Winter Excursion!

Recently the school planned a winter excursion with the students.  It was at a cabin that was aproximately half an hour away from Harstad(I think, not totally sure) but was by no stretch of the imagination far out in the bush.  It was actually just off a highway.  It was a beautiful day, couldn't ask for anything better.

The Cabin

Lucky for me, my co-workers hooked me up with the essentials I would need for the trip.  This included ski's(mine were not in yet), and warm winter gear.  I really understand how important it was to have decent equipment, as getting cold really sucks.

Upon arrival, we all got settled into the cabin, and the trip started out with a competition.  It was a relay bi-athalon, in which two teams of 4 raced (boys vs girls) raced against each other.  The bi-athlon part was to throw a snowball at one of the teachers, and if you missed you had to penalty lap.  Skiing at a nice pace is fun, and not overally difficult, but when I had to sprint this course, I was sooooo tired towards the end.  It was lots of fun, and the girls team barely won. 

After that, we had some relaxing time, where the students continued to get settled in, and some of the students prepared to set up the out door tent.  I have never imagined sleeping outside in winter, and thought it was slightly crazy.  They cleared out a base for the tent, put up the frame and covered it with the tarp like cover.  What was cool is it had a stove in the middle, that had pipes up to the top to get rid of all of the smoke.  Essentially, it was like a first nations tipi.  Once the floor was put it, it was covered with reindeer hides, and was very very cozy.  Some of the students spent the majority of the time in there. 

Prior to being set up

Set up!

Exhaust system

The Stove

In the afternoon, we went for a small ski trip, and it was snowing the crazy.  The climate here is so interesting, it could be a huge snowstorm at one point, then 15 minutes later it can be clear and sunny out.  I decided that I would save my energy for the night sky that was going to be happening later, and only went for a small trip.  Once we returned, we made supper and relaxed by talking and playing cards.

At about 9:00 PM, the whole class went for a night ski.  It was beautiful, although it is much harder then skiing at parks, you have to break your own trail.  That is ok though, it was lots of fun and nice to see all of the students out either skiing or walking. It was definitely dark though, and those with headlights were very useful. 

Once we returned home, I thought the night was over, but I was wrong.  The students had this great idea to go for a snow bathe, which seemed crazy to me.  Basically you only wear the essentials(boxers and underwear) and run into the snow, roll around and come back in side.  Some of the students even did it twice!  I couldn't believe how cold this seemed, but these students showed some tough skin, that is for sure.

After that, it was time for ghost stories and bed time.  I even had a translator to tell some of these stories.  Actually many translators, I never felt lost.   When it came time for bedtime, most of the students stayed in the cabin to sleep, but a brave bunch decided to stay outside in the tent.  Not sure how much sleeping they did(I was the supervisor in the tent), but after I realized they planned to stay up all night, I went inside. It wasn't because it was cold in there,  I was way to tired haha.

The next day, we woke up and essentially just packed up.  For those who wanted to go for another ski, they got out of having clean up.  I opted to go skiing, it was way to beautiful to turn down this offer.  We went the same route as the night before, then further onto a snow covered lake.  The scenary was beautiful out there!  We had a mini competition even to see who could correctly predict how far 500m was from the starting point.  It was the perfect ending to the trip!

Scenary

Me, with my awesome co-worker, and awesome students.  They told me that they were actually born with ski's on.  The one in the snow was just resting :)

Once we returned, we finished packing up and went home.  It was an amazing trip, and am so glad I got to experience something like this.

How many languages do you know?

This will be a little different than my previous postings, but it has been something that I have been thinking about a lot.  Upon moving to Norway, I only knew English, and as of right now still only know English fluently.  I have a small basis in French, but far from being bi-lingual.  When I talked to the people from Norway, they said this won’t be a problem, most of the population knows English anyways.  Interesting, a country that although may not be fully bi-lingual in Norwegian and English, but very proficient in English.
As an international student here, my first couple weeks I got to know all the international students.  They come from all over the world; Russia, Germany, Poland, Ghana, Denmark, Bulgaria, Finland, Spain and so on and so forth.  You would think this would be difficult, because we would all know different languages.  Well I am here to tell you it is extremely easy.  They all speak English, and quite well.  It is very easy to have a conversation with any of them, at any point.  I have yet to run into a Norwegian who cannot speak to me in some form of English.

So I started thinking to myself, am I the only international student who knows 1 language.  My fellow Canadian who is studying here cannot even bail me out; she is fluent in French and English.  So this past week, I finally realized that I am the only international student who knows 1 language.

Now, to be honest if you are going to know 1 language, English is a good one to know. You have probably figured it out that you will be able to communicate, or at least get help when needed no matter where you are in the world.  But to me this is not a good enough reason to stop at 1 language.  When I return from Norway (if I do :) ), I will make it a goal of mine to learn a second language.  If I stay in Canada, French would probably be a good one.  I am trying my hardest to pick up Norwegian, but as my students will attest to, I SUCK at the pronunciation of most words.  Oh well, all I can do is give it my best shot, and keep on trying.  But at some point in my life, I will be bi-lingual!

I just threw this picture in cause I thought it was a pretty shot of some of the local scenary.

Cross Country Skiing

Prior to coming to Norway, I was excited to live in an area near mountains.  I have always lived in flat prairie land, and the biggest mountains that I had ever seen were while driving through Montana.  For me this is strange.  When I was younger, I had always enjoyed snowboarding and had always wanted to go to the mountains.  So prior to coming to Norway, I was really excited to go snowboarding.

The one thing I knew about Norwegians before coming, was I knew they loved their skiing.  This could be ski-jumping, cross country, and even downhill.  As soon as I entered Norway, I knew that this was true. I was sitting in the Oslo Airport waiting for my connecting flight to Harstad, when I decided to go to a little sports restaurant to eat.  Their was a biathlon on (Cross country skiing, then shooting targets amongst the skiing).  The restaurant erupted, when the Norwegian Athlete won the race.  It was such an exciting experience, as I am only really used to this if Hockey, or Curling are involved back in Canada.  I now realized how much skiing meant to them.

The school rents ski's for students to use, so I figured I should try this cross country skiing deal out. I was a little hesitant, as my dad had just went cross country skiing, and had got injured.  My co-worker at the school I am doing my field practicum at (who I must say is amazing) took me out cross country skiing for the first time on Thursday. She helped me get suited up with the necessities for skiing, and we were off. She helped me get the basics down, and knows the trails very well, so we wouldn't get lost.  What a great experience! For my first time, I only fell twice, and they were graceful falls (at least I thought so).  We went approximately 5 km's just enough to keep me wanting more.  I was definitely exhausted though.  For one thing, I had no idea that it would require more movement then just in your legs.  My arms were actually much sorer the next day.  She was much better than me, and even takes her dog with her while skiing.  Here are some pictures from my first time cross country skiing. 

The Pro Waxing her ski's prior to going

Me in Action

No, the dog is not dead, just taking a nice break

After my first experience, I was sure that I wanted to go again.  I had made plans with my supervisor at the school for the weekend.  Friday after work, I came home and my flatmate, as well as German friend where just about to go cross country skiing, and asked if I wanted to join.  We went for a nice little walk to the ski trails, and I could even notice much improvement from my first time.  It was getting easier to go down hills(much trickier for me then going up).  We went for another 5km ride, and I felt the same way after as I had the first time.  I wanted to go some more.  My body was sore, as this is a very good workout, so I knew that in order to be ready for the next day this would be enough.

My supervisor called me, and said that we were going to go to a different park for skiing.  This one had better snow and better trails.  I thought hey what a great idea.  The park we went to seemed to be bigger, and the trails were very well groomed.    Once we got there, they waxed their ski's (they had a whole container dedicated to ski waxing stuff).  Then we were off.  Right of the start, their son went on his own way because he skate ski'd, and was incredibly fast.  That means he probably went at least 2-3x faster then we did.It was my supervisor, her husband, and her son. It was very impressive to see how fast he could go.This trail was much busier and was really nice.  The view was fantastic, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  The rumour in Norway, is that kids were born with ski's.  On our way up, I learnt that this was true.  Their was a kid with her parents, who I am guessing was 2-3 on one of her first ski trips.  She was trucking along, and her parents said that this was one of her first big days.  I was impressed, no wonder they are all in great shape.  We then kept going, and they asked me if I wanted to go on this trail that most people from Harstad don't even make it to.  Of course I said yes.  Well on the way up it was mainly up hill.  After reaching the top I was exhausted, and thankful that the rest of the trip would be down hill.  I was a slower than they normally go, but being great tour guides they kept with me, and told me all about the scenery and skiing in Norway.  It was a great trip, and I even got to sign a book saying I had made it to this point. At this point, we were 400 m above sea level, and there were very few trees.  I can definitely see how people can get snow blinded now.  The trip down was great, as I said earlier it was all down hill.  The trip was 13 km, and took about 2.5 hrs to complete.  I am guessing it took no longer than 30 mins to get down haha.  After finishing, I was exhausted but felt great about what I had just accomplished.  Even one of my supervisors old co-workers commended me on completing that trip, and I felt great. I also never fell once!  I am extremely excited to go again, and even have purchased ski's. This way I don't have to wait to rent ski's from the school, and hope that they have my size(originally, I had size 47 boots, but luckily I was able to borrow a friends that were my size) This way I can go skiing whenever I want, and have better ski's to use. To my parents, they are not that expensive here:).

Before the excursion, ready to roll!

After the excursion, about to pass out of exhaustion(but very excited about the journey)

We Made it to the top!

My Amazing Tour Guides

The view from the top

Future Norwegian Champion

Norwegian Money

I was trying to decide about what to talk about, as I haven't blogged in awhile.  Then the idea of blogging about their money came to mind, as it was one of the things that originally interested me. Having lived in both the USA, Canada, and now Norway, I have had to understand a lot of different money systems.  Major thing about going from Canada to USA, was the use of the 1 dollar bill, and the annoyance of waiting for customers to write cheques.  I seriously laughed the first time I saw someone write a cheque at wal-mart, then to my surprise the next person did to. Now while all this sounds like a pain, it was easy to get used to once you develop patience for people writing cheques. The conversion was also great because for most of my stay in the USA, the dollar was equal.

Then I come to Norway.  If I was to rank the money in uniqueness, It would go USA <----> Canada <------> Norway.  This meaning that Canada shares some of the factors from each currency, and U.S, and Norwegian currency are quite different. First of all, it is no longer called a dollar, but everything is measured in Kroner.  Secondly, the conversion is not quite as easy, but a general rule of thumb is to divide everything by 6. The coins vary from .50 ore (apparently may soon be gone from Norwegian change), 1 kroner, 5 kroner, 10 kroner, 20 kroner. This means that there largest coin would be worth 3.48.  The notes/bills come in 1000 Kroner, 500 Kroner, 200 Kroner, 100 Krone, and 50 Krone note.  What is also interesting about the notes is that they are different sizes.  Here is a picture of the 5 different notes, and I put a 5 dollar Canadian Bill beside them so you can compare the size.  The 5 dollars bill is smaller then the 500, but larger than the 200.  Also, there is a loonie above the coins, to compare the size as well.

Norwegians typically pay with a credit card/debit card first, then cash.  There is no such thing as cheques in Norway, and cash is rarely used.  If you go to the bar and order a drink at a club, or you take a taxi, you still have the option to use your card.  The system seems to be incredibly quick, and a lot more user friendly then the machines in Canada/USA.  All you do is slip in the card, then enter your pin and voila, the process is done.  I guess it helps that the debit/checking option isn't an option, and that there is no tip(that I have seen at least).  I like the Norwegian system a lot, but since I am not allowed to have a bank account, I have definitely collected a lot of coins, which can be annoying.  Hope you enjoyed this bit on their money, if you have any questions, please leave comments and I would be happy to answer them!

Norwegian Dishes

Well, it has been a few days since I last blogged.  I had quite the eventful week, and my practicum is still going very well.  I will blog about that in the near future, but today I shall tell you about some Norwegian dishes I have experienced while staying in Harstad.

The first one was actually made my our Danish roommate, but is traditionally Norwegian.  My two flatmates then made fiskekake, which when translated, simply means fish cakes.  They are essentially just fish and flower squished into balls, and ta da, you have a fish cake.  They served it with vegetables, and a Danish Sauce.  The vegetables and Danish Sauce where really good, but the fish cakes themselves were interesting.  It is not that they tasted bad, just I am not sure that I would buy them.

fiskekake, potatoes and sauce

Last Sunday my co-worker invited me over to her families place for supper.  This was the first time I got to see inside a Norwegian house and interact with only Norwegians.  It was a great evening, there was a cross country skiing race on so that was exciting.  Their house is at the bottom of a hill/mountain like slope, and just outside there window you can see an amazing view of the landscape and mountains.  I also really enjoyed that they had a wood stove.  As for the dish, it was called Lapskaus.  It was kind of like a stew. This particular dish had Carrots, Potatoes, Meat, Sausauge, Cabbage, Salt, Pepper and Broth.  But apparently you can kind of put in whatever you would like in it.  It was really good, and it was nice to eat a traditional meal, at a Norwegian house.

The last dish I will tell you about was prepared by our fellow Canadian friend, who has been living in Norway for 5 years, and her Norwegian boyfriend.  It was called Viltgryte, and it contained wok veggie mix, bacon, ground beef, sour cream, goat cheese, sour cream, and this sauce called, "Hunters Sauce."  It was also very good, and was served over mashed potatoes. They served it with an Orange Drink called, "Solo" which their slogan is  something to the effect of, "it is about to be world famous".  I think the Norwegians are on to something, because these stew like dishes are absolutely delicious.

Viltgryte

Oslo - Part 2

Here it is folks, the much anticipated Part 2 to my journeys to Oslo.

As mentioned before, I went to the hostel to sleep, and my Serbian friend could cause someone to go deaf with his snoring.  Regardless, I must say he was a very nice guy.  I woke up at about 1, and him and his friend were still up.  He rushed over to my bed and gave me a cookie, which to this moment still confuses me.  I mean he crossed the room as soon as he realized that I was up.  I am going to assume he was trying to make a nice gesture, and that there was nothing laced in that cookie haha.

Needless to say, I was up pretty early the next morning.  I showered and went downstairs and waited for my friend Vanessa to get ready.  While waiting in the lobby, 4 individuals joined me, and there was something peculiarly familiar about them. They were wearing Canada gear.  Naturally, I asked if they were from Canada and turns out they were.  They were from Toronto, and were teaching in England.  They had come to Oslo for the weekend, to get some traveling in while they were teaching abroad.  I asked them what they had done in Oslo so far, and asked what they would suggest doing today.  They were going to the changing of the Guard at the palace, and I thought that was a great idea.

Vanessa and I were ready to hit the town, at approximately 10 o'clock.  Lonely planet had suggested that we go check out the Opera house, so we thought it would be a good idea to get breakfast and head over there.  I guess after living in America for so long, when everything is open all the time, we did not take into account that things may be closed on Sunday.  After the suggested breakfast place was closed, we went to the Opera House.

The Opera house in Oslo had been built in 2008.  It was very modern, and quite a sight to see.  It featured a low slating roof, that people could walk up.  First thing that crossed my mind is that this would not be allowed in America, and probably not even Canada, due to the slippery surface to get up.  Regardless we conquered the roof, to a fantastic view of the Fjord that ended right at the Opera house.  It was breath taking.

Full view of the Opera House

View from the top

Me with the view of Oslo in the background

This next story is one I thought I would never be able to tell in my life haha.  Vanessa had wanted to plan the rest of her trip, so we went to central station to use the computers.  We both checked our e-mails, facebook, etc and she was looking at flights to Copenhagen. It was nice to keep updated with everything, and to get caught up.  I have noticed though that social media is the best way to inform everyone of what is going on.

Following this, I was quite hungry, so we decided to go to a cafe that Lonely Planet had suggested.  It was not to far from central station, and we would stay there till going to see the changing of the guard.  I had soup, and a sandwich which was delicious, but what was about to come next would blow my mind.  Lonely Planet had said People and Coffee had the best carrot cake in Norway, and they did not lie.  It was fantastic!

Amongst all of this, we had lost track of the time, and had to race to go see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.  Lucky for us we made it in time, and got to see them change the guards at the Palace.  It was cool for me to see this, but keep in mind it was the first changing of the guard I have ever seen.  According to the other Canadians, and Vanessa, other countries had much cooler changing of the guards.  Regardless it was a cool experience.

Old Guards I believe

New guards

One of the new guards starting his shift

 Following this we went to the famous statue park in Oslo, and it was pretty cool, although was not what I was expecting.  The park seemed like a recreational area for families, and not so much a tourist park.  The statues were neat, but I actually enjoyed seeing all the runners and families enjoying their Sunday afternoon together.

Amongst all this, I had some really nice conversation with my friend Vanessa, and if she is reading this, I want to thank you for this.  It was so nice to be able to travel with you.

After this, we had no real plans, we knew that at some point we would want supper.  We went back to the Opera house to see if they had anything going on that night, and I got a call from my friend Anja, that she was in Oslo and that they were going skating.  We decided that this would be a fun endeavor, and off we went.  I have not skated in 2 years, and wow was I rusty.  But the experience was amazing, they had a big music system in the middle of the rink, and the rink was in between two roads in one of the main streets in Oslo.  It was nice to meet up with some familiar faces, and to meet new friends.

Myself, Anja, and Enrique at the skating rink

After skating, we decided to take a quick break before meeting up with our new friends for supper.  We went to a pub, and I had a drink and let my feet recover.  Turns out skates and shoes that are a bit too small take a toll on my feet after a day.  We then met up with them for supper at a Indian restaurant in Oslo, and although expensive, it was sooooo good.  I have ate indian food before, but it had been a long time, and I had forgot how much I love it.  Although it may not have been local cuisine, it was fantastic.

The gang for supper

After all of this, we decided that we would go back to the hostel.  It had been quite an exhausting day.  I said farewell to Vanessa, who I want to thank again for the experience, and some of the pictures I borrowed from her.  I then went to my hostel, and met up with my Serbian friends, and went to bed.  The following day I simply boarded the plane back to Harstad.  I guess Doug Flutie is a big deal in Norway? The restaurant at the Oslo Airport seemed to think so.  I just want to say thank you Oslo, it was a blast.

Oslo - Part 1

To my faithful blog fans.  I am extremely sorry that I haven't had a chance to update this in awhile.  I have been busy with traveling, as well as getting caught up with school and work related stuff.  I hope to make it up by telling you about my trip to Oslo.

Prior to my trip to Harstad Norway, I had decided that at some point during my stay I would visit Oslo.  Although I had originally planned to do it later on in the semester, a perfect opportunity arose.   My friend Vanessa came to Sweden to visit her sister, and asked me if I wanted to go explore Oslo this past weekend.  It was absolutely perfect, because I would much rather tour with someone than alone.

So Saturday morning I started my journey to Oslo, and hopped on the bus to get to the Airport.  You may be wondering, "Why are you telling me this Brenden, obviously you had to get to the airport somehow." Well, a moose decided that it was going to cross the road, and our bus was inches from crushing it, I couldn't believe it.

The flight went really well, and upon arrival I quickly found Vanessa, and we hoped on the express train to central station.  What an incredible system, we covered 50ish km in no time.  Once at central station, we decided our best bet would be to the hostel.

Finding the hostel was not all that difficult.  It was about a 10 minute walk from the station.  We got there at about 11 am, and checked in, although we couldn't go to our room till 3.  Our hostel was 500 kroner for the 2 nights, which is about 94 dollars Canadian.  This included the linen and everything we needed.  In the world of hostels, this is quite pricey, but everything is more expensive in Norway.  We left our luggage in the storage room, and went to explore Norway. We had decided that our first stop would be the National Gallery, but on the way we found a old enormous church.  It was absolutely incredible.  The roof had been hand painted many years ago, and it had the coolest organ ever, here is a picture of the Organ, the front, the roof, as well as the outside of the church.

The Church Organ

The front of the church.

The painted roof, this picture really doesn't do it justice.

The outside of the church

After the church, we went to the National Gallery, which is one of the 2 big art gallery's in Oslo.  I am going to be honest, I have never been to an art gallery before, so I had no idea what to expect.  I wasn't sure if I would like it, think it was boring, etc. Well, turns out I loved it.  The art that they had on display was absolutely magnificent.  The gallery had it set up so that the art went in chronological order, and it was very well done.  One of the main features of this gallery, is the painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch.  It is well known around the world, and is actually in many books as one of the top paintings of all time.  Being able to see this was absolutely incredible.  I never thought I would say this about a piece of art. The gallery also has temporary exhibits, which change throughout the year.  Lucky for me the exhibit was "Painting Canada". It is going to be on for a couple of months. If I go back to Oslo again, I will likely go see the exhibit, but we simply didn't have the time to this trip. Here are some paintings from the gallery I took, as well as a stolen picture of  the scream from the internet.

The Scream

After we finished the gallery, I was exhausted.  I went back to the hostel and napped. We then went out for supper. We had quite a busy day, so after supper, we decided to just go to bed (mind you this was at about 10 oclock at night). I got back, met all my hostel roommates (4 swedes, 1 dane, and 2 serbians). Funny enough, all but the Danish individual had come to Norway to look for work.  Little did I realize, I would be sleeping a foot away from the monstrous snoring Serbian.  It made for a restless night of sleep. I will talk about the rest of the trip in Oslo Part 2.