#2 Welcome Week

Arrival and other Adjustments

When we, that is Clemens, Max, Jonas and me, left last Saturday morning at 9:50am, I wasn't even that excited. We were all looking forward to the time ahead of us and I think I speak for everyone when I say, we were anticipating the moment we would finally arrive and settle in. 

Luckily the flight to Oslo only takes about one and a  half hours and the following train ride to Oslo Central is just another 30mins. While it was easy to navigate through the extensive offer of public transportation and routes to the student housing, it was not as easy to manage two massive suitcases, a bag pack which felt like 100kg and at least 50 layers of warm clothes that didn't fit into the suitcases anymore (To my defense, I had to bring a duvet, pillow and kitchen appliances). 

Once we finally arrived at the student housing the day was completed by an extensive, 5h shopping trip to IKEA and the cheapest supermarket (!!!) to stock up on all necessities for the coming days like food and drinks, but also the simplest things like a laundry basket or a laundry drying rack. 

The next few days were packed with all sorts of sightseeing and other activities. We went to look around town, visited the palace and the opera house, and walked around the Oslo equivalent of the "Hafencity" called Aber Brygge. University courses started right away on Monday with a 3h lecture on "Strategy" and continued with lectures on "Service Marketing", "Financial Performance Management" and "Financial Markets" the next few days.

I met some very nice people in those class, one of which is Emma who you'll be seeing very often in photos.

The week continued with more activities specifically hosted for incoming international students and more private sightseeing. We encountered several beer drinking occasions, participated in a quiz at the student pub which is integrated into the university (!) and found cute spots to eat breakfast or dinner for when any of us get visitors (which we all do at some point). We were also lucky enough to go to the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and had the most amazing weather with lots of sun and very mild temperatures!

Although we all get enough sleep (University is a lot more relaxed as compared to the HSBA in Hamburg), we were constantly tired and exhausted from all the different experiences and insights. Considering that it doesn't get light outside before 10am and the sun already sets at 4pm it is not very hard to sleep in late and go to bed early. It is also very different to not hear familiar sounds like my parents making tea in the morning or Oskar running up the stairs. All I hear now is squeaking chairs when people get up from the table or my roommate taking a shower. 

I was fortunate enough to come here with three boys, who are all very fun and nice to be around. In addition, we made some more friends from the USA, Wisconsin and other places. Together as a group, we hope to establish our Oslo Traditions, such as "Taco Fridays", "Thuesday Trivia Night" and "Sunday Sightseeing" - Stay Tuned!!!