This almost forgotten place.. Havent been here for very very long time.. since the end of last yr,started prep for moving house,going here n there w dad.. and till the start of this yr too..then sch and tuition was crazily packed.. all the way till my final uni exams..luckily its over..

and the motivation was of course, the summer school in Norway,the once in a lifetime experience..
so for memory sake,shall blog about it..
throughout the exam period, i was already so excited about it.. so excited going on such a trip for the first time,for summer sch,and to travel alone aft that..
kept thinking about it,what to bring,etc esp the travelling alone,was quite worried and scared,even though it was sth i always thought of doing..
but i figured,it would be hard for me to do it another time,since i didnt want parents to know,till i got back..
if i asked,they confirm dont allow..so must secretly..
so i decided to be brave and take this chance..and i'm so happy i did it.. =))

exams end so late this yr,and there was like only 20days left,for me to get rdy everything bef i fly..
and there was also a short hols to msia w family too..
so it was a mad rush packing,prep,up till the day bef flying,i still went w dad to get a new lappie,change money,buy food so last min.. haha.but it was really fun and happy and so excited. XD

Saw this Norway summer prog last yr,but it was too late to apply and everything..
Norway and scandinavian countries have always been one of my 'dream countries' to go..
esp during xmas..also wanted to see the cool midnight sun..
so tt was one of the main reason i chose it..
how good was it to be able to go to norway and attend a summer sch there!
so this yr was hoping they'll have it again and luckily they did.. and so of cux i happily,bravely went to apply even when my fren couldnt go..
so i had to go 'alone', and then later get to know the other 3 girls that was going on this also..
there were other summer sch progs in usa,korea,etc,and there were so many ppl for those sch..
norway's one only had 4 of us.. and i was thinking if it was a bad choice..thought it may nt be good and had second thoughts about going..
and mum didnt rly want me to go also,but in the end she still alittle unwillingly gave in..
was happy i stood by my decision and went ahead..and proved to them i can do it..

The trip was from 20th june-10th aug..
A 50 day journey..
the first longest period of time that i left home on my own and staying overseas..
and the very very first time that i travelled on my own..
and it was indeed a memorable first time..one i never regretted going..
one i'll never forget.

till the day bef leaving,then i finally managed to squeeze everything in my luggage,clothes food everything..super packed!
and the thought of going norway didnt seem real..
up till the moment when i was on the plane..

But the big day finally came.. was so excited the day bef i had a hard time slping,but still excitedly happily woke up early tt day..
it was a night flight 2120,so had some time left in the afternoon settling stuff..
a mad rush to find some usb adaptor for my com..home,and off we go.. rmb still had bubble tea to satisfy my craving,since i guess there wont be milk tea there..
dinner at airport w family,but so excited/worried i didnt hv any appetite..
it was like 'having butterflies in my stomach' kinda feeling..
and i was worried about tearing/crying when i go in.. and siblings,cousins were all talking about tt long bef.. and saying my mum would cry too!
cousin even tweeted 'i think my aunt's going to cry later'..
haha,so i wanted to make sure i'll be brave n not cry..
dad called and say he had wk and couldnt make it,and i almost teared,but i controlled and held it back! =) 


then it was rly rly time to go in and said bye..
when family told me to go in,it was abit weird,like my first time going in all on my own..
like felt a little lost,on my own..rly rly weird feeling..
always had family going in tgt w me,never like this on my own..
that feeling i cant forget..
but that was the start of the long journey.. the first step..
and i just kept smiling so that i wont cry!
cux i guess if i cried my mum would too and my aunt will too.. seems like i would be the 'trigger'..
so i held back and walked right in.. i made it!
when i was inside alrdy,family still waving to me,and asking me to get the trolley for my handcarry,they were still worried..

Then,i was on the place,and all the msges were coming in frm frens and family..
as the plane was quite empty,i was siting alone,w empty seat beside me..
then,when the plane was moving,reality finally sets in..

Finally it felt like i was finally on this journey i waited for.. to Norway,a dream coming true..
and all the emotions set in too,i finally couldnt hold on,and was tearing quite badly and 'secretly',hoping others didnt see..
and i even thought to myself,why did i come on this journey..
why did i make this decision to come,i regretted at that point in time to go..
i was thinking of all the uncertainties once we reach there,was worried how things would be there,worried about how sch was going to be,how the ppl will be..
just simply scared,and missing my family n frens already..
wishing they'll come w me too.. so i was rly crying for quite some time even aft the plane took off..
thinking back now,i feel so silly and quite funny thinking of myself crying at that corner on the plane..
what an experience it was..
can never forget that feeling..

my very first time..





the flight was a looong one..
had to transit at doha,and we reached there around early morn spore time..
and we had to wait like 7hrs for the connecting flight..
horrible long wait at the small transit airport..
after almost one whole day,then did we reach Oslo,Norway's captial..
it was like almost 10pm in spore the next day..
norway's time is 6hrs behind,so it was only 4pm in the afternoon..
but was so tired,almost didnt get to slp..bec of the 'excitement'..
and i watched like 3,4 movies on the first flight!

the school was only picking us up at the central train station..
so from the airport we had to take the airport train service to the central..
it was summer and we were greeted by sunny,but cooling weather once we stepped out the airport..
like in aircon room..
loved cold weather,and norway's known for its long winters,and cooling weather throughout the yr..
so that first train ride about 30mins to the city centre..
and we got to see pretty scenery on the way,and the pretty fluffy clouds in norway..




Norway's known to be a expensive country..So,the short train ride which costs almost sgd$20!
so we reached oslo central station,which is pretty much their town area,like orchard..
where we can change and take different mrt lines..
their mrt is called T-bane..
and its also their main train station,where trains will depart and go to other cities in norway..
so we waited for some other students from other countries to gather,before they took us on the Tbane,back to our hostel,and the school..
it was only a short ride,a few stops from the central area..
and one main big difference of their tbane from our mrt is that,they can bring their pets onboard..
alot norwegians have dogs,big dogs,and they all are v guai..
once on the train they will just quietly sit down,and some even go under the seats..
super guai,and u will very very very seldom hear dogs bark at all..
and we were saying its bec norwegians are v soft,quiet,their dogs are the same too..
and unlike spore mrt,where normally it gets quite noisy,its super quiet on tbanes and at the stations..
when we were out as a grp,we always joked its always us tts the most noisy there..
we even sillyly tried once,by keeping quiet for 5seconds,and hear how quiet it was..
eating is allowed too..and the trains are spacious n very clean..
and if u want to get off at a station,the tbane will stop but u have to press a button on the door for it to open..

so we got off at the our station Nydalen..
it was a quiet and nice neighbourhood area..
and we had to all drag our luggages for quite some time,bef we reached our hostel..
the sch rep,then briefed us a little,and gave us room to our keys..
like finally,a nice room to rest..
before we went,we got to choose what kind of rooms we wanted..
either share a room or have a single room to yourself..
got a single room,and had two flatmates,they shared a room..
there's a kitchen w dining table..
so it was like a 2 room hdb apartment..except w no living room..
the 'house' was much nicer and cosy than expected..
room was quite big and the view was nice..
first day,was abit 'shocked',cux there was no fan or aircon,only a thermostat..
but after awhile then realised there was rly no need for them..as the weather was super nice.. always left the windows closed when i go to slp,but i can still slp w the blanket..
weather was rly rly nice,except that it always rained,not heavy rain but drizzle..
so we had v little sunny and bright days..

even though it was supposed to be summer..
and w summer,there was of course the 'midnight sun phenomenon',where the sun dont set until like maybe 9pm?
they sky at 11pm can be like our sky at 7pm..
and the sun would be out like at 3am??
it was rly cool,we could stay out late without worrying it'll be dangerous or what..
but actually,norway's a rly safe place..
and when we went on the short trips,we rly could make full use of our time,as we can sight see till quite late..

before i left for norway,always checked on the weather..
cux was quite excited,hoping that there may still be snow since their winter last for v long..
saw that there was snow even in may!
but by the time we were there in late june,it wasnt possible to snow already..
even though it was summer,the weather ranged approx from like 15deg-3deg at night!
and some days,it was rly cold,like winter,we wore like a few layers!

rmb one day when we were on an 'excursion' w the sch..
we were at the harbour waiting for the boat,it was early morn so the weather was cooler and the wind was rly strong..
sooo cold,until we breathed out the 'misty' air,like we do when in winter..
but we didnt wear any of those winter inner wear,only had like one thicker jacket on the outside..
we were so excited though,and all standing there trembling and playing w breathing out the air!!
haha the lecturers joked that norway's got two winter,just that one is white and the other is green.. green one refers to summer,where its cold still,just that no snow..
how true..


i guess the hottest time in norway,was when i went back in aug at the end of the trip for my flight back to spore,it was like ard 20deg only..
really nice cooling weather..
super like it,cause can get to wear winter like clothing,wear jackets,long pants..
not like spore always have to wear short sleeve and shorts..
how cool would it be if spore had that kind of weather..


the prog we took was Intercultural Management-A Scandinavian Perspective at BI norwegian business school..from 23rd jun-20jul..
but we chose to arrive earlier to settle down and everything..
and after we settle down in hostel for the first day,the first thing we did was to go grocery shopping at a nearby shopping centre,Storo..
it was rly convenient to stay at that hostel,near sch,shopping centre and train..
there was also a minimart opposite our hostel and a little small bar,where everyone gathered to watch the eurocup then..

EVERYTHING is rly rly expensive in norway.. even in the convenience store,the cheapest hotdog bun,one slice of pizza costs at least 20nok,which is approx 5sgd!
a norm 500ml coke is also 20nok!!
even fast food is exp too,one macd meal costs us almost 20sgd!!
it was rly pathetic when we were out,and when we're hungry,we had to think so long what to eat!
even had to decide v long whether to eat mac!
so we had to cook most of the time..

and grocery shopping became one of our 'hobby'..
and shopping at different supermkts to compare the prices..
in the end,we rly knew where we can get cheaper stuff..
like we had to go to this particular supermkt RIMI, then where we can get this brand of instant noodles,which was rly cheap,3nok..!
it's nice and we buy the tomyum flavour in spore!
a thai brand called mama,and there were many flavours!
was so happy when i first saw it,cux we serioulsy are bad cooks and i only brought a few packets of maggi over..
and on our short trips,instant noodles are always our best friend..
in the end our whole clique got to know this brand and all bought it too!
grocery bought on the first day,just like this and it costs sgd30++..super crazy!

and it was quite cool,on the first day at hostel,we already made frens w some macau students,and cooked dinner tgt..super fast!
we knew things would be expensive,but totally didnt expect it to be that expensive!
all the items were like at least 3 times more expensive than spore!
it was rly shocking but what an experience..to have to think so much,calculating and deciding so long before we bought anything..
but of course,norwegians have got higher pay,tts why the high prices..

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