Local Living
Oslo and Akershus University College offers classes with a small amount of students, most of which are Norwegian since the majority of incoming exchange students opt for the more international University of Oslo. I am the only exchange student in my classes. There are so few of us that it makes sense for all of the activities offered by HiOA to be in Norwegian. Thus, it is not practical to join clubs on campus to meet other people with similar interests. Almost all of the local friends I have made are my classmates. A few others I met through large events in Oslo, parties at local pubs or concerts. I thought that it was more important to meet people who are actually from here to truly immerse myself in the culture. However, I soon realized that I can learn about this foreign country and its customs with friends of different nationalities as well as with locals. It is simply a matter of exploring and trying out new things.
Erasmus Student Network is an international exchange student organization with almost one thousand branches in different cities throughout the world. They bring in together exchange students and plan awesome activities every week, ranging from movie nights to dance parties and trips to Russia. Everything is organized by other exchange students. I have gone on several of the trips they organize across Europe and it has been the best way to meet other people also living in Oslo. Erasmus has played an important role in my study abroad experience, by allowing me to interact with much more students than I ever thought possible and were also experiencing similar situations to mine. Exploring the city with other exchange students is incredible. Everything is different from what we are used to back home. In fact, it is with other exchange students that I have traveled to other places in Europe! We are all very excited to travel as much as we can before the semester ends. It is easy to rent a car between four students and drive around Scandinavia. In every new place I visit, along with the many postcards and magnets, I try to find a thin bracelet. Then, I’ll write down a short summary of my trip and explain where exactly I found the piece of jewelry. I currently have 11 bracelets from different parts of Europe and I cannot wait to add more the collection before Christmas arrives!
The currency in Norway is the Norwegian krone. 100 krones are about $12(USD). It is very easy to become confused converting currencies when buying something, making it possible to spend much more money than planned within your budget. Also, as explained in other posts, Norway is very expensive when it comes to food and basic services like phone plans. As much careful thought I had given to my budget in the beginning of the semester, I ended up having to spend more than I thought was enough. This is why I do not recommend to get used to paying in cash. Every time you exchange US dollars for krones, regardless of the amount, a significant fee has to be paid to the agency. I have found that the best place to exchange money is at Forex, they have different branches across the Nordic countries. Still, for every $100(USD) I lose about $10(USD) with fees and different exchange rates. The best thing I could have done is to rely solely on my Travel Rewards credit card from Bank of America. It has been a blessing! I do not have to pay any fees for using the card outside of the United States and their exchange rates are the most fair. I can use my card anywhere in Oslo, I have not had any issue yet. This way, you only need to exchange a low amount of krones in the case of an emergency.
