Home, Sweet

cold, snowy Norway.

This was quite the wonderful sight for sore eyes. Some winter, at last.

When I left England it was sunny and felt more like the beginning of March than the middle of December, so, when I finally landed in Norway (Rygge airport to be exact), I was thrilled when icy asphalt and crisp, cool air met me. I nearly stopped on the top of the stairs in the doorway of the plane as I breathed in deeply, thoroughly revelling in the slightly cold, sharp feeling spreading through my head and lungs.  

And so far, I have enjoyed a bottle of Nestea peach ice tea, as for some reason I can’t find that anywhere in Southend, and three hveteboller.

Happy Christmas and a happy new year!

84 Days

That’s how long I’ve been in England.

84 days; 12 weeks on the dot today. When I go home tomorrow, it will be 12 weeks and one day. 85 days in England. An eternity that passed in the blink of an eye. 

I passed all my assessments, got yellow belt in Aikido (which basically is beginner-level. You start with white, then move on to yellow when you pass your first grading). I didn’t have any absences all term either, which is pretty good - at least since it’s just about 3 people in my whole class that didn’t have any absences whatsoever. 

But since it’s now the end, I decided this is as good a time as any to give you a quick tour of where I live. 

Picture 1 is what you see right outside my room door. Picture 2 is what you see to the right and picture3 what you see to the left. Picture 4 and 5 are the kitchen (obviously), which is at the end of the corridor in picture 3, on the left hand side. The door at the very end of the corridor leads to a next door flat, though that door is always locked.

 

 Picture 6 is the entrance; what you see if you open the middle door in picture 2. Picture 7 is whatyou see right outside our entrance door. Picture 8 is what you see to the left outside the door, and picture 9 is what you see to the right. Picture 10 is what our entrance door looks like from the outside.

Picture 11 and 12 is what you see if you continue to the right, which is the way I go every morning. Picture 13 is the staircase leading down to the entrance, common room and washing room.

 Picture 14 is what the entrance looks like from he outside. Picture 15 is what you see straight ahead when coming out, picture 16 is what you see to the right and picture 17 is what you see to the left. In that direction is the high street and university.
(And again, as always, click on the pictures for a bigger version.)

Christmas presents: sorted. 

Let It Snow

So I got out of bed, 

made my bed and carried on with the everyday morning ritual; dragging my feet to the bathroom, groaning as I with as little effort as possible pulled the brush through my hair a few times to look reasonably presentable, got dressed, and all that jazz. 

Then, as I was ready to go on to the next stage (namely: to the kitchen), I turned around briefly as I had forgotten my slippers, and that’s when I first saw it. 

There was something white outside my window – and not only that, there was lots of it, and some of it was moving around. 

Not really daring to believe what my brain – with a split second of reasoning –concluded was going on I briskly walked to the window to prove myself wrong. Only to discover I was very much right. It. Was. Snowing! 

I who had finally decided that this place only had three seasons; spring, summer autumn, and now it was suddenly snowing! 

Putting on my winter boots for the first time this year I walked from home ten minutes earlier than normal as I just couldn’t stay inside for any longer. Santa hat on my head and gloves on my hands, I met a few of my classmates outside, and together we walked through this winter wonderland with cheer and grins. 

Not everyone shared our joy though, which I guess is fair enough – heck, I don’t normally like snow. Or the cold. Yet now I find myself longing to get home to a white scenery and some proper minus degrees. It’s hard getting into the Christmas spirit without snow, even for all the Christmas music I listen to and my Santa hat, which I’ve been wearing every day since the 1^st of the December. 

Sadly, the snow was gone by the time we hit lunch break, but it was definitely better than nothing, and I shall treasure the memory forever.  

(This actually happened yesterday, the 5^th of December. I wrote it, but forgot to post it. The church is where most of our lessons take place).

All I Want For Christmas

Brain: “You have assessments on Monday.”

Me: “Assessments, what’s that?” 

No, but seriously, what importance do assessments hold in comparison to decorating for Christmas? 

Assessment 1

Articulation

The first assessment out of 8 for this term. They basically decide whether you pass or fail the subject (and if you fail one subject, you fail the whole year, sooo yeah), and come in many different forms. For articulation it was a 10 minute presentation. Easy, you say? That’s what I thought when we first got the task as well. But I fear short presentations are like paper cuts; sometimes loads worse than a bigger cut. 

But, at any rate, I passed. So, one down and seven to go. 

(For my folktale I did “kjærringa mot strømmen”, that got many surprised gasps and laughs).