Leaving Las Oslo...

Strange post to write really...am currently holed up in a hotel room in Houston, and although i only left norway last week, it seems like a million years ago. again, i always feel leaving a country should be a monumental and memorable experience which some final grande send off...invariably it isn't, the practical side of packing, getting the apartment cleaned and inspected, wondering why you didnt buy that extra suitcase, wondering why you have so so much useless stuff that never sees the light of day, handing back keys, cars and such sundries take away any romantic MTV notions of leaving a place. i remember my last night in tokyo was the same, so much so that i couldnt even be bothered to leave my hotel room that night. theres no fanfare, no tearful goodbyes, no 16 piece orchestra on the platform, no mayor shaking your hand as you leave...and in fact in this occasion, no one actually seeing you off at all, its just cramming things in suitcases, struggling up stairs with them, finding a seat on a crowded train and heading off into the sunset alone, feeling somewhat...numb? indifferent? whereas i was desperate not to leave malaysia or japan, it was different with norway. i was ready to leave. norway is a great place, perhaps the most stunningly beautiful place on the planet and ive met some fantastic people, but there is a certain coldness to the place, and not just because half of lies within the arctic circle. there are some wonderful people there, but norwegians can be quite a introverted, almost elitist bunch of people, and can appear to be quite rude to an outsider i guess...obviously this wild generalisation does not apply to all...but i have spoken to my norwegian friends about this and they can also see this and agree with this assessment. its a very family orientated country which is no bad thing, but for a single guy moving to a place alone, its not easy to become ingratiated...maybe its just me...i dunno. oslo is also quite a relatively small place, with 90% of the things to do based around the mountains and outdoors which, dont get me wrong, is great, but you can run out of things to do at a weekend. i once read an article on 'ex pats', which described the ups and downs of emotions in living abroad. the first 3 months you get homesick, then you get the novelty phase where everything is great, then you get homesick again, followed by life aborad becoming the norm, then certain things start to irk you and you get frustrated etc...i think the last few months i entered the latter stage, and was becoming a bit frustrated with it, and small things began to annoy me...hence, in reading this back in a few months i may be being a bit harsh on the place and people, but at the moment if norway was a celebrity, i would say that it was Paris Hilton...very attractive, very blonde, but lacking any real depth or interest, and can be extremely annoying...again though...im sure my feeling will change in a few months.
great things about norway are though: the snow, the architecture, the outdoors lifestyle, the moutnains, the fjords, the general aesthetics of it all, some good friends.
the not so great things: the cost of living, the perceived unfriendliness of the place, the fact that you cant buy wine from anywhere except govt owned shops, the fact you cant buy a double shot, but you can buy two singles and add them together yourself, the fact you cant buy alcohol after 6pm apart from in bars,

ah, im being harsh, i love norway actually, it is an amazing place, and you will struggle to find anywhere as beautiful in the world. i will be returning occasionally to work and visit, and i will genuinely look forward to those visits, but im done living there. Norway: tick

and so...home to the uk for a wee while