My name is Rosie, and to put aside the formalities, I am a Scandinavian Studies and English Literature Joint Honours student at the University of Edinburgh. As a student of Norwegian, I am one of very few people destined to spend the next academic year studying at the University of Oslo.
Despite being part of a rather pleasant minority in my year abroad ventures (at a last count, there are only four students headed out to the frozen north, and we are the first to attend the University of Oslo in this capacity), it is with certain trepidation that I approach this coming year. I have never once regretted learning the language of the world’s richest countries, both in monetary and literary terms. Nonetheless, preparations for this massively inflated economic situation began two years ago for me: I have spent my time so far at University living at home, all in order to save as much money as possible to stay afloat in a country where anything as simple as a block of cheese can cost up to £5! Even typing this seems sheer madness.
First and foremost, I worry about my language skills: I would rate myself as average, and would love to improve upon my ability to speak and read fluently more than anything else this year. I have been allocated accommodation in a student village that is renowned as the home of most of Oslo University’s international students. Whilst I am looking forward to meeting people from all parts of the globe, I am also conscious of the fact that I must improve my Norwegian language skills, and know that I already face a setback to these due to my prospective place of residence.
I will also be living relatively far from campus, which frustrates me slightly as I had previously been looking forward to escaping the unreliable clutches of public transportation, and will now have to rely upon a tram service to make my way to campus most days.
Furthermore, I am concerned about financial aspects of my exchange perhaps more than others abroad elsewhere in Europe, purely based on the massive inflation rate of Norway in comparison to Scotland. My rent seems manageable, but I know that food bills will be at least double the cost of those at home, and I worry that any attempt at budgeting will fly out of the window within the first week, which would be incredibly disheartening!
Despite my various concerns, I am looking forward to so many aspects of the coming year. My public transport woes are offset by the fact that I will be living beside a huge forest and lake, perfect for long walks, swimming, skiing, and a whole host of other delights that seem impossible at home. I can’t wait to explore a new city, and look forward to making new friends and receiving visits from old to introduce them to a country they’ve barely thought twice about. My subject choices at Oslo University look to be really interesting and I hope they will inspire and prepare me for my dissertation and final year back in Edinburgh, as tediously academic as that may sound to some.
Having come straight from the bosom of family life, with the numerous advantages of free hot meals and my mother’s sterling laundry, I expect that my first weeks in Oslo will be a challenge.
Presuming that I manage to navigate these, and to avoid ironing as far as possible (I have been taught great tricks involving clothing and showers and steam, which I’m sure even I couldn’t make a disaster of), I can imagine that I will feel instantly more confident in my own abilities, and can begin my exchange with a slight boost to my self-belief.
All in all, weighing up the prospective problems and positives, and doing my best to downplay to myself the amazing magnitude of this new adventure, I look forward to an exciting chapter of my life beginning on the 11th August 2008.
