More beach, hiking, and hiking

Everything here is so expensive (beer at the bar: $15, beer at the store: $5, "cheap" street food kebab: $12, edible "cheap" street food kebab: $15) that I have been on what I've been calling the Norwegian diet - eating pasta once a day.  I am already sick of eating spaghetti.  I am desperately missing the taco truck.

They like to drink here, so I have pre-gamed with some Norwegians before going out to the bars just about every night this last week because classes have yet to really begin (without spending any money on alcohol on every night but one!).  There are quite a few "American" bars here that would not look at all familiar to an American - it has been a really bizarre scene, from my perspective, at most of the bars/clubs I've been to so far.  I have been told that "this is Norway."  Many of the Norwegians and international students I have met have been really excited to talk to an American and practice their English.  Apparently the Norwegian students like me because I'm not "cocky".  So there's that.

A handful Germans and I went hiking in the area nearby the university campus yesterday and went swimming, my first time in Norway, afterwards to cool off.  It was cold.  

Here's a photo dump:

More Germans than expected

Just a brief first post to get things up and running.  After staying up all night last Tuesday with the intention of sleeping on the flight, I was apparently the lucky winner of the screaming baby contest on my flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam.  I guess I can sleep when I'm dead.  My flight out of Amsterdam to Kristiansand was uneventful.

Eventually I made it to the Kristiansand bus stop and was able to meet some of the other international students and Erasmus Student Network "buddies."  First five people I talked to were from Deutschland - about 40% of all international students this year are German.  Got a quick nap in before my roommate arrived (German, of course).  Headed to the beach with my roommate and about ten other Germans.  Everyone's English seems pretty good, but I think they kept forgetting that I was American because the German was flowing fast and furious.  Really struggling with the time difference.

Some beach pics: