første dag på skole!

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL! (yesterday)

Wake up time: 6:45
Breakfast: 7:00 (all together)
Busset: 7:45
Skolen starter: 8:30

I am taking many different classes, but all the classes are with the same "third graders".  Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining at all!  I am taking part in the last year of videregående skole in Norge, which essentially means: I am a senior again.  In videregående skole, the students are already asked which career path they would like to take.  I, in this case, am going on the career path towards musikk.  This means I hang out in the musikk department of the GIANT school.  (By the way, did I mention this school has FIVE FLOORS and 1700 students??)

I am taking classes such as: private piano lessons, samspill (small bands), leadership (conducting), musikk i perspektiv (history of music from 1900 - nå (now)), history, and religion.  My schedule is different for all five weekdays.  I only have four classes per day, which is great!

I got off the bus with Solfid and Jon at their school, Ra, but we had to walk about ten minutes to actually make it to the school from where the bus dropped us off.  I went with them because I had to meet up with Helle, the president of the Larvik Øst Rotaryklubb.  She picked me up at the school and we went to the politi (the police station) to get all of my papers finalized.

Although I got up at 6:45, school didn't start until 11:00 for me!  After going with Helle, she came with me back to the school around 10:00 and we met all of my teachers.  They are all very, very helpful and kind.  I am mostly being looked after by Henrik (teachers go by their first names), my musikk i perspektiv teacher.

At 11:00, everyone (2nd and 3rd graders) met in the HUGE auditorium that seats 600, and went with our department chairs to meet our classes.  All of my classes are on the fourth floor.  Of course, I was introduced in front of the whole class just like the movies.  And yes, it really isn't fun.  But, I am quite happy that I was introduced as "The American Exchange Student" or "American Utvekslingsstudent" because after the teachers were done introducing themselves and they let us free around 12:00, I was bombarded by students who wanted to know me.  :D

We all went down to the diverse music rooms (practice rooms on the second floor) and they wanted me to play piano for them and sing and do so many things!  All of the kids were so excitted to find out that I play jazz piano.  It was great!

I met up with Line (my second host sister) and her friends and we walked into town to the cafe.  They are really funny and fun to be around.

From there I took the bus around 14:00 to Kjose.

Today was great!  I helped out with to dans klasser (two dance classes).  One for 4-5 år and one for 5-6 år.  They were adorable and the teacher, Nina, is so happy to have me there to help.

At school today, I had musikk i perspektiv first, and we listened to some INCREDIBLE contemporary music.  It was very eerie, but very interesting.  Henrik then took me aside and told me everthing he is going to do to help me make my year great!  He is a fantastisk person so far!  Then another girl named Line was "assigned" to me to help me around school.  We went down to the diverse musikk rooms and met up with everyone.  It was individual lessons and mine are on Mondays, so I ended up sitting and talking and playing piano with everyone.  Alice was very helpful.  She is also the piano player.  She wrote down many musikk words I should know and helped me with my norsk bok.

A few of us went down for lunch and I saw Line there!  The lunsj room is huge.  That's honestly all I can say about it.  It is on two levels.  Wow.  Just purely amazing.

We learned about amplifiers etc etc in the next class and then went to another room to do our samspiller. I am in a group with some 2nd graders and two boys from my grade.  Our unit is on funk and soul so we are playing the Jackson 5.  Some other groups are playing Soul Man and a few other songs from The Blues Brothers.

I am very excited about this school, if you can't tell.