murmeldyr.no

The weblog of a traveller

   Nov 17

Storytelling

The Storytelling society (yep, there is one) had Sean Gordon come and tell stories. He brought all kinds of gear and demonstrated Highlander-style fighting and transforming a piece of fabric into a kilt. We got to know all kinds of quirky historical facts (-How did the Field of Shirts get its name? In the battle there, the Highlanders removed their kilts before charging to not damage them, and fought in only shirts). It was magical. Like story time with grandpa by the fireplace when you were a kid.

Note the pretty staff in the background

Note the pretty staff in the background


   Nov 11

The town

Next in the “how to survive in Aberdeen” series:

It’s not exactly a metropolis. There’s a reason why the student society arranges Christmas shopping trips to Glasgow.

Night life is still impressive for an Oslonian, people do know how to party.

Sign at the toilets of a rock scene

Sign at the toilets of a rock scene

Beware, alcohol prices have dropped 60 % in the last decade or two, and is now in fact cheaper than soft drinks. Official posters remind citizens that “everyone benefits from one alcohol-free day a week.” It really is crazy, but people seem to tackle it well, not drinking more in general but rather more exclusive stuff.

EDIT: I might be saying that because I entered in 3d year and my peers have learned the hard way…

Do come in time for Freshers’ week. It’s a bit like the homely russetid (which doesn’t translate at all, it’s a really extensive 6. form leavers’ party which lasts for 3 weeks, a true proof Norwegians are still vikings) complete with the meningitis warnings and the “it was the time of my life, but never EVER again” comments afterwards.

Those who watch their waistlines watch out; ready-mades are either stuffed into a pie or deep fried, and just about everything is sweetened. Portions are tiny though, and I don’t see many obese people at all.

Fashion seems a bit… Old-fashioned? Or rather, neater and more buttoned-up, more traditional and less flashy-fancy. I’m not going to post any theories on why it is so, there are others who know a lot more about that.

Steven seagull and his steroid cousins do make themselves noticed, as the dedicated facebook group Aberdeen Seagulls Are Fucking Huge And Scary proves.

Photo by Sophie

Photo by Sophie


   Nov 11

The Uni

So for the Aberdeen-specific stuff:

King’s college (the 1500s part of the uni) is really pretty, it feels good to go through such gates on the way to lecture:

As for school, the level is higher than home, no doubt. Not in the sense that what we learn is more complicated or the workload heavier, but in the sense that the level of the professors is very high, what we are served is new science (comparing with power points from last year I see large revisions) from experts in their fields, and there’s a plan behind every class. Finally after 4 years I do feel I’m going to uni and not just to school.

No one dares say it, but I think it ought to be said; not to scare anyone off but because the gain of painting things rosy is less than the one of being honest: UMB is a b-school. Sorry about that. Wish I knew it earlier.
Most of the subjects are thaught in Oslo too (mine originally weren’t, so I have an excuse:P) and as everyone secretly wants to be in Oslo (Trondheim for the engineers) all the rejects end up at UMB. It shows on the level, and ultimately the requirements go down. Every subject is limiting the curriculum from last year. Also, I’ve seen so much uninspired reading-the-textbook-aloud-teaching there and it’s hard to say what came first. All I know is I’m having regrets about going back there now I’m getting used to something better.

Most of my lectures are here:

And here.

The cathedral (tall thing on the left) still holds services, and you might run into newlyweds as you go for lunch.

The crown of the cathedral at night

The crown of the cathedral at night

The founder on display outside the cathedral, they say he was too big to be buried inside. In which case, the death mask is not very accurate.


   Nov 11

Leaving it all


To the possible benefit of others who plan their study abroad year (which every student should. You will never get more support and backing in getting away and being free in your favorite place in the world. Let nothing hold you back – I left man, home and job behind to do this), I’ll present a few of the things I learned along the road. More reports here.

It doesn’t have to cost you. The Erasmus program is underrated: For all EU/EEA students, it means EU pays the tution fees, fixes all the papers and even pays you a stipendium which goes quite far (well it pays the rent). Many things can be said about the culture-suppressing anti-democratic want-to-be-USA syndicate that is the european union, but free movement of students is definetely on the plus side. For Norwegians, you might also find the Educational Loan Fund paying your plane ticket, which was a pleasant surprise to me as this is not really advertised.

I found it all fairly straight-forward. When you go to the study exhibitions and battle the flyers it seems quite daunting, but most options can be easily eliminated (should be, if your advisor of studies does their job) if you have a splinter of a clue what you want to do (and maybe more important, what you _don’t_ want). Again, if you do Erasmus all you have to do is tick some boxes and write 5 lines about why you want to go. You don’t even have to send it, your school does all that.

Just because your home school treats every application the same within the deadline, doesn’t necessarily mean the other one does. I lost a very nice flat because I waited with applying until deadline, it turned out it was first-come-first-serve (then why a deadline at all?)

Private accomodation can be both cheaper and nicer than the Uni ones, but also more risky. Don’t pay a penny before signing a contract and do have a look at the place before deciding anything (a few people I know have found themselves in a pinch). As all this can be hard to do when you’re coming a long way, I figured a uni flat was easier after all, at least it can be (well, must be, it turned out) fixed beforehand. The catch is they might not let you loose from the contract so you eliminate your chance of finding something better.

For my views on the uni accomodation, refer back to https://murmeldyr.yirdfast.no/2008/10/07/the-flat/


   Nov 09

Scotsgrr-l

This morning I was woken up by bagpipes. It was bound to be a good day.

Ten minutes later I was out in the park looking for the band (hoping to see some kilts – I guess I have a thing for men in skirts…) but it stopped before I found it.

Birthday lunch at C’s and I got some more Loch Ness media. Nessie:

Can you see a Nessie in the picture?

Can you see a Nessie in the picture?

Staring at the pitcher of beer

Staring at the pitcher of beer

Staring at the pitcher of beer. Yep, drinks by the pitcher. 4 pints, good two liters, well enough for all seven of us. I went out with 15 pounds, still have 8 of them and got to try a lot of different things. Scotland remains the place to be.


   Nov 09

Obey Giant

Obey giant made the iconic red-blue Obama posters that are everywhere.

Warning: This art will hit you in the guts. It made me snap for air. It made me whip up the colored pencils and MAKE ART NOT WAR. It made me write my first ever fan mail. This stuff is going to be on my wall very soon.

My bootleg:

I've learned this sign is slightly more controvercial in UK than anywhere else.

I


   Nov 03

Glasgow

Bolt finally came for a way too short weekend on the island. I think I will save the travel related rants for a seperate post. Anyhow, for a number of reasons we chose to spend most of the time in Glasgow -quite another story than windy little Aberdeen with the undeciphrable dialect! We never managed to see the end of the shopping district.

Out of extravagancy or just for the hell of it, we booked at Cathedral House Hotel. Later when I googled for the adresss, I got the ghostfinders site. . A suitable place for Halloween, then.

Well we didn’t see ghosts, but that might be because we’re muggles. The place had a very weird feeling with narrow stairs and hallways, and it was the same guy who served us at check-in, breakfast and check-out. Is he the only employee? The Addams Family theme kept running in my head for the length of the stay there.

For the benefit of other travellers; we came across a quite amazing restaurant, Di Maggio’s on this street:

Starry skies

Starry skies

A 45 minute wait for a table is usually a good sign. And a table next to the kitchen turned out to be a good thing, not only could we spy on the other orders but the nearest waiter was never more than a few steps away.

The superloo:

Not so super, actually

Not so super, actually

Can someone tell me the thing with fireworks on Halloween? It seems pretty local, my Glasgownian friend had no clue either. Can it be something about Celtic New Year?


   Oct 30

Had to.

Asked for it.

Asked for it.

Reverse psychology from a lonely sign?


   Oct 28

Omgwhatisthat!

stolen photo re-stolen

stolen photo re-stolen

Unlike other collections of random stolen animal photoes, this blog seems to stick to its theme. Prepare to awwww. And it features marmots!


   Oct 28

Internet still on vacation

27.10: Aggy has been exploring. Look, I found a chocolate orange!

The carefully sectioned, neatly wrapped kind of treasure my parents’ generation got when they were kids and treats were still a bit of a big thing, the kind that disappeared because it was less cost efficient than stackable KitKat bars. (They sure did have some good stuff in the old days. But they didn’t have Internet.)

The taste? Semi-crappy KRAFT cocoa. Same guys that slaughtered the homely Freia chocolate. 2008 sucks.

Still it feels like cheating to eat it alone, it’s so shareable with all the tiny sections.

What more, I found a secret computer room! I vaguely remembered there was supposed to be three computer rooms in the hall centre, but I’d only seen two and they were full. Driven by curiosity or desperation, I worked my way to the basement, through a door with a PRIVATE-sign, and after two more doors and a fire exit I found a dark and empty computer hall. Kind of spooky actually…

Note to self: Shops may be open on Sundays, but that doesn’t mean they’re open long on weekdays! I’ve come to locked doors at five past six so many times you’d think I’d learned.