First Impressions

I have officially been in Oslo for over 24 hours and I must say that I think I am going to like it here!

I arrived in Oslo after a red eye flight and only 1.5 hours of sleep. The flights to Amsterdam and Oslo both went smoothly and I was even able to navigate myself to my apartment in under an hour! The view of the countryside from the airport was lovely! My favorite part was seeing the rolling hills and bits of ocean in the distance.

Everything was quite clean when I arrived in the city and it is interesting how much nature is embedded in the area. It is common to see large clusters of pines, almost the size of small forests, between houses in the city.

My roommate is sweet and very outgoing which is wonderful. One of the first things she said was that if I needed any help unpacking just let her know! She is from Spain and also left a warm climate to come here but has a positive attitude about the rainy weather. We have already agreed we will hike rain or shine!

As they say in Norway, “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

After unpacking my two bags, Paula and I decided to go to IKEA to get our remaining apartment items such as a shower curtain, comforter, and trash cans. Public transport has been so simple, I still can’t get over it! We only took an hour in total to travel and found everything that we needed! We even have similar taste in style which made color selection a breeze.

Carrying large items back on the busses was less embarrassing than I expected and I am so glad we were able to buy everything so early, the apartment is looking good!

I got a simple dinner of salmon soup at a local Norwegian chain restaurant called Pink Fish. It was perfect as I knew I should eat but couldn’t stomach a huge meal after so much travel.

Getting home at 9pm (19:00) I was absolutely exhausted and fell asleep for 12 hours!

The following day Paula and I were able to meet with other exchange students during a student-focused trip to a lake in the city. We all hiked around and took in the peaceful scenery. After we were given free coffee and chatted with the girls we met during the walk.

After the walk Paula and I headed back to our apartment to clean up and then caught a train to the city center to explore our new home! Next door another WMU student is living along with her roommate who is from Sweden. Both were excited to adventure through the city which made them the perfect excursion buddies.

Oslo has many cute shops…all of which are closed on Sundays. Regardless of hours, we were able to see many things including the Oslo Operahuset, Salt (a sauna and art center), the Royal Palace, and the Oslofjord. I can’t wait to go back!

After all of the walking (20,000+ steps!) we all went back to our apartment and I got dinner at a local restaurant. Cod with tomatoes and potatoes was the perfect cozy meal after a bit of chilly rain.

The people here have all been very kind and accommodating, especially with English. I haven’t had to speak much norwegian at all…something I plan to work on over the next few months.

The university is just 5 minutes away from our apartment which is nestled between about 5 other apartment buildings holding students and families alike. It is peaceful here and feels a bit more down-to-earth compared to the touristy city center near downtown Oslo.

I am excited to call Oslo my new home and see what adventures lie ahead!