So after logging out yesterday, we went over to the tourist office to find out where the outdoor sports stores are. They pointed out 2 which were nearby. I wanted to take a look at the types of hiking boots they have. Both shops have almost the same few kinds of brands and models - only one is cheaper than the other. The ones that caught my eyes were goretex ones with vicrom(?- not entirely sure of the exact word) soles. They are full leather and 8-holed (i think) water proof boots but they also coem with a 'handsome' price too. After conversion, they cost alomst 400 sing dollars. Not sure if it is a reasonable deal or even a good model to get, I sms Mike and almost immediately, he called me and asked me the details like the soles that came with the boots, etc. He also advised me on how to make sure to get one that fits well. Since Wei didn't have his socks with him, I decided to put off buying them till sometime later this week. Anyway, the store isn't open today. So is almost everything from the look of things.
Anyway, we met up with Wei's friend, John, soon after we checked out the boots. He walked all the way from the student village (where Wei will also be residing) to town. From what I gathered from him, it took him 50 minutes. Thank goodness the weather is cool and air is fresh. It makes walking much more bearable than paying 6 sing dollars for each bus ride. After we met up, we walked and talked. His housemate is a French guy who has been here since April but will be going back soon coz he is just here for the summer course. He has also met an american guy who is here with his family. From what he could learn from them, the monthly bus pass isn't worthed it - it costs like 100 sing dollars a month and the bus frequency is like twice every hour. So in the end, most of them either walk to school or buy a second hand bike and cycle there. Actually the walk to school isn't bad - 15-20 minutes and from school to town - 20-25 minutes. It is only tedious when you walk all the way to town from the student village or vice versa.
We walked across one of the many bridges here to the other side of Trondheim where we found a nice cafe to have a nice iced latte along the street. This part of town is very quaint and I think there are more houses than shops here. So we spent a nice maybe 2 hours chitchatting there. I bought coffee for all of us coz like us, John is still waiting for his money to come through. But in comparison, I have more cash than him. Moreover he brought draft over - they told him it could clear by Tuesday, I am not sure about that coz from what I learn from DBS, it may take up to 3 weeks but maybe his will be faster since it is a different bank. John seemed like a nice guy and from what I learn, his results are also good - he has made it to 2nd upper already. He doesn't seemed extravagant too. I guess he has to be careful since he has only 1500 Krs left to last him till his money comes through. He is also bored coz since he has not enough money to pay for the apt deposit , he can't get internet connection. We paid the deposit already but when the student village reception office was already closed so we can only wait till Monday to give them the receipt before they connect us. (We actually tried on Friday, but there was a firewall of some sort that prevent us) Maybe life won't be so boring for him and Wei at night when everything closes.
After the kopi break, we went across the old bridge also known as Gamle Bybro. John told us that the American who has already been here 5 years told him that there are times one can see salmons migrating up this river in the summer. We didn't see any yesterday though.
On the way back we saw street vendors selling strawberries. They smelt really nice. Wei couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to buy. So we went back to the hotel to chill out coz it is getting quite hot by now. John came with us. We hung out till about 7pm in the room and decided to go downstairs and grab a cheap dinner. All of us had hot dogs. Each costs about 25 Kr (6.75Sing). After making plans to meet again the next day, John started his walk back to the student village and we went back to the hotel.
I intend to do all the sightseeing during the week when wei is in school coz most of the sights require entrance fees and Wei's school will be bringing him as part of the Norwegian Social Culture Course. So from John, we also learnt that they will have the intensive language course in the morning from 9 to 2pm then the social activities after that. So next week, I will have more time for myself to explore the place and I am thinking of going to Oslo this weekend. Will plan and decide later this week. That's all for now.
p.s we are attending a catholic mass at the Nidaros Cathedral ,which by the way is a huge and beautiful church, this evening. They have an English mass every third Saturday of the month.
Posted by Tien-Ling at July 20, 2003 09:15 AM | TrackBack