Oslo...again!!

This weekend I took the train to Oslo, again. I love going to Oslo and hanging out with my exchange student friends. We only have 8 weeks left until all of us take a flight back to a different part if the world. It will never be the same again, where I can just ring up an Italian and sleepover at her house or meet a French, Chilean, Brazilian, and Mexican in town for a coffee and a movie. I love my friends from all over the world, and to think that we won't be able to hang out like we do now, just in a matter of months, that is going to suck. That might actually be the worst part of this year ending and me leaving: that nothing will ever be the same as it was this year. I have had the best year of my life, and a lot of that is due to the awesome exchange students. :-)
Anyway, this weekend was fantastic. Now, all of us realize that we don't have much time left and we want to spend as much time together as possible. So I took the train in on Saturday and got into Oslo at 1pm. There I met Alessandro(Italy), Titi(Chile), Lou(France), and Andreane(Canada). We then proceeded to wait for Cristina(Italy), who used being Italian as an excuse that she was about an hour late :-). In that hour though Berkan(Turkey) ran up to us and hugged us and talked to us for five minutes, then he left again. It was a little strange, but hey, it's all good. Then we met Cristina and walked to the center of the city. There, we went to McDonald's. When we were there we met Claudia(Italy), Angel(Mexico), Demian(Argentina), Marcos(Venezuela) and 3 Germans(that I'm not exactly sure what their names are). After McDonald's we went out and walked around town a bit. Then a few left to go do something else and the rest went to Wayne's Coffee. We chilled out there for a while. After that we all took the busses back to where we were staying (I was staying at Cristina's house). And we agreed to meet up later to go see a movie. When we met up again we agreed that movies were too expensive, so we just hung out in the city. But, now it was just me, Cristina, Titi, Andreane, and Angel. We hung out, talked, Cristina sang some opera, it was a great night!

Dancin' in the street

On Sunday we planned to meet the other exchange students at Songsvann to have a little picnic thing. But I had the worst luck on Sunday! First, we figured out that it was impossible to have a bonfire there, like we thought. But that wasn't a huge problem, we just bought 2 of the one time use grills.
We got on the subway and were at Songsvann in 30 minutes. There, we met the others, grilled hot dogs, roasted marshmallows, and listened to music. I even got the others to try s'mores!! They loved them, no big deal. We were there for a few hours before we went back to the city.

Chubby Bunny

Me and my homie

We got on the subway, and I had forgotten to buy a ticket. I bought one on Friday, but for some reason on Saturday it slipped my mind. And it was perfect because there was ticket control people at the second stop on our way. So I had to pay a 750 kroner fine for not having a ticket :-(. I tried to explain the situation, and I tried to start crying and acting like a really confused foreigner to see if that would get me out of it, but no. Not fun!! Then, that made us miss our subway and we had to go back to Cristina's house to get my bag, and then we we were one subway to late and I missed the train I was supposed to take home. Then, an hour later I took the train home and I was back in the comfort of my own bed again :)

1. Mai

May first is Labor Day in Norway, so we had Wednesday free from school. On Tuesday night, while most of the young people of Norway were out partying and getting drunk, I went to the movies with one of my friends. We saw Spring Breakers. Let me just say that that was on of the worst movies I have ever seen. I was really impressed with the actors, because they went from high school musical, pretty little liars, wizards of waverly place, and.... To being bad ass drug addicts who partied hard and killed people in Florida. Even thought I was impressed with the actors, I was not impressed with the movie. There was absolutely no story line, and the movie was just kind of creepy.
Then on Wednesday, I or to sleep in :-). Then my friends (Solveig and Emma) and and I rode our bikes to a beach and had a picnic. It was nice we had sandwiches and brownies and Reese's and other goodies. But, it was colder at the beach than we thought it would be, so we kind if Kind I looked like dorks laying altogether covered up with the only planet we had. It was good we were about the only people to go to the beach that day :-).

Min første gang i Danmark!

My first time in Denmark.
I went on a tour to Denmark with my choir. It was bundles of fun. I got to hang out with friends, meet new people, see a new city and country, and have a good time.
We met at the ferry terminal at 06:30, just a little early. My friends at school were jealous that I got the day off, but when I told them what time we were leaving they were glad to start school at08:20. Anyway, the ferry left at 8. We had to get there early to put everything in the bus and get our tickets and everything sorted out. On the ferry we got the breakfast buffet. That was good, and I haven't had a buffet since I left the US. I guess it's not too common in Norway. So on the ferry we basically ate, sat and talked, and some went to the tax free store. The ferry ride was 2 hours and 30 minutes from Sandefjord to Strömstad, Sweden.
Once we got to Sweden we got off the boat and onto the bus. We were on the bus for 5 hours before we stopped at a mall in Sweden to buy lunch. Then, after that 30 minute stop we were back on the road. On the bus we watched the movie A Walk to Remember, let me just say, that is not a bus ride movie; it is sad and i cried, but when you are on a bus you really do t want to ball your eyes out in front of everyone, so you put on your sunglasses and act like you are coughing :). For another 3 hours we drove, until we finally arrived at the hostel we would be inhabiting in Denmark! After about 20 minutes in the hostile, just enough time to get our keys, find our rooms, and move in, we left in the bus again. But this time we were on our way to Tivoli.

Tivoli is an amusement park in Copenhagen. But to me, it felt like more of a carnival. It had games, rides, and restaurants. But you had to pay for tickets to each ride. But it was really fun! We ate at a Chinese restaurant in the park. Then we walked around, it was a very cozy park. Then me and 2 other went on, what I would call the Supreme Scream because that is what it is called at Knott's Berry Farm, back where I live in the states. But if you don't know why Supreme Scream is, then it is the ride that you go really high up, then it drops you down really fast. It was fun. But, what I learned is Norwegians, in general, are not very fond of roller coasters. They thought almost every roller coaster was big and too scary. I didn't understand, because I have been going to amusement parks and I have been on roller coasters since the age of 5 (or as soon as I was tall enough to ride them).

Then there was a concert in the center square of Tivoli. And afterwards I bought a cotton candy, I wanted to be really cliche.

Jenny and I 

A ride at the park

The concert

Then, we all met up, took a group picture and were back on the bus by midnight.
At the hostel, we basically all just died and went to sleep.
The next day we had breakfast at 09:00 and by 10 we were on the bus and driving into the city. Today we were just hanging out in Copenhagen. I would have loved to have gone sightseeing, but no one else wanted to and we weren't allowed to I alone. Everyone else wanted to go shopping. Copenhagen ha better stores and things are a little cheaper than in Norway. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy shopping, I am just saying that now I want to go back to Copenhagen to see the sites :-).

Me in the city center

The city center

People playing music in the main square

A random train in the city

They had a lot of American stores there and all the Norwegians were really excited to shop there because they had only heard about these stores.

Anna's first time in Sephora

Me and Anna

For lunch I had a typical Danish, red hot dog. It tasted like a regular hot dog, but it was red.

Me eating the red hot dog

Then after a long day of shopping, the whole choir met up and we went out for ice cream. Then we walked back to the bus and back to the hostel. We had 2 hours to relax and get ready for dinner. For dinner we went to an Italian buffet. (Another buffet! The weird thing is I used to be able to eat maybe 4 servings at a buffet with different foods, but at this buffet I could only have one serving before I was stuffed. I think my American stomach has shrank....).
Then, there is a bridge in Copenhagen where people hang locks. It is usually where couples go to hang a lock and throw the key to show that they will be together forever. But, everyone in the choir hung their own luck and wrote whatever they wanted to on it. In mine I wrote on one side: having the experience of a life time USA --> Norway. And on the otherwise I wrote: never stop enjoying life. 2012-2013.

Where we hung our locks

My lock

After we hung the locks we all went to the movies together. We saw Silver Linings Playbook. It was a really sweet film. And thank the heavens it was in English, because if we saw a Danish film I believe I would have understood next to nothing. Yes, Danish and Norwegian are very similar languages, Norwegian kind of, in a way, came from Danish because Norway was under Danish rule in the past, and when you read Danish it is almost deny octal to Norwegian. However, when you hear Danish it sounds nothing like Norwegian, at least not to me. Norwegians say that Danes speak like they have a potato in their throat. I don't know if that is true, I just know that when they spoke Danish to me I just smiled and nodded and hoped they don't say anything important.
After thy we went back to the hostel and slept.
The next morning we had breakfast from 08:30-09:00 and were on the bus at 09:15. We drove to the Norwegian Seaman's Church. There we attended the Sunday service and sang 4 songs for them. It was really nice. The we had a coffee and some cake there and themes were back in the bus and back on the road. Again, an 8 hour bus ride, with one stop half way through, then a 2 and a half hour ferry ride.
The ferry ride on the way back was awful. We had a dinner and dessert buffet, which was good. But basically right after we finished the buffet the waves got big, it started raining, and the boat was rocking a lot! I am glad I don't get easily sea sick, but I know a lot of others did. We got back to Sandefjord at 23:00. And I was happy to be on solid ground again. When I got home I took a shower right aw at, because I had forgotten my shampoo at home, so at the hostel I washed my hair with body lotion (not a good idea and I don't recommend it). Then, after my shower I basically died from exhaustion Then, lucky me, I had school the next day :-)

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!