March The weather began to warm up in March, and we noticed the light coming back, although the snow did linger for awhile. We mostly focused on work, school, and local activities. Ryan’s mom paid us a visit in early March. She had been to Norway before, but she loves adventures, so we surprised her with a bonus trip to Gothenburg (Göteborg), Sweden, which is just a short train ride away from Oslo. Gothenburg is really a charming town, and…
January January was a challenging month, not only because of the literal darkness, but because of the darkness that fell over Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge. It was difficult to witness from a distance as the daily lives of our friends and neighbors became shrouded in uncertainty and fear. At the same time, we were incredibly proud to watch them work tirelessly to protect their neighbors, providing everything from safe transportation to school to groceries and rent assistance. The images…
The darkness arrives in full force in December. As the solstice gets closer, the daylight hours are limited to between around 10am and 3pm, although if the weather is cloudy, it’s not uncommon to go days without really seeing the sun. I coped with the darkness in part by scheduling a trip up to northern Norway, where they truly experience mørketiden (“the dark time”). Other highlights included a visit from my colleague Kari Dorer here in Oslo and celebrating the…
The ever-shorter days of November provided good conditions for making substantial writing progress, and I also managed to fit in a research trip into Tyssedal/Odda in the Hardanger region of Norway. A cold that moved through each family member for about a week at a time forced us to be flexible in our plans, but we ended the month with a really nice Thanksgiving celebration. Cultural Events A group of Fulbrighters did get together to see Láhppon/Lost, a ballet about…
As the days became shorter and colder, I realized that I needed to get going on some of my research travel in Norway. Doing research on hydropower means that I have several locations to visit in different regions of Norway, and this is more difficult to do when it’s dark and rainy. Research trip to Rjukan & the Vemork power plant My first trip was to Rjukan to visit the Vemork power plant. Rjukan is a UNESCO world heritage site…
September was still a month of beautiful weather, lots of outdoor activities, and adjustments for all of us at work and school. September was the month I got started on my research in earnest. I participated in the conference “Eco-Emotions: On Water” right away during the first week of September. The topic fit in perfectly with my research project, which is on cultural imaginaries of hydropower development as represented in Norwegian literature, film, and other media. Since the audience included…
The fact that I am writing my August blog on December 16th gives some indication of how full our days in Oslo have been. The delay may also be due to the lack of sun that we’ve been experiencing for weeks now. In mid-November, there was a brief window of wintery weather–frost, some light snow, and a few cold, clear days. But for several weeks, it’s been nothing but clouds, drizzle and above-freezing temperatures. Amidst the gloom, it’s comforting (and…
With all the talk about health insurance lately, I wanted to share a few things about the Norwegian public health insurance scheme. I think Americans need a better sense of what we’re missing. I should add the caveat that this post is based on my personal experiences in Norway as an academic on a cultural exchange program, rather than my professional expertise, but the more I learn about the healthcare system in Norway, the more I feel the need to…
I was recently featured on the St. Olaf website for being a recipient of a 2025–2026 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Norway. I first received a Fulbright in 2006–2007 for masters-level study in Norway, an opportunity that changed my life, since it allowed me to develop my Norwegian language skills and knowledge of Scandinavian literary history. The paper I developed during my year there served as my writing sample for graduate school, so it directly facilitated the next step (graduate…
St. Olaf students embrace “irreplaceable opportunity” of summer CURI research A recent article on the St. Olaf website covered the Responses to Thunberg CURI project, along with two other humanities projects directed by my colleagues Tim Rainey and Bridget Draxler. Since many students associate research with the natural and social sciences, it’s great to see these efforts to promote undergraduate research in the humanities. Directing an interdisciplinary project that drew on research in environmental studies, communication, media studies, gender, and…