Starting August 13th, BI Norwegian Business School and all other universities in Oslo celebrate orientation also known as Fadderullan (fa-deh-rue-lahn). This is a time for new and exchange students to get to know one another and the city. I thought welcome week back in the USA was long but fadderullan takes it to a whole new level!
It begins when you are paired with fadderleders (buddies) who have already completed one year in the university. These guys are in charge of showing you a good time. Throughout the entire week, these folks must wear purple shirts and you can see the faderleders throughout the city. My buddies are all in the Economics and Leadership program and met each other last year as first year students. Sylia, Lydia, Trina, Helene, and Monja have all been excellent fadderleders and love to have a good time!
Everyday, the buddies invite you to their house or apartment before your entire group heads into the city clubs or to a local arena for a concert. So much of fadderullan consists of social time spent playing games and honestly consuming alcohol. The Norwegians are pretty quiet in passing but LOVE to drink and have a good time.
In order to participate in the school-sanctioned events, students purchase tickets costing $30-40! When buying tickets for every night’s event the cost can add up quickly!
The full weeks schedule includes 2 late night concerts, a bar crawl, and a boat party.
As I did not expect the fadderullan event costs in this first week and am perfectly happy at house parties and pubs, I only bought tickets for one concert and the boat parties.
The concert was nice but quite loud and included around 1,000 new students and fadderleders (buddies) dancing.
The first two djs weren’t all that special but Italobrothers were the headliners of the night and had a very fun set! It was cool because they are pretty popular here and I got to hear songs live that are often played at parties and on the radio. My favorites are “Summer Air” and “Stamp on the Ground”.
The SAIL party on Sunday was by far my favorite event of the week! After some hanging out in Frognerparken (typically a huge tourist destination but just a normal hangout spot for us haha), we went to the docks near the city center and met our ship, “Dronninger” which means “the queen”. In reality this was just a giant ferry but it was decked out with two djs, salmon and egg wraps, and tons of beer ($10/can).
I had an amazing time on this ship and wish I could go again! All of my buddy group and other groups who we have made friends with over the week were on this ship and we took over the top deck at the stern of the ship. This spot was far less crowded than the bow but still allowed us to view the fjords and see the city in the distance.
Dancing for 3 hours straight got my heart pounding and definitely made my legs sore but it was totally worth it! The best part was the fact that I could be around so many fun people who I can already say are friends.
As we pulled into the docks, many oslo city goers were recording us dancing and singing on the giant ferry. We must have looked pretty intense!
One thing to note that I learned during this week is that because BI Norwegian Business School is a private university, the fadderullan events are a bit more pricey and extravagant than the other universities. While I know I wouldn’t be able to consistently live in this way, it has made for an incredible introduction to Norway and study abroad.
Now that we have met lots of new people and socialized with our fellow students, it is time for class to begin. I am currently writing this as I take a bus to my first class of the semester. It still doesn’t feel like I’m here to study but I am excited to get to know the education system in this country. Let’s see if Norwegians study as hard as they party! 😂
Lemus Study Abroad 