Current Temperature: 36 F
Current Amount of Snow: about 2 feet
Hey all! I’ve been in a Trondheim a few days now and I’ve been slacking a bit on blogging (I’m going to have to get used to this). Here’s my life up to now:
I left my house in New Jersey on the 4th and after a short (and painless) stop-over in Copenhagen I arrived at the Trondheim airport (Værnes) on the 5th. To say that this airport is small is being generous. It was tiny! Thankfully the program I am in (PLU) at NTNU arranged for someone to meet me at the central station in Trondheim and told me about a cheap bus to get into town (the Flybussen). I arrived with no problems! Phew!
Our student assistant (Ingrid) took me to my dorm in the Steinen Studentby (Student Village). I live is something called a småhus (literally a “small house”) with 3 other people. We each have our own rooms and share a kitchen, toilet, and two showers. I’m not going to lie, my room is pretty sweet. I have a downstairs living room area and a loft upstairs with a bed, desk, and closet. I’ll post a picture when it isn’t a total disaster zone (which it is now). The first night was a bit rough because I couldn’t get in contact with my parents. My international phone plan wasn’t working and I couldn’t figure out the Internet connection in my room (which really is no surprise to those who know me well). It was weird feeling almost completely alone. I literally knew one person in Norway: Ingrid. Thankfully she is an incredible, warmhearted person who truly wants me to succeed here.
Things quickly got better when Ingrid and I met up with the other PSU student in my program, Megan. It was nice to see a familiar face! We met up and ended up hanging out with an NTNU student who lives in Steinen that Megan met while lost! He’s been such a great help too!
NTNU had an orientation program for foreign exchange students Thursday and Friday but Megan and I chose not to go. We are in a bit of an odd situation because we aren’t really students through the university. Our program is extremely small (4 people!) and we don’t really associate with the university. It’s not that we don’t like them, it’s just that our program is very different than all of the others. No one really knows what to do with Megan and I (and some people haven’t even heard of us!). Plus, we had to do some errands like getting our student IDs and bus passes since the offices are only open when we will be teaching. Its been a little difficult to meet people since Megan and I couldn’t go to orientation and my roommates seem to like to keep to themselves. (One literally ran away from me. I didn’t even have a chance to say anything!) That being said my roommates are starting to open up (no one has run from me since the first time) and there are TONS of international students in Steinen so Megan and I pretty much start talking to anyone we hear speaking English. It’s worked so far! (P.S. Norwegian is HARD. More about that later). We spent most of the weekend touring around Trondheim and taking in the sights. The best was our visit to the Nidaros Cathedral (see below) It was tons of fun!
The Nidaros Cathedral. Construction started in 1070 AD. What were you doing in 1070 AD?
Sorry for such a long entry! (You’ll discover that I tend to be a bit long-winded =P) Today was my first day in the school that I will be teaching in. Schools in Norway are quite different from schools in the US, but that’s a different story for a different time. Right now, it’s dinnertime. Bye for now!
Location: Trondheim, Norway
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