When you buy raingear the weather looks like this

        

It rains ~260 days out of the year in Bergen.  We were advised to prepare for heavy rain.  A rain jacket, pants and knee high rubber boots later, this is is what we got.  Still, I'm not complaining.  

Norwegians Don't Slum It

Pictures of the cabin my classmates and I lived in during our week long biology excursion to Bergen.

Our Cabin

View From Porch

View From Balcony

Living Room

View From Other Balcony

Dining Table

Kitchen

My Room 

Why My Class is Better than Yours

On Wednesday I went on a field excursion with my marine ecology class.  I was a bit nervous about it because I would be spending the whole day with a bunch of Norwegians I don't know and to be honest, I do not know that much about the marine ecology of Norway either.  I had to take an early morning, hour long bus ride south to Drøbak, where I chatted with a French friend.  I got off to find myself next to the beautiful Oslofjord and I thought to myself...this might not be that bad.  We all walked over the the biology station which is actually this cute little cabin right on the fjord, where the teacher had coffee brewing for us.  Fun fact, apparently the town sold the cabin to the school a while back for 1 Nok = 12 cents.  Our professor, who I have really grown to like told us we would be going out on the boat and scraping marine life from the hard bottom and then identifying the species we bring up.  He cautioned us not to to talk to the captain until he had finished his cup of coffee.  We looked out the window at the scruffy, deadliest catch captain who was smoking and drinking a cup of coffee on the boat and all silently agreed that would probably be for the best.  I was the first group to go out on the boat, and it was really neat.  I made friends with some Norwegians and it was a beautiful day out on the fjord.  One Norwegian explained to me that the island out on the fjord where we could see a wall with cannons was an island that the Nazi's took over and sunk one of the Norwegian ships nearby.  There were tons of jellyfish out in the water and I decided against swimming in it this season.  We scraped the bottom of the fjord and pulled up all sorts of sea-stars, gooey things, anemones, barnacles, crabs and what not.  To my dismay, I had to pick them up and put one of each in a bucket.  Then we headed back to the cabin and spent the rest of the day out in the sun looking up the species we found in our books.  I was able to chat it up with some of my classmates and overall it was a really fun day.  Norwegians really don't like Texans.  One guy asked me why one of the most religious states was so judgmental and I told him that we should have just let the south succeed to begin with.  They like Californians.  I think. This bodes well for the week long excursion my class is making to Bergen next week.  At the end, when my professor was telling us a bit about our next trip and to think of food to buy in the grocery store because it was on him... this concerned look came across his face and he said "except for your beer, I'm only buying my own so you will need to bring money for yours."  I laughed and I am really curious to see what living in a cabin in Bergen with my professor and bunch of classmates will be like.  All in all, the day was great.  I mean, how many Americans get to say for their class they went out on a fjord and collected sea-stars?         

Welcome to My Hood: Kringsjå Studentby

So here is my student housing complex.  The last picture is of the train that I inevitably miss barely everyday and have to wait an extra 15-20 min for.  The meat advertisement is just posted as a challenge.  Try to say that 5 times fast.  :)

Jeg vil gjerne ha et glass øl og student kortet

So what's new?  Well, I started class this week, er two out of my three.  I'm taking molecular evolution, marine benthic ecology and norwegian.  So far I have only attended marine benthic and norwegian because the other starts next week.  I really like them both!  I'm beginning to pick up a bit of norwegian (I better with 6 hours a week of it) but I've still got a long way to go. I have learned the laid back norwegian mentality endures despite the beginning of the school year as the beer tent is still up on campus and all the faculties (each with their individual underground pubs) are having techno concerts and what not at night.  It's becoming very evident that enjoying life is a top priority to these people.  This is a good thing because nearly every night is fun, but when you want things like your student ID or your norwegian identity number it is mind numbingly painful because people work odd hours so they can go hiking and everything is so unorganized that an American like me wants to pull their hair out.  Oh well, if this is the worst thing about Norway, I think I can hang.  I've been exploring the bar scene with some girl friends and it has been a great time. Naturally, we get our dance on and request Shakira wherever we go.  On monday, we went to a the beer tent and a pub crawl to all the different pubs on campus each with different DJ's and bands and couldn't help but laugh at how far off it is from universities back home.  Last weekend we went out in downtown Oslo to the law students pub and then a huge outdoor bar in the city center.  The law pub was hilarious because all the guys had slicked- back hair and cardigans around their shoulders.  Oooh fun fact:  Norwegian dance ridiculous.  They kind of just bounce around and don't get close to each other.  They also throw in some fist pumps here and there haha.  We thought it was odd because we kept seeing guys in red pants, only a few of which managed to pull it off.  We went a week thinking it was a trend, but turns out it is an old Nordic tradition that freshman wear red pants and have to drink everyday in their first semester.  I also learned that 1 and a half years of military service is mandatory in Norway so the freshman are all 20 years old.  Anyways, tomorrow morning I'm going to attempt yet again to get my stupid semester card from the international student office but knowing my luck they will be out of the office for a waffle break or something.  Then I will try for the third time to get my ecology book from the bookstore.  One thing is for sure, I'm going to have fun at night atleast.  I'm sure I'll study eventually...  :)

Sogsvann Lake on a Late Sunday Afternoon

Alright, I finally took some pictures when I walked around the lake today.  My photography skills do not do it justice...

Stor Rød (Big Red), The Refugee Camp and More

Alright, I finally have a chance to update this! The last few days have been a complete whirlwind. Where to start? For those of you that saw my suitcase, you know that it was larger than Alaska, thus my mom affectionately named it Big Red. Big Red was going to cost me (well dad) an extra $150 in the airport due to the fact that it was overweight (maybe something to do with the vacuum packing) and oversized, but the man at the airport liked me and only charged $50 extra. I think he felt bad because everyone was gawking at the enormity of the bag. So it looked like Friday the 13th was off to a good start....until US Airways happened. After my first flight went smoothly, I boarded my connecting flight from Philly only to wait an hour on the airplane until the pilot announced "Do not be alarmed by the firetrucks, our plane just spilled fuel onto the runway." Well, I was alarmed, as this is not reassuring and I had to stay on the plane fearing combustion. Then they had us get on a plane to board another because shockingly enough a broken fuel system is not safe. So headed for the next plane...oh wait...it's broken too....board the 3rd plane...broken too...wait 2 hours onboard the plane while they repair it. At one point I wondered if Big Red was just too much for the plane to handle. The only good thing about it was the two men sitting next to me were Norwegian and were telling me all about Norway and practicing Norwegian phrases with me. They were very kind. I was particularly amused when one of them feel asleep on the plane when we boarded and woke up two hours later when we were still on the ground and he looked at me and said "What the fuck happened?" But I digress. Anyways, I was 5 hours late getting in which meant that I did not receive my housing keys because reception was closed. In a gesture of sympathy the housing office (who are not the most competent bunch) put me and the other stragglers in "emergency housing." We were thrown in family housing and put on mattresses on the floor (hence no interwebs). Oddly enough, it worked out because all the fellow misfits were cool and now I have lots of friends. Since we had nowhere to live we went to the lake which is a 2 min walk away and it was STUNNING (pics to come)...and very hot out. I started my master's introductory class which was really intimidating at first as all the students knew each other and were talking in Norwegian but a couple of guys were nice enough to talk to me and help me out. Norwegians are a very nice people, they are always looking to help...even the women. Anyways I've just been enrolling in classes and was lucky enough to meet a researcher that wants me on his team for my thesis. I believe he thinks I'm really smart because I'm from the US, so this should be amusing. The research they are doing is really cutting edge. Anyways...overall it is very overwhelming and intimidating at times, especially when I go out on my own but I like it here. Norway is stunning and the people are so laid back. I will have to wait and see how classes go, but I am optimistic. I hope I haven't bored you...as soon as I get a chance to add some pics I will and I will keep you updated. I love and miss all you guys back home (even Russell :p). xoxo