Hei hei! My name is Nate Beattie and I am a Junior at Mizzou studying computer science and music. I am currently spending the semester studying at the University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway, and I aim to show you some of the highlights of my experience over the course of the next 16 weeks!

My travel to Norway, simply put, was a mess. My first flight out of St. Louis ended up being significantly delayed (in excess of 10 hours), resulting in a convoluted mess of trying to rebook my entire ticket, which after a less-than-healthy amount of stress, ended up resulting in my arrival in Bergen only four hours later than I originally planned. While this experience was clearly not ideal, it did teach me valuable lessons on how to handle precarious travel situations, and how to arrange travel in a way to try and mitigate these complications as much as possible.

My first taste of Bergen was in a quarantine hotel, where I was fed local food, ranging from scallops, meatballs, potatoes and salmon to surprisingly good nachos, and the only permitted activity of walking around the industrial area around the hotel. On the fifth day of my stay, I received a negative PCR test that allowed me to transfer to my student apartment complex. This is where my Norwegian experience truly began.

It is such an excitingly jarring feeling being dropped into another culture, especially when you are among a group of students all living a similar experience. Everyone you meet is excited to get to know you, and everywhere you go there is someone new to meet. From hiking to volleyball, there is consistently something to do at Fantoft (the apartment complex where I live). My favorite activity by far has been hiking in the beautiful mountains surrounding Bergen. There are seven mountains surrounding the city, and in only about a week and a half, I have hiked to the peak of three of them. On these hikes, you are treated to breathtaking views of the city, as well as even more breathtaking views of nature. It is a profoundly humbling experience being alone in nature, subject to both the beautiful rays of sun descending as if they were from heaven, as well as the forceful winds of a spontaneous snowstorm that threatens to knock you off your feet. In Norway, even more so than in Missouri, the weather can be chaotically eclectic, although most of the time it consists of varying forms of precipitation. As a Norwegian would say, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing. This is a perfect introduction to Norwegian culture.

In many ways, I have quite enjoyed my adjustment to Norway. While the official language is Norwegian, I have not yet met a person that has not been able to also speak fluent English (including the international students). The structure of my classes are largely the same, strangers are very polite (e.g., a woman asking me to throw some bread to the ducks in the pond as I was walking by), and due to my partially Scandanavian history, I enjoy the wide range of fish, seafood and especially rye and crispbread available in the local stores. The public transportation network is fantastic, allowing me to get pretty much anywhere in the city with some combination of train, bus and walking. All told, my first few weeks of exchange have been absolutely fantastic, and I am excited to tell you about my upcoming adventures in the beautiful city of Bergen, and hopefully beyond!