Back from the cabin, back to work

I've been back from the cabin for about 24 hours now. The trip was fine - we hiked and stayed at a cabin in the woods north of Oslo (Oslo is surrounded by so many lakes and woods that long hikes into the wilderness are a mere subway trip away). As part of this peacebuilding workshop we played a lot of games and discussed a lot of scenarios for which there are no right or wrong answers - so, the whole thing was clearly geared towards all of us getting to know each other (better). The less formal atmosphere of a cabin made that easier than in the classroom, no doubt, though 2 days still didn't seem quite long enough for a group of 26 people... When we were not discussing, we had some time to hang out or go swimming in one of many lakes that you just sumble upon when walking through the woods. Given that Oslo is currently (for the past two weeks or so) going through an unusual heat wave (we're actually talking 90 °F or 30°C here!... Fingers crossed it stays that way, rumor has it that the temperature may drop to the 60s/ 15°C in the next few days...yikes!!!), jumping into a mountain lake was actually quite nice. And, given that it's Norway and not South Africa or Australia or something, the most dangerous thing here were probably sharp rocks (on which I cut my heel a bit because I slipped when getting in the water).

After taking a long, long shower (we had one (!) outhouse and one (!) shower for all 28 people present at the cabin for three days), my friend Maria and I walked into Oslo again yesterday and it was SOOO nice. You can tell that the Norwegians (much like the Germans) just soak up every bit of sun when it's out. Everyone is out and about, walking around barely dressed, sitting outside enjoying a juice or tea, reading or playing in the parks and fountains, or just taking a stroll. The city was so lively again, it was just a joy to walk around and be part of that. Maria and I did a bit of (window) shopping (H&M to Norway is like Starbuck's to the US...you can't walk 100 yards without running into another one), had an ice cream and some cherries and actually walked all the way into the city center (new territory for me). It was really such a pleasant end to the first week here and got our minds off the massive workload we both struggle with (she is taking Norwegian classes here).

Soeaking of which - ever since classes started the active going-out-and-exploring hustle-and-bustle has somewhat stopped and whenever you ask someone what they are doing or if they would like to go out to x, you get the oh-so-familiar "I wish I could, but I have so much work to do" response (sound familiar, fellow grad students?). Bummer! As determined as I am not to turn into a workaholic here, because I came here to do and see things I can't do and see at home, it is a challenge to find a balance between work and fun. (Though there is room for that, too...we had our first party last night with discounted half-liter-beers... no further comments...) This Monday we have an outline for a group research paper due, plus 60 pages of reading every day. It's hard not to feel catapulted back into semester-stress-mode. The nice thing, of course is, that I can remind myself that I have the freedom to get out of this what I put in and that I really won't be held accountable for this by anyone at home, other than myself. Also, it is doubtlessly nice to not have any other obligations (besides having fun and seeing Oslo a bit) like teaching or even cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc..

In two weeks we have a long weekend (midterm break or something) and I am really contemplating going to Stockholm. I've been to Sweden, but never Stockholm and I hear it is absolutely gorgeous. If it'snot too too expensive, maybe a few of us will go (if we can find the time to arrange for it ;-)). We shall see...

That much for now. I didn't get much sleep last night (thanks to the party, people coming home at 5 am, and the sun shining brightly by the same time), so I might just allow myself to fall asleep over my readings.

I will upload more pictures soon. Promise.