Random tidbits

It's been a while since I posted on here, which is weird because there has been quite a bit going on!  There's been some random things I've been meaning to post about but not gotten around here, so now y'all get a list instead of a normal post.

1)  Elections- The elections in Norway were on September 9th.  I'm still not up on the little details of the system, but I have figured out a bit.  Norway has a multiparty system; there are more than eight major parties.  These parties have formed into two major coalitions; liberal left and conservative right (bear in mind that the entire spectrum is still shifted to the left of the US).  However, many similar issues seem to be on the table; the conservatives want lower taxes and immigration, while the left (who were in power before the election) are more socially and fiscally liberal.  The multitude of parties means that voters can choose their "shade" of party more easily than they can in the US.  Anyway, the Labor Party (left) won the most votes, but their coalition was beat by the conservative coalition, meaning that Norway now has a conservative government and their coalition is the one to raise the new prime minister.  The right is now working to establish a government.  If they cannot do that, apparently the king steps in and asks the other coalition to form the government.  When I was talking to my room-mate about this stuff, he told me that this has actually happened before.  What's impressive is that the coalition that the king asked to take over actually wanted to get rid of the monarchy, and he asked them to form the government anyway.  That's some pretty good kinging, I think!  I'll let you guys know if that happens again this year.

2)  Cheese-  I told you this list was random.  I learned in Drobak that Norwegians have a surprisingly large variety of spreadable, squeezable cheese products.  These are often used for the openfaced sandwiches (smorbrod) that are popular here.  These cheeses come in little plastic containers (like cream cheese) or in tubes (like toothpaste).  There are also lots of flavors, like BaconCheese, VeggieCheese, ShrimpCheese, PepperoniCheese, and JalapenoCheese.  They taste pretty good when paired with other good stuff for those sandwiches.  In other wacky Drobak food news, I tasted horse for the first time down there too, in salami form.  It was just one of those packets of lunch meat you can get at the supermarket.  Its interesting; as soon as you start to think everything is normal in your new home, you get a new experience to remind you "Wow!  This really is a foreign place!"

3)  Classes-  Just a little update on classes; they're going well so far.  I've started my Glaciology course, and its going to be quite a challenge!  I'm keeping up though.  We have a big group presentation for Marine Benthic Ecology this week too; my first graded assignment!  I think it's going to go well.

Anyway, things have been good here.  A little homesickness is starting to kick in, but in general I feel very at home here in Oslo.  I really want some barbecue though!
Some pics from the last two weeks:
Oslo Culture Night:

We got to go to the top of City Hall.  It was a very long climb!  This is the bell cage.  They rang while we were up there.  Very loud indeed!

Here's a view of the fjord from the top of City Hall!  The tents down there are from a Food Festival.  This is the night of Yom Kippur; I got my pre-fast dinner from the festival.  It was great!

We also toured Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament!  This is the main meeting chamber for the parliament.  There are windows to the left that looks straight to the palace; apparently its so they can keep an eye on each other (symbolically at least).  Fun fact- Stortinget translates literally to "The Big Thing", even though that's not what it really means.  Town/village councils have been called "Ting"s since the Vikings, so it really means "The Big Council", which is much more impressive sounding.

Another picture of Oslo- it's down there by the water.  This was on a walk I took along the many, many trails through the forests around the city.

A selfie in the same place as the last photo.  It was a really beautiful day!  It has been getting colder fast this week; it really looks and feels like fall now.