Hace mucho tiempo que no hablamos, no?

It's been a long time since my last post, and I think it is a reflection of how my sense of time has changed in the last few weeks. No longer does my life in Madrid move along in days, but rather seemingly in weeks and even months. The first half of November has disappeared completely, and it only seems like time is moving faster. To a certain extent I like the feeling of having a routine, where daily life starts to feel normal, but I have also come to realize that that has kept me from exploring and discovering new things in this big, beautiful, city. I have gotten too comfortable with the walk or bus ride between my flat and the university, and my little grocery store just a block away. This led me to rededicate myself, in a sense, to learning about Madrid, because I really don't know it as well as I should after living here for so long. The other night, I decided to go for a run, but instead of doing laps around the familiar Egyptian pyramids in Parque del Oeste, I decided to hit the pavement, and dodge the foot traffic on Madrid's streets. I ran down to the Royal Palace, the first time I had seen it in the dark, and it was a truly awe-inspiring sight, lit up in a very royal, but somehow eerie way. From there I ran to the Puerta de Toledo, previously uncharted territory on foot, and proceeded to cut though a number of very small streets on my way back to what I thought was north. Sure enough, I ended up losing myself, but not really caring, as I pretty much did a big lap around the city. After a few stops to look at some maps, and using my mental image of the metro system, I arrived back home about and hour and a half later, tired after a really really long run, but energized by how much I had learned about Madrid by night.
On a more exciting note, I went to Norway last weekend with two friends from my program. Reidar, from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and Jen, from Purdue University. I had wanted to go there my whole life, and the 25 euro round trip was more than enough incentive to return to the Old Country to visit my fellow blonds. After a really busy two days of classes and teaching Ines, a seven year old Spanish girl I teach once a week at her house, we left for the airport with our luggage directly from class, arriving at the airport in enough time, but a little more rushed than we had wanted to be. After successfully wearing 4 layers through security, so that my luggage would be okay to carry on board, we waited for our slightly delayed plane to arrive. We got into the airport outside of Oslo and took a 1.5 hour bus ride into the city. We were greeted in Oslo by a very light snowfall, nothing that could accumulate, but just enough to make us feel welcome in the most northernly place we had even been. A short walk, and a few stops for directions later, we found our way to the hostel, which turned out to be in a prime location, in the center of everything. The hostel was incredible, especially compared to the one in which I stayed in Lisbon. It felt so warm and welcoming, it was bright, and had a character all its own. When we entered our room, we were greeted with a smile and hello from Ron, a Jamaican who was staying in Oslo for about 3 weeks. After a little conversation, he showed me all the places we would need to be sure to see, and marked them on the city map the hostel had provided us. The beds were fantastic, with pillowtop mattress pads, which I will have in my house someday, without doubt, and warm, soft duvets. After a long day of class and travel, we collapsed into bed very hungry, but too content to leave the hostel at that point.

The next morning, we started the day exchanging Euros for Norwegian Kroner, and set off to the 14th century Akershus castle along Oslo harbor. We were greeted by a sunny morning, a gentle breeze, and fantastic views of the city and water from the top of the castle. Surrounded by marching palace guards, we felt quite welcomed in Norway, as there seemed to be very very few tourists in the city. We walked the castle grounds, taking in the breathtaking views, and enjoying the crisp, fall air. We then set off in search of some much needed food, as we hadn't eaten since noon the day before, and found a Kebab stand, which is all the rage in Norway at the moment. After paying an obscene amount for an obscene amount of food, (everything is really expensive in Norway, like really expensive), we took a long walk around the city, ending up at the waterfront for a second time just to see the beautiful sunset at about 3:45. On our walk, we approached the Royal Palace, stopped at city hall, and passed by the Nobel Peace Prize center. It was so odd having it get dark so early, without the gradual adjustment we usually have living in Minnesota or Wisconsin. It was surreal knowing we still had hours upon hours before even thinking about ending the day. We headed back to the hostel for a rest, and later found a grocery store so we could save some money during the trip. Even groceries were ridiculously priced, like three times what I'm used to, and eventually we settled on spaghetti, bread, and bananas... and enough for a few days.

Back at the hostel, we made our dinner in the common room/kitchen, got to know our new Italian roommate, Marco, and talked to Ron who came down to join us a while later. After a few hours, we decided to check out the Oslo nightlife, although it was only a Wednesday. We found a promising bar close to the hostel and decided to stay, feeling very welcomed by the warm air inside. We spent a few hours with Ron from Jamaica and a guy from Iceland that came out with us, whose name I could never pronounce. It was a good time, and fun knowing how random this trip had been, and how funny it was to be hanging out in a Norwegian bar with a guy from Jamaica.

The next day, we woke up to a light drizzle and decided to make it a day of museums. We took a bus to the outer edge of the city, which looked like an equal mixture of Madison, with its trees and waterfront, and Minnesota's north shore with it's crisp air and large, spaced-out houses. The Fram museum was quite interesting. It held a large ship built in the late 19th century which was crucial in the explortation of the arctic circle. The Kon-Tiki museum told the interesting tale of modern day expeditions from Morocco to the USA and from South America to Indonesia by raft to show the plausibility of historical migration theories. We also visited the Viking Ship Museum, which sets a dark and mysterious ambiance for its display of amazingly well preserved 11th-14th century ships and artifacts. The walk between the museums was quite pleasant, the air refreshing, and the openness and lack of city noise quite peaceful. On the bus ride back, we overheard someone speaking in English about the King's lands and summer home that we had unknowingly passed. We toured the Norwegian WWII resistance museum within the castle walls, which was really interesting to me having learned a bit about it previously. We spent that evening debating taking a trip to beautiful Bergen (where my ancestors are supposedly from and which is home to some of the most beautiful sights on earth in its famous fjords), but the bus, train, and plane options all cost about 175 dollars, and it was just more than we wanted to pay after thinking about all the traveling we could do elsewhere with that some amount of money. Plus, we still had so much to see in Oslo. In the end, we decided to take a trip to Moss, a town of 36,000 people thirty minutes south of Oslo by train, on the coast of the North Sea.

We went out that night with Ron, and two Mexican guys that were staying in our room that night, who were studying in Madrid for the semester. Ron knew of a great bar, to which he led us through the pouring rain (I knew that REI raincoat would come in handy sometime...) We decided to cut the night short about three in the morning so we would be somewhat alive for our 8:30 train the next morning, and got to bed in enough time to catch a few hours of sleep.

The train ride the next morning was quite beautiful as we passes through forests, farmland, and waterfront on our way to the coast. It was brutally windy and cold immediately as we stepped off the train, and I was quite glad to have bundled up. We did a little bit of walking around town and ate our newly discovered breakfast combination of banana wrapped within a chunk of bread. Amazingly tasty... We found a stunningly beautiful lake on the edge of the town and made the long hike around it, fully embracing the great outdoors. While November perhaps isn't the best time to visit Norway, we were the only tourists in Moss. In fact, we were among the very few in Oslo as well, and I liked the feeling of just being able to blend in. (Especially with our ability to pass as Norwegians). I couldn't tell you how many times people came up to me asking questions in Norsk. After our slow lap around the lake, we hiked to the other end of town, up and over a large hill, and made way though the biting wind and countyside. The smell of saltwater marked our approach to the roaring North Sea as we passed cabbage patches, barns, silos, and beautifully open land. The wind howling, we stood admiring the rough sea and the mountains behind, and questioned the intelligence of the two brave souls windsurfing far away from shore in what must have been brutal conditions.

Sustained only by our small breakfast, and a roll of Maria cookies on our trek to the sea, our thoughts turned to having a late lunch in town, and reindeer sounded heavenly. After consulting the Moss tourist center (I'm pretty sure we were the only ones who had stopped in there in quite some time), we found ourselves out of luck for affordable reindeer dining options. Having made a pact on the plane, we decided to forgo a meal in Moss in hopes of finding our desired meal in Oslo. After a few games of Euchre in the train station, we settled into our very comfortable seats and I quickly drifted into a delightful half sleep in the warm cabin. Around fifteen miles of walking in the cold had tuckered me out, but it was such a wonderfully restorative day, returning to the peace and quiet of the country side, and feeling at home in the crisp, chilly air. It made me miss home, but at the same time I almost felt as if I were there.

Upon returning to Oslo, we returned to the Hostel and quickly marched to the restaurant that Ron recommended for what would be our second meal out in Norway. We all ordered reindeer and potatoes, which reminded me so much of my grandmother's Swedish meatball recipe. Donner and Cupid were delicious, and according to Reider and Jen, Dasher, Dancer, Comet and Blitzen were equally tasty. The warmth of the restaurant, and the fullness of our bellies quickly overcame us, and we drifted into a sleepily content state that reminded me of the annual Thanksgiving aftermath. An anti-fascism protest woke us up a bit on the walk home, and the random appearance of the Romanian president, who walked out of a hotel to his heavily guarded police caravan right in front of us on the walk home, made for quite a fun surprise.
We collapsed into bed about 8:00 and couldn't help but sleep. A bed had never felt so welcoming in my life, and it was the final piece to feeling completely satisfied with the day. I could have slept the whole night, but pried myself out of bed around midnight to talk with our new Italian roommates and to play some cards with Ron, Reidar, and Jen before heading back to bed around 3.

We awoke promptly the next morning, knowing we still had so much to do before catching the bus back to the airport at 4:30. We headed out to the Edvard Munch museum, the famous Norwegian painter who left his work to the city of Oslo and on our way, navigated ourselves though Oslo's immigrant neighborhoods, past little grocery stores, bakeries, and markets. We arrived a bit before the museum opened, and relaxed in the beautiful park next to which it is located. The leaves where still in the process of falling from the trees, and it was beautifully fall-like. Munch's work is incredible, and he quickly has become my favorite painter. Such incredible use of color and every work is quite unique as opposed to the countless paintings of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and the royal family here in Spain. The only must-see painting that was missing from the collection was the real "The Scream", which is housed in the National Gallery. On our way back to the waterfront, we make a lightning-quick entry into this building to see the finished work. It actually is much less impressive than I thought it would be, and while it is easily his most famous work, it is probably one of my least favorite. Somehow, it seems to lack the color and imagination of his other works, although clearly displaying a heavy dose of existentialist suffering.

Thinking it was much further than it actually was, we took an unnecessary tram ride to the Vigiland Sculpture park, which is home to over 212 bronze and granite sculptures by Gustav Vigiland. All are nude, and display an awe-inspiring sort of movement. The bright blue sky provided the perfect backdrop to such a beautiful place. On our way back to the hostel, carefully watching the time, we stopped into the Norwegian Resistance Museum one more time to finish what we hadn't seen when it had closed on during our previous visit. A quick walk back to the hostel, we gathered our bags from the luggage room, and quickly boiled our remaining pasta for a snack on the way home. It was a fast-paced end to a fantastic trip, and as we rode the bus back to the airport, we reflected on how random our original decision to make the trip really had been, and what a fantastic time it was. The airport was tiny, and the flight home on Ryanair, hassle-free. We got home just in time to comfortably catch the metro before it closed down for the night.

While originally I was having doubts about how badly I wanted to make the trip (so much that needed to get done back in Madrid, missing out on opportunities here, and lacking Spanish immersion for the better part of a week), I was so completely happy with it in the end. It had always been a wish of mine to make it to Norway, and while I still want to return some day to see Bergen, I'm quite happy with what I saw. The transition back to life in Madrid was seamless, having Sunday to clean my room, do my massive amount of laundry, organize my life, and talk to my family at home and my adopted one here in the piso. Getting back into the routine of classes also felt good, and my lesson with Ines on Monday went well, teaching her all sorts of fun new verbs! I have three more English teaching jobs, which will put me up to seven hours a week, plus a lot of prep time outside of that. A little more than I probably want, but I'm excited about learning more about being a teacher. While I'm quite sure it isn't in my long-term life plans, I could see myself traveling the world again someday and teaching English could be a good way to make it happen during a shorter period of time.

The rest of the week has been full of attempts to catch up on my studies, but instead I have found a few more intercambios with whom I've spent a lot of time the last few days. I also had lunch with Ivan, Elena, and Isabel on Wednesday, who are quickly becoming my closest Spanish friends here. I also saw a movie and had coffee with Ivan and Elena tonight. I went out with Alfonso, Julie, and her Russian, fluent Spanish-speaking roommate, Olga, Wednesday night for a great time and a lot of laughs, and went to the famous Palacio discoteca last night. Truly incredible inside, with impressive architecture that makes you feel like you are in a real royal palace, but with music and crazy lights everywhere. I had a great study session with Bailey from my program this afternoon, and now find myself desperately trying to finish this at 3:30 in the morning. Our WIP group leaves for Cordoba at 7:30, and I have yet to pack... oops! I'll be there for the weekend.

I'm starting to feel even better about Spain, especially after this week. Ivan and Elena seem like they will be very close friends of mine in no time, and I feel like I've really bonded with Alfonso this week, something I'd been really wanting more of recently. He's such a fun guy to be around, but for some reason I can't speak Spanish worth a damn around him. I have no idea why. Possible trip with him to his house in the Basque country next weekend. Anyways, I need to salvage a few hours of shut-eye. New pictures of Norway are up if you want to have a look. As you always must write here in Spain, if you aren't physically present to give them---- Besos!