Thanks for all the suggestions for where to go on my four day weekend. I have decided to go to Bergen, on the west coast of Norway. I will fly there in a week, stay for a few days, and head back on a train so I can see all the country between Bergen and Oslo! Looking forward to it.
This past weekend I had a fabulous time at a party the ISS threw for all the students. We danced to music from around the world, at times even attempting to jig-not your typical party! The next day several of us made a trip out to a nearby island. The great thing about Oslo is you can get anywhere using public transportation, so one train, a bus ride, and one ferry later, we were at a beautiful island. We explored and eventually found a rock to jump off of into the water. It was a really fun day! Hopefully we'll go to another island this weekend.
The next day, the 4th of July, all of us Americans put on our red white and blue and went down to the official celebration at Vigeland Park for the day. It was hilarious-there were classic American cars on display, outrageously priced hot dogs and burgers for sale, an "Independence Idol" competition, country and Mo-town music, and lots of free USA gear. Below are a bunch of us in front of the bust of President Lincoln in Vigeland Park.
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This week has involved a lot of reading for both of my classes, as well as excursions everyday. The Peace Scholars met with Steinar Bryn, the director of the Nansen Dialogue center, which works to promote dialogue in communities torn by conflict. It was really enlightening and interesting, and also something I might look into more in my research. His is a community approach to peace centered on the home and the school as the places where ethnic identity and hatreds are formed. The next day we met with the graduate level peace researchers at a picnic. They all have such interesting stories to tell and so much real life experience. Today we went to the Storting (the Norwegian Parliament) to learn about how government works in Norway. Tomorrow will be a visit to PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo)...should be great!
This is where I get to live!
In non-academic news, I can now do a few Norwegian folk dances! The ISS had an open lesson for anyone who was interested. Where else could I learn to Norwegian folk dance with people from Sudan, Colombia, Armenia, India, and more? Definitely a unique experience!
That's all for now! Miss you!
Love,
Maria
You're doing a great job with the detail in the blog. Thanks for writing as often as you do. So you jumped into freezing cold water from a rock? SFP
ReplyDeleteGreat detail in your reports. Keep it up. Thanks for writing so frequently. So you jumped into freezing cold water from a rock? SFP
ReplyDeleteThanks :) Yep I jumped into freezing cold water from a rock...after you stay in it for a minute your body goes numb and it doesn't feel cold anymore. Oh Norway.
ReplyDeletemaria that is soo cool i hope you are having fun. that is soo awesome you jumoed in to water from a rock, i would want to do that to little bean
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