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Hi my name is Jennifer Blalock
I am in CBS and I am studying Microbiology.
I studied in Oslo, Norway in Spring 2012.
So, I wanted to study somewhere where
the people in that country spoke a different language,
but also because I didn't have time to take a language here
prior to studying abroad they also needed to speak English,
so Norway fit the picture pretty well because they speak both English and Norweigan.
I actually ended up liking it more than I do here
just because in Norway the academic system is very much where
your final exam counts for 100% of your grade.
They don't meet as often for class, so they really put a lot of emphasis
on individual learning and individual studying and they just assume that you'll keep up
with the material yourself.
So I lived in student housing, so it's kind of like a dorm but their dorms are different there.
So I had my own bedroom, I didn't have a roomate
but then I shared a bathroom with one other person
and a kitchen with like six other people.
And there they don't really have a meal plan. You can buy meals on campus,
but for the most part students cook their own meals.
I joined a student club when I was in Norway. They do like mountain hiking
and a lot of skiing, and so they organized this trip to learn
how to Telemark ski, and I had never done downhill skiing before
but I was like, "Oh, you know, but they said beginners were welcome."
So I decided to go for it, and actually one of the girls I met on the trip, she's one of my really good
friends now. And I learned how to ski too, although there were quite a few embarassing moments.
And there's this one place called Preikestolen which means like "Pulpit Rock" in English,
and it's this rectangular rock and it's on top of the fjord,
so you can hike up to this rock and then have this view looking over the fjords.
It was amazing.
I was actually there on Norway's National Day,
so it's like our Fourth of July but it's on May 17th.
And it was really cool because in Oslo they have this giant parade
down the main street leading up to the palace,
and so all the children in school walk with their school down the street
and then they walk past the palace which is where the King and Queen are standing.
There's just red, white and blue which are the colors of Norway's flag and it's everywhere.
Public transportation is very big in Europe you know, and it's really good too.
And I had never used public transportation before going to Norway
so it was kind of hard figuring out at first like how to use it
and stuff, but once you get used to it, it was amazing, and it's one thing I really miss.
It really made me think
a lot about how we do things differently here.
Like for example, the energy they use is almost 100% renewable
whereas here obviously it's quite different. So like just the viewpoints on that is very different.
I would definitely recommend that you do it, for one thing, and also just to stay as long as you possibly
can 'cause I think the longer you stay, the more you'll get out of it.
And also like I didn't want to come home so I wish I could have stayed longer.