Det ordner seg alltid til slutt.

Everything always turns out okay in the end. Tomorrow I leave Oslo and end my three-year affair with Norway. Right now it seems like everything went by so fast, but I guess it always feels like that towards the end of a journey.
Elise is gone. Daniela is gone. Dáwid is gone. Marek is gone. And nothing is left to remind us that they have ever lived here. The hallway becomes bigger without people to fill its spaces. And tomorrow, it will be my turn to leave, again.

This tiny Nordic country has been the setting for many wonderful memories, but my dreams and aspirations are leading me somewhere else now, and I don’t see myself returning to Norway for the foreseeable future. Not to live, at least.

I’ve loved Norway, and I’ve hated Norway. But either way, I can say that I’ve definitely lived here. And although I’m no viking, jeg er blitt litt norsk. And…I think I have finally found the closure that I was needing to close this chapter.

Currently it’s 1:00 AM. I’m sleepy but I don’t want to sleep. Because when I wake up, it will be the last time I say “Good morning” to Johnny, Korneel, Nataša, Marta, and Dominika.

Today I returned all of Mamma and Pappa’s things to Jan-Erik, including everyone’s Christmas presents. We took a coffee and had a good everything-under-the-sun conversation: our studies, my boyfriend, family, training. Afterwards I did something that I never did before: I took a tram without a destination in mind with the intention of seeing parts of Oslo that I’ve never seen before. I found myself half an hour later at Björn Borg in Majorstua waiting for Tautvydas to join me and buying the most expensive underwear that I’ve ever bought. In the evening, Nataša made some potato pancakes and we kosed ourselves in the kitchen chatting away. It was a meaningful last day.

Despite having flown to Switzerland seven times (soon eight) within four months, I don’t regret making the decision to come here now. I’ve met some great people—intelligent, funny, open-minded, mature. (Surprisingly, there was no drama in our hallway.) I got to experience student life at a “big,” legitimate university and found out that it didn’t suit me. I did end up getting to know Oslo: cafés, nightlife, shopping. And I’ve got half of my grades back, and they ain’t bad, which is a huge relief.

So yeah, this is the end…and everything turned out okay.

På gjensyn, Norge. Kommer til å savne alle de kjekke guttene.

Sognsvann

Gamle vaner dør langsomt/Old habits die hard! Today I woke up at 11:45 AM. I was doing so good last week, and now I’m slipping back into my old schedule. Gotta fix that.

But the day didn’t go to waste! Korneel and I took a walk around…or rather—across—Sognsvann. Not only has it completely frozen over since the last time I been there, it was covered by a couple good inches of snowfall. It was a beautiful sight…

Lately I’ve been making an effort to keep myself updated on more than just celebrity gossip. I’ve been reading some news and even some cables and wow—what a world we live in! Hopefully this will slowly turn into a habit and perhaps one day I can even partake in some political water-cooler banter without echoing what somebody else has already said.

I’ve also been stimulating my superficial senses and spent some time browsing through GQ online. They have some really nice ideas and articles that I have to keep in mind for the near future. For example, sorting that mess of papers on your desk by due date, or what kind of hat to invest in.

Also, I’ve finally gotten around to writing a to-do list, so I won’t be wondering what I have to do when I wake up in the morning anymore. I guess I’ll have to make at least one more trip downtown to buy some cards—I guess I can’t forget the people in America. And Mom’s gift is finally ready to be picked up! Christmas season is taxing, but rewarding.

It’s the Final Countdown!

A week and a day before I leave Norway and return to Switzerland…

Why is it that it’s always the first and the last few days of an experience that leaves the deepest impression? Everything in the middle seems to pass like a blur…save a couple of still moments.

What I remember most vividly about AFS Norway were those magical days in Torpo before we all met our host families, and the days around Sankt Hans right before my departure derfra.

The same with Franklin College Switzerland: I remember the invitation dinner, the trip to Valle Verzasca, getting settled in with Kyle and Ryan, and climbing through the Girasole building window into Acacia, Quinn, and Kayla’s room. And then I remember one day it was raining, and everyone was outside, getting wet. And I proposed taking a shower together to Pauli, who enthusiastically responded “Let’s do it!” (And that’s how we became best friends.) That was the beginning.

And I remember the end: the summer days when I would hurry downtown to the floating lido with Andrea and Leah right after class, hoping to catch some sun before it set.

I feel like people enter and leave my life in phases, and right now I’m living in the phase of Kringsjå people. But next week I leave them and enter the René phase, and in a month I’ll return to the Pauli, Emma, Franklin phase.

Anyway, that was a longer tangent than I had intended on going on.

Today, Elise, Bé and I went downtown to the Rådhus (city hall) to do some Christmas shopping. They cleared up a big section next to the city hall and turned it into a Christmas market. (It was actually in the exact same place as Oslo Gay Pride Week in 2009, when I went with Xenia and Yuri.) I had some authentic Dutch waffles, reindeer soup, and bratwurst with elk and deer. (The reindeer soup was my favorite, at a costly 35 NOK a cup.)
There was also a large tent which sold a lot of Sámi things: hats, shoes, mittens, etc. We had fun trying them on!

I finally found an appropriate gift for Joakim and kjæreste Ingrid. I hope they’ll like it. I also bought some soap for meself. (I have somewhat of a soap fixation…I don’t know where I got it from but discovering Lush managed to exacerbate it like “whoa.”) However, there’s still a couple more things to do/buy before I can cross off everyone on my Christmas gift list.

These couple of days have been relaxing. Now that everything is done except one last exam, I’ve been taking it rolig and striving to keep a balance between being lazy and being productive.

Featured Picture courtesy of Elise W.—Top: Me, Tilo (DEU), Dáwid (POL), Johnny (DEU); Bottom: Suzi (DEU), Daniela (DEU), Dominika (POL), Marta (POL), Elise (USA), Nataša (SVK); Not pictured: Korneel (BEL), Bé (BEL), Marek (SVK), Grace (CHN)

Tilbake til Oslo

Well, today was my first full day back in Oslo, and despite some setbacks with the metro (all sorts of problems they’re having—broken machines, Flexus card problems, time schedules…must be the snow), it’s been a great day.

I arrived at Kringsjå last night to Nataša and Marta planning to bake a cake for Elise, whose birthday is today. After realizing that we added ten times as much water to the batter as we were supposed to, and that our icing was over one year past its expiration date, we managed to successfully complete our mission! To top it off, Johnny lighted candles in the form of a trail from Elise’s door to the kitchen table. It was a very koselig evening.

Woke up at 10 AM this morning, which was a bit later than I had planned. Getting up in Norway is so hard. I don’t know why. After not having done much in Oslo this whole semester, I was “helt bestemt” to not waste any more time in my room—so I looked up some popular tourist destinations on VisitOslo.com. (Despite the name, it’s also suitable for people that live here on a more permanent basis, like me!) I had a great time looking around and shopping at Jelmoli in Switzerland, so I made up my mind to visit Majorstua because it’s a popular destination, plus I had to pay a visit to the bank.

I ended up spending the entire day walking along one side of Bogstadveien: there are so many irresistible places to shop! One thing is fore sure, I’m going to miss the Scandinavian fashion when I leave. It took me a while to get used to it, but now that I am—I really love it. It’s very androgynous, but that’s what makes it cool. It on the same wavelength as the whole “guys that aren’t afraid to wear pink” thing from a few years back.

Tomorrow, however, I have to settle down and plugga for my French exam. Besides shopping in Switzerland, I haven’t uttered a word of French, and knowing me—I guess I am overconfident. I think my French skills are rustier than I would like to admit.

I’m Baller

It’s the only explanation for how I managed to get up today after going to bed at 4 AM. (That, and my flatmate Korneel woke me up as agreed upon at 2 AM.)

I did everything that I intended to do today: I went out and bought my Consumer Behavior book, which costed over $100 by the way…murderous! I requested an English version of one of my exams to be translated from Norwegian, but that’s still ongoing since neither my professor nor the exam office is taking up the responsibility of translating the exam. And, I came home to this creep:

My semester here in Oslo would’ve been so much more gloomier if it weren’t for these two.

Now it’s 10:42 and I’m pretty tired, which I guess shouldn’t be a surprise. I think I might pull a Veronica tonight: turn in early, wake up at 5 AM, do homework. I’m a changin’ man!