When taking a plane ride to visit family within the country or a last-minute trip, trip insurance tends to be unnecessary, because of low cost and/or the fact that the likelihood of you having to cancel for a last-minute trip is not very high. Also, you tend to only be able to book within 2 weeks of your trip date at most companies.
So why, then, during other times, is trip insurance such a wonderful thing?
Read more to find out!
I’m planning on making a multi-post series about this, but today I’m going to talk about the program currently going on at University of Oslo for free introduction to Norwegian classes!
They are working through a program online called FutureLearn, which offers free online educational courses. I’ve just begun the University of Oslo course and completed week 1, and I can say it’s an exceptionally unique and interesting way to begin. At the end of the courses, you are allowed to purchase certificates of your qualifications and achievements through FutureLearn.
The course, so far, has been a lot of fun. It is divided up into 4 weeks, where you have 2 days of study per week (but really, you can do it all at once.) The main format of learning is videos, where you are introduced to foreign students in Oslo meeting each other for the first time. It progresses like a story from there, where you learn more about each “character” and begin to learn the language through their interactions. There are then videos where they introduce pronunciation, repetition, and other things that are a little bit more difficult to introduce through exciting videos, like the alphabet and counting. However, all of it is really well done. The videos have subtitles available both in English and Norwegian, so once you begin to understand, you can switch to Norwegian to get a good feel for how the words are pronounced. Additionally, they offer downloadable PDF transcripts of the videos in Norwegian, and word list downloads for the relevant words.
So far, it’s been a great class, and I’m looking forward to next week. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in learning Norwegian, and the FutureLearn platform seems pretty great as well!
I’m finally back from Norway! Sadly, I came back at the absolute worst time, right after it had snowed. The airport was a mess, and I was there for over 5 hours after landing. Yuck. And it barely snowed in the areas I was in inside of Norway, so basically I missed all of the snow (with the exception of a couple light flurries and preexisting snow in RĂžros and Tynset.)
I had a really amazing time. I was treated like family by my boyfriend’s family’s Jul, and got to try all sorts of new Norwegian Christmas foods! Reindeer, Jul sausage, pork patties, pork cutlets, and more… Served, of course, with potatoes and some lingonberry jam. And I got so many gifts– and I had the joy of shopping for gifts for others as well! It was fantastic.
I’ll post more later, of course, but I’m back home. đ
PĂ„legg is an important part of Norwegian cuisine, being a staple for breakfast, lunch, and even snacks. But what is it? The easy answer is that pĂ„legg is most closely translatable to the English word “spread,” but not entirely just in the sense of something that is spreadable (i.e. butter,) but more along the lines of anything you may choose to put on top of a sandwich.
I’m a preparer. A list-maker, a worrier, a “let me send myself 12 emails and 2 text message drafts just to make sure I remember these things.” When it comes to travel, I really like to be prepared. While I may save the actual packing itself for the day before, I have to have everything in place so I know I’m ready to go.
One website, Travel’s Checklist, has proven undeniably useful in recent trips. Instead of writing a list and worrying if I’ve managed to include everything I could possibly need on it, Travels’ Checklist asks a few simple questions about where you’re going, how long you’ll be staying, and the type of trip it is, in order to determine a basic list of things that you’ll need to bring. From there, you can modify the list, adding your own unique options and removing unnecessary ones. It even gives extra suggestions in many categories.
Travels’ Checklist usefully includes things like travel preparations, from remembering to renew or check your passport to checking in online, getting trip insurance, and checking baggage weights. It can remind you to clean certain parts of your home and turn off your air conditioner, and even warn you of any vaccines you may need. It provides a list of documents you could need, tickets, money, flying and packing tips, and then anything you could ever want or need to pack.
I can’t recommend this resource enough, whether you’re going on an extended vacation or just away for the weekend. It’s helped me stress out much less about travelling and remember the important things!