wait for me to finish my business. That's just weird.

The things I miss the most involve the beautiful town of Kristiansand and the water that was near my dorm. I miss looking out my window and seeing a river, so that’s been a bit difficult. It was especially tough to not be there to celebrate Norwegian independence day (17^th of May), but I lucked out in that respect—I instead got to celebrate another event with my lovely future-sister-in-law by attending her weekend long, Kansas City bachelorette party, which, by the way, was totally amazing and I don’t care who you are you should be SO JEALOUS. ;)

I’m not sure it’s fully hit me that I won’t be returning to Norway anytime soon, and I don’t think it will before my summer gets going a bit more. I’ve been telling everyone that I just feel like I’ve been dreaming for the past semester, and that Omaha paused in time and started again when I woke up. I just can’t even get over how lucky I was to have the experience that I did, and I’d just like to recognize all the people who helped me get there, and all the people who have supported me through jetlag and messed up emotions. Norway is a beautiful, beautiful country that I highly recommend everyone visits if they get the chance. I’ll definitely be returning one day, but, hey, don't get me wrong--there really is no place like Nebraska. Now I just have an additional place I can call home. Skål. 

"It is not normal for people to have sex on stage, except at Norwegian rock concerts."

This week was so awesome my legs are killing me.

That’s normal, right? You’re just so happy your legs hurt? No? Then, to clear up any confusion, my legs are likely in pain because of the muscle fatigue.

BECAUSE I CLIMBED A FREAKING MOUNTAIN YESTERDAY!

To elaborate: This weekend the international students took a trip to Stavanger to visit Preikestolen, the most well-known tourist attraction in Norway –a giant protruding rock/cliff thingy overlooking a fjord. It is also known as Pulpit Rock. The hike took about 2 hours and was about 3.8 kilometers (like 2.5ish miles) and the cliff is almost 2,000 feet above the fjord. The first 30ish minutes of the hike were the hardest--it was the steepest section, and involved climbing rocks, stepping on rocks, stepping over rocks, trying not to slip on rocks, etc. There was a section immediately following with nearly 15 minutes of "stairs" (I'd say you'd need to be at least 7 feet tall for those to be stairs...damn Norwegians and their long viking legs). After the innitial difficulty, however, it got a bit easier. There were still tough sections, but here was more flat ground and less dying. The effort was totally worth the view.

We spent about 2 hours enjoying the sights and eating lunch before heading back down. I personally think going back was much more difficult. On the way up, I was full of adrenaline and excitement to see the amazing view that I was promised, and my energy levels were high from sitting on a bus for 4 hours. On the way back down, though, I was exhausted. The steep parts that felt impossible to climb on the way up were really hard on the joints going back. It wasn't too bad, though, and I was rewarded by getting to return to our adorable Shire-esque hostel, where we made some Norwegian ramen and played a mystery game until the late hour of 10pm when virtually everyone passed out. 

This was our room, where I could barely stand straight up. Shelby's on the floor laughing in this picture because she just witnessed me hit my head on the Hobbit-sized door frame. 

Interesting Preikestolen fun fact: Just a few minutes ago, when looking up how long the hike was, I learned for the first time that that rock is eventually going to SPLIT IN HALF and fall into the fjord. So THAT’S what that giant crack in the middle of the rock was. Fun stuff! Luckily geologists say that won’t happen in the foreseeable future. Norwegian folklore says 7 sisters from one family have to marry 7 brothers from another family first. We have time either way. Also—I knew this part already—because of the disturbing number of people that have fallen off and/or committed suicide at Preikestolen, there’s been a few motions to add a safety fence around the edge of the cliff. Norwegians aren’t about that life, though—there is a general consensus among them that they’d like to keep it natural up there. Viking style. (Mom, I didn’t die. I love you and I’m sorry if that part freaked you out) A less terrifying tidbit—the cliff was formed by a glacier running into the mountain and taking square chunks of rock with it, hence the unique shape.

Sunday we left the hostel and drove into Stavanger to explore. It was(not surprisingly) beautiful. My favorite parts were when I saw a cat outside someone’s house, then later when I got to sit on a giant pile of yoga-balls in an awesome graffiti park. The city isn’t boring I swear, I’m just super obsessed with the little things, apparently.

Cultural note: While walking around we saw a bunch Norwegian women dressed in their traditional get-up, which is a dress called a bunad. It was then explained to me by a friend that this sudden change in attire was due to someone becoming confirmed in the church, which celebrates also a sort of coming-of-age tradition for most people at age 16. Bunads are also worn at other important events, such as baptisms, weddings, folk dances, and the 17th of May (Norwegian independence day). Apparently there are different designs/colors for different regions of the country, which I found to be quite interesting.

I took pictures sneakily without asking, so I feel bad posting the full image because I feel like that'd be a bit disrespectful (kicking myself for not swallowing my tourist pride and just asking to take a picture with them). So here is what I can provide:

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Earlier in the week was a less of a momentous adventure, but was equally fun. A few friends and I took a trip to the Kristiansand zoo.

Now, every Omahan is aware of the unspoken knowledge that the Henry Doorly Zoo is the best zoo in the entire history of the Universe and probably all the other Universes, if they were proven to exist.

That said, The K-town zoo was REALLY awesome. Our day started by taking the bus 20 minutes outside of town to be at the zoo(called Dyreparken--the bus driver didn't know what the heck I was talking about when I said I was going to the zoo, and some nice Norwegian lady said 'Dyreparken' to the bus driver and looked at me like I was the cutest thing in the world.) by opening time.

Dyreparken was split up into different "continents," my favorite of which was Africa. It wasn’t as large as Henry Doorly, but the exhibits were really cool in that you felt really close to the animals the entire time(one thing I've noticed about Norwegians is that they trust people aren't idiots--as seen with animal displays as well as the lack of fence at Preikestolen). Where as at the Henry Doorly zoo there would be a fence before the fence, another fence, a ditch, and then another fence, here there was only a fence or some glass.  I was 6 inches away from a lion at one point and when it growled at me I seriously jumped a mile. The exhibits were also very integrated into the natural Norwegian wildlife, which was really cool—I felt like I was just walking through a giant forest the whole time. And, in addition to this, there was a huge (surprisingly tiring and embarrassingly difficult) obstacle course going up a hill in the zoo. Apparently, during the summer, there is also a water park and an amusement park--both of which were closed, unfortunately.

Kudos, Kristiansand! A native Omahan was quite impressed.

#lionselfie

Well, that was my week! Every day I thank my lucky freaking stars that I get to spend time in this country, and I can't get over how fast time has gone. I've been in Kristiansand for 4 months now, but it still somehow feels like I just got here. If anyone wants a recommendation for traveling, I wholeheartedly suggest Norway. And please, BRING ME WITH YOU.

"The clouds are green in Ireland!"

So, after a 3 week long ordeal involving the Norwegian customs service, I finally have a computer again! I apologize to anyone who was nearly dying/constantly refreshing my Facebook page hoping for a new blog post--I can't handle the loud keyboards at the university library so I just had to wait for  my laptop to come in to make my next entry (I'm a spoiled brat, I know.)  

Anyway, so since it's been roughly a million years since my last update, I'm going to speed through the last few weeks to catch everyone up without turning this whole situation into a novel. So. Whose ready to plaaaay SPEED STORY TIME?!?! On your marks, get set, GO. 

St. Patrick's Day Weekend:  

Afew friends and I decided we wanted to spend St. Patrick's Day in Dublin. For obvious reasons. We experienced all sorts of festivities, ate classic food, stuff like that.  

Highlights:  

1. Our really hilarious cab driver that made fun of American beer. 

2. Double-decker buses 

3. A really cute kid dancing at the St. Patrick's Day parade 

4. Pretending to be vikings 

5. Street artists 

6. The Guinness factory. Even though I don't like beer. And still don't like beer. And I only had like 3 sips of the beer in this picture. Because ew.  

7. I do, however, like wine, and ordered my first bottle ever at a restaurant. And proceeded to look like an idiot because I don't know anything about wine and apparently ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant is a freakin' process.  
8. Getting this awesome Ireland sweatshirt that I'm way proud of

Cultural notes: 

1. A lot of Irish people are really angry on the road. Lot's of flipping off and honking and cutting off and being angry. 

2. They are so not Norwegian. Everyone is super extroverted, and when my friend and I were staring, confused, at a map(story of my life), a random guy came over and asked what we were trying to find, then pointed us in the right direction. 

Ski Trip to Gautefall: 

ESN took some students from both the campus in Kristiansand and the campus in Grimstad to go skiing. We rented out cabins and froze our butts off and had a really fun winter-y time.  

Highlights: 

1. "Beginner slopes" that are actually complete 90 degree drop offs(for the record, the below slope seems much more terrifying when you're standing at the top.)

2. Not falling on the actual slope, but instead tripping over my ski on the baby-lift and faceplanting. 

3. Not knowing how much I weighed at all, let alone in kilograms, and having to tell the ski guy a rough guesstimation in pounds and hope that he knew what that translated to. 

4. Making/having dinner with students from a campus in another city. 

5. Hiking to the top of a mountain, eating waffles, and having the best cup of hot chocolate I have ever had ever.  

6. Eating Norwegian Kvikk Lunsj like it's my job. 

Another notes: 

1. Skiing is a freaking WORKOUT. 

2. Ski shoes leave bruises on your shins 

3. Snow is wet and gloves are important 

ESN Sea Battle Cruise: 

ESN Sea Battle is a yearly thingy-majig where a bunch of international students from all over Europe meet in Stockholm and then take a cruise to Riga, Latvia together.  

Highlights: 

1. Walking 40 minutes to get to a party in Stockholm only to realize that I forgot my ID and that I had to take the subway back to the hotel to get it.  

2. The buffet dinner on the ship, where there was every food I love in the world plus unlimited wine. (This was seriously like my favorite part of the trip) 

3. The write-on-me party, where everyone wore white t-shirts and got attacked with markers. The best comment on mine: "Made in America." 

4. Sumo Wrestling Shelby 

5. Karaoke night, where I did not sing but watched a lot of really drunk people sing. And sang along with friends. 

6. Watching the sunset from the open ocean 

7.  Having literally the most amazing meal ever in Riga--a ton of food for only 4 euro. (That was seriously like, my second favorite part of the trip. I love food way too much.)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

8. Climbing a cathedral to see the entire city of Riga and taking lots o' pictures 

9. Taking a bus through the outskirts of Stockholm on the way home and realizing it looks exactly like Nebraska. 

American International Pub: 

Every other Tuesday, internationals get together, and 2 or 3 groups of students "present" their country. A few Tuesdays back, it was the American's turn.  

Highlights: 

1. Laughing like crazy/totally bonding with the other Americans when, while planning our presentation, we realized how ridiculous our country can actually be. 

2. Dressing up as American stereotypes (hipster, gangster, preppy, redneck, and over-the-top-patriotic), and making everyone guess what we were. 

3. Demonstrating "classic" American dances. ie, grinding, the john wall, etc.  

BOOM. Alright, dudes, you're all caught up on my life. It's been pretty great.  

One unfortunate (but also happy) note: I come home in about 3 and a half weeks. I'll probably take one more mini-trip and have one or two more posts, but other than that, most of the super-excitement is over. Just to warn you all. I know I induce withdrawals when I don't update you all, because, you know, I'm such an integral part of your life ;) 

TTFN!