>>>From Waseda to Norway
Shiori Tada
5th-Year Student at the School of Culture, Media and Society
I studied abroad at the University of Oslo in Norway for about 10 months from August 2012 to June 2013. I first became interested in Northern Europe when I studied the region at comprehensive learning periods of junior high school. I took part in an education-related supervised tour of Finland and attended some classes about Northern Europe when I was a freshman at Waseda University. This experience gave me the desire to live in the region for extended periods of time. Meanwhile, when I visited Norway on a trip, I saw students studying hard at the University of Oslo and its fully-equipped campus surrounded by rich nature. It was then that I decided to study abroad at the University of Oslo.
Cooking dinner in the garden at the University of Oslo
While studying at the University of Oslo, I felt very close to natural environment. I enjoyed picnicking in the park and taking a walk around the lake near the dormitory. I also joined the gardening club. I grew vegetables in the campus garden, cooked dinner with them and made jam out of apples.
Lake where I often took walks near the dormitory
Although I was worried about the short hours of daylight and the extreme cold in winter, I was able to steadily adjust to the climate shift because I started studying in Norway from the summer. I still remember the crisp, cool air in the mornings. Also, I often reflect on how I would take walks and watch the beautiful starry sky around the dormitory with my friends after dinner
I attended classes mainly in Northern European welfare at the university and studied hard to keep up with the discussion. The material that I learned in these classes has been useful in my research after returning to Japan.
The encounters with people and experiences during my study in Norway will always be a special treasure. I hope that more people will study abroad and have their own experiences.
