Fadderullan - Party, Party, Party

Last week I shamelessly neglected my travel blog. This is not because I had nothing noteworthy to report, quite the opposite. The past week was so eventful that I didn't have a moment of peace to take care of my blog.

Fadderullan is a 10-day party at the BI Norwegian Business School, which celebrates the start of the new semester every summer. This year, Fadderullan started on Monday, November 15th with an introductory event at the university. The whole university was decorated with huge colorful balloons and there were snack stands everywhere with free food and drinks. In addition, every student received a so-called 'goddie bag' with all kinds of curiosities. Besides the usual sweets, we also got a pizza cutter, eye drops, and condoms as gifts. They were apparently very concerned that the exchange students might save money in the wrong places due to price shock ;))

We spent the whole morning in the auditorium and had to endure one welcome speech after another. After 2 hours, we were finally released and divided into small groups called buddiegroups to explore the entire BI building on a guided tour. I had hoped to be in an international buddiegroup to make sure I didn't spend the whole day with fellow countrymen. But unfortunately, this wish was not fulfilled. The buddiegroups were strictly formed according to nationalities. Fortunately, there were only 4 Austrians, so 4 Australians were also admitted to our buddiegroup. Other nationalities such as Germany, China, or Holland had less luck and remained completely among themselves, which, in principle, frustrated all the exchange students I got to know during the following week. Our buddies, two Norwegian female students in the 5th semester, were a great disappointment. They walked reluctantly with us through the entire building, responded to all our questions with annoyance, and made no secret of the fact that they wanted to get rid of us as soon as possible. Originally, we had planned to have a barbecue in Vigeland Park in the afternoon, but when we arrived there, not a single other buddiegroup was there. So we decided to pass the time with a self-organized picnic and get to know our Australian exchange colleagues a little better. We ended the evening with a cozy chat on the rooftop terrace of our student residence.

The second day of the Fadderullan week also started with a variety of lectures at the university, where we were introduced to various student organizations and the Norwegian university system was explained to us. Our buddies were supposed to pick us up afterwards and accompany us on a joint swimming trip, but apparently, they didn't feel like it after just one day. So we simply followed the other buddiegroups. Although we were lucky with the weather that day and the sun was shining with 25 degrees, the water was freezing cold and too cold for swimming. Only a few very brave Norwegians actually jumped into the water. Since the afternoon was so boring, I decided to go to the Kroa bar (student bar on the university campus) in the evening with my girls. That evening, the students organized their own Fadderullan event there, and in addition to a lot of giveaways such as beer coolers, phone cases, and T-shirts, free soft drinks were also distributed. It was also the first time that we got to know the peculiarities of our Norwegian fellow students. Not only do many of them dance on the dance floor in full business attire, cash is also not accepted at Kroa. If you want to have a beer here, you not only have to pay a small fortune but also use a credit card. However, we had to leave the bar hastily around midnight because 2 completely drunk exchange students from Minnesota wouldn't leave us alone.

The third day of the Fadderullan week also started at the university. Thankfully, this time we didn't have to endure any more welcome speeches, but instead, we got a crash course in Norwegian. Unexpectedly, our buddies contacted us again and invited us to a pre-party at their apartment. In Norway, it is common to meet at someone's home and pregame before going out because the prices for alcohol in bars are exorbitantly higher than in supermarkets. After stocking up on the cheapest beer at the supermarket, we made our way to the pre-party. Since we didn't know Oslo very well yet, we got lost several times and arrived more than 2 hours late. When we finally arrived, the party was already in full swing. At first, we felt very uncomfortable and the Norwegians didn't know what to do with us either. Norwegians in general react very reservedly to strangers, and only when their alcohol level is high enough, do they get rid of their shyness. But eventually, 2 Norwegians approached us and it turned into a really nice evening, even though as a foreigner at Norwegian parties, you should really be careful because Norwegians are really heavy drinkers compared to Austrians. There was also a concert at Chateau Neuf in the evening, but since the tickets were astronomically expensive, we decided to save the money for our city trips through Norway.

We had a day off from uni the next day, so we spent the morning running from supermarket to supermarket to find the cheapest beer because there was another pre-party at our Norwegian buddies' place in the afternoon. Since the party location was in a different apartment this time, we got lost again and arrived much too late once again. This time, too, the Norwegians initially reacted rather reserved to our presence, but once again, the key to success was alcohol ;)) ^^ After we had drunk the last sip of vodka, we all went to the harbor together, where a concert by the Norwegian band Iydll was taking place that day. The tickets were relatively cheap at 32 euros and the atmosphere with 25 degrees and a fantastic view of the sea was simply priceless. The music itself was not necessarily to my taste, and we couldn't figure out what the songs were about due to the language barrier, but it was still a very nice evening.

On Thursday, the BI provided a huge breakfast buffet for its exchange students. After 3 nights of partying, a lot of alcohol, and chronic lack of sleep, a good breakfast really works wonders! In the late afternoon, the university organized another barbecue in the park. Inspired by our Norwegian acquaintances from the past few days, we decided to take the initiative ourselves and chat with a few Norwegian buddies. However, they immediately informed us that they were not interested in exchange students and asked us to leave them alone. Conclusion of the day: If you want to talk to young Norwegians, you should always have a bottle of alcohol with you, it works wonders ;))

On Friday, we finally celebrated our own little Fadderullan party. One of my girls had her birthday, so we baked brownies and surprised her with a homemade gift. In the afternoon, we went on an island hopping tour and had a picnic with a wonderful view of the sea. In the evening, we partied at the Laundry and completely lost track of time. It was only shortly after 11 pm that we realized it was high time to go to the club because there was free admission until midnight at Lawu. But once again, we got lost and arrived long after midnight. Apparently, our party night was not going well that evening because besides an entrance fee of 10 euros, no one under 20 years old was allowed in the club. But since one of my friends was only 18 and we didn't want to send her home alone, we had to go home without having a good time.

On Saturday, the BI organized a scavenger hunt through Nydalen (the district in Oslo where the university campus is located). However, the 6-day party marathon of the previous days was starting to take its toll, and many exchange students either didn't show up at all or were in such a state that a proper scavenger hunt was no longer possible, and the organization itself was more than chaotic. Many stations of the scavenger hunt were not even occupied, and the games themselves were more reminiscent of a children's birthday party. Since there was no concert or official Fadderullan event scheduled for the evening, I met up with my girls for a cozy game night at the Laundry.

On Sunday, the Fadderullan week reached its climax. The next day, the official university courses were starting, so we had to party hard one more time. For this purpose, BI organized a concert by Steve Aoki. Since Steve Aoki is an internationally renowned artist, the tickets for his concert sold out within 3 minutes. Unfortunately, myself and another friend were not able to get tickets in time, which later turned out to be a fateful coincidence...

Initially, I was shocked because everyone else in my group of girls managed to get a ticket, so we split up into two groups around noon. While the others went to the Steve Aoki concert at the Oslo City Hall, I went to the Mela Festival at the harbor with two other friends. However, we didn't get to enjoy live music at this festival because it seemed to be primarily a street food festival by immigrants. So we simply sat by the harbor and enjoyed the beautiful summer weather. Back at the student residence, we got ready to go out since there was a free after-show party at the Lawu club that evening. But before we could leave, the other girls informed us that there had been a terrible accident at the Steve Aoki concert in the afternoon. For unknown reasons, part of the hall ceiling detached and fell on the audience. Not only were 15 students injured, but it also resulted in a mass panic. Although it turned out the next day that no one was seriously injured, the shock was deep among all concertgoers and the after-show party was canceled out of respect for the injured. In retrospect, I am really glad that I wasn't at the Steve Aoki concert.

The Fadderullan week was truly eventful, and even though not everything went as planned, I wouldn't want to miss the experiences I had during this week!