Translated with Deepl
What do I actually need my mobile phone for? I ask myself this question when I have to decide how to proceed from here. Listening to audio books; a very nice luxury, but it’s easy to do without. Calling grandma and grandpa; not essential for survival. Writing this blog; sorry, but I could do without it. Taking photos; a shame without it, but ok. Finding supermarkets; I can do that by asking. Booking and finding huts; a little more complicated, but I have a tent. Planning routes; actually important if I want to get to a particular place. Unless I do it like my Danish friend and let chance or my nose decide at every fork in the road.
The idea of not having a smartphone feels uncomfortable, uncomfortable. Even beyond the specific functions it fulfils, the small multifunction device gives me a sense of security. I can’t remember the last time I switched it off for more than a day.
Now this illusion of security is in danger. My phone is no longer charging, I can watch the battery slowly drain. In addition, I have no internet at my sleeping place, and it feels strange to plan without it.
In the end, it’s clear that I should go back to Oslo. I want to take the bus from Oslo to Gothenburg on Saturday to go to the festival. If my phone is really broken, I want to have time to get it repaired.
And how do I get to Oslo now? I can’t check, but I’m pretty sure there’s a train to Oslo in the valley. Fortunately, I have a map loaded and plan the easiest route down. After a few kilometres, I find a connection again and can confirm that there are indeed trains to Oslo today. I race down into the valley to catch the 12 o’clock train. I sleep and read on the train. My phone finally runs out of power.
In Oslo I find an electronics store and charge my phone with a wireless charger while I get some good advice on headphones. When the phone is a little charged, I go to a repair shop next door. They determine: my cable is broken, my phone works. Relief. That’s easy to fix. Because I only had one cable, I couldn’t test whether it was only that. A new cable and my phone is almost fully charged again. So now I have until Saturday lunchtime in Oslo without any particularly urgent errands. The sun is shining, it feels like summer.
I am allowed to stay with Susanne’s family in Nesoddtangen again and return to the beautiful house. I chat with Gustav, the handyman who is currently building the new outside staircase. He is very friendly and gives me tips for the area. I buy ingredients for summer dishes and cook something more elaborate than ramen noodles for a change. I look up a recipe on my phone, listen to music and call my grandparents.
It’s crazy that not being able to rely on your mobile phone feels like an adventure these days. Fortunately, mine was resolved very easily. Nevertheless, how dependent do I want to be on it?
