Hostel life is not an alien for me – for I had stayed almost year in hostel during my final year at school back in Nepal. The hostel was 10-minute walk from my house and I was staying in the hostel because my parents want me to study, rather than play and stroll around, during the last days for the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations.
Right now, I am housed at the Blindern Dormitory – a student house in the area of the University of Oslo (UiO) where I am studying at the International Summer School (ISS) for six weeks.
And, though there are lots of similarities; the hostel life here is an amazing experience than that of my old hostel days.
The prime reason: because the Dormitory is also housing many hundred people from all around the world whom I could meet everyday during breakfast, lunch or dinner. And, amazingly, even after six days here, I always see a few totally new faces.
Secondly, the food is always curiosity. At breakfast, I can now assume what’s there but at lunch and dinner, it could be a plateful of food items for me or just a quarter-full of (that’s because I don’t eat beef). Two dinners were something like ‘rice and sauce’ for me (good thing is they always have tea/coffee, juices and breads).
And, there are always a few people in the courtyards – either talking in couple/groups or drinking coffees or sitting/sleeping idly. The lure to walk down to the courtyard, saying hi to a few people and watching others or sitting with friends is always inviting.
Fourteen years ago, when I was in hostel, it’s felt almost like a prison because we were required to study for most of the times and play for only an hour a day. The breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at time, and of good quality, but then there were only a dozen fellows on the table – all of whom I know very well.
I hadn’t played much in here (I used to write poetries 14 years ago, but not here). Once I played football with a few friends from and it was quite interesting. I have seen others playing volleyball, table tennis, badminton and pool (ahm – why they have always programs/meetings in the evening so not letting us play much of the sports?).
I still have five weeks more at the Dorm and I hope that the experience here will prove a memorable one.
