Last days in Oslo

After all the exams were done, only a few days were left. Next to the farewell parties, we had some Christmas dinners organized by InSA and the other Dutch people. InSA organized it for around 60 persons but unfortunately they didn't plan a good afterparty which made us search downtown Oslo for a nice place to go out. The next day we went of to the slopes of Tryvann once again. We allready went skiing, sledging and cross country skiing, so it was now time for snowboarding. After a long day at Tryvann some friends from the Netherlands came over so the weekend was all about sightseeing and going out in Oslo. The days after the weekend I had to clean everything, get all the necessary papers signed and keep hoping our flight wouldn't get cancelled. With all the snow problems at amongst others Heathrow and Dublin, many flights got delayed and cancelled. Also the ones going from Oslo to Germany and the Netherlands. The day we left it was -21°C. Therefore the bus trip towards the airport provided us with great views over a frozen Oslo fjord. Luckily this weather didn't cause any delay whatsoever so we arrived at Weeze without any problems.

It was impossible to write down everything we did in Oslo so I hope the short blogs combined with the photos can give you a good impression. I can say I had a wonderfull experience in Oslo and I would recommend everyone who thinks about going on exchange to do it!

Snow fun

It has been some weeks but here is another short blog. The last weeks have been very busy and therefore I didn't find any time to place new blogs. The end of November and the beginning of December meant exam time. It was quite different from the exam times I'm used to in Tilburg though. I only had one written exam since the other 4 consisted of term papers, a presentation and a group discussion. At Tilburg University papers and projects often account for 30% of the total grade, together with a written exam, which counts for 70%. At BI however, these papers and presentations often accounted for 100% of the total grade. This meant a smaller amount of reading and learning but it gave it a more practical approach.
Since we did not need to read that much, we had quite some time left for fun. So during and after the exams we went to explore the slopes of Tryvann vinterpark. This ski resort is located only 25 minutes by public transport from the city centre. Unfortunately only 5 out of 14 slopes were opened these days but that didn't spoil the fun. Next to downhill skiing, we also did some cross country skiing. We rented the skis at the University of Oslo to go into the nature located next to Kringsja, our student housing. There are multiple, quite well prepared, tracks that lead into the woods. You might think that you only have a few hours every day to do this since darkness sets in at 15.30, but this is not true. Not only are the tracks well prepared, they are also lightened untill 22.00 all the way into the middle of nowhere. Since running outdoor is not an option with that much snow, cross country skiing offers a great alternative for a work out.
Next to the slopes and cross country ski tracks, the area surrounding Oslo offers more places to have fun. One of the other activities we did was downhill sledging. It might sound lame but going downhill on a 2 kilometer long icy road with no traffic is quite nice. So in case you decide to go to Oslo in winter, go and do that too! During these weeks the first farewell parties also took place since some people allready left around the 12th of December. That's it for now, you can check the pictures of the skiing etc at http://picasaweb.google.com/111250985095698712771/Oslo#