May has been quite the month for me, with a handful of cultural events and an increase in my studying as the last of my finals are finally coming around. While I did go through a Norwegian exam season last fall, this semester has felt a little weirder to me since I have gone from having a lecture or seminar every day of the week to suddenly nothing. Last semester, I went from having a lecture twice a week to nothing, and it felt like I had less time between my exams and when my classes ended. In the case of my machine learning class, our lectures ended a month ago and my exam is not until June 11. Finding the motivation to study has been a bit of an exercise for me, but I have managed to do it so as not to forget everything I learned before the final.

There were some more exciting things that happened in May, including Norway’s constitution day on May 17. It is akin to the Fourth of July in America, with parades in the city center, flags being flown (which is a special thing and generally much less common than in the U.S.), fireworks and parties. One of the biggest differences is in the way people dress. Back home, it is common for people to be in shorts and tank tops, flip flops or at the lake in swim attire. That is not the case for May 17. Many of the women wear the bunad, Norway’s traditional national dress, and most of the men wear full suits. It was a fantastic day that I spent with friends, albeit we were a bit underdressed for the occasion.

I also took part in one of Bergen’s annual traditions: 7-fjellsturen, or the seven mountains hike. Surrounding Bergen are seven mountains: Løvstakken, Damsgårdfjellet, Lyderhorn, Ulriken, Fløyen, Rundemanen and Sandviksfjellet, and the hike through all of them is about 35 kilometers (22 miles) long with 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) of elevation gain. This event is hosted by the Norwegian Trekking Association every year at the end of May and attracts thousands of people who have the option of doing three, four or seven of the mountains. I did all seven for the second time, having done the hike for fun with some friends back in October, in 13 hours 53 minutes and 7 seconds, which was an hour and a half faster than my first attempt. It was a blast taking part in the hike, but it was absolutely brutal and I was still recovering about three days later.

I also spent a bit of time this month just hanging out with friends and going out or doing dinners. I also experienced a little bit of the Bergen music scene and listened to a big band and to an artist from the Faroe Islands called Eivør. The best part about going and listening to Eivør was that, while I could not understand what was being said in the songs, I could understand the majority of what she spoke directly to the audience despite it being in Norwegian! I find it funny that even when I was fresh out of my Spanish classes in high school, three years worth mind you, I was still worse at it than I am now with Norwegian after about four months.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: University of Bergen