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