Oslo: First impressions

Alright, everyone, here's the promised post about my first two days in Oslo.

Soooo, yesterday I arrived here shortly past noon after a very short, smooth flight from Berlin. My very first impression of Norway was "It looks like Norway" (by which I mean colorful houses, many trees, everything is extremely nice and clean, people are blonde and friendly and speak good English). I got a ticket for the fast train to downtown (a 20 min ride for the discounted student price of 85 Kroner..."only" $14) and then made my way to the subway, where I found the first other ISS (= International Summer School) students (two from the US, one from India). The four of us took the metro (one ride for 25 Kroner, or $4) for four stops and then we were met by staff who drove our luggage to the dorms. The campus here is located in a very green and residential area. The dorm itself is old (from 1920) and very basic (4-6 people sharing a shower and toilets in the hallway), but decent. The rooms are tiny, but fine. I have an Ethiopian roommate, though I have not yet actually met her. So far most people I've met turn out to be from the US, actually, which came as a surprise, but which also makes connecting and communicating easier for me as I am now somewhat embedded in the American culture.
After getting moved in and eating lunch (the food is very fish-rich and very good, by the way), I walked around with a few folks exploring the surroundings. At dinner I met Maria, a 34 year old girl from Russia who is currently a PhD student at the University of Tromso. She is really nice and we've spent quite some time together since we met.

Today we were joined by a rising senior from Brown and the three of us went out to explore some more of the actual city. After those few hours of walking, I can definitely say this:
1. When someone tells you they heard Oslo was "so so", ignore that. I was somewhat worried that Oslo would be as small, quiet, and industrial as Reykjavik, but so far I can say that Oslo is a great, very vibrant and lively city with lots of great parks (in which people are sunbathing, having BBQs, or just hang out and dance and have a good time), great neighborhoods, museums, and stunning landscape.
AND
2. When someone tells you Oslo is supersupersuper expensive, don't ignore that. It is. Holy cow! Examples include a glass of apple juice for NOK 30 ($ 5), a bottle of sunscreen for NOK 110 ($20), a postcard for NOK 12 ($2), and, to top it off, a bottle of beer (250 ml) for NOK 46 ($ 8). Ouch!

(I will post my pictures to my Flickr account when I get a chance, the internet connection here in the dorm is on and off and very slow, so I'd rather not tempt my luck here, where it takes longer.)

Tomorrow we have another exciting organizational dorm meeting and then a 3-hour sightseeing tour (which I am actually looking forward to). On Monday, classes start and we will see how that goes. So far, I have been unable to meet anyone in my class...out of 550 students here, 350 are here to learn Norwegian. Interesting, right?

On a last note let me mention that Oslo apparently is far north enough for it to never get completely dark here in the summer. Never. That's right. It is now 11 pm and I am sitting with my window open in "daylight" that is dusky and will remain so until 4 or 5 in the morning when the actual sun comes up and shines its bright light into the window. Luckily, the curtains are pretty thick and my mom gave me an airplane mask for my eyes, so I was able to sleep fine last night. We'll see how this one goes...

Okay, friends, this much for now. I will make sure to keep you updated with stories and pictures.

Until then: Ha det.