Slow and steady always wins the race
Waking up to the sound of rain pounding against your window is never motivation to get out of bed. My fellow American, Jamie, was kind enough to lend me a movie to lie in bed with, Phantom of the Oprah. I chose it because I knew it was long. Around noon I explored the laundry rooms. It costs 15 NOK a load, around $3. So it was quite expensive. I think I will be wearing my clothes until people start to plug their noses around me. The machines were completely in Norwegian so I had NO idea how to start them. It took me around a half hour to finally get the water to fill. Before I left the states my mom bought me some 3 in 1 washing sheets. As I put one in the man next to me sighed, “Ahhh…. The American way”, as he shook his head.

That afternoon I shared the joys of Ikea and Trafikkatan with Jamie. Upon returning home I was greeted by Maddi, a Minnesotan! She invited me out for the night and I gladly accepted. Around 10 we went to an apartment with other students mainly from Germany, Mexico, Italy, Spain … and Minnesota! Interestingly, I’ve learned more Spanish here than I have Norwegian.

Later, we went to an out door bar that translates to “Uncle Donalds”.

Drinks are very expensive here. We nearly paid 375 NOK for 4 shots and a beer, that is 60 USD! We had a great time dancing and mingling with each other and others. Around 2:30 we returned to Kringsja on the night bus.

Oslo is like the 70’s without drugs
That is what we’ve been told. Today Jamie and I met up with a local named Ben. He showed us the hidden secrets of Oslo and gave us pointers ranging from cheap food to cheap travel. We went out for lunch, very expensive, my sandwich cost over $20. You can’t eat out here. The prices are outrageous!







That evening a couple girls and I went to the nearby lake, Sognsvann. I went for a dip. The water was so refreshing.





My ROOM MATE and I:

In front of our building...


After wards we got ready and headed downtown to an international student party at Chateau Neuf. The number of people there was overwhelming. We had some drinks, did a little dancing, and mingled with everyone. At around midnight we decided to head home. Sadly we missed the last T-bane by 5 minutes. Ugh. An hour later we were able to find a night bus. It was freezing, there were nasty slugs everywhere and I was tired. Not my best night here. We didn’t get in bed until 2:30 am. Mirjam and I then were unable to stop talking until the wee hours of the morning.


COFFEE
This morning I chatted with Ben on Skype. It was so good to hear from him. He is back in Arizona now. The time difference is 9 hours. This might be a little rough… After a late night, we were exhausted, but still went downtown to explore. Jamie and I took the local ferries around the Oslo fjord. Along the way we stopped and saw the Viking ship.

The entire time we were dragging our feet. It was extremely hot today! At around 3 we headed to the University of Oslo campus where there was a waffles and coffee party being hosted for the international students. The coffee was amazing! It was an instant wake up! From there a bunch of us headed to the beach.

We enjoyed the amazing company of Paris, from Turkey, and Micheal, from the U.S.. It was so funny to talk with them because Michael is your typical ,preppy American guy, where as Paris just bums around the world and goes with flow. We didn’t get back until around 8. We made hot dogs and rice for dinner and ate with the Singaporians. They are always cooking up something good/ interesting. Luckily I also splurged on some ice cream! Now I sit waiting to use the internet, as we only have one connection per room.

Oh! and of course! European fashion at it's best!