Field of the Gods

I've Arrived!

Well, I'm finally here! On Thursday, I swapped grey English skies for clear blue Norwegian ones. The three weeks since my last post have been really hectic (I do incidentally hope to get into the habit of posting a bit more often!)

I finished the CELTA course on 28th July, and whilst I really enjoyed the course, I was ready for it to be over. I was starting to feel a bit worn down by the end... My last few days in Cambridge were pretty full as well. Packing up all my stuff into boxes and getting it into Windhorse and stacked onto a pallet was about two full days work. Afer that, there were plenty of wee niggly practical things to do in the last two or three days, and then suddenly it was 5am on Thursday morning and time to go for my flight...

The journey went smoothly, and there was a lovely surprise waiting for me at the airport. I'd arranged to meet Gunaketu back at the Buddhist Centre, big he'd come to meet me and was stading there grinning and waving a big Buddhist flag... We went to IKEA a bit later and I bought some shelves and a desk for my little room. I've got space for all my books and DVDs now, and I'm really pleased with the way the room's laid out. I think I've managed to make maximum use of the space without it feeling cramped. Gunaketu went on retreat on Friday, and is away for a week. Bente, who I'm living with at the Buddhist Centre, was away on retreat until Monday evening so I had a few days on my own. I had plenty of things to get done, getting information about the various bureaucratic things I need to do to get my residence permit, open a bank account etc. I've got a Norwegian mobile now, so if anyone wants the number just e-mail me. I think sending texts internationally isn't too expensive, so the odd wee message would be nice ;)

I met up with my friend Simen on Saturday and also got to meet his fiance Inger for the first time. I met Simen at the European Youth Parliament about 6 years ago, and we've managed to stay in touch since. He's in Oslo for the next few weeks, but then he's going to live in London! (Oh, the irony...) Anyway, it's nice to have another good friend around for my first few weeks here at least.

The last couple of days have been pretty focussed on looking for work. I've registered with a couple of temp agencies, and have been going round language schools and adult education centres introducing myself and giving out my CV. Most places just say they'll keep my CV on file and contact me if they need more teachers, but I've got a couple of interviews lined up in the next few days, and a few more places on my list I haven't visited yet. Once I've exhausted all the language schools, I'll start on the Upper Secondary Schools, and see if they can give me some work as a teaching assistant or substitute. I'm finding being unemployed a bit stressful generally, as I'm basically living on my overdraft at the moment, but hey - life would be boring if it was too straightforward...

I've managed a bit of relaxation though - sitting out on the balcony in the evenings reading has been lovely. I've started on a big thick history of China that was recommended my friend Maitiu which I'm really enjoying. I've also spent a bit of time at some of my favorite places in Oslo. On Thursday evening I went down to the harbour and sat and had a drink by the water (well, ON the water really, there's an outdoor cafe on a sort of big raft) and listened to some live music. I haven't been up to Frognerseteren yet, but I'll do that at the weekend. (Frognerseteren's at the top of one of the hills surrounding the city, and you get fantastic views up there.)

Hmm, well I think that's about it for the moment. Hope you're all well, and I'll do my best to write again soon!

Much Love,

David

posted by David @ 10:38 AM