Tromsø invades!

Daniel is a very dear friend of mine, a native of Tromsø and someone I've pestered online on a semi-regular basis for three or four years now, and he and I decided when I first decided to apply to Uni. Oslo that, if I got in, he would come visit me. And he did! This picture was taken while he, Tim and I explored Outland, a (unapologetically nerdy) shop in Oslo S.

Something else rather interesting happened while we were downtown:

There was a protest outside Oslo S., which explained the high concentration of police and T-bane proctors checking train tickets as we exited the station. According to Daniel, the majority of the protesters are Muslim immigrants, who are speaking out against some fairly inflammatory and racist stuff plastered on the Oslo police website--depicting Muslims as pigs, that kind of thing. The rally itself was pretty small and peaceful, but it underscored a lot of religious tension I've noticed since my second day here in Oslo. Augustine, the Cameroonian man who first helped me get settled when I arrived here, was very outspoken against Islam, as were most of the members of his church. But this issue just appeared briefly and faded away yesterday, though I think it is something I will write more about later when I've had time to organize my thoughts on the matter more clearly.

We also split a bottle of rum between the three of us in order to do a bit of pre-drinking before heading off to Uglebo and Baldoria:

Daniel, enjoying his rum and coke. Because seriously, who wouldn't?

Befriending Mike at Uglebo! Who, once again, proves he cannot take a serious picture, no matter what. Thanks, Mike.

Goofy Tim is goofy. (And also shrouded mostly in darkness.)

We went to Baldoria as well, but the alcohol was pointlessly expensive and, despite the large number of people who RSVP'd, empty. So we stuck around for a beer a piece, then came back home in order to share a few more shots between us and some tea before calling it a night.

Today has been much more leisurely; Daniel went to a martial arts academy near Majorstuen and apparently got to wrestle with a world class grappler who resides here in Oslo. Since it was so incredibly beautiful outside today, I decided not to stay indoors while he was gone. Tim and I decided to walk around Sognsvann, which took about an hour and a half, and I took some pictures:

Tim, squinting into the sun while trying to appear gangsta.

Sognsvann~

Thawing snow. Spring is still quite a way's off, but every now and then you can see signs that the coldest days of winter are behind us.

Tomorrow morning, I'll help Daniel get back to Oslo S. so that he can bus to the airport in order to fly back to Tromsø, and then in the evening I'm off to see Avatar with Tim, Richard, Elif, Mike, and some other folks I've yet to meet.

I think it would be inappropriate for me to end this blog update without including some acknowledgement of what happened back at UAH on Friday, because UAH is such a big part of my life even though I am so far away from it right now. There was a shooting on campus, and most of today has been spent thinking about it, even as I tried to enjoy my walk around Sognsvann. At this point, all I can do is offer my support and affection to all of my friends back home, who know that I am here for them and love them. We Huntsvillians stick together.