A Semester in Norway

A Semester in Norway

By: Emily McIlroy

As I end my time in Norway I reflect on how it all began; a big dream in the small town of Camrose. Having taken multiple Scandinavian courses with Ingrid Urberg on Scandinavian culture and language my fascination pulled my heart towards the wonders of Norway. Urberg’s support in applying to study abroad was that of great enthusiasm and interest, and with previous Augustana graduates raving to me about the program in Norway, everything fell into place.

Before long I was boarding a plane along with my fiancé to travel across the Atlantic for a semester. Upon arrival we had a brief introduction to the Nordic Skiing and Outdoor Life/ Friluftsliv program. We would be taking three classes during the winter period; Basic Skiing, Norwegian Perspectives on Outdoor Education, and Outdoors in the Wintertime (backcountry and telemark skiing, and snow camping).

I was curious to see how I would find the basic skiing class considering I already had 7 years of competitive cross country skiing under my belt. Yet the course was quite remarkable. Having learnt skiing so long ago I got to experience and focus on how to go about teaching the basics to first time skiers. In doing so we learnt the importance of “skileik”, which loosely translates to playing on skis. After spending two days up on Lifjell -- the local mountain range -- playing on skis, I ended up in a conversation with my professor about the importance of play in education. After learning basic ski technique “skileik” allows students to practice them through play. Games can be strategically chosen to focus on balance, turns, cooperation etc. I was able to connect my experience of play in education here in Norway to that of my improvisation classes at Augustana with Paul Johnson. Both skileik and improvisation utilise games to teach skills and to access parts of the brain that otherwise lay dormant in many adults. As Viola Spolin -- the founder of improvisation -- said in her book Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook, "play touches and stimulates vitality, awakening the whole person- mind body, intelligence and creativity.” I think in a university setting we often forget about such vital human functions. In my future work and life I hope to always work play into the focus as a tool for learning.

Norwegian Perspectives on Outdoor Education was an interesting new look at many topics discussed in Urberg’s Scandinavian classes at Augustana. Although many themes were not foreign concepts to me, I got to delve deeper into ideas such as Allemannsretten/the right to roam, the importance of friluftsliv for childhood development, the shift in outdoors activities to more modern, risky, equipment intensive activities, and other interesting topics. My main take-away from this course was the pedagogical method used to convey the themes of the course. We rarely had class in a classroom and instead spent hours outside experiencing Norwegian friluftsliv. We used a technique called team based learning in which we would be presented a question based on our readings and then we would ski with a partner to discuss. After a short while we would gather as a group and the instructor would ask a few groups to share their thoughts, making sure that everyone had a chance to speak. After skiing and discussing everyone had something to contribute. 

Outdoors in the Wintertime was a class in which I entered both the known and the unknown. I have been active, outdoorsy and a lover of camping my entire life. However, camping in tents during ski trips was something I tried once and shied away from ever since. The Outdoors in the Wintertime

course taught me how not to simply survive on a winter skiing and camping trip but also to thrive. The magical moments were not only those that can be imagined such as reindeer galloping across the snow swept land, stunning high mountain landscapes and a clear star strewn sky far from civilization, it was also the moments of overcoming difficult situations. On one of my trips we had to evacuate a

troublesome group member who had not attended to his blisters, I had to rapidly learn the ropes of navigating in a winter environment through non-descript terrain, and I had to find systems to make the cold nights be an experience of enjoyment rather than endurement. I learnt the inner workings of group dynamics and how to cooperate with individuals who are not fruits of the same tree from which I grew, a skill that can be taken with me in any path of life. Whatever career, volunteer, travel or other experiences I have in my life cooperation and understanding of others is fundamental.

One moment of the winter trips will always stick out in my mind. Before the trip we had been told to bring candles for the snow cave, with encouragement that we would not regret the extra weight. This request seemed a bit bizarre but we brought candles nevertheless. After 6 hours of digging our snow cave we were ready to light our candles. The room instantly lit up with a magical glow. Even better was the glow coming from the most magnificent toilet I have ever seen. Our professor had spent the time we were using to dig our homes to make us a cozy outhouse next door.  I could feel some of the essence of friluftsliv. We were not just spending the time we had in the mountains to get by and then hurry back to our warm homes, we were spending the time to make home away from home whilst respecting the nature around us. The candles were the symbolic glow of friluftsliv along with the beautifully carved toilet sign. 

But soon enough the snow began to melt and the rocks snuck out from the sheet of white to welcome spring. And so began a new course, Norwegian Perspectives on Educational Guiding in Paddling Activities.

One element of friluftsliv that seems to be falling by the wayside for some people is the act of exploring our nearby surroundings. So often we travel long distances to explore the new and do not take the time to venture into our backyards. After trips to Høydalsmo, Haukeli and Dovrefjell I felt grateful for the experiences further afield but still yearned to explore our immediate area. Hearing about our first water trip -- a 3 day canoe trip -- I was thrilled. We could walk 15km and be at the start of the trip. We would then paddle all the way back to town at which point we would pull the canoes down the road to the college. The trip was an eventful few days with three cold capsizes. This offered a good opportunity to evaluate how to deal with the unexpected and to really expose how we act in challenging situations.

After a short break our second spring trip was upon us. We were to head to Valle on the coast to kayak around a sheltered area with lots of islands. Since I worked as a kayak guide two years ago I wondered what the trip would have in store for me. The first day was a leisurely experience of getting to our basecamp at a small bay called Skutevikkilen. The following days I discovered that although my base skill level was higher than the other students, I had the opportunity to expand my skills even further. Although I perhaps should have challenged myself to take on a larger leadership role I enjoyed being able to offer assistance to other students and to really work on my own competencies in the kayak. 

At the end of the kayak trip we had our final reflection for the semester. We reflected on the elements I have mentioned above. Our professor encouraged us to keep reminding ourselves of what we have learned and what we hope to carry with us when we retreat back to our home environments. He also mentioned that we have a new set of knowledge and ways of looking at our lives and the world. Now, we can return and plant new seeds. My pockets are full of seeds and I cannot wait to return to Camrose to spread them in our community. 

Click here for a photo gallery of our experiences.