Norwegian Birthday

Hello again!

Thanks for all the birthday messages and cards I received- it was so nice to find messages on my phone, letters in my mail box and emails in my inbox!

We returned from Copenhagen on Sunday morning and settled back into Oslo. On Sunday night I got a massive shock when I went into the kitchen to find a middle aged lady scraping the ice out of our freezer and speaking to me in a language I didn't understand! I left the kitchen and accosted one of my housemates in the hallway to ask who was defrosting our freezer when she told me it was probably the mother of another of our Spanish housemate. When I headed back into the kitched we managed to have some sort of conversation, as her mother is a doctor. She spoke to me in Spanish, I replied in English and we acted out the rest.

We were back to uni on the Monday. This time I was in the gynacology outpatients section and spent my mornings attending different clinics and assisting in various day surgery cases. I met a very interesting Norwegian doctor there, who has lived all over the world, speaks many different languages and absolutely loves Adelaide, where he lived for some time. Within a few minutes of attending his clinic he had invited all ten of the Aussies over for lunch! We conversed about Australia and travelling as we went about the days cases (the patient was under anaesthesia).

Tuesday afternoon we had an anatomy exam which we are required to pass before we can sit the real exam in June. The exam consists of writing the names of the 70 structures they had pinpointed on photos, specimens and models. Sounds like a challenge, but this exam was a bit of a joke, as despite having lecturers stationed in each room, everyone was freely sharing and comparing answers. Strangely everyone got very similar marks for the exam....

On Wednesday afternoon the Norwegians had another exam, which tested their prescription writing skills before they got a temporary license which allows them to work in hospitals as doctor's assistants over the summer. Lena and I took the opportunity to cut my hair, which is now a lot shorter! Lena was a fantastic hair dresser and now has an alternative career should medicine not work out for her.

All week the weather was fantastic as we planned what to do on the weekend for my birthday (Friday) and Lena's birthday (Saturday). Thursday afternoon saw huge hail storms and Friday brought mist and rain. It was the first time I've used my umbrella in Norway, but it was bad timing for the weekend we had planned.

After class on Friday morning we gathered at Lena's house around lunchtime to set off on our hiking trip. Lena presented me with a gorgeous little Stachelschwein (porcupine) jewellery piece, which is related to a German song I like and the German I have been learning, so its very sweet.

On of Lena's housemates had booked a cabin in the woods for a night, and we stopped briefly at the supermarket (below), caught the train and then hiked about 6km through forest, past lakes and over streams to get to the cabin. Luckily the rain stopped and we even saw the sun. The walk took about 2-3 hours and it was so pretty in the forest.
This is a frog we saw along the way- look in front of the rock
Once we got to the cabin we had to light fires and candles, fetch water from the lake and set up for the night. The cabin was in a clearing in the middle of nowhere, and we were the only occupants for the night. Everyone picked a job and before long we were all sitting round the table enjoying our version of spaghetti cabonara, accompanied by various liqour selections.
After dinner, I decided it was time for a swim in the lake. Unfortunately everyone else wimped out, and it was a hard job even convincing them to come to the lake to watch! With my three supporters I set off to the lake for a quick dip- although I did get up to my neck in the freezing water, then enjoyed the feeling as the blood returned to my numb limbs. The fire was blazing as we made it back and settled in for a night of singing, drinking, playing games (including some crazy German drinking games, which had to be translated before we could play!) and relaxing by the fire. As the night continued, the marshmallows came out to be toasted and we even made bread in the fire.action shot of us making the bread

Midnight saw a changing of the guard as my birthday ended and Lena's began. Simon, Manuela and Felix presented us both with presents: me a university of Oslo mug and Lena a university t-shirt. The festivities continued as one-by-one people dropped off and headed to bed, the last around 4 in the morning.

This time of year, the sun sets around 10pm and rises very very early, so when I woke for about the third time at 8am I thought it had to be around 12! Things happened very slowly as we ate breakfast in the sun on the front deck, cleaned the place up, took a group photo and packed our gear ready for the hike back, some more worse for wear than others.

We took a different route back and there were people everywhere- the young and old hiking, cycling, jogging, walking dogs on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. Bleary eyed and slightly ill, we looked quite a sight as we headed to the metro train station and back home again.
An afternoon of recovery was followed by a delicious dinner of German gnocchi at Lena's, followed by cake. Zoe and Lenka presented us both with very nice presents: a Norwegian mug each and a necklace for me and bracelet for Lena. Hilariously, Lena's mug suffered an accident on the way to Lena's and so a sheepish Zoe presented Lena with a broken mug complete with a birthday bow on it. No one minded though and we laughed all night about the mug's accident.

Next Friday we're having a massive birthday party with two other exchange students whose birthdays are tomorrow and Tuesday (all born in 1986). Then on Saturday, there's a casual gathering at my house to watch the Eurovision song contest, followed by the event of the year in Norway- Norwegian national day. So, we're in for an fun week!

Happy Mothers Day and best wishes to you all,

Anneke