It's Life (and Rain!)

So I was right about the wind bringing the cold! Lately it has been from about mid 40 to about mid 50 degrees Fahrenheit with usually still some wind. I have found myself wearing definitely more than I normally do this time of year, but it's not quite so bad yet! The most necessary addition to my daily wear is a very warm wool scarf. Cold necks are not enjoyable.

We've also had a fairly good amount of rain lately! People here still think I'm a little bit crazy for enjoying it as much as I do, but seeing those big grey clouds make me more happy than a fat kid in a candy store.

Yeah, to an update on life! I'm doing good! Becoming more and more accustomed with Norwegian culture everyday, but that sadly includes that my time here is starting to go faster and faster. Here I am sitting on a Saturday evening, feeling as if it should still be a Tuesday. I'm doing well-ish in my school classes? Not exactly 6's (Norsk grades go from 1-6, 1 being bad, 6 being good!) but not 1's and failing either, so that's a very good thing!  

I have also taken on a couple new Norwegian sayings. 

~ Oii! = Whoops or surprised 

~ Ash = Oh Yuck! 

So, YAY FOR NORSK PROGRESSION! ;)

One Month in a Blink of an Eye

This last Friday marks the one month anniversary of my stay here in Norway. Honestly saying that seems surreal. A part of me feels as if I've been here my entire life, another part of me feels as if I still just arrived. The last month has been great though, of course it has had its ups and downs (downs mainly being the Norwegian mathematics, numbers are not my thing), but the large majority has been really positive! Because I have been so horrible at remembering and finding time to blog,these are a few random interesting moments that I have had since I set foot in Scandinavia!

~ Met a very interesting man with dreads that asked me if I knew what was happening to the unicorns in the arctic.
~ Met a group of Americans and abruptly walked up to them saying "Hi! I'm American too!" (not my best moment but hearing someone speak with your accent is incredibly exciting).
~ Had the BEST latte of my life (dark chocolate chili to be exact) thanks to the wonderful advice of my host brother.
~ Saw the only bike elevator in the world.
~ Got kinda sorta lost in Trondheim for 10 minutes and met a lady with a beard.
~ Swam in Norway in September (I thought my little toe was going to fall off from hypothermia).
~ Tried fish oil and didn't die.
~ Have eaten a massive amount of bread and cheese
~ Tried and acquired a taste for Brunost, a Norwegian cheese that is really good with jam.
~ Began drinking my coffee black, like a true viking.
~ Got a Norwegian flu bug.
~ Experienced a lot of sun for a Norwegian September.
~ Began knitting a pair of socks.
~ Ate extreme amounts of Norwegian chocolate.

So yeah! I probably missed a lot of stuff  but other than that my life has mainly included school, meeting a lot of people and attempting to pronounce their names, lotta sleep, lotta new language confusion and a lot of, now looking back, pretty funny foreigner mistakes.

I am pretty sure my Norsk is getting better and my English is getting worse. I have also began confusing Spanish with my Norsk and have began mentally speaking "Sporsk." I will be giving lessons on this new found language if anyone is interested, pay only valid in Kvikk Lunsj, Stratos or Smash (This is Norwegian chocolate of course if anyone from America was wondering!).

On my morning jog I found myself being blown over to the opposite side of the road so I believe Autumn and the cold are now coming with it!! I gotta say, I'm pretty stoked!

Hope everyone is doing well and I will try and be better about blogging now that I'm more settled into my new life! <3

Hei fra Norge!

Hei! Today, I have been in Norge for a week and 1 day! I was going to post earlier but "Say Yes to the Dress" with Norwegian subtitles came on, so ya know I had to study hard ;). But yeah! I can tell this will be a long post so if your in a hurry, i'll just sum this post up into one sentence.

Norway is simply amazing.

Flew into the country this this Friday and can I just say international flights are amazing?! NY to Berlin I was surrounded by beverages, blankets, two full meals, movies, German chocolate and Pink Floyd. My eight hour flight seemed like an hour. Air Berlin sadly lost all of the American AFS students bags and I spent my first few hours in Oslo filling out paperwork and talking in the airport. Later on our stay in Oslo they were all found and most of us received all of our bags in Oslo airport on our flight to our host families. The whole situation ended up being for the better, my bag ended up weighing 20 kilos in a large duffel, so it pretty much just played out that I didn't have to drag my  heavy bag through the streets of Oslo, the airport took it for me!

< Filling in the time in Oslo airport

We had orientation in rural Oslo from Friday to Sunday morning. The place was absolutely packed with AFS students and my gosh was it loud! The three days were filled with Norwegian, AFS guidelines, awesome people from all over the world and FOOD, I cannot forget the food. Norwegian food is kinda amazing and always contains some kind of bread, usually with the exception of dinner. After the orientation all of us got on buses and went back to Oslo airport where we then flew off to our separate regions (there are 5 in Norway), I am in region 4 which is Trondheim area, the regional groups join up multiple times in a year for different activity's and orientations. After landing in Trondheim we met up with our host families (and I gotta say, I probably have the best host family on the planet!) and headed home! Before however, we picked up some food, I can now say my first meal in Norway with my Norwegian family was.....................wait for it............. McDonalds! Although, I gotta say Norwegian McDonalds does taste different then in the states.

The Monday after I arrived I began school! I have never been so tired and wanted to sleep so bad in my life. With a nine hour jet leg weighing on me, waking up and functioning was difficult, but I of course managed! School in Norway is so great though, school starts and ends at different times depending on the classes that you take and the entire system is basically set up more like a college in which you are responsible for your own learning and getting to and from school. There are buses available and teachers willing to help, but in the week that I have been in school I have not seen a teacher "coach" a student once into schoolwork. Basically, compared to my previous school you are treated more maturely and in my opinion many of the students act that way as well.

Norway is super beautiful as well.... even in the rain :)
The hottest its gotten here is about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, which for me is perfect, hot weather has never really suited me... Here are a couple of pictures I've taken in the last few days that I have been here.

Well I could probably go on but my laptop battery is almost dead and it's getting late! God Natt, hope everyone is doing well! :)

Keep calm and go to Norway

I keep on having to remind myself to breathe... This is crazy amazing! I leave my tiny town in TWO days, I will have my feet in Norway in FIVE and meet my host family in SEVEN! Honestly, I can't believe how fast this is all happening.

In just a few days I will be leaving the only country I have ever known to completely start over in a foreign country I have never been to. I am leaving my home to go to another home, I am leaving my friends to make new friends, I am leaving my family to join another. I must admit, I'm scared! Probably more excited and anxious, but still the concept is daunting! Thankfully though, I was lucky to have an amazing host family that I am so excited to meet and be a part of! Having them definitely takes a LOT of the stress and fears away.

I recently said goodbye to most of my friends here in The Dalles. We had a hilariously fun Napoleon Dynamite themed party, hosted (of course) by my mom. Goodbyes are always bittersweet, saying goodbye to the people I basically grew up with was never meant to be easy, but of course, I will see them again! 

PROJECT PACK FOR A YEAR has basically taken over my room (to the point that I now have to sleep on the couch...). This monster of a project has been packed, unpacked and then repacked probably four times already and I still don't think it's right! I have decided to stick to my plan of one checked luggage bag and one carry on, so this will take some very creative thinking! I recently got some great advice just wear everything I will need in layers on the plane! Looking like a Pillsbury dough boy has never seemed more tempting...

Well god dag! Hope everyone is doing well, the next time I post I will be in NORWAY!! 

Packing, School and Google relationships.

One month and twenty one days until departure (or something like that).

I can not believe that in less that two months I will be traveling out of The States for the first time in my life, it seriously seems just too good to be true, but here I am!

Anyways, life has been pretty busy. At this time I am still working my normal two part time job schedule and getting everything ready and together for the trip. Packing is turning into a job all in itself, as I am going to try and bring the one bag with a maximum of 40 lbs. weight (holy crap) for an entire year. I'm pretty sure I'll end up giving in and buying a second bag... but at this point I'm staying strong! Haha.

School recently ended a couple weeks ago which takes a load of the stress away in itself, but leaving was still bittersweet. It's hard when you have to look around at a school, teachers, friends and memories that come along with them, all of which have sculpted and molded you over the years and think, "I'm not going to be a part of ANY of this for a year..." After living in such a small town, that you know pretty much everyone in, as they know you, it kinda becomes hard to imagine yourself without it. 

But, although sad to leave my tiny little town that has grown enormously on me over the years, I am BEYOND excited to explore a new country and see and experience things that I have never encountered ever before in my life. Basically, holy crap... I finally get to travel! :)

 Since I've talked so much about my town today, I thought I would post a picture. So below is a photo of The Dalles Oregon. The entire town sits pretty much on a hillside with orchards on the highest hills (to the left of this photo). It makes for some gorgeous scenery, but it's a killer if you have allergies like mine.

Oh! I've been practicing my Norwegian (or well trying to). I've found that good old Google translate is becoming my worst enemy... although he (yes my Google account is a he) is great for translating Norwegian to English, I find that his skills on translating English to Norwegian are often very tragically wrong... and for this reason our relationship is in a constant imbalance. But, on a more positive note, Google's language flaws have allowed me to meet my second language love, www.sofn.com (Sons of Norway.com). Because of this new found friend, I've been creating many flashcards and annoying the crud out of my poor family with my poor pronunciation.

Well I believe that will be the end of my post for now, I am headed off to the movies with my little sister. Woooooh for matinee cheap prices! Thanks for reading! :)

Poker Night was a success! Takk!

Takk to the participants and all the people that donated, I was able to pay off the remainder of my  tuition!!!
 I am so very grateful for Hi-Way House and for all the work they put into it to make the evening a success, you all have truly blessed me so much (again yes, cheesy but it definitely sums it up). Although I'm happy that I have completed my payment, I am sad that my fundraising journey is now closing. I have met so many amazing people, shared and received so many great stories, and have had so many amazing experiences that I probably would have never encountered without climbing this financial mountain, and although it was at times very difficult I am happy I did it. Thank you everyone for making this all possible, without your support I would not be where I am today and be able to accomplish what I have accomplished so far.

The Dalles Sunset

I felt like I should share a little bit of what my towns sunsets look like.

This photo was taken right off my back porch today when I got home.