On Friday I took the train up to Oslo to spend a weekend with Didrik, Cathrine, Devin and other exchangers. When I got to Oslo S, I met up with Devin, although it was only for a half hour. We walked down Karl Johan and bought Ben & Jerry's, of course! Then I was picked up by Didrik at Oslo S.
We met up with Cathrine and a friend at an Italian restaurant. From there we walked around and got more ice cream! Then we finally made it up to the apartment and had a koselig evening with The Office, godteri and sørlands chips.
The next day was the Outbound Orientation for all the students in Norway who are going out with Rotary in August to be exchange students. Didrik and I got there a little early, so we walked over and up the Opera house. We were at the Thon Hotell for most of the day right next to the train station, but we were fed good food and dessert and we met some great people as well as saw Gunter, Morten, Tone, etc, again. After lunch, Connie and Sara showed up to join Devin, Nina and me in a presentation about being in Norway this year.
Didrik also gave a presenation right before us about what it was like to be in USA as an exchange student and what all the kids should do to make their year the best it can possibly be. He also mentioned that I was here in Norway ten years after I was his host sister down in a little town in Vermont called Killington. Afterward, I was told by a lot of outbound exchange students from Norway that they hoped they could have such a good relationship with their host family like we do.
Before we went up to talk, Devin, Connie, Nina, Sara and I went into a room to discuss and write down all of our options about what we could present. We had a long list by the time it was our turn to go up, but they had run out of time, so we only talked for about 10 minutes; we were supposed to have 30. Afterward, we had group meetings - America and Canada, Australia, Ecuador, etc... The inbound students (us), the rebound students (Didrik, and those who have been exchange students) talked with the outbound students with rotarians and without rotarians. I remember how helpful it was to ask the rebounds about certain things without adults in the room. I'm glad we did that here in Norway as well.
After the meeting was over, Connie, Sara, Devin and I (Nina took the train home) met up with Sara's host mom and sister, Francisco and another exchange student from his school. Francisco was leaving the next day to return to Ecuador after a year in Norway as a Rotary Exchange Student, so we all said goodbye to him after a half hour because he had to return home to pack and go to a final party. The rest of us walked over to Aker Brygge and walked through Karl Johan where there were tons of concerts and games going on (it was Musikkensdag in Oslo on Saturday).
As we were walking down Aker Brygge, I saw everyone moving out of the way for someone on the other side of the walkway... I thought it was really weird, so I wanted to see what was going on. A guy with a violin case over his shoulder and very fancy luggage was walking through the mobs of people...I realized right away that it was ALEXANDER RYBAK (see
this post where I explain a little bit about him and why he's famous). I told Devin who told Sara and Connie who all didn't believe me... so we all ran down Aker Brygge looking for him, and finally spotted him getting on a ferry. We ran down and asked to take a picture with him. When Connie asked, he asked if we were Danish... nope!
Soon after, Devin and I said goodbye to them, bought some Grandiosa frozen pizza, some pizza bites, Sørlands Chips and Coca Cola and went up to Didrik and Cathrine's apartment. They were out watching Seinfeld at Telenor Arena, so we just fixed dinner and watched some TV. Then Håvard was in Oslo because he had a bunch of concerts this weekend, so he came out to Grunerlokka and watched Austin Powers with us. Didrik and Cathrine came back around 1:30 AM and we Skyped with my mom around 2 AM.
The next day, we had a late start. Devin and I met up around 2:45 PM and we went to Frogner's Park for Hafslunds Miljøfestival, which was a festival for kids to learn about conserving energy and a big music festival. Did I mention that Håvard's band, Mhoo, was playing there as well as huge names in Norway like Erik og Kriss and the CC Cowboys? Mhoo var utrolig fantastisk! We also got to see these really famous artists and Stian B. Simonsen who was in all of our history class films this year and is a well known host around Norway. All in all.. it was a pretty good day ;)
I said goodbye to Devin as we left from Oslo S and Didrik and Cathrine drove me to the train station again, where I ran to catch the train, and just made it, although because I didn't buy a ticket beforehand, I had to pay 20 kr. extra -.-" oh well! At least I made it! :D
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but in Norway, it was really weird if someone talks to you at a buss stop or on a train... One time earlier this week, I was getting ready to take the bus to school and a girl at the bus stop started talking to me, and it was really uncomfortable, whereas, if I was in USA; I would gladly talk to the person next to me. When I first arrived in Norway, it was very strange for me that people didn't talk to each other in line or at the bus stop, but it's been that way for so long now, that when that girl started talking to me, I just wanted to stand there in silence. Yesterday on the train ride back, I had to call people in Larvik to make sure someone could pick me up from the train station, and the guy sitting across from me heard my American accent and started talking to me. Again, I just didn't want to talk to him and I thought he was really weird for wanting to talk to me. Then I realized after talking to him for a few minutes, that he had been to the states before, so he understood our culture that we talk to each other in public even if we don't know each other, so he figured that, becuase I was American, I wouldn't find it weird. ... He thought wrong! I was weirded out! Jeg har blitt norsk!!! To stop talking to him, I turned on my computer and talked to Line for the rest of the train ride HAHAHA. It's weird to think that I was trying to talk to people on the elevator in school just a few months ago and now I find it weird if someone is talking to me on a public train!
Håper at dere har hatt en fin helg! :D <3
MOMMY AND BAUER COME TO NORWAY IN TEN DAYS!!!! JEG GLEDER MEG!!!!!!
After the meeting was over, Connie, Sara, Devin and I (Nina took the train home) met up with Sara's host mom and sister, Francisco and another exchange student from his school. Francisco was leaving the next day to return to Ecuador after a year in Norway as a Rotary Exchange Student, so we all said goodbye to him after a half hour because he had to return home to pack and go to a final party. The rest of us walked over to Aker Brygge and walked through Karl Johan where there were tons of concerts and games going on (it was Musikkensdag in Oslo on Saturday). 
The next day, we had a late start. Devin and I met up around 2:45 PM and we went to Frogner's Park for Hafslunds Miljøfestival, which was a festival for kids to learn about conserving energy and a big music festival. Did I mention that Håvard's band, Mhoo, was playing there as well as huge names in Norway like Erik og Kriss and the CC Cowboys? Mhoo var utrolig fantastisk! We also got to see these really famous artists and Stian B. Simonsen who was in all of our history class films this year and is a well known host around Norway. All in all.. it was a pretty good day ;)
Also yesterday, I was in Svarstad for a Rotary meeting. There was a problem about how I would go to Svarstad because the bus after school gets there about two to three hours before the meeting started and the second bus that goes there would arrive fifteen minutes after the meeting started. Plus, if I took the first bus to Svarstad, I would have no idea where i was going when I got there! I am very lucky that Per Henning lives in Svarstad because when I told him my problem he said that I could just come over and chill at his house and that he would take me to the meeting. PH and I took the bus to Svarstad, which took almost an hour because, not only of the distance and stops, but because there was a bicycle race going on that day on the main road, so traffic was a little backed up. As we got closer to where he lives, outside looked more and more like where I come from in Vermont. Svarstad also has a downhill skiing center, just like Killington, so it really felt like home being in a ski town. We ate dinner and went upstairs to watch TV and talk. It was extremely koselig! I had a lot of fun :) From there he drove me into Svarstad to show me the little town and to the building where my meeting was. 
