It feels very appropriate that the last post I wrote delved into the issue of "American-ness" as this one falls on the actual, definitive day of America.
I don't know if I've made that fact clear over the eight or so months of this blog (save the summer vacation break).
The two countries are different, not radically different (yeah, the whole "different language" thing jumps out at you...), but different (but, Norway and America are WAY similar than Belgium and the good ol' USA).
It's not a bad thing (something I had to remind myself early on...), but it can lead to a lot of "Wait. What?" moments.
For Example:
Numerous items in supermarkets are sold based on weight (i.e. Carrots cost 51 kroner a kilogram), not that much different than in the states (well, carrots wouldn't run like $4 a pound unless you were in Alaska, but I digress). However, in Norwegian supermarkets, there are no scales to ascertain how much one has procured of said product. I didn't realize this the first time I went to a Norwegian supermarket and proceeded to walk around the store for like twenty minutes searching for a scale. I ended up almost sending six apples through the bread slicer (if you're scoring at home, yes... there's a fancy, bread slicer, but no scale). It wasn't like I wanted to only buy 60 kroner worth of apples, I was curious how many grams equaled six apples (approx. 720 grams). A buddy of mine just chalked it up to the "Norwegian way", but I have definitely seen people sneaking scales into the supermarket.
Whatever. I've adapted by guessing the weight and, when I'm right, I break out the Anne Hathaway...
Though, its not to say that all the differences are bad or annoying.
Here is an Oslo, city bus
It is cleaner and runs on a vastly more efficient system than virtually every major city bus I've rode in the states (NYC, Baltimore, DC, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia). A lot of the bus lines (particularly the one I frequently ride) run 24-hours a day.
Additionally, there is a flat rate for Bus, Subway, and Light Rail (all vastly cleaner and efficient) so there's no figuring out if you have enough on your travel card (I think NYC is also the same and I know the bus and subway in Baltimore are the same, but who takes those?).
Anyway, the longer I live here, the more I appreciate what makes Norway unique and cool (speaking of cool, it snowed twice in the past week... Fall doesn't linger here). It's a special place with a lot of interesting food and culture. Writing this blog has been my way to share with you all how fortunate I feel to be having this experience...
Instead of sharing more sweet and corny sentiments, I'm just going to post another funny, norway related .gif
ALT FOR NORGE
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I bring this up about Oslo because my daily tram ride has been altered due to this being turned into this, yet, strangely, they're leaving this. Ok, so it doesn't look entirely like they're searching for buried treasure, but a good two blocks of tram tracks and road have been reduced to rubble. I'm all about proper, urban maintenance after having lived in the aforementioned Baltimore and Washington D.C. (both having recently had, uhmm, problems with infrastructure in recent years).
Oh well, such is the cost of progress... Not to mention that they're building some really cool things.
2) The best benefit of Oslo's incessant winter has been an opportunity for me to engage in more winter sports. So far, I have been Cross country skiing and walking to the grocery store, uphill, on sidewalks covered entirely with ice. However, this past weekend, I went toe-to-toe with Korketrekkeren. Its 2.5 kilometers of downhill terrain covered in snow, ice, and fury that can only be traversed on a metal sled (toboggan, if you will). Honestly, the only thing that I can compare it to is "a human version of mario kart". It feels like you're going so fast (clearly, even more so than that video as you won't be holding a camera while doing so). The whole setting is awesome, too. Korketrekkeren is on the same mountain they use for ski jump (same as the 1992 Winter Games... in fact, the course wraps around the actual jump). The metro drops you off right at the starting point and the bottom of the run is at another metro stop so you can just ride back up to the top. Additionally, there's sled and helmet rental (yes, helmet rental... strongly advised, but not mandatory). If that doesn't convince you how awesome this thing is, here's my favorite video related to it (which Norwegians insist on calling "sledging").
I'm going back again Saturday!
Rap lyric I'd incorporate into a song if I were a rapper: You lame and lack, your game for the birds/ You rarely get Ws like Norsk words
