Introductory Program Continues

Thursday, August 9

On Thursday, the introductory program continued. Together we sat through tons of presentations about the ins and outs of being an international student at the university. Some presentations focused on practical matters like registering with the police, while others presented helpful information about the city and activities to do on campus. All in all, the day was overwhelming, but it was pleasant to continue conversations with people I had met the day before. This whole experience reminded me of freshman orientation at Concordia College, except I did not have to worry about serious issues like visas and learning agreements like I do here.

Throughout the long day, I started to feel jetlagged. The time difference between here and home is 7 hours. This means that when we start orientation each day at 8am, it is 1am back home and thus my body thinks it should be sleeping. This is my first experience of jetlag even though I’ve been to the United Kingdom. Hopefully I can adjust quickly; however, the sky never becoming completely dark might be a problem.

Thursday night, the volunteers offered free waffles at Café Bodega on campus. Café Bodega is a student-run café on campus where students can gather to enjoy waffles, play games, or simply chat while listening to music. I had been informed that this is where the majority of international students hang out. This will be a great place to meet familiar faces throughout the semester.

The waffles at the café were fantastic. The waffles must have contained nutmeg or cinnamon and the waffle itself was large and thus very filling. A picture of these amazing waffles will be posted in the future. While eating my waffle, our table participated in trivia night. Out of the 20 questions, the majority of groups got only about 10 correct. For instance, one question was how much hydro energy does Norway produce each year…definitely didn’t know this answer. The quiz was difficult and unfortunately we did not win.

After Café Bodega, Callie and I returned to our dorms for the night. We had finally acquired internet so it was nice to chat with a few people back home.

Friday, August 10

On Friday, more information was presented before us again. At this point, my brain was full, and I would have to rely on my notes to remember things later on. A mix up from the mundane presentations was a bus tour of the city. On the tour we drove around the city center and crossed the bridge to Tromsdalen, portion of Tromsø located on mainland Norway. Our guide shared a ton of information about the city and the Troms county.

For me, the most interesting fact I learned was the history behind the color of Norwegian houses. In Tromsø and Norway, the majority of Norwegian houses are red, yellow, or white. However, what most foreigners don’t know is that the color of one’s house used to be significant. Before the development and availability of various colors of paint, the color used to paint a house depended on the financial status of the family as well as their geographic location.

Red House: Lowest Status, Yellow House: Middle Status, White House: Highest Status

Red was the cheapest color to produce since it was made using oil and the blood from fish, cattle, or other animals. A fishermen living on the coast did not have a large income, thus, he most likely had a red house. The second color yellow was slightly more expensive to produce. It was made with ochre and oil. The finest color was white. In order to make white paint zinc, an expensive material of the time, was needed. Therefore, if one’s house was white, it indicated the family was wealthy.

These three colors are still common choices of modern homes today, but the social status is not associated with them. This is a good thing since my house is red.

At the end of the tour, we had lunch at the Driv. The Driv is a building owned by the Student Welfare Association at the University of Tromsø, but run by students and volunteers. The inside of the building looks like a classy barn, but has a café atmosphere. Within Driv is a restaurant, four bars, and a main stage which is open to the second floor. Events are frequently held at Driv where students can listen to bands, drink expensive beer, or hang out.

After lunch, a large group of international students headed to the bus station to finally obtain our much needed bus passes. Callie and I along with a couple of Canadians stood in line for two hours before we got our bus passes. One bus ride costs 28 Kroner (about $4.50) so a monthly unlimited bus pass was a no brainer.

Later in the night, we returned to Driv for the student welcome party. All international students were invited as well as the Norwegian students that were in town. I was exhausted from the last few days of the introductory program, but once I got inside, I forgot that I was even tired. The music was blaring, people were dancing, and the lights were flashing. To make things even better, the music was in English and very up-beat, making it easy to join the crowd and dance. The night was a blast and I can’t wait for more parties at the Driv!

Picture from welcome party. As best as I can from
left to right: Marcello, Signe, Sohail, Lorenzo,
Andrijana, Callie, Holly, Me, and Adnan