$1 = 5.64 NOK

On Friday night, I experienced a not-so-gentle touchdown, landing on a dark, icy runway. Exiting the plane, my immediate thought was, “Oh god, what have I gotten myself into!?” On the bus ride from Rygge airport to Oslo, we were crammed in like sardines. However, I took our coincidental placement beside two college musicians from Finland, who even the male members of my travel group admitted were the most beautiful people they’d ever seen, as a good omen. By the time we got to our hostel, we went right to bed, prepared to pack in as much sightseeing as humanly possible, beginning bright and early in the morning.

We woke up and walked through the city to the tourist office to pick up our Oslo Passes, so insure our free transportation and admission to museums all day. We started at the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. There were three buildings of indoor exhibits, of which the most striking was the Bastøy Boys’ Home portion. I saw the film, “King of Devil’s Island”, not too long ago and it fascinated me, so I was thrilled to see more information on the same material. The museum also included an outdoor portion, in which you “walk through history” and see how Oslo has evolved. All of the buildings have been transferred and rebuilt there or are still standing in their original places. For example:

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire museum experience, possibly more than everyone else, because it reminded me so much of Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum, which I hold near and dear to my heart.

Next we went to the Viking Ship Museum, which I was the most excited for. (Lies. I was most excited for The Munch Museum, but that is closed in February). The condition in which these ships and other artifacts are displayed is absolutely breathtaking.

 

After that, we went to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. All of my friends considered this park both exceedingly bizarre and humorous. However, I found it to be absolutely stunning and inspirational. These sculptures all conveyed a powerful sense of movement. To me, every one of them was dancing, and my head filled with vivid choreography based only on these sculptures, no music necessary. I adored this park.

 

Next, we went to see the Royal Palace. We expected the guards to be as rigid as Buckingham palace guards, but they turned out to be fairly laid back. One of them had a child approach him and he smiled and talked to him, and even posed for the boy’s father to take a picture. 

We walked around and saw some other sites, like the Oslo Cathedral and Oslo City Hall, and it became very apparent that there was an event going on in the city, which happened to be a ski jump competition. There were festivities and tents set up around town, and lots of tourists, which made it a great weekend to visit, since we blended right in. I was very excited to pass by a stage and get to watch a Norwegian dance performance.

The next stop was Akershus Castle. I normally hate headset walking tours, but this one was actually great. The castle was fun to see, because it’s still used today for official events.

After that, we walked around the city a bit more and decided it was time to try some traditional Norwegian cuisine. I opted for lobster bisque with an open-face scrambled egg and smoked salmon sandwich. Like any breakfast-for-dinner, it was completely satisfying. 

There are many more sites in Oslo that I would have loved to see: The Museum of Modern Art, The Film Museum, Holmenkollen, The Museum of Architecture, The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, and The Nobel Peace Center. However, I doubt I would have been able to afford staying longer than I did. Oslo is widely considered the most expensive city in the world, and now I absolutely believe that is true. But, I feel like I crammed as much into the time I was there as possible. 

Oslo provides a remarkable juxtaposition of old and new architecture. If you would like to see more photos, click this link: Norway Holiday

What was the best part of this trip? It completely validated my tortuous efforts in Nordic Mythology class last semester.

Dancing and Traveling

Aching muscles, cracking joints, bleeding feet – The intervarsity dance competition is one week away. The weeks leading up to dance competitions are typically filled with extra rehearsals that throw you mentally, physically, and emotionally into a swirling dance mania. Recently I’ve been dancing 3-4 hours daily. Both of the pieces are completely choreographed, which means that we’re into runs (drilling the piece over and over again with constructive criticism until it’s perfect). I’m completely exhausted, but completely happy.

On another note, I have decided to include a travel update. Here is a list of the trips I have booked so far.

Feb 25-27 Oslo, Norway

March 4-6 Brussels, Belgium

March 11-13 London, England

March 17 Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day

March 18-20 Sligo, Ireland for the annual food festival

April 8-10 Berlin, Germany

I have yet to actually book my spring break (April 15-23), because I plan on starting in Paris (visiting Josh woohoo!!!) and ending in Barcelona (with Justin woohoo!!), but I have a gaping hole in the middle of that week that I have yet to remedy.

Rugby, and Whiskey, and Castles, Oh My!

This week, an old friend from high school, Russ, came to visit. He is currently studying in Rotterdam, so it was just a short flight for him to get here. Determined to show him a good time, I made sure the weekend was packed with plans. First, we went to a Munster v Edinburgh rugby match at Thomond Park on Friday night. I had purchased the cheapest tickets, standing room only, which I assumed meant that we would be high up in the stands. On the contrary, we were standing as close to the field as possible.

Munster won the match and everyone went home happy.

On Saturday, we went to Cork and began to explore the city. It wasn’t long before we stumbled upon a small street market, where they had surprisingly fresh and delicious falafel, kebab, and crepes. Later, we walked through The English Market, an impressive indoor market selling any type of food you could think of. The atmosphere was similar to the Pike Place Market in Seattle, but it was much more cramped. Either way, I liked it. I’ve been told that, while Dublin is the capitol of Ireland, Cork is considered the people’s capitol. I can understand why. The city centre is beautiful, but still relatively small and laid back. 

Later, we took a bus to Midleton to visit the Jameson distillery, which has the world’s largest pot still. There was a guided tour that brought us from building to building, covering each step of the whiskey making process. It was actually very informative. I found the visual display of whiskey at different ages particularly intriguing.

 The tour concluded with a tasting to compare Irish, Scotch, and Bourbon whiskey. As touristy as the distillery was, it still made for a fun and interesting afternoon. 

On Sunday, we went into Blarney to visit the Blarney Castle, sight of the famed Blarney Stone. No, I did not kiss the Blarney stone, for multiple reasons, but mostly because I refuse to pay a creepy old man to grab onto my hips while I backbend off a ledge 13 stories high, and kiss a rock that is frequently urinated on by Irish practical jokers. Russ opted out as well, but some of my friends decided to take the plunge.

Not my cup o’ tea. However, I did climb to the top of the castle, on slippery, narrow, stone steps. The view was great and walking through the castle was fun, despite the impending sense of danger. The injury disclaimer signs weren’t very comforting.

The castle is located right next to an elaborate garden and rock close. This area has many legends associated with it, including a witch and a fairy glade. I’m not surprised, because it’s an absolutely breathtaking storybook setting. With all the rock formations and scenery, it’s easy for the imagination to wander.

  When we finally made our way out of the gardens, we were all exhausted and soaking wet (it rained the whole time we were in Blarney). It was time to go home. All in all I think it was a pretty fun weekend, and Russ said he loved Ireland. Mission accomplished.

Valentine's Day

Want to mess with a recently single international student’s head on Valentine’s Day? Try canceling her lecture and dance rehearsal, combined with having all her new friends somehow have plans for the evening.

Want to remedy this situation?

The recipe is simple:

- 1 Starbucks Venti Americano

- 8 episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

- 1 cup of afternoon hot chocolate with friends

- ¼ jar of peanut butter

- 1 Irish dance class

- 1 e-mail from Arin Heinz

- ½ jar of nutella

- 8 conversations via the internet with family and friends

- 3 Beatles albums (combined with a pinch of Iron & Wine)

There. Problem Solved. Heart as good as new.

Killarney

My schedule is finally starting to pick up. This past week I was kept busy with classes, chores, errands, and dance rehearsals. Therefore, I was relieved when I hopped on the bus for my well-deserved weekend in Killarney. Three Pink Floyd albums later, I got off the bus, checked into the hostel, and headed out for a leisurely pub dinner. I ordered fish and chips for the first time since I’ve been in Ireland.

It was good, but it would have been better if I was able to douse it in hot sauce. I’m considering buying a small bottle to carry in my purse.

This morning, at the crack of dawn (literally), I walked to Killarney National Park. It was beautiful, scenic and wonderful (are you getting sick of hearing that yet?). Unfortunately, a lot of the paths were flooded.

Some highlights of the trip were:

Ross castle

 Seeing a pack of red deer, which are supposedly rare

And just the view in general

This relaxing trip ended up giving me quite a work out, but it was worth it.

Super Bowl Success

I ended up watching the Super Bowl at a pub, called Flannery’s, with some friends. Not having a strong affinity towards either team, I chose the Packers and stuck with them the entire night. Success. 

I thought that the halftime show was fabulous. Slash was in it. Need I say more? And, the commercials were great as usual. Although, there is no competition in my mind for the best one:

Whenever people ask me where I’m from over here, I respond “Michigan” and they automatically say, “Oh, Detroit.” This is generally followed by a not-so-creative negative statement about the city. Therefore, it was completely thrilling to have something as simple as a car commercial broadcast in a pub, to throw all of their sassy comments back in their face. Detroit is a great city (just ask my brother).

When it was time to leave Flannery’s, we stopped at a kebab shop that is open 24 hours. The lad in front of us in line stumbled towards us and proclaimed that we HAD to order the chicken doner box meal. How could we not?! This turned out to consist of a box of chips (french fries), topped with spicy shredded chicken and some ranch dressing. Even reading this now, I’m fairly repulsed, and I’m sure eating this box took about a month off my life. But, let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS. 

Quick dance update:

1. I had my first Irish dance class today. I am in love with it already. Shocker.

2. I also had my first Intervarsity team rehearsal today. We worked on a 5 person modern piece about struggling with addiction. I’m cast as a social worker support system. So far I really like the choreography and the other people in the piece. Tomorrow I have rehearsal for the jazz piece I’m cast in, so I get to play around with some choreography and music selection for it tonight. Ready, set, go – I need some inspiration.

Super Bowl Sunday Abroad

It’s been a busy weekend! On Friday, I let my friend Caroline talk me into a long overdue hair coloring. I’ve never dyed my hair out of a box before, and as I approached the register I wondered if €6 could really buy me long-lasting salon quality color like the side panel promised, but I decided to go for it. About an hour, a ruined towel and a glass of wine later, Caroline’s masterpiece, aka my newly dyed locks, was complete.

On Saturday, I trekked out to Western Ireland, in the pouring rain, to be “outdoorsy” (something I normally have absolutely no desire to be). My first stop was at the Cliffs of Moher, which were just as beautiful as every Irish postcard makes them out to be. 

Next stop was The Burren, which is described as a lunar landscape, and now I know why. The field was extremely hard to navigate, the slippery rocks making every step a possible ankle sprain for this newly enthusiastic dancer. Making it all the way to the water was worth it, to see the giant waves that come in and break violently on the cliffs. This is widely considered one of the premier surfing locations in Europe.

Lisdoonvarna was supposed to be a lunch stop, but that plot was foiled when every pub in town was closed except for one, and I didn’t feel like waiting for my food. This town is annually the location of Europe’s largest singles festival, so pretty much everything from pubs to parks was themed accordingly.

Then, I went to the Ailwee Caves, which were pretty disappointing compared to caves I’ve visited in the States. Another disappointment came when I visited Bunratty Castle, only to find out that it has been turned into an evening Viking dining entertainment business (think a Medieval Times). At that point, it was getting dark, and it was time to call it a day.

Now it’s Super Bowl Sunday and I’ll be damned if I’m not watching the game just because I’m in Ireland. After searching online and multiple phone calls, my American friends and I found a pub that will be showing the game. Unfortunately, with the time difference, kickoff is at 11:30 PM. I just hope that this pub has the decency to have nachos on their menu, if only for tonight.

Academia

Although it was difficult to organize, I finally have my academic schedule completed. I am taking five modules:

-Psychological Foundations of Sport and Exercise

-Psychology of Movement Development from Infancy to Adolescence

-Sports Injuries

-Irish Folklore

-Irish Dance and Music (with a practical tutorial in Irish dance)

So far, I have only noticed positive differences between Irish and American university. All of my professors are extremely charismatic and humorous. I have never laughed so much in class in my life. The tutorial leaders (think discussion sections at U of M) would put Pioneer’s Mr. Ashley and JR to shame. The emphasis is on learning and participation. There is no raising your hand in class; instead, the entire room is simply participating in an academic conversation guided by the instructor. Also, all of my final projects are group projects, with groups assigned this week, that I will work with over the course of the semester. The lab for Psychological Foundations of Sport and Exercise is heavily based upon our ability to learn to juggle (really). Today, we spread out in the gym, three tennis balls in hand, and were coached on how to juggle. We will do this every week. Our lab report/major assignment for the end of the semester is to track the emotional, psychological, and physical observations of our own learning experience in this task. We were assured that everyone learns to juggle by the end of the semester. The university’s emphasis on practical education and tangible progress is completely refreshing.

In addition to taking these modules, I’m on the Dance Intervarsity Team and in the International Society. The auditions for the dance team were tonight, and they were absolutely ridiculous/wonderful for me. First of all, the majority of all these fabulous dancers are not super skinny, which means there is no precedent at all for who is lifted. Therefore, I was being lifted, thrown, and flipped all over the place by guys who I prayed had the strength to hold me above their heads. Also, there was a solo improvisation section in the audition, which I was completely unaware of. I just told them to throw on a song that I could perform lyrical to. They did, and I went for it. As uncomfortable as it was, the improv payed off, because they asked if I would want to help work on choreography for a competition piece. The rest of the audition was fairly standard, learning and performing a jazz and hip hop routine. Apparently there is a competition the first week in March, so there will be a very heavy rehearsal load for the next few weeks. Thank god. I couldn’t be happier.
Dance UL Website 

Emergency Induced Homesickness

Heart pounding, mind racing, stomach churning. Immediate response: slump down in my chair and lean my head against the wall. I know this feeling all too well; I’m going to pass out.

A student two rows in front of me is having a seizure. He’s carried into the aisle by his friend sitting next to him, whom he had slumped over onto just seconds before. The professor, thankfully a physiotherapist trained to respond to such situations, runs to his side and starts calling out directions:

“You, lay him on the ground!”

“You, run and get the medic!”

“You, call an ambulance!”

“You two, elevate his legs!”

“You, contact administration!”

In my head, I’m calling to mind numerous first-aid courses. I know that someone needs to be monitoring his pulse and that the surrounding area needs to be cleared of all harmful objects. The professor promptly does both, which makes it slightly easier for me to breathe. In 1-2-3 out 1-2-3. The situation is under control.

Then, he starts seizing more violently and crying out, which prompts the professor to instruct us to evacuate the room. About thirty students drop everything and climb over an obstacle course of rows of desks and chairs to get to the exit. 

We all wait nervously in the lobby, seeing students, faculty, security, and medical help sprint past us, all in a whirlwind. I overhear chatter about the seizing student.

“No, he didn’t have a history of seizures.”

“Yes, he’s on medication, but he’s been taking it for ages.”

After about a half hour, my heart rate has slowed and the class assistant comes into the lobby to announce that “he is fine for now”, but lecture is canceled and we can collect our bags as soon as the medics have taken the student out of the room. 

Emergencies have a strange way of inducing homesickness. When I arrived back at my apartment, all I could think about was how I wanted to climb into my own bed, get hugs from my own housemates, and sit in my favorite table at Rendezvous Café with Hannah for that comforting cup of coffee. I want yam fries from Seva, peanut butter chocolate chip muffins from Afternoon Delight, and to watch Tosh.0 and South Park at Sigma Phi. I want to sit with my boys at 522 Linden and talk about our crazy summer stories, and get sushi with Derek.

I miss Ann Arbor.