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| February |
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| March Too many pictures to post of what I have been up to... In the beginning of March, Oslo held the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships at Holmenkollen. I went to see the Women's cross-country and the Men's team Ski Jump. The city during those couple of weeks was filled with Norwegian pride, it was really nice to see. I found Norwegians take a more serious approach to their sporting events. Skiing, especially cross-country skiing, is a huge deal here. It's a big part of Norwegian culture. The people who attend the events are skiiers themselves, so attending the events was not just for entertainment, but to watch and support a sport they themselves participate in on the regular if not daily. I was surprised to see that beer wasn't sold at any of the events. Although a lot of people camped out in the forests to watch the cross-country events, where alcohol was abundant, the actual arenas were alcohol-free. It was very much a family event. Cheers were given for teams of all countries, there was no rowdy behaviour or ill-spirit whatsoever. Groups of friends and family watched, ate pølse, drank coffee out of thermoses, and waived their Norwegian flags. In the middle of March I had a reading week, so I went to visit my friend Steph in England. We spent 3 days in London and then I went back with her to the quaint town she studies in, Egham, for another 3 days (Elton John lives there!). We arrived in London on March 17th-- St. Patrick's day. Yes, they celebrate it there! It's so funny to find out how much we North Americans steal from the Europeans --everything from city names to celebrations-- and then turn it into this big thing that everyone partakes in. As a Canadian university student, St. Patrick's day is a pretty big deal. So I was very surprised when I learned that my European friends either didn't celebrate it or didn't exactly know what it was. Steph and I originally had planned to go to Dublin for the big day, but Dublin goes absolutely insane to celebrate, so when we started planning in January, all the hostels were already booked up. Madness. So although I was happy to settle for a visit to Steph, I was even more happy to find that London celebrated St. Patrick's too. London was great. I particularly enjoyed Portobello Market, Notting Hill, and Camden Market. By the time we got back to Egham, we were exhausted, so it was really nice to just relax and enjoy the English countrysides in the small town for the last 3 days of my visit. England was in a totally different season than Norway during March, so I was loving all the spring beauty happening. |
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| April 13 (6:00am) |
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| April 25 |
April begins the island season. All the ferries going to and from the Oslo fjords are running again. Barbecuing on an engangsgrill (disposable grill) is a popular thing to do, so we have been enjoying the nice weather and grilling pølse at the islands or at Sognsvann Lake. Our last BBQ involved roasting marshmallows (the euro kids don't do these kind of things. I sometimes wonder about their childhoods) The spring weather has also opened up the streets to flea markets and loppemarkeds. A lot of primary schools host flea markets on the weekends. The ones you find in the downtown east end are even bigger, but they look more like thief markets. A friend from Belgian who studied with us in first semester came to visit us one week, so we went to see this fantastic exhibit at the National Museum (http://blip.tv/file/4598907), ate A LOT of free ice cream at the new Ben & Jerry's that opened on Karl Johans Gate, and went to see a ballet at the Opera (http://www.operaen.no/Default.aspx?ID=27239&ProductID=PROD457) which was one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen. Easter break was spent in Oslo. We were outside everyday and did a hiking and overnight camping trip in the woods just outside the city. Oslo was like a ghost town Easter weekend. Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday were all considered holidays, so the city basically shut down.
This weekend I go to Stockholm, Sweden!!!
As much as it scares me that April is coming to an end already, I am very excited for May. May will be my final full month in Norway so I plan to make the best of it. On May 17th is the Norwegian National Day. There will be a parade leading from the Royal Palace and a lot of celebrations. This is the day when Norwegians don their bunads. Bunads are the traditional Norwegian folk costume. The woman's bunad is the most famous because it is very beautifully made-- hand made/embroidered and adorned with gold and silver jewelry (usually given as a confirmation gift), and very expensive! The National Day is also a big celebration day for the graduating High schoolers, who celebrate Russ. Even though it's still April, the high school kids have already started wearing their russ overalls.
"The russefeiring (russ celebration) is the traditional Norwegian videregående skole (equivalent to high school) graduation ceremony. Participants in this ceremony are known as russ. The russefeiring traditionally starts on the 1st of May and ends on the 17th of May, the Norwegian national day. Participants wear coloured overalls, drive matching cars, vans, or buses, and celebrate almost continually during this period. Promiscuous sex, drunkenness and public disturbance on a mass scale has been the most prominent impact of the celebration in recent decades." [from Wikipedia]
This year's scandals can be read here...
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1074460.ece
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article777117.ece
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article777117.ece
