EUROTOUR PART 1 and RUSSETID PART 1

RUSSETID PART 1:
Wednesday was the first day of RUSSETID!  We wore our russebuskene to school inside out, which was, by the way, really uncomfortable, but fun to see everyone in the matching pants.  Our first russeknut as a class was that we trapped a first grader in the bathroom - which was SO FUNNY. 

Right after school, Line, Mari, Håvard, Alice and I walked over to Meny to get brus for the night.  The entire walk (along with the entire day) was spent blowing our russ whistles and being a total annoyance to everyone around us.  The night was spent cooking hot dogs, being baptized by the russ priest, watching lots of drunks running around, going to Calle, and lots of dancing! 

We also got special names that we write on our russeluer (russ hats)... Alice is Tetris; Sondre is 7/8; Line is Englebarn; I'm Titt-titt... etc etc These names have to do with parts of our personalities or something funny that has happened to us.  Alice is Tetris because she plays Tetris a lot during class and is really good at it; Sondre is 7/8 because it's his favorite time signature; Line is englebarn because she is the angel child; and I'm Titt-titt ("peekabo" in Norwegian) because of something funny that happened with the word (you can only imagine how confused I was when my teacher was repeatedly saying "Titt-titt"...)

The next day I went to school after Line and Mari slept over and we got home around 2 AM with my SUITCASES to go to BERLIN TO BEGIN EUROTOUR!!!

EUROTOUR PART 1:
Miki, Nina, Victoria and I took the same train to Gardemoen Flyplass in Oslo to meet up with everyone to fly to Berlin.  We met up with Tove, or "Mom" as we call her, who kept track of us and stays with us throughout the entire trip.  The first exchanger we saw was Sara in the bathroom and then slowly we saw everyone else, got our tickets, checked our bags and went through security.  We ended up sitting around the terminal for a while because we were quite early, and then we were off.  Kate sat next to me for takeoff and later Miki sat with us because the lady next to Kate moved.  When we touched down in Berlin, we were ecstatic!!! 

We rolled our suitcases through the airport to the bus where we met our busdriver and boarded the bus for the first time.  We drove a bit through the city and went to the hostell, which was especially for internationals.  We found out after we ate dinner of sandwiches that there was a large group of Rotary kids who are living in Germany this year, also visiting Berlin.  I immediately thought of Shannon, from my district, who is living in Germany this year, but she wasn't there because they were split up into different larger groups.  I was in a room with Monica, Kate and Connie at that hostell - a room with bunkbeds. 

The next morning we drove around the city for a long time where we saw so many interesting things, but the coolest thing was our guide!  He was originally from California and he was just plain hilarious as well as interesting.  We had lunch in the end of the tour, strogenoff, which was delicious.  After our tour was over, we went around shopping for a few hours before dinner.  Kate and I went alone and got some things that we really "needed".  Dinner was in the hostell and then a bunch of us went to the park and played some games before we came back and went to bed. 

We woke up pretty early the next day to start driving to Dresden.  When we got on the bus, we found out that one of the kids was sick, so they were going to stay in Berlin in the hospital with one of our chaperones.  We left to go to Dresden after that.

The drive was quite normal and slow.  We sang some songs on the bus, played some games, slept, etc etc.  When we arrived in Dresden, we got out and walked around a castle with Gunther showing us around.  Then we stopped for lunch and had cabbage, bread and meat for lunch in a "traditional" German restaurant. We boarded the bus after that for Prague!

Our hotel in Prague is quite like a hostell - communal bathrooms and only hand towels provided.  I'm rooming with Miki, Connie and Jessica.  Last night we settled in and ate food at a restaurant that we walked up to through the woods.  We had two kinds of pork with cheese on top and lots of potatoes.  Afterward we had some AMAZING banana-flavored icecream, thanks to Gunther! :D

We woke up and ate breakfast together and boarded the bus into the city.  We walked around a lot of the city and saw some amazing sights.  We got to see the changing of the guards in front of one of the castles and took lots of pictures.  We had lunch together in a restaurant in the city and then we had a few hours to shop.  Kate and I bought lots of stuff along with checking out the wax museum... what a waste of 3 euros!  We got some local foods and had some Starbucks before meeting up again with everyone.  We took the subway to a bus station then a bus to the bottom of the hill where our hotel is.  We walked up, had an hour to do whatever, then we all ate dinner together at the same place again.

Tomorrow we're on our way to Vienna! 

(I'll add photos when I get good internet!)

To Tønsberg!

In my class at school, 3mdm (third class, music line), the majority of us are from outside of the city of Larvik.  Almost every person lives in "Larvik" but some don't even live inside the borders.  Line and Mari live in Tønsberg, which is about 40 minutes away from Larvik.  I have been there numerous times with Rotary and whatnot, but never to actually visit them... until yesterday/today!

I've been planning on visiting Tønsberg to see Line and Mari for a long time, so I can't believe it only recently worked out!  For those of you who understood what Mari wrote on my blog a week or two ago, she said that she wanted me to visit her and Line over Påskeferien, so we immediately planned it.

Else Britt drove me to Tønsberg to the Berulfsen home and we sat outside in the beautiful sun for a while.  We have had the greatest weather in Larivk for the past two or three weeks.  Lately we have had temperatuers in the low 20s Celsius (high 60s, low 70s Fahrenheit) which has been a fantastic transition from winter!  When we got inside, we ate dinner with their family who is extremely nice.  Then afterward, Because of the good weather, we went on a walk to their old school and around the neighborhood and bought ice cream and chocolate.  Then we took a short hike up into the woods where we looked for trolls and saw a beautiful view over a bit of Tønsberg.

We then watched Oppdrag Nemo på norsk (Finding Nemo in Norwegian).  We used subtitles in Norwegian as well, which did not match what they were saying at all, but Line and Mari figured that it was because they made the subtitles directly from the spoken English of the movie.  Soon Håvard called (Håvard is another person in the class who does not live in Larvik - he lives in Horten, which is 20 minutes farther away than Tønsberg) and he and his three brothers came over (they are quadruplets).  We sat around and talked and watched Pirates of the Caribbean until pretty late. 

The next morning we ate breakfast and watched a little TV and took the bus into town!  Mari, Line and I were matching; we had our russegenser (russ sweatshirts) on, Converses and "Ray Bean" sunglasses.  When we got to town, we walked through all of the shoe stores in a mall and then walked into the main part of town.  We stopped and got Happy Meals and ice cream from McDonalds.  While we were waiting in line to order, it seemed like everyone was staring at me while I was talking, so I said in English, "Why is everyone staring at me?" And everyone turned back around, so I was right!  The girls said they noticed it too... It was so weird!  I never get looks like that at school when I'm waiting in line in the katina for food! 

From there we walked up to a market square and I starting getting "flashbacks" from my weekend in Tønsberg with Rotary in September.  We started looking at more Ray Bean modelled sunglasses and after we walked away, we all said we wanted a pair, so we turned back.  I asked him how much they cost in Norwegian and he replied, "femti", which means fifty kroner, but I didn't hear him so I asked the girls and they didn't know either, so the man replied in English, which I thought was histerical because the twins are not native English speakers.  So we stood there picking out sunglasses and the man looks at me and asks, "Snakker du norsk?" "Do you speak Norwegian?" And I said, "Ja..." So he went on to say that his daughter is our age and is an exchange student in USA so we could take all three pairs of sunglasses together for 100 kroner.  We ended up spending about six dollars on a pair of pretty good sunglasses, thanks to me being an exchange student ;)  hahaha!

We spent the rest of the day up on Slottsfjellet (the castle mountain) taking pictures and soaking up the sun.  We walked back down into the town and got some godteri (candy) and walked to the train station where we met up wth Nina from Australia.  We walked around and talked for a while, then I was back on the train home to Larvik. 

Everytime I move in Norway, there is a day or two in which I am not home afterwards.  It's always that returning home that "seals the deal" with my host family.  If it feels nice to "come home" to "my bed", I know I feel at home.  It also depends on how the family reacts to my return.  All three have been koselig, so I have nothing to worry about.  :D

On Wednesday (only two days away!) I leave for Eurotour!!!  We're going to Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Venice, Lyon, Paris and London by bus until May 10th.  Tomorrow is the first day of Russetid for us at THVS, so I'm really looking forward to that.  We're having a kro that's called "Vrengekro" where we have to wear our Russebuske inside out to school and then we're "baptized" by the russeprest and we go to Calle for the night.  I'm very excited!!

Rekkevik

Påskeferien has been absolutely wonderful.  It's a nice break from school (not like I haven't already had a bunch of those...) and it's an introduction into the week before Easter. 

Friday was extra special because a bunch of us went grilling on the beach and after that, it was onto the Easter activities, plus a few extra things.

Some of the family came to visit, including young children.  It is very cool to understand and be able to communicate with the younger kids, because when I first arrived I had no idea what they were saying.  It really helps that I had the younger ballet classes with Nina and Karoline, because if I can understand the dozen kids running around and yelling, then I can understand two or three. 

Sunday night I went to a birthday party for Linke and her friend Andrea.  We rode on the trailer of a tractor into the woods and cooked hot dogs.  Then we came inside and ate tons of cake, boobie-styled cupcakes, ice cream, chips, soda, etc etc.  It was so much fun!!! 

Monday was spent outside on the porch with Helle and Trond's family sunbathing and reading.  The weather has just been so deilig.

There was always new candy in the giant Easter egg in the kitchen because the Easter bunny came everyday.

Tuesday was my last full day on Langestrand at Helle and Trond's house.  It was very bittersweet as the day was spent packing.  I also got sick of packing and watched Star Trek and Rat Race.  We had a very nice dinner of steak as our last dinner together with me as the exchange student. 

Wednesday (yesterday) was also spent packing and getting everything together to move to Rekkevik with the Bugges.  As soon as we pulled up with the car I started getting teary because I knew I had to say goodbye.  Helle and Line dropped me off and they were a bit teary as well. 

My new host family is: Harald, host dad; Else Britt, host mom; and Charlotte, host sister (19).  They live "across the fjord" from Langestrand, but close enough to the school that I think I will be biking everyday.  They have a dog named Toffy, seven birds and two goldfish.  It really feels like home with the pets! 

I was shown around the house, had the normal first day/night questions answered, skyped with my grandma and Lauren and I started unpacking.  But I didn't get very far before Charlotte and I started to get ready to go out to Calle for the night.  It was the 18 and over night at Calle last night and it was a blast.  I was so tired from yesterday that I just fell asleep when I got home. 

Here's a picture of me with Charlotte before we went out.

--------

One of the most difficult but rewarding things a Rotary exchange student does is switch host families.  Although it really sucks to have to pack up EVERYTHING and move across town and start over with another family, you gain such a greater understanding of how the culture works in the country and your family grows bigger.  I know there are very big differences between my three families, but there are also many things that are the same that define the Norwegian culture.  I am very lucky to have had so many host siblings - five in total.  I have had three younger, one the same age and now one older than me.  I have also had host parents with very different jobs and social lives.  On another note, I am so lucky to have the friends I have made in Norway.  I just can't wait for my mom and Bauer to come to Norway and meet all of these amazing people. 

So, here's to another new beginning living in Rekkevik next to the beach...  and here's to only SIX DAYS before Eurotour!!!!!!!!

griller på stranda

Yes, I'm posting AGAIN this week... 

Today was the last day of school before PÅSKEFERIEN or the Easter Break! 

In our first class, I brought in apple pie that I made last night.  It was a pretty good hit, I think...  :D 

Henrik gave us an "Easter quiz" which was in teams of three to four about genres of music, composers, periods of time, etc etc.  It was a lot of fun!  Normally in Norway, the team that wins these quizzes is the only team to get a prize (normally chocolate of some sort), but Henrik was sooooo nice and got little easter eggs full of godteri (candy) for all the teams! 

The rest of the day was pretty normal except that we were planning to grill hot dogs on the beach!  Line, Mari, Linnke, Håvard, Dina, Alice and I went to the beach down next to Farris Bad after school and cooked hot dogs and had it very koselig. 

Besides almost catching Håvard's head on fire while trying to light the grill, it was a pretty successful day!  It's days like these that make me realize that I have made lifelong friendships with these people here in Norway.  When we first walked down to the beach, I began reminiscing about the first week in Norway when we (the music line) went to the beach and I didn't really know anybody.  I felt a little bit outside for the most part, but now I feel like a part of the gang.  On that day at the beach in August, I never thought that I would be running around, falling, rolling on the ground, jumping around with these classmates.  Here I am!  I have made strong friendships and ......... had a GREAT DAY AT THE BEACH!  hahaha I WON'T talk about leaving.  I WON'T! 

Hilsen fra Mari

Noellen, du er rå, pen, kul, snill + tusen andre positive ting! Jeg er utrolig glad i deg, og veldig glad for at du dro hit til Norge for å gå i klasse med oss :-) Jeg er veldig glad i deg, og orker nesten ikke å tenke på den dagen du må dra fra oss! Først, skal vi få flere fine måneder sammen og ikke minst feire russetiden sammen :) Jeg er stolt av deg, og veldig glad i deg!

Klem fra Mari

(Noellen glemte å logge av bloggen sin!)

Påskeferien og gjesteinnlegg (8 months in norway!)

Today, eight months ago, I arrived at the Gardemoen Flyplass in Oslo after a long trip. 

Gjesteinnlegg av Mari Berulfsen:
Påske i Norge!
I Norge, har alle som går på skolen påskeferie en gang mellom April og Mai. Tidligere, har jeg pleid å dra på hyttetur i påskeferien, for å gå på ski og spise kvikklunsj, men de siste årene har jeg vært hjemme og slappet av. På påskeaften, pleier barna å få påske-egg. Påske-eggene er laget av papp, og "påskeharen" fyller det med godteri. I påskeferien skal Noellen komme på besøk til oss(Line og Mari), hvis hun får tid :-)

God påskeferie, til dere som har det!

Guest post by Mari Berulfsen:
Easter in Norway!
In Norway, everyone who goes to school has Easter vacation between April and May.  Earlier, I used to go on a cabin trip during Easter vacation to go skiing and eat kvikklunsj, but the last few years I have been at home and relaxing.  On Easter, it is usual that kids get Easter eggs.  Easter-eggs are made of  cardboard and the "Easter Bunny" fills it with candy.  During Easter vacation, Noellen will come to visit us (Line and Mari), if she gets time :-)

Have a good Easter vacation, to those who have it!

Påskeferien starts Friday after school.  I haven't heard very much about Easter in Norway yet, but I know I will as the days go on.  I've seen many giant easter eggs in stores around town, but I'm used to having an Easter basket!  I guess the theme is essentially the same - kids get lots of candy from the Easter bunny!

I really haven't heard about the religious aspect (the fact that it is a Christian holiday...) so I couldn't tell you whether or not people go to church on Easter in Norway.  ...

What I CAN do, is talk about what is normal at home for me.  Growing up, we would go to my elementary school or the recreation center a few days before Easter for a giant Easter egg hunt!  This was always so exciting because there would be little plastic eggs all over the place with lots of chocolate and sometimes money inside (or at least that was the rumor). 

Also, more recently, we go to the "sunrise service" up at Killington Peak.  "The Beast of the East" would have a limited number of seats to ride up the gondola up to Killington Peak for a service that started roughly around 6-7 AM, as the sun rises over the mountain.  I am normally asked to play the piano at the service, but I guess I can't this year!  The best part about the ride up and the service was that my mom and dad, and other who would never buy season tickets to ski at Killington, could take a free run down the mountain after the service was over.  Two years ago, I arrived at the service with my hair, makeup and nails from prom the night before!  I went to bed around 4:30 and woke up at 6... I wasn't a happy camper.

It has always felt like such a nice, neatly knit community at home when we had the service; a couple hundred people all packed into one room with music and readings...

Another cool thing, which I'm not sure if it still happens or not at Killington since it has been bought, is that they would hide Easter eggs around the ski area and one or two would have a free season pass for the upcoming year!  That was always exciting to hear about.

benjerrys.com

On another note... I MISSED FREE CONE DAY AT BEN AND JERRY'S YESTERDAY!  There is actually a new scoop shop in Oslo on Karl Johans Gata and Devin and Abby gloated about getting free icecream.  Didrik and Catherine went too, heldiggrisene!  I was telling everyone here how special that day is at home.  Nearly everyone knows that it is free cone day in Vermont.  I remember many times when we would go get our free cones right after dance class was over and the line would be SOO long!  But, it was always worth it :D



http://www.virtuousplanet.com/holidaytshirts

NOTE: a lot of people do go to church on Easter in Norway, and I will talk about that in the near future :D

Russeknuter for THVS 2011 :D

1 24 timer (86 400 sekunder) uten å sove KNUTE


2 72 timer (3døgn) uten å sove SVART SLØYFE

3 Sitte under pulten en hel skoletime LINJAL

4 Be om sextips fra moren til en medruss SIKKERHETSNÅL

5 Gå med brød som sko en del skoledag EN BRØDSKORPE

6 Bade ute før 1.mai ISPINNE

7 Drikke en kasse 0,33 – litere på 24 timer (kan være helsefarlig og bør ikke utføres hvis du ikke har erfaring med alkohol) ØLKORK

8 Få autograf og mobilnummer. Til 10 personer du har klint med EN LEPOMADE

9 5 minutters poledance på en lyktestolpe, på et folksomt sted MONOPOL – SEDDEL

10 Drikke en halv liter mens du sitter/står og tisser BOKS SPLINTEN

11 Kysse en politimann/dame (spør først) SEIGMANN/DAME

12 Still klokka fem timer frem og lev etter den tiden i et døgn TIMEGLASS

13 Reise seg hvert femte minutt i en skoletime og rope: ”skål” CHAMPAGNE GLASS I PLAST

14 Ha på russebuksa hver dag gjennom hele russetiden BUKSESPENNE

15 Sette en ”L” bakpå en politibil RØD ”L” PÅ HVIT BAKGRUNN

16 Drikk en 0,33 – liter uten hender eller assistanse ETIKETTEN

17 Gå med en annen russ i håndjern en hel skoledag LITEN NØKKEL

18 Svare med å lese høyt fra et pornoblad med stor innlevelse når læreren spør om noe faglig i timen PORNOBILDE

19 Kline med et medlem av Russestyret GODTERILEPPE

20 Ha sikker sex med et medlem av Russestyret KONDOM

21 Ha sikker sex med president eller visepresident i Russestyret CHAMPAGNEKORK

22 Ha sikker sex utendørs KONGLE

23 Gå med 8 nyåpne wunderbaum rundt halsen en hel dag WUNDERBAUM

24 Kline med en førstiss LITEN SMOKK

25 Kline med en russ av samme kjønn ROSA FJÆR

26 Sitte en hel skoletime kun iført undertøy TRUSELAPP

27 Servere en uteligger en Big Mac PLASTKRUS

28 Kjøre 10 runder i en rundkjøring (tut hvis nødvendig) LEKEBIL

29 Spise en burger på to biter BIT AV INNPAKNINGEN

30 Drikke en flaske vin på 40 minutter (kan være helsefarlig og bør ikke utføres hvis du ikke har erfaring med alkohol) VINKORK

31 Være edru gjennom hele russetiden SOLOKORK

32 Være aktiv i en hel førsteklassetime (på videregående) BOKBIND

33 Forsøk å få en gjenstand til å sveve. Konsentrer deg om dette i 15min TRYLLESTAV

34 Spise en pose med ostepop, for så å kline med en medruss. Tyggis og lignende er tillatt. EN OSTEPOPP

35 Beholde Russelappen gjennom hele russetiden RUSSELAPPEN

36 Få signatur på brystet fra et medlem av russestyret BONBON – PUPP

37 Bade to – og – to i en badebalje utenfor skolen, å vaske og skrubbe hverandre med øm hånd BADEAND

38 Flørte åpenlyst med læreren i timen og takke for i går HJERTE I SKOLEPAPIR

39 Være på skolen hver dag i russetiden ET KAKELYS

40 Dele en kasse 0,33 – litere i en telefonboks med tre medruss, uten å tisse. BIT AV GULE SIDER

41 Gå med en oppblåsbar dokke på et kjøpesenter og late som om det er kjæresten din MINI DUKKE

42 Kjøpe en HappyMeal mens man kjører handlevogn (som leveren tilbake) gjennom Drive-In på McDonalds HAPPYMEAL – LEKE

43 Late som du er en selger ditt eget russekort et folksomt sted DITT EGET RUSSEKORT

44 Spandere en kebab på et medlem av Russestyret SIGNERT KEBABPAPIR

45 Dumpe kjæresten en uke før russetiden BRUTT LENKE

46 Kline med en bror eller søster til en venn (over 16år) BALLONG

47 Svelge en proteinbar (I den seksuelle betydningen av ordet) PAPIR AV PROTEINBAR

48 Ha radarkontroll med hårføner og refleksvest i 30 – sonen. REFLEKS

49 Gå hånd – i – hånd med en annen russ i en butikk, glise bredt og kjøpe vaselin VASELINBOKS

50 Start morgenen med frokostblanding blandet med øl, vin eller cider i stedet for melk. PAPPBIT FRA FROKOSTBLANDING

51 Putte 2 tamponger i munnviken og drikke en halvliter TAMPONG

52 Ringe på 10 ulike husstander å spørre pent om de vil vær med ut å rulle RINGEKLOKKE

53 Ha sikker sex under menstrasjon / med noen som har det LITEN LEKE BRANNBIL

54 Leke James Bond en hel skoledag. Snike seg rundt en hel dag i ekte spion stil. LEKEPISTOL

55 Leie en Postmann Pat-film og ta en slurk hver gang han bomgirer BIT AV KONVOLUTT

56 Krabbe minst 10 russ over hele Låga-brua. RØD STOFF BIT

57 Si ”HÆÆ” for alt læreren sier en time KORS

58 Melde seg for politiet for epleslang PLASTEPLE

59 Ha kjæreste hele russetiden BIT AV KJETTING

60 Løpe igjennom en bil mens den stopper på rødt lys BIT AV MENTOS PAPIR

61 Kjøre en dritings 1.-klassing hjem til foreldrene, og vekke foreldrene GRØNN SEIGMANN

62 Naken under russedressen en hel skoledag Rosa post-its lapp

63 Løpe en runde rundt i kantina iført kun undertøy DAGENSKVITERING

64 Fri til en vaskedame i midttimen. ZALOKORT

65 Gå minst 10 russ i tog bak fremmed person i 10 min. BILDE AV PERSONEN

66 Kjøre inn på polet/butikk på trehjulsykkel/sparkesykkel eller leketraktor for å så spørre en av de ansatte etter en styrepils. KOPI AV SERTIFIKAT.


67 Gutter: To stykker leier hverandre inn i en matbutikk og kjøper vaselin eller babyolje

Jenter: Gå alene inn i en matbutikk og kjøpe agurk, vaselin/babyolje og kondomer VASELINBOKS/BABYOLJE
68 Svare feil på alle spørsmål fra lærere en hel dag (samtidig være aktiv) KRITT

69 Kjøre naken igjennom Mc-Driven og kjøpe milkshake. MC-DONALDS SALTPOSE.

70 Smøre milkshaken utover hele brystet (Ta denne mens du tar knute 70.)) SUGERØR

71 Shotte et shotglass med Tabasko og ikke spise eller drikke på 60 minutter. TABASCO ETTIKETT

72 Få hjelp av dine medruss til å samle sammen en mengde kjønnshår. Fest så dette til ansiktet med klebende middel og sitt med ditt nye helskjegg i en hel skoletime. BARBERBLAD

73 Drikke en øl mens man står opp ned ET SUGERØR

74 Få en hederlig omtale i media BIT AV AVIS

75 Date med en lærer i kantina LITEN ROSE

76 Strippe til kun undertøy foran et gruppe rom BIT AV EN G-STRENG

77 Ha sex med 2 andre samtidig VARSELTREKANT

78 Om morgenen, legg den inn i sengen til søstra/broren til en medruss, legg deg i spon for så å vekke dem og takke for gårsdagen. SKJEEN TIL EN GODMORGEN – YOGHURT

79 Få kjæreste i russetiden RØD BLYANT

80 Få signatur på brystet fra et medlem av Russestyret BONBON – PUPP

81 Sitte en hel skoletime kun iført undertøy TRUSELAPP

82 Rote med mer enn 5 personer i løpet av én kveld RIMI – POSE

83 Sex med 1 klassing SMOKK

84 Kline med 1 klassing i 20 sek RØD KJÆRLIGHET

85 Gå barbeint 48 timer i strekk SURE FØTTER

86 Si nei en hel skoledag EN LAPP MED NEI PÅ

87 2 liter is på 2 min (hint:flytende) PLASTSKJE

88 Ha en seriøs samtale med en lyktestolpe i 10min LYSPÆRE

89 Spise en hel jarlsberg ost (2kilo), på en dag ETIKETTEN

90 Spørre om røyk fra en førsteklassing, ta i mot røyken og knekk den, så si at røyken er usunt. FILTERET

91 For gutter: Skifte ut russebuksa med joggebukse i ett storefri og spise nok viagra til at ”junior” står og svarer fint inni joggebuksen foran resten av skolen (det er tillatt at en kvinnelig russ gir en hjelpende hånd for vedvarende reisning.) LITEN PILLE

92 Fylle opp et grupperom med første og andre klassinger. KINDEREGG LEKE

93 Delta på ”krefttak mot kreft” KREFTTAK MOT KREFT, LITEN BØTTE

94 Bade før 1.April MR. FREEZE PAPIR

95 Ha seksualundervisning for en førsteklasse, samt demonstrere bevegelsene i praksis. LITEN BLOMST

96 Spise en hel kebab på 10 min uten å bruke hendene eller få hjel p fra andre PLASTGAFFEL

97 Gå i en butikk hvor det allerede er salg og prute på varen (må få kjøpt varen med prutet pris) KVITTERING

98 Ha en hjemmefest, hvor over 50 russ besøker festen PLASTGLASS

99 Brenne russebuksa på 17. Mai LIGHTER

100 Ikke oppdatere en facebook status i løpet av russetiden EN TASTATURKNAPP

101 Være edru en hel helg etter russetider starter FARRISKORK

102 Være utstillingmodell på Nordbyn i glassvinduene mot Narvesen BILDE AV UTSTILLINGEN

103 Ønske alle velkommen på skolen fra 08.00 – 08.30 EURO

104 Ha random telefonsex i kantina i storefri på skolen FÅ EN LAPP MED NUMMERET TIL DEN DU RINGTE

105 Gå med ”hvilken siden du er på” bånd, gjennom hele russetiden. ARMBÅNDET

106 Se på terkel i knipe, og ta en slurk hver gang det bannes i filmen. BILDE AV TERKEL

107 Se på russerevyen REVYBILLETTEN

108 Ha politiets ti bud i russebilen igjennom hele russetiden. LYSEBLÅ STOFF BIT




For those of you at home, too bad :P  Use google translate if you're wondering what any of these mean. 
 
If you don't know what this is, visit the Russefeiring blog post as a reference! 
 
Only 16 days until EUROTOUR!!

ei KOSELIG uke :D og ShelterBox

Let's see...  This week was quite normal (there's that word again).  Wednesday we only had last block and Thursday we didn't had school because the music teachers were in Oslo for a conference.  Wednesday, I slept in, but Thursday I went to school and then to the train station to meet up with Miki!  She lives in Sandefjord which is only 12 minutes by train from Larvik.  She came to my school to see how incredible it is, played guitar, piano and the drums and we chilled for a while.  I showed her all around town to give her a sense of Larvik, we got some pizza and then we made ourselves koselig at home for a few hours while missing the last train back to Sandefjord.  xD

A bit later that night, KATE ARRIVED!  Kate lives in Gjøvik and she came down to visit.  We went to the last two blocks of school on Friday (my guilt for skipping always catches up with me) which were quite boring for her, but then we walked all over town with Sondre and Martine.  We went to the beach, to Bølgen, etc. 

The next day I had to be with my district in Rotary to meet with the outbounds!  I think the number was 13 outbounds with only six inbounds in our district.  Hopefully they will have more inbounds next year!  It was quite uneventful, but we met a bunch of cool kids and one of them will be in St. Louis next year, so hopefully we can meet up while I'm at college!  Luckily, Tone, our district chairman, let us (the inbounds) go out for a walk so we weren't totally bored and we looked all around Porsgrunn.  It was quite small and we didn't find anything to do, so we bought some Norsk sweets and went back to the hotel to drink out sodas and have chocolate and gum. 

Kate and I generally spent the most of our time together KOS-ing.  We made our own meals, mostly, and watched a lot of movies.  It was so nice to just cuddle up on the couch with a fellow North American.  Cuddling in Norway doesn't seem to have the same meaning as at home because we are much closer at home when it comes to sitting on the couch with our friends.  That is definitely something that I miss!

 At the conference, Miki and I were the only ones who had to talk about our lives in Norway, but I realized that I understand so much more about Norway as well as Norwegian.  I remember Tone having me stand up and talk many times before, but it has been a few months since the last time I was with our district alone, so I forgot how difficult it was back then!  This time when she was asking me questions and having me answer them infront of everyone, I was at ease.  As most people know, I don't have too big of a problem talking to a group of people or performing for an audience, but when you throw in a language barrier, becoming flustered happens quite easily - but is also laughed off just as easily.  Tone was asking Miki many questions very quickly to where even I would have had to think a few extra seconds before answering (Tone has a different dialekt on top of it), and a few times I ended up translating it for her as she gave the Rotary smile...  (Rotary smile is "nod and smile even if you don't understand", essentially)  I was TRANSLATING for her!  How amazing is that?  I never would have guessed that I could (almost) accurately translate for someone after eight months in Norway.  Miki is very good at Norwegian for only being here a few months, but at the same time, spending only a couple of months in Norway doesn't make you fluent, especially when it comes to different dialects.  I felt very good about my presentation, even if my grammar wasn't perfect (unnskyld, Sondre) and I didn't have any hesitation.  We also talked about ShelterBox and what Miki, Nina and I are going to do to help. 



from http://www.staffordrotary.org/



For those of you in and around the Larvik - Sandefjord - Tønsberg area: Miki, Nina og jeg skal lage og selge vafler til å fordel Rotary med ShelterBox.  Hvis noen har forslag eller vil hjelpe oss, send meg en melding eller skriv en kommentar på dette inlegg.  Jeg har en venn som var i Japan som utvekslingsstudent i år så har jeg hørt mange historier om katastrofen at skjedde.  Egentlig, vi har alle hørte om katastrofen som skjedde i Japan for en måned siden, og nå har du sjansen å hjelp.  Hvis dere kan hjelpe oss og spise mange vafler, da kan vi hjelpe Rotary å lage Shelterboxes for ofrene i Japan.  Les her om dere ikke har hørt om Rotary International og hva de gjør. 

For those of you at home or around the world: please read about ShelterBox by clicking the link above or contact your local Rotary club to see what you can do to help!

the first spring flowers I've seen in Norway!

EXTRA NOTE:  While Kate and I were sitting around (thinking no one else had arrived to the conference yet, but were actually downstairs), we talked to an outbound boy, and he thought we were there for the orientation as outbounds as well!!  HE THOUGHT WE WERE NORWEGIAN!!! :D (Meaning, our Norwegian is that good) :):):)

Daddy :)

I just wanted to say that I love you, Daddy!

Don't hide yourself in regret; just love yourself and you're set :D

One day at a time!

Sorrow looks back; worry looks ahead; faith looks up!

Love is less a feeling than a thousand tiny acts of kindness.

We are not failing as long as we are trying. 



"No man is a failure who has friends!"

As much as I wish that paper could have just been ripped up, I know that you have the friends and family that George had - actually better friends and family.

WE LOVE YOU!!!  NEVER FORGET THAT!!!



xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo times infinity!!  See you soon :)

Just a little laugh xD