I don't know how old you are, BUT:

Attending a Folkehøgskole just might be something to look into.

My cousin from Canada took a year there, and she had a blast. Learned a lot of norwegian...and partied like crazy. Oh, and "studies"...lol

You can read a bit about them here.http://www.folkehogskole.no/index.php?page_id=44

Think of it as a "hippy school" where you can pretty much do what you want, and you get to know a lot of interesting people, and the culture.

It does cost a bit, but if you are motivated I am sure you can save up.

Patchouli hippie that doesn't bathe or free love hippie? Inquiring minds want to know:)

probably more like 'smoke lots of weed' hippie :p At least that's what pops into my mind when i think about Folkehøgskole :p

*edit
actually, i'm thinking more of danish højskole, don't know how norwegians do it

Outside of Albany there is a bunch of orchards so we're pretty well stocked on hard cider. That and a turkey sandwich has gotten me through some tough times.

Jagermeister is my drink of choice.

I have a question for those one or two people on GOG who live in (on?) the Isle of Man. What is your government like, and would it be easy to overthrow and take over for use in a mind broadcast system my friend and I may or may not be planning to create?

I'm pretty sure the Queen is the Lord of Mann so by extension the UK government.

If you want to take over an "Island" then go for Sealand

Great topic so far, just want to address the above statement. I am not trying to split hairs or anything, but this is not quite accurate. I am working on my masters in poly sci at the moment (in fact I am procrastinating on my last paper of the semester as I type here :)' , and political science isn't the bullshit part. Its actually mostly theory and how different policies and behaviors produce different outcomes. In fact most people in the field cant stand the slimy behavior that keep us from really doing a lot more with our political system. That's why its all rich asshole lawyers and businessmen that hold office. Not too many political scientist fill these positions. Anyways, sorry just a little pet peeve of mine, politics and the political process are a mire of shit and slime, but political science is a much different discipline.


Anyways.... I hope that didn't sound too bitchy... moving on to my question.


For you folks around the globe, is your TV nothing but crap reality shows? I refuse to buy cable for a variety of reasons, but I know that so much of American tv has become this nonsense where a camera crew follows around washed up celebrities and media whores to see what they are whining about that day. I am just wondering if the collective IQ of global entertainment industry is dropping everywhere, or if its just the US.

... if you want to waste a year of your life. :-)

"Folk high schools are one-year boarding schools based on the idea of learning for life, not only for occupations and degrees."

I'm sure it's a lot of fun and all, but I'd be quite surprised if that's what KavazovAngel is after. It's just a hugely expensive way to spend a year in Norway without getting any further in your actual education.

That's how it feels when I visit my mother and brothers, yes. Reality shows and various talent shows (which I guess is a kind of subcategory?). For that very reason I've not had my television plugged in ever since I started living on my own :)

To orcishgamer about beer prices: I'm in Denmark so I could be way off, but I imagine (any Norwegians please correct me) the prices are somewhat similar. Anyway, I'll just list some prices to give an idea of the price level.
In a supermarket the cheapest piss will be around 3-4 DKR for a 30cl bottle.
Usually average beers will be around 6-8 DKR, though.
And fancy beers (eg 50cl German Weissbier or other special brews) can probably go from 15, 20 (most common I think) to even more DKR.

In bars (I'm excepting university student bars which will often be much closer to supermarket prices) the average beer in bottle will probably be 20-40 DKR. Larger beers in plastic cups, depending on the bar/discotheque will probably be 40-50+ DKR. Probably even more if they serve special brews.

From supermarkets it's not too bad I think, but in bars I think it's way too expensive. I'm a student though, so...
Oh and 1 USD seems to be about 5,65 DKR tonight!


Oh! I also have a question for the folks from southern Europe! I'm here thinking of pretty much everyone south of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. I don't know if it's a commonly held belief. But my impression has somehow become that it isn't that common to drink beer in those countries. Wine being preferred or some such. Is there any validity to that?

You just summed up the idea of college in the US. No, really, I'd estimate that fewer than 5% actually come out knowing anything to justify the expense. Take the money and throw a big freaking party, it's just hard to get thousands in loans to throw a party, I guess that's why college is popular.

Most students are merely putting in their time for a degree.

I gave up on TV years ago. But to the best of my knowledge it's 90% repeats and reality crap.

Yeah, but at least they get one. :-)

This is essentially a break from your proper education. You'll learn things if you care to, but when it's over you'll be pretty much exactly where you were before you started. You typically don't get an academic degree there.

Thanks for the info!

As to your question, they are countries with huge vineyards, so yes, they typically drink more wine (or wine mixed with stuff, like Sangria).

I hear they play Friends over there a lot now as well, and on behalf of all Americans I cannot stress how sorry we are for that. The BBC over here, however actually has some good shows. As a woodsman I think Ray Mears is great, plus that show My Family was pretty funny. Suffice it to say the trade off is unbalanced between our countries.

For the most part, yes. But we have also had some simply AMAZING TV in the past decade.

Battlestar Gallactica, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, Dexter, Farscape, Firefly, Heroes, Mad Men,Rome, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, The Tudors, The Wire, Xena.

TV just doesn't get much better than that. I haven't owned a TV in years, due to that fact that so much of it is garbage. But the above DVD sets you will have to pry out of my cold, dead fingers.