Day 12: Breaking into the Oslo social scene

Wow, that was fast. Whoever said Norwegians are anti-social, doesn't know where to look. After a few emails, phone calls, and web research, we're on a roll. And, our limited Norwegian skills haven't held us back so far.

On Sunday night, we went out with a co-worker, Mats, and his four friends to a local restaurant called Schroder. It's a neighborhood joint, frequented by the locals. Throughout the winter, they have a packed house, with two seatings a night and serve traditional Norwegian holiday food. Mats is Swedish and his friends spent a good deal of time explaining the oddities of Norwegian food. The food we ate was just fine and hit the spot. Like the development team, Mats' friends remind me of Californian dudes. American pop culture and media dominated the conversation. The new batman movies is due out this weekend and everyone want to see it. One guy was proudly wearing at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle T-shirt that he found at some obscure shop. I had to smile. I'm sure we'll see all the guys again, and we'll return to Schroder, to try the famed specials.

Tonight, we really hit the jackpot, an evening run with the local Hash House Harriers (HHH) running club. My friend Nash introduced me to "Hashing" just before we left San Francisco. THANK YOU NASH!!! I went on a few runs and wrote an earlier blog entry about it. As I mentioned before, hashing is peculiar sport that involves running around on wild goose chases, trying to follow a trail with circles and dots on the ground. Oh, and there's drinking invovled at the end, or somewhere along the way. In San Francisco, the runs the routes went through the city or the presidio with anywhere from 50-70 people. But, no matter the location, one thing can be sure. "Hashers" tend to be inclusive. They're always more than happy to have new comers, and as a group they're very informal, jovial, and unconventional. Just my type of folks.

Matt had never been to a hash run, so it was a real treat to bring him along and to watch his reaction as he was initiated into all the bizzare rules. We raced home from work to catch the 31 bus from the National Theater out to Lillomarka, about 30 minutes outside of town. Because of construction in the city center, the bus stop had been relocated and we had to sprit over another 4 blocks to catch it. It's always exciting taking public transit for the first time, not knowing for sure if you missed your stop or not. Following directions from the internet, we got off in a suburb, high above the city center and walked up a hill to a remote parking lot by a trail head, where the group was assembling. I corresponded with the group earlier, so they were expecting us. The Oslo Hashers are fun, motley bunch, a bit older than the San Francisco chapter, but man, can they run. They may not be sprinters, but they're sure-footed. At the sound of the bugle we were off, in the rain, running on rough trails, down steep rocky crevices, and jumping over roots. The scenery was spectacular, green forests and misty meadows, pastures with grazing ponies and funky short cuts behind backyards and apartment complexes. Then, as usual, there was the chaos of the game, back checks, dead ends, confusion and joking. I looked over at Matt who was soaking wet, wearing a big smile on his face.


Towards the end, the pace slowed down and I had a chance to start chatting with people. Matt and I were immediately invited to a series of upcoming events, outings, and trips including a running event above the arctic circle. Matt learned about local bike and running races, and, I got to chance to talk with mushroom enthusiasts, who happened to find tasty yellow chanterelles along the way. As with all hashes, the evening ended with drinking, singing, and a list of embarassments, poking fun at runners for humorous and completely insignificant reasons. The hash leader tried to make fun of Matt because he smelled funny (his perfumed suntan lotion) but no one could guess what it was. Both of us were intiated into the group with a shot of Aquavit, a Norwegian alcohol that tastes like licorish mouth wash. No, actually, it's not that bad. Rain or shine we'll be back next week.


But, that's not all. All of my emails to organizations in the Oslo area is starting to pay off. I received an email invitation to the local Stitch-and-Bitch club, a knitting and craft group for hip young women. And, I found out about a satsang on Sunday nights. We'll make friends in no time.