Police Station, New Friends, Being Responsible

Today, we had to get our visas, but of course, I encounter obstacles yet again. I wonder why, but usually all the incidents happen to me. First, I have trouble getting my Norwegian money, even before the plane. Then, my ticket didn't show up in the system in Copenhagen for our connecting flight, and then my suit case broke when trying to go down the stairs to get to the other side of the train tracks (elevator was not working) in Hamar. Even after that, I manage to blow out the circuit when using my hair dryer, with a converter! And you guessed it, another incident! My rice cooker malfunctioned. It melted a hole on the bottom, so I can't use it now. I used it again today, just in case that was a one time accident. But no, the hole just continued to expand, leaving more melted plastic on the counter. I've decided to buy another rice cooker here. It's NOK 200, which is about $40. That's pretty expensive, to me, but I can't survive without rice, so I'm going to have to sacrifice some money. And yet again, my luck gets worse. I put the cutting board on the skillet, for a moment to clear up some space since our kitchen is extra tiny and I needed space. And guess what? the cutting board, being made of plastic, even though it was a bit thicker than 1cm, melted on the skillet. I hadn't noticed that the skillet hadn't cooled completely, but even then, it wasn't even that hot. Finally today, the cherry on top, but I'm sure there will be more cherries. I waited the whole day for my turn at the Police Station for my Visa, but at closing time, they got to 704; my number was 708. That's just so frustrating because I've been waiting around the station all day! I also found out that you need an extra passport picture! I sent 2 extra with my application, but they sent that, along with my original residence permit to another station. It's going to take a week to request that. I need the visa NOW, so I need to take passport pictures at the booth conveniently located at the station for NOK 70, which is $12. That's so expensive! I think my best option is to just get the pictures at the booth and get my visa tomorrow rather than waiting a whole week to complete my paperwork. I have to get my visa before I can complete paperwork for the Hedmark University College. I hope things work out. They usually do, regardless of how much trouble and incidents I encounter. I'm just a magnet for these complications.

Although I am upset about the visa issue, it gave me time to make friends with some people, specifically Godfrey and Peter. Emily and I walked around the beach with them while we all waited for our number. I wonder how old Peter is because he is a teacher in Tanzania, and he gives me such a calm feeling about things. I feel like he's a wise man and it prompts me to treat him with a higher level of respect that just a friend, like a teacher or respected person. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I just get the feeling that he is wise and can see things others can't. As or Godfrey, he became pretty absorbed into my music when we shared music on our phones. He heard some Chinese music and I just had him hold on to my phone and browse the music list how he wished. I was glad that he liked my music. These two are from Tanzania and they are very hospitable and kind. I want to describe them as friendly, but I think that kind is a better fit. They have a gentle and generous air about them.

In the afternoon, Emily and I made plans for our dinner meals for the next week, as well as split the shopping list between the two of us. This was effective and we have decided to eat enough, and only what we need so that we could conserve on spending. So we are cooking all our dinners. We decided that we'd go out to eat rarely to conserve money as well. After that we went grocery shopping and our planning paid off since we didn't end up wandering around aimlessly like usual, not sure of what to buy. Studying abroad in an expensive country is training us to be responsible adults. I like this. The act is a bit tedious, but I can't really complain at all. I'm actually enjoying the cooking and planning, even though they are just simple meals. We both feel accomplished and we are so proud of ourselves. However, I predict that as school gets busy, we won't have time to do this in as much detail, but at least we would be more experienced with the task to do things well enough.