5 months and 2 weeks

Nothing much has happend since last time that is blog-worthy, but I have a bit to talk about, so here we go.

Someone I know was doing a paper for school pursuading her school board to creat a "culture club" so she e-mailed me asking me some questions about my exchange so she could have some more information for her paper. They were some pretty good questions, so I decided that I would share the "interview" with you. I cut some out because they weren't that great.

1)Has your perspective of life in general changed since you've been to another country? If so, how?

Definitely, knowing that i only have a certain ammount Of days in Norway has made me take a "day-to-day" out look on life. I have started taking each day and making the most of it, because I know this is a once in a lifetime experience and I don't want to just sit back and take it for granted and watch my days here disappear. I have also started to appreciate the smaller things in life. Things are totally different here. I don't have that cushion of comfort that I do at home, that gives me a sense of security and tends to make everything a little bit better. So it's kind of a hit or miss each day if it's going to be a good one or not. But even on the worst days, some little thing tends to happen that makes everything 10 times better. There was one instance where I was extremely homesick and was seconds away from going back to my house and just sleeping the day away, but then just a simple conversation with a friend, about nothing significantly meaningful, made my entire day better. (if you are Norwegian and are reading this and thinking "hey, I wonder if that's me"... it probably is :) ) It makes me think a lot about how much I could make everyone's day a little bit better if I just smiled at them, or started up a simple conversation with them.

2)What important life lessons have you learned while on your exchange trip?

I think the most importat of the lessons that I have learned is that cultural acceptance is key. At the beginning of my exchange I made a list of all the things that I thought were incredibly strange and different from home. I looked back on that list a couple days ago, and half of them I either do, or I find completly normal. The people are definitely different here. They have different customs, behaviors, and views on life, just like every other culture. Just a general knowledge of someones culture can help one to understand why someone does the things they do. Once I learned more about the Norwegian culture, suddenly everything seemed a little more normal. One example of this is “the Norwegian Stiffness” Norwegians are known for being a bit “cold” towards other people who they do not know; it's just a part of their culture. I experienced this a lot at school for the first couple of months. There were some people at school who would just not talk to me at all. At first it came off as they had no intrest in me, and it was difficult, but once I started to get to know more and more people and got better with my Norweigan, I realized that they weren't actually mean, they were just shy, and afraid to speak English to me (even though their english is SO good) But everyone is really friendly now. I like Norwegians a lot!


3)Have you developed relationships with people while on your exchange trip that you think you will keep in contact with?

Definitely, I have made some truly amazing friends so far on this exchange. They're really a great group of people, and I like them a lot. I don't know how I will ever leave them. Not only have I made excellent Norwegian friends, but I have also become really close friends with all the other exchange students here in Norway with Rotary. Ever since the first day we all met, we became really close friends. We're all going through the same things with being an exchange student, so we all have that common thing that we bond together on. We share our struggles, our embarrassing stories, and our highlights of our exchanges with each other, and we help each other get through the rough patches of our exchange. I seriously don't know how I would have survived this exchange for so long without my fellow exchange students to talk to. Besides friends, I have made close relationships with all three of my host families. I love my host families to pieces. I was seriously blessed with 3 amazing host families. They have all been really nice to me. It will be SO hard to leave come July.


4)Do you think you'll ever return to this country? Why/why not?
Of course I will return to Norway again. I couldn't go for forever without seeing these people again. I like them all too much. It took me 4 months to fall in love with Norway. I love everything about it. The people, the gorgeous nature, and the chocolate. Ever since my four month mark, I have been dreaming about living here permanently. I seriously love it here. So if everything works out in the future, and it is meant to be, I will live here in Norway again...maybe.

5)What has been the most enjoyable experience about your exchange trip and why?

That's way too hard of a question to answer right now. There's so many to choose from. I've definitely enjoyed meeting all of the people. Like I've said before, I like them a lot! I've also enjoyed doing all of the typical “Norwegian stuff” like cross country skiing, ice fishing, cabin trips, eating traditional food. I just really like being an exchange student.

and that's that.


Here are some photos from last Sunday. I went ice fishing with my host family. It was pretty anticlimatic. We spent 4 hours on the ice holding a twig with fishing line and a hook attatched to it, only to go home without a single fish. It was still fun though.

(My host sister fishing)

(my host brother)

(The lake)

Thats all.

The dumb things I get myself into...

I've done quite a lot of dumb things while I have been in Norway. For intance, loosing my balance on a bus and falling into a random lady's stroller, missing the same bus 3 times in a row, multiple times of trying to trick Norwegians into thinking I speak Norwegian only to end up telling them "ummm... what did you say, I really don't speak Norwegian," and of course walking mindlessly in front of cars in Oslo, but out of all of those dumb experiences, what happened yesterday definitely tops all of them.
If you know me well, this story will make you laugh, because you can actually see me doing it, and know that its a typical "Devin thing to do." If you don't know me that well, or even at all, you will either 1. still think it's funny, or 2. think im a complete idiot. So, let the story begin:
Today my friend Sarah, from Australia, went back home. So I did what any friend would do, and went to the airport to see her off. I planned to go to school for a couple of classes, and then leave to go to the airport, but I ended up missing my bus, so I decided just to go straight to Oslo instead and get some things done, get some coffee, and then go to the airport. Don't you worry about the whole "skipping school" thing. While I sat and drank my coffee, I worked in my Norwegian workbook, and then drew a picture of a viking. That right there is about 10 times more than what I do on a typical day of school. After finishing my coffee and drawing, I started walking back to the opposite side of Oslo to catch the bus to the airport. It was actually really nice to walk thought the city by myself. The combination of a beautiful day, music playing in my ears, and a caffiene kick (it really gets to you when you have nothing to eat), made me come to the conclusion that I really do love it here. I love the city, I love the culture, I love the people, I'm so glad that I came to Norway, especially the Oslo area. I really like the city.

I arrived at the bus terminal, got on the bus, and then finally arrived at the airport. This, my friends, is where the "dumb" part of my story begins...

I realized once I got there that I didn't have a clue on where I was suppost to go. So I did what I always do, wander around acting like I know what I'm doing until I either 1. eventually accomplish what I set out to do, or 2. screw up and ask for help. I walked around most of the entrance to the airport and had no luck with finding Sarah. So I then went to the security entrance and told one of the ladies what I was trying to do, and then asked her if she thought I needed to go through security in order to see her. She told me I could do that but I couldnt get into the international fight section. So, thats what I did. I figured that's what everyone else did. So, I got through security, and then though a bunch of doors, all without a boarding pass or passp passport and continue walking until I get to an entrance where I need to show a passport in order to get passed. So there I stood, stuck, without a clue what to do, and no Sarah. I wandered around for a little bit more, and then realized that this was NOT where I was suppost to meet her. It was also getting to be a half hour before her plane left. I finally gave up, and started to walk back, not knowing exactly how I was going to get out. As I was walking back, to my supprize, I see Sarah and 3 other Australian exchange students walking twoards my direction. I was SO happy that I got to see them. They, on the other hand, were a bit shocked and confused as to why and how I got back there. So we talked (laughed at my stupidity) for a bit and decided on a plan of how I was going to try and get out, then we hugged, and said our goodbyes. The plan to get out went like this: I was to walk to the gaurds at the entrance to the terminals and say that I left my passport with my mom outside in the lobby. I'm entierly sure how my story was suppost to be plausible, but I tryed it anyways, they believed it, but it didn't work like I was planning it to. I was told to go back to a certain terminal and then take a set of stairs that led me to a hallway that led me to the baggage claim which led me to several more halways and FINALLY I was out. That was definitely not the sentimental goodbye that I was thinking it was going to be, but on the plus side, I was way to stressed and confused to be sad when I said goodbye. I guess I always tend to be the comic relief in most situations.

I take a bus, a train, and a 10 minute walk, and finally I got home. I then entertain my host family by telling them my story in Norwegian (and a bit of English).

So yes, that was my story, I hope you enjoyed it! :)

Here are some photo's from this past week:

(On our last "Oslo day" Sarah and I went to the Vigeland park)


(Sarah with her baby friend)




(when I was waiting for my bus after the Airport fiasco, I decided to take some photos of Oslo at night)

Jul, ski, og Nyttårs!

It's Norwegian Class time, so that means I have nothing to do. I worked a bit on my Rotary presentation (25 minute presentation about me, all in Norwegian), tried to work in my Norwegian workbook but I didn't have a pen, so my last resort for entertainment is writing a blog.

A lot has happend over the past few weeks...

CHRISTMAS: Christmas was really nice here in Norway. It didn't feel like christmas at all. If it wasn't for all of the family dinners, I would have never guessed it was Christmas. The big deal in Norway, is Christmas Eve. Everything happens on Christmas Eve. Me and my host family went to my host mom's sister's house in Oslo. It was a nice and cozy evening. We were given glogg (a warm apple cider type drink with cinnamon and other intense spices and rasins and almonds in the mug) as soon as we walked in the door. Then the kids opened up a couple presents. After that we finally sat down for dinner. We ate pinnekjøt, which is dried lamb, potatoes (of course), and mashed kohlrabi. It was all really good. Then for desert, we had riskrem, which is made from the leftovers of risgrøt (talked about in last post) mixed with whipped cream, and with a berry sause on top. I'm kind of sad that throughout the entire Christmas season I never found an almond in my risgrøt or riskrem. What a sad life I live. ;) After dinner and desert, it was time to open up the rest of the presents. One thing that was really different from U.S Christmas is that on Christmas Eve they brought over all their presents, even from their other grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends, ect. I ended up getting some socks, gloves, coffee, money, some boots (which have definitely come in handy now that there is almost a foot of snow on the ground), and a hand painited mug from my host brother(which is probably my favorite gift). And that was the end of Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning I stuck to my traditions and ripped open my presents that were under my tiny little tree my grandma sent me. Sadly, Santa Clause forgot about me in Norway. But the gifts from my Mom and Grandparents sufficed. I also gave my host family their gifts on Chistmas morning. The next two days were full of family visits. Basicly it envolved me trying really hard to understand all of the Norwegian, eating a bunch, and drinking as much Julebrus as I could, I love the stuff. I don't know what I'll do next year without it.

(Christmas Eve)

(the meal)

(Christmas from home: package number 1)

(Christmas from home: package number 2)

(My presents to my host siblings)

(my mug from my host brother)

The Tuesday after Christmas, my host family and I travled to Sweden for a week of skiing! Before I left, my Christmas package from my Dad, Grandparents, and my aunt and uncle came in the mail. So once again I put them under my tiny tree and opened them with as much ecitement as a 9 year old on christmas morning! In Sweden, we stayed in a cabin with our neighbors. They have young kids too, so once agian I was with people half my age, and double my age, but it was still nice, I've become used to it. The first day of skiing, we went on a 10km cross county ski trip. I had gone cross country skiing once before with my host family so I knew what to do, but still I think I had the skills of a well trained 10 year old. I only fell 4 times.
The next day we went downhill skiing. I hadn't been downhill skiing for at least 6 years. I was gently nursed back into downhill skiing by my host parents taking me all the way to the top of the mountain, re-teaching me how to turn and then sent on my way.... bad idea. I ended up going really fast down the slope unable to stop. I was quite scared that I was going to have to go that fast down the entire slope. Luckly I fell. Then our neighbor, Ann Kristin, taught me how to propperly stop. The rest of the day went well. I think there was only 2 times where I went down the entire slope with out falling. My various falls included: running into a tree, tripping over a snowboarder, and falling REALLY hard on my back making my neck feel really good! The views from both the top of the slope and all the way down the slope were incredible! I wish I could have taken my camera, but as you see with my reputation on skis, that would not have worked too well. I would have probably come down the slope with my camera shattered into many pieces.
I celebrated New Years Eve in Sweden as well. We went downhill skiing in the morning and afternoon. Then in the evening, we had a nice dinner of moose steak, mushrooms, potatoes (of course), and vegtables. I made everyone name cards, and one of the neighbor girls made napkin flowers. It was koselig! The rest of the night consisted of an Abba dance party with the kids and the parents, fireworks at midnight, and then me teaching the Y.M.C.A to everyone before going to bed.

(the table on New Years Eve)

(My place)

(Fireworks at midnight)

And that was the holidays.