I slept pretty much the whole day Sunday (the day I arrived in Oslo). From about 2:00pm until 10:00am this morning I slept without a blanket or a pillow. I will say I was quite innovative in using my jacket for a blanket and several sweaters for a pillow. I was SO nervous waking up this morning, knowing that I had SO much to do when I got out of bed. I hadn’t eaten for nearly 24 hours so finding food was a must. I also hadn’t had access to the internet in nearly 24 hours, something I’d have to remedy immediately. I'm SO sorry to my family who were freaking out because I hadn't contacted them! I feel awful, but don't fret because I'm ok and everything's fine!
After getting ready in a bathroom with no power outlets (probably due to the fact that the shower has no shower curtain and water gets everywhere), I got dressed and went out to the kitchen. There were two of my floor mates and they both seemed really nice. Both were from England (so they spoke English thank God). Actually the girl gave me a free comforter and pillow, which her Australian roommate had left behind last semester. That took one thing off my list and she told me that if I ever needed anything she’d be more than willing to help out. I really like these two floormates! In fact tonight we all around watching South Park (believe it or not it's a VERY popular show in the UK)! We talked about Canada and the States and we both laughed at our different accents!
It was snowing all morning yesterday and it was very beautiful. Probably no colder than minus 5 (a temperature which had many bundled up in scarves, hats, mittens and winter jackets as me in my light button up jacket from Ricki’s), I walked to the local grocery store called Kiwi. It’s nice since this ‘Kiwi’ place is right in the student village. It wasn’t more than a five-minute walk. Actually SHORTER distance than the walk from Fac to Bonnie Doon Safeway! Food isn’t as expensive as I was anticipating but it’s still much more money than back home. I didn’t buy much, just enough to get me by for a couple days. In fact, Karina told me before hand that Norwegians tend to only buy food for a couple days (max). They prefer to buy their food fresh. That seems like the biggest waste of time EVER in my opinion since us North Americans are used to buying all our food in bulk. Oh well, when in Rome right?
I got back to my place, put my food away and had lunch/breakfast. I found out that since every international student who comes through this apartment building buys kitchen supplies (forks, knives, plates, etc.) and leaves them here once they go back home, I don’t really need to buy anything for the kitchen. There are several cupboards FULL of stuff that everyone uses. Bonus. Now I don’t have to go and buy stuff that I won’t be able to bring back to Canada! I sat and read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for a bit then returned to my room to unpack some more.
All in all, I think I’ll be ok but it’s always hardest on the first few days. Not to mention I was greatly anticipating seeing Karina who was still not back from holidays. Some things that made me smile yesterday were seeing several Pica hudsonia outside my window (yes that’s the scientific name for magpie but hey, it’s like a piece of Edmonton came to greet me), finding a Desmund hair on my computer and seeing little kids (no older than 5) skiing in the play park. Oh Norway. Also the soccer field is currently being cleared of snow. Oh geez, heaven forbid the soccer field has snow on it! :P
Today at around noon, I received a buzz to my room and who was on the other end but the wonderful Karina! I was SO happy to finally see her (we haven't seen each other since July)! She has been such a help to me already! We went downtown on the train, walked around this amazing city and just caught up in general! We're already planning our trips together! I can't wait! Tomorrow she's taking me to the university and to IKEA! Party? Yup.
Reader, I can't begin to explain how nervous and excited I am for this amazing journey! I already love my floormates (the ones I've met anyways)! They're so awesome! Karina likes my floor too! We've invited her to be an unofficial member of floor three! :) Chat with you all soon! I miss you guys already but time flies and soon you'll be bored of hearing from me! :P <3
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