Taking Stock For July

My mum sent me a link recently to a blog post done by a page called ‘Meet Me At Mike’s’ that presented the idea of ‘taking stock’ for a month and so I figured it could be a pretty cool way to share what I’ve gotten up to in July. So, I present you with my take on ‘Taking Stock For July’:

Making : A bucket list for Oslo. I know I’m lucky to be able to live in Oslo but I don’t want to leave in January and realise that I never properly explored the city. So I’ve made an Oslo bucket list full of museums, historical sites and scenic places to ensure that I make the most of living in Norway’s capital.
Cooking : Meat Pie. My second attempt at making a meat pie in Norway was definitely more successful than the first time. Admittedly, I was more prepared this time for the different measuring implements I would have to use and was, in general, less stressed about it being completely perfect.
Drinking : Water from on top of a mountain. Norwegian water is better than Australian water – that isn’t up for debate but the best water can be found in running streams and small waterfalls when out on a walk.
Reading: Matilda… in Norwegian. To be honest choosing a Roald Dahl book to read in a different language was a pretty stupid decision. Even in English his books contain a lot of ridiculous words that aren’t exactly common but it was a bit symbolic for me. The majority of things that I knew about Norway before I found out it would be my host country came from his autobiography that I used to religiously listen to on CD.
Next read: I will now confess that I’ve given up on reading Matilda (after the first four chapters I had a long list of words I’d translated including the Norwegian equivalents of rat-like, vicious, spew, clinked and raunchy). I’ve taken up reading the Hunger Games in Norwegian instead. You’d probably be surprised to know that it is considerably easier. The language used is a lot simpler and I’m not having to use Google Translate anywhere near as much.
Wanting: To be able to pack Norway up in my suitcase and bring it home with me in January, nothing more to say.
Looking: For a way to bring brown cheese back to Australia with me. Brown cheese is a very traditional Norwegian food and also a staple part of my diet now. I dread having to return to a country that doesn’t have it but am yet to figure out a way to ensure it stays cold enough during 27 hours of planes and airports.
Playing: Canasta. This is a card game that apparently originates from Uruguay and is played by every member of my host family (this includes those outside the immediate family: in-laws, grandkids, everyone). A gathering of the family will almost always end in a game (or 10) of Canasta. I play it nearly every day with my host parents and, whilst my host dad has played the game since he was little (his great grandmother taught it to him), I do manage to win the occasional round. Breaking News: After taking a pause from writing this to play Canasta I won a whole game for the first time!
Deciding: My HSC subjects. It is quite hard to think about the future when even the thought of going back to my Australian school seems crazy. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life after exchange (or really I have too many!) but one of the beautiful things about being in a different continent is not having to worry about it for another five and a half months.
Wishing:  For cooler weather! Norway is experiencing a record-breaking Summer. The past month and a bit most days have been up around the high 20s and tomorrow it is going to get to 33 degrees. I know I’ve experienced hotter in Australia but that doesn’t mean I can’t long for Winter to come quick.
Enjoying: A week in the West of Norway with my extended host family. We stayed in a cottage on the side of the Hardanger Fjord and it was truly beautiful. We took day trips to small towns, drove along scenic routes and even went on an 8 hour walk on the Dronningstein.
Waiting: For school to start again. The Summer holiday in Norway is considerably longer than the one I’m used to in Australia. Add to that the fact that Christmas madness takes up the first week and a half or so of our Summer break and the Norway Summer holiday feels like it might as well be double the length (please note I’m comparing public school holidays). I do enjoy the break but I am looking forward to regaining the structure that the school term provides.
Liking: the backpage of the Aftenposten (a newspaper). My host family gets at least two papers delivered every day, sometimes three. My host dad does all the cross words and I peruse them whilst I eat breakfast. The Afteposten isn’t my favourite one ( I like the Dagsavisen the most if you were wondering- it has a 10 question quiz) but the back page is something I always check. It shows the weather for all of Norway for the next week and also the weather for all the major cities in the world for the next day. It’s quite nice to know how hot or recently how very cold it is in Sydney.
Wondering: When the snow will come. One of the things I’ve been told the most whilst I’ve been here is that the weather is completely unpredictable. Whilst we were enduring the coldest, longest Winter in many years most were sure that Summer would just consist of rain and temperatures in their 20s. We are now enduring the warmest Summer in 70ish years. There is no real way of knowing when the seasonal change will actually come, after all Spring practically lasted only 2 weeks after starting in May.
Loving: The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo. Weird doesn’t even begin to describe this place and the art it holds but their is certainly a beauty in the bizarreness. There are cows cut in half, paintings depicting bird droppings and dead Warner Brother characters but it is, in my opinion, more interesting than the traditional art you find in the National Gallery. Add to that it has good air con and I’d been walking for 30 minutes on a 30 degree day and you can probably see why I loved it so much.
Pondering: What it exchange would be like if I was fluent in Norwegian when I got here. A lot of exchange students from Norway seem to think it is sort of crazy that we go to countries that speak a language we haven’t learnt since we were young.
Considering: Getting a haircut. I know that my Mum will practically be screaming at whatever device she is reading this on when she sees this. She’s convinced I need one, I’m not so sure need is the right word. The truth is the idea of getting a haircut is a little scary for me. I’m happy to interact with shopkeepers, museum workers and the general public in Norwegian but there is a bit of a difference between the dialogue required for buying a ticket to that needed to get a haircut. It is one of those situations where you don’t know what words you don’t know until someone else uses them. There will be different jargon used and I’m sort of mentally working up to doing it.

Buying: Soft is. Soft serve ice cream is a staple part of a Norwegian Summer. In the city on a hot day? Buy a soft is. At the beach? Buy a soft is. On a boat trip? Buy a soft is. They are available from every convenience store and I should explain that they are considerably better than ones from Maccas. Everyone I’ve met has a particular topping that they always get and if you go for a walk through the city you are guaranteed to see at least 10 people with them.
Watching: Sveriges Tjukkestes Hunder (Sweden’s Fattest Dogs). I watch this show every week with my host parents. It follows some of the fattest dogs in Sweden as they go through boot camp style training. It is all in Swedish but has Bokmal subtitles so is easy enough to follow.
Next watch: Poirot. My host mum loves British crime like many Norwegians and has a particular place in her heart for anything based on Agatha Christie’s books. I’m all too happy to watch them with her and, as a result of the Norwegian subtitles, I have been able to learn a couple of new phrases and words.
Hoping: That my host dog will get comfortable with me. I have been with my current host family for 3 months and the dog, Fly, still seems to think she’s being dognapped whenever I take the lead. I can be going out on a walk with my host mum and Fly won’t go out the door if I’m holding her lead. I’m working on improving the relationship between Fly and myself but it is proving to be harder than I had thought.
Marvelling: At the quantity of sculptures in Vigelandsparken. There are more than 200, making it the world’s largest sculpture park created by one person in terms of quantity of sculptures. Most depict human bodies and I have no idea how one person made them all.
Cringing: At the thought of the blisters I got on the 8 hour walk I mentioned above. I strongly recommend using good socks when going on long walks, even the best shoes can’t make up for poor choice of socks.
Needing: A new hairbrush. Around 2 months ago I dropped it and the handle separated from the actual brush part. It is perfectly usable (the reason I haven’t bought a new one) but I’m also aware that it is a bit stupid to not just buy a new one.
Questioning: The Norwegian trend of wearing socks with Birkenstocks (sandals). I don’t think I’ll ever understand this completely but, at the same time, it fits with the Norwegian attitude of wearing whatever you want. I’ve seen people in hot pink, velvet tracksuits and bright red overalls so this really shouldn’t surprise me that much.

Smelling: Sunscreen. It is Summer and I get sunburnt pretty easily so at the start of May I invested in some SPF 50+ sunscreen. I have used it fairly regularly but have also noticed the fact that Norwegians don’t seem to use it very much or, if they do, don’t reapply even if they are out in the Sun for 8 hours. My Australian-ness sort of shows when it comes to how I deal with Sun safety.
Wearing: The same pair of white canvas shoes since the holidays started. They have stains from various berry-picking adventures and are fairly worn but I’m not going to part with them until the soles fall off (this happened with my first pair of ‘Summer shoes’).
Following: Life In Norway. It is a Facebook page that shares articles about Norway that are relevant to the time. I often find the things I’ve been wondering about discussed and explained.
Worrying: About school going back. I know I said I’m waiting for it but there is also a certain amount of anxiety that comes with going back. There’ll be new teachers to meet, new classmates and different classes. I’m not dreading it but it would be naive to say that it didn’t worry me at all.
Noticing: How many older Norwegians have a very large amount of framed paintings hanging in their houses. I’ve been to a couple of different Rotarian’s houses and the sheer quantity of artwork in their houses is astounding. It works though and it doesn’t seem like too much. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about consider this: the room I am sitting in has 18 paintings in it (most are relatively large), the hallway (6m X 1.5m) has 15 and the bathroom has 8.
Knowing: Nothing can beat my Exchange hoodie from District 9685. It is definitely well-used but it is probably among my most prized possessions. The hoodie reminds me of why I am here and reignites the excitement and pride that I felt when I first received it.
Thinking: About just how much everything has changed since January and whether the changing will continue at the same rate until January.
Admiring: Dronning Sonja (The Queen of Norway). The 8 hour walk I have mentioned was the Dronningstien: the Queen’s Trail. It has this name because it was actually gifted to Queen Sonja for her birthday a couple of years ago (I can’t find the exact year) by the Norwegian Trail Association. It is apparently one of the Queen’s favourite walks and the last time she did it that I can find record of was last Summer. This is the part when I tell you that the Queen just turned 81. The Queen’s Trail is not an easy walk- it is around 16km and involves many ups and downs, there are even parts where you need to pull yourself up using a rope. The Queen did this walk when she was 80! And she’ll probably do it again in the future after she’s finished conquering other mountains.
Sorting: Through all the leftovers from school. I am a bit of a hoarder but the prospect of only being able to take home 23kgs has forced me to become a little more ruthless. As tempting as it was to hold onto every worksheet and exam from my first half year of school in Norway I culled the pile of papers. I have held onto one or two particular sheets and taken photos of others for reminiscing in the future but the majority is now gone.
Getting: A Norwegian flag. A friend actually had to buy one off Ebay for me because nobody sells them here.
Bookmarking: Norwegian recipes on Pinterest. If I try a Norwegian food and like it I will then find a recipe for it on Pinterest and mark it so, that if nothing else, I remember the name and what it looked like.
Coveting: A beautiful book about Norway I found the other day. Only problem is the fact that it is big and heavy.
Disliking: the dark. I’ll start by clearing this up: I have no fear of the dark. A funny thing happens in Summer – you get used to the Sun being up when you wake up and still being up when you go to bed. The length of the day (sunrise to sundown) has gotten 1.5 hours shorter since Summer Solstice. Now the Sun is down or setting when I go to bed and seeing dark outside is a bit unnerving. I’m now used to being able to walk home at 9:45pm in complete sunlight and the thought of being plunged back into the darkness that is Winter is a little scary. It will certainly be harder to handle only 4-5 hours of sunlight when I’m used to 20.

Listening: To songs from this year’s Eurovision. I followed it pretty closely and became quite fond of some of the songs. Personal favoutites include the entries from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark although don’t mention the danish song in Norway. Many Norwegians thought it was completely ridiculous that Denmark was singing a song about vikings when they didn’t have the most.

Feeling: Lukewarm. It is weird to think that we have passed halfway and also a little bit scary. January seems like a forever away but this year has gone really fast. I have really mixed feelings about everything at the moment.
Snacking: On berries! Cherries, raspberries, blueberries, cloudberries: if you can name them I’ve picked them and enjoyed them. There is roughly a 3 week period where all the berries are ripe and Norwegians definitely make the most of it. Now is the time for making jams, cordials, sauces, chutnies and fruit creams. Australian berries have nothing on the berries I’ve eaten whilst over here.
Hearing: Frozen in Norwegian. It was a life-changing experience. Frozen is so Norwegian it isn’t funny and watching the movie in Norwegian was mind blowing.

Thanks for reading through to the end. I hope you found this interesting in one way or another.

Until next time,

Alicia