Norwegian Saga

Today’s weather is perfect.

It’s the kind that if hidden from the sun the night’s frost remains throughout the day. One’s breath forms lingering clouds that dissipate before one can imagine a shape in them. It is not quite cold enough that one needs gloves however. One doesn’t feel burdened by the extra clothes and fumbling for keys is not a problem. As cars pass they leave the smell of diesel exhaust that only this kind of weather can cause; the smell that is oddly reminiscent of days past when engines were about helping man work, worries of efficiency and the environment non-existent. The sun is brilliant only because it is so low but it shines with a comforting yellow not the painful white of summer that hurts the eyes. The air is fresh! One feels as though one can breathe twice as deeply for the air doesn’t stop in one’s throat or mouth for being too soggy and hot or icy and biting. The weather is more perfect because we know it won’t last, winter is just around the corner. Every morning has the expectation of snow and one waits with bated breath. To take the gloves or not? One treasures every second spent outside as it will change from this perfection. Then we’ll have to wait an entire year until we have it again.

Yes, today’s weather is perfect.

The latest news is that the I received my residence permit and that’s a relief for me. I had started to have visions of getting dragged out of my abode by Norwegian police officers.

Another bit of news is that I’ve got my bank account. I have a student bank account (no fees) for five years. I guess every student gets a five year account even if they’re not doing a five year program. When they asked me when my program ended I told them June of 2010 which didn’t seem to affect the term of the account. This is unlike in Canada where yearly I had to humble myself and reaffirm to TD that I was indeed a student for that year.

I’ve taken to hiking around the city a bit. It’s incredibly relaxing. On my hikes I’ve learned that I don’t really mind being lost in a city just as long as it’s got public transport. Two of my walks, each of about 2 hours, took me to two different parts of the city.

The first included a nice subway ride up to the highest station in Oslo. (The Frognerseteren station and a few below it are actually under construction so I didn’t really take the sub all the way, halfway up we had to switch to buses.) From there I hiked a bit farther up the hill to the highest point on which sits a lovely (read ugly) radio antenna. There was a wonderful little lake there and in the middle of the forest a ski jump, which to me seems really out of place nevertheless this is Norway and people actually do that here.

The second walk was simply through the city from one subway station to another, Ulleval to Sinsen.

Yesterday was my first payment for food from my bank card. The process is much more streamlined here in Norway. You don’t have to wait for the cashier to do anything you can just swipe the card at any time during the transaction, even when they’re still scanning your items through, it’s weird.

Two more pics from Frognerseteren. One looking inland and one out to the fjord, and yes those are all sailboats, there was a regatta going on.

Hello everyone.

The biggest news I’ve got is the hiccup in my residence permit application. When I had submitted my application I did not have a copy of my health insurance policy as was required. The girl to whom I submitted the application package didn’t seem concerned by this at all. I did however, have the policy numbers, phone numbers, and names of all the information that would be required should the “Utlendingsdirektoratet” want to look into it. Both times she assured me if they want it they’ll contact me.

Sure enough, a few days later I got a letter. In it was a request to send in my health insurance policy within two weeks. The problem then became how to get the policy from RBC to me here in Norway. That was settled when my folks received the policy in the mail and scanned and emailed it to me. I printed it and submitted it.

I also got a bank account at Post Banken. It’s a post office and a bank in one. The bank section is handled by a larger Norwegian bank but the post office is the national service. As a student I have a fee free account for 5 years despite the fact that they know I’m done my studies in June of next year. It’s a nice deal.

The people for whom I teach English at the school have given me another grade to teach, unfortunately it’s a younger age group. So now I teach 6-15 year olds in five classes. It’s makes me like Saturdays less as I don’t love teaching kids but thankfully it’s only one day a week and it means I can probably get rid of most or all of my private clients, of which I just received another to start in September.

My thesis adviser has agreed to meet with me weekly. As I understand this is a good thing. Many students don’t get that kind of attention from their advisers. I’m also gearing up to have the first draft of the thesis completed by Christmas. It won’t be an easy task. But now that I’ve got some concrete things in place thanks to my adviser things have moved out of the realm of simply ideas and into the tangible (ie. paper). It’s quite nice to have had that conceptual door opened for me. I somehow didn’t seem able to do it myself.

I guess that’s it for now. Another entry to come next week. Cheers.