Fadderuke a.k.a. welcoming week

Bittersweet. Nervous. Scared. Excited. Arriving in Oslo was like waiting in line for a roller coaster. Not sure what I had gotten myself into this time and ever so slightly regretting my life choices. But above all: I knew that what was coming would be the best experience of my life. I simply didn't have any idea how fast this would change...

So after a weekend of Ikea and exploring Oslo with a newly made Belgian friend, it was time for Fadderuke!

"Fadderuke" (n.) Norwegian traditional welcoming week, to get to know your fellow students, the city and the school.

Or as our Buddy's describe it: "Honestly it's just a week of partying". And I can tell you he wasn't wrong.

So on Monday i shyly made my way to school to meet our Buddy's, who would guide us trough the week. After adopting another student, our Gigantic group consisting of 2 Erasmus students and 2 buddies was complete, and the adventure began! The buddies started off by showing us the city, the school and bars, including the one at our school. (And yes, it serves beer)

We continued our journey to another Norwegian tradition: the "Preparty", where we met some Norwegians in their natural habitat. Together with my fellow Erasmus student we discovered that Norwegians aren't as cold as they are often portrayed. They are actually incredibly welcoming and kind, as long as you take off your shoes when you enter their house. They told us about how they usually serve one year in the military (fighting polar bears, yeah!) before going to college. We finished the night at the first party. And when I say party, I mean Party with a capital "P". There was confetti, fire effects and the Norwegian Crowd was crazy!

On Tuesday we were in for a treat: a concert but the artists were a surprise! We were introduced into Norwegian music culture. As some big Norwegian artists from different genres performed, the crowd went completely insane, singing along to all the songs and asking for encore's. And once again confetti and fire was included in the price. We were completely amazed!

Wednesday it was time to take it easy. We got some FREE food at school and played some games in Norwegian (Yes the struggle was real), before the real start on Thursday. On Thursday it was time for business, time for the big introduction. At this point all the Erasmus students had arrived and our group had grown considerably. After a quick technical explanation and a tour through the school, we got to meet our lecturers. We experienced how close teachers are to their students, when we even got our teacher's phone number?!? Afterwards we started studying the sciences of beerpong, an import skill in Norwegian life.

Friday might as well have been the coolest night of my life. But first we had sportsday and we officially met the Norwegian beautiful weather, getting completely drenched and scared away by a sudden thunderstorm. While the sun was shining brightly 5 minutes earlier we were now seeking shelter for the unpredictable Norwegian weather. In the evening we met again on a rooftop with an amazing view of the opera house. Here we watched the sunset and got to know each other even more while chatting about the amazing week we just had, before continuing the party at the bar in our school.

Saturday, final day. We would finish up the week with a bang! We dressed up as tropical as possible and after a cozy all-girls-preparty, doing make-up and making pictures, we joined our Norwegian friends one last time for the last party.

With a bunch of new amazing friends and newly gained Beerpong skills, I wasn't scared anymore and by the end of the week the last bits of homesickness had faded. I am so ready for this amazing experience and can't wait to see what Norway has to offer!

THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING WEEK!