Amazing First Day in Norway ! ! !

Long way to Norway !!!

What should I put in my backpack..

Feel free to write your suggestions
this is the backpack

Accommodation..

After being accepted at NTNU, I had to compile the accommodation form.

I asked for a shared flat with other 3 guys from the 27 December till ... [ when I will come back.. if I will! ] , but SiT replayed me that they could give me the room only from 29 December, because they are on Christmas holiday till Sunday 28.

SO

29-27 = 2 night without a roof GREAT !!!!!!!

I had three options:

1) Look for an hotel

2) Post a request on ISU members mailing list

3) Search for a COUCH

I decided to search for a couch and I was amazed to see that about 200 people are sharing their couches.


After few days I got an AFFIRMATIVE response from a Norwegian girl, who could be available to host me in her house =) REALLY THANKS Ragnhild & Ranveig !!!

[Norwegian people look like very nice, hospitable and easy going]


Here are some pics of dorms at NTNU, probably I'll go to Berg even if it will be demolished in August, but it's closed to University.

Berg

Moholt

Steinan

Accepted as an exchange student at NTNU.

I have received an email today :

Congratulations on being accepted as an exchange student at NTNU.
Your proposed study program is evaluated by the faculty and you are welcome to come here in the spring semester.

My new faculty is Information Technology, Mathematics and Electrical Engineering

And my exams are taken by those department:

• Department of Computer and Information Science
• Department of Mathematical Sciences

As attached I found:

The accommodation form for receive a place to live
A Welcome letter to get discounts on travel tickets... yes students have several discounts in Norway!!


I have to THANKS Kari that followed my internationalization procedure checking if all documents ( dozens of sheets ) were correct !!!

Buddy Program

One of the most wonderful initiative @ NTNU is the BUDDY PROGRAM

both international and Norwegian students sign-up in the buddy program by filling a web form
with some information about them ( country, gender, campus, interest, wished buddy's interest, wished buddy's gender and so on).

Around the third week of classes, the buddy program system will match each Norwegian with one international student and send their contacts to each other by e-mail.
Both will also be subscribed in the buddy program mailing list, where they will receive information about all the events ISU will prepare for the buddy program.


I compiled the form and that's the screen shot (click to enlarge) :


The website suggests some interesting activity to do with buddy


# If there is no rain, your buddy will love to see some trails and lakes in the Bymarka... or take a pancake dinner at Studenterhytta.

# If your buddy is learning Norwegian, she or he might want to visit some easier theater play?

# You should definitely visit the international basement at Moholt - Herman Krags veg 24. There is an open bar for you on Mondays (around 9 p.m.), and movies on Wednesdays and Sundays.

# If I was a guest, I would go jogging with my buddy ;)

# Did you get some Norwegian relatives close to Trondheim? Showing your buddy to them is a good opportunity to see them again :-) Well, if not relatives, you got some friends, hopefully :)

# You say you both like cinema?

# Maybe later, your guest can make a dinner with her or his national food at your place - perhaps with a few more friends?

# Every foreigner is dreaming about going fishing with real Norwegians!

# I wish I met my buddy for lunch tomorrow! ;)



Here is a transcript (in Italian) of a private conversation talking about buddy program with one of my friend that last year spent 6 month at NTNU:


@hotmail.com: sìsì l'avevo fatto anch'io
@hotmail.com: quando ho saputo che gran parte dell buddy erano biondone norvegesi
me: ahah
me: strabell
@hotmail.com: però erano già finite quando ho fatto richiesta :(
me: cavoli
@hotmail.com: quindi falla subito
me: si si già fatto
@hotmail.com: sìsì un mio amico si è ritrovato fuori dalla porta di casa sua una bionda con 6 birre in mano
me: ahahah
me: strabello
me: birre gratis !!!!

Choosing Exams

is a very large and interesting University

• 7 faculties and 53 departments.
• 30 000 students, half of these are studying technology or the natural sciences.
• 48 per cent of NTNU's students are female.
• About 3300 degrees awarded each year: 1100 bachelor’s, 2200 master’s and 260 doctoral degrees.
• About 750 international students.
• Dozens of international student exchange programmes and bilateral agreements
  with numerous universities around the world. { one more :D ME !!! }
  
• 4200 man-years. Over half in academic or scientific positions.
• About 2000 R&D projects at every time.
• More than 100 laboratories.
• 11 Libraries
  
• Participate in 60 projects in the European Commission’s 6th and 7th framework programmes.
• Close cooperation with SINTEF, an R&D organization with 1800 employees (located both on the NTNU campus and in Oslo).
• Sponsorship and cooperation agreements with Norwegian and international business and industry.
• Annual budget NOK 4.2 billion (approx. USD 800 million)
• We own or rent premises with a total area of 550 000 sqm.
• NTNU Library has 2.8 million printed volumes, 37 500 electronic books and
  
• 10 000 electronic journals, and access to 1200 international reference databases.

NTNU is beautiful too

Well...


Now I have to find 3 or 4 exams to do @ NTNU

after looking for days and days in the Complete Course catalogs, more than 3500 courses available,


I found these exams for my Spring Semester 2009:

TDT4171 - Artificial Intelligence Methods
MA2201 - Algebra
TTT4110 - Information and Signal Theory
TTM4120 - Dependable Systems
TDT4102 - Procedural and Object-Oriented Programming
TDT4125 - Algorithm Construction, Advanced Course

That's enough for a Provisional Learning Agreement

Boooked !!!

I booked a flight from Orio to Torp, but ryanair's backend website sucks and I booked the wrong flight date (24-dic instead of 26-dic)

So I have to book another flight to Torp { Torp is an airport near Oslo the Capital of Norway }

If someone is interested in visiting Oslo on X-mass day, let me know, I'll give away my ticket for free!!!!

I have a departure day now !!! 26 Dic 2008 14:20

I booked my travel from Oslo to Trondheim too;
I dicided to reach Trondheim by bus it takes about 8 hours ... eheh 540Km along a snowy road by night.

If all goes well I'll be in Trondheim at 07:30 on 27 Dicember after 17 hours of travel !!!!

My mind is already there.

English Test...

15-Oct-2008

Today a multiple choice PC based test proved that my English Skills are enough to study in an European University ...

69% of correct answers ( thanks Alessia for your useful help )

This made me laugh !!!



GREAT !!!!
I'M IN
I'LL LEAVE SOON really soon !!!!!

It all Began

Hail all

I decided to open this web site to keep updated all my friends and my family during my Lifelong Learning Program at Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU in Trondheim.


It all began in Leffe 22-Sep-2008 while I was checking the schedule of my last year courses and I saw a big RED LINK on www.unibg.it :

"RIAPERTURA BANDI MOBILITA' INTERNAZIONALE"

What's keeping me ?! I thought

\\ Friends? they will surely approve my decision;
\\ Girlfriend? which one.... I'll bring all them in my heart :P ;
\\ Parents? with this experience I can improve my Dummy English ;
\\ Sport ? I suck in sports;

So I decided to go somewhere around Europe to finish my studies, but where ?

There was a lot of empty slot especially in Spain, Denmark, Netherlands and Czech Republic, but I wanted to go NORTH

to the land of FISH, POTATOES and OIL and more... ( for example: Object Oriented programming and Linux )


NORWAY will be my destination !!!

FAEN!!! for this place there was one slot left only....

I got only 3 days to make request and there were other difficulties:

• My English level is quite terrible and I should pass B2 certification
• Spring09 semester will start on early January, very early January ( 5-Jan-2009 ) so I'll jump autumn exams O.O
• Life is quite expensive in Norway
• I can't use at all a washing machine
• I don't like very much eating Fish

Despite all these troubles I posted my admission request on 25-Sep-2008 last day available


\\ I'm not an anxious guy