...Oslo is cold.
That's the view outside my bedroom window here at Kringsjå studentby. Straight up that path will take you to the Kringsjå T-bane stop, which is how I find my way into the city itself every day. My housing area is actually on the outskirts of the city, second to the end of the line, and the very last stop puts you in the middle of some very beautiful wilderness, or so I've been told. Once spring time rolls around, I plan to whip out my camera and go exploring, but the cold temperatures limit what I'm able to do during the day, and once the sun goes down, well... Let's just say -12F is not a comfortable temperature to endure while waiting on the train to arrive.
Leaving England was very hard, of course, since I'd spent so much time trying to just get down to Leatherhead, only to turn around and leave it again. But Uncle Peter got me to the airport in good time, I had no trouble getting through security, and much to my delight once I was in the proper area, I found this:
Pret-A-Manger was my absolute favorite little shop to eat at while I was studying in Cambridge in 2005, and when I saw it in Heathrow Airport I was so relieved. So I snagged my very last meal in the UK, which consisted of my favorite of the Pret drinks and a very nice chicken club sandwich. I maintain that I've yet to eat a sandwich anywhere else in the world that tastes quite that good.
The British Airways flight to Oslo was ridiculously easy and smooth, and I happily emailed the airline once I had internet in my room here in Kringsjå in order to thank them for such impeccable customer service. Seeing the Scandinavian peninsula from the air as we began our descent was pretty magical, I'll have to admit; we'd just been flying over all these dense, snowy clouds, and I was absently examining them when my eyes caught on something much different. I remember thinking, "Wow, there it is," but even then it didn't sink in that I was actually going to Norway until the plane touched down on the runway. The airport itself was very easy to navigate, immigration wasn't a problem--but much to my dismay, while struggling with my bags to catch the Flytoget (the express train from the airport) to Oslo itself, I dropped my favorite plaid hat on the platform! ): So somewhere, someone hopefully found that hat and is giving it a good home. Honestly, I'm gutted to lose it, but I've at least got the blue toque that my dad bought for me in Huntsville. It keeps my ears from freezing off, at least, though I may need to get a better one soon.
Despite being met by the ESN student group at Oslo S. (that's the central train station in Oslo), I... actually didn't have much assistance from anyone as I struggled to settle in for two days. Up until yesterday, my dorm room had all the common amenities of a modern day prison cell, my roommate was laconic and a little unpleasant, and I couldn't actually get the heat to turn on. I felt awful and home sick and generally frustrated on all accounts, but in retrospect I think I can attribute most of that to the bitter cold and the darkness. The sun doesn't come up here properly until around 9 or 10am, and it goes down very quickly at about 3:30-4:00pm, which leaves me marooned in darkness and unbearable cold for most of the day. However, unpleasant as that is, it does just require some adjusting (and giving myself permission to get rid of the necessary tears, because holding them in doesn't help)--and the past two days have actually been much better than my initial arrival, because I've started making friends.
In my hall I am, apparently, the only girl! At first I thought that the housing people had stuck me in a male dormitory, but there are girls living elsewhere in the building, possibly with my same situation--that they're rooming with a guy. This isn't really an issue, since I have in fact lived with men before, but I was sort of hoping I'd be able to meet this guy and introduce myself. Didn't happen until last night; his name is David, and he's from Cameroon, which seems to be par for the course with most of the boys on my floor. (I shouldn't say 'boys'; all the men from Cameroon are older, and appear to be studying at the same theological college).
The one who really befriended me was Augustine, who helped me struggle with my internet connection problems for hours and hours my first night here, then graciously invited me to his church the next day. Getting to the church itself was quite an ordeal, because the theological college is on the other side of the greater city; I'm not sure it qualifies as a part of Oslo at all. I saw a good bit of the surrounding suburbs though, which mostly consisted of people shoveling snow off of their cars and driveways, and some kids jumping into massive snow drifts; very cute. The church service itself wasn't exactly my cup of tea, possibly because I really have become a stuffy, boring Anglican in recent months, but I really enjoyed spending time with Augustine's church community. They invited me to sit down to dinner with them in the reception area, where I got to eat food from both Cameroon and Nigeria. It had very rich, strong flavors, mostly maize and ground yams with spices I'm not sure how to describe, but I really enjoyed it.
So that was my Sunday adventure. Yesterday, I took the T-bane into town, to Blindern campus, in order to track down my Oslo information packet at the international student reception area. I got that sorted out well enough and now have both a registration card and a student ID card (both of which I can use to purchase monthly travel cards for the T-bane, bus, tram, and even the ferry)--but what really made my day was finally meeting up with one of the other USAC kids I befriended over Facebook, Josh, and a new friend named Vincent who's studying here from Dublin, Ireland. It was really rather good luck that Vincent and I bumped into each other, because not only was he also staying at Kringsjå studentby, but he is in fact in my building! Granted, he's on the 6th floor, but all the same, we ended up spending the evening trying to gather supplies together; we bought some necessities at the Kiwi grocery store (that's what it's called, kid you not), and then, after the obligatory cup of tea in his kitchen, took the T-bane into Oslo to track down the Oslo City mall. I got my space heater at last, and we both managed to get decent pillows and duvets since the university doesn't provide us with much of anything, as I said.
Anyway, in about two hours we'll be meeting up to take the T-bane to Blindern campus again in order to attend student orientation. Hopefully my next post will come in short order so that it isn't so text-heavy and instead has more pictures!
Hadet bra~
