Monthly Archives: February 2012

02/12/12

I wish I was an iPod so I could plug into a computer to recharge my energy battery.

Instead I spend the entire day basically resting up from the long night I had earlier. After a week’s worth of constant socializing, fun, and a night full of sushi, drinks, and good company to top off my week – I started to feel the effects of over-socializing. I’m not naturally a socializer – it takes a lot of effort on my part to talk to people. That doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy being around people – it just means I need my own time to unwind and be off on my own to rest up, reflect, and enjoy my own silent company once in awhile. It’s taken me a lot of hard work to become a better socializer and now it’s much easier for me to do so and recharge afterwards. It’s a fine balance.

A lot of people don’t believe me when I tell them that I used to be very, very shy. I guess it makes me really appreciate the long-term friends I have at home who have seen me grow into the person that I am today. But coming to Norway and meeting new people every day has shown me just how much I have grown. Even I can’t believe that the girl who just three years ago was very much a guarded person could have done a complete 180 into becoming a social butterfly. And it’s not that I’ve changed my personality in a short couple years but the fact that I’ve opened myself up to others – to have accepted and be willing to show others who I am – that has brought me here. This me right now – this me is who I really am. Not that shy girl from all those years ago.

It’s amazing just how much you can soar when you learn to love yourself.

02/7/12

I'm officially off to Poland! :D

It’s funny how a simple conversation can spark an entire trip out of the country. I had just sat down in front of my computer with a hot cup of tea, defrosting from my time spent around a camp fire in the snow, when my Colombian friend starts chatting with me on Facebook (she had gone back from the camp fire early because she was too cold). We had a pleasant chat and when I mentioned how much I wanted to travel around this semester, she invited me to come to Poland with her and her friends next Thursday (16th) for the weekend. Excitedly, I said yes and immediately started looking to book my flight ticket so we would all fly together. To my dismay, there was a flight out of Oslo to Wroclaw (apparently known as the Venice of Poland) but the return flight was full. My friend cheered me up by proposing a trip to Belgium for her birthday in March that we could plan for together (and of course I agreed). But I wasn’t giving up yet. I started looking for other flights out of Poland back to Norway on Sunday (19th).

I managed to find one flying late out of Krakow, Poland – which is about 4-5 hours south of Wroclaw by train. I debated if it even would be worth it to go to Poland and take the train down on my own to Krakow. After a little internet research, I was convinced to go to Krakow – both for the city as well as for the fact that Auschwitz was only a little ways away. I must go to Auschwitz if I go to Poland. There isn’t even a doubt in my mind about that.

So now I’m figuring out train schedules and debating when I should part ways from my friends in Wroclaw to head off to Krakow on my own. I’ll probably take night train to Krakow Friday night/Saturday morning – sleep on the train – and arrive in Krakow ready for a free city tour (which I found) and explore the rest of the city on my own for the rest of the day. Auschwitz would be my last destination on Sunday before I fly back to Oslo in the early evening. A sombre note to end my weekend trip, but a crucial one nonetheless.

My first real trip on my own (well, at least for half of it)! It’s great to know that I’ll have company in a strange new country for the first two days at least. And also to know that I have future trips with friends to look forward to. Bought my tickets and ready to lock and load. Must start planning! 😀 SO EXCITE.

And all it took was a simple invitation to spark the start of a new adventure. 🙂

02/6/12

Kitchen Languages.

My French and Norwegian roomies were quite happy to teach me my ‘phrase of the day’ when I told them I wanted to learn:
How was your day?

French: Comment était ta journée? OU Comment c’est passée ta journée?

Norwegian: Hvordan var dagen din?

We’re going to keep a sheet of paper on the kitchen counter so that we can write out what we’re saying, which really helps actually. I got a refresher for remember French grammar and I’m starting to learn Norwegian sentence structure and pronunciation. HOORAY FOR GRAMMAR!

I asked my roomies the word for ‘class’ which I then put into the sentence structure I had just learned:

How was class?

Comment était tes cours?

Hvordan var timen din?

A phrase a day until my goal of having a simple conversation in either language is feasible. ^^

02/5/12

Skating~!

Sundays are pretty slow in Ås, so it’s up to the students to make their own fun. 😀 Today at noon, I attended a free skate hosted by the ISU (International Student Union). It was a lot of fun to lace up our skates and glide out onto the ice. Since it was my first time actually skating outside, it was extra exciting for me.

Compared to the tiny, cramped ice arenas I was used to skating in back in Canada, we had a lot of space to not run into anybody (and not have to skate only in one direction). There were Norwegians playing hockey, dogs, and plenty of cross-country skiers out and about. A lot of the internationals had never skated before so I somehow ended up as a sort of ‘teacher’ (even though I only know pretty much the basics) for a lot of newbies. I have to thank my mother for putting me in skating lessons as a child.

It was really lovely because everyone was helping one another, learning and teaching. Some of my friends who were more experienced skaters taught me how to stop in different ways and even start to skate forward and turn midway to skate backwards (I’m still working on it – but I’m getting better). It was difficult to skate sometimes because the ice wasn’t always smooth (no zambonis here) and no walls to run and stop into like in indoor arenas. Basically, I was forced to really skate, which in itself made me a better skater in the end. I ended up trying hockey skates for the first time and although I still need to get used to them, I like them much better than figure skates.

All in all, it was a wonderful environment to try, learn, and grow together as a community of UMB students out on the ice. I love that you can just holler and ask if anyone can skate, dance, or even ski and they’ll be willing to teach you. I’ve already taken up learning to ski from a couple people (cross-country and downhill). I’ve also offered newbies to teach the basics of snowboarding even though I haven’t gone in years. There will be a ski trip in the beginning of March that I’m absolutely PSYCHED for. I just wish I had brought my nice snowboard goggles. :

Next week, skiing! 😀