Ella Budzinski, Norway program student.
Ella Budzinski is HECUA’s fall semester student blogger for The New Norway program! She is a Spanish and Communications Sciences & Disorders major and Scandinavian Studies minor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She’ll be posting on the HECUA blog regularly this fall semester. Read on for Ella’s second post from Norway.
One of the things I love about the HECUA program here in Norway is that we do more than attend lectures in a classroom. We get real world experience that is woven into our curriculum so that we can see for ourselves how what we're learning about is implemented in Norway.
In addition to our weekly field trips, we are each placed in an internship that best aligns with our interests. We have our Wednesdays free of class in order to work at our internships, which breaks up the week nicely. My internship is at an organization called Friluftssenteret i Gamle Oslo (FRIGO), or in english, Outdoor Live in Old Oslo. This organization provides opportunities for school age children and youth from the inner city of Oslo to experience outdoor life safely. Students and their families are also allowed to borrow outdoor gear such as tents, bikes, and even rain gear so they can enjoy the beautiful outdoors of Norway.
FRIGO offices in Gamle Oslo where we meet each morning.
Each morning my classmate and I take the metro to the FRIGO offices and sit sipping coffee with the other staff while we discuss the day's plan before we head out to meet up with the classes we will be working with that day. I love how relaxed the atmosphere is and how much the people who work there love what they do and take it seriously.
The sign says "There is always nice weather on a FRIGO trip!"
This sign that is in the FRIGO offices reminds me of arguably the most well-known Norwegian saying which is "There's no bad weather, only bad clothing." Basically, no matter the weather, if you have the right clothes you can still have fun. To me it also conveys the idea that even if you can't change your situation, you can change your reaction to it, like putting on better clothing for what looks like bad weather. It also conveys a bit of how seriously outdoor life is taken by many in Norway.
One of the FRIGO buses that hauls the equipment we use on our excursions.
Below are some photos from some of my first excursions with FRIGO! The first few are from a boat tour excursion we went on which was actually on my birthday. I truly could not have asked for a better birthday. The kids we took were so energetic and fun, and we enjoyed ourselves while crab fishing, kayaking, hiking, and swimming on a little island in the Oslo fjord. One of my favorite things is also getting to speak Norwegian with the kids. They are very forgiving of the mistakes I make while trying to speak Norwegian, and will not fall back to speaking English as many adults do since they speak it so well. They even sang the Norwegian happy birthday song to me which absolutely made my day.
Beautiful morning on Aker Brygge before a boat trip to an island in the Oslo fjord.
The first crab I caught!
Had so much fun helping some of the boys catch this jelly fish. It wasn't the stinging sort which I was quite glad to find out.
Jumped off this pier with some of the kids for a quick swim!
I couldn't be happier with my internship placement and look forward to the adventures I get to have with so many kids of many different backgrounds! Most of them are first or second generation immigrants, and several of them are refugees who have already experienced things in life that I could not imagine. It is a joy to see them connect with each other, learn new outdoor skills, connect with nature, and to be a part of their day.
Canoeing at Sognsvann.
Want to learn more about HECUA's The New Norway program? Click this link.