Yo sup playa? If on the off chance Karina is reading this, that was for her. For you my dear Reader I will simply say hei hei! As per usual I hope everything is going great on the other side of the pond and I certainly hope you aren't missing me too much! Ok, that last part was a lie! I really do hope you're missing me! As for this world traveler, I found myself wandering the streets of downtown Oslo this afternoon for approximately an hour and fifteen minutes all in the hopes of finding a building that was right in front of my nose. It's at times like these that Karina and I utter the same two words, 'It's Norway' and hence the title of this entry (det er Norge = it's Norway).
For you see kind Reader, Norway is obviously quite a different country than Canada. They love to ski, eat lots of fish, tax their citizens (A LOT), dig for oil and of course, make life difficult for those who aren't used to their ways. Seriously some of the systems they have set up over here are just mind boggling. And it's these mind boggling moments that warrant the use of the phrase 'it's Norway' because there are simply no other words to describe the outrage and pure incomprehension that runs through ones mind during these times. I'm sure to the residents of Norway these systems make perfect sense but to an outsider who must adapt, these systems can be just too tiresome.
My prime example is paying rent. Unfortunately paying with a credit card is out of the option since you can only use a Norwegian bank approved credit card to pay rent. This is odd since my credit card works EVERY WHERE else in this country. 'It's Norway.' So I paid my rent with cash today, no problem right? Wrong, 'it's Norway' after all! Paying with cash means that there's an extra 40 dollar charge. Well what other option do I have? So I paid the extra charge all the while smiling and remembering that I'm a visitor in this country and though their rules seem odd to me, they are there for a reason. Another prime example is wifi. As a North American, I'm so used to there being wifi everywhere! There is practically NO wifi in this country. No hotspots, no free wifi at coffee shops and especially no wifi in my room. Believe me when I say that there are many other instances where I've been forced to utter 'it's Norway' under my breath but don't fret Reader, I can adapt quite quickly. Besides, if I were to complain out loud I'd be no better than the Americans!
So as I mentioned, I was walking around downtown Oslo today for an hour and fifteen minutes looking for a building which happened to be right in front of me all a long. Yes that was quite the journey especially trudging through the freshly fallen snow. Why was I out hunting for a mysterious building you may ask? I was hunting for the police station which is where you go to do any passport related things ('it's Norway'). If you'll remember, I am currently on a quest to guarantee my Norwegian citizenship. Things were looking quite complicated for a little while there and I was worried things wouldn't work out! Long long long story short, things are looking up. There's nothing stopping me from keeping my citizenship now according to the passport office. I'm all set! The only thing I have to do is write a letter before I turn 22 about why I love Norway... Yes I know, 'it's Norway'. :P
As for the other part of the title (please take a number), I just wanted to mention how much Norge LOVES asking people to take a number. It's certainly a good way to keep people orderly and to keep the lines moving but there was a certain time that I questioned why taking a number was necessary. I went to Residence Services here at Kringsjå Student Village the other day to ask about how to pay rent (a lot of good that did me). I walked into the office and no one else was waiting in line. There were four people at the front desk. I went up to one of them and she said, 'Did you take a number?'. I was slightly caught off guard, of course I hadn't taken a number, I was the only one there. But she insisted that I had to take a number and so I did. It is Norway after all.
Anyways Reader, nothing else really to report. I had a moment of homesickness last night as I tried to force myself to fall asleep before 2:00am. I've been a real night owl over here (even more than usual) and I had a 9:00am class today. I started wondering if it was even worth getting my Norwegian citizenship and I started missing everyone back home. Then today after talking to the passport office, I made my way back home through the streets of downtown Oslo and via the TBane (metro) and I realized what an amazing country this really is. As much as I give it grief, Norge is a part of me and I'm so happy to be here to finally experience it for myself. My whole life I've wondered what I would think of this Nordic land and today for the first time since I got here, I really did feel at home. I'm sorry for sounding so cheesy at the end of a long post Reader, but hey we can't all be robots like a certain Jess and Karina... :)
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