2025 Nipissing University TILE Travel Course Norway

By Roshni Seeraj-Turingia, Mathematics  Today, everyone was able to go about their own journey as it was a free day! So, my twin sister, Priya, Sammy and I decided to start our venture as early as we possibly could, after a delicious breakfast of course! After breakfast, our little travel buddy group headed down the misty, winding trail, awaiting the day ahead of us. While waiting for the bus, Priya and I talked to an older Englishman named Timothy who’s resided in Norway for 30 years. Timothy shared his experiences being an immigrant in Norway. We also talked about Norway’s sustainability efforts (e.g. adding more taxes to petrol cars, bamboo straws, adding deposits for soda cans, etc.) and what the true impacts of these actions have, for both consumers and the environment. However, our engaging conversation was cut short as the bus arrived to take us to downtown Oslo. The Fram at the Fram Museum We arrived in downtown Oslo, eager to start our museum adventures. We walked outside ...

By Ayla Patterson, Psychology Today was an early morning start with breakfast by 7 and leaving for our bus by 7:55 but due to the normal craziness of travelling we didn’t end up leaving until a bit later. The walk was rainy and cold but didn’t seem to affect us much as we were all so excited for the day ahead of us. I remember calmly walking when I heard everyone yell “ bus” and everyone starting to run so naturally I followed suit. Unfortunately we were too far from the bus stop and missed it. Lucky for us, another one came within 20 mins. After finally getting into the Oslo bus terminal, we made our way on the train to the university. Even after the slightly rough start to our morning, we were all still very eager to get to go back to NIH, the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, and sit into a few of Dr. Simon Kennedy Beames's lectures and meet some Norwegian students.  Walking from the farm to the bus stop We ended up being a few minutes late but Simon being the easy going perso...

By Samantha St. Pierre, Social Work We are at the halfway point of our trip and today we got a treat of sleeping in a little bit. We met for 9am to have some breakfast and then we got ready for our museum adventures. The group meals have been a nice addition to the busy activities everyday. We are getting chances to connect and learning that we have a lot more in common than we realized.  Our group at Breakfast Our first stop of the day was the National Museum in Oslo. It was completed in June of 2022, but the history of the museum itself dates back to 1856. The first museum we were at today is the largest museum in Scandinavia! It spans over 54 000 square metres and has enough space for 100 000 different works of art within. As we met our tour guide, Kachun Lay, he told us he would be jumping through time with the artwork he selected for us. The works he showcased would not be in a chronological tour, but were selected in order to connect us to Norway’s history and the nature with...

By Priya Seeraj-Turingia, English Studies  Norwegian Parliament at the Storting Building   While the rain was falling in Norway, our energy didn’t! Today was the day the group was checking out of the hotel, but first, we had to fuel up. After a scrumptious breakfast at the Anker Hotel, we also got to do some activities before leaving Oslo for the DNT cabins at Breivoll Gǻrd. The group split up, with some going shopping or on a fjord cruise. I went with my sister, Roshni, to explore the streets of Oslo, with the mission of seeing the City Hall. It was a 20-minute walk to Oslo’s City Hall. Still, it definitely seemed a bit longer as Roshni and I kept stopping to take pictures of different buildings or going into different shops. It felt like everyone was on a mission, the streets were busy with tourists going on walking tours and people doing some shopping. Roshni and I kept zigzagging as we didn’t want to be in people’s way. On the way to the City Hall, we stumbled upon Norway’...

By Kayley Gravelle, Psychology, minor in Business  Watching the snow-covered rolling mountains pass by inthe distance on a cloudy winter day.   We made our way by train to the University of South-Eastern Norway in Bø. The breathtaking views made me think about how it would be going to school here where nature is woven into every aspect of academics. Upon arrival, Kirsten Wielandt Houe, Deputy Head of the Department of Outdoor Activities, Sports and Physical Education, warmly welcomed us and walked us to the University to begin our lecture and outdoor education activities. Building a snowman to represent the ideal teacher The day began with a group snowman building activity, where we were told to discuss the characteristics that we thought would make our dream teacher. At first, we felt like this was not going to be possible because the snow was not sticky enough to build a snowman. However, Dr Kirsten reminded us that she did not instruct us to create a vertical snowman, encou...

 By Kelsey Simon, Psychology NIH is located at the end of the 5 Sognsvan subway line Today was our first full day in Norway! After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the subway station and took a scenic ride to the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences/Norges Idrettshøgskole (NIH). When we first got there, we had some spare time, so we walked to this beautiful lake behind the school. It was surrounded by these gorgeous tree-covered mountains and being there felt so surreal and calming, exactly what I needed after a long travel day. We were then met by Dr. Simon Kennedy Beames, Professor of Outdoor Studies, who gave us a tour. He was incredibly kind, welcoming, and engaging, as he even took the time to get to know me and any student who was standing next to him during the tour. The campus had a recreation centre feel to it. It had so many types of athletic spaces like multiple gymnasiums, a workout room, a dance studio, and a pool, which were all available to (and often used b...

By Dakota Robertson, English Studies Ready for adventure! Today the real adventure began! Ten came down together from North Bay and three of us travelled separately to the airport, meeting by 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18 at the Termi al 3 KLM counter. Everyone made it safely and ahead of schedule, despite the windy travel conditions. Most of us experienced our first red-eye flight during the seven-hour flight from Toronto to Amsterdam. Then we took a two-hour connecting flight from Amsterdam to Oslo before jumping on the train for twenty minutes to the city centre. Our final stretch of travel was a twenty-minute walk from the train station to the hotel. In total, I travelled 18 hours from 12 p.m. on February 18th to 3 p.m. on February 19th at the Anker Hotel. Reindeer patties from the Oslo Central Station cafe, Kjøken of Kaffe Food: During our travels, we quickly learned that Dr. Litalien will never let anyone go hungry. He was always scoping out great snacks and pit stops that we...

  By Olivia Shannon, Psychology Gathering in the lobby at Nipissing University  The shuttle left at 10am, meaning it was an early enough start in the  morning, especially if last minute packing was necessary for some. We all met at the school's main entrance, took a few pictures, chatted, and once everyone arrived, we left for the Toronto Pearson Airport. The Northern Airport Service shuttle was very comfortable, and the drive seemed to go by really fast, especially after we took a quick break in Bracebridge.  All checked in at Toronto Pearson The day as a whole seemed to pass by very quickly. Once we arrived, we checked in our bags, went through security, and found the location of our gate - each a process that can be quite chaotic, making it go by fast. After finding the gate and finding a place to eat, we only had an hour and a half until our flight boarded at 5:20pm. Leaving Toronto The flight to Amsterdam was almost 7 hours, but also went by quickly! After alter...

In February 2025, Students and professors participating in Nipissing University's GSO TILE Norway travel course will be posting about their experiences before, during, and after their field trip. Students are enrolled in  SWLF 3916  Selected Topics in Social Welfare and Social Development . The project theme is humans in nature. Financial support for the field trip is provided by the Government of Canada’s Global Skills Opportunities (GSO) program through its Transcultural Interdisciplinary Learning Experiences (TILE) initiative which has the goal of making international learning experiences more accessible to Canadian students. Follow us as we go! The group gathered for some pre-trip outdoor activities.  For more photos and content, follow us on Instagram: @tilenorway2024-2025.  #NipissingU  #GlobalskillsCA #nu.artsci #nusutalks #nusu #NipissingU.alum #dntolso