It doesn't get dark until 10PM.

Vigeland Park (Naked People Statues)

Joe and Me at Songsvann

Well, I'm officially back in the swing of things in Oslo. And (other than a quick snowfall this morning), the weather is making positive strides towards warmth. Sognsvann, the once frozen spot for ice fishing and cross country skiing, is now a gorgeous lake full of trees and creeks (perfect for trolls). Ducks also make a lot of appearances. Along with really beautiful, sleek birds. I also had a bug fly in through my open window (for real, up until a week or so ago, I didn't see a bug). Progress!

Anyways, other than the rapidly transforming landscape, I've been really busy. The choir I'm in, Akademisk Koreforning, had choir concerts two weeks ago both Saturday and Sunday. We performed with the local Bærum Symfoniorkester at both a church and the first radio studio ever built in Oslo (through the state radio - NRK). Very cool! We sang a song in Swedish and a song in Russian lol.

At the same time, I also finished up a major 10-page paper (1 and a half spaced!) for my Norwegian music class. Now, as my only major paper of the semester, I shouldn't have complained as much as I did, but ten page papers are not quite my forte. Anyways, I ended up writing a paper that I'm quite proud of. It ended up being about the effect of rapidly-globalizing Norway and how increasing foreign influence (over the past 70 or so years) is effecting the morals, values, and overall socialization taught to children through children's music. I interviewed and surveyed Norwegians and ended up realizing that Norwegians are incredibly sad to see traditions fade and die, but the values from foreign songs aren't too different from the Norwegian values, making the benefits of economic success, political alliances, and an incredibly high standard of living worth the loss.

After finishing my paper, it was quite fitting to then have Joe come visit as his last journey before heading back to Philadelphia. We celebrated Queens Day (A Dutch holiday celebrating the old queen's birthday (the new queen's birthday is in a month with worse weather)), and checked out a cool underwater-themed bar. We also walked around Songsvann, watched a Norwegian movie about Nazi zombies (Dead Snow), checked out the amazing Opera House, and wound up back at the Naked People Park celebrating Lag B'Omer with about 20% of the Jewish population in Norway. Joe isn't Jewish, but Shaul, the Chabad Rabbi, and his wife, Esther (I think of you every time, Grandma!) made us both feel incredibly welcome. It's quite amazing to celebrate with Jews in a bright sunny park full of naked statues on a Sunday afternoon in Oslo. Definitely a special time for me, and, as Joe described it, 'an experience I definitely didn't expect' (of course in a good way!).

So today, after getting Joe to a 7:15 AM bus to get to the airport, I tried (unsuccessfully) to get fresh shrimp from the fishing boats. Apparently they took the day off. But I'll get 'em, don't worry. Maybe I'll try when my Mom and Dad come visit on Tuesday. They've been in Stockholm for a few days, and will come for a week (with a trip to Bergen, Norway) in the middle. It's been way too long since I've hung out just with them, so I'm excited to catch up and celebrate Mother's Day with my mom.

Their visit will be followed by a long-awaited visit from Katie! She'll be here for two weeks, and we are traveling to Berlin and Amsterdam for a week in the middle. I can't wait - you just can't give a hug through skype : ).

Other than that, I have exams coming up in the end of May and a completely free June. David will be visiting my last few weeks abroad to hopefully go to Helsinki, Tromso (for the midnight-sun half-marathon), Riga, and Prague. But the planning has yet to happen lol.

Joe at the Oslo Fjord

Lag B'Omer BBQ

Bra! Great!

Jonathan

Snow, Music, Candy.

The Central Station Tiger with Snow-Stripes

by:Larm Music Festival Tent

We were sitting around a hookah, eating my new plethora of Pez, talking about life and love and meaning. And then Grant sat up and said, "Yo man, we've been here like 7 weeks. In Norway." I threw out a 'yeah, man,' and began to think about how much I've done. How many nights were fantastic. How I've been attaching and detaching myself to certain aspects of Home. How I'm taking classes. How I've taken advantage of being in Oslo (FYI, Oslo means 'Pasteur of the Gods'. Now you know!) and being in a gateway to the rest of Europe. Trips to Rome, Madrid, Berlin, Amsterdam are coming up sooner and sooner. I've already been to Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Tromso. I now have 2 Norwegian sweaters! I just experienced a Norwegian music festival called by:Larm. I've settled in. In Norway. Wicked.

The past few days, we just keep getting more and more snow. On Monday, I went for a run around Sognsvann - a beautiful lake a few kilometers from where I live. I finished with icicles clinging to my beard. But the frozen lake and blanket of pure whiteness was gorgeous. No cars. No muddy snow. Just cross country ski tracks and the occasional dog. During the run, I spent a lot of time thinking about the previous weekend. I bought a pass for a 3-day industry-geared festival featuring all types of Scandinavian (though mainly Norwegian) bands. Hundreds of bands were playing in dozens of venues, and the only band I'd heard of was Katzenjammer. So getting myself involved in a bit of the Norwegian music scene was cool. The bands were as anonymous to me as I am to Oslo. Everything was new - foreign band names didn't even tell me if a band was hardcore or a mellow singer/songwriter. Something I've never experienced anywhere else. I even ended up reviewing a mellow, expansive band called Pica Pica. You can check it out here.


But in other news, I just got a fantastic package from home filled with so much candy that I'm still giddy about it (though I guess that could be the sugar high...). Either way, the pile on my floor is slowly shrinking, but I'm still thrilled about it.

Snow, Music, Candy.


<3,

Jonathan