I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time, while the weather is still nice and not freezing, at Sognsvann, the same lake I have mentioned before. For example...Tobias, a boy from Germany that we know (for those from TU, this is the hip European Gavin) and Tomas (from the Czech Republic) held the first International Cake Party on a dock at the lake. It was surprisingly successful. Not that I thought it wouldn't be...but I didn't expect to see the dock completely covered with...hmm...AT LEAST thirty international students and tons of cakes and cookies, both homemade and [View Full Entry]

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Here's a picture from our day at Hovedøye. [View Full Entry]

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This is Dan, gonna transcribe Danielle's notes from last week to gradually bring this thing up to date. Sorry that this blog is kind of jarring in its back-and-forth entries but we're living here like it's 2001, i.e. easily available internet access doesn't appear too often. So here comes August 9-11: 09 Aug: IKEA CATASTROPHE We set out on foot from campus in a general direction towards downtown Oslo to get our month passes for public transit (a cushty network of trams, buses, ferries, and subways that extend t [View Full Entry]

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(Danielle speaking) My blessed being of a father is sending a cheap Dell laptop in to support the troops abroad. So we will be saved. Thank God. Will be able to call people, etc. in about a week, I expect. According to Dan's brother, his has an ethernet port somewhere, but it's been impossible to find. Hmm. We'll see. Just for the record, when we have our Skype up and working again (when internet access is achieved), we can be reached at (816) 399-4749. And we will only hear a call coming through when we're online, but don't hesitate to call [View Full Entry]

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Hi just a short introduction to my semester here in Norway I arrived 8 days ago and I am finally getting into the swing of everyday life in Oslo. Other than a patch of bad weather that kept me from getting over my jet lag, I couldn't feel better. It has been amazing to explore the city with a student pass for public transportation. I love being able to take a rail, bus or street car wherever I need to. Even with all of these resources, I am doing more walking now than I ever before. My flat is an uphill [View Full Entry]

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So...I finally received my charger in the mail. Actually it only took 7 days. And my dad packed delicious Scottish shortbread cookies in the box. I was so excited that I'd finally get to use my computer again and talk to people on Skype, etc. But... My old computer has some sort of short in it, and won't charge. At all. Even though the light comes on when I plug it in. So I can't use it. I know it's the computer, as opposed to the charger, because the charger is new and works on other computers. And so...I am in [View Full Entry]

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While the drama of our ongoing computer problems continues to unfold, I thought I'd interrupt with a few observations of Norway and its people that I've found unexpected, confounding, alarming, somehow notable: 1. It rains in Oslo 366 days a year 2. Taxis are for the most part Mercedes, though a few are Volvos, for the cheapskates 3. Norwegian pizza smells distinctly different from American pizza and the smell permeates most buildings 4. Jack Daniels costs about $0.11/mL, coffee about $0.67/oz, and I won't even mention the price of gas 5. Norwegian Salvation Army thrift stores (called F [View Full Entry]

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We made it!!! We left Calgary at 1:30 pm on Thursday and arrived at 8:30am on Friday in Oslo. Air Lufthansa was great! Free Booze & roomy seats!! Very easy to make our way thru Frankfurt airport. It seems that Darlene and I have perfected the "deer in the headlights" look! We make a good team. She stands and spins and I stare wide-eyed @ monitors until some nice young man asks us if we need assistance.....works great!! We took the train from the airport to Oslo Central and then wandered the streets until we found our hotel. My new backpack [View Full Entry]

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OK it's about time for another update. Internet is hard to come by here, so that explains the delay. Internet is not really hard to come by, it's all over the place. And 8 year olds whizz by on razor scooters through residential areas glued to cell phones. But for some reason it's been like hell getting internet in our rooms. However, today was the day I bought the correct cable, so I'll be in business soon...except...that I left my laptop charger in the states. OOPS. Øøøøøps! I mean. But my dad sent it and hopefully it will arrive by the [View Full Entry]

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We are here finally, and increasingly settled after much confusion. Here is where we live: Rolf E Stenersens Allé no. 44 H0202 (Dan) / H0203 (Danielle)' 0858 Oslo Norway I (Danielle) have spoken one sentence of Norwegian to two different people, and they understood me! Both times to tell people yammering away in norsk that we aren't...norsk. I was so proud. One of the people said we looked Norwegian. At least we don't stick out.... Still too nervous to order coffee in a café, but hopefully we'll manage sooner or later. We have both devised what we'll say. Dan: En kopp [View Full Entry]

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