April Showers Bring May Flowers

May 30, 2015 / sedouble / Leave a comment

Although the saying is “April showers bring May flowers,” in Trondheim the saying would be more accurate if it was “continuous April downpours bring a vague sense of spring and greenery in May.” It is true that spring has technically arrived in Norway. The ice has been gone since about early March, and nowadays I’m even able to see the occasional cluster of wildflowers. But, be that as it may, winter has yet to fully relinquish its icy grip in Trondheim. The weather was dreary for pretty much the whole month of April, and we were getting so much rain that I felt like, unbeknownst to me, I had moved to Bergen, Norway’s rainiest city and the rainiest city in Europe.

Thankfully, things have definitely improved a bit this month. While we still get more rain than I would like, we have also been blessed with some gloriously sunny days. That being said, it has yet to really heat up. Right now a warm day would be a day that hits 14°C (57.2°F). In fact, the weather has been so cold the last few months that it wasn’t atypical to see a few snow flurries or to get actual snow in late April. However, my co-workers have told me that this May has been unusually cold. And while most people seem to think the weather is getting a bit warmer, as proven by the fact that yesterday my co-teachers and I spent some time admiring the newly shirtless construction workers who are working on a new wing for the school, I still gaze at the temperatures for my hometown in Los Angeles and sigh longingly.

While the temperatures have yet to pick up, the daylight certainly has. Today’s sunrise and sunset times are 3:28 am and 11:02 pm. The result? It never gets fully dark in Trondheim. The closest we get to complete darkness is a sort of hazy blue period between sunset and sunrise. While the sunshine is certainly energizing, it does tend to throw off everyone’s sleep schedules and their schedules in general. It’s difficult to convince yourself to go to bed when the sun is still up, and it’s also hard not to panic when you wake up since the daylight seems to indicate that you’ve slept until about noon.

The resurgence of daylight also means that I’ve stopped getting coupons for free vitamin D pills in my inbox. The handy Norwegian version of Groupon, Let’s Deal, was always sending out coupons for free vitamin D tablets in the middle of winter, something that I generally found depressing instead of helpful. Likewise, the number of spray tans seems to be going down. There are a large number of tanning studios in most Norwegian cities (something that I had stopped noticing until visiting friends pointed them out to me), and while a large number of these studios offer tanning services, I’m also told that they offer light box therapy, or time with specially lamps that help people combat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

While I certainly welcome the return of the sun, I am also looking forward to some nicer weather. Here’s to hoping that June brings some warmer days.

Oslo Wrap Up

May 30, 2015May 30, 2015 / sedouble / 1 Comment

I adore Oslo. It’s one of my favorite European cities and one that I’ve never gotten tired of.

DO NOT TAKE A TAXI. Taxis in Oslo charge a minimum 200 NOK (24.80 USD) fare. You should absolutely take advantage of the public transportation system, especially since it works pretty well. The apps to use are RuterBillett (to buy tickets) and RuterReise/Google Maps (to plan out a trip and navigate the system). Note: you don’t actually have to validate your transportation tickets (and you can freely walk through the barriers in the subway system), but they do randomly check to make sure that you have tickets. The fines are very steep if you’re caught without a ticket (~150 USD) so just keep that in mind if you decide not to buy one.
In order to get to the city from the airport you’ll either take the flytoget (airport train) or the flybussen (airport bus). The train is much faster, but depending on where you’re staying the bus might drop you off closer to your accommodations.
The city’s main street is Karl Johans Gate and quite a few major sites are near it as is a ton of shopping.
The Oslo Opera House is quite possibly my favorite site in Oslo. It’s a stunning piece of architecture and you’re free to walk in it, on it, and around it. The view from the roof also isn’t half bad. I would highly recommend either doing a tour of the opera house or going to see a performance there. The opera is required to sell 100 tickets at 100 NOK (~16 USD) for every performance so it’s pretty easy to get affordable tickets and good seats.
Absolutely go to Vigeland Park (which is in Frogner Park). The park is a ways away from the city center so I would recommend taking the tram or subway, but the sculptures are great and it’s nice to just walk around.
Definitely pay a stop to Bygdøy peninsula. Depending on the time of year, you can reach it by either bus or by ferry. If the ferry is running I would recommend taking it, even if it’s just to get a view of the city from the water. Here’s what you can see there:
- Viking Ship Museum – It has three different viking ship relics + a few other Viking things. It’s kinda cool to go and see but there isn’t actually much to do at the museum
- Folkemusem – Great if you want an overview of Norwegian history and culture. It also has 24 acres of land with 160 different kinds of historic buildings. If you’re dying to see a stave church and won’t make it out of the city then definitely stop by.
- Fram Museum – Unfortunately I haven’t spent enough time here. What I did see what great, especially if you’re interested in Arctic exploration and/or ships (plus all of the other major ship museums are literally next door).
The Nobel Peace Center – Does a pretty good job of talking about the Nobel Peace Prize and the latest winners. I would recommend going if you want to learn more about the prize.
Nasjonalmuseet (The National Museum) – A pretty good museum and the location of Munch’s famous The Scream. It’s small though so it’s pretty manageable to do in about an hour or two.
City Hall – If you can manage to go to the room where they give out the Nobel Peace Prize you should since it’s stunning. I’m pretty sure that they organize tours.
Ekeberg Park – Go if you want a good view of the city (but if it’s a cloudy or foggy day maybe give it a pass). It’s an interesting place since it also has a ton of famous artwork scattered throughout the park (Rodin, Salvador Dali, etc.). Walking down from the park to the city will also give you the same backdrop that is painted in The Scream.
Holmenkollen – Go if you want to see the famous ski jump, walk around the forest, and get a good view of the city. I’ve heard that the museum is also pretty good and has a ski jump simulator.
Vigeland Museum/Mausoleum – There are actually two Vigeland sculptors, and this is a “museum” done by the less famous brother. It’s a bit outside of the city center, but if you have the time to check it out it’s pretty neat.
If you want to see some nice graffiti/street art go check out the area around Mathallen (food hall).
If you are there in winter, you absolutely have to check out Korktrekkeren, a large sledding area that will take you about 15 minutes to go down. It’s fantastic. For the best sledding go early on a weekday.

One Last Trip to Oslo

May 29, 2015 / sedouble / 1 Comment

Now that the sun has (sorta) returned to Norway, I’ve been lucky enough to have a few visitors! Thanks to great discounts on Norwegian Air, one of my friends from university, Alyssa, and her friend Kani decided to make a spontaneous weekend trip to Oslo. Because I’ve already blogged about some of these Oslo sights, I thought I’d keep this trip a bit on the simpler side and opted for a list format with this post.

Oslo Opera House

I absolutely adore the Oslo Opera House. It’s definitely one of my favorite places in Norway, and a part of that has to do with how affordable it is (even by non-Norwegian standards). Alyssa and I were lucky enough to get last minute tickets to the opening night of La traviata, one of Verdi’s operas. La traviata is based on a novel and play by Alexandre Dumas, La Dame aux camélias, which is based on Dumas’s life and affair with Marie Duplessis, a famous Parisian courtesan. Sadly for the two lovers, Marie dies from consumption at the young age of 23. If this story sounds familiar that’s unsurprising. The story has been retold in countless art pieces and movies, one famous example is the 2001 movie Moulin Rouge!. Unfortunately, we actually turned up a few minutes late due to a slow restaurant, but, lucky for us, we were still allowed to enter the opera once there was an opportune break in the singing.

Although the set was surprisingly bare, overall the opera and the singing was great. I especially enjoyed the singing done by the lead, the soprano Aurelia Florian.

Mathallen Area

Following one Susan’s suggestions, I took a stroll by Oslos’ Mathallen, or literally translated, food hall. I only popped my head into the hall for a minute, but it had quite a nice selection of produce, fish, and the like. My main reason for walking around this area was to check out the local graffiti. To my delight, most of it was actually quite good, and there were a number of nice looking bars next to the nearby river, something that I wouldn’t mind checking out in the future.

The Fram Museum

Because I didn’t really have a chance to walk around the Fram Museum when I visited in winter, I was determined to give it another shot on this trip. Alyssa, Kani, and I still didn’t have time to get through everything before the museum closed, but I learned a bit more than I did last time.

The Fram Museum is notable for housing the Polarship Fram, a boat was used by Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen on their North Pole expedition and Amundsen’s South Pole expedition (it is the boat that helped Amundsen be the first person to reach the South Pole). One of the big reasons why the Fram was revolutionary was that the ship was deliberately allowed to freeze in the Arctic Ocean. No ship had ever survived the ice pressure before, so Nansen’s desire to knowingly subject the ship to the ice was considered nothing short of insane. Lucky for Nansen and his crew, the ship’s special design allowed it to withstand the ice pressure. There were several design choices that allowed this to happen, but the one that is talked about most often is the rounded hull and smooth sides, which were built to mimic a round nut. The idea was for the ice to push the ship up onto the ice (similar to squeezing a nut between your fingers and having it slide along your fingers instead of being crushed) which would prevent the ice from crushing the ship.

Nansen also happened to be a very careful planner and prepared to spend 3-5 years on board the ship. Because of this, not only did the ship have plenty of food, it also had plenty to keep the crew occupied. There was a library of 600 books, paintings, card games, and even an organ on board. Overall the crew did quite well, remaining both healthy and well entertained.

The crew and its ship was only gone for three years, and upon its return Nansen was greeted as a national hero. Afterwards, Nansen was primarily known for his political career, becoming an ambassador to Great Britain in 1906 and later working in the League of Nations.

Sadly we weren’t able to finish exploring the entire museum, but again it’s something that I would pay another visit to. It was a really well laid out museum, and at times hilariously blunt and/or politically correct (our favorite translated sentence was “The friendliness and generosity of the Inuit was repaid by the white men’s goodwill and respect.”).

Vigeland Park

Another one of my Oslo favorites is Vigeland Park. No visit would be complete without it, so I was happy to take Alyssa and Kani there. We were blessed with a gorgeously sunny day, so sunny in fact that we actually ran into a zumba dance class that was going on in the park.

Vigeland Mausoleum

The three of us also went to the Vigeland Mausoleum thanks to a recommendation from Susan. While Gustav Vigeland is the mastermind behind Vigeland Park, Vigeland Mausoleum is actually done by his brother, Emanuel Vigeland. The mausoleum requires taking the subway to Slemdal, but it’s well worth the trip. The mausoleum is tucked away in a nice residential area, which also happens to have a nice view of Oslo.

The Vigeland Mausoleum is also known as the Vigeland Museum, and it was originally supposed to house Vigeland’s future sculptures and paintings. Vigeland later ended up changing his mind, and now the mausoleum is a huge dark room covered in frescoes. Many of the frescoes have a religious undertone, and more information on them can be found on the museum’s website. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside the mausoleum, but Google Images can still give you a good idea of what the interior looks like.

The museum itself resembles a church, not only in its construction, but also in its silence. We were strictly told not to talk before entering, and we soon found out why. One visitor accidentally knocked into one of the museum’s chairs and echo was unbelievable. It’s definitely not your classic museum, especially considering that Vigeland’s cremated remains are stationed above the door, but I would definitely recommend a visit if you have the time.

Graduversary

May 28, 2015May 28, 2015 / sedouble / Leave a comment

Today is my graduversary, or millennial speak for my graduation anniversary. Exactly one year ago today, I woke up to the traditional sound of bagpipes.* Exactly one year ago today, I proudly marched with my roommates and many of my good friends into Harvard Yard. Exactly one year ago today, I was surrounded by the sound of cheers, words of encouragement, and a glorious cacophony of sound–the product of many sleep deprived graduates, multiple bagpipers, and a jazz band. Exactly one year ago today, I was finally able to walk across a stage and proudly hold my bachelor’s diploma–something that I had worked hard to achieve for four years. It’s all so hard to believe.

Even now it’s still hard for me to process. I’ve commenced. I’ve begun a new journey. I’ve survived as a “real” person for a year. I haven’t even burned down my kitchen! And while I have enjoyed embracing the future, I’d like to take a moment, on this arbitrary yet special day, to reminisce a bit about the past.

The funny thing about my commencement was that nothing turned out the way I expected it to. It rained profusely in the days leading up to commencement. In fact, it was so cold that I had to open a few of my bulging suitcases to dig out some of my winter clothing. I even got a sinus infection, and, to top it all off, later found out that I was allergic to the antibiotics that I had been given.

And yet there were many ways in which my graduation was perfect. I had a wonderful time with my family–the people who supported me and made it possible for me to even dream of going to Harvard. I was able to show them part of my world, the world that they had helped given me access to, to show them the places and people that I had discovered, the people and things that I loved. At the same time, I was able to draw my friends close. To celebrate with them. To remember the last four years, and to feel like I was and am a part of an incredible community. And while I felt a bit sad at the time, to be leaving behind so many great people and things, I found it helpful to remember that it was a beginning. That commencement at its core means to start something new.

And start something new I have! I embarked on a new chapter of life in a totally new country. I’ve learned a lot about myself and gained a morsel or two of insight as to what I want in my future, but, most importantly, I’ve been able to keep in touch with most of my closest friends. So although I still feel a pang of envy for this year’s graduating class, I’m proud to say that I’m very happy with the new chapter that I’ve written since commencement. Congratulations to the class of 2015, and may you all be as happy with your new beginnings as I am with mine.

*Why this is a Harvard commencement tradition is still a mystery to me.

Stavanger Area Wrap Up

May 25, 2015June 12, 2015 / sedouble / Leave a comment

Although I didn’t spend a large amount of time in Stavanger itself, I really loved what I saw and also really enjoyed the nearby area. Here are my tips:

If you want to look around the nearby area (which you should) I would highly recommend getting a car and driving around. I would particularly recommend driving the two nearby national tourist routes, Ryfylke and Jæren.
Ryfylke
1. Definitely make a trip to Pulpit Rock, though be aware that it’ll be a hike to get there and that it’s mountainous. Go early in the morning to avoid crowds and check with the local tourist office to make sure that it’s open. The other famous rock formation in this area is Kjerag, which Abby and I didn’t make it to since it was still buried in snow even at the end of May.
2. Pay a quick stop to Sandsfossen and Høsebrua to admire the waterfall and walk over the bridge.
3. Definitely stop by Svandalsfossen waterfall. It’s incredible. Be sure to bring a waterproof jacket though.
Jæren
1. If you have the time, continue past Ogna towards Egersund, since the surrounding scenery is gorgeous.
2. Check out the quaint church at Varhaug old cemetery.
Stavanger is pretty small and easy to walk around so I would recommend doing that. It’s vibrant colors and street art also set it apart from most Norwegian towns.
Check out the Norwegian Petroleum Museum to learn more about Norway’s relationship with oil. Also stop by the next door playground and see how they’re repurposed old shipping parts.

Stavanger

May 25, 2015June 12, 2015 / sedouble / 2 Comments

Our last day in Stavanger was a bit of an odd one. In Norway, May is the month of public holidays, which meant that Abby and I had Monday off for Pentecost, but then again so did everyone else. Most things were closed due to the holiday, which meant that we were able to start the day off at a leisurely pace. The first item on our agenda: breakfast.

Now, one of the things Heather asked us to do with her hotel points was to enjoy a hearty breakfast. Abby and I were pretty confident that we were up to the challenge. Norwegian hotel breakfast is by far some of the best I’ve ever had in terms of options. So, taking some inspiration from Heather’s husband Jason, an avid fan of Norwegian breakfast, we did battle with the buffet table and managed to go away stuffed after a few courses. For another perspective on Norwegian breakfast, check out a blog post that Jason did on breakfast amongst other things.

After loading our things into the car, Abby and I wandered back into town and checked out the local market before moseying over to the Norwegian Petroleum Museum. Now whenever I mentioned that I was going to Stavanger to Norwegians, the general reaction was something along the lines of “Ugh, oil.” Stavanger is the home of Statoil, Norway’s largest energy company, and is also the headquarters of many other energy companies. So while my Norwegian compatriots weren’t thrilled that I was going to Stavanger, I was excited to go Stavanger, and I was particularly excited to go to this museum to learn a bit more about Norway’s relationship with oil.

The museum itself is pretty well designed and very family friendly. Much of the museum is dedicated to the history of oil and gas in Norway, how it is monitored and regulated, and of course what life is like on board oil rigs. I’m not entirely sure when all of the information was published in the museum (so some of the stats might be a bit outdated) but here’s some of what I learned.

Although Norway is well known for its oil wealth, as of 2009, the Norwegian continental shelf only contains .6% of the world’s found oil reserves and 1.6% of its gas reserves. While plenty of other countries have more oil and gas (Norway is 18th for oil and 12th for gas), in 2011 it was still the world’s seventh largest exporter of oil (exporting over 1.5 million barrels of oil per day) and in 2010 was the second largest exporter of gas (100 billion sm³ of gas per year).

There are 10 “oil commandments” that govern Norwegian oil policy. These commandments, or the Norwegian model, essentially focus on establishing the oil and gas industry in such a way as to benefit the whole country. Since Norway began recovering oil and gas in 1971:

They have recovered more than 7,000 billion NOK worth of oil and gas
More than 200,000 people are employed due to the industry (though that number has definitely taken a hit since the recent drop in oil prices)
The current oil fund is worth more than 2,000 billion NOK or approximately 500,000 NOK (64,444 USD) per Norwegian

While prosperity has certainly come to Norway, studies on the country’s happiness levels show that the huge increase in wealth in recent decades has had a small impact on overall happiness. In other words, money isn’t everything.

One oil related government objective that Abby and I found interesting was the idea that “every house should be occupied in every corner of the country.” Basically, people shouldn’t feel obligated to move to the city in search of jobs. Oil revenues have been used to help ensure that wealth is extended to every corner of the country, and although this is an expensive policy, Norwegians are quite happy to help ensure that smaller communities thrive. To give you a better idea of how spread out and sparsely populated Norway is:

In January 2010 Norway had a population density of 16 people per square kilometer (the second lowest in Europe)
Norway has 430 local authorities, 43 of which don’t encompass an urban area, 130 with a population of less than 2,500, and 25 with a population of less than 1,000
Less than 100 settlements in Norway have a population of more than 5,000 people

Abby and I also had fun looking at some of the model oil rigs and climbing into some of the diving equipment. Personally I found the diving rigs to be a bit too claustrophobic, which wasn’t helped when I learned that in order to work at depths of more than 50 m (164 ft) divers have to go through a 12 hour saturation process for their bodies to adjust to the pressure. In Norway, divers are only allowed to work for 14 days at those depths, and afterwards it takes about 3-6 days before the body recovers and returns to normal pressure. This sounded wholly unappealing to me. Clearly oil extraction is not my calling.

Once we finished up at the museum, we took a drive out to Stavanger’s Swords in Rock monument, or Sverd i fjell, before heading over to the airport. It was there that we realized that we were on the same flight. My supposedly direct flight back to Trondheim was really a flight to Trondheim with a pitstop in Bergen. Turns out the flight to Bergen is so short (25 minutes) that it hardly makes a difference to stop in Bergen and drop off and pick up new passengers, than it does to just fly to Trondheim directly.

Winding Roads, Flat Lands, and Dreary Skies

May 24, 2015June 11, 2015 / sedouble / 1 Comment

The next day we decided to tackle the second national tourist route, Jæren. While Ryfylke had directed us North, with Jæren we were headed South into Norway’s agricultural area. Now I’m used to seeing soaring mountains and towering peaks in Norway, so it was pretty strange to drive through the Norwegian heartland and not see a single mountain (granted it was raining so poor visibility might have had something to do with that). The sheep that we had seen on our Northern drive were replaced with fields, and, in one case, small trees that marked the beginning of a Christmas tree farm. Both Abby and I suspect that planting and harvesting happen later in Norway than in other countries, since it didn’t look like there was anything even beginning to sprout.

Not only does Jæren pass through one of the flatest parts of the country, it also passes by some of Norway’s most dangerous coast. The area is highly treacherous for ships, so while there are a number of beaches along the coast, there are also quite a few lighthouses. Although Abby and I did try and visit one of the lighthouses, it, as well as most of the sights along Jæren, was closed. Additionally, the weather was simply too miserable and rainy to really warrant getting out of the car and going for a quick adventure.

But we still managed to have a good time. We even managed to see one of the sights, Hitler’s teeth, largely from the warmth of our car. The “teeth” are cement blocks that were made during World War II to prevent the Allied forces from making landfall (see the second row of pictures).

Another stop at MingarWalker Glassblowing studio was actually a huge success. Abby was able to buy a wedding gift, and the local glassblower was incredibly helpful. We had originally planned to stop our drive at Ogna, the end of the tourist road; however, the glassblower advised us to continue past Ogna and on towards Tengs and Egersund. This ended up being great advice. The terrain slowly started to change and became more rocky and hilly, and of course was beautiful. To top things off, we even passed one old place that was modeled after an old American saloon.

Our last notable stop was at Varhaug old cemetery. Our glassblower had told us that it was worth a stop since it has an incredibly quaint church on the premises. To give you a better idea of how small it is, it’s about 15 m² (161 ft²) and fits only 14 chairs. Lucky for us, we were the only visitors, so it wasn’t too cramped when we went. We even got to have some fun ringing the church bells.

After that we slowly made our way back to Stavanger. Thanks to the generosity of Heather, one of the Roving Scholars, we were able to use some of her accumulated hotel points to stay the night in Stavanger.

Once we arrived, our first task was to find the parking garage. We got directions from the hotel and then parked the car in what is by far one of the strangest car parks I’ve ever been to. The parking lot was solidly underground, and it also came with handy things like sinks. We speculated that it used to be a bunker, and sure enough after inquiring at the front desk we had our suspicions confirmed. Compared to most European countries, Norway doesn’t have many visible reminders of World War II, so it’s always a bit shocking to stumble upon something that shows the impact that it had on the country.

The weather continued to be a bit dreary, and because it was a Sunday most things were closed when we walked around town. That being said, we still really enjoyed looking around. Compared to most Norwegian towns, Stavanger is filled with vibrant colors and quirky parks. Abby and I had a lot of fun playing in a playground next to the Norwegian Petroleum Museum. The park is made out of repurposed shipping tools, so we had fun bouncing along on buoys and crawling along old shipping pipes. One of the things we also enjoyed seeing was a memorial “DEDICATED TO THE MEN AND WOMEN OF NORWEGIAN BLOOD WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE BUILDING OF AMERICA.” Stavanger even has a Norwegian Emigration Center that has an exhibit on Norwegian emigration to the United States.

After that, we gratefully returned to our hotel and put our feet up. We felt like we were living the life of luxury by being in a hotel and having access to a TV. Neither Abby nor I has a TV in our student housing, so we had a lot of fun channel surfing and trying to decipher some of the Norwegian ads between our combined (and limited) Norwegian vocabularies. If you’d like to try it out, I’ve included the link to the one commercial that we did manage to figure out.

What we deduced is that this is an advertisement for Jarlsberg, one of the two big cheese brands in Norway (the other being Gulost). Things come to a head when the guy asks for Jarlsberg and is told that Gulost is fine since cheese is cheese. For the rest of the advertisement, the woman essentially says that “x is x” (even though it’s clearly not the case) and that her significant other should be satisfied. So for example, she says “hjem er hjem” or “home is home” when he’s being admitted to a mental institution. Basically the point of the advertisement is that cheese is not in fact cheese and that only Jarlsberg is Jarlsberg. Screw Gulost! Basically Abby and I spent a significant amount of mental energy deducing a Norwegian commercial for a cheese that neither of us particularly likes, but hey we felt somewhat accomplished by the end of it.

Ryfylke, Pulpit Rock, and More

May 23, 2015June 10, 2015 / sedouble / 1 Comment

Norway is a beautiful country. No matter where I go, I’m always amazed by the scenery. But, there are of course some things that are more beautiful than others. That is why the Norwegian government, in its infinite wisdom, created national tourist routes in Norway. Now you may remember me mentioning them when I was documenting my trip through the Lofoten Islands, but in case you forgot, they are supposed to be the most beautiful roads in Norway. They are also specially designed for tourists. They have many strategic turn outs to allow you to stop your car and take pictures, and many of the roads have notable landmarks and works of art scattered along the route. Now Stavanger happens to have two such roads, which is a large part of the reason why Abby and I decided to rent a car.

Today we decided to dedicate ourselves to driving Ryfylke, the more well known of the two roads. Now we weren’t able to find a good map of the road online, or at least not one that didn’t look vaguely like a cartoon, but after combing through the Internet and the Apple App Store, I was finally able to find a more useful app. So, if you happen to be driving Ryfylke and want to know where all of its landmarks are, I would recommend downloading Ryfylke MultiGuide.

Our first destination of the day was Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock. Pulpit Rock is probably Norway’s most famous natural landmark, and thus has a lot of facilities catering to the large number of tourists who go there. Because Preikestolen can get crowded, Abby and I decided to go early in the morning (it turns out teaching 8 am classes is useful in helping you get up early). Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t really on our side for most of the drive over, BUT just as we were debating coming back later in the day, the skies slowly started to clear and we decided to go ahead and hike the trail.

Now unlike the United States, where you can usually just park your car next to your chosen major landmark, Norway makes you work for your pictures. So after Abby and I parked the car, we loaded up our hiking backpacks and started out on the 3 km (1.8 mi) trail. The terrain was hilly, but overall it was very well marked (maybe even too well marked–just about every rock along the way had a red T painted on it) and very well maintained. Although we were slowed down by crowds and my constant picture taking, we eventually made it to Preikestolen without too much of a hassle. It was well worth the trip. It was also terrifying.

Now I happen to have a fear of heights. It’s not debilitating by any means, but I would say that my fear is greater than that of your average person. So while I was thrilled to finally make it to Preikestolen, I was also absolutely terrified of its sheer rock faces. If you fell off of Preikestolen, I have no doubt that you would die. But, I figured that this was also a great time to try and conquer my fear. Trial by fire. That didn’t really happen. I was definitely less scared of the edge by the end of our trip, but I think it’s safe to say that my fear isn’t going away any time soon. That being said, I still did venture to sit on the edge. I owe Abby a debt of gratitude for putting up with my nervousness and shouted expletives.

After a quick hike back down to the car, we hit the road again. Before too long we were in Solbakk and searching for our second landmark, a set of prehistoric carvings. Unfortunately they were a bit difficult to find. We also ran into trouble when we misread a parking sign, thinking that it was telling us that parking was straight ahead, as opposed to right underneath the sign. But we managed to figure things out eventually.

The carvings were found in 1923 and date back to around 500 B.C. The petroglyphs depict two different types of ships and sun figures–telling us that Bronze Age people had sailing technology and that they possibly worshipped a sun god. After stopping for a few quick pictures, Abby and I hopped back in the car and continued driving. Our next stop was Svandalsfossen waterfall, but because it was located towards the end of the road, we simply spent the next few hours chatting and admiring the passing scenery.

But before we could get to Svandalsfossen, we actually stopped by another sight first. Intrigued by a large plastic salmon figure next to a road sign, we decided to aggravate our GPS system and change course. We ended up stopping by Sandsfossen and Høsebrua bridge. Sandsfossen is a waterfall along one of Norway’s most well known salmon rivers, Suldalslågen. There is a salmon studio at the falls, but unfortunately it wasn’t open yet for the season. Apparently the salmon are particularly large here and a 10 kg (22 lb) salmon is not unusual, with some fishermen catching some that weigh around 20 kg (44 lb). The local record is a 21.5 kg (47 lb) salmon.

After stopping to admire the waterfall, we stopped by Høsebrua bridge, a short bridge built in 2013 that spans the river.

From there we kept driving until we entered the small town of Sand. One of my co-teachers later informed me that this town is near the mountain that she famously fell off of (the story does have a happy ending since she ended up marrying the medical intern who was looking after her). It was also here where we were utterly confused by the ferry. Because we didn’t see a clear way to board the ferry, we simply parked our car in front of the ferry barrier and waited for the ferry to arrive. After much failed hand waving on the part of the captain, we were finally told that we couldn’t park in front of the barrier since we were cutting the line. Only after the captain came down to talk to us, did we realize that about a block away the road divides into a separate ferry lane. So Abby and I, as well as another tourist car, backtracked and got in line behind about five other cars. Luckily, our other ferry goers seemed more bemused by our confusion than annoyed at our inadvertent attempt to cut the line.

Once we crossed the fjord to Ropeid, we continued to our last stop, Svandalsfossen fall. Svandalsfossen has to be one of the biggest and most powerful waterfalls that I’ve ever seen. The waterfall is next to the road, and due to the heavy rains we’d been having, the spray was so strong that driving past it was similar to driving through a car wash–and we weren’t even passing the largest part of the waterfall! Luckily the surrounding area is designed for tourists, so it was easy to park the car, walk around, and climb up a series of stairs in order to explore the waterfall. The waterfall has a 180 meter (590 foot) fall, and the waterfall used to power a sawmill. Nowadays, the waterfall is unregulated, but it’s still quite a force of nature. The first few pictures of the waterfall were taken at shutter speeds of 1/8,000 and 1/5,000 of a second, yet you can still see that the water moves too quickly for the camera to fully stop the action.

Abby and I got as close as we dared, and while that wasn’t particularly close, we still ended our visit looking like we had just gone for a swim. Thankfully some genius invented both car heaters and heated seats, so we weren’t cold for too long. From there we took a longer route to head back to Sandnes via Stavanger. All in all we ended up driving in a loop, and although we were exhausted by the time we got back some time around midnight, it was definitely one of the best days that I’ve had here in Norway.

One Last Norwegian Adventure

May 22, 2015June 2, 2015 / sedouble / Leave a comment

I have been incredibly lucky to have traveled up and down Norway (see the Map page for more details), and even luckier to have a great set of Fulbright friends who have been willing to host me and show me around. So it was with a touch of sadness that I boarded a plane for my last Norwegian adventure this year. The destination? Stavanger.

Now there aren’t any Fulbrighters based in Stavanger, but Fulbright was still very much a part of my trip. My travel buddy for this trip was none other than Abby, the Bergen ETA, and one of the fabulous Roving Scholars, Heather, even gifted us some of her Thon Hotel points so that we could spend a night in one of the local hotels.

Both Heather and Lud couldn’t speak highly enough of Stavanger, so Abby and I were pretty excited to start our adventure. The two of us met at the airport and then went to go pick up our rental car. Because we would have a car for the duration of our trip, Abby and I had decided to stay at an AirBnb located in a small town just outside of Stavanger called Sandnes.* Although the town was tiny, it quickly put our driving knowledge to the test. Neither Abby nor I have driven a car in over a year, and we both happen to be from cities that don’t have roundabouts. Sandnes, on the other hand, has a roundabout just about every other block. Luckily we didn’t run into too many cars whenever we were crossing the roundabouts, so our roundabout etiquette was never truly tested.

Because we arrived late on a Friday afternoon, not too much was open. That being said, we walked around the street or two that Sandnes had to offer before stopping by the local supermarket.

Now one random Norwegian tradition that we decided to take advantage of was Taco Friday. Why and how Taco Friday became a thing is a mystery to me, but all it really means is that the “Mexican” food brands are discounted on Friday, thus causing many people to eat tacos on Friday. Because Abby and I would have access to a kitchen for the majority of our trip, and because we had a car that could transport all of our groceries, we had fun stocking up on road trip snacks and on the appropriate ingredients for breakfast, tacos, and quesadillas. Unfortunately, our AirBnb host had just moved into his apartment, meaning that there was an odd assortment of IKEA kitchenware and no dining room table. While this certainly made cooking and eating its own special adventure, we eventually were able to rustle up some tacos before eating them picnic style on the floor. Once we finished eating and had debated the difference between salsa and taco sauce (we didn’t think there was a significant one), we fiddled with the one heater in the apartment before calling it a night.

*The dorky knitter inside of me wondered if this was the origin of Sandnes Garn, the yarn that I’ve been using for my knitting projects. Unfortunately I was never able to resolve this question, although I’m inclined to think that it is.

The N-Word

May 21, 2015May 30, 2015 / sedouble / 2 Comments

If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that students will always surprise you.

A few weeks ago I was spending most of my time conducting oral exams for my russ students. Because oral exams are easier to double team, my co-teacher Maria and I had a nice system set up where I would lead the students in discussions, while Maria took notes on their performance. My task was simple: students had to choose cards from a stack and then discuss whatever prompt was written on the back of the card. My job was to keep the discussion going and to try and make sure the students were showcasing what they’d learned during the course of the year (this was harder for some hungover russ students than others). While some of the students gave pretty standard answers to the discussion prompts, some really went above and beyond. The prompt that generated the most original thinking? This one:

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the word “nigger” is used repeatedly. What connotation (meaning, association) does it have in the novel?

Today, has the meaning of “nigger” changed? How do you feel about the n-word? Is this a word you use? When do you use it?

Should blacks be able to use the word nigger in ways forbidden to others? Why or why not?

Now I’ve struggled a bit with the n-word and other derogatory words, such as faggot, this year. For many non-Americans, these words don’t necessarily seem problematic. However, when they are used around me, I find it hard not to flinch.

For those of you who are less familiar with the n-word, or “nigger,” I thought I’d give you a short history of the word. The word comes from the Latin word “niger,” meaning black. It acquired its notoriety in the 17th century beginning with the Atlantic Slave Trade. Since then, it has generally been used in America as a demeaning word; one that is laced with hatred. It has been used in a number of ways and has appeared in many different forms, some more controversial than others. It’s common for American high school students to struggle through Mark Twain’s famous 1884 novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and to skirt, stutter, and attempt to avoid the novel’s many references to Jim, a saintly and kind slave, as a “nigger.” More recently, the rapper Nas tried to name his 2008 album “Nigger” but changed the title to “Untitled” due to pressure from leaders in the African American community. The National Football League (NFL) even tried to ban the word in 2014.

While my students were all correctly able to explain the n-word’s dark past, they struggled a bit more with the question of whether the meaning has changed and who should be allowed to use the word. Many of them talked about the word “nigga,” a derivative of the n-word that is usually interpreted to mean something like “bro” or “dude.” Most of my students argued that the usage of either “nigga” or “nigger” by African Americans was a way of taking ownership of the word, or limiting the power of the word to hurt, something that linguists call semantic inversion (other examples of this would include the gay community’s usage of words like “queer” and “dyke”). If you want a more thorough overview of either word I’d recommend this article on The Washington Post.

Where my students tended to differ was on who could use either version of the n-word. For some context was key, while for others the context didn’t matter. For some race also played a role, while for others it was irrelevant. To this day, the answer is far from clear in the US, and it is one that is argued about both inside and outside of the African American community. But I have to say that I was impressed with how critically my students were thinking about the word–something that is not always the case, as I’ve found out from living in international student housing.

And while discussing the history of the n-word and its usage was enjoyable, the part of the exam prompt that I enjoyed the most was having my students examine the use of the n-word in To Kill a Mockingbird (the rest of this is full of spoilers and will probably make more sense if you’ve read the book). All of my students were able to correctly tell me that the word is almost universally hurled as an insult by the book’s white population. The word comes up repeatedly and is even discussed within the context of the book. Atticus, the father of the protagonist, is the first person to tell the heroine, Scout, not to use the word, and makes it clear that it’s a “trashy” insult. From then on both Scout and her older brother Jem begin to take issue with the word, specifically when it comes to their father being critiqued for defending a “nigger” and being a “nigger-lover.”

What really made me proud however was when a few students were able to go a bit more in-depth and examine how the word is used by the African Americans in the book.* The only times that it is directly used is when Jem and Scout are brought to the local black church and during Tom Robinson’s trial. Both times the word is used to draw a distinction between the town’s black population and the town’s white population, and it is only used in a self deprecating way. It’s most powerful usage is probably when Tom Robinson explains why he ran away from a white woman trying to kiss him: “if you was a nigger like me, you’d be scared, too.” It’s the color of Tom Robinson’s skin that makes these advances troubling for the town’s population, what makes it impossible for the town’s jury to fully believe Robinson’s story, and ultimately what leads to his death. Robinson’s conscious decision to use a racial slur in his explanation perfectly captures how he is put in a life threatening situation purely based on the color of his skin. Having my students come to that conclusion on their own, and to even have one say “I never thought of it that way” was one of my teaching highlights for the year.

The n-word and other slurs have been something that has repeatedly popped up in my year here. I’ve heard many people use these words without thinking anything of it, and I’m sad to say that part of this definitely comes from the mass consumption of American media. They hear these words in American music and on American TV shows, and oftentimes it seems as though few stop to think about the history behind these words, the power of these words to wound, or to even care about these things. In fact, I’ve even had people argue that because they aren’t American or because English is their second language, that their usage of derogatory words is different and allowable, simply because it is placed outside of an American or native English speaking context. It’s something that I disagree with and something that I’ve struggled to explain this year. And although this topic generally has had me feeling a bit melancholy, I was incredibly proud of my students for taking the time to think critically about at least the n-word. I definitely left my class with a smile on my face.

*It also just made me happy since it showed that they had actually read the book.

Wayward Travels

To Norway and Beyond

May