Quick updates: I just got back from a weekend in Stockholm, which was amazing. The city is beautiful. I will say, though, that I think Norway still beats Sweden as far as awesomeness is concerned. This weekend I am going to Sognefjord on a hiking trip – fjord on Saturday, glacier on Sunday. (I’m pretty damn excited. It’ll be a great last weekend in Norway.) In two weeks, I will, for the first time in 5 months, wake up in the US. I knew that I’d feel a lot of [...]

Since I got back from travelling (which will be the subject of this post) I have been entertaining/hanging out with/talking to a friend from the U who was visiting me and writing a take-home exam for my Gender Equality in Nordic Countries course. This has left me with bare litt tid for blogging. Forgive me, it’s been so sweet, and so warm out. (Okay, okay, so I love William Carlos Williams. I’ll get back on track now.) From May 1st through May 7th, I was traveling. The itinerary? Dublin and Berlin. [...]

Påske (Easter) is quite the event in Norway. Tradition demands that you either read a crime novel or watch episodes of Crime TV every night. (They show them on the national public TV channel.) Stores close from Thursday through Monday. Bus routes shift. And, of course, you travel. So I did. My friend Aisha and I spent the week in West Norway. It was incredible and really nothing that I’d expected. Our first few days were spent in Bergen, staying with Ayla and Will (Aisha’s friends). I lucked out, because [...]

I’m a slacker! I don’t know how it happened…Oh wait, that’s right, I had a Norwegian exam and I am busy traveling and existing in Norway as much as possible. First, the boring part: The test went well. I think I got an A. We’ll find out in a few uker. My sweet and amazing professor came up to me during the test and (totally illegally) reminded me about a particular Norwegian sentence structure that I always have trouble with. It was adorable and nice to see how much she [...]

I blinked and now it’s spring. How did that happen? When I settled into the idea of a semester in Norway, in the back of my mind, I think I figured that it’d be winter forever. Maybe it was self-preservation, maybe it was just ridiculousness—either way, I was ready. I was fully prepared to spend all semester wearing infinite layers and avoiding cold beverages. As a result, I felt incredibly calm about winter in Oslo. I didn’t freak out when it started snowing, I adjusted my walking speeds as needed, [...]

For the last few Sundays, a few of my friends and I, occasionally calling ourselves Team Applesin (Orange på norsk), have been spending our afternoons cross country skiing. Having never skied before coming to Oslo, I quickly fell for the sport, and have thoroughly enjoyed spending my time experiencing Norway on skis. Some of my favorite things about skiing: The silence. A couple Sundays ago, we were skiing up near Sognsvann, and all three of us paused for a moment. That day, the trail had been filled with Norwegians carrying [...]

In honor of my friend Caitlin’s Spring Break, I skipped off to Göteborg, Sweden for a couple days with her and our friend Melinda. Loved the State Museum. Got a half-price Italian meal—ordered a glass of wine like a fancy-pants. Went Thrift-Store shopping (brand new red belt!). Fell in love with Lidl grocery stores and their cheap prices. Stayed at a hostel and snuck 3 people into a 2-person room.   Basically, I had the best time. It was nice to just spend some time being in another city. Oslo [...]

Most of my attention as of late has been on my home state, Wisconsin. For the past week, thousands of public employees, students and families have been protesting outside of the state Capitol in response to a Budget Repair Bill that destroys the public sector employee’s (my mother included) right to collectively bargain with a union. My entire family has spent days at the protests. UW-Madison students are sleeping inside the Capitol building. The bill is ready to be voted on. 14 Democratic Senators have fled Wisconsin—they’re hiding somewhere in [...]

Dear Mom and Dad, Have you heard of couchsurfing.org? Don’t panic. Thursday: Ben and I wake up and fly from Oslo to Tromsø. It is a city of about 60,000 North of the Arctic Circle line. We spent the afternoon in the center, wandering through art museums and shops, and attempting to cross the traffic bridge to the other side of the water before realizing the ratio of coldness of wind to length of bridge was not in our favor. Our plan was to stay with a man named Tor [...]

This is less of a “Miles has something full of insight to say” sort of post and more of a “hey look, I’m still alive!” sort of post. My cold is gone! I spent all of last weekend in my flat, watching TV on my computer and pretending that my throbbing headache could be wished away. I bought a Norwegian Neti-Pot (you proud, mom?) and it looks like a green sea-dwelling dinosaur. RAWR. It’s helping. I’m excited to ski again. Classes are going well. I absolutely adore my Norwegian professor, [...]

Quick Updates: Went Cross-country skiing. Loved it. The falls are significantly less painful. There are beautiful tracks near Kringsjå, another student village. Did Laundry. Am now out about $10. Will now be wearing all clothing for a disgustingly long time. First Norwegian cold! My throat hurts like WOAH. Green Tea and my flatmate’s stash of Ricola throat drops are saving my life. One of the courses I am taking this semester is a North American Studies class called “Restoring the Earth/Renewing Culture: Critical Evaluations of the Green American Tradition.” It [...]

It’s December… already! I have no idea where the time went, but I’m leaving Norway at the end of this month. It’s a surreal feeling. Home is within sight now. I had to move out of my apartment this week. That meant packing. To my surprise all of my things fit in the 2 bags I brought them over in! Yeah! Now I’m staying on the couch in the living room. Super snazy. There is absolutely no sound barrier between the room and the kitchen. So when somones cooking at [...]

An any given day when I walk over to the near by lake there are hoards of people. Groups of kids playing games, families walking, moms pushing strollers, and sports groups jogging. It seems that all of Norway is at the lake all the time. Norwegians really value fresh air and the out doors. In the U.S. I have never seen as many people as I’ve seen near Sognsvann in Hartley field. Here, being outside, is just a way of life. I read that it’s actually mandatory for schools to [...]

Sunday: SUN!!! All I can say is that it is very obvious that Norwegians enjoy being out in Nature. Today the lake was swarming with people. Trying to run was very difficult as I had to zig zag through families with strollers and leashed dogs. So today I only did one lap around the lake. The rest of the day I spent reading. Currently I’m reading ‘The Great Gatsby” and some other short pieces by Emerson. That evening I decided to be adventurous and actually cook. I made stuffed eggplant, [...]

I walked around the campus a bit today. It is much smaller than the U. It is like walking around the “mall” area at the U of M. It takes probably 10 minutes from one side to the other. I was a little surprised when it just ended. I’ve been really tired, almost sick lately. I’m not sure from what. SO I came back to my apartment and took a nap this afternoon. In the middle of my nap I woke up to a unfamiliar girl standing above me. We [...]