Much has happened. I’m in Canada and home for the holidays. I arrived on the 18th of December and I return to Norway on the 19th of January. Of I have some plans to do a bit of work on my thesis but it seems to be going slowly. Happily of course it’s the holidays and I don’t have anything I’m required to do.

So the semester grades arrived and I checked them online a few days after I arrived in Canada. My thesis outline got a pass, it was only a pass/fail grading. I earned a D in my Old Norse course. Which means that if I decide I’ve improved on it over the next few semesters I’m going sit the exam again. You can do that here. They allow you to sit the exam a total of three times if you feel you can do better. The nice thing is that it’s free of charge in Norway, and you’re not required to attend the lectures. To balance that less than great grade I got an A in my palaeography course. So everything is good in school, I’m going to try and retake the Old Norse exam at the end of the third semester.

Other than that not much is new. I just wanted to wish everyone happy holidays and give an update on what’s going on.

Merry Christmas and I will write again soon.

The snows have come to Norway which means that it’s always cloudy and dark-ish. It’s snowing right now and I’m guessing that it won’t melt this time until the spring.

So aside from the fact that I now have time to relax a bit, I’ve still got a few things that need doing. The most important of which is selecting a course (or courses) for next semester. I’m undecided on which one I should take. There’s also the question of the Norwegian course. I don’t know if any of you recall but I had to drop the Norwegian course I was enrolled in this semester because of a scheduling conflict. Now, because I’ve only got my thesis seminar and one other course I’m going to have a much freer schedule and will be able to take the Norwegian. This makes me happy.

On the other hand I just read that I’m actually going to have to undergo an oral examination. I was under the impression that I was just going to submit my thesis and have it graded. But hidden in the thesis seminar syllabus was this bit:

Before the final grading there will be an oral examination of approximately one hour – a discussion between the student and two examiners about the thesis. The supervisor will not be a member of this panel; at least one of the examiners will be external. The final grade will be given after this oral examination.

So aside from just writing the thesis I have to plan and organize ways to talk about it too. I’m not complaining though, the more chance to talk about this stuff I get the happier I am.

I also have to pack for the return trip home for the holidays. It’s an exciting time because there’s so much to do and little stress. Tomorrow is my last day of teaching this year at the school, after that I just have a student on Monday and two more on Wednesday and I’m finished with work. I guess I’ve got some Christmas shopping to do but when you don’t have to worry about rushing it won’t be so bad.

I do plan on running around Oslo still and getting some cool photos for you guys so that’s on the list too. I just have to find a day that isn’t so cloudy.

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.

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.

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.