programslippfest

So how bout those Broncos? Last night 30 or so of the students watched the Super Bowl on a projector in the common room. We were up past 4 in the morning and it didn’t disappoint, especially after Payton’s shout out to Budweiser in the post game. The NFL is really starting to catch on here in Europe, but after last night I’m convinced half of the people were only interested in Beyoncé. Anyways, congrats on the win J Rodge. I’m glad that Broncos banner hanging in our room last quarter wasn’t for nothing.

This week I got a chance to take the train up to the mountains and it was probably the best skiing I’ve had in a long time. The mountain was covered in soft snow cliffs and the Voss resort was deserted. Compared to the sketchy long drives up to Stevens Pass this was a treat. I got to sit back and relax for a little over an hour as we passed through the Fjords, which had just been coated in snow from the hurricane a week previous. Yes, a hurricane. They called it Thor and it was pretty crazy. I got off the train in Voss and a British guy picked me up in his hippy van, which is used to take the skiers up to the resort on probably one of the snowiest skinniest roads I’ve ever seen. He was bumping Outkast the whole way and I was reminded by one of the biggest reasons I came to Norway. To ski, and to meet people from around the world who love to do the same. It was a great day and I even schemed the next ski trip up with a few Norwegians on the train ride back.

You may be wondering what the title of this post “programslippfest” means and to roughly translate it would be, “program release party.” This night kicked off the beginning of the three week long UKEN festival that will start in February. It was my first opportunity to take pictures for the festival and it was awesome. I don’t think I’ll ever see so many drunk college students in a business school again or rather for it to be politically acceptable. It has a full size bar with an upper level observatory and the room is called the Aulaen. I couldn’t believe how professional the sound, lights and performers were. Here is a link to the flickr account for the event UKEN i Bergen. Keep in mind all of the people putting on this event are students, but it seems some of them have a future in the positions they volunteered for. People come from all over the world just to participate in this event and I feel very lucky to be apart of it. The next UKEN event is called the Full Moon Party, it’s also in the Aulaen where I will not be taking pictures and instead this time celebrating with the Norwegians. Click on the link for an idea of what continues to amaze me as to what is allowed in an educational building.

Well, it’s been a great first month here in Norway. This week I’ll be celebrating my 21st birthday, which I’ll of course be doing in traditional U.S. fashion. This one’s for the carlos boozers.

Skål

A Northern Euro Break

A few things that I am very excited for have developed over the past week here in Norway, I thought I would briefly share them with friends and family back home in Seattle. It’s been getting a little busier lately given that I have started a full schedule now at the Norwegian School of Economics, but this hasn’t gotten in the way of planning a few things.

First off, a week ago I interviewed for a position to volunteer at the school’s music festival that they hold every two years here in Bergen. This is no ordinary school music festival, it’s called UKEN 16 and I’ve embedded the link for those who are interested in more details. It’s endless concerts/shows and is one of the staple cultural events in Norway. It’s headlined this year by Axwell Ingrosso (who headlined a concert I saw at Coachella in 2015) and is the largest student organized music festival held in all of Scandinavia. The coolest part is that it is fully put on by the students at NHH. Lets just say that the students here in Norway seem to have a good amount of money to work with for this three week long party. Going back to the interview now, I heard through many Norwegians that it’s difficult to get selected to participate as an exchange student. This makes sense because it’s only held every two years and Norwegians should have priority. Surprisingly, it seems my early Saturday morning interview went well even after a long night downtown before. I was selected as a photographer for the festival and I could not be more stoked about it. The photographers are getting hooked up with DSLR cameras and backstage passes to all of the concerts that we are attending. We’re even setting sail on a two night full-size booze cruise to Denmark tomorrow. There’s going to be a DJ’d gala with free drinks and an all you can eat buffet with all of the student festival volunteers. There are quite a lot of them, and I’m taking this as a great opportunity to meet Norwegians given their reserved personalities. Maybe I’m just too forward being an American. Although, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been mistaken as a Norwegian only to sadly have to reply in English. Nevertheless, I’ve started a Norwegian course (it’s brutal) and I hope to use some of it in the UKEN volunteer “activities” leading up to the festival.

Secondly, I’ve finally made plans for break and will be checking out in my opinion some of the coolest cities in Northern Europe. I’ve booked a 13 day trip with a few friends for our Easter break. The first stop is London and then we’ll be heading to Amsterdam. Yes, I will be wandering briefly in the Red Light District. Next, we fly out to the fishing town of Copenhagen and will most likely be making a stop to see the Free People of Christiania. Lastly, we are stopping by Prague to see the insane architecture which lies over the many canals. And the best part is that after careful planning we are going to spend a measly 330 dollars on airfare for this excursion. I guess we couldn’t help getting the best bang for our buck being business students.

I hope everyone’s having a good start to 2016 back home. And I’ll be rooting for J Rodge’s Broncos to beat the stoopid dabbed out Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

Skål

The Port

Classy McD’s

Oyster Shots

Week One

It’s been a great first week here in Bergen, Norway. It took me 24 hours of travel to get here, but I can already say it’s going to be a memorable 6 months. They set me up with an apartment view that overlooks the end of the fjord in Bergen, along with the Norwegian School of Economics. It’s not hard to miss the sunrise and sunset considering there are only several hours of daylight now. In a few months it will be light throughout the night which I am very excited for. I’ve seen other students pictures of the mountain top views during the midnight sun and can’t wait to post some of those on here in a few months.

The last few days here have been jam packed with nights at countless pubs in the city, overpriced McDonalds burgers, Norwegian traditional food and did I mention drinking? They love to drink alcohol here and haven’t shied away from making it known to the exchange students at our never ending pre parties, middle parties and post parties. There is even a night club in the downstairs of the business school called Klubben, it is pretty awesome. They also really enjoy their music and I’ve already purchased tickets with friends to artists playing in Bergen, including Axwell Ingrosso and their very own Bergen born Kygo. There are over 150 exchange students from over 40 different countries. And surprisingly, I am the only American male this semester. I’ve met people from more nationalities in these first few days than I ever could have hoped to. I’m excited for what’s to come, but for now I’m going to go watch the NFL game’s. Sco Hawks!