30 juli 08

third unfinished article for the newspaper.

Soo...the day for receiving flight plans are here. For some it is going to be a looong day swapping planes, going through security over and over again, wasting time in different airports. For others the last journey is only going to take about six hours from A to B. Because this is the last journey. When we arrive at our final destination, wherever that may be, we are in our new home state. This is where we are going to be for the next ten months, twelve months for some. I do not know if all of my expectations are going to be fulfilled, but I hope so and I am going to do my best to make them come true, as I hope all of you will.

On the other hand, leaving camp is not only a beginning, it is also an end. Ending relationships you might have gained during these two weeks, hugging your best friends goodbye, maybe for the last time in along time, and getting the last signatures at your EF t-skirt. In moments like this you have to love Internet, the world wide web. E-mails, MSN, Skype and facebook are all great ways to keep in touch, some might also send letters in the old fashioned way. Germany and Norway is not that far away from each other, are they?:S A visit is not that unthinkable..;)


Before we start thinking about leaving, let us first discuss where all of our new clothes should go? Because I do not expect that you actually have room for more clothes and stuff in you luggage? Personally I had to sit on mine while my mom closed and tied a belt around it in Norway.. Okay, fine. I do not have a belt around mine, but I have seen many who have. If the belt is there to recognize the suitcase or to hold it together I do not know, and whatever your excuse is it doesn't matter. One of my teacher told us about a great thing to do if the suitcase should suddenly shrink: you just go to the post office with the rest of the clothes and mail them to your host parents! There is a limit though, please do not send like three huge packages to your family. I do not think it helps the first impression..

With this short article, I hope you all have a great last couple of days at camp among friends and familiar faces. Maybe we will see each other again as returnees. Hopefully your last travel will go just as planned. Have a great year!

28 juli 08

annette paa NM!!
http://www.golfbox.no/livescoring/leaderboard.asp?tour={399E0D78-2C82-4536-893E-2786292735E2}&grp=1

Go Annette!!!<3

27 juli 08

second finished article for the newspaper at camp

Boston. What do we know about Boston..maybe except from the movie we all saw a couple of days ago, even though I admit, that several of the students used the opportunity to get some sleep. Jet lag, oh yeah. I hope that the trip to Boston stands out as highlight among many for you guys, I know it does for me; cheap shopping, friends everywhere, sparkling sun, Applestore, Hard Rock Cafe( if any of you are interested, visit this website for online shopping. I l-o-v-e these prices!!). "The time of our life", I guess so :D

Walking around in Boston made me realize how many students from EF there are in Vermont right now, or maybe Boston is too small for all of us. Wherever you went you either saw blue bags or a yellow tag on a chest. It is easy to make new friends when you know a bit about them in the first place. Like the fact that they are travelling with EF, which means that they are in the exact same situation as you, which again means that they are just as insecure as yourself. Knowing that we are all in this together, clinging to each other for help or comfort, makes it easier(yeah, e-a-s-i-e-r, not easy) to make friends. At the same time, to be a EF exchange student kind of means that you got to have the EF spirit. You know; be brave enough to leave everything at home and start a new life where nothing is familiar. New friends or "old" friends, having a great time was not exactly the hardest thing that day...I am guessing(just guessing) that the hardest thing was to avoid burning you VISA or Mastercard. Exspecially for the girls. Yes, I saw all of the Victoria Secrets bags.

Boston was not only about friends or feeling free to spend money, it was also about buying your first pair (or maybe pair number 28) of Rayban glasses. Don't you just love being in the sun and looking good at the same time?;) *we love Rayban*

After asking a lot of people what they liked the best about Boston I got very different answers. Some said that the old, beautiful buildings squeezed between the new and modern ones was breathtaking and made Boston stand out compared to other cities. Others told me that Hard Rock Cafe made their day,(that had to be a busy day for the ladies behind the desk, I do not think they mind so much though..) To be attending Harvard is probably a dream for some and walking over there with a bunch of friends reminds you that your dream is not just a dream, you just have to reach out and grab it, (like in working you ass off and then go for it).

"Even though they are so big, they move with such grace". This comment was made by one of my friends who joined me at the whale watching. Although, we kind of feel quiet big sometimes compared to bugs and chipmunks and squirrels, we are kind of not that big compared to whales. I mean, imagine an animal which is 40-50 ft long(12-16 meters) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms..Personally, I call that huge. The most interesting thing about these whales were their fin, I know, it may sound a bit weird, but just hear me out here. The color patterns under their fin(also called tail, if it make sit easier to understand) is just like fingerprints. each whale has a different pattern and this is how you identify individuals. We saw four different whales, at least I did, compared to Patti (Patti the nurse) who saw like nine whale out there. four of these jumped out of the water, called breaching, and we could see their whole body. It was great. If some of you are going to Boston; go there! It is worth the hour-long boat trip out there.

It was probably after Boston we changed "where are you from?" to "are you from Germany?", the well-known question constatnly asked between soon-to-be friends. Since 47 % of all of the students are from Germany, it makes sense and the possibility to be wrong is actually quiet small. You guys are like everywhere, and wherever I was going in Boston I could hear germans talk together, (yeah, thats right! in German! - points!) However, I hope you all had a great time and spend a lot of money pr just chilled among friends and old buildings.

Online shopping Hard Rock Cafe: http://www.hardrock.com/Estore/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=Hardrock+Online&category%5Fname=HARD+ROCK+SALE&Page=1

26 juli 08

Humpback whale. I gaar dro alle studentene til Boston, Vermont. jeg og Simone pluss en laerer og en annen elev dro for aa se paa hvalene en time med baat utenfor kysten. De er helt sinnsykt store. paa bare 10 % av turene kan man se at de hopper opp av vannet, som den paa bilde. bare for aa skryte litt saa kalles dette breaching;) Tre av de fire hvalene vi saa hoppet opp av vannet og lagde utrolig store bolger. Det var sinnsykt kult aa se paa dem ligge aa dose i vannet like ved baaten, de blir mellom 12-16 meter lange og veier opp til 36, 000kg! Vi brukte tre timer ute paa vannet, en time ut dit hvalene var og en tyime titting og en time tilbake igjen. Jeg hadde selvfolhgelig glemt solkrem saa jeg har et tydelig t-skjorte skille paa armene...:P har hvertfall laert aa alltid ha paa meg solkrem. . .

De siste tre timene i Boston brukte vi paa shopping:D Men siden jeg allerede har overvekt paa min koffert kjopte jeg ikke saa mye..meen det ble jo noe likevel:P

Nyt sommeren! Peace and Love.

July 23 08

Finished article for the newspaper at camp.

For most of us camp is like vacation. You are free to do (almost) anything you want to do and even get points doing it. For others camp is being homesick, all the time or just temporarily. You realize that, even though you knew it when you signed the EF contract, you are going to be away from the place you call home and everything you know and maybe have ever known for ten months. Because it is only ten months.

As my teacher said to our class on Monday, this is were we can make our mistakes. This is were nobody cares if you mess up with the right tense in your sentences and your punctuation is not the most important thing for your teachers anymore, as it probably was in your home country. We are at camp to have fun and prepare ourselves to face whatever is out there. Because this is real. It is not some game you can play and if you loose you will get another life. This is it. This is supposed to be the time of your life, a time to remember forever. You just get one chance to get it right and if you get caught doing something you should not be doing you are out. First flight, straight home.

Imagine going home after two, maybe three weeks. That got to be the most humiliating thing that could happen to you. After saying tear-dripping goodbyes to your family and friends and silently sobbing on the plane, you are being sent home before it has even really started.
During the first weekend a friend of mine and I thought about the scenario. After a while with loudly discussions about what could happen, reactions from the ones at home and the humiliation, we shook hands and promised that none of us were going home until the very end.

Although, some of the students do not care about speaking English "at all times", as it says on the boards, they should at least try to imagine being around people from other countries who are constantly speaking German or Norwegian or Swedish or another language you are not familiar with. It is hopeless. Trying to understand and participate is impossible, (yes, Ella, it IS possible for something to be impossible). So just try, for some time to speak English, even with your friends. I know it is hard and a bit pointless speaking English with your friends from the same country, but it helps a lot. You will improve your English doing it and if you are lucky you also might get a "I was caught speaking English"-card instead of "sorry, one point less to you my friend"-card, which might help getting to second place after "Ella and the chipmonks"...;)

So, have a great time here at camp; improving your English, making friends, getting points and even winning competitions. Camp is suppose to be fun. Be active. Speak English. Make friends. Have the time of your life.

22 juli 08

hgey hey hey..

yess naa har endelig skolen begynt her paa campen, egentlig ganske greit. slipper man aa henge rundt uten noe spesielt aa gjore. savner dere alle!! spesielt mormor:) takk for kjempe hyggelige kommetarer av dere begge, mormor og monica.. og ja, jeg har stilt klokken riktig tenk! meeeen klokken paa bloggen viser nok tiden i AZ og den er noen timer bak den i boston.

har faat et par utrolig hyggelige venner fra tyskland som jeg har det utrolig goy med! snakkes folkens.

Peace.

21 juli 08

yess, da var jeg i Boston da:D
her er det utrolig fint! den lange reisen var nesten verdt det;) etter til sammen 20 timer i buss, fly, bil og venting saa ble vi ganske saa lei oss selv og alle andre. det var utrolig deilig aa komme frem og i sdeng..\\snakkes enere..!!! \\
klemmer ida

17 juli 08

“I really can't deny it, I am who I am. I'm pretty normal. I'm not that smooth type of girl. I run into things, I trip, I spill food. I say stupid things... I really don't have it all together. Still, I’m me. And nothing is going to change that.”

Vær deg selv. Alltid.

Bare 2 dager igjen. Love, Peace and Confidence.

15 juli 08

Da er vi off til Kragerø^^ Blir kos med noen dager vekk ifra hjemme..slitsomt kjedelig å bare loke i samme hus når man har ferie..  Men! for dere som kjenner familien min så har de tenkt seg en tur til Egypt..! det er nesten så jeg er misunnelig, men å være glad på deres vegne funker vel bedre..jeg skal jo tross alt til Hawaii om ting går som planlagt;) Fortsatt god sommer!!<3>

yess..men da var det bare 4 dager igjen da <3 Peace.

14 juli 08

Vi er bare skygger som en kort tid får danse i lyset.

-Mitt navn er Coriander av Sally Gardner

5 dager igjen..wow..FEM DAGER igjen..utrolig.. ..Peace and Love.

11 juli 08

Du kjenner følelsen; å ha håpet på at noe skal skje i flere dager, kanskje uker. Måneder. År. At han skulle smile til deg og si hei eller at du skulle tørre å starte en samtale. At du endelig skulle bli frisk og slippe å ligge i sykesengen i tredje ferien på rad. At faren din skulle se deg og ikke bare se forbi, late som om det du sier er interessant, mens han egentlig bare venter på at den perfekte søsteren din skulle komme hjem med enda en hjemmeseier. Å endelig få dra vekk, vekk fra hjemme og de samme ansiktene, de samme opplevelsene. 

Hva om du har ventet og lengtet på noe så utrolig lenge og så er det helt anderledes enn hva du ville. Enn hva du trodde. Enn hva du håpet. Du fullfører likevel, ikke sant? Tar sjansen og driter i bekymringene som står i lange køer i øynene til de som står deg nær. Når du må gjøre det slutt med kjæresten din som du har vært sammen med i fem måneder. Når du må forlate vennene dine for å få nye. Ingen kan vel erstatte en barndomsvenn, en drømmekjæreste, en familie. Jeg antar at ingen kan noen gang erstattes eller byttes ut, men kanskje tomrommene etter dem kan fylles. Litte grann. Bare akkurat så mye at du ikke savner dem hele tiden. Akkurat så mye at man har plass til de gamle når de kommer tilbake og tar igjen plass; i hjertet ditt.

Noen venner kommer for å bli, andre stikker etter bare noen år. Likevel er de der for oss. Oss som trenger en skulder å gråte på, noen til å lytte, noen til å prate for deg så du slipper å gjøre det selv. Jeg er utrolig glad i alle vennene mine; dere fra andre siden av krydsby, fra Mølla, fra Nadderud, fra før. Alle sammen har en plass hos meg, jeg har alltid tid til dere som dere alltid har tid til meg. Vi prates igjen om ett år. Forhåpentligvis før.

8 dager igjen, fortsatt masse tid til alle. Peace, Love and Friendship. Alltid. 

10 juli 08

siden jeg ikke har noe spess på hjertet i dag tenkte jeg å bare quote en sang som jeg liker veldig godt. The River Is Wild av The Killers. Enjoy.

You better run for the hills before they burn
Listen to the sound of the world
Then watch it turn
I just want to show you what I know
And catch you when the current lets you go

Now the cards are everywhere 
Face in dust, the fairground
I don’t think I ever seen so many headlights
But there’s something pulling me
The circus and the crew
Well they’re just passing through
Making sure merry still goes round
But it’s a long, long, long way down

9 dager igjen....Peace and Patience.

5 juli 08

www.postsecrets.com

14 dager igjen. Peace.

4 juli 08

“If you could go back and change just one thing about your life, would you? And if you did, would that change make your life better? Or would that change ultimately break your heart? Or break the heart of another? Would you choose an entirely different path? Or would you change just one thing, just one moment, one moment that you always wanted back?” 
-Lucas Scott

Vil hilse til Sukhjeet!!:) Kjempe hyggelig å møte deg i dag, tusen takk for det hyggelige kortet og den kjempe fine gaven:D Kommer til å savne deg utrolig mye!!! Vi sees om ett år<3

15 dager igjen. Think. Act. Love. Peace.