A missed photo!

Belfast Zoo, 2018

I just want to apologise to my Norwegian friend for not even posting a photo of a spider. There are not that many around at the moment and I wasn't really feeling up to hunting down the few that may still live in nooks and crannies. I promise I will try to do better!

Anyway, my weekend was mainly spent on the couch doing extremely little. It turns out that the cold I have (not that severe really, although my nose may not agree), was hiding a migraine. And because it was hidden behind the cold, I didn't take the meds in time. By the time I did take them, they had such a hard job to actually work, that it took ages. 

Picking what to have

But, finally on Saturday the M started going down a bit and I was able to at least enjoy some time with just Miss O. Living with parents is all fine and dandy, but sometime you just need some time alone. 

On Sunday I felt okay and the M decided to stay away as well, which was good, because I had promised my mum I would do the laundry and I was going to bake an apple pie because a friend was coming over for the day. 

Yummie!

In the afternoon said friend and I wanted to go to a restaurant and my friend couldn't find her car anymore. That in itself was bad enough, but it was absolutely pouring down! Not the best for me. Fortunately we found the car eventually (about 15-20 minutes) and we made our way to the restaurant. 

It was a Japanese restaurant and they had all sorts of nice small bites. It was really good and next time I hope I won't have a cold so I can enjoy it even more! After dinner I drove home, making sure the car was parked about 10 meters from the front door. She stayed for a while, chatting to my parents who had come home and then left for her family again. It was a good day.

I had two of those: crème brulée!
My favourite! Albeit not very Japanesy

Today I made a start with my course. Of course I jumped ahead and had to backtrack slightly, but I am now on track again with the right bit to do. I will continue that tomorrow and learn some more!

So, that's it from me. Back to reasonable health (the cold is still here). 

I missed a day!

I was all set to post something new every day. Or in the case of carnaval: hash over the same subject for three days. 😉 But alas, yesterday it seemed as if there wasn't much to write about. Well, there was, I just never got the energy to do so!

As I mentioned a while ago, I am going back to school, but last week I had a phone call: there weren't enough applicants to the course and it could not be held here in town. They would try to organise it elsewhere, but that would involve traveling and that would mean costs going up. 

In the end I decided to not do that, but I did still want to do the course. A correspondence course it will be. Not my favourite, but I will just have to do it this time. I managed with my Norwegian course back in 2012, so this should be doable as well. After all, it's only six months.

Some school mates from the 1-year course.
This was on an excursion.

I am not a natural learner you see. I graduated from high school in 1989, went on to do a 1-year course (which I only partly passed) and went to work. And I have worked ever since, only doing job related courses since then. 

This course is not job related as such. Yes, it is to do with planning of transport, but mostly on the goods side (lorries), which is different from the people side (buses and coaches). I think there may well be some cross-over, but mostly it will be different. 

The first box of material arrived this week and I hope that once I get rid of this stinking cold (with accompanying H), I will be able to get going properly. 

Brom goes to school

Coocoo!

Long time no see, but I was a wee bit on the tired side after my lovely holiday in the Bonny Land. I got spoiled rotten by Auntie Yam, but I did miss home. But now I am back and guess what: I went on a tour as well.

"On the road again"

Last time it was Mouse who joined Mara on that weekend course, this time I got to come! First we took the bus to the hotel where we checked in. I was left in the room while Mara went down for the first evening's dinner and school work.

Can you spot the slice of cucumber?

The next day though I was raring to go. We started with a good breakfast. There were sausages and egg and bacon and salmon. Mara says it was quite yum.

Then we went to the classroom where everybody (some alone, some in pairs) had to give a presentation. Mara and her partner did a presentation about the 'Battle of Menstad'. It happened in 1931 and basically was a conflict between employer and employees. It is very important in the history of the Union, because one effect it had was bring about a Basic Agreement that is still used (with alterations of course) today. 

Yum

After the first half was done it was time for lunch. Which Mara said was really yum! I am only showing the dessert here, but it was certainly a goody! 

Then, once lunch was over, it was back to the school room and more presentations. Mara said she learned a great deal during those presentations, which I gather is good, since it was school after all!!

It's tea! Honestly!!

Early in the evening we finished and it was time for a pre-dinner drink. A glass of tea she said. Well, Tatra-Tea. Made in the Tatra Mountains in the North of Slovakia. 52%, so I guess it wasn't exactly tea. It tasted good though (I had a sip, but it was quite strong).

Dinner itself was in a restaurant in town. I got to come along as well: I had to keep an eye on Mara after that tea!! Later that evening there was another quiz. Mara's team won again, but somebody said they had cheated and they had one point deducted. That way they were equal with the team that ended in second place and there had to be a face-off. Which Mara's team lost! But, it was a good night anyway.

Saturday's dinner

Sunday started bright and early again. This time we got a little presentation from the teacher, which gave Mara even more information she didn't know about. They had some more work to do in groups and then it was nearly time for lunch and going home. 

If school is like this, I don't mind going every week!!

Done! (I think)

Today I put the finishing touches to our presentation. My partner had written most of the same of what I had done, but he said we were using mine! Smiley face. I just wanted some photos included in our presentation, so had to chase the google machine to find some I wanted to use. 

Then I had to rush to the physio for another turn. He worked my neck (ouch) and my back (ouch) and in the end I felt fine. Isn't it amazing how he can seemingly break your neck and you come out feeling better than you did before! 

I got the tires on the car changed. Haugesund is not known for its huge amounts of snow, but driving on summer tires during the winter is not something I relish doing. So, the spiky tires are back on and they are noisy as usual. 

I had to get some cat food for a certain Miss who will be staying home, holding the fort together with Mouse. Because this time Brom gets to come. He has recovered from his trip to Scotland (it took a wee while) and is raring to go! 

And then (shock horror) I got me some scarves. Yes, you read it right. Scarves! Not the keep warm in winter ones either, more the look pretty at any time of year ones. That Flying Duck scarf I bought from Yamini has gotten me addicted.

Well, that's it from me. Just filling you in on what's happening in Casa Mara

Mouse goes to school

Peep

Mara said it wasn't school, it was only a course. Well, there was sitting behind a desk, there was answering difficult questions and guess what: they even got homework at the end!! Tell me that is not school!

First things first however. Our trip there. We took the bus and it was jampacked. I didn't see any jam, but Mara says that's what people say. We sat all the way in the front, so Mara had a good view. Me? Not so much, since she put her coat on my head!!! 

The hotel was close to the harbour of Leirvik
Photo taken on Friday evening

When we got to our destination, Mara asked the way to our hotel and it was only 100 meters from the bus station. It wasn't a new hotel, but our room was okay. There was only a single bed, but it was a nice big one.  

The 'Class room'
Photo by Roger Moum, the teacher

At 7 pm it was time for dinner and after dinner school the course started. First they had to interview somebody from the group and then tell the group what they had learned. And then there was a game. I thought it was really easy, but Mara and others had some trouble remembering the names. The teacher started by saying his name and then he asked the person next to him what his name was. He then had to repeat the first person's name and his own and then ask the next person. And so on. Which meant that the last person had to remember everybody's name! Mara was somewhere in the middle and she had really tried hard and got them all right. 

When we were finished for the day, Mara was really tired. What with work in the morning and school in the evening... Oh, and guess who didn't get the bed!

Can you see me???

The next day they started early again. There were more difficult questions to answer, things to look up and more sitting behind desks. They had their group photo taken (I photobombed, heehee) and got lunch. After lunch there were more things to find, more questions to answer. In the end though they were finished. Well apart from the little 'easy' quiz they got. Which took a lot of searching to find all the right answers. There was one question about Adam's Ark, one about the colour of Napoleon's white horse and a lot about union things. Those were difficult!

After dinner there was another quiz, but more like an ordinary pub quiz. Guess what: Mara's team won! So, they all got a free drink from the bar. Mara was happy when she came up to the room I can tell you!! 

I might have been hidden, but I was listening!!

The next morning however it was back to business. They got their assignments. They were split into couples and every couple has to prepare a short (10-15 minutes, that's like 87 hours that!) presentation on something to do with the union. Mara didn't have any clue about any subject, so she let her partner choose. Who chose something neither of them had ever heard of. The rest of the morning was used to find out as much as they could about the given subject and then they have to do a lot at home. Because Mara and her partner don't live very close, they will have to communicate by email a lot, but they know what and how they want to do it already, which is good! 

A funny door mat Mara saw in the shop next door to the hotel.

Then, after the final lunch, school was out and it was time to go home. In four weeks time they will have to go back and learn some more...

School

No, I am not going back to school. The thought alone is bad enough! But I will be going to a course. A union course. Not sure what to expect. I know one thing for certain: I won't know anybody there! 

This course will take place over the weekend and not in town. Which means: traveling! And because a certain Bear has not made his way home yet (I wonder if he likes it too much in Scotland and doesn't want to come home), a certain Mouse will take over travel duties. Very important!

Other than that: not much news. So, I leave you with some more flower photos from my trips to Ireland.

Three

Remember the exam I took a few weeks ago? Well, on Friday night I got a text message telling me that most grades were now in and I was to check the website to see whether mine was. Since I had already shut the computer down for the night, I didn't do so until Saturday morning however and once I did, I quickly found out that...

I didn't have a clue about whether I had passed or failed! My grade was a three, which if it would have been in the Netherlands, would have been very bad and a very big fail, since grades range from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) and you need at least 6 to pass. However...

Here in Norway they don't use that system. Over here they use 1 (worst) to 6 (best). But when do you pass? Turns out the only fail is 1, everything from 2 and above (apparently) is a pass. I had a 3, which means I am 'quite knowledgable'. It mightn't be the best, but then I hadn't expected that either. 

I knew I had made several mistakes, I had not mentioned any specific laws and such. I had miscalculated the distance and then the amount of time it took to drive said distance to a city in Norway. And even the way I wrote might have been a bit confusing, although they largely see through that apparently. 

The good news is however: I passed the theoretical part of my exam. Now there is only the practical side of it, which involves driving for real. Not really sure about how and when as yet, but I will let you know in due course!

PS: the photo at the top is not me at school, it is my Mum! Isn't she adorable??

The exam

The last time I sat an exam must have been in 1989. Last century! It was in high school and it probably was maths, but it could be any of the other five subjects I had exams for as well (Dutch, English, German, Chemistry and Biology). I was one of those people who studied the day before and then sort of sailed through the exams. Apart from biology which for some reason never really stuck. No matter how early I started learning. I had my lowest grade (still a pass though) for that subject when I graduated. 

But that was a long time ago: 1989. Twenty-six years have passed and in the mean time I have passed several more exams, but never in the same way. Never sitting at a desk together with tens of others also sitting at desks doing their exams. I wasn't allowed to use any textbooks and using laptops/computers for an exam was still very much in the future. 

This morning I had to be present at 8.30am and there were tens of others there as well. Not all taking the same exam though. I was taking the qualifications for professional driver (lorry and bus), others were there for logistics and warehousing; kindergarten; carpentry and several other things most likely. 

The outside temperature went up to 20 degrees today
SUMMER!!!

The exam started at 9am on the dot and I opened my envelope containing the task at hand. I would have to write a paper about a tour that included 7,5 hours driving time one way one day and back the next day. It had to contain references to the digital tachograph; European driving and resting legislation; health, environment and safety and lastly: work environment legislations and regulations. 

Woops!

I knew about the first three, first hand, through books or both. But that last one: legislations. It got me quite hot under the collar. But no need for panic just yet. I had gotten great marks on my maths exam by just filling out everything I knew and not bothering about the rest. That was without books and now I had the books at hand. First though: everything I did know and have. 

I started typing, copying and pasting and before I knew it, it was midday. I checked whether there was more I could write about the things I knew/had and finally I got to the dreaded legislations part. I opened the book and there it was: stuff I knew. So, I just continued typing the whole thing up and before I knew it, I had something that looked actually quite neat! I read it through one more time and then signalled one of the ladies: I was done! It was 12.45pm. Over an hour left. 

I won't know for at least another four weeks what my grade is, but I feel quietly positive. As long as they won't hold it against me that I don't know my Norwegian distances!! 

Black outs, Dutch vampires and more!

I had a course on being a teamleader this past week. Two days were spent trying to learn on how to behave, what to say and what to do while being a teamleader. A lot to take in, but it was fun. We had to travel to Bergen (about three hours by bus) and there we stayed in a hotel. We met teamleaders from other places around Norway and we learned a lot. Early next year we will have another two days to learn even more!

*****

After coming back and driving home, I was met by a bit of a nasty surprise. Apparently the weather had been very bad all day long: thunder and lightning all day, which had caused some major disruption to the electricity supply. In other words: it was dark driving home. At home it was even darker. And cold, because of course no electricity means no heat. And as I found out: it also means no water! Fortunately I still had some bottled water, but my bed looked like I was living in the Arctic there were so many blankets on it!

*****

After my appointment on Tuesday I needed to get my bloodwork done. So, I went down and found out they had closed for the day. Since I was away on that course for two days, I wasn't able before Friday to go to the hospital again for my bloodwork. I went in, waited ten minutes, got a Dutch vampire to get two vials of blood and walked out again. 

And on that subject: my surgery is scheduled for early February. Just over 7 weeks away. Let the countdown begin...

Class

Our school trip to London. And yes, I do wear shocking colours!

When I was in my fourth year of high school, I didn't do much. Which is probably quite an understatement, since my grades started dropping faster than a parachutist who has forgotten his parachute! By the time I got negative grades (ie below 6/10) for German, I knew I was in trouble. Not that I minded that much. I just continued doing nothing, since I had to take the year again anyway!

The second time in my fourth year went a bit better. I applied myself a bit more, got better grades (even for German, which was my best subject) and by the end of the year I was allowed to go on to the fifth and final year of my high school experience. 

That final year does not stand out for me. I studied, I got good enough grades, I took oral exams, written pre-exam exams and was getting along nicely. 

On holiday after graduation

Then, after having taken my final exams (in Dutch, English, German, Biology, Science and Math), I relaxed. Waited for the summer to come. Waited for that piece of paper which would tell me that I had passed. Because even though I might not be top of the list, I knew I had passed. No worries there. 

The evening of graduation arrived. All the children in my year had shown up in their Sunday finery and with their parents in tow. Every student was addressed personally by the principal (I had been a shy girl on arrival, but had grown up to be a quietly confident young woman. Or something to that effect). I was top of my class in German, but had to share with another girl (only 0,01 points off a higher mark, I am still furious with that teacher). 

I just wished (certainly at the time) that my parents hadn't thanked the principal for all his good care of me! How embarrassing!

This memory was prompted by Spin Cycle. Thank you Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie and Gretchen at Second Blooming.

PS: I just realised, I graduated 25 years ago this year! Well done Spin Cycle for this timely prompt!

Back to school

During the summer I was asked whether I wanted to do a course. A course where I would learn all about my job basically. And if I passed said course, I would earn up to 2 euros and hour more! Payment of the course would be easy: I would pay half, the union would pay half. So far so good.

The first evening of the course was during my holiday. As was the second evening. The third evening I missed, because I didn't realise it was a course night and then finally the fourth evening I made it to class. This week was to be the fifth evening. And I didn't go. Not because I couldn't, but because I can't afford it.

The problem is this: I moved to Norway late November last year. Which means I have been a member of the union for 10 months now. And you have to be a member for at least 1 year before any financial aid is forthcoming. Any thoughts about being extra nice to me can be forgotten, since they are already extra nice to members of our particular branch (usually you have to be a member for at least 3 years). Me having been a member of a Dutch union doesn't help either.

That is not the only part of the problem though. The other part is the fact that I don't get any holiday money, since I only starting earning this year! Which means that any holiday has to be paid for by me. I was told I had to take three weeks (which I did), but the financial repercussions will have to be carried by me.

My landlady has this strange thing about wanting her rent every month. And my body feels that food is quite nice to get once in a while. So, I have asked to do the course next year, when I will be eligible for financial help from the union, will have holiday money and will be more settled than I am now. Today I got an answer to my email and they will take it up on Monday. Hopefully with a result that is good to me! Otherwise I will need to get a loan from somewhere and that is something I wanted to avoid at all cost this year!

Oh, and before anybody asks: I did need the holiday. It was my first in several years!

PS: photos taken during a walk last Sunday. A long walk.

Russ

Three blue Russ during the children's parade

When I went to high school back in the 20th century, the last day official schoolday before exams was spent dressing up. For some reason the good people who had organised it, had not really been very inventive and just used the same theme from the year before. Since I had never really been involved very much in extra curricular activities, I didn't join in. A few weeks later the exams started and after a few more weeks of waiting I got the news: I had passed. High school was over and I never looked back.

A red Russ leading a marching band during the adult parade.
They would normally be dressed in the official uniform.

Then, lots of years later I moved to Norway. And in Norway they do it a bit differently. But for that I need to explain a bit more about the school system here. School only starts at the age of six. You go to a school called a 'barneskole', which would be comparable to primary schools and you go there until you are thirteen: classes 1 to 7. After barneskole (literally children's school) you go to 'ungdomskole' (youth school or lower high school) until you're sixteen: classes 8 to 10. After that you need to learn some more and you go to 'videregående skole' (literally further going school or upper high school) for a further three years: classes VG1 to VG3 until you're nineteen. 

The blue Russ passing

At the end of all that you are called a Russ. Nothing to do with Russians, but it does have something to do with an old habit they had in Kopenhagen and the only place Norwegians could get a higher education back in the day. It's like a hazing in reverse. Anyway, on May 17th, the national holiday all those Russ come out. In force! The night before is spent partying by most. Since the legal drinking age in Norway is 18 and most are over that age by the time they are Russ... you fill in the dots. 

A red Russ van

Most towns have three different parades on May 17th: the children's parade in the morning, the adult parade in the afternoon and the last one is the Russ parade. In Haugesund it was the shortest parade, but it was also the loudest! Most use whistles, they have the Russ song of the year blaring out of the red or blue vans they use and there is much screaming, yelling and other general noisy stuff. 

The film shows the blue Russ only. Blue Russ study at a economics based high school. Red Russ study at a general based high school. There are also green Russ which study at a nature based high school, but we don't have that one in Haugesund, so only red and blue here. All Russ wear a red or blue pair of dungarees. This year was a pair of dungarees, last year it was overalls. You customise your dungarees to your liking: name, flag, buttons and other stuff. In addition to that all Russ have business cards with the name of their school, their photo (mostly silly poses) and a fantastic made up name. The weirder the better. Those cards are highly collectable among school children and they try to get as many as they can.

I hope they do as well in their exams as in this parade!

Back to school

Fortunately no school uniform for me!

There is something I feel very strongly about. It annoyed me when I lived in the Netherlands, it annoys me over here. When you move to another country to work, I feel you should talk the language. Especially if you will be working with the host nationals. And if you know before the move that you will be moving, you should learn the language before you're moving. No ifs or buts or anythings about it. (This doesn't apply to refugees)

So, before I made my way over to Norway, I learnt the language. Granted, it wasn't university level, but then again, I am not on university level in the Netherlands either! And from day one I decided the best way forward was to speak Norwegian. At times I didn't have a clue what people were talking about and I would have to ask again and again, but over the last two months I have made great progress. 

And then I got the question whether I would like to go to Norwegian class again. Which I of course did. Because it will help me further along (besides, it's free: I think the boss is paying) and that can only be a good thing. This morning was the first lesson. There were several other people there as well: a Moroccan woman who had lived in Norway for 22 years, an Afghani man who had lived in Norway for a long time too, a Slovakian man: same thing again. And there was us: six people from the same company. Four Polish, one Icelandic and one Dutch (ie me). 

The first lesson was mainly used to introduce ourselves, do a little writing and a little talking/reading aloud. And at the end of the lesson I was told that if I proved to be as good as it looked like I was, I might have to move to a different class. One where the majority of people are Norwegians looking to refresh their grammar skills. Exciting!! Next week there will not be a class (due to the winter holiday) and then it will run the rest of the winter and spring and then again in the autumn. I will be busy!

Moving on...

Well, this is the week of reckoning. So to say. Basically it's the week in which it will be determined how far I have come along since I started back in November. If it were a pregnancy, I would be about to give birth now! It's not a pregnancy though, it's the Norwegian language course. And yesterday I went for my first five hours.

My teacher had made a few little tests to test my knowledge, but she was very impressed by me so far. She hadn't thought I would have been able to do all eight lessons from when I first met her only a few weeks ago, and if it hadn't been for those darn Olympics, I might have done it. As it was, I had only done 6 1/2! Of course the course I had done on my own had helped a lot as well. It mightn't have been as repetitive as the books I am learning from now, but it was very thorough on grammar. Perhaps even a bit too thorough.

Anyway, this morning, during my second five hours, we managed to finish that first book. Turning me officially from an A1 speaker to an A2 speaker. We have now moved on to a new book: stone on stone, which will help me get as far as B2. First I have to get past B1 though and if the lessons are as easy as the first one in that book, I should be sailing through. But let me not get ahead of myself just yet. I have only just started in this book. I might be able to take it with me to England though and do some more studying once my remaining 15 hours are up. Give me as much chance as I can get to get to the B1 level I need to be at!

There are a few pitfalls along the way though: adverbs and adjectives and all that nonsense keep throwing up exceptions, weirdinesseseses and other problems and I have to learn and know them all in order for me to be able to speak to somebody. And as long as it isn't a young person swallowing half his words, I should be okay.

Happy bunny

This was the only bunny related photo I had!

Another hurdle is about to be taken. Because today I went to my new Norwegian class for the first time. A different school, a different teacher, although she knows my first teacher very well: they are in the same year at university doing the same study! But anyway...

Today was meant as a sort of intake and evaluation course. Only two hours instead of the normal five and not as intense probably as the proper course will be. My teacher had brought some exercises for me to fill out, but in the end left half of them behind, since she deemed them "too easy" for me! At the end of the afternoon we decided I would continue to study as much as I could from the books I have and by the time we would meet again (in three weeks' time), we would go over what I should have learnt and practice practice and practice some more.

Besides that she will try and ask me questions that might be asked in an interview, go over grammar and basically get me to level B1 before the end of the course. She felt very confident that that should be possible, which made me feel real good of course.

So, I am a happy bunny right now. What more can I say?

Life is a merry-go-round!

It was the first school trip of the year for me. Quite early in the school trip season, but there has to be a first one I guess. As we drove there I was trying to ignore the loud singing of 'we are nearly there, we are nearly there'. What an incredibly annoying song that is! Especially if you still have over half an hour to go!! We did make it in the end though and nobody was hurt. I think, because one of the last pieces of road we drove on was old cobblestones! My, was I glad I still have my own teeth, otherwise I think I would have needed a new pair of dentures!

Anyway. The journey had led us to a small amusement park which looked as if it had scrounged all its rides from funfairs and the children all loved it. Besides that they could eat all the french fries they wanted, burgers, kroketten and frikandellen. There was ice-cream for free and orange cordial. Candy floss was only €0,20 (about a quarter US dollar), so of course I got one of those (I love candy floss). And I had to go on the merry-go-round. I love them!

I wanted to sit on the rooster, but a child beat me to it and I didn't feel it very appropriate to just kick the child off, so I got on one of the horses. I handed my colleague my camera and he made several photos of me during the ride. Some were of the top of my head, some of my legs, some completely out of focus and some actually were really nice. He blamed it on the fact the horse was going up and down. Yeah, right!

The way back to school was a little quieter, the children were tired. We dropped them off about 400 meters from school where they were not seen and then drove the empty coaches to the school. And then the first school trip of the year was over. Ahh...

The language

As you may know last week I spent in class. I have been trying to learn Norwegian since November and even though I did quite well, it was the pronounciation that stumped me a great deal. So, when I saw a course being advertised in Norway, I liked the sound of it and registered. It would be one week of intensive Norwegian and also meeting Norwegians and seeing businesses. A minimum of ten participants was required. Unfortunately they never got more than about four and the course was cancelled. However, I still had time off and felt that even though that course had been cancelled, that didn't need to mean I couldn't do a course anyhow.

I contacted a company that did offer courses, both for groups and for individuals and asked them to put together a course for me on my own. And not that lousy hour and a half per week, no four hours a day for five days. Which in the end turned to five hours a day for four days. So, on Tuesday morning I took the bus to Groningen, where the course was to be held and arrived nice and early to meet my teacher: a Dutch girl studying Norwegian in University.

The first day I was still a bit self-consious about reading out loud and by the end of that day I was exhausted. Learning pronounciation while having a massive cold and a headache isn't a good combination, I can tell you. Day two however I was a bit more confident. I managed to pronounce unnskyld to a satisfactory degree, even though any word with a u and a y in it is a horror to me, the sounds are so similar to me! Besides being able to pronounce quite well, I also saw that my level of grammar was already quite high and that I knew a fair amount of words as well. My teacher was amazed of me and said so on several occasions.

By the end of the week I was a bit sorry I hadn't ordered for a two-week course, it might have been even better, but I already noticed a big difference after I got home: I listen to Norwegian radio quite often and that night I was able to understand a whole lot more than I did before! I was able to distinguish more words from the mush that is Norwegian. Because to be honest, it is quite a mush. It's fairly easy to read, but when it comes to listening, ten words become two and you have to figure out which ten are meant!

This week I will take it a bit easier, although I still have all my grammar notes to type out, since it's a big muddle right now. But I am able to buy an apple now: Jeg vil gjerne ha et eple! And more importantly: I know how to pronounce it!

Can anyone turn the shower on?

I was sixteen when I went to London the very first time. I think it was also the first time I was ever away from home and not staying with family. The coach picked us up from school and drove us to the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, where we found out we had missed the ferry. Some miscommunication about summer/winter time and/or European/British time. Anyway, we finally caught the ferry (Herald of Free Enterprise I think it was called) and made our way over to England.

After we finally arrived (after midnight) at our hotel, I had to share the room with three other girls. I had never met any of them, but we settled in quite nicely. The hotel we stayed in was no Hilton, so bathroom facilities were mostly in the hallway. However, we did have a lone-standing shower cubicle and a sink in our room. So, what to do when you are with 57 teens in a hotel? You try how many of those 57 actually will fit in that one little shower cubicle!

Well, out of those 57, 50 had to look on as 7 of us squeezed ourselves, amidst much laughter, in to the cubicle. And yes, I am in there as well: I am the one in yellow!