I'm Famous in Norway!

As of today, I have been in the newspaper not just once, but twice. In November I was in the Sandefjords Blad, talking about the presidential election in the US. Today, I was in Aftenposten, which is a national newspaper in Norway, and is Norway's largest newspaper. So I guess you would be right if you said I was famous... In this article, I had written an article about my experience in Norway and how young people's culture and school is different between the United States and in Norway.

My article from November about the election.

My article from today about my experience.

If you want to read or translate the Aftenposten article, here is the link for the article on the internet: http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/sid/En-avslappet-skolehverdag-7189348.html#.UY95N7UziSp

OSLO! WHOOP WHOOP!!

Yes, I was once again in Oslo last weekend. I love going to Oslo, it usually means seeing other exchange students or my exchange sister from last year. This weekend I got to do both!
On Friday I left Sandefjord on the 13:38 train to go to Oslo. I am finished with school at 11:35 every Friday, so it worked out perfect. I first went to Oppegaard and met up with Alessandro (Italy). We hung out and ate dinner. Then, we took the train into Oslo to meet up with Cristina (Italy) and Amana (Brazil). After we met them, we went back to Cristina's house to attempt making donuts. I have missed donuts so much and Amana was missing them too, so we decided we could make them.
Once we got to the house we started right away, because we had to let the dough rise twice and then we  fry it. It was an American recipe we followed, and we didn't have cup or teaspoon measurements, so we kind of just winged it. And they all believed that you could just take a coffee cup and a tablespoon and those were accurate, they didn't realize (quite obviously because they're not from the US) that cups and tablespoons have accurate measurements. Also, the recipe called from shortening, and Norway does not sell shortening (I am sure of it, it is not another baking soda fiasco). So we used butter. As you can imagine, the donuts didn't really turn out very well. We also, were supposed to let it rise once for 45 minutes, then shape the donuts, then let it rise again for an hour. But we got really impatient after the 45 minutes and decided it wouldn't rise anymore anyway, so we just made the donuts. They actually turned out really, really bad. Cristina even got kind of sick from them. But it was an A+ for effort.
Alessandro and I then took the train back to his house to sleep.

Amana, Cristina, and I 

Me, Alessandro, and Amana

On Saturday, Alessandro and I left for the city at 12:45ish because Iwas meeting my exchange sister, Jenny, at 13:15 and Alessandro was going into Oslo for the "Hug an AFS Exchange Student Day". I met Jenny at the train station and from there we took biked along the fjord and through the woods to go to a museum. The worst part was, when I first hopped on the bike, my pants split! It started oiut as just a little hole, but as the day went on the hole only got bigger. It was not good... I guess I really have been the typical exchange student and gained some weight........Anyway, once we got to Bygdøy we went to the Folk Museum where we saw old bunads and houses from ancient times. It was really cute! We then ate some lunch and had some waffles and talked. We took the ferry back from Bygdøy and met up with some of her friends at a cafe. From there we  went back to her apartment. We had dinner all together, then Jenny, on of her friends, and I planned to got to the movie Spring Breakers. But there was a big fiasco at the movie theaters and we ended up not going in. We had bought our tickets online, but the order didn't go through, then once we got there the entire movie was sold out, and it wasn't good. SO we just went back to Jenny's apartment and watched Hair. That movie is so strange...

Me at the Folk Museum

On the ferry back to town.

Me and Jenny!!!!! Reunited!

On Sunday, Jenny's mom woke us up with a nice cup of coffee, then we got dressed and had breakfast together. After breakfast Jenny had to leave to go to work. So Jenny's sister, Frida, her dad, Tord, and I went to the Viking Museum and The Kon Tiki Musuem. It was an "Open Day" a the museums in Oslo because the city wants residents to be a "tourist in your own city". So that worked out well, but Frida and I tried to take the bus to Bygdøy, and we couldn't because the buses were so full. So Tord drove us. After the museums, they showed me the beach that they would go to in the summer, or when it is warm enough to tan or swim. It was really cute, and there were already a lot of people there.

Frida and I in front of the Viking Ship

Me and the Viking Ship

Me and the Kon TIki raft

Me hiding int he Kon Tiki Museum

Me and my long lost love in the Kon Tiki Museum

When we got back to the apartment, Jenny's mom had some friends over. So we all ate lunch together and we talked some. Then I had to take the train home at 14:44, so I said my goodbyes and Tord walked me down tot the station and I was on my way back to Sandefjord (where the bathroom was waiting to be cleaned by me...).

HELLdags Prøver

"Heldags prøve" - directly translated to English - "Whole day test" - the way I hear it - "Kill me now"

The whole day tests are what you could compare to final exams in the US. But they aren't. In the US, the final exams take about 2-2 1/2 hours. When they say "whole day test" here, they really mean it takes the entire school day. From 08:30 - 13:30.
Last week we had most of our whole day tests. Monday, we had the day off to study.
Tuesday, we had our whole day test in English. That one we only had to write 1 essay and a short answer, and I was done within about 3 hours. Thank goodness I am fluent in English!
Wednesday we had the day off to study.
Thursday we had our whole day test in math. It was horrible. The best way I can describe it is it is like taking an SAT, with only math, and no breaks. By the end of the 5 hours it took me to take the test my head was ready to explode.
Then, on Friday the rest of my class had a whole day Norwegian test, but because I don't get a grade in Norwegian I did not have to take the test :) Thank the heavens for that. If I had to take a Norwegian test for 5 hours, I think my head might actually explode.
Then, on Monday we had out art whole day test. Now, you would think that art would be an easy class t take a test in. Well, you are wrong. Art is probably the hardest test I have taken. First, let's start with the fact that I can't draw. Trust me, I have tried and I am trying to get better, but it is just not in my blood to be a good artist. Then, you get the general idea of what you may or may not be drawing the week before the test, but, you don't get your actual assignment until 5 minutes before you start the test. So that means you have to be creative and think on your feet, on top of drawing and painting well. Then, in this assignment, we had to tell a story in the picture. I drew a Jack-in-the-Box and building blocks, and there was a baby crawling out of the picture. I think I will get a 4 (B), and I hope I will get a 4. Because that at least means that I did something right in the drawing...
Then, Tuesday we were back to normal school. But we have our final whole day test on May 8th in Design and Architecture. That should be just as fun as the art test. Wish me luck!

My Weekend in Bergen!

This past weekend (April 12th - 14th) I was in Bergen. Bergen is on the west coast of Norway. It is either an 8 hour drive by car through mountains, a 6 hour train ride, or a 1 hour flight from Sandefjord. I chose the 1 hour flight.

My First Norwegian Flight!

On Friday morning I had to wake up at at 04:30! I haven't had to wake up that early since the day I left LA for New York, 8 months ago. It has been 8 months since I have been on a plane. I was really excited to fly. Considering I have almost never gone this long without travelling since my mom took me on my first plane when I was 6 weeks old. Security in Norway is definitely not as strict as TSA in the USA, which was fine by me. I didn't have to take my shoes or sweater off, I didn't need to take my liquids (enclosed in a plastic bag) out of my purse, and I didn't even need to show my I.D. Then, once I got on the plane, I tried to stay awake so I could see us landing in Bergen, but that didn't work out too well. When, it is 06:50 and I had already been awake for over 2 hours, it was almost impossible to keep my eyes open. Once the flight landed in Bergen I went out and caught the bus into the city center. Once I was in the city I met Johnny, the American exchange student that I stayed with. He decided he didn't need to go to school on Friday because I was coming an had to show me around... From there we took the train 10 minutes to where he lived in Arna. Once at the house we basically just relaxed for an hour because we had to wait for his brother to get home with the extra bus/train card.

Then we left to do some sight seeing in Bergen. We first went to the Bryggen, which is the famous row of colored wooden houses that are right along the water front. They used to be important for storage in WWII and now, they are used as cafes and souvenir shops.

Me in front of the Bryggen

Next was the a fort that was right next to the Bryggen. And also a famous boat that was in the harbor (but I forgot the name of it and also why it is important).

Then, we went to a fort next to Bryggen.

Me hiding in the fort.

Then, we walked into the city center. Where they had more statues of people and also where you can go shopping. I didn't have any extra space in my suitcase, and I don't have endless money, so I didn't go shopping at all. But we did meet some friendly monkeys who gave us free soap samples.

Then we saw what is called blå stein, which directly translates to "blue rock", and that is all it it is, a big blue rock. After we saw the Edvard Greig statue and then we took the train back to the house.

Me and Johnny sitting on the blue stone.

Me and Edvard Greig

Once we got back to the house we had dinner and I met the rest of his family. Then we watched two movies and a little later we went to sleep.
The next morning we had breakfast at about 11:00 and were on the bus into Bergen by 13:00. Today Johnny and I met up with one of his friends, Hanne. We went to Ulreiken, there we took a cable car up to the top of a mountain. From the top of the mountain you could see nearly the entire city of Bergen. It was beautiful. Also at the top, they had a cafe. It was very cozy to drink a cup of hot cocoa and eat some chocolate while looking out on an amazing view.

The cable car we took to the top and the view.

Hot Cocoa and chocolate at the top in the cafe

The amazing view from the top of the mountain

We took the cable car back down and then took the bus to Subway, where we had lunch. Across the from the Subway was a farmers market. It was really cute. They everything from cheese, to wool sweaters, to fish, to Norwegian pancakes. We bought a Norwegian pancake, they are called lapper. With raspberry jam on top, it was fantastic!

We are eating the lapper.

Then we walked to the Bergen Aquarium. It was about a 15 minute walk, not very long for me considering I walk 20 minutes to get to school every morning, but for Johnny and Hanne it was a long way because they usually take the bus everywhere. The aquarium was really nice. It was more like a zoo than an aquarium. It had snakes, alligators, lemurs, spiders, frogs, sharks, and different kinds of fish. And also penguins and seals!

Riding a turtle at the aquarium.

They had a seal show when we got there.

After the aquarium we walked back to the center of town and walked around in one of the malls. Then at about 17:00 we took the bus back to Arna.
After we got back to the house we had dinner with the family. Then, Johnny took a nap because of how exhausting walking was. And me and his little sister jumped on the trampoline. Afterwards, we tried to wake up Johnny with gun noises and pouring water on his face, but he just got angry and kicked us out of his room. Then, his little sister and I made waffles. Then, when we came back upstairs we sat down and watched a movie while we ate the waffles. I love Norwegian Waffles!!

On Sunday, we woke up, ate breakfast together, and then went to church. After the 30 minute service, the kids from the church left with two adults and went to go curling. I was excited. Curling was on my "To DO List in Norway", so I was happy I got to try it. It is a lot harder than it looks. I think my team won. We managed to get one of the stones to stay in the circle. But I was really confused on how to keep score, so I am not really sure who ended up winning.

When we got back from curling we had reindeer for dinner with the family. Then I left for the airport. I ended up getting back to Sandefjord at 18:30. That gave me a few hours at home to practice for my art final the next day :)

What was really strange was how different the dialect was in Bergen. I am used to hearing the dialect that is similar to the Oslo dialect because of where I live. But, when I spoke Norwegian with some of the people that were from Bergen, sometimes they had to repeat something 3 times for me to finally understand what they were saying, and sometimes they just gave up speaking Norwegian and spoke English because it was easier.
Overall I had a great time in Bergen. It is a very cute city with a lot of history. It was also nice to spend time and compare stories with another American.

My Bad Luck

Well, this starts bad and gets a whole lot worse.
It started in February. I left my scarf at one of the other exchange student's houses after her party, I figured I could get it back the next day. But, no. She didn't answer her phone the next day. I have been to Asker about 3 times since and I have asked to get it every time and I never have (sooner or later I'll get it).
But that was a while ago...
Now, this weekend, as you know was the 60's party and I slept over at Stephanie's house. Well, everything was fine, until I was on the bus to Oslo and I realized I didn't have my watch. Fantastic, I wear that watch everyday...
Then, we were in Oslo and we got photo booth pictures, but I forgot to get them from the other girl I was with
Then, yesterday all my friends at school said how gross my phone looked because I had the same screen protector on my phone since I had been here. It was one of the indestructible ones, but it was pretty gross it was turning brown... Anyway, so I bought a new screen protector and changed it yesterday before dance. Then, after dance it fell out of my bag, like 2 feet, and hit the floor. When I picked it up and turned it over, the screen was shattered! You can imagine how happy I was :(

Luckily, I bought the insurance when I bought the phone. But, haha, there is no apple retail stores in Norway. The closest ones that can fix my phone are over 6 hours away in Sweden. So I searched online and it is 1300 kroner to get the screen fixed (about $200).
Then today, I had my final exam in English. That is fine, I am fluent in English and it should go well and I should get a good grade, right? Right. However, this morning I woke up early so I had time to go to my locker and still get to class on time. My host dad was even nice enough to drive me half way to school because it was on his way to work. But as soon as I got out of the car, I realized I didn't have my key (both for my locker and the house). So, I ran back home (in record speed). And the door was locked, so thankfully my host sister was leaving a little later and she was there to open the door for me. So I took off my shoes as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast because I was wearing my winter boots. Then I ran downstairs, got my key, ran back upstairs and started to put my shoes on. Then the dog would not stop licking my face, so it took me a good 5 minutes to put on my shoes. Then said goodbye again and left. I ran for about 3 or 5 minutes, then just walked fast (people were starting to look at me funny, that I was running to school). I ended up coming in about 5 minutes late, but they hadn't started the test yet, so everything was okay (other than the fact my face was bright red and I was a little out of breath)...

So that is my week so far, and it is only Tuesday...

One Groovy Weekend!

On Saturday afternoon I took the train to Asker and from there I went to Nærsnes to meet Stephanie (from Venezuela). I went to her house and there we got ready for the party! It was a 60's themed party and there were 32 exchange students there from both region 2 (my region) and region 1. So it was great because I got to see familiar faces and talk to other exchange students that I hadn't met before. We ate hot dogs for dinner and had a lot of brownies, rolls, and chocolate and marshmallows for dessert. Other than eating (which exchange students do so well) we talked, listened to music, and danced! I still have the inability to dance well, but it is so much fun to make a fool out of myself!

I'm a hippie!

Chihiro (Japan), me, and Anna (France)

Chihiro (Japan) and me 

A disco ball made by Amana (Brazil)

Alessandro (Italy), Lucas (Brazil), and Mario (Dominican Republic) trying to dance.

Me and Elisabetta (Italy)

Stephanie (Venezuela)

Us going crazy and dancing.

More dancing!

More (bad) dancing

All of us exchange students

Then I stayed the night at Stephanie's house. I got my own room customized with an American flag and a graduation robe. It wasn't just for me, Stephanie's older host sister went to the US on exchange two years ago. But, it made me feel special :). We stayed up until about 4 AM talking and taking pictures. We all woke up at about 11:30-12 ish and ate breakfast together. Besides me and Stephanie, there was one Italian girl, one Thai girl, one Thai boy, a Japanese boy, and an Argentinian girl. The next day, after breakfast, we went and laid out in the sun because it was +13 degrees Celsius. Yes, it really was that warm.

Our pictures from 4 AM

We are trying to tan.......

Then Cristina (Italy) and I met Amana (Brazil) and Alessandro (Italy) at the bus stop and took the bus into Oslo. In Oslo, we ate at Subway (it is not as good in Norway as it is in the US). Then we took the train to Alessandro's house, that was about 20 minutes out of Oslo. We picked up his camera and ate some chocolate, then took the train back into Oslo. I then attempted to climb the tiger statue again, and didn't manage. So we went to Wayne's Coffee where We had tea or coffee and took a video for Alessandro's video blog. It was pretty exciting! Then we went back to Oslo S, where I tried one more time to conquer the tiger. And this time I managed, but with a lot of help. Alessandro tried to help me up, and I almost got up, but not really. SO then, this random guy comes and says that he can help and he basically lifted me on the tiger. Then, after Alessandro took my picture and I got off some other random guy came up to me and recited me a poem about a smiling girl on a tiger. It may have been the strangest 5 minutes of my life in Norway. Then I took the train back to Sandefjord and Alessandro took his train back to Oppegaard.

4th attempt of trying to get on the tiger

It is scarier than it looks...

I finally conquered the tiger - but not without help....

It was a fun weekend and I can't wait to see everyone again!

The video we recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hnw6EnGOWYA