I started this summer by flying with my friend Jacob to his home country for two eagerly anticipated weeks of perfecting my Norwegian, soaking up the cultural and instagramable sights, and enjoying more fish dishes than my pescatarian self could wish for. After stumbling across the hugely popular web series Skam a few years ago, I fell head first in love with the country and spent more than an acceptable amount of time researching my “future home” (job success dependant because, wow, is Norway expensive).

Norway, however, was everything and nothing like I expected it to be. No matter how much Jacob reassured me before departure that ‘Norway does have summers too!’, I wasn’t prepared for the 30 degree heat the country was enduring from a rare but persistent heatwave. Nor was I to perfect any of the basic Norwegian I already knew. You were much more likely to see me tight lipped and silent, refusing my receipt with a shake of the head because apparently even the way I said ‘nei’ was amusing to my friend, tour guide, and native speaker. Nonetheless, prepared to return all but bankrupt and thoroughly exercised (because it turns out everything in Norway is a hill), we were off. Continue reading Postcards from Abroad: Norway