Name: Peter Jensen
Hometown: Oslo, Norway
Year: Sophomore
Major: Economics
Languages: Norwegian (better than English), Danish, Swedish and most German
Favorite Hobby: Anything outdoors
This week’s Campus Cutie is all the way from Norway! Find out what he has to say about American girls and the great outdoors. Meet Peter Jensen!
HC (Her Campus): What brought you to the US? To Wake Forest?
PJ (Peter Jensen): Just school. My mom is the college counselor for the International School in Oslo, so she knows all about schools. Both my sisters went to William & Mary, so I looked in the area and just loved Wake.
HC: When was the last time you were in Norway?
PJ: I go back for Christmas and summer. I was back last Christmas. I might be going back for Thanksgiving this coming fall.
HC: Tell me a little bit about Norway. What is life like there?
PJ: Well, I would say, in general, it’s a lot more of an active lifestyle. In the winter, I ski four times a week – but I also live in the city, so it’s a city lifestyle as well. I used to take the subway to school. I took the subway or bus. I never drove.
HC: What is your favorite thing about where you are from?
PJ: Um, probably the proximity to skiing and to the beach. Our mountain house is a two hour drive away from my house, and our beach house is a one hour drive.
HC: What do you find most different about the US?
PJ: People are a lot nicer here. Way nicer. People are more polite. People in Norway are a lot colder – they don’t seem like they care as much.
HC: What is your favorite thing about America?
PJ: I love America so much. That’s hard. It has to be people’s mentality. People just have better values here. They’re more conservative. I get fed up in Norway a lot. Just the people in general – people are a lot nicer here.
HC: How many states have you visited in the US?
PJ: I’ve been to Florida, all up and down the east coast, the Midwest, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona. I also just came back from St. Louis.
HC: Wow, I haven’t even been to some of those! What is your favorite food – Norwegian or American?
PJ: Norwegian food is really weird. It is really strange. You would never want to taste it. It’s so traditional – way too old school. What I really like about European food is that you can get really good Italian-style pizza. I’ve also really grown to like Mexican food since I’ve been in the US.
HC: Tell me about some of your hobbies.
PJ: Everybody in Norway skis a lot, so I ski a lot. I like most sports in general. I play a lot of golf when I’m at home. I fish and boat – that’s mostly back home too – and I hike. I like mountain biking – just a lot of things outdoors. Where I live in Oslo is really nice because the beach is five minutes away but so are the mountains, so I can kind of do everything I love.
HC: That’s definitely unique! Where is your favorite place that you have traveled?
PJ: Probably Montana – it’s so nice. Not in the US? Probably Croatia. I’ve been there a couple of times. We used to travel all the time, but my mom and dad bought a place in Florida. I’ve been to all the big countries in Europe and most of the smaller ones too.
HC: Where do you most want to travel?
PJ: Umm… I really want to go to Alaska. I love the outdoors – hiking, fishing, skiing…
HC: Do you plan on studying abroad during your time at Wake Forest?
PJ: No, I’m kind of already studying abroad here!
HC: Very true. So now for the girls…Who is your favorite female celebrity?
PJ: Actually, this is really strange. There is this really hot Norwegian pole vaulter that went to my junior high school. I got to play volleyball with her, and I spiked the ball in her face. She wasn’t mad because she’s too nice, and she’s really pretty.
HC: Is she famous now?
PJ: She’s famous in Norway, but not here.
HC: And what about your favorite female celebrity in Hollywood?
PJ: Hmm… Well, my roommate is a huge fan of Rihanna, so I’ve kind of grown to like her because she’s a cool character, and he raves about her.
HC: What do you like most about American girls?
PJ: American girls are a lot more outgoing and a lot less stuck up than Norwegian girls. Norway has a reputation for having very good looking girls, but they’re also not very nice.
HC: They’re definitely beautiful. Okay – what do you most dislike about American girls?
PJ: Um… Can I say nothing?
HC: I like that answer! So what is your go-to pick up line?
PJ: Well, I won’t say it’s a pick up line, but just asking people where they are from is a good line because they always ask you back. And then you get to say you’re from Norway, and that always works.
HC: That must definitely give you a leg up! It must be fun being a foreign guy here.
PJ: Definitely.
*Photography by Eliza Cushman