Rubbish Blog

Here I list everything that has happened in between.

After Easter, we both had our Norwegian exam, which was an oral exam over Zoom. It was the most relaxed exam I've ever had. A 15-minute conversation with someone from the course. I was paired with someone who could talk a lot about their experiences, but never directly answered my questions. Overall, I spoke more in all the practice exams than in the actual exam, but it wasn't a big deal because it was just a pass-or-fail exam. Pia and I crushed it easily. The following week, we treated ourselves to a meal at a vegan restaurant. It was delicious and very filling. We also drank a Norwegian soda. It contained exactly what you find in the Norwegian forest and it tasted like it too. We're lucky that everything outside of the university is open and we can easily go to a cafe or go shopping. The days are also getting much longer, so at 10 o'clock in the evening, it feels like it's still early evening. It's not completely dark at night anymore. In mid-April, we had our last bonfire at the Stavkirke and we even had unexpected visitors. From April 12th, bonfires are only allowed in designated areas to protect nature. Actually, from the end of April to May, there was very little rain, so I already missed it a bit. Around Bergen, the risk of forest fires was level 1. The temperatures gradually increased, but it didn't turn green for a long time. During that time, we were a bit frustrated when we thought about the brown outside.

After the weekend in Osøyro, not much happened. Pia was busy with her scholarship program for a weekend. I just took a short walk at Løvstakken. After that, the oral exam in meteorology was approaching. The two instructors for that course were the most disorganized ones I've ever had. They even surpassed the two instructors from marine geophysics in the 4th semester. I didn't take much from the lectures, but the more I studied the script, the more structured it became. The lectures were still often confusing.

May felt like a month of holidays. First came May 1st, then Ascension Day, then National Day, and the following week was Pentecost. We had to remember when to go shopping. Shortly before May 17th, it started to get greener and many trees and bushes started blooming. It was a refreshing sight. We were both glad that our courses ended and we could make the most of the time before our return journey. We each decided not to take one of the exams due to the remaining time. One thing I don't like about the Norwegian semester is that the courses start and end at different times. So it's possible to have a course for four weeks and then take the exam. This may spread them out more during the semester, but you also have to be prepared for assignments, lectures, and exam preparations to happen simultaneously. I simply prefer it when all the lectures are finished and I have free time to structure my studying for all the exams. The meteorology exam went relatively well for us. Through studying, I regained the feeling of knowing something. That feeling had been lost during the long time without exams.

At some point, we were also on the small hill next to Løvstakken, called Gullstølen. I also took a photo, but I lost it. Or maybe it's picture number 3 above. I don't remember exactly.

We have also booked our return journey from Oslo to Kiel by ferry for June 17th. We will leave Bergen on June 12th because we want to explore Oslo a bit. The booking was relatively quick, but we took three times as long to find out what we need to do or prepare for when entering Germany.

So there are really only a few days left. By the end of May, Vic and Robin have already flown back from my kitchen. It feels even more like the departure is happening the day after tomorrow. But there are a few things still on my to-do list and I will definitely do them!