Viko 2013

'Preservation of one's own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures' -Ceasr Chavez

Well this past week or so I have spent in Bø, but they have been filled with many adventures- some not so wonderful. Here at Telemark University, every Feburary for 10 days the students host 'Viko' which is comparable to a Homecoming week. It is basically time for a bunch of different student run activites aimed at breaking the winter time blues. This year Viko ran from Feb. 14th until the 24th. I missed the beginning of it because of my trip to Italy, but I was able to participate in some of the activities this past week and was even involved in 'hosting' one of them. Some of the Viko activites I missed were various concerts, a talent show, different speakers, etc., but here are some of the ones I participated in....

I went to my first Viko activity on Tuesday night, which was an taco/pizza buffet at one our our local restuarants. It was only 70 NOK, so super cheap for Norwegain standards (actually about 12 USD- I try to avoid converting- it is just too painful). Since being over here, the one type of food I crave the most is Mexican food, so to say the least I loaded up on tacos. I went with a group of US students after we were done planning for 'International Day'.

On Wednesday, it was 'International Day'. All of the international students got together with others from their home countries and made a poster, food, presentation, etc. showing off their home and culture. Members from the community and school then came from 2-4 in the afternoon to our different stands set up in the foyer of the school to learn about everyone. Most coutnries had food/ drink, photos, facts, costumes, and some even performed music, dances or cultural traditions for everyone. It really was a contest between the countries and at the end we all voted for our favorite. We Americans realized we really didn't stand a chance because we do not really have any special cultural traditions and those that we do have- everyone already knows. But we did make a stand and had some visitors- really I think it was just for the food :) My friends from Kurdistan won and Lithuania took second.

On Friday we had our second excurison for my skiing class. It was slightly dissapointing because our excursion was the same loop that I do almost daily with my friend Meg, but it was fun going with a larger group and all skiing together. Tune (my professor) also talked to us about the biathlon and we played some more games with our skis on, which is always an adventure.

On Saturday, for Viko, there was a 'sledging' competition at the school. There is a pretty big sledding hill on the side of the school and so students can make teams and enter a sled or 'sledge' as they call it. They take turns racing them down the hill and have to race to hit a bell and whoever does it the fastest wins. There were only about 8 teams, but so many people came together to watch. Some of the sledges they raced down on were so terrifying- you could not pay me $100USD to go down in one! There were so many wooden things attached to skis and some guys even went down in a shopping cart. Thankfully, although they were there, the Red Cross was not needed. Afterwards there was an 'afterski' part at school, which was pretty much everyone sitting around talking and dancing to music. It was based off from the tradition of people getting together after a long day of skiing and having a party.

Other than Viko, my life hasn't been too exciting. Unfortunately on this past Monday or Tuesday, my computer completely crashed, like took 2 hours to turn on and then only worked in 'Safe Mode'. So I took it into our tech support at school and they had no idea what was wrong with it. The only suggestion I got was to reboot it to factor mode. After talking with my brother, we decided it was the best idea. So I first headed to my bookstore and bought a jumpdrive and filled that, along with the two I already had, with all of my pictures and important files I had on my computer. Then I completely wiped it down to factor mode. It took a while, but I finally got it working (mostly). I had some problems getting connected to the internet until today, but think I have it. I am rocking it 90's styles with Internet Explorer, so its testing my patience, but at least it works. My mom can relax a little bit too now, because I can skype, so I still have some connection to the world back home. I think my computer had just had enough of the power coversion and connecting to all the foregin internet connections and gave up. I had been warned this would most likely happened, so I am happy it will last me at least for the next three months and I am looking at the bright side that this is one less thing I have to pack to bring home!

This weekend, my friend from the States, Amanda (Ace), comes to visit me for about 5 days and so I'll be spending the week in Oslo and taking a trip down to Slovakia to visit some of our other camp friends- so I am very excited to see some familar faces. And today marks exactly 3 months till I board a plane for home... I simply cannot believe it is already the end of Feburary and I still have so much more I want to do! Ahh!!
Wish you all the best- hugs and kisses!

Et tu, Brute?

‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ -Julius Caesar

Good morning Italy! This next week, because many of the other students are away on a field trip for their friluftsliv classes, most of my classes were canceled. So instead of hanging around and wasting a perfectly wonderful week, my friend Abbie and I headed down here to Italy. With some mighty fine organizational skills I inherited from my momma, I booked up flights, trains and hostels so we are able to see 4 cities in about 6 days- Milan (Tuesday), Venice (Wednesday), Florence (Thursday) and finally Rome (Friday, Saturday, and leave on Sunday). To make it a little easier on myself- I’ll break down my blogging into city by city.

Milano- Our flight heading out to Milan left just early enough that we had yet another wonderful night in the Rygge airport. (Un)fortunately, the early train out got into Rygge at 8.50 and our plane took off at 9.45, so we were just on the border, but that would have been cutting it way too close. So come 8.30 Monday night, Abbie and I hoped on a train to Oslo and then to Rygge. Like before, our train got into Rygge too late, so no shuttle bus was waiting for us. This time, we knew where to walk and didn’t get lost so we were able to get to the airport in a half an hour or so. We even found a really nice little corner to huddle up in and I was lucky enough to get roughly 6 hours of sleep. Eight o’clock came and we were up and packing everything up, checking in, going through security, and camping out at our gate. Everything was going great, despite a little confusion at the security gate when the guard looked at my boarding pass and commented how she “never saw that one before.” From experience I thought she was talking about my last name, until she started asking me if it was a state, then I got confused. One quick glance at my boarding pass in her hand, I realized that I had accidently had check “United States Minor Outlying Islands” instead of just “United States of America”. Thankfully at visa check Europeans don’t know their US geography, like we don’t know our European geography, so no penalty was paid and I was able to white lie my way through just fine. At around 9.00, right before boarding was supposed to start, an announcement was made over the loud speakers that our flight would be delayed and more information would be given at 9.45. So we waited. 9.45 comes around and another announcement was made, that unfortunately the plane was just leaving Milan due to snow, so we would be delayed until 11.15…So, we waited. Come 11.45, we finally start boarding. It wasn’t until 12.30 that our flight finally got off of the ground.

The flight went just fine and we landed just before 3, caught a bus and got into Milan city center at about quarter to 5- about 4 hours after we expected to get there. Next we located the subway system to navigate our way to our hostel. Thankfully those extra hours in the airport gave us time to look up the Milan metro system and find multiple routes to hostel, unfortunately to the untrained hear, most Italian ‘P’ names sound the same. So long story short- we ended up going in the opposite direction we needed and were about 4k’s away from our hostel. Being the poor college kids we are, we didn’t want to buy another metro pass once we figured out what we did, so we walked. Which is pretty difficult without a map. After many pop’s in and out of metro stops to look at their map, a really nice pharmacist, and another two hours or so, we finally made it to the steps of our hostel.

Exhausted, starving and smelling, we unloaded our things and made our way out to find food. Surprisingly, there is very little open in Milan on a Tuesday night for food. After quite a walk, we found a pizzeria and ordered our first slices of true Italian pizza. We have decided our experience in this pizzeria was Milan trying to pay us for our terrible experience so far. 1^st- our so called ‘pieces’ of pizza turned out to be a full-fledged 12 inch pizza each for only 5 euro- Score! And trust me, we had no problem finishing the whole thing by ourselves. 2^nd- While going to the bathroom Abbie found 50 euros on the ground- Double Score! Looks like we’ll be having a nice Valentine’s Day dinner in Florence!

By the time we were done with dinner, it was 9 o’clock and with all of our mishaps, it was time to just call it quits and head to bed. Plus a nice 5.15 wakeup call would come earlier than we wanted.  So all of the wonders of Milan, like the Duomo and the Last Supper, will have to remain a mystery to us- they were eaten up by our 3 hour flight delay.

Venezia- Our train left Milan Central Station at 7.05 this morning (Wednesday) and would arrive at Venice at 9.30. It would take about 45 minutes to walk to the train station from the hostel, so we were up by 5.15- getting ready, packing and we were out the door by 5.45. Fortunately we made it to the train station by 6.30 and were able to check with a ticket office and make sure the tickets we got offline were legitimate. We were able to board by 6.45 or so and I was lucky enough that the ticket I bought was 1^st class baby! Abbie had bought up the last economy price ticket and so I bought the next cheapest one, which somehow put me in first class. We boarded and I was feeling pretty high class- I got extra legroom, a cushionier chair and part way through the ride they would come through and give me a hot beverage and newspaper. I was sitting there soaking it all up, feeling a little out of place- sitting by a bunch of business men and women with their briefcase, while I was rocking my hiking boots and overstuffed traveling backpack- waiting for the train to depart. I glanced at my watch and it was about 7.25, so we were already 20 minutes late from our departure time. At that moment an employee got on our train and started speaking Italian. The moment he stopped, everyone in the train stood up, put on their coats and started to get off. I frantically looked for the person closest to my age (guessing they would most likely speak English). I found two girls who explained to me that the train was broken and we needed to switch to platform 13. I followed them off and instantly started to freak-out about Abbie. I knew she was sitting in car 4, but there were crowds of people coming off of the train and literally running to platform 13, all pushing me that way. I started running over there with them, all the while searching for Abbie. At platform 13- people were jumping on the train like it was going to leave any minute. I felt like I was faced with the biggest dilemma in my entire life- to get on the train or to stay off? I wasn’t sure if Abbie was already on or if she was waiting someplace else. I kept jumping on and off the train searching for her, meanwhile people were still sprinting to get on the train. At that moment an announcement came over the loudspeaker saying train 13 would soon depart. I then proceeded to whip out my emergence phone and call her… but what good is an emergency phone when it doesn’t work? None at all I tell you. I jump on and then jump off again, still not having made up my mind whether to stay or leave. When across the many tracks I saw her bright pink flowery purse. I have never felt such relief. I didn’t care who heard- I yelled her name at the top of my lungs, and because she didn’t know where the voice was coming from I yelled it again. I felt like I was in some movie scene. She was there walking along and, after I yelled at her to run, she booked it. We found the conductor of 13 who told us just to find any empty seat. We took off down the platform jumped into one of the back cars and grabbed the first two seats we found.

After talking awhile, I found out the whole 15 minutes I was off and frantically searching for her, she hadn’t even been told what was going on. She had just found out the train was broken and that we could either stay on the train or switch to train 13, but we would then have to make a transfer. When she said this we both started to worry a little because I hadn’t heard about the transfer and she didn’t remember where it was that we needed to get off. At the first stop when many people are starting to get off, I stop a gentleman leaving next to me, and ask him if this is where I need to get off to make the transfer and it wasn’t. So Abbie and I sat put, worrying our little heads off about when to get off. We decided to move seats so we could sit next to each other and closer to our luggage. We ended up sitting across from a middle-aged man working on his laptop. He had sitting next to him a magazine with all of the routes of the trains. He not only let us borrow it, but proceeded to ask us what stop we are looking for. After we explain our situation, we lets us know what stop we need and that he will let us know when to get off. He starts talking to us about what we are doing here in Italy, and tells us all the great spots to go and see. He even translates some of the announcements for us. When we are about to get off, he gives us his business card to e-mail him if we have any questions at all. He is definitely going to get a thank-you e-mail. I’ve met so many great and helpful people on all of my travels and never have really gotten to thank them, so I am really happy I can thank him. Best part- his name is Fabio :)

We made our transfer with no problem and made it into Venice by 10.30 or so. Needless to say I didn’t get the nap I was planning on and Abbie and I have now made an emergence plan for the possible next time that might happen. But on the good hand, the moment I stepped of the train I finally felt like I was in Italy. I’ll give Milan the benefit of the doubt, because we didn’t get to see anything really, but it was really not all that amazing. Venice instantly captured my heart. The canals and the water and the buildings are incredible. It’s just what I imagined. Venice has always been one city in the world I’ve always want to go and see, and it has surpassed my expectations.

Our hostel is amazing- its right on the water, only 10 minutes from the station, and we have our own room and bathroom! We dropped our things off, got checked in and freshened up and then headed out. We spent all afternoon wandering the streets, taking photos, shopping, eating food, looking at old buildings, touring churches and the such. I wish we could have taken a gondola ride, but 80 euros is just too expensive for college kids. Instead, we settled with some gelato. We headed back to our hostel for a much needed break (where I am now) and soon we’ll head out for some good pasta and slowly make our way back for some solid sleep before we are up early again for a train to Florence!

We made our way out around 8 for some dinner and a nice walk around Venice. I am so glad I was there with Abbie, because after dark, Venice is a little creepy. I think because the roads are so tiny and so close, there are next to no street lights, which makes walking around at night a little scary. We made our way to the Bridge of Sighs (one of the oldest bridges in Venice build in the 1600’s) and stopped for a nice lasagna dinner and then off to bed.

Firenze- Because our hostel in Venice was so close to the train station, we got to sleep in a bit. Well, until 7.30 that is… But it was a really relaxing and beautiful walk over the bridges and water over to the station. We made it on the train and to Florence with no problem at all. We got in around 10.40 and then we set off to find the hostel and from this experience- I have decided never to trust GoogleMaps again in my life. Normally hostels are really good at giving you directions from main arrival points- airports, bus stations or train stations- but for some reason this hostel only gave us directions from the Duomo (a main tourist spot), but we didn’t know how to get there. So thankfully, I noticed this before we left Norway and had printed off directions to the hostel from the train station off line. According to the directions it would take us about 23 minutes to get there. After about 15 minutes of walking around and trying to find the street it said to turn left on, we went back to the train station and found a giant map on the wall. We found where we were supposed to go- it wasn’t left, it was right…So after that mishap happened, we were off and found our way no problem…Well, until we reached the hostel. It was at the bottom of the a big compartment building… only the name of the hostel- Danny- didn’t match the one on my sheet… GoogleMaps had led us about 1 ½ miles to the wrong hostel…After some looking I located the right address in my papers, but problem was, we didn’t know where this street was. So we started walking back towards the train station. After about 20 minutes we passed a park with a map on a board, we sat there and tried to figure it out, but the map didn’t have the street we needed on it. So I just gave in and went and bought a map from a street vender. Thankfully we found where we needed to go and it wasn’t too far from where we were. After about a 10 minute walk we found our hostel and got all settled in. We got organized and then headed out to see the sights of Florence- the statues, bridges, buildings and plazas. We walked around the Duomo and even took a tour of the crypt in the basement where they had found the ancient remains of the Santa Reparata cathedral. While we were walking towards the water to cross over and see Michelangelo’s Plaza, we stumbled across a large crowd of people gathering in a random plaza, so naturally we went to check out what was going on. After talking with some people we found out that there was going to be a flash mob with the “One Billion Rising” campaign. It took place all over the world on the 14^th and was aimed at raising awareness for domestic violence. Afterwards we wandered towards the bridge and hung out in the sunshine for a long time. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such warm weather. On that note- it was strange walking around in just a zip-up while everyone else was running around in winter coats. In fact, a street vender tried to sell me a coat, because I ‘was the only one without one and its cold’. Eventually we wandered back to the hostel to rest and look up a nice restaurant for dinner. In the evening we headed out for dinner- Italian sausage, wine, parmesan and spinach stuffed ravioli and a cake for dessert. We slowly made our way back to the hostel and stopped for some more gelato on the way- you can never have too much gelato!

Roma- The train ride to Rome and finding our hostel was the easiest of them all- for the first time this trip nothing went wrong! In fact the hostel we stayed at was my favorite of them all- the staff was super helpful and, not only did we get free breakfast, but we also got a free pasta and wine supper both nights! On Friday when we got there, after getting settled in, we decided to go and see the Vatican City and then work our way back from there. We hoped on the metro (super easy because Rome only has 2 lines) and started at the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. I was even super sneaky and got a picture of the ceiling and the hands of God and Adam part of it- which wasn’t allowed. We then made our way to Saint Peter’s Basilica, saw where St. Peter, the first pope of the Catholic church, is buried. After a quick stop for some food we stopped along some more sights- the Angel’s Bridge, the Pantheon, and other various monuments. We finished the afternoon with some shopping along the main road and then headed back to the hostel for our free dinner. We were quite exhausted after dinner, so we spend the night in the hostel hanging out with the other girls in our room.

        Saturday was quite a wonderful day- possibly my favorite. We got up and started the day with a visit to the Trevi Fountain and made a wish. Next we wandered our way down to the Coliseum, Roman Forum and the Palatino. We had to wait in line for about 45 minutes, but then slowly made our way through the Palatino then Roman Forum and saved the Coliseum for last. We spent about 3 hours there, but I felt as if I could spend 3 days there! I loved it- so many things to look at, so much history and so many stories. It was truly incredible. Afterwards we grabbed some gelato and headed back to our hostel to rest a bit. We then made our way back out to do some more shopping and got more gelato of course! A quick stop back the hostel for dinner and then we headed back out to see the Coliseum at night. We finished our trip with some bruschetta and Italian cake for dessert :)

We flew back at 11.30 and finally made it back to Bø at 7.30 last night… It was a really wonderful trip. All of the cities (with the exception of Milan) were amazing. Highly recommend them to you all. It was sad coming back to Norway though, because I realize my time here is nearing the end. Now it’s only about 3 months till I head home- May 25^th. I bought my ticket back to the States last week…I know these next few months are going to pass quickly- too quickly I think! But I am excited to see you all back at home- Lots of love to you all!