the abyss means...

I am studying at the Summer School at the University of Oslo. So far it is fun, although I feel overwhelmed by Americans, since they make up an amazing percentage of the population on the campus where I am staying. I have this suspicion that when I return to England I shall talk like an American. Nothing personal to Americans, but I feel that their accent really would not suit me.

As it is, I am slowly learning their slang and what they do or do not say. For example they do not use the words queue or squash, and the majority have never seen a magpie - and therefore do not use the word, with all of its connotations, at all.

I have been signed up for two classes - Elementary Norwegian Language (which I study for 2 hours per day) and History of Norwegian Art (which I study for three hours a day).

I currently miss my home, my cat and my partner, but there are only six weeks to go and then I will be home in Brighton.
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I got to the airport (Gatwick) with my mother. She had insisted that it was better that we come early, but what I did not realise was that she intended to leave me with no-one to talk to for two hours. I did not enjoy that because I did not have a watch on me so I did not know the time and I had no-one to talk to, so I was lonely and confused. I looked forward to not being a smoker anymore, so I did not have to sit in a grim smoking area amongst people who frankly looked sick!

I was given a window seat, so there was some advantage to checking in early, apart from the fact that window seats scare me to death, especially when I am sitting with a window directly over the wing of the plane (which I was). I was constantly reminded of scenes from the twilight zone and johnny bravo. I was scared to death, but it was made better by the fact I had a nice Norwegian man to talk to. Braathens gave me a bottle of wine to go with my (really nice) lunch, and the nice man gave me his bottle also.

When I got to Blindern campus I was so scared. My room mate was not in her room and I didn't know what to do with myself, so I went to the canteen and sat on my own and drank coffee. In the canteen the walls are covered in shields, for lifetime work for Blindern campus or something. My relative Anders Hellem who was a forvalter at Blindern many years ago has a shield on the wall.

By the time I got back to my room I realised what was scaring me. I have never had the need to make new friends, I have never gne away on my own, and I have never had to be this self-reliant.

By the evening I had made three new friends however. Cibal (sibal?) from turkey, who actually knows how to belly-dance (and may just teach me), Susie (sussie?) from nicaragua who is a lovely woman, and Pam from america - who is as loud and vocal as a stereotypical american, but is a nice person. They took me in and made me feel better about myself.

See Blindern Campus and Hellem Shield for photos

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