I arrived in Bergen, Norway on August 3rd with my family. My first impression of Norway was that there was a certain “freshness” to the air. The weather in Bergen is a bit more?rainy and chilly than Oslo (where I currently live), but I put on a rain jacket and a warm hat and I enjoyed the crisp air as a refreshing change from the Texas heat. Bergen is a very European feeling city on the water with colorful houses, plenty of?shopping, and quaint markets with beautiful nature surrounding it.
After spending a week in Bergen with my family and exploring the extravagant fjords on our vacation, my family moved me into my apartment in Oslo. August in Oslo is warm and?sunny with the temperature resting in the 60’s for the most part. It’s lovely!
BI is an incredibly modern school that I find to be beautifully built. The first week is called “Fadderullan” which?is a week of activities and parties for you to get to know fellow international students as well as Norwegian students. Heads up, Norwegians DEFINITELY know how to party!
Oslo has a city feel, but if you take the metro a few stops outside of the city you can find some great hikes, parks, and lakes. Norwegians love to be outside, so if you’re an outdoorsy person, this is the place for you! The nature is absolutely breathtaking and the school offers a lot of opportunities to go on group hikes and travel to famous nature spots around Norway.
Pros:
- Norway is BEAUTIFUL
- The weather is perfect in August
- The people are super friends and willing to help. Not to mention everyone?speaks English (Thank the Lord because Norwegian is a weird language that is difficult to learn)
- BI is structured in a way that caters to international students and gives you plenty of opportunities to travel and explore Norway
Cons:
- Norway is expensive. Eating out is difficult and it’s much more common to have friends over to eat a home cooked meal.. or a frozen pizza called Grandiosa, the unofficial meal of Norway!
- Going out for drinks also gets pretty expensive. If you enjoy drinking with friends get used to “pre partying”, which is drinking before going out for drinks since alcohol is less expensive in the grocery stores and government regulated liquor stores.
