Norway: A Different Pace to Study Abroad Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were very different from what I am used to at Stritch. The workload included suggested reading but very little else during the semester. At the end of the semester there were either big papers due or an exam to be taken. I felt like this made the semester overall easier than it is at Stritch, but it was harder to really gage how much I was learning. It was also harder to get a good grade in the class because of that. The Norwegian as a Foreign Language course was very difficult. I felt like to do well, I had to seek out Norwegian students to help me practice. We rarely practiced in class and we often did not understand what the professor was teaching us or what we were supposed to do because she did not explain things in English, nor did she give us time to ask questions. Additionally, her English was very poor so communicating with her in general was a great challenge.

On-site administration of your program

The international student program at Osfold was excellent. They paired each student with a buddy who was there to answer questions and pretty much take us out partying every day/night for the first two weeks. It fostered friendship and made it very easy to get questions answered and problems solved.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in Remmen which was student housing about a hundred yards from the University. The houses had 8 bedrooms each and a kitchen/dining room with a sofa inside. There were 8 houses in the complex. We felt very safe in Remmen for the most part. In fact, the doors were all wide open during warm weather. As the semester went on, there were some problems with sanitary items and food or alcohol being stolen from the houses; rumors were that some Albanian vagrants in the area were notorious for that. It was about a 25 minute walk to downtown Halden which was no problem at all. Most of the time we partied at Remmen though. I was given sheets from the housing department at school but I did need to buy a few other things when I got there just to make my room more homey including a mirror, a trash bin, and a lamp. I eventually bought a coffee machine as well.

I usually just shopped and cooked with my friends. Grocery's were about twice as expensive as they are in the US which was hard to get used to. Eating out was also about twice as expensive so I rarely did it. There are some excellent pizza places in Halden though. You have to try the onion sauce on the pizza!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The school took us on a trip to Bergen at no cost to us. It was amazing.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There is a hospital in Halden. I did not visit it personally but a few other students went there over the course of the semester for medicine and they seemed to have an easy experience with it. The city itself is very safe. I could walk home at night with one other girl and not feel threatened in any way.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I rarely had to use the host country's language. Almost everyone spoke English and in shopping situations all I needed to understand was prices and "Do you want a bag?"

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• Other

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• International Students