Happy Birthday Norway [May 17th]!

“Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday observed on May 17 each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai (lit. “seventeenth May”), Nasjonaldagen (The National Day) or Grunnlovsdagen (The Constitution Day), although the latter is less frequent.”

-Wikipedia

On May 17, 1814 Norway was constitutionally declared to be an independent kingdom. This was an attempt to avoid being ceded to Sweden after Denmark–Norway’s devastating defeat in the Napoleonic Wars.

This event was not celebrated at first, seen as a form of disrespect and attempt at revolt. It was only later in the 1860’s when the day was celebrated more openly and joyously.

The National Day today consists of a spectacular children’s parade with every school, within a bussable distance, participating. It seemed that half the procession consisted of regular children and the other half consisted of children that were part of the school orchestra, and they were talented!

The parade marched toward the Palace where the Royal family was present to wave at each of the schools participating. I of course to pictures of the parade and the royalty.

If you are on social media of any kind you may have come across a meme, of a prince “dabbing” during an official royal event of some kind. This “dub prince” is none other than Sverre Magnus, the 11-year old Prince of Norway. For those who don’t know yet, dabbing is a dance move characterized by raising an elbow and tucking one’s head toward that elbow while raising and extending the opposite arm behind.

It was a good day, celebrated Norwegian style of course with a Champagne Breakfast.

Traditions
Norway’s traditions really shine through on 17th May.

The Clothes – Many Norwegians wear the Bunad, the traditional folk costume of Norway. It’s more popular with women, but of the men who aren’t wearing the male version, the majority are suited and booted.

The Food – Friends and families get together for frokost (breakfast), featuring a hearty spread of fish, eggs, bread, hams, cheeses, and a bottle or three of fizz. Throughout the day pølser (hot dogs) and waffles are consumed in astronomical quantities, washed down by barrel loads of beer. One of the reason kids love this day so much is they can get away with eating as much ice-cream as they want.

The Parades – Norway’s society places children at the forefront and that’s no more obvious than on the National Day, where local schoolchildren lead parades around their towns and villages.

-David Nikel, Norwegian resident

Another aspect of the national day is Russ. This is the portion of time, the month leading up to the 17th of May, where the graduating class from the local high schools party day and night leading up to the festivities. These students are easily distinguishable from the rest of the crowds by their bright-colored (usually red) coveralls/overalls that they special order to wear. These outfit colors are generally dependent on the student’s field of study, although red is a popular color to have as Norwegians really love wearing the bright red of their Norwegian flag: Red (rødruss) for “Allmennfag” (general studies) (mathematics, physics, biology, history, literature, English etc); media and communication, art, music, dance and drama; and athletics; blue (blåruss) for “Økonomi & Administrasjon” (business administration studies); green (grønnruss) for agricultural studies, also used by some as an alternative to orange russ; white (hvitruss) for athletics students or healthcare students or christians celebrating without alcohol; black (svartruss) for vocational courses like electronics, carpentry or culinary programs; and pink (rosaruss) or light blue for kids graduating kindergarten.

Most russ have personalized calling cards featuring their name, their photograph and a short slogan. These cards are swapped with other russ and handed out to children and family members. To many children, collecting russ cards is an important activity during the entire russ period, but especially for the 17th of May.

During this period there are many games that a student can play to earn badges/patches to put on their coveralls/overalls. If the student chooses to participate in the activities, he/she must wear the outfit for the duration of Russ. If he/she changes then one of the pant legs are cut off. Hence, how all the tasks go. An example of a challenge I saw one day: these students had to crawl all the way up Karl Johans Gate to the Palace on their knees (with their shoes used as cushioning on the cobblestone sidewalks).

A few russ knot examples:

Spending a night in a tree (earns a stick from the tree)
Eating a Big Mac in two bites (earns a piece of the wrapping)
Drinking a bottle of wine in 20 minutes (earns the wine cork)
Crawling through a super market while barking and biting customers’ legs (earns a dog biscuit)
Spending a school day crawling on hands and knees (earns a toy shoe)
Spending the entire russ period sober (earns a fizzy drink cork)
Drinking 24 beers in 24 hours (girls) or 12 hours (boys)
Go for a swim before 1 May
Ask random people in a mall if they can lend you a condom (earns the condom)
Stage a false break up with a random 16-year-old in public
Sit in a round about with a sign that says “We’ll drink if you honk your horn!”
Host an aerobic class at the local pub and get at least ten people to join.

It is common for every school to have about 100 knots. If a russ does 50 or 70 of them he or she can choose to do three extra embarrassing or hard knots to become an eliteruss.

A few eliteruss knot examples:

Tattoo Russ and the year you were russ on your body (For instance “Russ 09”).
Make out with 10 people in one night.
Give more than 1000 kr (about £100 and about $120) to charity.
Dye your hair in the color you are russ (black, red, blue, etc.).

-Wiki

At night time you can hear the students because they will usually acquire a bus for Russ; which they will then trick out and party in all night long. I can hear the music all the way from my room and I live a 12 minutes walk away from the highway where the Russ Busses roam around at night.

The funny thing is, these students usually have finals during or right after Russ. But Norway is awesome in that they allow students to retake the same courses the following year so they can replace the grade. 😂

. . . Do as the Norwegians do 😉

This means a trip to Bergen!

All in all, this was an awesome experience and I’m glad I was able to share it with my brother 🙂 

My last day of lab was a sad day, not only because the lab was ending, but because it was one of the last times I would see my lab mates.

Marta, Carina, and Susanna were wonderful lab partners and made the down times enjoyable. Originally, it was just Susanna and I as partners, but through random events we merged with Marta and Carina.

It’s sad that I have only known these people for such a short amount of time and already I have to say my goodbyes to them. No worries though! Through the medium of social media platforms, we will endeavor to stay in touch and maybe even visit each other tran-Atlantically!

Besides the great people, the laboratory section this semester was both challenging and eventful. The biochemistry portion was reminiscent of a past physics lab that I took, just mishap after mishap, but I successfully made it through the section. The molecular biology portion was definitely easier to handle with only 6 lab reports to write instead of the weekly reports from the previous section, wow! The techniques and procedures learnt will help me in my future endeavors.

On the flip side, my brother arrived in Oslo to stay and visit me! After landing, we decided that he would stay in Oslo with me for about a week, and then he would go on to travel to Germany and Sweden by himself! Whoop! This marked his first international travel by himself. So proud of him 🙂

April 23rd was a day that Oslo opened its doors to citizens and tourists alike to experience the Norwegian culture. This is an event that happens every year to encourage everyone to immerse themselves culturally. The best part . . . it’s FREE. The holy grail of the typical college student.

Numerous museums, attractions, and various other locations participate by allowing free entry into their spaces. Taking advantage of this event, a group of friends and I set off to the Norsk Folk Museet (“Norwegian folk museum”). Here we were able to experience what it was like to be a Norwegian villager back in the Viking era! From the housing, to the farms, to the exploratory ships and food, we were able to jump back in time (for an hour or so ;D) and relieve the lifestyle.

With the pass given, we were also able to visit the Kon-Tiki Museum:

“The museum was originally built to house the Kon-Tiki, a raft of balsa wood of pre-Columbian model that Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl used to sail from Peru to Polynesia in 1947. Another boat in the museum is the Ra II, a vessel built of reeds according to Heyerdahl’s perception of an ancient Egyptian seagoing boat. Heyerdahl sailed the Ra II from North Africa to the Caribbean after a previous attempt with the reed boat Ra failed.”

as well as the Maritime Museum:

“Its exhibits on coast culture and maritime history include boat models, fishing, marine archeology, marine paintings, ship building, and shipping. The video “Maritime Norway” by Ivo Caprino and a library are also a part of the museum experience.”

By and by, this was a fun day of culture experience!

Earth Day, April 22

I participated in the March for Science.

When you travel outside of your home country, it is easy to not pay attention to what is happening back home. It is easy to ignore headlines and to tell yourself all will be fine when you return.

I honestly don’t think I can say this. It seems that every other story I hear is about something going wrong in the US or something that will go wrong. There is no reprieve from the stress accompanied with the prevalence of backward political deals and shady future goals and plans. Hearing that the president doesn’t believe in climate change when there are glaciers melting captured on film is nonsensical. Hearing that the healthcare system is changing for the worse and that funding for science research might be cut is terrifying. Hearing that the separation between church and state is being dissolved is heresy.

Knowing that I might not be let back into my birth country due to my religion, that I won’t be accepted back into my society due to my race, that I could be discriminated against due to my gender, and looked down upon due to my opinion is not what I envisioned for the future of our country. I don’t want to live in a country that makes my existence in this world a hassle. That’s neither moral nor ethical. The phrasing of this generation is “make peace not war” so why all the hate and contention?

It is a risk to even step out the door in the mornings. If I can’t feel safe in my own home, is there even a point to keep on living there? I feel helpless to do anything. It frustrates me that I am unable to do anything more than besides marching and signing petitions. I have neither the time nor the money to accomplish anything and it saddens me that so many good things in this world (world health plans/domestic health plans/scientific research/after-school programs/etc.) are suffering because of one person and his encouragement and action against the good.

I hope that we can overcome these hurdles with finesse and aplomb rather than crashing and burning. I don’t want to come home to rambles of what it once was. We need progress, not regression. We record history to learn from our pasts and to ensure that the mistakes of the past do not occur again. Take note America, the current path you are on is nothing but hardship and failure. I’m afraid for our future. We need a miracle.

Schools out! 

Naturally with free time my mind automatically goes into travel mode. Hence commencing a week abroad whilst abroad 😂

Destination: United Kingdom

Specifically: London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland

Taking a break from the continuous laboratory hours and lab reports, this Easter holiday was much needed!

Spending time in London was a treat to myself; because I’ve always wanted to come to this city from as far back as I can remember. The main attractor to this location being the rain (being raised in a desert, rain is a luxury and something highly valued). Now as an adult, having to commute to a from school and work, I realize rain is not that great to have around unless you’re already indoors and have no plans of wandering into the deluge outside your door. So, I was sad it didn’t rain while I was in London, but I was also happy that it didn’t rain, for my non-waterproof clothings’ sake 😅

I spent 4 and a half days in London and it was a great experience. I met family that I never new existed and spent time with more family that I did know existed. From the London Bridge to Buckingham Palace and everything in between, my days were jam packed and fun filled. London is amazing by day, but by dusk you best be behind locked doors. Words of advice for any future travelers out there.

Taking the train from London to Edinburgh was verdant and hilly with a dash of seaside. To be honest I was more interested in the scenery on the return trip than the one to Scotland, I don’t know why because I was seeing the same views both ways 🤷🏽‍♀️

BUT

Edinburgh was awesome! I never realized how much of a Harry Potter fan I was until I was literally standing in front of many of the inspirations of scenes and such from the books and films. The Elephant House Cafe, Thomas Riddell grave, Victoria St as Diagon Alley, George Heriots School as Hogwarts and many more!

Oh and did I mention I was at Platform 9 & 3/4 in King’s Cross??? #PotterHead

Tired but satisfied I headed back to Oslo to literally stepping off the plane and stepping into a 3 hour lab 😅 but hey, I love lab time.

Tromsø, Norway

This is a small town in the northern most reaches of Norway. Boasting as a cultural hub above the Arctic Circle, it was easy to get lost in the icy beauty of Tromsø. Just a short plane ride north (approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes from Oslo) had me doing a quick clothing check upon realizing that it was a lot colder at 69.4º N, 18.9º E, than it was in Oslo at 59.9º N, 10.75º E! Good thing I had brought layers!

Grabbing a quick bus ride to my hotel located in the town center, Radisson Blu Tromsø, I unpacked and set out to explore the small town while the sun was still out and the weather wasn’t too bitingly cold. Wandering around, I came upon the gorgeous view of the Tromsø Fjord. While taking photos of the snowy landscape, a friendly Norwegian local stumbled upon me and decided to be my town guide and friend. We spent about 2 hours together wandering the town and (me) learning about the history and town attractions. Parting ways around late evening, I set went back to my hotel to visit the spa and settle in for the night, since the evening was too cloudy for northern lights visibility.

The next day, I enjoyed a wonderful free breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel before setting out for the day exploring. I managed to visit the Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen), Polaria (the world’s most northerly aquarium), walk the Tromsø Bridge, take the cable car (Fjellheisen) up Mount Storsteinen, and try a delicious reindeer burger at the restaurant Skirri.

That night, I set out to Prestvannet, a small frozen lake 20 minutes from the city center. I saw the northern lights around 11:30 AND CRIED BECAUSE OF HAPPINESS. It was dark, no lights, no people, no sounds. Nothing. Just me, in the middle of a lake/forest, jumping up and down squealing with happiness that I was experiencing such an incredible and rare (for us folk who live below the arctic circle) phenomena.

Heading back to my hotel, I was literally giddy with joy. Once back in my room, I happened to glance outside the window and released a mini shriek, because once again I was feasting my eyes on the dancing lights! I threw on as many layers as I could and ran outside with my camera to capture more of the incredible lights. One thing you should note about the northern lights is that they come and go, there is no rhyme nor reason to their appearance and if you seen them for any period of time, then you are one lucky son of a gun. So naturally in my excitement, I decided to head back out to the lake to get away from the light pollution of the town. Wrong choice, since they didn’t show up again for the rest of the night, and the public transportation had shut down until after dawn. So I walked back to the hotel, which wasn’t that bad considering there were a lot of people out and about (it was a saturday night) and the night was not too cold. I was actually able to get a lot of great shots of the fjord with the breaking dawn lights. That magical photography “golden hour” and whatnot 😂.

Putting my Tromsø trip down as a once in a lifetime experience, I headed back to Oslo with a full heart and a lighter step.

*Northern Lights photos posted here courtesy of my wonderful lab partner Marta V. (since my camera was not able to take as crisp of a photo as Marta’s camera was)

What good is a Europe trip if you don’t see more than one view?

SO . . . I decided to hop on over to Prague!

Words cannot describe how BEAUTFUL Praha is. The Czech Republic is a central European country, one could even make the argument that it is THE central country of Europe. The Czech Republic is a country that is known for its ornate castles, cheap as dirt beer, and long history.

My first stop after getting off the plane was checking in to my hostel, the Czech Inn, punny I know. The accommodations were nice and clean with a friendly and informed staff. The hostel itself was situated in Praha 10, which is a stones throw away from Praha 1, central Prague.

This capital city is actually located right on the Vltava River, giving Prague one of its most spectacular landscapes and one of its most pictured tourist attractions.

Day 1 consisted of me visiting: the Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, the Golden Lane, the #1 tourist attraction Charles Bridge, Cafe Louvre, Malostranska Beseda where St. Nicholas’ Church is located, and a small restaurant that served a delicious beer based Goulash.

Day 2 I visited: the Old Town (stare mesto), the Astronomical Clock, the Municipal building, Powder Tower, Letna Park, Tyn Church, Kampa Park in Mala Strana, Wenceslas Square, Josefor (Jewish Quarter), the Strahov Monastery, and a taste of trdelník (pronounced trdlo) a famous Czech chimney cake/pastry with nutella.

My two packed

(but too short for my liking) days was filled with awe and a sense of inner peace. Traveling alone is always a daunting thought, but when you are headed to destinations such as the wondrous Prague, the journey morphs into something highly anticipated. My memories of this country will last me a lifetime. I experienced such an overwhelming sense of peace and happiness whilst relaxing on Charles Bridge just gazing at all the medieval statues and people watching, whilst climbing the steep incline to the Castle on the hill, and just absorbing the bustling and welcoming warmth of the city to all its visitors and citizens. If given the opportunity, I would go to visit/study/live/anything in Prague in a heartbeat.

“Mathallen Oslo is inspired by the great European food courts. Here you can find specialty shops, cafés and great places to eat. Throughout the year they are also a venue for different festivals and events celebrating food, drink and good experiences.”
Vaffles (aka waffles) are a Norwegian favorite! You can get your vaffle with a variety of toppings  but the Traditional Vaffle is served with raspberry jam and slices of brunost served on top of it.

I went with my awesome American friend Presley to this food lovers haven and we devoured our waffles in the blink of an eye they were so good! (Also went to get vaffles again when Presley mom and her friend came to visit. We couldn’t resist!) The waffles are the perfect texture with a light crisp on the out side and chewy goodness on the inside, with sweetness to boot! The waffles are also not in the boring square or circular shades found in grocery stores in the US, but rather are in a very cool flower/snowflake design!

If you ever visit Norway, VAFFLES ARE A MUST!

Took a trip to the Oslo City Hall (Sentrum)! This building is located next to the Nobel Peace Museum at the apex of Aker Brygge and the Akershus Fortress. 

“Oslo City Hall (Norwegian: Oslo rådhus) houses the city council, city administration, and art studios and galleries. The construction started in 1931, but was paused by the outbreak of World War II, before the official inauguration in 1950. Its characteristic architecture, artworks and the Nobel Peace Prizeceremony, held on 10 December, makes it one of Oslo’s most famous buildings. It was designed by Arnstein Arneberg and Magnus Poulsson. The roof of the eastern tower has a 49-bell carillon which plays every hour. It is situated in Pipervika in central downtown Oslo. The area was completely renovated and rebuilt to make room for the new city hall, back in the late 1920s. In June 2005 it was named Oslo’s “Structure of the Century”, with 30.4% of the votes.”       -Wikipedia

Nobel Piece Prize Ceremony:

On December 10 (anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death) each year, Oslo City Hall hosts the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in which the annual laureate gives his or her lecture and is awarded the medal and diploma. A podium for the laureate and the Nobel Committee is erected in the far end of the hall for each ceremony. The Norwegian Royal Family and Prime Minister are attendants.  

This was a fun day gander that showcased the best of Oslo with its beautiful artwork and rich history.