The struggles of living alone

Hello everyone! 

I hope you all haven't missed reading of my adventures here too badly! 

I have spent the last few days doing relatively nothing haha. What I have done, has been a struggle. It all started on Monday. I decided I would be a big boy and go find a store to buy some hiking shoes. So, I went to google maps, looked up the store I wanted and head out. Little did I know that I am horrible with directions...actually I already knew that. Anyway, I arrived at my destination, Majorstuen, and got off the Metro. I had been to this store earlier in the week, but really, I was just following a group not paying attention. When I got off the train I did the only logical thing I could do. I decided I would head down a random street and ask someone where I was. Great idea, right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I spent, oh I don't know, one hour looking for a store that was supposedly "down the street on the right hand side". Yeah, either that was a lie or I'm blind. (I'm probably just blind)

After about an hour of walking, I decided to give up and search another day. Now, if you know me well, you'd know that my troubles didn't end here. Today, I went to my first class! And guess what? I got lost. I spent another HOUR looking for a building about a quarter of a mile away from the rest of campus. Lame! I was only about 5 minutes late for class. Yes, I was smart enough to leave early so I could find my class. No, I was NOT smart enough to find it the day before. So, tomorrow I will try to find both my class room and the shoe store all over again. Don't hold you breath. 

Aslo, I had a hot dog the other day. It was amazing. I miss you, American food. I miss you a lot. 

That's all I got. Hope you have a better day than I did!

Brent 

Just my luck

Hello again,

I'd like to start this blog by saying that today was a pretty good day despite the title above. Last night I went to my first night club and so I slept in pretty late. It felt good to sleep like I would in America haha. After I woke up, I made omelets for my roommates. They were pretty darn good if I do say so myself. We have been cooking almost all of our meals from scratch and they have been great. I remember a fellow coach of mine telling me that they had a lot of dried cereal when they studied abroad and I was so afraid I would be eating the same! haha

So, now that I have told all of you the ever so interesting subject of what I eat here, I will move on. After eating "breakfast" I went to the gym with some friends. It will be great to be sore tomorrow hahaha. And so, after all of this, I have finally reached the subject which is the blog title. When I got home from the gym I decided that I was going to cut my hair. As I started my hair clippers, I noticed it was very loud. But, of course, I kept going. Then, it died. It just stopped shaving. Right in the middle of the whole process. Just. my. luck. All in all, it ended up okay because my roommate Sarah was able to continue the cutting process with a scissors. It looks pretty darn good thanks to her!

Well, there isn't much else to say. My classes start tomorrow and I will continue to write in my blog for those interested.

Good bye for now!

Brent

Oh the money you spend...

Hello all,

I first have to announce that I actually live with a Dutch girl, NOT A FINN...the caps was for you Sarah.

Anyway, I hope you have not missed me too much haha! I am having a blast here! But, at the same time, I am ready to SLOW DOWN. The biggest problem with Norway is how expensive it is! I have spent around $500 since I left America. Now, to my mom and dad, please don't freak out! I've bought towels, a pillow, blankets, food, outlet converters(mine didn't work) and some other common college necessities. In all reality I haven't quite spent that much because I have around $150 in cash on me soooo it's not too bad.

My classes are starting this week and I am pretty excited! I am taking three courses, allowing myself more time to travel as I continue my adventure here is Norway. Talk about a tough semester huh? I have to travel all over Europe, meet so many new people, enjoy something most people dream of AND I have to take three classes. It's a hard knock life for this American. For real though, I am having so much fun! I could never have done this without the wholehearted support of my parents! So, here's a shout-out to the greatest parents ever! Love you Mom and Dad! Also, I owe a lot to my Cousin Ina, my Grandparents on both sides, my sister and her boyfriend Andrew for there gifts, and everyone who has supported me! I couldn't be here without you all. But, back to the true subject of my blog: me! (Just kidding...Sort of)

I have seen a lot in the last two days! Yesterday, I went to the Akerhus castle in Oslo. It was AWESOME!! My history senses were tingling like crazy! It was probably one of the coolest places I've ever been. I want to go back and take an audio tour so I can learn more about the castle. As for today, we went hiking. It was a pretty easy hike, but the view was beautiful! Then, we went swimming in a very, very cold lake.

So, now you know all about my life. Until I write again,

Good bye!

Hatt det bra!

Brent

Hello again,

It has been an exciting first few days in Norway! I have grown somewhat used to the set up of the metro system and I am learning more every day. Site seeing is almost a constant occurrence for me here in Oslo. I went to see a museum on a small island just off the coast of the fjord. On the island, there was a choice of 4 different museums. I went to see the cultural museum. Inside, you were able to look into the traditional past of Norwegian life. The Museum was an open air museum with Norwegian houses, animals, gardens and more. The highlight of the whole trip was.....traditional Norwegian lefse!!!! It was different, but good.

As classes approach, students, including myself, have been busy attending meetings, locating classrooms and more. I will soon know if I received a seat in my classes and if I did I can then buy my books.

I am truly having a great time here! I am trying to conserve my money however I can haha. Things are not as expensive as I expected. A package of sliced cheese is somewhere between 3-4 U.S. dollars, so it isn't too bad. I think the part that scares people is the exchange difference. For example, the same cheese is listed 27 Nok. which seems like a ridiculous price to Americans and most Europeans. Most students are used to a price of 2-5 dollars and Euros for the same product, so, it can be confusing. I will upload some more pictures to Facebook today. If you want to contact me, feel free!

Miss you all,

Brent

First few days

Hello all! 

This is the moment you have all been waiting for! My first entry is finally here, so put your seat belts on and get ready for an adventure. 

My first few days here have been a true adventure. I spent about 14-18 hours on a plane or in an airport on August 8th-9th. Once I arrived in Oslo I waited for a rather...poorly conducted pickup service. They did enough to show me how to get a train. They did little to tell me how to get to my student village. I ended up at the wrong place (typical me) and then had to ride back to another village. After walking up about 6 hills too many I finally ended up at my flat....on the 7th floor...with no elevator:( Minnesota and North Dakota have not prepared me for the hills here! 

After arriving to my flat I met my 5 fellow flat mates: Claudia, Marius, Nina, Sarah and Viola. Three of them are German, one is from the Checz republic and one is Finnish. Later that night we went to an Ikea store, Norway's walmart, and bought some household essentials. My friends laughed at me because I was so tired from the long day and I was sleeping on the bus home haha.

The next day we went on a tour of the city and bought some groceries from the market in downtown Oslo. Then, we invited some fellow students over to hang out. After that we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for a dance party. It was fun but VERY expensive. I wont do that much! Today I will hopefully figure out if I can get a cheap phone plan to make emergency calls while in Norway. After that I may tour the city some more. 

I will make another entry tomorrow. Miss you all! 

Brent