It's not goodbye, it's see ya later.

Well, it is time to get a little sappy on the blog.  Tomorrow, I will be leaving for my european travels, and recently have had to say goodbye to many of my friends.  Although I will be returning back to Harstad, many of my friends were international students or Norwegians from other parts of the country.  By the time I will be back, most of them will have returned home.

To be honest, it has been really difficult, but many of my closest friends have been leaving at different points, so I did not have a bunch to do at once.  But today, as I am the one leaving, I had to say goodbye to the remainder of my friends, and it was really hard thing to do.  I have made so many good friends from all over the world, and many good Norwegian friends.  I am so grateful to have met them, and will miss them all dearly.  Many of us have made plans to meet up again, so I have decided that "It's not goodbye, it's see ya later".

I will be traveling to Poland first, and will be blogging along the way.  I will get a cheap power cord in Poland, so that my frustration with my laptop can finally be over with.  I will have frequent blogs during my time in Poland, so make sure to check in often.

To finish off this blog, I would like to thank all the wonderful people who I met during my stay in Harstad, and will miss you all dearly!

Gratulerer med dagen Norge!

It is official, I have now been to three different national celebrations.  What can I say, Canada Day and the 4th of July are always fun, but May 17th in Norway was an experience I will never forget.  The 17th of May marks the day that Norwegians celebrate that they in fact, had their own constitution.  They gained their independence from Denmark, and now it is time to celebrate.
So how do they celebrate, well it is a little.... alot different then how we do it in North America.  First of all, the big party is generally the night before on May 16th.  The party I went to was extremely fun, but I must tell it made getting up for May 17th rather difficult haha.  The alarm went off, but due to my excitement for the 17th, I rolled out of bed and was ready for the celebrations!

I started the morning off with a Norwegian breakfast, and hung out with some friends and admired the first Bunad I had ever seen in person.  Bunad is traditional dress for Norwegians, and most of the women have one, and some of the men do. The Bunad you wear is dependent on where you are from, or your family is from. It is quite common for the males to dress up in suits and ties, as the male bunad is not as common. The kids also wear traditional dress, but are not old enough for their official Bunads.  Bunads are absolutely stunning, and are also very expensive.  The cost is about 30,000 NOK, or approximately 5000-6000 USD/CAD.  Generally, they are given to the kids at their confirmation when they are about 15.  There are 2 kinds of confirmations here, a religious and a non religious confirmation, so everyone has one.



My Norwegian models Sissel and Espen showing off their outfits ready for the 17th of May!

The next part of the day was going to the kids parade, which the kids parade down to sentrum with their schools, and everyone stands on the sides of the streets and cheers them on.  Their are marching bands and cheerleaders as well.  Many parents walk with the kids, and everyone is out waving their Norwegian flags and Hip Hip Hooraying them on!  This was a really cool experience for me, as I got to see the many different Bunads, and got to celebrate National Day with all the Norwegians!

Start of the Parade

Hip Hip Hooray!

After the Parade, we then went to sentrum, to listen to the national anthem (Ja vi elsker dette landet) and some traditional music.  We hung out at sentrum, talking and just enjoying the event.  It is such a family orientated event, and it is awesome to see everyone with their friends and family, enjoying the day.  We were quite fortunate on this 17th of May, because the weather was rather nice, and it truly could be enjoyed.  My sun burn speaks well for that. Hanging out in sentrum was really fun for me, I got to see all the different Bunads, and see many of my friends and students wearing them.  It was relaxing, fun and extremely enjoyable.

Kristine me and Elisabeth!

Remi and I celebrating!

Hip Hip Hooray Ingrid! She is a great Parade Translator

Audun lookin dashing in his Male Bunad

My Praxis Supervisor Elin and I!

Yvonne(Middle) and her 2 Nieces on National Day!

May 17th, also marks the end of Russ.  As my friend said it, Imagine how they feel after 3 weeks of partying, if I felt that tired after one.  To celebrate the end of russ, they also put on a parade that is later in the day.  It is a time to celebrate, get rid of all their old Russ Cards, and maybe to get ready for those exams they have following? Haha, not sure about the last one. 

Start of the Parade

Barbeque anyone?

Disclaimer: I do not know Norwegian, so am not responsible for any bad language that may have been on those signs :).

All in all, it was an amazing day, one that I will never forget.  No matter where I am in the world, I will always remember Norway on the 17th of May.  To be honest, I hope it is because I will be in Norway for many National days!  I will leave you with some facts about the 17th of May. 

1. We celebrate the 17th May because Norway got its own constitution then. It happened at Eidsvold in 1814. This year, our Constitution is 198 years!

2. 17. May is called "children's day" because the day is celebrated with children's parades. Marchingbands and school children march together. Often there are games for children in schools after the parade. You also get to eat plenty of the best: ice cream, hot dogs and soda.

3. The author Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845) was one of the first who worked to make 17 May into a feast day. He held the first 17 May speech in 1833. He also wrote the first national song for children, "We, are a nation with."

4. Wergeland was called "the 17 May King "while he lived.

5. The real king, Harald, is on the Palace balcony 17 May and have one of his busiest days. His job is to wave to the parade, so it's no wonder he is a bit tired in the wrist at the end of the day.

6. For over 100 years, the royal family has been standing on the palace balcony 17 of May.

7. In Norway there are over 27,000 children under 15 years playing in marchingbands.

8. Playing in a marchingband is one of the major activities for children in Norway, second only to football.

9. The tradition of dressing in the traditional costume began a little over 100 years ago. To mark and celebrate the fact that Norway had become an independent country in 1905, the adults began to dress their children in costumes.

10. These costumes were inspired by folk costumes that Norwegian farmers used in the 1800s.

11. From the 1920s it became especially popular to dress the children in costumes as they danced in leikarring.

12. Rødrussen, blårussen, black and green russ are celebrating that they graduate from high school. Some have been as long as 13 years in school, and really think they deserve a party. Therefore, some of them begin to celebrate already in the fall and keep on until 17 of May. Therefore, they look a bit tired in the afternoon 17 of May.

13. Russen can be really rude. Sometimes they claim that they have no russekort, even if they have it. And they can get you and your friends to really beg for some. But do not worry about it. They think it's fun to be asked as well.

14. 17. May is the day of the year when we eat the most ice in Norway. When we eat between five and ten times as much ice as an ordinary spring day. If the sun shines on the 17 May icecream producers rejoice, because they know that they have sold a lot of extra ice.

15. For over 140 years, school children has been singing our national anthem, "Yes, we love this country." The text was written by Bjorn Bjornson in 1859. Four years later his cousin, Richard Nordraak wrote the melody.

16. During World War II it was both forbidden to go to 17 May parade and to use the flag colors on clothes.

17. On the liberationday 8 May 1945, the flag became an extra-strong symbol of Norway's freedom.

Russ!

Well, if I was back in America today, this would be the day where I would attend commencement.  This essentially means that I would walk across the stage in my cap and gown, and receive a fake diploma.  What it actually means, is that I have graduated university!!!! So in the spirit of graduations, I figured it was time to do a blog on the Norwegian high school celebration - Russ.

Ka e russ på engelsk? Asks one of my students at my field work to the english teacher.  Well, there is no direct translation. Russ, is the time of year when High School Seniors celebrate graduating Highschool.  It is quite unique though.  First of all, it lasts for 3 weeks.... Yes 3 weeks.  It is officially over on May 17th, which is Norways National day.  The best part about all of this, is they party for 3 weeks straight, and write exams AFTER they have celebrated.

Now you are probably thinking, wow partying for 3 weeks straight, that must be very frowned upon.  Well, it is very traditional here, and from everyone I have spoke to, they all have fond memories of their Russ celebration.  From what I understand, almost everyone participates in the activities if you are senior/last year of highschool.  I think it is very cool, and it would have certainly been fun to have experienced Russ.

So, here comes the best party about Russ, the traditions.  First of all, they have these crazy pants, that they cannot take off or wash for 3 weeks straight.  You can take them off to go to bed, but that is all!  There are 4 colours so I have been told, but have only actually seen three: Red, Blue and Black (the other colour being green).  The colour that you wear is dependent on what stream of highschool you attended. The pants are ordered, and can be completely customized by the student who wears them.  It is also normal for people to write all over them. Here is a picture of some russ students in a parade.

On top of all of this, they also creat Russ busses which are decorated and used for partying throughout the period.  They are generally older vans, and fixed up for the occasion.  The students also have Russ Cards, that they can give out to people, that have things like their name, a picture of them, a joke etc.  They are quite humourous.  There is also a list of tasks that the russ students can do, which vary from driving around a round-a-bout so many times, sitting under the desk all day at school, and many party related tasks.

Russ Kids and their bus.

All in all, it seems like a crazy, yet really fun tradition that Norwegians share.  It is extremely funny to walk around town, and see all the kids wearing their Russ pants.  Norwegians, I would love for you to share your favourite Russ moments in the comments, and any corrections that should be made to this blog post!

Everyday life!

This blog post, is dedicated to my dad.  He has been mentioning that I should take some pictures of everyday life here in Harstad, and he is right. It has been something I have been meaning to do, and here it is.  Here are some pictures, and I will put captions of what they are of.

Here is a picture of just some houses on the hill outside my dorm.  I have always found it amazing how they build the houses on the sides of the hills here(quite steep at times).

Here is a picture of a House in Harstad.  Harstad is a fairly modern city, so the houses are not that much different from those back home.

This is the view I get to look at as I walk down to the bus terminal.

A church in Harstad.

This is the university I attend in Harstad.  It is significantly smaller than Minot State University, but inside, the Architecture is amazing!

This is the view from the school, as soon as you walk out the other side.  The Fjord comes right up to the school.

A boat chillaxin at a dock.

The back side of the school, the picture of the view would be looking in the other direction.

The school bar.

Just another view of the Mountains and the Fjords

Looking towards Harstad Sentrum

A picture of Sentrum, this is where a good portion of the stores are.

The bus terminal.

Another picture of a different area of Harstad Sentrum

 The gym that I work out in.  It also has a swimming pool that is built into a rock wall I believe.  I am not fully sure about this, so if any of my Norwegian friends read this, please comment below!

Gas station in Harstad.  The price on that day was a thrifty 15.65 NOK per liter.  This is equivelant to 2.69 dollars a liter for gas in canada, and 10.29 a gallon in America.

In this picture, you can see the student buildings I live in on the left of the picture (blue buildings), and the Grocery Store Rimi on the right.  SUPER CONVENIENT!

More houses

Another House

So those are just some general pictures of different things in Harstad.  Obviously, I could put way more up, but I hope you can kind of get the idea from these ones.  If you would like to see anything more, please leave a comment and I would love to get pictures of that for you.  I will eventually be taking pictures of my apartment dorms, and showing you that. 

Sweden Part 2!

Well, after all the issues with the train tickets, the whole trip to Kristianstad Sweden went off without a hitch. After getting my tickets in Oslo, I was able to book the remainder of my trip with my one hour layover in Göteborg, and since it was in Sweden, they are not concerned with the fraudulent aspect.

Now to discuss the rest of the trip.

Is riding the train and busses ever pleasant in Europe.  They are extremely reliable, and seem to be always on time, and arrivals happen either on time, or a little early.  The view is nice, and the seating on both the trains and the bus were quite enjoyable.  It is also reasonably priced, which makes it easy for us students to travel.

Upon my arrival to Kristianstad, I realized that southern Sweden was going to be a lot different from Northern Norway.  There was no Mountains, no snow, and…… everyone biked everywhere.  I could not believe how many people I saw biking around.  It was quite cool.  My incredible Minot friends were waiting for me when I got off the train, and we headed off to their place.

It was really neat to experience their study abroad experience.  They showed me their university, their international crew, and the city of Kristianstad.  It is bigger than Harstad, and the sentrum(city center) was absolutely beautiful.  The shopping was good, and the prices were better than Norway.  There dorms were definitely different than mine in Harstad, but they have such a cool international group there as well.  It was really neat to meet their friends, and they were super friendly to talk to.

Tube Food anyone?

Bacon and Cheese Tube food?

In Kristianstad Sentrum!

5 MSU'ers in Scandanavia!

To sum up the trip, it was relaxing, and it was very enjoyable to experience what the girls study abroad experience was like.  It was also very nice to meet up with some friends back home, and catch up.  I just want to thank Kari, Shanda, Mariah, and Brigitte for inviting me to visit them, and for the lovely vacation J.

Sweden Part 1!

I thought I should give all my faithful blog followers an update.  Currently in Norway, it is easter break.  Which means that my praxis has a week break, and I am able to travel.  I decided to go visit the four MSU students studying in kristianstad sweden, to get a glimpse of how their study abroad experience is going.  This is how the process has gone so far.

A week prior, go to book my ticket online, Swedish railways will not book my ticket due to card issues, but their office is closed, and have to call in the morning.

Call in the morning, card will not work over the phone, as their has been lots of fraud with international cards.  Lady helps me, and says that I can just pick it up at the central station in Oslo.  Gives me a booking number, and I feel like I am good to go.

Depart for oslo at a beautiful 4:50 in the morning.  The trip starts by boarding the bus in Harstad, getting to the airport and checking in, then depart at 6:40 from the Harstad airport.  This goes amazing, I slept the entire duration of the flight, which is one of the first times I have been able to sleep on a plane.

Arrive at Oslo, it is a beautiful day.  Get on the express train from the airport to Oslo S, and get to the Swedish Train booth.  Excited to finally get my tickets, my card fails once again.  It still will not work.

Call SJ, and we cannot figure out a solution to this.  There is nothing they can do about it, and the lady sugguests that I try to book the ticket through Norwegian railways.  She says if there are any issues with that, give them a call back.

Go to Norwegian railways, and have some success! I can book the first 2 tickets, but the third one cannot be booked.  The customer service rep says that I can book the last one in sweden, and that it shouldn't be an issue at that point.  So relieving! I even have an hour break in between two of the trains, so I can do it at my first layover. 

I must say, this has been a slighly frustrating process, but it has all worked out.  Although the swedish railway reps could not get the tickets, they have been very helpful in finding alternative solutions.  To sum up this whole process, it has been a learning experience for me, and I will still get there :)

Norwegian Concerts

Prior to coming to Norway, I had no idea what the music scene was like here.  To be completely honest, I had never knowingly heard of a Norwegian band.  Turns out the band, "Aha" is Norwegian. You may remember their one hit wonder in North America, "Take on me".  I then found out that the female lead singer of Aqua, is Norwegian as well.  Who could ever forget the song, "Barbie Girl". But to be completely honest, I had no idea that they had Norwegian roots till I moved here.

Lately, I have gone to 2 different concerts. From what I have heard, rock is the preferred music here in Northern Norway.  I do not listen to the radio often, so I really have no idea how true that is.  From what I have experienced, I sometimes feel like I am back in Canada.  The school I work has Bieber Fever, and has been listening to Carly Rae Jepsen a lot lately.  I guess there really is no way to escape Justin Bieber.

The first concert I went to was at a cafe in Harstad.  It kind of reminds me of the bagel stop, but a little bigger.  The Hot Chocolate I had there was absolutely amazing, and I have had some of their sandwiches before, and they are also fantastic.  So I knew that if I didn't understand a word they were saying, I would still enjoy the experience.  The band "Oh!" took stage, and I was really surprised.  They sang all of their songs in English, and were really really good.  The music had a Jazz feeling to it, and it sounded amazing. It even reminded me a lot of my Jazz Band Days. They even did a covers, and one that stuck out was a Rihanna cover of Umbrella.  They did an amazing job, and I really enjoyed their music. Unfortunately I was not close enough to get a picture, and I cannot seem to find a link to a video of theirs.  If I come across one, I'll post it here :)

The second concert I went to was at the on-campus bar called Ludo.  I actually had no idea that there was a concert till the day of.  I was hanging out with some friends, and they seemed really excited to go see Lise Karlsnes.  So I decided this was another great opportunity to see some more Norwegian music, and tagged along.  Am I ever glad that I went.  The only disappointing part was that not many people showed up for the concert.   I am really not sure why, as she is quite famous in Norway. Apparently she puts on fairly big shows in southern Norway, but that may be because of bigger population. The concert was amazing.  The size of the crowd did not deter her, and she put on an amazing show.  She reminded me of a Norwegian Katy Perry.  She had loads of energy, and her band was also really good.  Here is a video of one of her songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqQViTxiUWs