There's this joke going around between the international students about Facebook events. We are finding out about so many events and being bombarded with opportunities to socialize, travel, and party, which is awesome. But most of us only "Join" an event on Facebook because we want to have a way to remember that it's happening. Joining doesn't necessarily mean we're going to go. Several people have told me that friends and family keep contacting them and saying things like "You're doing so many awesome things!", "I saw that you were going to _______ event on Facebook. That's cool!", or "How was that thing you went to?" (that you didn't actually go to). I experienced the same thing just the other day when my mom said "You're so busy with all these events you're going to." It's kind of comical for us, the students, who are just trying to keep track of everything that's going on here in Oslo. A couple weeks ago I joined the Grünerløkka Mikrobryggfestival event knowing that this was one event I would literally, not just virtually, join. Alcohol is so expensive in Norway. Grocery stores can only sell beer and cider that is less than 5% abv. Anything more than that is sold at the Vinmonopolet, a state run liquor store that is only open from 10-5 Monday to Wednesday, 10-6 Thursday and Friday, 10-3 on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday. On the rare occasion that I buy a beer at the grocery store, I get one of the cheapest kinds. It's about 26 NOK, which is a little more than $3...for one beer at the store, not at a bar. If you're at a bar, one beer will run you $8-10. This explains why I haven't had much Norwegian beer. When I saw that the brewing festival was happening, I was really excited because I I could save up some money and splurge a little bit knowing that the beer I was paying for would be high quality and from breweries all over Norway. The event was hosted by the Grünerløkka Brugghus, but was held at a breakfast and brunch restaurant called Vespa & Humla. There was an open area next to the restaurant where festival attendees were gathered. There was some seating, but most people were standing. To the left of this area was the indoor part of the festival where all the breweries were serving their beer. There was a line of people waiting to get in, but it moved pretty quickly. We probably waited for 10-15 minutes. You had to pay for beer using tokens that you purchased at the door. Each token was 25 NOK ($3) and got you 10 centiliters of beer. Because I wanted to try a variety of beers, I used each token for a different beer, rather than getting more than 10 cl of one beer. In my opinion, these prices were actually really reasonable. I spent 150 NOK (I got 7 beers instead of 6 because one brewery gave me two for one). So I spent about $18 on almost 24 ounces of beer. It still sounds ridiculous from the perspective of a Buffalonian, but as far as Oslo goes, it's not bad.
Overall, I was really impressed with the brewing festival. I was mainly just happy that I was drinking good beer and not getting completely ripped off by the pricing. It was cool to taste beers from places in Norway that I might not have the chance to get to while I'm here. I'm starting to wish I had my brother's knowledge and ability to describe beer using a wider variety of terms and in more detail. I can't believe I'm actually saying that. Whenever he goes on and on about a beer I say something like "oh my goddd, blah blah blah" and here I am wishing I could be the annoying, overly descriptive beer snob. I'm sure I will learn more with time and now that I am 21, I will actually be able to drink when I go to breweries with Jimmy.
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The word hispter has been part of mainstream vernacular for several years now, but I still can't tell you exactly what a hipster is or what it means to be one. I often jokingly describe my brother, Jim as such because he is a craft beer and coffee snob and always finds the coolest, most hip local places to hang out, eat, or drink, wherever he is. However, if we're talking appearance stereotypes here, he doesn't fit. No beard, no cuffed jeans paired with a plaid flannel and thick-framed glasses. I've been on many family vacations with my brother, but my favorite memories we have together are from trips that I took with just him and his girlfriend Katherine. These include going to Pittsburgh to see Tim Lincecum pitch against the Pirates (my birthday gift that year), flying to Chicago to see The Book of Mormon (my graduation gift), and all of the weekends we spent exploring San Francisco together last summer. We also went to Cleveland to see The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys, but I get to brag about the food on that trip because I brought him and Katherine to my all time favorite restaurant, Melt. Jimmy and I were raised by parents who love to cook. They spent several of their early years as a couple improving their cooking together. Sitting down to eat dinner together every night was one of our most important family traditions. It's when we talked about our day, what we did, what happened at school or work, and it's also where Jimmy and I learned how to discuss current events, like politics. There is no doubt in my mind that talking about what was happening in the news at our dinner table is one of the main reasons Jimmy and I are now so intent on being informed about current events and a big part of why we are so opinionated and open to debate. Family dinners have definitely influenced how we view the world, but they have also influenced how we view food. My parents often prepared a wide variety of dishes from many different cultures. Growing up we were encouraged to try Mexican, Italian, American, and Chinese, among others and we were always told to try everything each time we had it because our tastes would change. We wouldn't know if our taste buds had evolved to like a food we had previously hated unless we kept trying it. Because of this we became open to many different types of food. Safe to say we are not picky eaters. Food (and drink) brings people together, food can amaze you, food has history, food tells a story, food is a huge part of culture, the way you consume food impacts the environment around you, and of course, food can be mind blowingly delicious. These are the reasons why we had to try Beecher's in Seattle, Frank n' Dawgs, Revolution Brewing, deep dish, and Intelligentsia Coffee in Chicago, have a Mission burrito, Ritual Coffee, and Josey Baker bread in San Francisco, eat in Little Italy in New York, go to Grand Teton Brewing in Idaho and Snake River Brewing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The list goes on. They're also the reasons that, after spending last summer on the West Coast, I dove head first into Buffalo's constantly evolving food and drink culture this summer. Resurgence, Big Ditch, Hydraulic Hearth, Allen St. Poutine, Food Truck Tuesday, Lloyd's, Five Points Bakery, and Public Espresso were all on my Buffalo bucket list. Going vegetarian 5+ years ago posed many challenges at first, but has only motivated me to be more creative in my cooking and better at seeking out restaurants that offer the best options for me.
As much as I have resisted it, I have become that person in a group of friends who says things like, "We have to try this place. Apparently it's a local favorite." and "You've never had ______? Ok, we have to go there." I should have known this would happen. Here's a list of other things I swore I would never enjoy and are now some of my favorites: running, coffee, beer, small dogs, ketchup on eggs, broccoli.
This morning my orientation group, plus a few others, met at Sognsvann to pick wild blueberries and raspberries. I brought a plastic container thinking the holes at the bottom of it wouldn't be an issue until I saw how small wild blueberries are! I have never picked wild fruit. I have only ever gone to apple orchards or places where you can pick blueberries the size of grapes. This is a cultural difference between Americans and Norwegians. My orientation group leaders told me they have never heard of picking fruit that way, but oftentimes picked wild fruit, and sometimes mushrooms, as children. One of my orientation leaders, Petter, explained to me that picking wild berries is legal on almost all properties in Norway. You cannot forbid people from picking berries simply because you own the land they are picking on, unless of course berries are your livelihood. This is part of the "freedom to roam"/"right to access" law in Norway which states that everyone enjoys the right of access to, and passage through, uncultivated land in the countryside. This means you can hike, camp overnight, kayak, canoe, swim, forage for berries, etc. in most areas in Norway. Hunting and fishing rights, however, belong to the landowner. The blueberries are so small that it is sometimes hard to spot them, but when you find a blueberry bush it is likely full of them! We walked for about 10 minutes from our original spot to Svartkulp Lake which is more secluded and off the beaten path. After today, I would completely understand paying an exorbitant amount of money for handpicked blueberries because picking them is an incredibly tedious and tiring process. There were also a TON of ants in certain areas. I accidentally set my backpack down in one of these areas so I could get my camera out. Within 10 seconds my backpack, camera, and shoes/ankles were covered in ants. I had a flashback to a horrifying summer day during my childhood when I laid on my front lawn and came in the house only to have my mom tell me I was covered in flying ants. Once we were done foraging we walked to Petter's room in Kringsjå and began separating blueberries from raspberries (we had a few Lingonberries too), washed them, and began cooking them down with (lots of) sugar. Petter made the waffle batter which had so much butter in it. I was actually pretty shocked, but I'm assuming that's because my family always tries to cut back on butter and sugar. We were making a traditional Norwegian waffle breakfast/brunch so we weren't skimping on flavor. Petter has a traditional waffle iron that is used on the stove top. Each waffle only took 3-5 minutes to cook. Lise and Peter had brought sour cream and brunost (that "brown cheese" that's not actually cheese"). I hadn't had brunost since I tried it at my hostel about 10 days ago. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either, so I wanted to try it again and see if I liked it any better. The key to brunost is to not eat it by itself, which is how most people try it for the first time. Today I had it mixed with the sour cream and our homemade jam on a waffle. It was delicious. The sour cream and jam together reminded me so much of when my dad used to make me grilled cream cheese and jelly sandwiches as a child. The taste was nostalgic, creamy, savory and sweet all at once and it was amazing. Working together as a group to make a meal and then sharing it together is a wonderful thing!
I arrived in Oslo around 2:00 pm (8:00 am EST) on 8/5/15. During my two flights I met several people who made me less nervous by being friendly and telling me about their travels, including two girls from Minnesota who had just backpacked Europe for a month. Getting from the Oslo airport to Oslo Central Station was a breeze thanks to their airport train. Once I arrived in the city center I had to walk to my hostel which was about 1/2 mile away. In hindsight, I can't believe I was confused at all about getting there because now the streets make perfect sense to me, but I think I was tired and stressed while trying to navigate the city for the first time. Within 5 minutes of walking with my 100+ pounds of luggage, I was asked if I needed help by three different people. So, stereotype #1 (Norwegians are standoffish/reserved) was proved wrong right off the bat. However, I still wanted to be careful and not have a bad experience (like getting pick pocketed) right away so I went on my way without anyone's help.
Once I got to my hostel I was exhausted and drenched in sweat. I showered and relaxed for a bit until my hostel mate Sara came back to the room. She is a kindergarten teacher from Switzerland who just spent two weeks in Iceland and is spending a few days in Oslo before returning home. I suggested we go get something to eat so we walked along the water for a while, stopped for food, then continued walking throughout the city. We saw the Oslo Harbor, Aker Brygge (an arm of the Oslo Fjord), the Nobel Peace Center, The Royal Palace, The University of Oslo Law building, the National Theater, most of Karl Johans Gate (the major thoroughfare), the Oslo Opera House, and the Barcode Project (a section of the Bjørvika portion of the Fjord City redevelopment on former dock and industrial land). The next day I slept until 1:15, went for a run, then met a new hostel mate, Vanessa who is from New Mexico. Her and her friend had just backpacked Europe for a month. Her friend had just flown back to the U.S., but Vanessa was spending a few days in Oslo. She had just hiked Trolltunga (which is on my bucket list) and met two Australian guys who are currently living and working in London on a two year work visa. They also went to Oslo after the hike so we met up with them for dinner and drinks. My first beer in Norway cost $6 something, which isn't so bad. In a lot of places in Oslo beer will cost $9-10. I met so many different people in my first few days in Oslo. People at the hostel were so friendly and willing to open up about where they were coming from and where they were headed. My big takeaway from my first days here is that YOUNG PEOPLE TRAVEL. Several times I was asked "Is this your first time in Europe?" When I said yes most people's immediate response was "Oh, really?" One of the Australian guys I met has used working in London as a way to travel more. It is much more difficult for him to travel to new places from Australia, so in his past two years in London he has gone on 40 trips to other parts of Europe. These people that I've met are truly inspiring. There is no better word for them. They have made me realize that seeing the world is possible. It takes motivation and planning, but you can make it happen if you really want to. (OH! And I tried brunost, the brown cheese. It was ok. Not great. It has the consistency of a soft cheese, but has a semi sweet flavor, which was hard for my taste buds to get past. Maybe it'll grow on me!) I was going to write a blog about my first few days in Oslo, but time is already slipping away so I'm going to skip ahead and address one of the most widely shared perceptions of Norwegian people. Before I arrived I read online that Norwegians are known to be one or all of the following: cold, reserved, shy, unfriendly, closed off, hard to make friends with, etc. This was also brought up over and over among international students during my first few days here. I am trying to be like a sponge and simply absorb what I see and hear until I can make a decision about things for myself. Therefore, I tried not to assume all Norwegians were like this. It's not possible for them ALL to be that way. So far I have a a few experiences that have both enhanced and lessened this perception.
Conversation with Alena Alena is from the Czech Republic and she has been living in Oslo for two years. She lives across the hall from me and is incredibly friendly, animated, and easy to talk to. I had a conversation with her the other day about her personal experiences with Norwegians. Without getting into too much detail, she has had several Norwegian acquaintances who she thought to be very good friends. Every one of them ended up hurting her feelings by either leaving her life without notice, ignoring her efforts to get in touch, or telling her that really the only reason they were able to open up to her is because she has no connections to the rest of their life (their friends, their family, etc. Basically she wasn't important to them, but she was fun to be around.) Alena has also observed Norwegian culture for two years and had several other things to say about the way Norwegians interact with foreigners and with each other. I left this conversation feeling pretty bummed and thinking 'ok so I guess I'm probably not going to be making any Norwegian friends.' However, I felt the conversation was very interesting and that despite Alena's experiences and right to her own opinion, I would not take it at face value. I knew that not EVERY Norwegian could be the way she described them. Day-to-Day Interactions With Norwegian People Although I have been in Oslo for less than a week, I have already had countless interactions with Norwegian people. Not a single one has been negative. Many interactions have occurred between myself and Norwegians who work in the city center and are incredibly familiar with tourists and foreigners. When someone begins speaking to me in Norwegian I either look confused or I say "I'm sorry, I don't speak Norwegian." I'm getting better at admitting to the latter, which moves the conversation along more quickly. I am amazed by Norwegians' ability to switch to speaking English without hesitation when they realize you cannot understand them. I have not seen one person roll their eyes, not a single person has treated me differently upon finding out I am American, and every person I have come across speaks fluent English. It's pretty incredible. When I am running through the neighborhood that my student village is a part of, I am not sure if I should smile at people or say hello as I pass. I figure that smiling can really never be a negative thing, so I have been giving everyone that friendly (but not full) smile that sort of says "hello." So far I have had some smile back and some not. I'm not really reading too much into people's reactions in this situation because they are complete strangers. They are not working at a cafe or kiosk. It is not their job to greet me or be friendly to me. Interactions with Norwegian students are starting to increase in frequency. Today, we had Norwegian students as group leaders as we toured the UiO campus and attended the new student welcome ceremony at the Faculty of Law. It is safe to assume that these students (student leaders) are pretty outgoing people to begin with. You don't volunteer to be an international student group leader if you don't want to interact with people. So these people break the perception of Norwegians being cold and reserved. I have also had a couple positive interactions with Norwegian students at a popular bar/hangout. A couple girls helped me figure out when the last metro to Ullevaal Stadium was and a girl in line for the bathroom told me about how her mom is from Minnesota and how much she loves San Francisco. The longest interaction I had was with Tomas who approached my friend Laura (from the Netherlands) and I at aforementioned hangout spot. He was drunk, but he was incredibly friendly and asked us what we were studying, why we chose Oslo, how we liked it so far, and so on. No Norwegians had gone out of their way, thus far, to get to know me. The Mayor Even Brought It Up... Despite having pretty positive interactions with Norwegians so far, the mayor of Oslo said something at our welcome ceremony that I thought was funny. Each speaker at the ceremony would occasionally address the international students in English. Fabian Stang, the mayor, said something along the lines of "I know that Norwegians are said to be cold and stand-offish, but we're actually very nice people!" He also made a joke about how if a Norwegian wasn't treating us right we should call him. He seemed like a cool guy. Anyway, I thought it was odd that this perception of Norwegians as cold people is so widely believed or talked about that the mayor thought to acknowledge it in front of a crowd of 2,000+ people. He was basically telling us not to believe what he already knows has been told to us. If he thought this was necessary, there must be some merit to this perception. I'm sure my perception of Norwegians will be constantly changing. It is truly amazing to me that we are all a part of the same human race, yet we are all SO very different. It is fascinating to meet so many people of different cultures. I'm probably going to have to write a post about all of the other cultural things I'm learning from the other people I have met here so far, which includes people from Chicago, Minnesota, Alaska, Texas, Scotland, London, Spain, Lithuania, Iran, Romania, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and China. I am being inundated and bombarded with so much information at once. It's difficult to keep track of it all, but it's all so incredibly interesting. Anyone catch the reference I made in the title? It's a lyric from the song "Knowledge" by Operation Ivy, known to me because of Green Day's cover of the song. I've always thought it was a clever way of saying "I have no idea where I'm going or what I'm doing." That's kind of how I feel about moving to Oslo, Norway for the next five months. Of course I've heard and read things about Norway, but I have no way of knowing which things are cliche, which are stereotypes, which are entirely true, and which are completely false. I know that there is much more to be seen and experienced than what you read and hear about a place, but here is what I "know" about Norway so far. I am excited to someday look back on this post and see how my perceptions of the country have changed after living there.
I can't tell you how many websites I've read this on and how many people I've heard it from. Oslo has been named the most expensive city in the world. It seems as though some people have accepted this and learned how to live and enjoy the city on their own budget, while others simply enjoy complaining about it. I am somewhat looking forward to the challenge of carefully budgeting my money and picking and choosing what activities and purchases are most important to me. I hope that the price of material objects and going out to eat/drink will encourage me to spend more time doing activities that cost little to no money. Norwegians love the outdoors so I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of running, walking, and hiking. Understanding the currency conversion will also be difficult at first. Norway uses the krone, which is equivalent to about 13 cents in the U.S. One hundred kroner is roughly 13 U.S. dollars, which seems pretty odd to us. Therefore, Norwegians may be carrying a lot of big bills (50s, 100s), but that doesn't mean they're loaded. When I was researching Norwegian bank notes I found it interesting that none of them feature politicians. Instead, they feature renowned writers, artists, opera singers, and scientists.
This I can actually confirm. I have looked at many photos of Oslo and Norway. Oslo is the capital of the country so it is of course an economic and governmental powerhouse. You can expect to see all the things you would see in any major city; tall buildings, expensive shopping, museums, public parks, a subway/metro system, etc. Norway has a king and his palace is located in downtown Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo each year, and Edvard Munch's "The Scream" can be seen in the National Gallery. One of the places at the top of my bucket list to visit is the Oslo Opera House, an architecturally unique building made to resemble an arctic glacier that provides amazing views of Oslo. I was incredibly happy to learn that Oslo is 50% protected forest. Once you leave the city center and reach the outskirts of town, you will hit forests full of hiking trails. Not sure there's a more perfect place for me. Norway is nicknamed the Land of the Midnight Sun because there are some days when there is 20 hours of sunlight. When I arrive there will be about 16 hours of sunlight. Norway is also known as the country of fjords and Northern Lights.
This sounds like a huge stereotype, but I have heard it many times. Everyone is blond, blue eyed, and beautiful.
I have read and heard from people who have studied abroad in Oslo before that Norwegians can be difficult to get to know. Some say they are stuck up, while others say they are simply reserved. Reading this made me a little nervous about coming here because I am so friendly and love talking to strangers. However, I have also read that once you do befriend a Norwegian, they will be incredibly loyal to you.
The two don't go together at all, but they're both things I have heard a lot about. Norwegians are said to love skiing so much that people have been seen Nordic skiing through the city during the winter months. There is an Olympic ski jump here called Holmenkollbakken. There is a ski museum at the bottom of it and you can travel to the top to overlook Oslo. Norwegians also love their brunost, which is brown cheese. Sounds gross, right? The actual definition is: "a caramelized brown Scandinavian whey cheese made by boiling a mixture of milk, cream, and whey carefully for several hours so that the water evaporates. The heat turns the milk sugar into caramel which gives the cheese its characteristic brown color and sweet taste. It is ready for consumption as soon as it is packed in suitable sized blocks." Thanks Wikipedia! It sounds pretty weird, but people love it here so I'm willing to give it a shot. These are just a few of the things I have heard that have given me preconceived notions about Norway. My next post will be about my first day in Oslo and I'm sure I will have already confirmed or debunked several of these stereotypes. |