We could just stay here

By Natalya Brown, Economics and Manuel Litalien, Social Welfare and Social Development

We have been in a little bubble these past few days in this extraordinary place, flanked by beautiful forest on three sides and the icy Bunnefjorden on the remaining side. We’ve used our phones primarily to take photos, post to social media, and check in with each other. We haven’t been doom-scrolling, or checking in on the news as such, so the current geopolitical drama has not been top of mind. From our arrival, Breivoll Gård has felt like home. A huge reason for that is the warmth and care given to us by Catia, Rikke, Astrid, and Andreas. Although, we were able to briefly see Anne and Tore when we arrived, they remained in our thoughts throughout.

Views of Breivoll Gård and the Bunnefjorden

As we pack our bags and have our last meal together at Breivoll Gård, it is slowly dawning on us that we have a lot of things to get back to in Canada. The students chatter about mid-terms, group assignments, presentations, projects, research papers, and shifts at work. Meanwhile, there is no rest for the wicked, as us professors will be back in class on Monday, trying to pretend that we are not the least bit jetlagged. Catia serves us Andreas’ delicious lamb stew and it warms us down to our toes. We will need the sustenance as we lug our heavy backpacks to the Nesset bus stop and from the Oslo bus terminal to the Anker Hotel.

We take photos, sign the guestbook, share hugs, promise to stay in touch, and fantasize about staying here a little longer, or maybe forever. We could just stay here. We joke about teaching online from the hammock room for the rest of our academic careers. Actually, we need to get home, back to family and friends. Our time here has been a treat, but nothing lasts forever.  


The hike to the Nesset bus stop

Offering a field course like this would not be possible without the vision and collaboration of so many individuals. We are grateful to Dr. Pat Maher for his leadership in bringing the Global Skills Opportunity funding to Nipissing University. We are grateful to the university administration, in particular, Dr. Ann-Barbara Graff, Provost, and Dr. Nathan Colborne, Dean of Arts and Science for approving and supporting our proposal, especially on such short notice, and over the winter holiday break.

Once we got the greenlight, several individuals helped us through a mountain of administrivia. A special shout out to Debra Iafrate, Diane Sheldon, Sabah Khan, Karen Charles, and Adam Middleton for just making things happen. We would like to thank Lindsay Sullivan, Yves Kalala, Dr. Gyllie Phillips, Dr. Toivo Koivukoski, and former TILE Norway student Jessica Dowless for helping us prepare students for the field course.

While in Norway, we have been showered with generosity in terms of time, talent, and expertise. We are grateful to Dr. Rose Keller at NINA, Dr. Simon Kennedy Beames, Dr. Jorgen Weidemann Eriksen, Karoline Oftedal, and Thomas Halvorsen at NiH, Kirsten Wielandt Houe and Dr. Per Ingvar Haukeland at USN, Kachun Lay at the Nasjonalmuseet, and Glenn Menkin of DNT Oslo. 


Visual artist and tour guide, Kachun Lay, giving a guided tour at the Nasjonalmuseet

For our last meal in Oslo, we have dinner at the Abelone Kjøkken & Bar, just as we did one week earlier. This time the mood is subdued. We look around at the amazing students that signed up to go on this journey with us. Their enthusiasm, camaraderie, and resilience has inspired us these past few days. We came here to look at human nature connectedness, but it is the connection we have built with our students that we prize the most. They have made it all worth it, and for them, we are most grateful.



Our last dinner at Abelone Kjøkken

For more photos and content, follow us on Instagram: @tilenorway2024-2025. 

#NipissingU #GlobalskillsCA #nu.artsci #nusutalks #nusu #NipissingU.alum 

#dntolso




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