And I would walk 500 miles........

I'm exhausted. I wish I had a fit bit to tell me how much I've actually walked this week though I don't think a fit bit knows when you're walking up hill which is primarily how I've justified the fact that I haven't "worked out" since I've been here. But really, all my natural resources are dwindling, my brain, my body, my social skills... I need to take some time and recharge...maybe sleep for 12 hours.
I don't even know where to start because this week has been filled with so much new information, people, and experiences. I have to give the International Office some credit, they've put together a pretty good orientation week. This week I went on two hiking trips, a boat tour, learned
how to play "kubb," a viking lawn game, and tonight the final activity is watching the Norwegian movie "The Troll Hunter." It feels like I've been going to camp all week rather than preparing to return to school....

Maybe some pictures will help break the ice? I am experiencing some major writers block.
The below picture is part of my walk to campus. There are several ways to get to campus but my favorite (and fortunately the shortest) is a path through a a really pretty wooded area. I love taking this walk and plan to use it for as long as I can before the weather forces me to take the bus more. Just in case you were wondering, I've vetoed the bike idea and got a bus pass instead. There are just too many steep hills....

The next two pictures are from my first hike which was up in the hills on the western side of the city I believe. We hiked for a few hours and stopped at a few really nice view points and a lake on the way back down to the city. I'm getting better at taking selfies I think!

The second hike was yesterday along the fjord and ending at Korsvika Beach (the bottom picture) where people could swim if they felt so inclined. I feel like a bit of a wimp but I just couldn't bring myself to take the plunge, though I did wade out a bit. BRRRRRRRRRR.... If there had been a place to jump in and get it over with all at once I think I might have summoned the couraged...

It really is very beautiful around here and I think I've been lucky this first week because the weather was pretty nice the whole week. Today it's grey and rainy and it looks like the forecast for the week is much of the same so I'm very thankful I was able to take advantage of the nice weather while I had it the chance!

My fourth roommate finally showed up late this week and we (my other roommates) and I were very excited when she turned out to be Norwegian! It seems like they tried to keep exchange students together so I feel like we won the lottery to get our very own Norwegian. I think she'll be a valuable information source.
I also met all the other people in the same program as me. There's 11 of us total I believe from many different places, Canada, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, India, Spain, Serbia, and there's even a guy from Gaza though I haven't met him yet. Not surprisingly, he had some technical difficulties getting here but I do believe he has arrived. It seems like a good group and I look forward to getting to know them better. In fact, I look forward to getting to know several of the people that I met this week better over the semester. It's always overwhelming meeting so many new people knowing that most of them will just become a familiar face to smile at when you pass them on the path to school but every once in a while you meet a person where the conversation flows a bit easier, more naturally, and you think "hey, I can see myself really getting to know this person."  I've met a few of those this week; let's just hope the feeling was mutual :).

Hmmm, what else...maybe some people are wondering if Norway really is that expensive and the answer is yes, yes it is indeed. I paid $10 for a beer the other day, the cheapest option in that bar (totally worth it though, it was a really nice day and the outside seating at the place was on the water). I'm lucky, I have a scholarship and I have been able to save money for the past 5 years so while I'm trying to be cheap, I think I have a bigger budget than most of the other students. Plus, things (like food) just aren't going to get any cheaper so there's really no point on dwelling on the prices. I do hate though that going out to restaurants for meals isn't a way that people really socialize. I love that about the US, you're always going out to dinner or lunch to catch up with friends. Here, I think it is just too expensive (especially for students) and I don't think it's a big part of the culture anyways. I haven't even been in a restaurant yet because people keep warning me about the prices! Potlucks it is then!

School starts tomorrow. Crazy. It feels like I have been talking about going back to school and this program for forever and now it's finally here. Hopefully going back to school is like riding a bike. Not going to lie, I'm worried about all the things I've forgotten. Our adviser brought up Matlab programming during our first meeting together, eek!!! It's been years!! Deep breathes.