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Scavenger Hunting Through Norway's Cities: Bergen and Oslo

When the MV Explorer is docked in port, hours seem to slip by more quickly than usual. Understandably, everyone want to see as much as they can in a short amount of time, and soak in some culture and history with the breathtaking vistas. Norway was no exception, with its two ports on either end of the country: Bergen to the west and Oslo in the east.

Summer voyagers had the opportunity to cover a lot of ground in Bergen with the field program scavenger hunt called The Bergen Race. On the flip side in Oslo, Dr. Amber Johnson organized a similar experience for her Interpersonal Communications class: a scavenger hunt through specific locations in the city that helped reinforce some concepts discussed in class, including family dynamics, critical listening and expressing emotion.
engage romantic interpersonal relationships, family dynamics, expressing emotion, critical listening, competent verbal communication, disclosure, and other interpersonal communication concepts – See more at: https://www.semesteratsea.org/field-labs/field-lab-for-interpersonal-communication/#sthash.z8AHq6M6.dpuf

Norway Scavenger Hunts
The Bergen Race started in the Union, with teams ranging from three to five participants. With the clues in hand, everyone was given the same instructions: when you get to the end of the pier, turn right and good luck.
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With the Scandinavian words and foreign spellings, the student teams were off to find the English versions of everything they could on maps and orient themselves to a brand new city whose history they were already being tested on. At right, Adrian Abel Azvedo of Columbia College Chicago and Chris Funaki of University of Southern California sprint toward their next clue armed with maps as more teams make their way to the first location.
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Along the waterfront, cobbled roads run straight to colorful shops, restaurants and clothing boutiques. Statues and carvings (like the gold stag pictured) adorn the outside of many buildings. At right, one store features a population of Norwegian trolls of every variety.
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Kelly Freeman of University of Washington asks new friends a few questions about how to spell Norwegian words and how to get to the next location.
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After winding through the maze of Bergen’s back streets, racers heard loud music and raucous cheers. After turning a corner, Bergen’s premiere park came into view packed with hundreds of people at a free outdoor concert. At right, kids were climbing to the tops of fences and trees to get a better view of the show.
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After leaving the concert, the local boys helped out John Staak of University of Iowa. They found the idea of the race fascinating and funny and followed a bunch of the students through the city, helping with directions.
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Back down at the fish market two teams collaborate on answers to get to the final destination.
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A team tried Princess Caviar, a delicate pink treat in the final place on the race at the restaurant Fish Me.
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The colorful storefronts of Bergen surrounded by the docks in front of dramatic Mt. Floien as seen from the race’s finish at Fish Me.
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Nearly 300 miles and three days later, Dr. Amber Johnson’s class spreads out amongst the trees and gravestones in Oslo’s cemetery, where Edward Munch, the Father of Impressionism is buried, looking for the final resting places of many of Norway’s famous artists and composers.
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Asking for help from a local on a run, Mohammed Najd of Al Akhawayn University and Crystal Bauer of University of Wisconsin River Falls get some spelling direction and answers to a few of their questions. At right, students had more difficult things to search for in Norway’s Resistance Museum: how the effects of the imagery and displays from World War II had an impact on the viewers themselves.
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Alexa O’Connell of Syracuse University looks into one of the elaborately modeled picture windows that depicts specific events in Norway’s resistance against the Nazis in World War II.
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Students combed the wharf in Oslo for different types of interpersonal communications in a variety of social situations amongst people in an array of relationships, from friends to strangers. Jennifer Fore of University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Alyssa Anderson of University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Alexa O’Connell of Syracuse University, Mackenzie Vischer of University of Oregon and Jordan Murtha-Lansford of Florida Gulf Coast University sat down for a moment to collect their thoughts and take a closer look at what they needed to complete their hunt.
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Located in one of Oslo’s well known historical Frogner Park, the smaller Vigeland Sculpture Park holds 227 granite and bronze statues by artist Gustav Vigeland. All nudes and many making little physical sense, the statues represent many of the emotions of daily life — such as love, anger, fear and hurt — and the students needed to locate and identify examples of each. Dr. Amber Johnson attempts one of the more difficult poses with student Teresa Mitchell of Mount St. Mary’s University to recreate one of the statues based on the family value of being playful.
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The field lab, which took place during a lovely blue-sky day in Oslo, covered quite a few of the main parts of the city, rewarding students with a sense of knowing the area significantly better than if they had attempted it on their own. Having covered miles of the city on foot and via public transportation left many with the desire to see much more of the beautiful capital city of Norway.
Written by: Administrator
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