You are Cordially Invited...

Now, not being one to mingle in exclusive circles, I haven't been to many fancy get-togethers in my life, but the opening ceremony of the International Summer School was definitely what I'd call a fancy get-together. It took place in the aula (a hall for festive occasions) of the university in downtown Oslo.

 

The aula is quite an impressive room, as I hope you can see. The inside is lined with marble and those large murals on the wall are painted by Edvard Munch, Norway's most famous artist and painter of The Scream, which just sold at an auction for 119.9 million dollars. There were speeches, from the director of the International Summer School and the rector of the University of Oslo, and music from a Norwegian jazz clarinetist and pianist.

Dr. Ole Petter Ottersen, Rector, University of Oslo

The ceremony was a little on the long side, with the jazz duo playing seven pieces and special appearances from the Norwegian State Secretary of Education and Research, along with a student from the International Summer School class of 1947. But all in all, it was quite the enjoyable affair.

Daniel from Georgia, Me, and Aaron from Chicago at the ceremony

After the opening ceremony, we head over to Oslo City Hall, where we were the guests of the mayor.

Here, there were hors d'oeuvres and fancy desserts and champagne flowing freely, along with another jazz band and more speeches from the mayor's representatives and other esteemed fellows. It was really a splendid welcome that the city of Oslo and the University put together for us, and I've felt quite so upper crust. But then, when the speeches had ceased and the band stopped playing, we had to go back to our tiny dorm rooms and prepare for the next day's classes. Such is life, I guess.

I knew I should have brought my black suit!