When I say “The Hills” you might think of a reality show that was once broadcasted on MTV, but for me it sounds more like a horror movie.

 

Coming from the Netherlands, where the highest mountain (the Vaalseberg) is not even a mountain, but just a hill of 322,4 meters high, the hills here are really something to get used to, if it’s even possible to get used to those. Our so-called mountains are mostly in the South of the country, which is not exactly where I am from. In the Netherlands, we just have three hills in total that are higher than 300 meters and apart from that, it’s mostly flat.

 

The flattest country

When I arrived in August, I met loads of international students from different nationalities. When I introduced my home country, the conversation often resulted in a chat about how flat the Netherlands is. They would say things like, “I flew over the Netherlands to get to Norway and it’s honestly the flattest country I’ve ever seen.” Guess what, they are completely right.

 

So try to imagine what it feels like as a foreigner to walk up and down the streets here. Jut by walking up tot he university in the early morning, it feels like I’ve exercised more here than I’ve done in a whole week back in the Netherlands. Of course, there are lots of of people who climb and walk mountains for fun, and they totally should (go them)! But this column is not fort hem, this is for us, the ones who get tired after going tot he Rema 1000 even though you live in Porse. To all of you: you are not alone.

 

Walk up-tips

So hereby, I thought of some tips to walk up a hill. Disclaimer: it is not guaranteed that these tips actually work. We are not responsible for any damages or injuries by practicing these tips.

 

1. Do a little dance at the end of walking the hill and then pretend you are tired from the dance and not from walking up the hill, because obviously everyone should be able to just walk a hill without getting tired.

2. Look for other people who have a hard time walking the hills and walk together with them, so you’re not alone and can gain confidence.

3. Walk backwards (it actually helps).

4. Take shorter steps while going uphill, this will make it easier for you to lift up your body. This way it takes less energy to walk up a hill and you will get less tired.

5. Try to find the easiest route up to hill.

6. Or just don’t bother!

 

But even wit hall those tips, all I really want to say is that I think it is not coincidence that the words ‘hill’ and ‘hell’ are just one letter apart, they are basically the same.