NORWEGIAN CONCERT PLANNING ORGANIZATION GIVES KIDS POWER

Rockslo, a concert association in Norway’s capital city of Oslo, introduces youth to music by immersing them in the process of planning and executing concerts. Since 2013, Rockslo has been a place for young people to work behind the scenes in the music industry. From booking to marketing to technical work to production, youth under …

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LOVE AND DOGS

(Originally published in the High Plains Reader on July 12, 2017.)   Justin Chirico and his wife, Sarah Chirico-Wyss, live in Glåmos, a village just north of Rørøs, Norway. They have 10 Alaskan huskies and a black labrador named Belmont who is training to be a rescue dog and a bed bug sniffing dog. Sarah …

A Final Reflection

By Amber Ainsworth A month ago at this time, I was on my way to Norway. I had a long day that included two layovers that would bring me to Boston and Iceland. It was my first time traveling internationally, so I was filled with excitement about the journey but a lot of anxiety as …

A Little Lesson in Tolerance

By Amber Ainsworth While covering a festival in Norway, the security guards came up and talked to the photographers in Norwegian. I realized I was the only one who didn't understand them and was kind of hesitant to speak up and show I didn't know a word, but I did. The other photographers were so …

Norway’s Rural Way of Life

By Amber Ainsworth Earlier this week, I took a train nearly 240 miles north of where I’ve been staying, Oslo, to visit Justin, an artist from the United States I met while covering a festival. Justin and his wife Sarah live in a rural part of central Norway near Røros with 10 racing huskies and …

A Different Kind of New Experience

By Amber Ainsworth In Norway, I rode a train, tram and subway all for the first time. During the first week or so here, getting used to relying on public transportation was nerve wracking and has probably been the most “foreign” thing about this trip for me. I come from an area where mass public …

A Fresh Perspective

By Amber Ainsworth This past school year, I was so busy that I fell away from my passions a lot. I was writing because I was the editor of my school's paper and have an internship at a news station, but I felt like I wasn't doing what I loved to do. Before this trip, …

Art, Inspiration and Huskies

By Amber Ainsworth When it comes to writing, I have always been a sporadic journalist. My favorite story ideas are ones that I stumble upon, and I write the best stories when I'm not sitting down with the intention to write. Last weekend, I came across a story I am going to do while I'm …

The Beginning: Hausmania Story

During Musikkfest Oslo last weekend, we visited Hausmania and I was immediately intrigued. The large building is covered from top to bottom in graffiti of all colors. From Norwegian words to sentences in English such as, “Chinese food rules,” it was an interesting assortment of art and chaos that I needed to explore more. The …

Detroit’s Far (Media) Reach

While in Norway, I’ve quickly discovered that people outside of Detroit have very different views of the city where I work and spend much of my time, but those views aren’t all full of negativity. To some people, they’ve heard it’s a failing city, while others have an impression that it’s on the rise and …