Reading books

I'm half way finished reading the first assigned book of this module for the Society and Culture program. This one is called Work, Oil and Welfare by Knut Halvorsen and Steinar Stjerno. I didn't enjoy reading this at first because there are so much facts in there. I, as some may already know, am not a big fan of memorizing facts. But after the first chapter, I got pretty involved with the book; mainly I was amazed at how sucessful the Norwegian welfare system has been. We have a group discussion meeting today. I am leading the discussion for chapter 5, which is "Security in old age: Protecting the frail and elderly". Up to this point, I have taken notice that the Norwegian as a whole put significant value in family and the wellbeing of the family. I was very impressed of this and even more at how developed their programs are for old age pension and other family benefits (especially children!). Having a family in Norway seems to be such a comfortable thing. I have also noticed that there are a lot of baby strollers around, so the people here are definitely enjoying the system when it comes to family wellbeing.

There are also a few other books for this module as well as articles. I'm reluctant to buy these books because I've roughly calculated the costs, and they come up to about $300 for this module. If I assume that that is the average, then I'd have to multiply that by 3, which comes to about $900. That's $900 for one semester. For now, I'm just going to borrow the books from the library as I need them, and make copies for the books where were aren't reading the complete book (although it would be nice to read the complete books). I'd select a few books that I reall like after reading and just buy those few. That's my compromise for that expense. And I've taken greater care at my other expenses as well.

For the general part, things are going well. Classes are GREAT! I really enjoy our discussions. Although I'm happy and content about this aspect of the stay, homesickness keeps growing and now it's pretty bloated. If only I could cook as well as my mom or dad and have the familiar foods here.

Oslo, class, stress

Emily and I traveled to Oslo today to meet with our Norwegian friend and her boyfriend who studies at PLU. Christina was on the tennis team. The trip is a bit long, but enjoyable, but only the way there. On the way back, it was a less comfortable and more crowded train. We had fun in Oslo and I bought some coffee and chocolate for gifts when I return. I've frozen these items so that they will last 4 months. We had Chinese food, and they don't split checks here (it's very rare). So, Christina paid for us, which was so nice of her! We also went to a big, very well known park in Oslo. The gardens were beautiful as well as the huge water fountain and lake. There were statues all around the fountain, and then some! They were all of naked humans of all ages, performing normal human acts. I felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but then I understood (I hope) th meaning and purpose of those statues being naked, yet doing normal activities. These activities are very simple, such as playing with your baby, meeting your loved one, just standing, hugging, running, crouching, everything! It's to get in touch with nature and your true self and your family without the pretenses of the world, symbolized by clothing! I was very proud when I thought of this. I must research the park and write a little "report" on it. I took many pictures and I will put them up later when I have a chance.

When we had class today, it was very exciting, at first. Then everything just came to me almost consecutively; field studies, assignments, papers, group reading discussions, BAM! It just kept coming! And the due dates are so soon, I hadn't realized, because we had just started! So now I have to get on top of things even more than before! It's a good thing I'm very interested in the subject matter!

A Different Way to Socialize

I notice that here, people socialize very differently from what I am use to for my age group. Every night since I've arrived, there have been parties and music. They don't even wait for the weekends or anything. Night time is night time and it's a time to drink and socialize. So I assume almost everyone have hang overs every morning or something. These Norwegian students my age, some a bit older, are pretty much drinking when they have a chance, and almost everyone has beer bellies, in American terms. I have no problem with this, but it's just new to me. In the states, especially PLU, drinking alcohol is not something to be so freely discussed, but they talked about it in their opening ceremony (like Convocation) as if it was nothing, which it is nothing of bad significance here. It's as if there is a whole culture of socializing that revolves around drinking. It's fascinating! I'd sit there, not drinking myself, observing the people and the conversations around me. The ones who are not drinking are less likely to introduce themselves to me and start a conversation. However, someone with some alcohol in their system would introduce themself to me and start a conversation as if we have been friends for a while. I feel kind of awkward that I don't drink, just because that's the way everyone is, but also I do not feel pressured to drink. It's very chill and I like it.

This is just something I noticed and it seems very important in their culture. I looked at the case as if it was a case study for anthropology. I'm so glad that I took those anthropology courses, because I feel so proud that I am using them to assess the situation now, constantly. I recognize the cultural differences here compared to the one I am familiar with, yet I can fit in because I understand what is going on. Thank you Prof. Thomson! This has made my experience a lot more enjoyable.

Aside from this, our first Norwegian language lesson was today! I was so excited, because, of course, I am learning a new language. I am always excited to understand another language. Spending some time listening to those audio Norwegian lessons definitely paid off. Today in class, I got excited on many occasions because I undertood things and rememebered words from my audio lesson.

We also got bikes today. They are very nice bikes; like brand new! I'm so anxious to ride around town and explore, especially along the water front!