FOMO stands for Fear Of Missing Out, and I get it real bad when I'm travelling. I used to have it back in Perth, but then my friends and myself all started getting busy with university studies, work or relationships that there began to be less and less social events, so it became easier to skip an event here or there without feeling like we had missed out on something amazing. When you're travelling however, there are so many opportunities on the horizon before you that you have to race against time to see and do as much as possible before those opportunities fade away with the sun.
I first really came across this expression when I started my tour of Europe with Contiki. I remember my guide said to all of us that we would experience FOMO whilst on this trip, and that we should of course try to see and do as much as we can, but that's not always possible and we shouldn't get upset about it. I did get upset though, because I missed out on one of the best parties of our tour group (supposedly, from what I was told from the others). I was incredibly sick when I first started the tour (I think I actually had got tonsillitis or some bad virus from my cousins who I had spent lots of time with before I left for the tour), yet I managed to keep soldiering on and trying to fight off the sickness with my mind - basically telling myself I would get better soon and it would surely pass. However about three or four days in to the tour, I had almost completely lost my voice and could barely speak, so at the Contiki Chalet in the Beaujolais region of France my guide gave me some antibiotics and she convinced me to take a night off and try sleep it away. It just so happened that this particular night was the first Contiki party of the tour, so EVERYONE was going to it, and EVERYONE went crazy and partied hard... except me (and my roommate who was also sick, I think she got it from me). Now I did wake up the next day feeling much better and I even recovered within a couple of days, but even though there were many more parties throughout the rest of the tour (which I attended all of them), everyone was always talking and reminiscing about how good the first party was. I was kicking myself that I had missed out on this party, and I always wondered with regret what would of happened if I chose to ignore my sickness and go to the party - would it have still been good? Or would I have done more damage to my health to attend just an average event?
Regardless of this, I still had an amazing trip on my Contiki tour, and I got to see and do almost everything I had intended to do.
But alas! This FOMO has followed me whenever I travel, and this time I am trying to refuse to let it happen...
Except sometimes you have to miss out and compromise for what is really the right thing to do. After almost four weeks of being able to say YES to every event and activity put before me, I have finally had to compromise and miss out on a really amazing adventure.
My friends from Belgium had organised a hiking/camping trip to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) which is a must-see place in Norway (basically it's this massive rock that juts out 600m above the water and you can sit dangling on the cliff, testing your fears of height and fears of falling to your death with one slippery mistake). Everyone was so excited, and I was eager to come since it would be a great way to see more of Norway and spend some time with my new friends. Then they told me the day they were travelling... it was the exact same day I had one of my first lectures for my course. I was absolutely gutted, and felt torn between the two. Although they tried persuading me to skip my class, I thought sensibly and knew I couldn't miss my first lecture of the semester, even if it was going to be an amazing trip.
I reminded myself that I have come here for university, so that would have to come first and travel would come second, and I'll just have to deal with all the FOMO that comes my way.
At least I would see their photos, and I could just pretend I was there. It might not be the real thing, but it might make me feel a little closer to the trip I could of been a part of.
Thursday 22 August 2013
Monday 19 August 2013
Culture Shock
My absolute favourite thing about
travelling is getting to know the culture of different places, and not just the
obvious cultural differences that we can read in a guidebook, but also the
other little differences that can be so small in significance but yet so
intriguing.
While I've been in Norway so far I have been both shocked and amazed at some of the little differences, here are some of them:
Food:
Contrary to the stereotype, Norwegians do not eat a lot of fish, in fact most I have spoken to don't even really like fish! I thought they would be eating fish/seafood 5 days a week and then meat on the other days, but a lot of them eat fish maybe once every now and then, but not every week. However there are still some whom love fish and it will be there first choice when eating at a restaurant. Still though, I was a little surprised to discover this attitude, especially when we're living in a city known for its fishing industry.
Norwegians really love the mix of sweet and savoury together; one of their favourite snacks (from the ones I have so far met) is called "Smash" which are crisps covered in chocolate. I tried this and found it too savoury, I would of preferred it the other way round - but fortunately they have amazing chocolate here for me to get my fix of sugary sweetness. One of their meals I find really strange though is their waffles. They will eat waffles (not potato waffles, but the sweet kind, like Belgian waffles) with strawberry jam and SOURED CREAM. Now when I first heard about this I did think maybe it's not the same soured cream that I was used to having back home, maybe it was different here. However after talking more with my Norwegian friends I realised that in fact it is the same soured cream - as in the same soured cream you put on Nachos or fajitas etc. They absolutely love it here! Apparently it tastes amazing so I am going to try it at some point to see if in fact it does taste nice. (NB: after talking with my brother about this he suggested I should ask them if they had maple syrup here, I did and said why would they not prefer to use maple syrup instead but apparently they find it too sweet). A part of me is still thinking that maybe the soured cream is a little different... or at least I'm still hoping since I will be trying it soon.
Smoking:
While some Norwegians do like smoking cigarettes here, there is something else they have to give them their nicotine hit, and it is something that I have never seen or even heard of before. It's called Snus (pronounced like 'snoos'), and when I first saw it I thought it was chewing tobacco. Basically it is the size of a piece of gum and looks like a pouch with tobacco inside, then when you want to use one you put it inside your mouth (up in the gums, most people I saw do it put it under their top lip) and it stays there for however long the tobacco lasts. You don't chew it, but instead just let it rest inside your mouth. It seems to be quite popular here, and although I don't promote smoking, I can see the advantages if you were a smoker because you could get your hit of nicotine inside instead of having to walk outside in the cold to smoke a cigarette. Although I am wondering if it stains your teeth faster than just smoking would, since it rests against your teeth and gums for maybe an hour to 2 hours. This was a huge shock for me to see though, since I had never heard of such a thing. There were two occasions where I was shocked from this unknown 'snus': the first was when I had encountered it for the first time; I was talking to a guy from my mentor group and as I was speaking to him I noticed that he took something out of his mouth that was brown and the size of gum and he put in a box. I was immediately taken aback as I thought he had been chewing on gum for so long that it was now brown! It didn't register in my mind at all that is was a product called "snus" - and I didn't want to ask what it was in case it was in actual fact old gum he had been chewing on. As I saw more and more people do it though, and take out fresh, new pieces, I eventually asked what it was.
The second time I got shocked from it again was during a pub crawl when a guy came over to talk to someone sitting in the same group as me, and I noticed as he was smiling and talking that he had brown gums above his front teeth. Again in my head I was immediately thinking that this guy had bad gums and they were eroding away to blackness - then it clicked again that, no, in fact it was just snus sitting behind his lips. As you can tell, I'm still not totally accustomed to it yet, so every time I see someone who looks like they have brown teeth or a swollen lip I have to remind myself that it's actually snus they have in their mouth.
Christmas:
In Norway (and in other Scandinavian countries too) they celebrate Christmas Day not on the 25th December, but actually on the 24th December. I found out from my housemates a few of the traditions they have on their Christmas Day - so they don't open their presents until the evening before they go to bed (whereas we open ours on the morning of the 25th), one of their traditional Christmas dinner meals is rice pudding (now I don't know if they call it this, but when it was explained to me it sounded like rice pudding because it's rice in milk and they sprinkle sugar on it too) but this is for dinner not dessert which personally I found odd since I would consider it more a meal for dessert, and they also watch a particular Christmas film (I think it is a children's cartoon) that is on every year in the evening of their Christmas Day.
I remember the day I was talking with my housemates about their Christmas celebrations, and I said to them "That's really weird you celebrate on the 24th..." and one of my housemates replied to me "Well in our eyes, it's YOU who is weird for celebrating Christmas on the 25th!" It made me laugh because everyone who is used to particular events in their culture would find it weird if another culture did it differently. I find it nice to experience something different to what I am used to though.
I think perhaps maybe because the Western countries of the world all have many similarities we don't really expect that they would have any significant differences to us, but I think it's amazing to come to a new place and discover these differences - whether big or small - and come back home with more knowledge of the place than if you just read a tourist guidebook on the country. I am looking forward to many more moments I will have here where I find myself saying in shock "that's weird... but so interesting!"
While I've been in Norway so far I have been both shocked and amazed at some of the little differences, here are some of them:
Food:
Contrary to the stereotype, Norwegians do not eat a lot of fish, in fact most I have spoken to don't even really like fish! I thought they would be eating fish/seafood 5 days a week and then meat on the other days, but a lot of them eat fish maybe once every now and then, but not every week. However there are still some whom love fish and it will be there first choice when eating at a restaurant. Still though, I was a little surprised to discover this attitude, especially when we're living in a city known for its fishing industry.
Norwegians really love the mix of sweet and savoury together; one of their favourite snacks (from the ones I have so far met) is called "Smash" which are crisps covered in chocolate. I tried this and found it too savoury, I would of preferred it the other way round - but fortunately they have amazing chocolate here for me to get my fix of sugary sweetness. One of their meals I find really strange though is their waffles. They will eat waffles (not potato waffles, but the sweet kind, like Belgian waffles) with strawberry jam and SOURED CREAM. Now when I first heard about this I did think maybe it's not the same soured cream that I was used to having back home, maybe it was different here. However after talking more with my Norwegian friends I realised that in fact it is the same soured cream - as in the same soured cream you put on Nachos or fajitas etc. They absolutely love it here! Apparently it tastes amazing so I am going to try it at some point to see if in fact it does taste nice. (NB: after talking with my brother about this he suggested I should ask them if they had maple syrup here, I did and said why would they not prefer to use maple syrup instead but apparently they find it too sweet). A part of me is still thinking that maybe the soured cream is a little different... or at least I'm still hoping since I will be trying it soon.
Smoking:
While some Norwegians do like smoking cigarettes here, there is something else they have to give them their nicotine hit, and it is something that I have never seen or even heard of before. It's called Snus (pronounced like 'snoos'), and when I first saw it I thought it was chewing tobacco. Basically it is the size of a piece of gum and looks like a pouch with tobacco inside, then when you want to use one you put it inside your mouth (up in the gums, most people I saw do it put it under their top lip) and it stays there for however long the tobacco lasts. You don't chew it, but instead just let it rest inside your mouth. It seems to be quite popular here, and although I don't promote smoking, I can see the advantages if you were a smoker because you could get your hit of nicotine inside instead of having to walk outside in the cold to smoke a cigarette. Although I am wondering if it stains your teeth faster than just smoking would, since it rests against your teeth and gums for maybe an hour to 2 hours. This was a huge shock for me to see though, since I had never heard of such a thing. There were two occasions where I was shocked from this unknown 'snus': the first was when I had encountered it for the first time; I was talking to a guy from my mentor group and as I was speaking to him I noticed that he took something out of his mouth that was brown and the size of gum and he put in a box. I was immediately taken aback as I thought he had been chewing on gum for so long that it was now brown! It didn't register in my mind at all that is was a product called "snus" - and I didn't want to ask what it was in case it was in actual fact old gum he had been chewing on. As I saw more and more people do it though, and take out fresh, new pieces, I eventually asked what it was.
The second time I got shocked from it again was during a pub crawl when a guy came over to talk to someone sitting in the same group as me, and I noticed as he was smiling and talking that he had brown gums above his front teeth. Again in my head I was immediately thinking that this guy had bad gums and they were eroding away to blackness - then it clicked again that, no, in fact it was just snus sitting behind his lips. As you can tell, I'm still not totally accustomed to it yet, so every time I see someone who looks like they have brown teeth or a swollen lip I have to remind myself that it's actually snus they have in their mouth.
Christmas:
In Norway (and in other Scandinavian countries too) they celebrate Christmas Day not on the 25th December, but actually on the 24th December. I found out from my housemates a few of the traditions they have on their Christmas Day - so they don't open their presents until the evening before they go to bed (whereas we open ours on the morning of the 25th), one of their traditional Christmas dinner meals is rice pudding (now I don't know if they call it this, but when it was explained to me it sounded like rice pudding because it's rice in milk and they sprinkle sugar on it too) but this is for dinner not dessert which personally I found odd since I would consider it more a meal for dessert, and they also watch a particular Christmas film (I think it is a children's cartoon) that is on every year in the evening of their Christmas Day.
I remember the day I was talking with my housemates about their Christmas celebrations, and I said to them "That's really weird you celebrate on the 24th..." and one of my housemates replied to me "Well in our eyes, it's YOU who is weird for celebrating Christmas on the 25th!" It made me laugh because everyone who is used to particular events in their culture would find it weird if another culture did it differently. I find it nice to experience something different to what I am used to though.
I think perhaps maybe because the Western countries of the world all have many similarities we don't really expect that they would have any significant differences to us, but I think it's amazing to come to a new place and discover these differences - whether big or small - and come back home with more knowledge of the place than if you just read a tourist guidebook on the country. I am looking forward to many more moments I will have here where I find myself saying in shock "that's weird... but so interesting!"
Thursday 15 August 2013
The smell of settling
The reason why I haven't written any posts in a while is because I've been super busy with my orientation week at the University of Bergen.
Since my last post, a lot has changed... (and so this post is going to be quite long).
I met a girl, Lisanne, from the Netherlands on the first day of the introductory program. We were sitting next to each other at the lecture, and since everyone was an international student, there was a greater willingness to meet new people. What was funny in a coincidental way was the fact that once I started to talking to Lisanne we found out we would be studying the exact same course this semester. How weird is that? Of all the people in the room (which was a lot, there are around 800 international students who have come on exchange to University of Bergen this semester) the person sitting next to me is doing the same course. It was a pretty cool coincidence, or could it have been fate? But anyways, moving on...
A series of events in the shape of new found friendships occurred after meeting Lisanne. I met Mila, another girl from the Netherlands, through Lisanne as they go to the same university. Through meeting Mila, I then met her housemates, Emma and Sarah, who are from Belgium, and also their close friend, Margot, who doesn't live with them but is always around them nonetheless (as they study the same course). I loved meeting these girls because my second week in Bergen was so much more enjoyable as I had people to go out with and do activities, like hiking for instance, which is what we did on the weekend, but not only that, we all get on so well, and easily too, even though we may not have the exact same interests and we're not even studying the same thing, there is always something to talk about when I see them. Continuing on, then this week I met another girl briefly who was in the same faculty as me and then when we went to get a coffee I met Lucia, from Slovakia, and Anna, from Germany. We were all going to the student organisation stands, so we just decided to go together, and through this I got to know Anna and Lucia more, even though again they are not studying the same courses as me. Instead of going with my original mentor group I was assigned to, I went with Lucia and Anna to their mentor group (which I feel I should of been in anyways because it's all the students studying literature courses). Whilst following around my new mentor group, I then got to meet Sanne and Guro who are both from Norway (sadly they are studying literature in Norwegian so won't be in any of the same classes as me), and I got on so well with them because we had many of the same interests in regards to music, social life, wanting to volunteer, travelling.
Now while that was a long passage, and you may be wondering why did I even bother going into that much detail of who I met, but the reason I did was because of the fact that I wouldn't of met these people without having met someone else prior to that. When it comes to connections in the social network, it's definitely about WHO you know than what you know that helps you make new connections and expand your friendships.
I realised after thinking back on the events that followed this
particular day that the more willing you are about expanding your social
network, the more people you will meet just from a brief encounter with
one person. Being abroad in a new place with loads of new people to
potentially meet, it's as if your life were a game of Jenga. Now stay
with me on this metaphor I have: when you play Jenga, everything is in
it's right orderly place, but then you take one piece out from it's
"comfort zone" and place it in a completely new, foreign place. However
then more pieces get removed from their comfort zone and added with that
one original piece, now creating a new "comfort zone" whereby the
pieces have adapted to staying in their new, foreign place.
Since I first moved here to Bergen, I have been a piece of Jenga that has been moved from many of it's "comfort zones" to create new bonds with different 'pieces' and form many different comfort zones, except unlike Jenga where at a certain point the structure falls apart, these new 'pieces' or actually people that I've met and created a new comfort zone with, have stronger bonds than just falling apart. I think especially when you're travelling and you meet a new person and start talking to them and begin to have longer conversations, that blossoming friendship that's developing is hard to ignore and just walk away from forgetfully.
Since meeting all these new and amazing people, I have started becoming more and more settled each day that I'm here.
Yet, as much as these people have the bigger impact on my settling, there are other factors as well that have helped me feel comfortable again and not out of depth.
1) My room: I visited Ikea today to get a few more (final) things for my kitchen and room (and because it's the cheapest place for everything you need in a home/study/work environment, especially in Norway). While I was there I happened to pick up a fake plant (I don't really want to promote fake flowers, but in this case it is nice to have as something pretty to look at) and a couple of lovely, fresh smelling candles (which make up for having fake flowers, because now I can pretend my room smells pretty as if it were from the flowers) - and this has made my room feel less like "I am only staying here for 5 months" and gives it just a tad bit of character:
And thanks to my amazing parents who sent me some little knick knacks from back home, I've been able to blue-tack some pictures and notes to the wall of my study desk - so now I don't have to look at a bland wall when I work:
Also, I finally did a big food shop and now my fridge and cupboard
actually look like a person is living here, not just someone who has a
few bits of fruit and loads of microwave meals instead. This is meant
finally I could have a cup of coffee (since I was kindly lent a pot from
one of my friends here) - it was so good. Plus the best part was that
my mug for my coffee I have is the same one as back home (thanks Ikea),
so while I was sipping my yummy chocolate coffee and eating some
chocolate chip cookies, I was immediately reminded of home, and I
thought "this is what it smells like when I'm home studying" with the
smells of my coffee and candles filling my studio room.
Since I had bad internet connection when I first arrived here I couldn't post any photos of what my room looks like, so here is some now:
2) Thinking back to the reasons I wanted to come on exchange: This has helped me settle quite significantly too. After speaking on Skype to my mentor from back in Perth, she gave me many ideas on how to break through the horrible feeling of being taken out of your comfort zone and ways to overcome it. One in particular was a really fantastic idea which didn't even cross my mind until Kat (my mentor) suggested it. She told me that whenever I start getting down and have the attitude "why am I even here??" that I should think back to the very beginning of why I wanted to even go on exchange in the first place then write these reasons down so whenever I'm feeling glum I can look at them and be reminded and inspired again. So I've written them on a big sheet of paper right in front of my face when I'm at my study desk:
These were my reasons:
- To meet new people from all over the world
- To travel more
- To volunteer in new roles and new organisations that are not available back in Perth
- To build up my network internationally
- To experience living out of home and in a new country
- For the life changing experience: learning more about myself, growing/developing myself more, being pushed out of my comfort zone
The last two points have been good for me to remember since I was feeling homesick at first and did ponder why I wanted to come such a long way from home and especially in a place where I didn't know anyone nor the language (or really much about the culture apart from what I've read in books). It's made me remember to embrace being pushed out from my comfort zone and also having the opportunity to live on my own and trying to manage my money for rent, food shopping, electricity, while still also needing money for social activities. While I have lived out of home before when I was 18, I was still living with relatives, so even if I was paying board, it wasn't exactly a massive wake-up call to "this is reality". Even though after living away from home when I last travelled made me appreciate my parents, this adventure is making me appreciate them so much more because I am completely independent here in my house: managing my money, cooking, cleaning, etc, etc.
So now I'm settled in my house, the next stages of my settlement here are my University courses and volunteering.
Hopefully will have more information on those two topics next week :)
Since my last post, a lot has changed... (and so this post is going to be quite long).
I met a girl, Lisanne, from the Netherlands on the first day of the introductory program. We were sitting next to each other at the lecture, and since everyone was an international student, there was a greater willingness to meet new people. What was funny in a coincidental way was the fact that once I started to talking to Lisanne we found out we would be studying the exact same course this semester. How weird is that? Of all the people in the room (which was a lot, there are around 800 international students who have come on exchange to University of Bergen this semester) the person sitting next to me is doing the same course. It was a pretty cool coincidence, or could it have been fate? But anyways, moving on...
A series of events in the shape of new found friendships occurred after meeting Lisanne. I met Mila, another girl from the Netherlands, through Lisanne as they go to the same university. Through meeting Mila, I then met her housemates, Emma and Sarah, who are from Belgium, and also their close friend, Margot, who doesn't live with them but is always around them nonetheless (as they study the same course). I loved meeting these girls because my second week in Bergen was so much more enjoyable as I had people to go out with and do activities, like hiking for instance, which is what we did on the weekend, but not only that, we all get on so well, and easily too, even though we may not have the exact same interests and we're not even studying the same thing, there is always something to talk about when I see them. Continuing on, then this week I met another girl briefly who was in the same faculty as me and then when we went to get a coffee I met Lucia, from Slovakia, and Anna, from Germany. We were all going to the student organisation stands, so we just decided to go together, and through this I got to know Anna and Lucia more, even though again they are not studying the same courses as me. Instead of going with my original mentor group I was assigned to, I went with Lucia and Anna to their mentor group (which I feel I should of been in anyways because it's all the students studying literature courses). Whilst following around my new mentor group, I then got to meet Sanne and Guro who are both from Norway (sadly they are studying literature in Norwegian so won't be in any of the same classes as me), and I got on so well with them because we had many of the same interests in regards to music, social life, wanting to volunteer, travelling.
Now while that was a long passage, and you may be wondering why did I even bother going into that much detail of who I met, but the reason I did was because of the fact that I wouldn't of met these people without having met someone else prior to that. When it comes to connections in the social network, it's definitely about WHO you know than what you know that helps you make new connections and expand your friendships.
Since I first moved here to Bergen, I have been a piece of Jenga that has been moved from many of it's "comfort zones" to create new bonds with different 'pieces' and form many different comfort zones, except unlike Jenga where at a certain point the structure falls apart, these new 'pieces' or actually people that I've met and created a new comfort zone with, have stronger bonds than just falling apart. I think especially when you're travelling and you meet a new person and start talking to them and begin to have longer conversations, that blossoming friendship that's developing is hard to ignore and just walk away from forgetfully.
Since meeting all these new and amazing people, I have started becoming more and more settled each day that I'm here.
Yet, as much as these people have the bigger impact on my settling, there are other factors as well that have helped me feel comfortable again and not out of depth.
1) My room: I visited Ikea today to get a few more (final) things for my kitchen and room (and because it's the cheapest place for everything you need in a home/study/work environment, especially in Norway). While I was there I happened to pick up a fake plant (I don't really want to promote fake flowers, but in this case it is nice to have as something pretty to look at) and a couple of lovely, fresh smelling candles (which make up for having fake flowers, because now I can pretend my room smells pretty as if it were from the flowers) - and this has made my room feel less like "I am only staying here for 5 months" and gives it just a tad bit of character:
And thanks to my amazing parents who sent me some little knick knacks from back home, I've been able to blue-tack some pictures and notes to the wall of my study desk - so now I don't have to look at a bland wall when I work:
Since I had bad internet connection when I first arrived here I couldn't post any photos of what my room looks like, so here is some now:
2) Thinking back to the reasons I wanted to come on exchange: This has helped me settle quite significantly too. After speaking on Skype to my mentor from back in Perth, she gave me many ideas on how to break through the horrible feeling of being taken out of your comfort zone and ways to overcome it. One in particular was a really fantastic idea which didn't even cross my mind until Kat (my mentor) suggested it. She told me that whenever I start getting down and have the attitude "why am I even here??" that I should think back to the very beginning of why I wanted to even go on exchange in the first place then write these reasons down so whenever I'm feeling glum I can look at them and be reminded and inspired again. So I've written them on a big sheet of paper right in front of my face when I'm at my study desk:
- To meet new people from all over the world
- To travel more
- To volunteer in new roles and new organisations that are not available back in Perth
- To build up my network internationally
- To experience living out of home and in a new country
- For the life changing experience: learning more about myself, growing/developing myself more, being pushed out of my comfort zone
The last two points have been good for me to remember since I was feeling homesick at first and did ponder why I wanted to come such a long way from home and especially in a place where I didn't know anyone nor the language (or really much about the culture apart from what I've read in books). It's made me remember to embrace being pushed out from my comfort zone and also having the opportunity to live on my own and trying to manage my money for rent, food shopping, electricity, while still also needing money for social activities. While I have lived out of home before when I was 18, I was still living with relatives, so even if I was paying board, it wasn't exactly a massive wake-up call to "this is reality". Even though after living away from home when I last travelled made me appreciate my parents, this adventure is making me appreciate them so much more because I am completely independent here in my house: managing my money, cooking, cleaning, etc, etc.
So now I'm settled in my house, the next stages of my settlement here are my University courses and volunteering.
Hopefully will have more information on those two topics next week :)
Tuesday 6 August 2013
Forget about the price tag
Loads of people said to me about how
expensive it would be in Norway, and if I had realised this and prepared
myself, etc, etc (even the Norwegians themselves find it expensive here – but I
guess that’s mainly the students talking). However as I had mentioned to them
time and time again, Perth itself is now very expensive too, so surely it
couldn’t be that different? Well since I have been here it hasn’t really been
too much more expensive compared to Perth, in fact they are about on par with
each other, with Bergen maybe being a dollar or two dollars more expensive for
some things. I think one of the reasons as well why people find it so expensive
here is that by looking at the price tag you think it’s a ridiculous amount,
for example yesterday I paid 50NOK for a coffee and a slice of almond cake at
the museum and in my mind I think whaaaatt??? $50 for coffee and a slice of
cake! Except it’s not, it actually converts to about just under $10 (which you
know still isn’t exactly cheap, but
it’s not really that much cheaper if I was back home).
So while I don’t recommend to think about the price tag or do too many conversions if you’re a tourist, since I am living here for some months I’ve been doing conversions every time I spend to make sure it’s worth it and also to maintain my budget.
Except today I did get a little careless in one respect. After doing more tourist stuff, I had to pass the Torget Fish Market in order to get home, and I thought I would finally treat myself to one of their fresh meals they prepare. I ordered for take away (so I could have it as an early dinner) a plate that consisted of a good-sized portion of salmon and some prawns with potato salad and caramelised capsicums and onions (why they had onions with it I have no idea, must be a Norwegian thing). It tasted amazing! The prawns were my favourite, and the salmon was very meaty, but I didn’t fall head over heels in love with the taste of Norwegian salmon like I thought I would – I still love salmon, but Norwegian salmon is not my favourite, I would still be happy to eat my salmon from Australian waters. Although the food and portion was good, when I worked out how much I had actually paid for, a part of me cried with disbelief. I paid 189NOK for it, which works out to be around $36. I can’t believe that, $36!!!! It was not worth $36 at all. Now I am a firm believer in that the price tag matches the quality, so usually if I go to a restaurant and pay this price for a meal, I hope the food is good, and almost always it is definitely worth the cost. Yet I would not be happy to pay $36 for a meal from a fish market – I guess it was tourist prices, because I think if you made it yourself it wouldn’t come to that. I was a little gutted though because I had read meat was expensive, but fish and seafood was plentiful, therefore surely if something is plentiful it should cost less… but I guess not.
I’m happy at least that I can say I had a meal from the renowned Torget Fish Market, but I don’t think I’ll be going there again for meals… at least not for a couple of months anyways.
As for more tourist stuff I have done,
today I went up Mount Fløyen, which is 320 metres above sea level (so not
exactly a huge mountain, but a mountain nonetheless).
One of the many things that Bergen is
famous for is the fact that it is home to seven mountains. You can hike up all
of them, but for Mount Fløyen you can either hike or get a funicular railway to
the top (which is what I chose to do) and for Mount Ulriken one can catch a bus
and a cable car. These are the only two I have so far heard of the seven
mountains, so they must be the most popular among tourists.
I have yet to go up Mount Ulriken but I look forward to it, as it is Bergen’s highest viewing point over the city. Today though I went up Mount Fløyen, and the panoramic views were amazing, but I think what makes the place so famous isn’t so much the mountain itself but the funicular railway which was officially opened in 1918 and during these years of operation there has never been a single serious accident on the railway.
I have yet to go up Mount Ulriken but I look forward to it, as it is Bergen’s highest viewing point over the city. Today though I went up Mount Fløyen, and the panoramic views were amazing, but I think what makes the place so famous isn’t so much the mountain itself but the funicular railway which was officially opened in 1918 and during these years of operation there has never been a single serious accident on the railway.
Things are looking up - and I don't just mean the hills!
I've been in Bergen five days now, and things are starting to get better, finally.
My current worries are about money because I know for sure how much rent is but not electricity which is annoying as I can't budget specifically yet, so hopefully will find out a rough price of how much my living is going to cost by the end of this month.
I know I do have enough money for my rent, food and social activities for Bergen, but I desperately want to see more of Norway and Scandinavia while I'm here too. Last time I was in the UK when I was 18, I had all the plans to find work, get some money behind me and go travelling to the other places in Europe I didn't get a chance to see while on the Europe Contiki tour, but it never happened. I sort of got stuck in a rut of just living in the town I guess. I don't want that to happen again, in fact I'm going to make sure that I won't let it happen again.
I'm not going to say the places I'm hoping to visit because I don't want to jinx myself, so you'll just have to wait and see with my blog post ;)
I've met more of my housemates, and the ones I have so far met have been incredibly friendly and helpful which makes me feel a lot better. One of the girls here, Sida Chanette, who is from Oslo, came here last year and didn't know anyone so she understands how I must be feeling , and she has offered to show me around later this week which is great :) Things are starting to look better and on the up.
Speaking of upwards, there are so many hills here! I don't need to worry about going to the gym or putting on weight here because there is so much walking and many hills! My legs have been getting so tired, but the pain is getting less by the day, so I guess they are getting used to it - mind you it would be nice to have a bath with muscle relaxing salts though! Just have to push through the pain. However I love the fact that everything is walking distance here, sure it takes a little time - well maybe not for Norwegians, they walk so fast! I blame my little legs - but it's free transport and great for my health. I am getting used to the rain too. The guidebooks didn't lie, it does rain here CONSTANTLY. It has been raining everyday since I have arrived here, except for the very first day, but it does stop every now and again. I hate getting wet, especially my feet, but I am getting used to it, however I am dreading to think what it's going to be like come the winter season if this is their summer! Plus in the UK, contrary to what everyone assumes, it doesn't rain all the time, in fact every time I have been the weather has been lovely, especially in winter, I have found it dry but very cold, which I would actually prefer than to the rain! Still I won't let it get me down, and I refuse to become a new member of the SAD group (seasonal affect disorder). It definitely rains more here, which I had expected, but a part of me was hoping it wasn't as much as everyone had said.
Anyways, I have done more tourist stuff and explored more of the town. I absolutely love the Torget Fish Market and Bryggen, they are my favourite places in Bergen so far. I love Torget because it's nice seeing all the different stalls they have to offer, not just of seafood but also the moose sausage, proper Norwegian knitwear, troll and viking ornaments - it's really cool but very wet and I'm sure if you stayed there long enough you would start to smell fishy! The reason I love Bryggen is probably because it is the prettiest part of town, I think when the books say that Bergen is supposedly the prettiest place in Norway it is because of this area. It just looks so inviting and homely, and again they have some really unique shops there too. I haven't yet brought any souvenirs, I will save those purchases until towards the end of my stay.
I visited the Bergen Maritime Museum, which was interesting in regards to immigration, it had a huge exhibition on the Norwegian-America line and I found out about how many Norwegians were emigrating to New York prior to the 60s (as Norway was among the poorest countries in Europe until they found oil in the 1960s). New York has loads of Irish decent, but has loads of Norwegian decent too - I didn't realise until now how much of a connection Norway had with America due to the immigration. They didn't have too much stuff on Vikings, apparently the Cultural History Museum does so will have to check that one out.
BUT! In regards to Vikings, I did get to see more history about it at the Bryggen Museum - I saw some of the different boats that were made, and then they also had lots on the medieval era so I found out more about their lifestyle. They used to eat porridge for breakfast! I thought that was pretty cool, it never occurred to me how long people have been eating porridge for throughout history. While also at the Bryggen Museum they had a massive exhibition on shoes! How weird? In fact it was really interesting because back in the day Bergen used to be a huge producer for shoes, and they had original shoes from the medieval period which were made from leather - I had no idea they had such class back then! They had style too - it showed how the style of the shoes changed from closed shoes to sandals when they were still made out of leather. Unfortunately, Bergen no longer produces shoes for the world market or for themselves really. However there is a designer who is still making old-style boots, but sadly they are made out of seal fur! I definitely couldn't walk around in seal fur boots :( Seals are like dogs of the sea, and I love dogs.
From Bryggen I then got to meet real-life seals at the Bergen Aquarium. The seals and penguins were my favourite part of the aquarium, they are just so entertaining. The seals were really talented, but they were actually Californian seals and trained for the aquarium, but they were still awesome to watch nonetheless. They had some cool stuff in the aquarium though, for example they had a tropical exhibit which had loads of snakes and lizards, they also had a spider exhibit (they were MASSIVE! If I saw them I would actually be so scared, even though I have gotten over my fear of spiders, I think seeing these would bring that fear back), and they had monkeys! I don't know what type of monkeys but they must live near the water because they were put with the turtles. They seemed really freaked out though, they were looking every where with shocked eyes... or maybe that's just how their eyes looked.
That's it so far for now. I still have another two more free days before I start my orientation for university on Thursday, I'm really excited for that to start, I absolutely can't wait to meet more of the international students. I'm not forgetting about the Norwegians though! I've actually signed up for a program called "BergenBuddies" which doesn't start until 26th August I think, and basically they sign you up with a local Norwegian student who has similar interests to you and they are 'forced' to be your friend for 6 weeks and show you around (they actually aren't forced, they are all volunteers who do it, so they must want international friends). I'm looking forward to that too :)
I think I'll do some more tourist stuff tomorrow, like visiting the top of Mount Fløyen and Mount Ulriken, and definitely think if I go past the Torget Fish market again (which we know I probably will), I might treat myself to some of the seafood they have to offer. I haven't tried any of their local fish yet, but I can't wait to taste it! (And I think I need it too because I've been eating quite poorly my first week here, haven't yet organised myself properly in regards to what meals to have for dinner that provide all the right nutrients - I have been lacking in protein at the moment :| ).
Thanks to everyone who has been reading my adventures so far, hope you're enjoying them!
My current worries are about money because I know for sure how much rent is but not electricity which is annoying as I can't budget specifically yet, so hopefully will find out a rough price of how much my living is going to cost by the end of this month.
I know I do have enough money for my rent, food and social activities for Bergen, but I desperately want to see more of Norway and Scandinavia while I'm here too. Last time I was in the UK when I was 18, I had all the plans to find work, get some money behind me and go travelling to the other places in Europe I didn't get a chance to see while on the Europe Contiki tour, but it never happened. I sort of got stuck in a rut of just living in the town I guess. I don't want that to happen again, in fact I'm going to make sure that I won't let it happen again.
I'm not going to say the places I'm hoping to visit because I don't want to jinx myself, so you'll just have to wait and see with my blog post ;)
I've met more of my housemates, and the ones I have so far met have been incredibly friendly and helpful which makes me feel a lot better. One of the girls here, Sida Chanette, who is from Oslo, came here last year and didn't know anyone so she understands how I must be feeling , and she has offered to show me around later this week which is great :) Things are starting to look better and on the up.
Speaking of upwards, there are so many hills here! I don't need to worry about going to the gym or putting on weight here because there is so much walking and many hills! My legs have been getting so tired, but the pain is getting less by the day, so I guess they are getting used to it - mind you it would be nice to have a bath with muscle relaxing salts though! Just have to push through the pain. However I love the fact that everything is walking distance here, sure it takes a little time - well maybe not for Norwegians, they walk so fast! I blame my little legs - but it's free transport and great for my health. I am getting used to the rain too. The guidebooks didn't lie, it does rain here CONSTANTLY. It has been raining everyday since I have arrived here, except for the very first day, but it does stop every now and again. I hate getting wet, especially my feet, but I am getting used to it, however I am dreading to think what it's going to be like come the winter season if this is their summer! Plus in the UK, contrary to what everyone assumes, it doesn't rain all the time, in fact every time I have been the weather has been lovely, especially in winter, I have found it dry but very cold, which I would actually prefer than to the rain! Still I won't let it get me down, and I refuse to become a new member of the SAD group (seasonal affect disorder). It definitely rains more here, which I had expected, but a part of me was hoping it wasn't as much as everyone had said.
Anyways, I have done more tourist stuff and explored more of the town. I absolutely love the Torget Fish Market and Bryggen, they are my favourite places in Bergen so far. I love Torget because it's nice seeing all the different stalls they have to offer, not just of seafood but also the moose sausage, proper Norwegian knitwear, troll and viking ornaments - it's really cool but very wet and I'm sure if you stayed there long enough you would start to smell fishy! The reason I love Bryggen is probably because it is the prettiest part of town, I think when the books say that Bergen is supposedly the prettiest place in Norway it is because of this area. It just looks so inviting and homely, and again they have some really unique shops there too. I haven't yet brought any souvenirs, I will save those purchases until towards the end of my stay.
I visited the Bergen Maritime Museum, which was interesting in regards to immigration, it had a huge exhibition on the Norwegian-America line and I found out about how many Norwegians were emigrating to New York prior to the 60s (as Norway was among the poorest countries in Europe until they found oil in the 1960s). New York has loads of Irish decent, but has loads of Norwegian decent too - I didn't realise until now how much of a connection Norway had with America due to the immigration. They didn't have too much stuff on Vikings, apparently the Cultural History Museum does so will have to check that one out.
BUT! In regards to Vikings, I did get to see more history about it at the Bryggen Museum - I saw some of the different boats that were made, and then they also had lots on the medieval era so I found out more about their lifestyle. They used to eat porridge for breakfast! I thought that was pretty cool, it never occurred to me how long people have been eating porridge for throughout history. While also at the Bryggen Museum they had a massive exhibition on shoes! How weird? In fact it was really interesting because back in the day Bergen used to be a huge producer for shoes, and they had original shoes from the medieval period which were made from leather - I had no idea they had such class back then! They had style too - it showed how the style of the shoes changed from closed shoes to sandals when they were still made out of leather. Unfortunately, Bergen no longer produces shoes for the world market or for themselves really. However there is a designer who is still making old-style boots, but sadly they are made out of seal fur! I definitely couldn't walk around in seal fur boots :( Seals are like dogs of the sea, and I love dogs.
From Bryggen I then got to meet real-life seals at the Bergen Aquarium. The seals and penguins were my favourite part of the aquarium, they are just so entertaining. The seals were really talented, but they were actually Californian seals and trained for the aquarium, but they were still awesome to watch nonetheless. They had some cool stuff in the aquarium though, for example they had a tropical exhibit which had loads of snakes and lizards, they also had a spider exhibit (they were MASSIVE! If I saw them I would actually be so scared, even though I have gotten over my fear of spiders, I think seeing these would bring that fear back), and they had monkeys! I don't know what type of monkeys but they must live near the water because they were put with the turtles. They seemed really freaked out though, they were looking every where with shocked eyes... or maybe that's just how their eyes looked.
That's it so far for now. I still have another two more free days before I start my orientation for university on Thursday, I'm really excited for that to start, I absolutely can't wait to meet more of the international students. I'm not forgetting about the Norwegians though! I've actually signed up for a program called "BergenBuddies" which doesn't start until 26th August I think, and basically they sign you up with a local Norwegian student who has similar interests to you and they are 'forced' to be your friend for 6 weeks and show you around (they actually aren't forced, they are all volunteers who do it, so they must want international friends). I'm looking forward to that too :)
I think I'll do some more tourist stuff tomorrow, like visiting the top of Mount Fløyen and Mount Ulriken, and definitely think if I go past the Torget Fish market again (which we know I probably will), I might treat myself to some of the seafood they have to offer. I haven't tried any of their local fish yet, but I can't wait to taste it! (And I think I need it too because I've been eating quite poorly my first week here, haven't yet organised myself properly in regards to what meals to have for dinner that provide all the right nutrients - I have been lacking in protein at the moment :| ).
Thanks to everyone who has been reading my adventures so far, hope you're enjoying them!
Saturday 3 August 2013
First 2 days of my new, but temporary, life in Bergen
So I've managed to get Internet while I wait until I get my wifi from the university (which won't be until next week), so that explains why there has been a bit of a delay on the blog posts. However I wrote down how I was feeling from my first 2 days here in Bergen, so this is them:
NB: I apologize if they sound whinging or sad, but I was in a down mood for the first 2 days, but I am better today, but I wanted to express the truth anyways.
Day 1 – 1/08/13:
Feeling very despondent and lonely. I have no appetite. I feel lost. I expected to be surrounded by exchange and international students, but so far have not. I still haven’t met anyone in my house. Not had a friendly chat with anyone except the Netcom (mobile service) workers who had to help me so much today.
Things didn’t go smoothly, but that’s going to happen. Arrived at the airport fine and got my bags pretty quickly, then the bus was already there waiting and the bus driver was very helpful to me in regards to telling me which stop to get off and calling it out once we had arrived. I got to the bus station and that’s when things started to become stressful… My bags were heavy and I knew there were lockers but although I had plenty of cash I did not have plenty of coins. So I had to go to the newsagents and get them to change money for me. All good. However my suitcase took up the whole room in the locker, and I still had another 2 smaller bags to get in. So I had to go back to the newsagent and get more money changed to coins. Cost me a total of 120NKR, but I’m not sure how much that is in Australian, so perhaps it wasn’t too expensive, I’ll have to find out.
After that I walked from the bus station (which conveniently is a big shopping centre too) to the student centre to get my house keys. That was a slight challenge at first too, because I didn’t know what direction to go after leaving the bus station. I asked the lady in the florist, and before I asked her my question I asked “Snakker du engelsk?” (Do you speak English?) Because I thought that would be more polite asking. She replied back something in Norwegian and I think she meant she only spoke Norwegian (which is odd considering everyone told me they speak really good English here), she did help me though, but it was little English spoken from me and broken English from her – I think she does know how to speak English but was messing me perhaps -_- She did give me the right directions though, thankfully. And boy! What a trek it was! Thank goodness they suggested putting luggage in the lockers, I would not have been able to handle walking up those hills with many heavy bags! I struggled enough with my one heavy bag, and was sweaty profusely, again annoyed at how deceiving the temperature is here. It wasn’t too bad once I got to the student centre, got my keys sorted then walked back to the bus station to get a SIM card and my bags.
I had trouble with my SIM card, the system was down so they gave me another one instead (which was an old but still valid card) and after I arrived back at my house (I got a taxi, there was no way I was going to walk that with bags, it’s even further than the student centre and I probably would have got lost), I opened up the card and it’s one that doesn’t fit an iPhone 4s :( I wanted to cry, I hadn’t been able to get into contact with anyone to let them know I was actually ok. (Damn Optus why won’t you work overseas! I could have used it for one day!!!) So I didn’t unpack but instead walked back to the student centre (because I couldn’t work out how to find my meter and call the electricity company – it’s still not solved, I called the electricity company and they have no idea about the issue, so have to go back to student centre tomorrow since it was closed by the time I got my phone sorted and could actually call the electricity company). I also had to sort out my phone, so walked back and by this time the system wasn’t down so I could purchase the original one I wanted (they gave it to me for free which was nice because of the stuff up). After a few failed attempts with my phone the SIM eventually began to work – I must of gone in to Netcom (the provider) about 5 times in one day, the people were so helpful and friendly though so that was fortunate.
What’s been getting me really down though – because once I got my phone sorted everything was fine – is the fact that it’s really quiet in the house, I’m not sure if there are people living here or not, I heard music from room, passed a girl in the hallway (although we didn’t get chatting :( ) and have seen boots outside someone’s room, so there MUST be people here. I eventually found the common room though, which made me feel a bit happier, but there was no one in there so I’ll have to keep looking and listening out. I’d really like to get to know the people here though, I’d be devastated if I end up here for 6 months and am bounded to my room once I’m back from uni. Hopefully I won’t be spending too much time in my room though – only for sleeping, showering and studying. A part of me has regretted my decision of choosing this house – which actually was my first preference so I should be thankful – but I feel really out of my depth here. EVERYTHING is in Norwegian, I am literally lost in translation, and while I did learn a little of the language, I definitely cannot understand any of it. It makes me disappointed and annoyed at myself, because everyone told me they speak English really well, and most people will speak English, so I was expecting to see some translations, especially in a student hostel. I mean surely I mustn’t be the only non-Norwegian living here? I am getting worried. Although it will be nice to think I am living with Norwegians, but I think it will be hard trying to break their barrier, unlike exchange and international students who are in the same boat as me so most likely willing to talk. At this point, a part of me wishes I chose Fantoft, which is the main student accommodation, and it’s only full of international and exchange students. But as much as I may have spoken to people there by now (unlike here) it’s still 20 minutes train journey from the city centre and more importantly the uni! So I feel some benefits here because I can walk easily to the centre and the uni is pretty close, AND all the museums are right near me too which I think is pretty neat. Going to check them out tomorrow I think.
So I still feel under-prepared, overwhelmed, lonely and completely lost. Tomorrow is a new day, so hopefully it’ll bring some new joy and make me feel a little more at ease. As for now, I will console myself with watching Girls Season 2 again, because watching movies or TV shows always cheers everyone up, especially me.
NB: I apologize if they sound whinging or sad, but I was in a down mood for the first 2 days, but I am better today, but I wanted to express the truth anyways.
Day 1 – 1/08/13:
Feeling very despondent and lonely. I have no appetite. I feel lost. I expected to be surrounded by exchange and international students, but so far have not. I still haven’t met anyone in my house. Not had a friendly chat with anyone except the Netcom (mobile service) workers who had to help me so much today.
Things didn’t go smoothly, but that’s going to happen. Arrived at the airport fine and got my bags pretty quickly, then the bus was already there waiting and the bus driver was very helpful to me in regards to telling me which stop to get off and calling it out once we had arrived. I got to the bus station and that’s when things started to become stressful… My bags were heavy and I knew there were lockers but although I had plenty of cash I did not have plenty of coins. So I had to go to the newsagents and get them to change money for me. All good. However my suitcase took up the whole room in the locker, and I still had another 2 smaller bags to get in. So I had to go back to the newsagent and get more money changed to coins. Cost me a total of 120NKR, but I’m not sure how much that is in Australian, so perhaps it wasn’t too expensive, I’ll have to find out.
After that I walked from the bus station (which conveniently is a big shopping centre too) to the student centre to get my house keys. That was a slight challenge at first too, because I didn’t know what direction to go after leaving the bus station. I asked the lady in the florist, and before I asked her my question I asked “Snakker du engelsk?” (Do you speak English?) Because I thought that would be more polite asking. She replied back something in Norwegian and I think she meant she only spoke Norwegian (which is odd considering everyone told me they speak really good English here), she did help me though, but it was little English spoken from me and broken English from her – I think she does know how to speak English but was messing me perhaps -_- She did give me the right directions though, thankfully. And boy! What a trek it was! Thank goodness they suggested putting luggage in the lockers, I would not have been able to handle walking up those hills with many heavy bags! I struggled enough with my one heavy bag, and was sweaty profusely, again annoyed at how deceiving the temperature is here. It wasn’t too bad once I got to the student centre, got my keys sorted then walked back to the bus station to get a SIM card and my bags.
I had trouble with my SIM card, the system was down so they gave me another one instead (which was an old but still valid card) and after I arrived back at my house (I got a taxi, there was no way I was going to walk that with bags, it’s even further than the student centre and I probably would have got lost), I opened up the card and it’s one that doesn’t fit an iPhone 4s :( I wanted to cry, I hadn’t been able to get into contact with anyone to let them know I was actually ok. (Damn Optus why won’t you work overseas! I could have used it for one day!!!) So I didn’t unpack but instead walked back to the student centre (because I couldn’t work out how to find my meter and call the electricity company – it’s still not solved, I called the electricity company and they have no idea about the issue, so have to go back to student centre tomorrow since it was closed by the time I got my phone sorted and could actually call the electricity company). I also had to sort out my phone, so walked back and by this time the system wasn’t down so I could purchase the original one I wanted (they gave it to me for free which was nice because of the stuff up). After a few failed attempts with my phone the SIM eventually began to work – I must of gone in to Netcom (the provider) about 5 times in one day, the people were so helpful and friendly though so that was fortunate.
What’s been getting me really down though – because once I got my phone sorted everything was fine – is the fact that it’s really quiet in the house, I’m not sure if there are people living here or not, I heard music from room, passed a girl in the hallway (although we didn’t get chatting :( ) and have seen boots outside someone’s room, so there MUST be people here. I eventually found the common room though, which made me feel a bit happier, but there was no one in there so I’ll have to keep looking and listening out. I’d really like to get to know the people here though, I’d be devastated if I end up here for 6 months and am bounded to my room once I’m back from uni. Hopefully I won’t be spending too much time in my room though – only for sleeping, showering and studying. A part of me has regretted my decision of choosing this house – which actually was my first preference so I should be thankful – but I feel really out of my depth here. EVERYTHING is in Norwegian, I am literally lost in translation, and while I did learn a little of the language, I definitely cannot understand any of it. It makes me disappointed and annoyed at myself, because everyone told me they speak English really well, and most people will speak English, so I was expecting to see some translations, especially in a student hostel. I mean surely I mustn’t be the only non-Norwegian living here? I am getting worried. Although it will be nice to think I am living with Norwegians, but I think it will be hard trying to break their barrier, unlike exchange and international students who are in the same boat as me so most likely willing to talk. At this point, a part of me wishes I chose Fantoft, which is the main student accommodation, and it’s only full of international and exchange students. But as much as I may have spoken to people there by now (unlike here) it’s still 20 minutes train journey from the city centre and more importantly the uni! So I feel some benefits here because I can walk easily to the centre and the uni is pretty close, AND all the museums are right near me too which I think is pretty neat. Going to check them out tomorrow I think.
So I still feel under-prepared, overwhelmed, lonely and completely lost. Tomorrow is a new day, so hopefully it’ll bring some new joy and make me feel a little more at ease. As for now, I will console myself with watching Girls Season 2 again, because watching movies or TV shows always cheers everyone up, especially me.
Day 2
– 2/08/13:
Things are getting better, which I had
hoped. I got up and although the weather was miserable – pouring with rain with
thunder and lightning – I was in a pretty good mood, because I thought it’s a
new day, anything can happen. First of all I went to the student welfare
service that deal with my housing to finally try sort out my electricity. They
had no idea how to help me and suggested I email the electricity company. I
felt pretty defeated after that; I was hoping to get that sorted straight away.
So I walked back home to deal with the electricity company again, I had a
little cry before I called though because I just couldn’t believe everything
seemed to be going wrong, but once I got on the phone to them they were
extremely helpful and they said they would call me back once they had it
sorted. I am finding the Norwegians very friendly and helpful when you are in a
struggle, it is nice, as they actually seem to have your best interests at
heart. I then decided then to take matters in my own hands and write a note for
the notice board at my student house. I wrote a few lines in Norwegian
explaining my name and where I was from and that I spoke little Norwegian, then
wrote in English that I don’t know anyone in Bergen, or in Norway for that
matter and it would be really lovely to meet some of the people who are also
living here, then signed saying I would be in the common room later anyways so
might possibly see some of them then. The rest of my day I went back to SiB and
got my books for uni, whilst I was there I also managed to get on to free wifi
(which is really hard here) so I could finally Skype my family – it was so good
to actually be able to talk face to face (even if via webcam) and hear their
loving voices, it made me feel a lot better and a little less lonely. I also
emailed a young woman who I know mutually from the amazing staff at RTRFM, and
they got me into contact with her since she is from Bergen. I emailed her to
see if she was in Bergen so we could catch up as it would be nice to talk to
someone (she emailed back and we are hopefully catching up next week some time :) ). I did email the people at SiB who had sent me the electricity
forms and asked them about it, and finally and fortunately they had fixed it
and needn’t worry no more. I also visited the Bergen Museum which is really
cool (and I got in for free because I am a student :) ) but I felt sad looking at some of the animals they had displayed
because there were so many that are now extinct, and it just reminded me how
greedy the human race is, killing animals until extinction. I mean sure maybe
back in those days they wouldn’t of thought about the population of animals,
but common sense should have been used.
Feeling elated I walked around the town, not knowing exactly where I was going (I really wanted to find Rema1000 which is the main supermarket, I still haven’t found it, only have Rimi to consolidate my needs at the moment), but it was great walking around with no exact direction as I managed to find – through following the crowds of people – the main city centre where they had heaps of games on, lots of buskers and loads of people enjoying the warm sun that had come out to play. I also soon discovered one of the main places I have been wanting to visit, the Torget fish market! It’s smaller than I expected, but nonetheless it was still amazing and there were loads of different stalls there too: there was the authentic Norwegian knitwear (which I am definitely investing in one), troll dolls and Viking ornaments (another thing I will eventually get too), and there was even moose sausage! I think I will have to try it but I didn’t get any for now. I didn’t see any whale meat either which I expected to see, but I didn’t have a huge look around so I could have missed it, but their seafood is massive! They have huge lobster and crab!!! I walked around a little more and then found Bryggen (town) right there too! The houses were so pretty, just like everyone said, but I had no idea it was right next to Torget, literally on it’s doorstep. Whilst I was there I visited the tourist information centre and got many pamphlets (and a map of Bergen, finally) so this weekend and beginning of next week I’m going to do many tourists activities. The one I’m really looking forward to is “Norway in a Nutshell” which is a day trip that takes you to all the best sights in a day, and more importantly you get to see many of the fjords! I’m hoping to do it Monday but apparently you have to buy your tickets the day before, and from what I hear on Sundays many places are closed, which could possibly mean the tourist office, but I will head down there tomorrow to find out because while I’m there I’m going to do a Bergen sightseeing bus trip to help me get to know more of the city.
So tomorrow I’m planning on going on the CitySightseeing Bergen which has 12 or so stops, depending on how long that goes for I might also visit Mount Ulriken which supposedly is Bergen’s highest viewing point boasting 643metres above the city centre. I am also wanting to go on the Fløibanen Funicular Railway which is very famous in Bergen, it takes you up to Mount Fløyen, but while the views from the top are amazing, the journey up is just as amazing itself – so I have read. But it sounds really cool, it is a like a train which goes up a mountain and takes only 7 minutes to get up the height of 320 metre above sea level.
Anyways, enough of that, back to todays adventures. When I arrived back from wandering around the streets of Bergen, I went to the common room to make myself dinner (because there is an oven and microwave in there, whereas my kitchen only has 2 hot stoves :( ) and also I finally worked out the TV so got to watch a bit of that (not every channel is Norwegian, I enjoyed watching many episodes of The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother). Whilst I was in there, one of the residents came in to drop off a DVD, but after a few introductions we started talking about the house and what we were both studying at the University of Bergen. His name is Ole and he is from Oslo – I told him I found it odd that he would move from Oslo to Bergen, surely it would be the other way around, but he said he wanted to move to be self-sufficient and not depend solely on his family, I’m pretty sure he said he has been living in this house for 3 years. To be honest, while I love my little room, there is no way I could live here for 3 years, I think 6 months is enough for me. It was really good to finally meet someone else who lived here (he had seen my note too), and I soon discovered that most of the residents here are Norwegian (as I had suspected) but when I told him I had thought maybe I should of gone to Fantoft instead, he said that this place is better because he thinks it’s more social and everyone gets on well. I further discovered why no one seemed to be here, he said everyone is still on holidays and won’t be back until next week or the week after when uni starts. So I feel a little relieved.
I met a family staying here too, only briefly though since it was because I set off the alarm for the common room by accident but they explained to me how to fix it and said the same thing happened to them when they first moved in. I think it’s going to be nice here, everyone seems friendly, but it is very Norwegian, so I wonder if I will fit in well with the language barrier. I’m sure I will learn some more and hopefully they can help me, but I highly doubt I will be fluent by the end of this trip, or if I am I think that would be a miracle.
However I will end this with not so much a negative statement, just a sombre one. Norway has not been as easy as everyone had said to me before I left, i.e. past exchange students and in particular a blog I read about a British student who came on exchange to Bergen too. I was told, “Oh you’ll be fine getting around without knowing the national language, basically everyone speaks English anyways” so I thought well maybe they won’t get annoyed like the French or Italian do when you speak English to them, but it’s a lie, while the Norwegians have been extremely friendly and not rude at all, I feel like they must get slightly annoyed that I don’t speak to them in their national language, I don’t want them to just ‘assume’ that I am ignorant of their language, because I’m not I am trying to learn but it’s just taking it’s time with all the other study I am doing and stuff I am sorting out. Furthermore, the blog I read, I thought it was giving me good insight into what it’s like once you’ve first arrived and are getting prepared for uni, but the writer made it sound so peachy keen, and it’s not been peachy fucking keen at all. She didn’t know Norwegian either! When I read her blog, she said how she had arrived got her keys and went to Fantoft and she didn’t have any difficulty with direction nor did she seem to be lost in translation with anyone, and she seemed to know where everything bloody was! She somehow immediately knew where Rema1000 was which I still have yet to come across despite me seeing many bags and following crowds of people to see if it’ll lead me there, and she didn’t have any issues fitting in. She made a friend on day one, her neighbour or something at Fantoft, and everything went along with that with all dream-like ambience. I mean I don’t know if this girl did have problems and just didn’t write about it, but I think it might of helped if she wrote just a little about it, because it made it so misleading for me. I know once I have orientation next week and meet some more international students, and get started at uni, and meet more of my housemates, that everything will start falling into place. But right now it’s been hard without no Internet (I have got a mobile broadband prepaid until I get my uni wifi next week, but it doesn’t appear to be working, so have to get that sorted out tomorrow, like everything else I seem to be having trouble with) and obviously still not really knowing anyone. I’m a girl who likes her independence and space, but I have never felt more alone in my life.
My friends back home used to say I was brave for travelling when I was 18, but I wasn’t really because I had a family and friend base all over the UK and I was with a tour group throughout my travels of Europe, no this journey is really testing my bravery, courage and strength. However, as I keep saying, I know I will get through it if I just push on past the struggle, it will not defeat me.
Feeling elated I walked around the town, not knowing exactly where I was going (I really wanted to find Rema1000 which is the main supermarket, I still haven’t found it, only have Rimi to consolidate my needs at the moment), but it was great walking around with no exact direction as I managed to find – through following the crowds of people – the main city centre where they had heaps of games on, lots of buskers and loads of people enjoying the warm sun that had come out to play. I also soon discovered one of the main places I have been wanting to visit, the Torget fish market! It’s smaller than I expected, but nonetheless it was still amazing and there were loads of different stalls there too: there was the authentic Norwegian knitwear (which I am definitely investing in one), troll dolls and Viking ornaments (another thing I will eventually get too), and there was even moose sausage! I think I will have to try it but I didn’t get any for now. I didn’t see any whale meat either which I expected to see, but I didn’t have a huge look around so I could have missed it, but their seafood is massive! They have huge lobster and crab!!! I walked around a little more and then found Bryggen (town) right there too! The houses were so pretty, just like everyone said, but I had no idea it was right next to Torget, literally on it’s doorstep. Whilst I was there I visited the tourist information centre and got many pamphlets (and a map of Bergen, finally) so this weekend and beginning of next week I’m going to do many tourists activities. The one I’m really looking forward to is “Norway in a Nutshell” which is a day trip that takes you to all the best sights in a day, and more importantly you get to see many of the fjords! I’m hoping to do it Monday but apparently you have to buy your tickets the day before, and from what I hear on Sundays many places are closed, which could possibly mean the tourist office, but I will head down there tomorrow to find out because while I’m there I’m going to do a Bergen sightseeing bus trip to help me get to know more of the city.
So tomorrow I’m planning on going on the CitySightseeing Bergen which has 12 or so stops, depending on how long that goes for I might also visit Mount Ulriken which supposedly is Bergen’s highest viewing point boasting 643metres above the city centre. I am also wanting to go on the Fløibanen Funicular Railway which is very famous in Bergen, it takes you up to Mount Fløyen, but while the views from the top are amazing, the journey up is just as amazing itself – so I have read. But it sounds really cool, it is a like a train which goes up a mountain and takes only 7 minutes to get up the height of 320 metre above sea level.
Anyways, enough of that, back to todays adventures. When I arrived back from wandering around the streets of Bergen, I went to the common room to make myself dinner (because there is an oven and microwave in there, whereas my kitchen only has 2 hot stoves :( ) and also I finally worked out the TV so got to watch a bit of that (not every channel is Norwegian, I enjoyed watching many episodes of The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother). Whilst I was in there, one of the residents came in to drop off a DVD, but after a few introductions we started talking about the house and what we were both studying at the University of Bergen. His name is Ole and he is from Oslo – I told him I found it odd that he would move from Oslo to Bergen, surely it would be the other way around, but he said he wanted to move to be self-sufficient and not depend solely on his family, I’m pretty sure he said he has been living in this house for 3 years. To be honest, while I love my little room, there is no way I could live here for 3 years, I think 6 months is enough for me. It was really good to finally meet someone else who lived here (he had seen my note too), and I soon discovered that most of the residents here are Norwegian (as I had suspected) but when I told him I had thought maybe I should of gone to Fantoft instead, he said that this place is better because he thinks it’s more social and everyone gets on well. I further discovered why no one seemed to be here, he said everyone is still on holidays and won’t be back until next week or the week after when uni starts. So I feel a little relieved.
I met a family staying here too, only briefly though since it was because I set off the alarm for the common room by accident but they explained to me how to fix it and said the same thing happened to them when they first moved in. I think it’s going to be nice here, everyone seems friendly, but it is very Norwegian, so I wonder if I will fit in well with the language barrier. I’m sure I will learn some more and hopefully they can help me, but I highly doubt I will be fluent by the end of this trip, or if I am I think that would be a miracle.
However I will end this with not so much a negative statement, just a sombre one. Norway has not been as easy as everyone had said to me before I left, i.e. past exchange students and in particular a blog I read about a British student who came on exchange to Bergen too. I was told, “Oh you’ll be fine getting around without knowing the national language, basically everyone speaks English anyways” so I thought well maybe they won’t get annoyed like the French or Italian do when you speak English to them, but it’s a lie, while the Norwegians have been extremely friendly and not rude at all, I feel like they must get slightly annoyed that I don’t speak to them in their national language, I don’t want them to just ‘assume’ that I am ignorant of their language, because I’m not I am trying to learn but it’s just taking it’s time with all the other study I am doing and stuff I am sorting out. Furthermore, the blog I read, I thought it was giving me good insight into what it’s like once you’ve first arrived and are getting prepared for uni, but the writer made it sound so peachy keen, and it’s not been peachy fucking keen at all. She didn’t know Norwegian either! When I read her blog, she said how she had arrived got her keys and went to Fantoft and she didn’t have any difficulty with direction nor did she seem to be lost in translation with anyone, and she seemed to know where everything bloody was! She somehow immediately knew where Rema1000 was which I still have yet to come across despite me seeing many bags and following crowds of people to see if it’ll lead me there, and she didn’t have any issues fitting in. She made a friend on day one, her neighbour or something at Fantoft, and everything went along with that with all dream-like ambience. I mean I don’t know if this girl did have problems and just didn’t write about it, but I think it might of helped if she wrote just a little about it, because it made it so misleading for me. I know once I have orientation next week and meet some more international students, and get started at uni, and meet more of my housemates, that everything will start falling into place. But right now it’s been hard without no Internet (I have got a mobile broadband prepaid until I get my uni wifi next week, but it doesn’t appear to be working, so have to get that sorted out tomorrow, like everything else I seem to be having trouble with) and obviously still not really knowing anyone. I’m a girl who likes her independence and space, but I have never felt more alone in my life.
My friends back home used to say I was brave for travelling when I was 18, but I wasn’t really because I had a family and friend base all over the UK and I was with a tour group throughout my travels of Europe, no this journey is really testing my bravery, courage and strength. However, as I keep saying, I know I will get through it if I just push on past the struggle, it will not defeat me.
Thursday 1 August 2013
Voyage to the unknown
For a change, this blog post is going to be short and sweet, mostly because I am tired but also because I don't need to go into great lengths to express this story.
From the moment I knew I was going to be studying in Bergen, I have been endlessly exploring websites and reading many guidebooks about the town, as if not only to gain knowledge about the place but to also make me as prepared as possible for where I was about to be living.
However, I realised that no matter how much we try to prepare ourselves, when we are actually faced with that particular thing (or in my case, place) we have no idea what we are about to endure, and all those pre-determined expectations evaporate into the air.
While I have learnt that it rains most of the time in Bergen (therefore it is a good idea to take an umbrella, as I have read this EVERYWHERE), what sort of rain is it? Is it heavy rain? Or just light showers here and there?
Although these are only minor issues, I still feel a little under prepared and hugely overwhelmed about arriving in Bergen.
I feel, even though I have read LOADS on both Bergen and Norway, I have no idea of what to expect once I get there.
But this makes the upcoming adventure both nerve-racking and exciting...
From the moment I knew I was going to be studying in Bergen, I have been endlessly exploring websites and reading many guidebooks about the town, as if not only to gain knowledge about the place but to also make me as prepared as possible for where I was about to be living.
However, I realised that no matter how much we try to prepare ourselves, when we are actually faced with that particular thing (or in my case, place) we have no idea what we are about to endure, and all those pre-determined expectations evaporate into the air.
While I have learnt that it rains most of the time in Bergen (therefore it is a good idea to take an umbrella, as I have read this EVERYWHERE), what sort of rain is it? Is it heavy rain? Or just light showers here and there?
Although these are only minor issues, I still feel a little under prepared and hugely overwhelmed about arriving in Bergen.
I feel, even though I have read LOADS on both Bergen and Norway, I have no idea of what to expect once I get there.
But this makes the upcoming adventure both nerve-racking and exciting...
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