Norwich, Norwegians and Back to the Future!

This is Cine and Travel at its best. ;) << I don't expect anyone to get that. But if you do, my friend, you are of a special breed.

Here I am, in Norwich, UK and as luck would have it, most of my friends are Norwegian. Of course they are, it is only England after all.

Here, Frode is trying to explain to me how much energy its going to take to finish our essays and exams with the amount of lagging and (study?) parties we have been subjected to. I was taken aback, as you can see:

1.21 GIGAWATTS?!?!?! 1.21 GIGAWATTS??!! GREAT SCOTT FRODO! WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!

Of course this wasn't the first time an astounding realization was made of this magnitude.




Here are a few of the reasons for all of this:

As you can tell, we are studying hard.  This is a deep conversation and scientific study into the effects of alcohol upon homework. It was a smashing success!

Here is a specimen you are rarely fortunate enough to stumble upon in the wild:

A Scandinavian MacDaddy

I have learned a few things about Norwegians in the last month that I should probably share, in the name of goodwill and brother/sisterhood.

1) They are ridiculously good looking.

2) They have an impeccable sense of style and are fearlessly courageous, as indicated by the massive amount of denim above.  Did I mention they are sponsored by Levi?

3) They are incredibly skilled and talented at multitasking.  It is not uncommon to see them double fisting cell phones, simultaneously texting 2 or more people. 

A funny thing happened when I wanted to double check that Norwegians were in fact Scandinavian before I made myself look like a dumb American was when I put Norwegian into google the first suggestion that came up was "Are Norwegians Friendly?" Hmm... Interesting that that question is that popular! ;)
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110531000631AAfY5Mq

I am an international student here in England, just like the Norwegians, Slovenians, Chinese and Japanese.  Its a good thing for an American to be lumped into a group identity like that.  I never imagined myself being called a "foreigner".  Well, we have our own issues of being treated as foreigners in our own country, but that is for a socio-political blog, not a travel and cinema one.

If more Americans not only traveled, but lived and studied abroad, we would have quite a different world.  For example: maybe we could multi-text people and just think how much more we could accomplish!!

                                                  

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In other news, I rewatched Amores Perros last night and this time really watched it not for the story, but for the underlying themes and contrasts, as well as the cinematography and editing.
I really gained a lot from looking at it again this way.


 Apart from the obvious grittiness of the filming(massive handheld and washed out colors) and the unconventional weaving of 3 stories into one whole, it shows a complex and multilayered Mexican culture in a way very rarely done.

Mexico City is the largest city in Latin America and arguably the largest city on the planet.

 Yet Iñarritu chose not to focus on the glamour and beauty of one of humanities greatest urban wonders.  There are no helicopter shots, no ultra wide establishing shots of skyscrapers or monuments

 or even the incredible Chapultapec Park or Castle.

 Instead he chose to show it from the ground level.

Whether the story is on the lower class Octavio or the upper class, privileged Valeria, we see and feel everything from the claustrophobic street level of everyday life.