My First Week

I met my family for the first time at a local chapter AFS meeting held in Levanger.

 Pappa told me that when people in Hegra are having a baby they go to the hospital there, and that they are used to going to Levanger and adding another member of the family for the drive home.

On Monday we went to the politiet so I could get my residence permit, but the office that we needed is only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday was my first day of school, so we couldn't go then, but Thursday I had some free time in the middle of the day, so Pappa came and brought me back to the office, but the person we needed to talk to was in a meeting! So, next Tuesday is the day* fingers crossed!*

First year!

I live with such an active family and I LOVE it. The second day I was here we went on a very long hike at a WWII fort called Ingstadkleven. It is an annual thing, some people race; other people just faithfully walk it every year. Some members in my family have amazingly long streaks going (like 18 years and 20-something years!) I received a diploma because it was my first time! Four generations in this family hiked together. 

Afterwards, my sister and I explored the old fort (built in 1905 to protect against an attack from Sweden). The “rooms” were carved out of the rock, had dim lights and they had an eerie, dingy, water-dripping-from-the-ceiling feel to them. The floors were worn and uneven due to the 100 years of dripping water and the wear and tear of war. We ran around for a while and then we came to a tunnel that had no lights. “Do you really want to go through?”  Of course I did J although it was a lot creepier than I expected and we both almost fell a few times.

I attend a Secondary school called “Ole Vig videregående skole” in Stjørdal. Here is the link to my school... Check it out! (The symbol for my school was inspired by rock carvings from Norway's Bronze Age found in this area). It is a vocational school, so it is kind of like Rutland High School and Stafford Technical Center (for those who are familiar with it). There are different lines of study that students can choose to go into (i.e. cooking or construction etc.) but there is also “regular studies” for people who don’t wish to specialize in a specific line.

School is so different here. There are 6 periods a day of one hour each and classes are different every day. There are A and B weeks, so hypothetically I have to memorize 10 different days in order… Or I can just carry around my schedule… that seems to be working well, too. I don’t have a class every period, so I spend a good amount of time in cafeteria.

I’m enrolled as a 3^rd grader, which here can be either the class for 8 year olds or the last year in high school. All high school 3^rd graders are required to take History, Religion and Ethics, Norwegian and Gym. I also had to choose other classes (elective-type ones) so I picked Psychology and Biology. For History, Religion and Norwegian we stay with the same group of kids, in the same classroom and the teacher comes to us. For Biology and Psychology I go to a different class and I’m not necessarily with the same group of kids. I don’t know exactly how gym will work because I haven’t had it yet (also I think we take a bus to a different building because they are rebuilding the Ole Vig gymnasium).

Class is so difficult. I sit there and try to understand what the teacher is talking about, but I get nothing (yet). It is so exhausting in a way that I never would have understood until I've experienced it. Mamma understands how I feel because she experienced the same type of thing when she attended meetings with her deaf family members; everyone used sign language and she was totally lost. She promised me though that it will come quickly. I hope so.

Other highlights of me week:

-I helped set up a 4-H thing for a fair this weekend.

-I learned some new card games during free periods at school.

-I have seen more moose in my week in Norway than I have in the rest of my life combined.

-I ate fish for dinner. I didn't just taste fish or just have a small nibble of fish… I ate fish (and I enjoyed it!)

-Pappa handed me a note that said "Pappa Æ e gla i dæ!" So I read it out loud, then i received a big hug and a sweatshirt. (It means "Pappa I love you")

-We took a trip on my family's boat!

-I have made a bunch of new friends. Including some fuzzy ones...


Clyde!

Now it's the weekend! I am going on a trip to Trondheim today! Æ e spent!

Endelig hjemme

Hei!
So much has happened so quickly these past few days, but it all kind of seems like a dream. I haven't gotten a full night of sleep in a week! Wednesday I met up with some of the other out-bound students in NYC for a gateway orientation. Then the 10 Norway-bound students flew to Oslo together. I did not sleep at all on the plane.
Once we were in Oslo, they bussed us to the AFS orientation camp. They told us "At the AFS orientation camps, if you feel like you are getting enough sleep, then you are not doing it right".
I guess I was doing it right...
I made a bunch of new friends from all over the world. Every "Hello" said expanded my world by so much. I also tired to learn German.. I was not very good but my attempts amused the German kids.
Today I had to get up at 5:15 to catch the early bus at 6:30 to get to the airport only to stand and wait for a few hours. Finally we got on the plane, then on a bus and after much anticipation we met our families!
I was so nervous, but everything is wonderful (albeit overwhelming). The house is so nice and the view is amazing! I think I am going to have a great year, but first, I need to sleep.
Æ er trøtt.