I grew up in Texas, which meant that for most of my childhood and adolescence, winter was more a state of mind than a season (as evidenced by many a Christmas spent in t-shirts and shorts). I thought that after moving first to the East Coast and now to London, I had finally learned how to manage cold weather. But after recently spending a couple of days in Oslo, I learned that the brisk weather I had been exposed to in the States and in London was nothing compared to the frigid temperatures that Norway receives.
Photo by Mimi Onuoha
I went to Oslo because I was invited to give a talk to some design students at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO). The title of my talk was "Data Made Personal", and it covered treatments of data and then segued into the work that I've been doing for my project (for the interested, slides from the presentation I gave are available here). The students were very bright and engaged, and I had some really enjoyable discussions afterwards with a few of them on what it means to be engaging in work around data.
I managed to fit in some sightseeing after my talk at AHO. With its vast sea, sweeping landscapes, and beautiful (not to mention plentiful!) blankets of snow, I found Norway to be unlike any country I had visited before.
A stunning view just half an hour outside of Oslo. Photo by Mimi Onuoha.
After the talk, I was happy to see that I had a bit of free time, which I spent on decidedly less academic activities:
A Texan conquers snow (though this neglects to show the wipe-out that took place five minutes later). Photo by Mimi Onuoha.