The Cabin

This past weekend, we went to a cabin up lake Farris.  The Stensruds own this cabin.  Before we left in the afternoon, we went to a performance Solfrid had at the mall during a fashion show.  That was really cool to see and they did a great job.

We packed (I only brought a backpack) and we left on a (pretty slow) motorboat.  It took around 45 mintues or an hour to get there (I might be wrong... it seemed like a long time) and it was so neat!  The cabin was built around 1790 and had the same old feel as the cabins we visited on the "boat trip" we took with Rotary a few weeks ago.  The boat ride to the cabin was extremely cold and it was raining.  I literally had my large winter jacket, gloves, a blanket, and a winter hat on and was still cold.  Oh dear, what kind of a winter will I be in for??

 

When we arrived, we had to unpack everything and walk up to the cabin.  The view was beautiful!  The upstairs was all beds.  Solfrid and I were next to the staircase in two GIANT beds, while everyone else was in the other room.  We played cards and ate a big dinner.  Then, Solfrid took me outside to see the outhouse.  THIS was a culture experience!  Yes, before you correct me, I am well aware that there are outhouses in the U.S., but this is unlike anything I have experienced before.  It was made totally out of wood and was above the ground.  When you enter the outhouse, you are greeted by a picture of Jesus and one of the King and Queen of Norway.  I can honestly say that it was quite uncomfortable to "go to the bathroom" with them watching me.  hahaha!!  On our way back from the outhouse, Eirik and Jon jumped out of the woods and scared us!  I know I screamed very loudly...  >.<"  It would have been funny if it wasn't totally pitch black outside. . . I wasn't the happiest camper after that...

Solfrid and I stayed up late and painted our nails.  During the night we forgot to close the window and it was VERY cold!  But I had the deepest sleep I have had since arriving in Norway.  We slept until around 1pm.  Then we ate lunch and went back to bed for another hour!  Solfrid and I had to clean the dishes (by the way, there is no running water at the cabin... we had to brush our teeth with pre-prepared water lol) and then we went on a hike.  We went to this area where we could see Kjose (it was BEAUTIFUL!) and then to a "pirates' cave", which was also very cool.  And, of course, we brought our KVIKK LUNSJ with us for each stop!  It's an essential for hiking for me, now.  :)

After we got back, we packed the boat back up and headed back to Kjose.  The sunset was beautiful :)

This week has been normal...  Had a few tests this week.  Some were impossible for me to take in Norsk, so I wrote an essay (in Norsk) about my stay in Norway so far and did most of it without a dictionary!  Oh, and by the way, it was TWO PAGES long!  :):)  Another thing that I did instead of the test was practice in my Norsk bok and I actually tried the historie prøve.  I only answered 4 out of the 8 questions, but Monica said she wouldn't grade it.  She was just going to look at my improvement in Norsk. 

A Few Extra Notes: 

> I have gym once per week.  This is NOT like what I am used to.  I am used to two or three 1.5 hours of gym per week that is moderately paced; you will sweat and breathe hard, but not be drenched.  Now, I am taking ONE 1.5 hour gym class per week and I am almost always panting and soaking after class.  Ugh.  I think I would rather have three moderately paced classes per week than one intense one per week. 

> When most Norwegians having a conversation, they tend to - instead of saying "mmmm," - breathe in and say "ja!" at the same time.  This caught me off-guard many times.  It almost sounds like something someone would do if it looked like one car was going to crash into another.  It sounds, concerned lol! 

> The toaster EXPLODED the other day!  It was scary!  If you pushed down the button, it would give an electrical "fizzing" sound and shine really brightly and then all of the power in the kitchen would go out. 

> Ummm... I AM GOING TO NORTHERN NORWAY TOMORROW!  We (Merete, Kristian og meg) are taking a plane to Trondheim and then to Seløy tomorrow!  It is going to be beautiful!  We are going to take part in a festival of some sort and go on a boat trip out on the ocean.  THEN!  After we return on Wednesday, I will leave the next day to GO SEE DIDRIK IN OSLO!!!  :D :D

Boat Trip med Buggene :)

On Sunday, I went with my third host family to their house and we went on a boat trip on the ocean (in the fjord)!!!  First, I woke up late, had a nice late breakfast, and then Harald showed up at the house around 12.00.  He then asked me if I would like to sleep over at their house and, of couse, I said yes!  So, he quickly called my host parents and they said that it was ok, so I packed and we were out the door!

Before we got to the boat, we stopped at their grandparents' house and sat, drank tea and coffee, ate some pastries and talked.  I also met their dog!  He is a little chiwawa namd "Toffee"! 

From there, we went to their house and got ready for the boat trip.  We got everything together, got in the car and drove the few minutes to the boat dock where they keep the wooden boat that Harald restored.  We unloaded everything at the boat dock and waited for everyone else to arrive.  All together, it was my host mom, my host dad, Charlotte, Ågot and me.  We went out a distance to an island with a sandy beach and ate a late lunch/early dinner there. 

Having this time with them helped me to accept that I would change host families at some point.  It helped me to understand different living styles instead of feeling nervous to move in with them.  I am happy they took me out!

Anyway - Harald and Ågot went INTO THE WATER!  It was so cold outside - and there are many jellyfish in the water here!  After we ate chicken, chocolate, and hot dogs, we went back to Larvik.

 By the way, the boat's name is TROLL.  Does that just about sum-up my exchange?  Yes.  xD

We went back to the house after that.  We also drove around and looked at Charlotte's Russe-bil (which was totally awesome) and bought some bread in town. 

Monday was fine...  But I had one of those days where it felt like everything was going wrong, although it wasn't.

It was the same on Tuesday.  We also had a spinning class during gym, which I didn't like, although I felt quite good after.  I started getting a really really really bad headache because of the class.  And then - I actually finally broke down on Tuesday, although I hate to admit it.  I think it was the combination of my mother being on skype and not sounding totally happy with stress.  I mean, it's been about 6 weeks now, so it had to happen sometime!  I'm quite happy it's over with, and I slept so well last night because I was so tired from being upset and from gym class!  Either way I wasn't happy.  But now I am totally fine!  So, no worries.

CHECK OUT ME ON THE SCHOOL WEBSITE: http://thvs.vfk.no/Nyheter/2010_2011/0910/2209_Huskonsert.aspx 
This is regarding the Huskonsert :)

There's such thing as "Normality" during an exchange?? whatt???

When I returned to school on Tuesday, my teachers and friends wanted to know how language camp was.  I speak much more Norwegian at home now, but school seems to be about the same, unfortunately.  I'm here to learn Norwegian, but I can't seem to.  English is helpful to understand what is going on, but I need to put an end to it.  I have been here for six weeks. . . this is long overdue. 

This week felt...normal...  What a strange word to use to describe part of an exchange year!  Normal.  Wow.  I guess I'm past that "honeymoon" period of the exchange.  Don't get me wrong - my exchange thus far has been more than I could have asked for - but I seem to be settling down, finally.  When people think about a year abroad, it seems like new things constantly, which it can be.  But, when there are miniscule differences everyday, it feels almost normal.  It is hard to describe, obviously.

I seem to have missed a bit last week, but my teachers told me that, because I was making an effort to learn the language so I can function (at least a little more) in class, they didn't really expect me to make up the work.  More of a, "Don't worry about it!" attitude.  A few even used the exact phrase.  I guess I am just not used to missing school and not making up missed assignments.  It feels pretty wrong to me.  But I can barely follow what's going on when I'm not worried about the work load, so I understand their logic.

Dance went really well this week and I seem to understand what the little girls say to me now; mostly things like: "I have to go pee" or "Do you really only speak English?"  Not very useful for an adult, but who knows!  I have also finally understood the routine of their classes so I know what to set up for each activity and what to tell them if they do something the wrong way.  The "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song really helps when telling a young dancer what to do with their legs and arms during class.  Hmmm... maybe I have learned more than I think I have. 

It feels like I haven't learned anything some days.  And then other days, it feels like I am on the right track. 

In my class we are getting ready for a huskonsert which will happen on første oktober, the first of October.  It will be a soul'n'funk concert!  I am playing the also for this concert... too bad I didn't bring one with me! o.O  Luckily, Henrik knows some people, has called them, and has one on its way to the school for me to use! 

Alice asked me to go over her house on Friday, which I did!  And (well, I think) we had a lot of fun!  We were supposed to watch a few movies, but we ended up sharing music, eating, played piano, etc etc.  Her house is in the opposite direction of Larvik than Kjose.  It was interesting, because I felt very homesick when I arrived at her house and we were talking for a little while.  But quickly, the feeling passed and we made snacks and had a lot of fun after. 

If there are any future exchange students reading this, listen closely: what people say about rollercoaster emotions while on exchange is TOTALLY TRUE.  Sometimes you cry for no reason.  Sometimes being asked to go over someone's house can drastically change your day for the better, whereas at home it would be a normal occurance.  Sometimes watching a little girl with her father at the dance studio makes you want to call home and hear your father's voice again.  Sometimes you don't feel homesick at all for a few weeks!  Sometimes you mess up your new morning routine and feel like the day will follow in the mess.  Sometimes you laugh one second and the next you cry.  Sometimes, it feels like a rollercoaster ride. 

Well, either way, I had a an extremely wonderful time at Alice's house.  I feel like I am becoming closer with the kids in the music program, which I am so excited about!  Merete and Kristian said I can have some people over for a movie night...  I hope I can do this soon! 

Today was quiet.  I cleaned a bit and then watched "Over Hekken" og "Toy Story" på norsk ("Over the Hedge" and "Toy Story" in Norwegian) and followed that up with a call home and restarting on my college application process (UGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!).  >.<""

This evening, Kristian and Merete had two people over for a late supper and to watch a movie in the barn.  I haven't watched a movie there yet, but, I kid you not, it is as good as a movie theater!  We watched "Twister" (which I saw once before) and had candy and potato chips.  I can't wait to have a party in there!  They have a screen projector that comes down over a giant mirror and two giant comfy couches to sit in from of the screen and watch from. 

Tomorrow I am going with Harald Bugge, my third host father, and his two daughters on a boat trip!!!

Halden, Ski, Larvik

The rest of the week was pretty low key...  Class all day...  Food every few hours...  Watching a few Norsk, Swedish or American films... (unfortunately, they were scary movies, one was literally called "Kvinnen i Kjøleskapet" or "The Woman in the Fridge") And then staying up late (learning how to do "the worm"?).  We went down into town a few more times, did a little bit of shopping, and got ice cream.  On Friday, we met Gunter (who I had met at my welcoming party one month ago) and he told us what we had planned for the big district conference.  Jørn og Gunter put most of us on the train to Ski and drove the rest.  I sat with Lauren and we both ended up falling asleep.  I think everyone's late nights and daily hikes were beginning to catch up. 

We got off the train at the Ski Stasjon and walked, literally across the street, to our hotel called, "Thon Hotel Ski".  Now, as you can imagine, many of us were confused with the title of this city and our hotel and what the weekend was about.  Everytime I recieved an email, I just couldn't understand how or where we were going skiing!  But, my host family explained it to me and it was just the town's name.  :):)

Inside the hotel, we met all of the other Australian kids and I was reunited with my wallet!  Tusen takk, Boaz og Tone!!!  I was now roommates with Jessica.  We had a room to ourselves, whereas most people had rooms to share with two or three others.  I think one room even had five boys in it!  Either way, we were happy to be in a nice hotel and no longer a hostell.  By the way, our hotel was connected to a shopping mall.  Uh oh... ;)

We all ate pizza in the restaurant attached to the hotel (where we would eat our remaining meals on the trip) and celebrated one girl's 18th birthday.  Good thing we learned the happy birthday song in Norwegian at language camp!  Even at the hotel we continued our late night routines. 

The next day was filled with the actual conference.  We were split up into continental groups: North America, South America, and Australia/Japan.  In these groups we made up routines for our portion of the conference.  First we all walked in with our flags (I got to carry in the American flag, lucky me!) and then went back to work.  When it came time to perform, the Aussies performed their national anthem, and gave many thank-yous to Rotary.  On our turn, we sang the Canadian and American national anthems, performed a few raps about our countries ("..to live, to work, to love, to be - come visit us in the land of the free!"), and showed a slideshow of each city or town we came from.  Mine was a lovely picture of Killington at night.  After that, we all did the "Cha-Cha-Slide" which the Rotarians seemed to like.  Then South America performed many dances and talked in Norsk.  After everyone was done, the rotarians had asked me to perform a song because they heard about my performance at the 2290 district conference.  So, naturally I just got up there and played "Piano Man" on a keyboard they rented for me.  It was great because this time, with more Americans and people who knew the song, I had a few people singing along with the chorus. 

During our free-time, we all went shopping.  It made life SO MUCH easier to have my wallet back.  I bought a dress from my new favorite Norwegian store: Ginatricot, some tights, and a few things I needed.  We had a very fancy dinner (the boys were even wearing ties without complaining!  Wow!) with great food.  After dinner, we had a dance...  with '50s music...  So we all got bored and decided to go upstairs. 

Yesterday, we were told that we were going on a hike, but we ended up going on a steam boat (awesome!) that was 100 years old.  We had a great lunch, went fishing for crayfish and shot a cannon.  Then we all went home.  My district was lucky, because we all had rides home from rotarians.  Gunter and his drove Nick and me home.  On the way, we went on the same ferry that I took on our way back from Sweden and met up with Michael, Kelly, Zak, and Zoe for the last time.

I ended up staying home from school today because all of our busy days finally caught up with me.  I could barely open my eyes this morning and I knew that if I went to school, I would not be able to function.

(Okay, so these pictures are out of order: first picture is Lauren, Michael and me on Sunday; second: trip on the steamboat; third: my table at the fancy district conference dinner; fourth: Kate and me eating dessert.)
**I also took these pictures from facebook!!  They aren't mine haha.

It was also Merete's birthday when I arrived home!  We had a nice dinner and cake to celebrate.  She also had a surprise party that Kristian threw for her on Saturday.  It is so great to be back in Larvik :):)

Language Camppppp

Found Wallet!! Sweden!! (Igjen!!)

I GÅR:
We started class at 9 am yesterday.  We are pretty much learning everything that I already knew, plus like a few other words that I didn't know, like "neighbor".  :/  We all had our computers and were getting ready for our trip to sweden today (like checking taxi prices and bus schedules).  We ate lunch (found out that we're actually at a hostell.. which is pretty cool!  right next to a fortress at that!) and went back to class.  We're in a conference room and we sit in two rows and have our own books.  Last night we watched Hot Rod on the projector screen, also.

I DAG:
We started class at 9 am again.  I found out that Tone now has my wallet and everything is still inside!  So Tone is giving it to Boaz who will be at the conference this weekend!!  Yay!!  But anway, I still didn't learn much more today...  A lot of us are upset about it.  Then we went to lunch, which was AMAZING today, and went back to class.  Jørn let us out early today because we wanted to catch a bus to Nordby (the same shopping mall that my host family took me to.  Little fact: it is actually about 60% owned by one Norwegian guy, so it's considered the biggest Norwegian mall... in Sweden...).  About 14 of us went by bus from town, and then we got dropped off directly at the mall, and we went inside!  I got two plain t-shirts, some accessories like bobby pins and clips, candy (of course!), and some stuff I forgot to bring from USA that was a lot cheaper in Sweden to buy.  So, all in all - a good shopping trip! 

Then, we went to get back on the bus (only 10 now because Jørn picked up the other four) and we had missed it, so we called a taxi to come get us.  It was pretty epic although it doesn't sound like it here.  :):)

Trip to Halden

This morning I cancelled all of my credit and debit cards.  It really isn't fun, but I am going to call the bus station tomorrow morning when they open to see if they have my wallet.  I really, really hope they do! 

Around 12:30, we met up at the docks and went on a short trip up the fjord to a place where they have reconstructed and refurbished old norsk houses and such.  The trip was by foot, although we were all told that it was a boat trip.  We did a bit of hiking with the rotarians at the conference.  Before we went on the walk, we had fish soup with the rotarians. 

From there, we said goodbye to the Aussies and Michael, Kelly and I went on a boat-taxi up the fjord to another town and we got on a bus to Fredrikstad.  When we got there, we were told to either catch a bus to Halden or take the train.  Just as we arrived, we got a call from Tone, who told us that the train station was closed.  And then we checked the bus times and it said that there weren't any buses to Halden. 

Anway, after many calls back and forth to our contact in Halden and walking all over town, I finally decided to call Didrik's father, Svein, who I knew lived closeby.  I initially wanted to know if he knew how we could get there without all the hassle, and he ended up offering to drive us to Halden!  We met up with him and (stopped at McDonalds first hahaha) and he drove us all the way there!  We called Didrik, who I'm assuming he told to speak engelsk with someone he "couldn't understand," and he was so surprised when he figured out that it was me! 

So, now that Iæm here in Halden, there are about 20 of us and we went walking around... we are at an old military site!  Itæs so cool :)  We went up to the top of the hill and it was beautiful at night with all of the lights!  We took some group photos and had a lot of fun.  Now we're all sitting in the hallway of the rooms with our computers and we start classes tomorrow at 9 am.  :D 

Tønsberg Distrikkonferanse

Okay.  So this weekend is a blast so far :) 

On Friday I left school early to ride with a few rotarians over to the oldest city in Norway - Tønsberg - for the district 2290 conference!  All of us met up at a hotel in town and we, from there, split up into different host houses for the weekend.  Kelly (from California) and I are staying at Tone and Bjorn's house.  In our district, there are four Australians and three Americans.  We are: Noellen, Kelly, Michael, Zoe, Nik, Zak, and Boaz.  There are also a few re-bounds with us this weekend.  They went to USA, France, Spain...

Yesterday, we went back to the hotel and met up again around 9:30.  We pretty much stayed in one room alone and got ready for our entrance (which wasnæt for about 5 or 6 hours) and performance.  We had a lot of fun.  We all got to know each other and had a lot of fun planning for our performance.

About two hours before it was our turn at the conference, we went on a "tour" of Tønsberg.  It was a lot of fun and I will post pictures soon.  There are a lot of artifacts here!

After that, we got all of our blazers on and each took a flag (we had a ton of different flags, even though it was only Norsk, Amerikansk and Australian kids...), I had the American one, and we walked in to POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE.  (I am so sick of this song).  We got on stage and we introduced ourselves in Norwegian (it was a lot easier for the Australian kids because they have been here for seven months already, whereas Kelly, Michael and I have only been here for three weeks).  Then Zak played a song on the guitar (which was AWESOME) and I played - of course, piano man - on the piano.  They gave me this fancy "invisible" headset to use while I was playing and singing and I got to use a STEINWAY GRAND PIANO(!!!).  Then we said thank you and sang a song in Norwegian.  We had a standing ovation!!  I guess they really, really liked it :D  Everyone kept saying to us after that we were the best ones they've had at the district conference so far!

We walked around Tønsberg together in a group and then ate pizza with a rotarian at a pizza place right next to the water. 

Then we all got on a bus to Oskaræs house (he went to France as an exchange student two years ago) and watched some movie in Norsk about an elephant on crack - I kid you not.  I had no idea what was going on and it was very graphic, but funny.  Perhaps it was more funny because of the language barrier.  A few of Oskars friends came over too. 

Then when we went to leave, I noticed my wallet had either fallen out of my camera bag on the bus on the way to Oskars house or I accidentally just left it there - who knows!  We looked everywhere and called the bus station and police station but they said they didn't have it, so I have cancelled all of my cards, but am without an ID and money currently.  I'm pretty upset because I never do anything like this, especially when travelling.  Hopefully it is at the bus station today or Monday.  Cross your fingers!

3md klasse bilde

This is the third grade musikk department. If you can't tell, we had a klasse picture today!  We decided to do a picture as if we were "at the cinema"!! 

We had a lot of fun getting ready for this picture...  And, of course, being the new student I had to get an individual picture for a student card which allows me to access the diverse musikk rom.  It is a very secure place to practice seeing as it requires a key to get in, not to mention that we have a few classes down there.  So now, instead of knocking on the door EVERYTIME I need to get in the practice rooms, I can just use the cardkey!!!  Yay :D

A few notes that I forgot to mention so far:

-there are giant speed bumps EVERYWHERE!! 
-yogurt tastes different
-the elevators are normally PACKED full of people trying to get to the 4th and 5th floors of the school - we have gone over the weight limit more times than I can count seeing as we don't want to walk up the stairs every single time we change classes
-the teachers dress similarly to the students
-there is no dress code at school
-i miss the taste of milk in the usa  hahahahaha

Syk Dager

Yesterday I took it easy and didn't go to school.  A lot of people are getting sick from the autumn weather here in Norway.  It is sosososososososo cold in the mornings (like high 40s to low 50s) standing at the bus stop and gets up to about 60 Fahrenheit in the afternoon.  Either way, it is hotter where I come from in late-August/early-September.  On Monday after school, I had the worst headache/migraine I could imagine.  Everything was making it worse - light, sound, smell, everything!  I ended up trying to block all of it out while trying to help Jon with his homework and fell asleep on the couch next to him - for TWO HOURS.  When I was woken up, it was time for dance, which Solfrid wasn't going to because she had taken a sick day Monday.  I felt a little worse when I woke up, so I decided it would be best not to go.  I went to bed quite late because I took a "nap" in the afternoon and it resulted in feeling even WORSE in the morning.  Plus, I seemed to have slept through my alarm, so I didn't go to school.  I spent the day sleeping, drinking water and watching norsk TV.  Wooo...

I felt MUCH better as the day went on, so I concluded that it was the weather.  I was actually quite, almost, hyper when it was time to go to bed.  Solfrid was feeling much better by this time, too. 

School today was...normal...  We had a test today in our conducting class with Henrik.  I think he was impressed with how much knowledge and "skills" I have about conducting, seeing as I have a little more practice than everyone in the class.  I think I did fairly well on the test... :)  hopefully...  After that was free block and I hung out with Sondre in one of the practice rooms working on our composition projects until Alice found me and we walked to the grocery store (where she continued on to her driving lesson) where I bought more minutes for my phoneeeee. . .  the rest of the day was quite normal. 

Solfrid and I cleaned the house after having PASTAAAA for dinner :D  And then Jon went sugar crazy...  But it was a really fun day today :):)