My few and far between blog posts...

So it has been a REALLY long time since my last post. After thinking of a pliable excuse as to why I haven't blogged I think its probably because of two reasons. The first is that everything here which once seemed new has become fairly normal which is both good and bad. The second reason is that I have been really busy. In the last month I have been to Iceland, London, Ålesund and we went to the cabin for easter so time has flown. But, that also means I no longer have the accuse of saying that I don't know what to write about. Not so much on Norway this time but brace yourself, I feel this is going to be long.

1. Ålesund
About a month ago now I went to Ålesund to visit some family friends Åke and Kristin which dad met through rowing when he traveled around Norway. Ålesund was a really interesting town. Its perched on the edge of a steep fjord made up of islands which are joined by tunnels. In 1904 the whole wooden town was burnt to the ground after a fire started by an unknown cause swept across the town with the prevailing wind. Rebuilding started immediately after with builders arriving from all over Europe. One of the most interesting things today in Ålesund is that all the buildings are in incredible art deco style. I was particularly impressed by this considering the urgency needed for rebuilding would of likely resulted in ugly temporary buildings but instead beautifully designed with art deco detail (you might want to search the buildings in google images). Most buildings downtown today are from around 1905 - 1908 and are made of plaster unlike most of the other buildings throughout Norway.
I was lucky enough to be shown around Ålesund by Åke and we went to several museums including one which was mostly about the fire. We also took a trip to Stranda where we visited Kristin's family's cabin. It was very nice and the countryside was very different to here in Trondheim, more like that of the Queenstown area. It snowed while we were there too which was fun and I tried snowboarding (dad has since uninvited me to ever come home again).

Ålesund

Cabin in Stranda

It was 7 hours on the bus both ways which was not fun. I did have a bit of a kiwi problem too. I was on the bus and I could see the road just stopped up ahead and it looked as if people just drove into the fjord. Feeling rather panicked I asked the lady next to me what was happening and she told me that is where the ferry parks then the cars drive up onto the ferry. Of course.

2. Iceland
A week and a bit after Ålesund I went to Iceland on a school trip with my geography class. It was super fun. We went to the blue lagoon, geysers and saw heaps of waterfalls. We learnt lots about how Iceland is a geographical hotspot and blah blah. Another cool thing that happened in Iceland is that I meet up with Beth, who is also from the AFS Otago chapter but on an exchange in Iceland. It was wonderful to see another kiwi again! Also in Iceland I bought an Icelandic sweater which has taken over from my norsewear which I miss terribly... We ate lots of lamb in Iceland which made up for the lack of vegetables!

Gulfoss in Iceland

Geysers in Iceland

3. London
Five days after I got back from Iceland it was time for London! This time we were off on a touristy family holiday and another exchange student, Karin from Japan came with us too. We stayed in the Brick Lane area which is the historical hub of Pakistani and indian immigrants. Every night when we got back to the apartment the area smelled of curry and there we saris hung out drying, it was a very homely feeling.

Street in Oxford

On one of the days we went to Harry Potter Land which was defiantly a highlight. We got to look around the sets that were used in the film but I also feel slightly cheated that everything was just a set or just made with a green screen. I don't think I'll be able to watch the films in the same way ever again!
On another day we went to Oxford. That was really really pretty. We went around lots of the old collages and even went down to the rowing club to have a look! But one of the best bits of Oxford was eating a pie for lunch, not quite the same as jimmy's but it helped my craving.

Outside Twinings tea shop

Harry Potter Land

Hogwarts.... Not so big after all

After being in Norway so long and learning so much about culture it was slightly soul destructing to find out so many things which I had always thought were from New Zealand were actually from England. Things like baked beans, fish and chips, meat pies are not really ours... But it was also nice to see them again.

4. Påske (easter)
Easter in Norway is very yellow. I had never associated easter with a certain colour before now. Easter here is at a logical time of year, spring. Not autumn like in NZ. For easter we went to the cabin. There was not very much snow but there was enough to go for a few nice ski trips in the sun. At the moment we have light from 5am - 9pm which is perfect skiing weather! We also had a easter egg hunt but in Norway kids only get one easter egg which is decorated cardboard, filled with lollies and chocolate. We had to follow clues around the cabin to find the easter eggs.

Skiing at Easter

My easter egg from AFS

That is enough excitement for now! I think my life is back to normal again but I am still using a lot of time figuring out what I'm going to do when I go home which can be a bit stressful at times. Now I have written my blog I can go out for a long run along the fjord :)

School holidays and this weird weather....

So two weeks ago it was the winter holidays, despite it being far from winter with temperatures of nearly 10 degrees!

A very summery looking Trondheim. This was taken when I was out running in the school holidays.

In the first part of the winter holidays I went to Sweden with Kine, Berit, Tora and Ragna. We took the train over the first day which took 4 hours, the first half on a Norwegian train which wasn't anything special and the other half on a Swedish train which was like a 5 star hotel! We then stayed the night in a small town called Østersund before a big day of shopping. It may sound a bit strange but Østersund was like Invercargil, fairly flat and nothing utterly special. But I did enjoy the shopping, spending far more than I should of.

On the train in Sweden - it was super fancy!

Blueberry marzipan cake in sweden :)

Then later on we made a day trip to Røros, a picturesque old mining town situated in one of Norway's coldest spots. It was interesting to compare Røros mining life to that I have learned at school of central Otago and the main conclusion I came up with is the men from Røros must have been lots tougher because of the extreme temperatures of over 20 degrees in the summer and below minus 10 in the winter (really just like central with a colder winter). Unfortunately I forgot my camera that trip but a quick scan of google images or google maps with street view and you will see how incredible it is!

Røros on google maps - defiantly worth a look! I included the coordinates at the bottom of the picture so it is easier to navigate as the town happens to be under cloud on google earth!

I had hoped like some Norwegians and most exchange students that the snow would come and we would all live happily ever after. Unfortunately, that day still hasn't come and people are beginning to lose hope. I was doing a ski course once a week but now we have been pushed off ski field to the burbs to do a little bit of hill bounding with ski poles. Its sad but I still live in hope unlike many of the sports stores who have started their winter sales early after a disheartening amount of snow left customers with little shopping momentum.

In general this year has been very dry also due to a weather phenomena which has blown warm, dry saharan winds over northern Europe. This has been particularly bad for Norway as it has caused many fires because of the amount of wooden buildings. Once the fires start it is very difficult to control them in the given conditions. Some of the buildings which have been burned down were of historical significance also. In the olden days when Norwegian towns were closely packed wooden houses fires were a common tragedy but a reason why this is such an important news event now is that it has something that seemed to fade with technology but with extreme weather, it can unfortunately be brought back.

Thats all for now!
Briar :)

The best things

The past few weeks really haven't been easy but instead of writing about that I'm going to write about all the stuff I really enjoy. Maybe it will help me be more appreciative of the amazing experience I am having!
1. Norwegian chocolate. I probably eat way too much but it is perfectly creamy. Way better than cadburys!
2. Seeing the sun. Sounds a little bit strange but after such a dark winter there is nothing like the feeling of the sun. Even if it is still minus digits outside.
3. Food in general. Risgrøt, waffles, salmon, wholegrain bread, pastries, cakes with lots of cream, fresh berries and the list could go on!

Muskat and I having cuddles one day after school.

I make tea on Thursday. On this particular day I decided to try making risgrøt and I think it worked pretty well!

4. My host families cat. After I have been here for 6 months she has finally started liking me and now we are best friends.
5. There is a general appreciation of the outdoors here which is really cool. Something we need to learn more about in New Zealand!

In what other country does barbie go to the cabin for the weekend?!

6. Public amenities here are really good. My town has an awesome library. The schools are really good, the hospital looks like something from the future (hopefully I won`t have to make use of that!) and most  neighbourhoods have a little ice skating rink!
7. Busses go everywhere and run really often. It makes things very easy. I will admit that it did take a little while to get weaned off the tolcarne taxi system but I haven't taken the wrong bus for a while now (touch wood)
8. Towns are not made for cars. In fact they are made to be incredibly annoying if you try to take your car to town. This is good because roads and parking don't dictate the town!
9. Strong traditions because its such an old country. And there are special foods for every occasion!
10. My host family. I'm lucky to get to share this year with great people who enjoy sharing their culture as much as I like experiencing it!

Last, but defiantly not least, I got my first mark on a test which I had written in Norwegian! It was in geography and I got a 3 which is equal to a low achieved in New Zealand. 

Time flys when you are having fun!

So believe it or not but I am now over half way through my exchange. And I'm really not sure how I feel about it. Of course it will be awesome to see everyone back home but back home won't be the same now that all the friends who I was once in the same corridor with have been scattered about the countryside! And of course I will miss Norway terribly too. The hardest bit is knowing that I can't just fly the 40 hours back whenever I feel like it... That was something I never thought about when choosing somewhere on the other side of the earth! I always remember thinking before I left about how cool it would be to fast forward time for a minute or two and see what my life in Norway would really be like. And I had masses of unique questions that weren't the kind you could just google or ask another afser. I guess that is what excitement is, really. Anyway I am going to try and remember what these questions were and answer them here!

Q: What will school be like?
It's super hard and very different. I have got to the point in classes where I can understand the topic that is being taught but I am not good enough at writing to be able to do the assignments or tests which is incredibly frustrating. School is far more casual here also, more similar to a kiwi university than a kiwi highschool. People just come and go depending on when their classes are. This makes it pretty difficult for an exchange student and I would say it is the most challanging part of my exchange. I guess it helps prepare me for the real world but I also found out I had expectations that I didn't even realise!

Q: What will my host family be like?
Obviously, different. Coming from a only child boarding school type scenario suddenly living in a family again takes a wee bit of adjusting. But it is incredibly fun and I get along with everyone really well.

Q: Will there be heaps of snow? How cold will it get? What will the skiing be like?
In terms of snow I am feeling a little hard done by. This year is the warmest they have ever had. I didn't get a white christmas but I'm going to be back for that! Last year on christmas eve it was -20 this year it was around +5. The coldest I have been in since I am here is -17 but I am told that is nothing. Still, I had to take a picture of the thermometer.
The skiing is not at all like the snow farm. Because of the lack of snow this year the only track which has snow is a short 5km loop. So of course everyone from top athletes to mum, dad, 3 toddlers and the dog is there. It makes for a cosy ski.

Q: How long will it take me to learn the language?
I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with my level of language, you can ALWAYS know more. But this has been one of the hardest things for me, before coming to Norway I had never heard norwegian spoken and only briefly practiced learning colours on an app on my phone. It takes a long time and it is easy to feel discouraged!
I feel ok about the language now. It is one of those things that you get out what you put in but I remember when I had been here for two months and someone said to me that if you get so carried away with the language that you stop enjoying yourself then you need to re think your priorities. There has never been a truer word spoken!

Q: What will I miss the most?
Jimmies and apples and tomato's that aren't fluffy. Going to the beach and just seeing the sea meet the sky. Tolcarne. Oh and Taylor.

Christmas!

My stocking I brought from home (the knitted one on the left!) amongst the others!

Christmas in Norway is massive considering most New Zealanders and familiar with a laid back summer holiday one day type ordeal. Christmas lasted for the whole month of December! The whole town was decorated with lights which is very pretty because of the short days. The shortest day was the 23rd of December and we only had sunlight from 11 - 2 ish. You can understand why such a big deal is made of christmas because the dark time can be quite depressing!

Food on christmas eve. Home made herrings to the left and cloudberries and strawberry jam to the right... Yum!!!

Mitten knitted in a traditional style which I was given for Christmas. They are called Selbu mittens.

So after the month of christmas, the major celebration happens of christmas eve. On Christmas eve we had a dinner with traditional foods such as cloudberries, cold meats and different kinds of bread like lefsa (looks a bit like a tortilla but tastes a little bit sour). Then after that we opened presents! Imagine being a kid in Norway... I have so much respect for their patience. They wait the whole day with a slow family dinner and then cakes and tea and polite chat before they can open their presents. And I always thought it was hard enough waiting for all the aunties and cousins to wake up!

My favourite food from the christmas breakfast, home made liver paste (it tastes so much better than it sounds!)

Christmas eve is followed by several days of constant eating including a 'christmas breakfast'. Christmas breakfast is a 5 hour brunch in which you have several courses of meats, fish and my favourite, christmas cakes and tea! I am still recovering from the baking which I justified by it being a once in a lifetime experience! (Another Fat Student here I come!) But, I am proud to say I tried everything that was put in front of me and there was only a few things I didn't like!

Now christmas is over and its back to school. Only one week holiday for christmas in Norway! I have a lot more to write because it has been a long time since I have written anything on here so watch this space!

A tiny bit of the christmas baking. Ginger nuts, kransekake, notterkake (almond biscuits).

Nearly Christmas

A few weeks ago I found this rainbow on my way home from school!

So yesterday was my last day of school before the Christmas break. It is nice to be finished and I am really really looking forward to Christmas! In Norway its not like New Zealand with just Eve Mee engaging in the christmas spirt by herself. I haven't heard anyone complain of christmas carols yet! And it is everywhere, in the streets there are lights hanging above the street and very pretty star shaped lights which people have in their windows. And because it is so dark here (only light from 10 - 2.30 at the moment) it makes everything feel very cosy!

Christmas lights back when there was snow

Today I went to the church with my school which was the first time I have been to a church service in Norway. It was very different. They had different people performing and it was much more casual than your average chapel! Also I was surprised because it wasn't compulsory but most people still went which was really nice. I'm not sure you would find so many kiwi teenagers voluntarily going to a christmas church service! Afterwards my class had a really nice christmas lunch and said goodbye for the year.

The school church service... Sorry about the head.

Risgrøt

Risgrøt is my favourite Norwegian food! It is like a rice pudding made with short grain rice and milk. Traditionally it is a christmas food but norwegians eat it all year round for dinner which at first I thought was a little strange. At christmas time they take the skin off an almond and mix it in the risgrøt. Who ever finds the almond gets a marzipan pig (so I'm crossing all my fingers and toes)! I have found a recipe on the internet which resembles what I have made. If you are feeling adventurous or just missing me you can try making it!

Here is the link:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/40830/norwegian-rice-porridge.html

Christmas food is a major exchange highlight.... So much baking. AFS has a duel meaning everyone knows (Another Fat Student). Something strange here though is everyone eats mandarins here because it is a traditional christmas food! In fact most of my teachers brought mandarins to school in our last class for us to eat. I will post plenty of pictures of christmas food after it is over with but I have a few favourites for you in the meantime!

Kransekake my hostmum made

Krumkake my host mum made. They are made in a special iron which gives them a really pretty pattern!

Homemade pepperkake

Most Norwegians will stay home for christmas which makes sense as it is a very cold, dark time of year. This is very different to what I am used to and when I tell people my parents are going to the beach they have trouble imaging it! I was hoping to have a white christmas in Norway, but of course the one year I am here they don't. No snow is forecast for a long time and we have had very warm weather recently which melted the huge dump we had a few weeks ago.

But thats all, merry christmas or as the Norwegians say, god jul!!!!

Photos of late

Today, feeling slightly lazy but feeling I need a new post anyway I have decided to post a link to my photos on Facebook so even if you don`t have facebook or don`t want to be friends with me you can still see them! Here is the link, I`ll try to post something properly in the weekend!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.649402811744703.1073741827.100000249698231&type=1&l=0a3a5d8cef

Winter is here!

I think it would be fair to say that winter has now arrived in Trondheim. We have had several dumps of snow in town but they have been followed by warm spells so there is not much snow around. It is funny in Norway because they are so used to the snow that no one comments or gets excited when they see snow (some even look a little sad) and this is where my foreign nationality becomes very obvious. I guess this is mostly because snow is New Zealand would always mean no school which was the biggest perk of all. Here, it is life as normal except with maybe a few more clothes when you go out. Another thing that busts my disguise is my total inability to walk on ice. It is hard for me to decide if this is because of my terrible coordination or just something that my unadapted gene pool was missing but all Norwegians manage perfectly. There is a way they walk all taking very small steps and standing very upright that works even for people wearing high heals (getting passed by women wearing high heals while I walk to school in my yax tracks is a little humiliating).

Walking home from school... In the snow and dark. Quite different from the bush track!

It has also started getting really dark really early. Today it got dark around 2.30pm and it is still three weeks until the shortest day! This is really hard because it makes you feel exhausted all the time. For norwegians they are used to it and everyone has their own little strategies for coping with it but for me it is really difficult. I never want to go outside or do anything that requires energy because when my body sees the first little glimpse of darkness I am totally exhausted. But I guess I'm starting to find my little ways to cope with it too.

There is something really cool about the darkness though... In New Zealand I know people would say 'oh it's dark and cold and snowing and I can't possibly go outside! I defiantly can't walk and I probably shouldn't drive either'. There is none of that attitude here! If it is dark you can still carry on doing the things you need to do. You can go walk or run after dark and if it is cold, well you just need more clothes! But it has taught me a really good lesson about how to just get on with things!

The finished sweater.... Well I thought it was finished!

This dark weather has its uses though and it happens to be particularly good for knitting! I had almost finished my sweater when I decided to take the torso piece off the needles to see if it fit me. It was so massive I could wrap it around myself twice and I knew that unless I went on some serious anti dieting or took on the true afs title (another fat student) I was never going to fit it.... So last Saturday afternoon I painstakingly undid the whole thing with the help of Kine. It was hard but I want it to be perfect because the wool cost me a small fortune.

After: The balls of wool all ready to be re knitted.

Anyway, this was longer than I intended! I better go work on my knitting now...

Electric cars

In Norway it is very common to have an electric car and some, to be honest look totally ridiculous. Most of them are from the manufacturer 'smart', have three sets and look like an egg carton. They are very quiet to run and it can be quite terrifying if you are walking because you cannot hear them coming behind you. They come in handy however, as you can often drive around traffic barriers in them and get into parking buildings for free. Also, many places in town have parking places reserved for these cars and you can charge your electric car while you shop.

I found both of these green ones on the same day. Not sure if it is cute or ew.

Not even sure what this is... But it made me laugh

However, I spotted this electric car the other day while out walking. It is the only electric sports car on the market in Norway. Because it is electric it is subsidised by the government so it is a reasonably affordable. Because of this it has now become very popular.

Electric sports car.

Skiing and the elk

 

The weekend before last I went skiing for my first time in Norway! It was amazing, very beautiful and sunny day which made it very plesant. It was very different to skiing in New Zealand. First the trees... Who put those there?! But it made it more exciting because you couldn`t tell where you might end up. But I also came to realise why we have so many forigners skiing at the Snow Farm. In Norway it is croweded and my speed didn`t really get past a shuffle most of the time, not bad for a Sunday ski but I can imagine it would be annoying for others. I guess you don`t appriciate what you have until it is gone! But now all the snow is melted and everyone says they are expecting a mild winter so I might have to wait a bit.

Last weekend I helped my host parents cut up an elk which they had bought, unbutchered. Acting like the tough New Zealander I am, I got stuck in and helped cut up the beast. It took three of us over three hours to get everything bagged, minced and in the freezer but we made it. The white kitchen required quite a bit of cleaning but it is now back to normal and I no longer have elk blood under my fingernails either which is a bonus!

I have a good idea for my next blog post so you shouldn`t have to wait too long for the next one. Sorry I haven`t been posting as much as I should but when there is snow to be skied and elk to be cut it has to wait!

 

And an update on the knitting: I am nearly ready to start the top pattern. As of last night I had 8cm to go so I will keep you posted after I start the design!!!!

 

Knitting!!!

I have been pretty bad at this blogging thing recently and I am sorry if you have been faithfully checking back to find no updates! But I'm not just lazy there is a reason I have not been blogging (well, mostly), it is because I have started traditional Norwegian knitting! I think it is possibly the most under rated craft in the world. For those who don't know the famous designs a quick google search of 'norwegian knitting' will clear up your curiosity.

Since I arrived here I have made two hats and I have started on a jumper which I am very proud of! My host family's grandmother has been helping me and she even included me when she made socks for all the grandkids! It is very nice to have the help because I know if I tried to do this back in New Zealand I might have got a little confused.

My first hat with Norwegian design

Socks that Kine knitted for me

                                 

My sweater I'm knitting

Weekend at the Cabin

Last weekend I spent the weekend at my family's cabin which was very fun. In Norway many families have their own cabin in the mountains. In the summer they go hiking and in the winter they go skiing. So going to a cabin is a true Norwegian experience. Cabins often don't have electricity or running water but it is becoming more common to have these luxuries. Driving to the door is also common now however I embraced the short uphill dash in the rain!

The rain soon stopped however and we were left with a nice day. In the afternoon we went hiking around the area. In Norway there are plenty of wild berries and in the particular area of the cabin, blueberries were abundant. We walked until we got to some old musterers houses which were in true Norwegian style complete with foliage on the roof. We had chocolate and blueberries and walked back to the cabin.

In the cabin there was a tv and I was really surprised to find that there was also internet! So after sitting by the fire, watching a show similar to the x factor. It was mostly candle lit but there were dim solar lights also. Basically nothing like a New Zealand tramping experience! I slept in a double bed with a duvet and sheets and I was warm the whole night, something which is somewhat infrequent in New Zealand.

In the morning we decided to walk to a look out point near the top of the hill. It was quite a long walk and it probably took us about 3 hours to get there due to the blueberry eating! On the way down from the hill I got to see reindeer which was particularly exciting when you are from New Zealand. I am still convinced it was Rudolph and his buddies because one of them had a red ribbon around his neck!

Bicycle lift

In Norway probably about a third of people bike to school or work. It is not uncommon to see someone biking in a suit or a dress and having appropriate clothing does not seem to phase them. So one of the cultural differences I have decided to embrace is the use of the a bike. My bike belongs to my host grandmother but she is kind enough to let me borrow it! It even comes with a 90's helmet which I get weird looks for wearing as no one here wears helmets either!

This video is of me attempting the bicycle lift home from school. The local government wanted to encourage people to bike rather than take their cars so they built a bicycle lift so people would not have to bike up the hill. It is very had to explain but you can see how it works in the video. The word lift made me think it would be very easy but I soon found out it is actually very difficult. This is a video of one of my not so successful attempts but you will be glad to know that I have now mastered it. I use it twice a day most days to get home from school at lunch and home time.

Velkommen til Norge

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my blog! In case you don't already know this blog is about my afs exchange to Norway. I will be living in Trondheim which is in central Norway near the coast. I am living with a Norwegian family who are very good to me and I go to a local school called Thora Storm.

I arrived in Norway 3 days ago and landed at Oslo airport. I then went to a camp 45 mins out of Oslo where everyone from all over the world going to Norway was taught about language and other things to help prepare us. It was beside a lake and it was very beautiful (like all of Norway!). There is another girl from New Zealand also in Norway. She lived about 120km away from Trondheim.

Today was my first day of school. It is very different to New Zealand which I expected but it wasn't similar to anything I had expected either. There are probably 100 or more people in my year. I am in year 12 here but they call it vgs 2 (second year of upper secondary school) and it is much more like a university than a high school. The also have many more subjects than New Zealand which is very good for me as there are lots of things I enjoy on offer! I am taking Norwegian (for non norwegian speakers. Like esol in NZ I think), physiology, sociology, geography, statistics, social studies and German. Statistics and German will be interesting but it is compulsory to take a maths subject and they call it a 'global language' subject.

At lunchtime today I went walking around the town. I found all the important things like Zara and the MAC counter in no time. The streets here are very narrow and cobble stone which makes it difficult for walking as there it is uneven. I would hate to be wearing high heals on this and I don't know how people do it! There are lots of trees even in the very middle of town. Dunedin is naked compared to this. But because it is the middle of summer and I have come from winter I cannot get over how green everything is, even slightly blinding in places!