[2015 note: I never finished this post, but I figure you deserve to see it, if you’re here]
Hi friends,
So it turns out that I am not the kind of person who frequently updates blogs. I’m sorry about that, since I promised on several previous posts that I was going to try to be better. This whole study abroad trip experience is about learning new things about myself and the world - now I know more about my own blogging habits.
A lot has gone on since the last time I wrote a blog entry - friends made, places visited, lessons learned. Lots of books and food and sleep, lots of adventures. Like most folks my age, I am a poor chronicler of my life - never writing down the important things immediately, as I should. I’ll try to tell you some fun stories now, but they’re all from a lens of weeks and months, so I don’t know how clear it will all be. I’m trying, anyway.
I’ll try to put pictures in line in this post, since I haven’t done that before and trying new things is good for me, I hear.
So, the last post I made was pictures from skiing, and the last one with words talked about classes and skiing and gangs, which is exciting, but not really that exciting anymore, since it was a long time ago now. Since then, there has been: Easter Trip to the Lofoten Islands, a several day getaway to Berlin, lots more work and fun with Diverse Gjengen (perennial crowd favorite, the gang). I’ll also try to talk about the differences I’ve noticed between Norwegian and American culture, and some of the lessons I have learned while being abroad. I’ll try to make it as interesting and reader-friendly as possible, but you’re already half a page in, I figure you’ll stick around!
In Norway, there is no spring break, because spring only comes about now (Late April) and the end of the semester is not time for a break. Instead, there is Easter break. Norway is culturally conservative in many ways; even though most of the population is atheist or agnostic, the easter holiday remains a time for families to get together and eat and celebrate.