Weekend!

Well, I made it to my first Saturday...weird to think I haven't even been here for a week yet! My days have been long an exhausting so far, hence why I haven't blogged yet. I am STILL catching up on sleep, it's only 11:05 pm here, and I am exhausted, like COMPLETELY ready for bed. The rest of my week was filled with my classes. They are very different here...you usually only meet with your class once a week..but it is for 5 or 6 hours!! Absolutely insane, right? But they take breaks every hour, and a lunch break, so it seems to go pretty fast. I am taking classes with the 2nd year and 3rd year students, so we have luckily met some students so far.

One class meets on Thursdays and we do role playing, and then sometimes we meet without the teacher and some students will teach the group from our book. This class ends October 21, and then we start another class for the rest of the semester. Another class is International Social Work (with the 3rd years), on Fridays, and we will talk about certain topics each time, then do what seems like some volunteering (?), write a group paper, and present it. 3 of the International students are taking "The Norwegian Welfare System" and we only meet 5 times, after which we have to write a paper comparing 2 welfare states and it just has to be handed in before Christmas...strange to think, because the Concordia system is SO different! So it looks like right now that I will not have classes on Mondays, and only some on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

It will be such a weird schedule to adjust to, but I am very excited for the role playing class, it seems very interactive, and after listening to boring ass lectures for 3 YEARS I am ready for something different! The 2nd year students invited us to a class party on Friday, so Anette and I decided to go. We had no idea how to get there, so Aleksander and Filip...the only ones who live at the school...were nice enough to take us. I met a lot of new people, got to talk more with people from class, and made a new game..."Kroners"...like quarters with their money and a tall glass. We all sucked at it..but it was entertaining for a bit. I am going to get them to play beer pong some time!

I got ahead of myself, but all-in-all that was a good time. Some people went out a midnight, but we went home because we were so tired...maybe another weekend I will participate in the festivities. One (sunny) day this week (like the only one) we walked to Vigeland Sculpture Park and that place was huge and beautiful. There were water features, and all of the statues were nude...I guess one guy made the whole place! We got some good pictures and walked back through Majorstua, so I am getting a little bit of a grip on my neighborhood. Another night, Hermine and her boyfriend Sebastien took us to Holmenkollen to see the ski jump, a beautiful sight of the city lights at night, and we watched a soccer game in the hotel. The spoiled us with drinks and treats, I felt so special...I hope the know how amazing they have been to us so far!

I think that covers everything up to today (Saturday). I SLEPT IN!! Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE my sleep, and getting up early every morning, still with jet-lag, was NOT fun! I made my day slowly, showered, ate only cereal, and Anette and I headed out with Filip to see some sights! We got rained on a lot, and HAILED on! We went to a few viewing points over the fjord, and also to the Opera House, which was very neat. We eventually got some food, as we were all very hungry, and headed home in the rain. It had gotten very cold, and I was shivering. I was cold, wet, and tired...perfect combination to come home a be a bum.

It took me a long time to warm up, but skyping with Mike helped! I had a little breakdown because I feel pretty lost, confused, and alone...but it's only the first week! I am hoping to get more familiar with the city and keep myself busy. It is hard because the students are not here on the weekends, so getting someone to show us around might be hard, but Filip so nicely obliged us today. We were very thankful!! Now I am again exhausted and I am hoping to stay here and relax tomorrow...as well as begin some homework, YUCK!