That’s what it says. It’s an unassuming little document.

One thing I know for certain. I will return to the study of Scandinavian history just as soon as I can. Over this summer and this entire experience I have learned that as much as I hesitate to uphold the station of an academic and as much as it scares me to consider myself as such, it is what I am. It is who I am. I am a thinker.

I’m still very jumbled up about what’s going on despite two weeks having been back. I made some good friends in Oslo and just fell in love with the city, and country in general. Being back in Canada is a bit of a change.

Once again, I thank you all for reading and your support. It’s been a wonderful time. So until I’m back in Oslo this blog will lay dormant for the most part. Keep it in your RSS feeds though .

I’m going to dedicate this post as a big thank you to various persons, a shortened version of this is actually in the acknowledgments of the thesis. However, I do feel the need to write something here as well.

Firstly, I’d like to thank my friends back home, both mine and my parents’. They supported me in making the choice to come Norway. I have no doubt most, if not all thought the venture crazy yet they held their tongues and urged me on. For that I am grateful. It’s easy to smash the dreams of another and without their support I would have been hard pressed to believe what I was doing was worthwhile. Thanks guys.

Professor Bednarski (I have to use your last name, my internetiphobia already has me thinking even this is too much) deserves a thank you because no other single individual has so strongly urged, almost ordered me to do what I’m doing academically. He has always been very supportive and helped me grow academically to levels I didn’t know existed. Thank you professor.

I’d like to thank my friends here in Norway, both profs and students. There’s a bit of a list of people both Norwegian and foreign, in my program and outside of it but they’ve all earned a thank you. They helped me settle into my life as a student in Norway. They also made it a great time outside of the classroom and more importantly have taught me how to be social. They’re a great and wonderful bunch and I desperately hope that all of them remain in my life. Thank you all.

I will single out one friend from Canada, Simonella. The one buddy who kept me sane through insanity both in person and via email. His support has been incalculable. I cannot imagine a life without a friend as good as him. Thanks for being there for me man and making sure I take nothing too seriously, least of all myself.

I would like to thank Anne’s parents. They have shared their home, cottage, time, energy, and food with me (at Norwegian prices, believe me the latter is nothing to sneeze at) to great lengths. They have provided me with so much I can’t probably word it. They took and interest in me and always made sure I was ok. They provided a haven of normalcy in Norway for me that it began to feel like I had a second home, a place to feel comfortable and without stress. Thank you Mr.and Mrs. S.

My sister and Jamie. The people I could always count on not to give me any hell for doing something stupid. You were both open and honest but caring and supportive. My sister of course always let me come to her with anything and didn’t judge me. It was an important psychological prop-up for me. Thank you both.

Anne. I don’t always express how grateful I am and I should. Next to my parents she has helped me the most. So much of everything I’ve been able to do is thanks to her. Thank you Anne.

And of course, my mom and dad. The support was unequaled and their patience is titanic even for parents. They’ve put some of their plans on hold to help me fund this little excursion and deserve more thanks than I could ever return. The project may as well bear their names for they’ve put in as much or more effort and heart into it then I have. I just wish it would do them justice though nothing ever could. Thank you mom and dad.

Well, to help me keep from crying I’m going to tell you about how I got stuck at the school overnight. What, how is that possible, you’re thinking. Yes, that’s what I thought. The masters students in the ILN department (Institutt for lingvistiske og nordiske studier) have a reading/study call available to them. It is key-card locked so not everyone has access. The door to the building also has keycard access. The way it works is that after 2100 you have to use your card along with a PIN to get into the building. Well I was desperate on Thursday evening to finish my project for Friday (obviously it’s still not done) so I stayed in the study hall until 2am. The last person had left before 2300 and I had the room to myself. It was wonderfully quiet. At midnight all of the lights shut off. I thought nothing of it as I still had a desk lamp and typing on a computer doesn’t require much light. At 2am I got sleepy and decided it was time to go home. I packed up everything and swiped out of the study hall but when I got to the building’s exterior doors they wouldn’t open. The swiper rejected my card and PIN. I tried like ten times but no dice. I was stuck. I also couldn’t get back into the study hall to work through the night because that door was locked down as well. I checked some windows but they didn’t open wide enough for me to jump out. So I ended up sleeping in the building foyer on a couch until 6am when I thought the locks might be working again and thankfully they were. I trudged home and got into my real bed and slept until noon.

So the lesson is that while you may be certain that buildings will keep people from coming IN after a certain hour, never assume you’ll always be able to get OUT because who would believe someone would want to get out of a building after midnight right?

I was in Poland from 14-22 April. I was visiting family. My father was in Poland visiting as well. The plan was to meet up in Poland, introduce me to everyone, and then come to Oslo for a few days. The Eyjafjallajökull (hear what it sounds like spoken; the “ll” are said like “lt”) volcano changed those plans. I was to return to Oslo on the 19th but mother nature had other ideas and to everyone’s disappointment my father didn’t get to see Norway this time around.

I was nervous going to Poland. This was my second time in Poland and really the first time that I was aware of what was going on. I think I was 12 when I went the first time, don’t remember much from that visit. I do remember my grandmother a little. She wanted me to eat a soup that I hated at the time but now love. Memory works in strange ways. I was nervous about going this time because I was afraid that people had expectations of me. I don’t usually bow to those kinds of things because I’ve never been in this kind of situation. Through my 27 years my family was three people, my mom, dad, and sister (plus a semi-adopted brother, he knows who he is). Going to Poland I was going to be in the company of real family. What would they think of me? Did they matter to me so that I needed to worry what they thought? They are family so somehow, incomprehensibly to my oh-so-logical mind they did matter. Few times in my life I really wanted to impress and make people happy and this was one of them.

When I got there my dad, cousin, and uncle met me at the airport and it was like stepping into a home/family that I’d never been apart from. There were hugs and greetings and I felt all of my stress melt away. They welcomed me with open arms. Then it all began again because I had to then meet my aunt. And when I arrived at the flat we were to stay in it was the same loving feeling. No stress, no pressure, just family. Real family that takes you as you are and it is for the warmth they show that you work to be a better person. I am quite jealous of those who have their family all in one place. They’re fortunate probably not realizing it. Just as I didn’t realize it with my 3.5 family members in Canada. This experience has taught me otherwise though.

So, enough of the soft stuff. When I got to Poland, the strangest thing was the number of Polish people. They were everywhere, even more there than in Norway! I also noticed how nice people were to each other. This may sound cheesy but “thank yous” and “your welcomes” (in Polish of course) were everywhere. This was quite a change from Norway. One thing that both countries have in common that Canada lacks is apparent genuineness of the people. They don’t put on the painfully obvious false fronts complete with blindingly white smiles and vacant eyes. For this reason it’s a nice thing. I’m not going to believe that people are better in Poland or Norway than in Canada but they certainly appear to be more honest about their motives and intentions.

We lived with my aunt and uncle (names kept hidden for my internetiphobia). They live in a tiny little apartment in the “Brodno Nowe” part of town (I think). It was very cozy (another thing Europe does better). The small size meant I had to share a bed with my dad, which was ok, I could have slept on the floor on a mattress but I didn’t want to trouble my aunt. However, my dad snores that’s less ok. I have come to respect my mother in a completely new fashion. The death of Poland’s president two days before my arrival in Warsaw meant that the country was to observe a week of mourning. That meant closed museums and upset public transport which put a few kinks in our plans. However, I was happy because I got to meet family and see my homeland.

The dietary environment was the one sticking point for me. I love cheese and grease and Polish cuisine is full of both, along with lots of meat. The country’s history meant that they used what they had and fat was used too. I had some delicious perogis that were swimming in oil. They were very tasty but it made me worry about the people that were consuming that kind of diet daily. So I’m hoping that they’ll change their dietary habits soon as the new health wave reaches Poland.

I won’t bother enumerating all of the places I visited. You can have a look at some of the photos.

Photos here.

There’s no audio to make the video a little smaller and there was nothing worthwhile to listen to, no gulls or fog horns.

The point of view is from the fortress looking down into the Oslo harbour. Straight across from me is the chic new part of town called Aker Brygge. The two big red tower type buildings with a clock on them are really one and is the city hall. The cream coloured building with the brief zoom is the Nobel Peace Centre.

Anyway, it’s just a test to see how it works (youtube being tested at the same time). Hope you enjoy it and I hope it works for you.