Norwegian Saga

Well my thesis proposal is finished and submitted to the department for review. Actually I did that on the 21st of November. I just haven’t had a lot of time to write about it or the other stuff that’s been going on.

The lectures for the semester have finished. I have one more assignment to submit (more on that below) and one written exam for Old Norse then I’m done my first of four semesters.

Well let me tell you about some of the things I’ve been doing. On Sunday the 23rd Anne and I went to the Norsk Teknisk Museum and got to play around with some neat sci-tech demos. The science and tech museum had an assortment of the usual items one would expect such as oil platform displays, mining technology and a huge exhibit on medicine, as well as a large floor for transportation tech. Oddly enough, this museum has, what is believed to be, the world’s oldest jet turbine from 1924. They also had a neat global warming exhibit that required the donning of rubber boots because the floor was under 20cm of water. It had a thermal camera that showed how much heat one loses through their head when they don’t have hair (that compared to Anne’s full head of hair). It was a great time, I had a lot of fun and I’m guessing that I will be going back there to visit again.

On Tuesday I went to the National Library, along with some fellow students and my prof, to study some manuscripts. The library is grand of course, it wouldn’t be a national library otherwise. The ceiling and arches are beautifully painted with various scenes. Unfortunately I don’t have photos of it, though I may get some, one of the gals did have a camera, I’m going to talk to her and ask.

A bit about my manuscript assignment now. I have one law in three different manuscripts written by the same scribe. In other words, the same law written three times by one scribe, presumably for law books that went to different places. I have to transcribe them into readable lettering then talk about them for ten pages. The law is about concerns itself with insult. As my thesis is about honour, I chose to analyze a legal manuscript that deals with one of the most dishonourable events possible: insult.

Below are the first lines of each of text, starting with the big letter. Can you see the that they are the same text with small differences?

AM57 27v

AM302 31r

AM305 28r

So that’s about it for now. I have to actually get to work on this thing. So I will write more later. But probably not before the 3rd of December, that’s the exam date.

When you think you’re being clever but later realize you were the farthest thing from. Allow me to elaborate.

A few weeks ago I applied for my folk number (read about it here), that’s the social insurance number equivalent here in Norway. I neglected to tell you the best part of the story though. You see, in trying to find the folkregistry all I really had was a poorly printed googlemap of the area, without even really knowing where on the map I was supposed to be, I just had the street name, thankfully it wasn’t a long street.

I stepped out of the subway station and into the neighbourhood of Tøyen. I stood for a minute talking to Anne on the phone, I forget about what, then when we got off the phone I stood for another minute trying to get my bearings. I love maps (the older the cooler) and I’m usually quite good with them. Well for some reason I really couldn’t get a handle on how I oriented on the map, like I was lost without having moved further than twenty metres from the subway. Of course I still had the station in my view so I knew I could leave at any time but I needed to get a folk number. So with nothing for it I started walking in the direction I thought was right.

Well because I’m writing about it I obviously set off in the wrong direction, thankfully not the opposite direction but not the correct one. After walking for some five minutes, I saw street names that were on my little printed bit of map but I still couldn’t orient myself. Long story short, I walked a some 1050m according to google maps, when the distance from the sub station to the office was 80m. It wasn’t until I got to the corner of Jens Bjelkes and Eiriks that I knew where I was.

Enjoy the pictorial representation. The “M” is the metro station.

Hey everyone. Just wanted to give you an update on things.

As the semester nears it’s end I’m feeling the nerves creep in. I’ve got quite a bit invested here in Norway. I’ve never taken school as seriously as I am now. In fact I don’t take anything too seriously and so it’s a bit of a change for me. I actually want to be here and study here. So I’m working hard on my reading and writing. And things are coming along well.

I have to submit the 10 page thesis outline on the 21st of November and I’ve got to submit my palaeography assignment on the 3rd of December. My Old Norse written exam is on the 3rd of December as well. The thesis seminar course is the most important one so that has me working the hardest.

Of course it isn’t all work, this evening I’ve been invited to attend a performance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony. I’ve been going swimming often and in the evenings some of my flatmates and I play video games sometimes. Of course that is when I’m not out with Anne Marit. There’s lots to do here and it seems not enough time to do it. This problem seems all the worse when you consider that there’s about six or seven hours of daylight. By 5pm it’s midnight dark outside. Cloudy days are somewhat good because they seem to diffuse the light a bit and it gives the appearance that there is light in the sky. It’s quite strange.

I promised photos of Oslo but I haven’t yet done that. I’m planning to go walking around town after the 3rd of December. I’m coming to Canada for Christmas on the 18th and that means I’m going to have two weeks to just bum around town after my exams and before my flight back, so the photos will be taken then.

That’s that for now then, if I think of anything else I will post about it. Cheers all.