Mar 1, 2012

An American Girl in Oslo – How I ended up moving to Norway

Molly Feeley / An American Girl in Oslo, Europe Travel, Featured, More, Norway, Solo Female Travel / 3 Comments

I’m not sure exactly why, but I always end up dating some sort of musician. It’s not like I actively pursue them, but for some reason, that’s just the way it goes. There was a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist, another guitarist, and finally a lead singer/guitarist. I even went through a phase where I would actually try not to be anywhere NEAR a musician, but for some reason, I would go out with a guy, and we would hit it off, and I would find out he played “the drums in his spare time” or had “just joined a band” and that was it.

I told myself over and over after continuously being screwed over by these musicians, “Quit dating musicians, you idiot”, but I try to see the good in all people and not judge someone based on their musicality.

So there I was, being played the Led Zeppelin song, “Over the Hills and Far Away” on an acoustic guitar by my latest musician, and I was loving every minute of it. That is, I was loving every minute of it up until that musician DUMPED me out of the blue, refused to return my clothes to me (which by the way, I still miss), and left me heart broken for weeks…okay, maybe months.

But, what does me being continuously screwed over and dumped by a musician have to do with Norway, you ask? Everything!

Within a week after being dumped, I got a surprising letter in the mail. I had received a check from a car accident I was in six months prior (Thank you KTLA news van). I realized I was single, I didn’t really care about fixing the paint on my car’s bumper, and I wanted to travel. In fact I needed to get the hell out of Long Beach. The first place I thought of was Norway. My Mom is half Norwegian, and I have always wanted to visit where my family is from, so naturally Norway was the place I was going. I didn’t care about going with anyone else, I just wanted to go. I wanted to see the fjords, I wanted to hike, eat fish, and most importantly meet some hot vikings that were not musically talented. I guess getting dumped can make you a bit crazy, but in a very badass way.

Although I was being very spontaneous, but I was still smart about traveling, especially since Norway was going to be the first country outside of the US I had ever traveled to. I asked my family members who had been to Norway how much money I should save, and I did a lot of research on traveling alone (and traveling alone as a single woman). Within a few days, I had my ticket booked for my 21 day excursion throughout Norway. I was going to start off in Oslo, so I booked a hostel there for the first few days, but I decided I didn’t want to make any plans – I just wanted to just see where I’d end up.

By the way, I booked my trip five months in advance because even with the car accident money, I needed about five months to save enough money to afford the high prices in Norway, but that’s an article for another day.

With the excitement of booking my ticket over, I found myself wanting more excitement. I decided it wasn’t good enough to just backpack throughout Norway, I needed to MOVE to Norway. Yes, I realize that this is a bit of a spontaneous decision for someone who had never even traveled outside of the United States, but I suppose that last bad breakup was the final straw for me. I was ready for a major change in my life – and this was it!

A girl that I worked with suggested I become an au pair, and at this point in my life, I was crazy enough to accept the challenge. Within a few weeks of booking my backpacking trip, I had begun the process of becoming an au pair in Norway. What seemed like three months of filing endless paperwork and dealing with a very unpleasant Norwegian woman at the Norwegian embassy, I received notice that a family in Oslo wanted me! I did a phone interview and within a few weeks I was signing a contract to be their au pair a few months after I returned from my backpacking trip. Now all that was left to do was wait for my backpacking trip and my big move to Norway.

Everything was falling into place and as the days got closer to me leaving, all I could think about were rugged Norwegian men and all the things I wanted to see and do while in Norway. I had a plan, a very good plan. I was going to see everything! I was going to start off in Oslo and work my way around Norway, going to every major city and meeting as many people as I possibly could, all while being with “my people”.

Finally I was on my Continental flight landing at very nice and modern airport by the name of Gardermoen, just outside of Oslo, and my dream of going to Norway was actually happening. The adventure was just beginning – and it’s crazy to think that one of the best adventures of my life happened because of a douchebag musician and a KTLA news van..

Be sure to tune in next week when this story heats up with How to Meet a HOT Norwegian!