Completed my 1st week in my new Norwegian class and man, is it different (good & bad, I think). I was worried at the beginning of the week whether I was placed in the wrong class and I was correct. Half way through the week I was moved up a couple classes, which I'm satisfied with. The class that I was placed in at first was still using "På vei", the book that we finished in my previous Norwegian Level 1 course at UiO. The new class I'm in, we are using "Stein på stein", which is the same book that UiO uses for their Level 2 Norwegian courses.. so I'm glad they decided to move me up, because although we covered all of "På vei" in only 6 short weeks, there's no use in hanging back, when I could be challenged and start working my way up!
The students in my class come from all different countries and backgrounds, like my class at UiO, but most don't have an educational background, like the one that I have, but have been living in Norway for years, are married, and have children. Their Norwegian speaking skills is quite good, but they don't have the study skills, or the situation that I have by living with a Norwegian family, to practice grammar. Pretty much everybody in my class speaks better than me and have larger vocabularies, because they have the advantage of living here for so long, but I feel like I am on a higher level, compared to most people in my class, when it comes to sentence structure and other grammar.. and I have only been learning Norwegian for 7 weeks only EVER! So, in a way, we are all at the same level. My new class is nothing like my class at UiO when it comes to the amount of homework that we get, or the amount of information that we cover in class everyday. At UiO, we could go through a chapter a day, or every other, when we have only covered 1 PAGE of chapter 1, in an entire week, ha ha. It's a breath of fresh air, but at the same time I wish that it was more like the class at UiO. I have been practicing speaking more though, outside of class, which is good, but I will have to create more work for myself at home so I can practice writing and learning new words.
We're going to look at another apartment tomorrow in Oslo, but this time we are going as interested buyers.. not renters ;) Over the past couple weeks we have been discussing what we wanted to do and it makes more sense in the long-run to try and buy an apartment, instead of renting. This of course means that we need to take out a loan and Anders' Dad and stepmom have agreed to co-sign our loan so that we can take out more money. Here in Norway when you take out a loan you are allowed to take out around 2.5 times the amount you make, so by them co-signing our loan it's going to make it possible for us to buy. Apartments in Oslo average anywhere from 1.5-2 million kroner, which is around $350,000. Our loan payment every month, once we find an apartment, will be less, or around the amount of money we would have spent per month if we were going to rent instead, which is around 10,000 kroner or $1,800. The apartments for purchase are all SO much nicer than those to rent, so Anders' and I are pretty exciting to start going to showings and then bidding on ones that we like. It should be an exciting experience and hopefully we'll end up finding an apartment that we absolutely love and can afford.
The job situation is still at a stand-still, but I've been getting good advice from people here on places to look into once I learn more Norwegian. So, right now my 1st priority is to learn the language and just to be patient.. something that I'm quickly learning here that is essential. Anders starts work in only a couple days and from what he'll be paid every month will be enough for us to live comfortably, so I think things will be good!
I will be applying for new visa very soon, once I finish collecting all the needed paperwork that I need to include with my application. The bureaucracy here is a little confusing and I have been getting mixed messages from the Immigration Office, whenever I have gone in. I am applying for a temporary residence permit, in which I am solely taking Norwegian courses and trying to gain some work experience by being allowed to work part-time 20 hours per week. I was told that first time applicants MUST bring in all necessary paperwork and their application in person, but when I went the other day with most of my paperwork they said that I needed to apply online, but there's no where on the UDI site in which to do this. Pretty confusing.. I cannot wait until this process is over with.
Hoping that hurricane Irene won't do much damage, as it passes through New England, over the next couple of days.. I guess I didn't realize how big it may actually be until I started hearing that stores were running out of supplies, school were already being cancelled and some places have been evacuated. A little scary, if you ask me!! I just hope everything will be ok! Good luck to all my friends and family and I'll be thinking about you all <3
P.S. Was told today by my sister that she wants me to be a bride's maid in her wedding, which she is planning to have next August, 2012! Exciting stuff :D
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
had a nice trip to Trysil :)
Arrived back to Rykkinn from Trysil last night! We arrived at the cabin Thursday night, so we had 2 full days at least there. It takes about 4 hours to travel there and we made a pit-stop in Sweden to buy groceries, because it's cheaper than Norway. It wasn't just an ordinary "cabin" trip, as most Norwegians traditionally go on, because this cabin isn't modernized, while most cabins nowadays are. This cabin has been in Anders' family for a few generations and hasn't had much added to it, besides an extra room to allow a bigger sleeping area. The cabin is neither equipped with water, nor does it have electricity! If we needed to go to the bathroom, then we used an outhouse behind the cabin, in the woods. Since there isn't electricity, candles were our only option for light at night and the wood stove our only option for heat. We brought coolers to keep food cold as well as using the cold creek, from behind the cabin, to keep our beverages cold.
So much of Anders' family (mostly 3rd and distant cousins) still reside in Trysil and pretty much everybody knows everybody, because it being such a small town. The cabin wasn't in central Trysil, but some kilometers out in the woods, off a long, dirt road. There are other houses on the road and most have electricity and other ammenities.. except Fredrikstua (Anders' families' cabin name). Along with Anders and I, his father, uncle and cousin were with us as well and his cousin and I cheated a little bit and showered at a relative's house next to the cabin, half way through the trip ;)
I came to find out that Trysil is one of the most popular towns in all of Norway, when winter rolls around. The small, quaint town turns into a huge ski and snowboard town, attracting Norwegians from near and far. Trysil is home to the biggest ski and snowboard mountain; Trysilfjellet and it is very nice. The hotel that is situated on the mountain, along with the cabins that can be rented out, are very luxurious and also very expensive. This doesn't stop Norwegians though, because it's the best place in the entire country to go for a winter get-away. Anders' uncle may be buying a house on the street where the cabin lies sometime this fall, so if this happens then we'll be able to go back in the winter to go to Trysilfjellet!
Another thing I soon came to find out quickly in Trysil is that the people that live there take hospitality VERY seriously. You don't need to call to arrange visits in Trysil, you just go to someone's house and knock on their door! Since everybody knows everybody, visits from one neighbor to another is common. When you visit people in Trysil one of the things that they will ALWAYS offer guests is cake.. and more cake. They LOVE their cake, ha ha. They also offer coffee, soda, chips and other sweets: all things that are bad for you. We went on a handful of visits to various family members so we had to eat tons and tons of cakes and sweets.. my stomach still hurts today even thinking about it!! I had to have gained some weight from the weekend, it was outrageous how much we all ate! People are very persistant too and want you to eat more and more. They take it almost as being rude if you don't eat what they offer you, because they take a lot of pride in the food and drinks that they offer guests. It was definitely an experience for sure.
Besides eating.. we went fishing, both days, did some site seeing in Trysil and did a little berry picking. The weather was a little brisk and it drizzled a little bit. It would turn cold at night, so you would have to sleep in wool attire to keep warm. The cabin was cozy though, regardless of how simple it was structured. We all enjoyed ourselves and the company that we were with!!
Our pit-stop in Sweden!
Look what we found in the store in Sweden, ha ha!!
Inside the cabin at night.
Our "fridge" in the creek ;)
Our luxurious outhouse.
Anders & I
On our fishing trip!
Fresh, fried, Norwegian trout..
One out of the 2 fish that I caught.
Sunset in the woods.
Today I started my new Norwegian course.. we didn't do too much today though; just introducing ourselves and trying to weed out people that shouldn't be there. I was so impressed and proud of how much I understood and when we took a mini test at the end of class, I'm positive that I knew all the answers. I hope that I was put into the right class, because now in order for me to improve my skills I will have to be challenged. We'll see how it goes! I'm excited for it though. I also finally found out that I got a C on my Norwegian final exam (both oral & written) from my summer school at UiO.. not too shabby! I passed at least, so I am happy :)
So much of Anders' family (mostly 3rd and distant cousins) still reside in Trysil and pretty much everybody knows everybody, because it being such a small town. The cabin wasn't in central Trysil, but some kilometers out in the woods, off a long, dirt road. There are other houses on the road and most have electricity and other ammenities.. except Fredrikstua (Anders' families' cabin name). Along with Anders and I, his father, uncle and cousin were with us as well and his cousin and I cheated a little bit and showered at a relative's house next to the cabin, half way through the trip ;)
I came to find out that Trysil is one of the most popular towns in all of Norway, when winter rolls around. The small, quaint town turns into a huge ski and snowboard town, attracting Norwegians from near and far. Trysil is home to the biggest ski and snowboard mountain; Trysilfjellet and it is very nice. The hotel that is situated on the mountain, along with the cabins that can be rented out, are very luxurious and also very expensive. This doesn't stop Norwegians though, because it's the best place in the entire country to go for a winter get-away. Anders' uncle may be buying a house on the street where the cabin lies sometime this fall, so if this happens then we'll be able to go back in the winter to go to Trysilfjellet!
Another thing I soon came to find out quickly in Trysil is that the people that live there take hospitality VERY seriously. You don't need to call to arrange visits in Trysil, you just go to someone's house and knock on their door! Since everybody knows everybody, visits from one neighbor to another is common. When you visit people in Trysil one of the things that they will ALWAYS offer guests is cake.. and more cake. They LOVE their cake, ha ha. They also offer coffee, soda, chips and other sweets: all things that are bad for you. We went on a handful of visits to various family members so we had to eat tons and tons of cakes and sweets.. my stomach still hurts today even thinking about it!! I had to have gained some weight from the weekend, it was outrageous how much we all ate! People are very persistant too and want you to eat more and more. They take it almost as being rude if you don't eat what they offer you, because they take a lot of pride in the food and drinks that they offer guests. It was definitely an experience for sure.
Besides eating.. we went fishing, both days, did some site seeing in Trysil and did a little berry picking. The weather was a little brisk and it drizzled a little bit. It would turn cold at night, so you would have to sleep in wool attire to keep warm. The cabin was cozy though, regardless of how simple it was structured. We all enjoyed ourselves and the company that we were with!!
Our pit-stop in Sweden!
Look what we found in the store in Sweden, ha ha!!
Inside the cabin at night.
Our "fridge" in the creek ;)
Our luxurious outhouse.
Anders & I
On our fishing trip!
Fresh, fried, Norwegian trout..
One out of the 2 fish that I caught.
Sunset in the woods.
Today I started my new Norwegian course.. we didn't do too much today though; just introducing ourselves and trying to weed out people that shouldn't be there. I was so impressed and proud of how much I understood and when we took a mini test at the end of class, I'm positive that I knew all the answers. I hope that I was put into the right class, because now in order for me to improve my skills I will have to be challenged. We'll see how it goes! I'm excited for it though. I also finally found out that I got a C on my Norwegian final exam (both oral & written) from my summer school at UiO.. not too shabby! I passed at least, so I am happy :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
not as easy as I thought.
So.. I had my first experience at looking at apartments last night and it was interesting. You can't believe everything that you see online, because sellers/owners are good at making the pictures online look REALLY good. In person, I was a little disappointed, especially with the first apartment we went to see. I knew right away, without even going into the apartment, that I didn't like it. I tried to keep an open mind going into it, but the apartment looked a lot smaller in person and wasn't very practical with its layout. 1) There wasn't an oven, or a dishwasher, although in a picture online there had been, 2) The stove top consisted of 2 burners which looked like they had seen better days, 3) The "fridge" was under the sink = bizarre, 4) There was absolutely no closet space, which wouldn't have worked, 5) There was no hook-up for a washing machine in the bathroom and 6) Our storage space was located in the basement, down several flights of stairs--no way. Also, if we wanted to do laundry, we would have to walk down 4 flights of stairs where there was a room with only 2 washing machines and a dryer, and it smelled. It reminded me too much of my college days at NEC and there is just no way I would want to sit down there to make sure that none of our clothes would get stolen!! The only good thing about the apartment was that there was a cute little balcony and the apartment was centrally located in Oslo. The view from the balcony though looked over a huge construction area.. total bummer. Pictures can be deceiving!!
We were more impressed with the 2nd apartment, even though it was a lot smaller, but it was more practical in design. There was tons of closet space, a brand new kitchen with oven, stove, dishwater and fridge, and a hook-up possibility for a washing machine and dryer in the bathroom. The neighborhood where the apartment was located was super quaint and cute, but there was no balcony and it was really too small for our liking. Overall though, it was a great experience to go look at both apartments, because we learned even more about the specs we are looking for when we decide to rent. My dreams of having a kitten I think will be put on the back burner for some time now.. because not many places allow pets, unfortunately. Although I really want one, it may be a smarter idea to wait until we own our own apartment at some point. We'll see!
We are thinking of trying to find a place by the end of September, beginning of October. We have a handful of others apartments on our list to go look at, some in Oslo and some outside of it. Finding an apartment is not as easy as I thought, but is still exciting.. I know when we find the right one, we'll know. But, for now, we are continuing to look online, going for showings and just waiting. Patience is a virtue! ;)
We were more impressed with the 2nd apartment, even though it was a lot smaller, but it was more practical in design. There was tons of closet space, a brand new kitchen with oven, stove, dishwater and fridge, and a hook-up possibility for a washing machine and dryer in the bathroom. The neighborhood where the apartment was located was super quaint and cute, but there was no balcony and it was really too small for our liking. Overall though, it was a great experience to go look at both apartments, because we learned even more about the specs we are looking for when we decide to rent. My dreams of having a kitten I think will be put on the back burner for some time now.. because not many places allow pets, unfortunately. Although I really want one, it may be a smarter idea to wait until we own our own apartment at some point. We'll see!
We are thinking of trying to find a place by the end of September, beginning of October. We have a handful of others apartments on our list to go look at, some in Oslo and some outside of it. Finding an apartment is not as easy as I thought, but is still exciting.. I know when we find the right one, we'll know. But, for now, we are continuing to look online, going for showings and just waiting. Patience is a virtue! ;)
Monday, August 15, 2011
the apartment hunt has begun!
For the past couple days, Anders and I have started our apartment hunt! It's kind of fun!! There is only one site though online that lists apartments here in Norway--FINN.no, and it isn't always updated properly.. we found an apartment we really liked, but when we called the owner she had told us that it had already been rented out and we were about the 50th person to contact her. The ad was still up on the site though! Kind of annoying. We have found a handful of other places that we like though too and have e-mailed some to tell the owners a little bit about ourselves and if we could come for a showing. We are going into Oslo tomorrow afternoon to look at a couple..
Here are some of the specs that we are looking into, when searching for apartments:
-Sandvika or Oslo area
-2-rooms (living room & bedroom, with bathroom)
-Balcony
-Around 10.000 NOK/month (which is around $1,800/month)
-More than 30m²
-Able to hook up washing machine (if not included)
-Oven, stove & dishwasher
-Bathtub (would be PERFECT)
-Allows pets--I want to get a kitten!! :)
We understand that we will need to compromise on some of these things though.. but we have started to look every day, as new apartments seem to be added. We also have to take into consideration that right now the cost of apartments will be pretty high, while students are trying to find places to live before school starts back up again.. if we don't find something that we absolutely LOVE (together) and picture ourselves staying there for at least a year, then we will wait a couple more months, when the pricing of apartments probably will go down as well. We'll see though!!
No more news on the job hunt, unfortunately.. only time will tell, I guess! For the time being though, I will continue to look.
Just wanted to post a short, little update. I have one more week of relaxation before I start my new Norwegian class on Monday, the 22nd.. looking forward to going to Anders' family's cabin up north this weekend! Should be fun. I'm off to the gym now.. been sitting on my butt these last few days! I need to do something active.. all this sitting around is making me super lazy ;P Happy Monday everyone!!
Here are some of the specs that we are looking into, when searching for apartments:
-Sandvika or Oslo area
-2-rooms (living room & bedroom, with bathroom)
-Balcony
-Around 10.000 NOK/month (which is around $1,800/month)
-More than 30m²
-Able to hook up washing machine (if not included)
-Oven, stove & dishwasher
-Bathtub (would be PERFECT)
-Allows pets--I want to get a kitten!! :)
We understand that we will need to compromise on some of these things though.. but we have started to look every day, as new apartments seem to be added. We also have to take into consideration that right now the cost of apartments will be pretty high, while students are trying to find places to live before school starts back up again.. if we don't find something that we absolutely LOVE (together) and picture ourselves staying there for at least a year, then we will wait a couple more months, when the pricing of apartments probably will go down as well. We'll see though!!
No more news on the job hunt, unfortunately.. only time will tell, I guess! For the time being though, I will continue to look.
Just wanted to post a short, little update. I have one more week of relaxation before I start my new Norwegian class on Monday, the 22nd.. looking forward to going to Anders' family's cabin up north this weekend! Should be fun. I'm off to the gym now.. been sitting on my butt these last few days! I need to do something active.. all this sitting around is making me super lazy ;P Happy Monday everyone!!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
back to school..
The day after class was over I felt like I was going crazy, with nothing to do.. you would think that I would be enjoying so much free time, but I think everybody knows that I don't work like that, ha ha. I love to relax, but just knowing that I had no idea what was to come after my class made me pretty anxious! 1) I needed to find a job (someway, somehow), because the amount of money that I have left in my account won't last me very long; living in a city like Oslo is EXPENSIVE. 2) I needed to figure out whether I should start taking another Norwegian course and 3) I needed to figure out what kind of visa to apply for, before the end of September, so that I could stay in the country. I did take advantage of catching up on some sleep though, but over the last week or so I have felt pretty tired and not as motivated.. but I have managed to go to the gym though at least every other day!
When my class ended, I started making a list of places that I could go in-person, e-mail, or call, to ask about work.. but realized soon after that I was going about it the wrong way! At the beginning of the week Anders and I went into the police station in Sandvika, to speak with someone in the immigration office to help us out with all of our un-answered questions that we had. Here is where I found out that I wasn't able to work at just "any" place (ex: a restaurant) and pretty much all the places I had been looking into were restaurants; most US chains, like Hard Rock Cafe (where a lot of Americans tend to work here in Oslo). Apparently, I am technically classified as a "skilled worker", because I have a Bachelors degree, which means that if I want to work here in Norway, I have to find a job that pertains to/similar to what I went to school for. This is a problem though, because not only is my degree not really recognized here in Norway, but most jobs that I could find that do relate to it, I would need to speak Norwegian.
The person whom we talked to at the police station said that if my sole intentions were to just work now, then I would need to get a "job offer" from a place, such as what I decribed above. If this was to happen then I would be able to obtain a work permit and work full-time if I desired. Since this option is kind of out of the question right now, I needed to figure out something else.. we found out that I could obtain a residence permit for 1 year, or 2, if my sole intentions were to study Norwegian and try to make my degree more recognized in Norway, by taking more classes or gaining work experience. This was all news to my ears, but it was definitely GREAT news!!! I decided to go this route.
I am now signed up for 2 more months of Norwegian class, beginning on August 22nd. It is not through the University of Oslo though, but at the adult learning center of Bærum, in Sandvika, called Voksenopplæring. The class runs through mid-October and is 20 hours a week (4 hours/day M-F). When this is over, I will sign up for another class which will run up until Christmas time. It is going to be A LOT of hard work and practically a part-time job within itself, but I don't think it'll be as intensive as the course that I just took at UiO (we'll see). There are 3 levels of Norwegian offered at this school and 3 different "tracks" in each level, or intensity and speed of the course. I was placed in the 2nd level, in track 3, which is very good for only taking 6 weeks of Norwegian! I had to take a test, which took me about an hour, to decide which level they were going to place me in. They said that I technically could have started half way through level 2, but I am glad that I am starting at the beginning of the level, because there's a lot that I learned from my past course that still needs to sink in.
Last week I e-mailed Oslo International School to see if they were hiring in their after-school program, or other areas within their school. I just heard back today that they were transferring my e-mail to the correct people and if I hear back within the next couple weeks, then I will go in for an interview and see what's up!! This would be really nice, because not only would I be able to work with kids, probably use some of my outdoor skills, but I will be able to speak English, because it's an international school! I won't get my hopes up though, but I do have my fingers crossed, of course!!
Today Anders and I went to Norway's largest amusement park, called Tusenfryd. It is not large, compared to America's standards, but it was fun! I have never been a huge fan of rollercoasters or gut-wrenching rides, but I did go on one rollercoaster, at least!! Anders went on two and also this ride called Spin Spider. It is probably the most disgusting ride I have EVER seen and it made me so nervous just watching it! Take a look:
Poor guy went all by himself.. sorry!
Tomorrow I will be finally getting my hair cut; it is much needed! I dyed it a few days ago, on a whim, so now my hair is a few shades lighter! I was trying to go for dirty blond (don't ask why), but it didn't really turn out like that.. I think I'm glad it didn't though. The cost of getting just a trim here is crazy. I will pay around 400 kroner, which is about $70!!! It's outrageous, but I need to stop comparing costs to the US, because I'm always going to end up disappointed, ha ha. It is, what it is, right!? Once I get a job, I don't think I'll worry so much about the higher prices here..
My attempt to go "dirty blond" = fail.
More great news: it's looking like Anders and I will be able to get an apartment a lot sooner than we ever could have imagined! Reason being, is that Anders' father offered to pay our security deposit, which would have taken us months to save for, so if all goes well, then we hope to find a place before it starts getting really cold and before the snow comes! Wahooo :) It's also looking like I will be able to come home in January, like I wanted! I still need to look further into this (it all depends how long it takes for my permit to process, once I apply), but that would be awesome!
So, now I only have one more week of relaxation, before I start my class! Anders starts work the week after, on the 29th. We are planning on staying a few nights at his cabin in the mountains, in Trysil, which is a few hours north of here. We are going with his father, uncle and cousin! The cabin is pretty small, has no water, and no electricity, but it is cozy. It should be a fun experience!! We will be able to do a lot of fishing, exploring, and hiking. Here are two different shots of the cabin that Anders took last summer..
Well, I think I covered everything.. for now. It's getting late here, so I am off to bed! God natt alle sammen! (Goodnight everybody!) <3
~"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking."~
When my class ended, I started making a list of places that I could go in-person, e-mail, or call, to ask about work.. but realized soon after that I was going about it the wrong way! At the beginning of the week Anders and I went into the police station in Sandvika, to speak with someone in the immigration office to help us out with all of our un-answered questions that we had. Here is where I found out that I wasn't able to work at just "any" place (ex: a restaurant) and pretty much all the places I had been looking into were restaurants; most US chains, like Hard Rock Cafe (where a lot of Americans tend to work here in Oslo). Apparently, I am technically classified as a "skilled worker", because I have a Bachelors degree, which means that if I want to work here in Norway, I have to find a job that pertains to/similar to what I went to school for. This is a problem though, because not only is my degree not really recognized here in Norway, but most jobs that I could find that do relate to it, I would need to speak Norwegian.
The person whom we talked to at the police station said that if my sole intentions were to just work now, then I would need to get a "job offer" from a place, such as what I decribed above. If this was to happen then I would be able to obtain a work permit and work full-time if I desired. Since this option is kind of out of the question right now, I needed to figure out something else.. we found out that I could obtain a residence permit for 1 year, or 2, if my sole intentions were to study Norwegian and try to make my degree more recognized in Norway, by taking more classes or gaining work experience. This was all news to my ears, but it was definitely GREAT news!!! I decided to go this route.
I am now signed up for 2 more months of Norwegian class, beginning on August 22nd. It is not through the University of Oslo though, but at the adult learning center of Bærum, in Sandvika, called Voksenopplæring. The class runs through mid-October and is 20 hours a week (4 hours/day M-F). When this is over, I will sign up for another class which will run up until Christmas time. It is going to be A LOT of hard work and practically a part-time job within itself, but I don't think it'll be as intensive as the course that I just took at UiO (we'll see). There are 3 levels of Norwegian offered at this school and 3 different "tracks" in each level, or intensity and speed of the course. I was placed in the 2nd level, in track 3, which is very good for only taking 6 weeks of Norwegian! I had to take a test, which took me about an hour, to decide which level they were going to place me in. They said that I technically could have started half way through level 2, but I am glad that I am starting at the beginning of the level, because there's a lot that I learned from my past course that still needs to sink in.
Last week I e-mailed Oslo International School to see if they were hiring in their after-school program, or other areas within their school. I just heard back today that they were transferring my e-mail to the correct people and if I hear back within the next couple weeks, then I will go in for an interview and see what's up!! This would be really nice, because not only would I be able to work with kids, probably use some of my outdoor skills, but I will be able to speak English, because it's an international school! I won't get my hopes up though, but I do have my fingers crossed, of course!!
Today Anders and I went to Norway's largest amusement park, called Tusenfryd. It is not large, compared to America's standards, but it was fun! I have never been a huge fan of rollercoasters or gut-wrenching rides, but I did go on one rollercoaster, at least!! Anders went on two and also this ride called Spin Spider. It is probably the most disgusting ride I have EVER seen and it made me so nervous just watching it! Take a look:
Poor guy went all by himself.. sorry!
Tomorrow I will be finally getting my hair cut; it is much needed! I dyed it a few days ago, on a whim, so now my hair is a few shades lighter! I was trying to go for dirty blond (don't ask why), but it didn't really turn out like that.. I think I'm glad it didn't though. The cost of getting just a trim here is crazy. I will pay around 400 kroner, which is about $70!!! It's outrageous, but I need to stop comparing costs to the US, because I'm always going to end up disappointed, ha ha. It is, what it is, right!? Once I get a job, I don't think I'll worry so much about the higher prices here..
My attempt to go "dirty blond" = fail.
More great news: it's looking like Anders and I will be able to get an apartment a lot sooner than we ever could have imagined! Reason being, is that Anders' father offered to pay our security deposit, which would have taken us months to save for, so if all goes well, then we hope to find a place before it starts getting really cold and before the snow comes! Wahooo :) It's also looking like I will be able to come home in January, like I wanted! I still need to look further into this (it all depends how long it takes for my permit to process, once I apply), but that would be awesome!
So, now I only have one more week of relaxation, before I start my class! Anders starts work the week after, on the 29th. We are planning on staying a few nights at his cabin in the mountains, in Trysil, which is a few hours north of here. We are going with his father, uncle and cousin! The cabin is pretty small, has no water, and no electricity, but it is cozy. It should be a fun experience!! We will be able to do a lot of fishing, exploring, and hiking. Here are two different shots of the cabin that Anders took last summer..
Well, I think I covered everything.. for now. It's getting late here, so I am off to bed! God natt alle sammen! (Goodnight everybody!) <3
~"If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking."~
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Nå jeg kan forstå og snakke mye norsk! ;)
(Now I can understand and speak much Norwegian!)
Today I had my written exam for my Norwegian class and it wasn't that bad, to be honest. I was expecting it to be A LOT harder than it actually was, but it seemed to be fair. I definitely studied way more than I should have, because there were a lot of things that we learned over the 6 weeks that never appeared on the exam at all! I was really surprised in myself with how much I understood on the exam, especially for the reading comprehension part. It was about a topic we never have talked about and there were a lot of new words, but I understood pretty much all of it!! It's amazing how much I have learned over the last 6 weeks.. really. We also had to write a 200 word essay, which was of course difficult, but manageable--I'm proud of myself :) Now it's time for a little relaxation. Actually.. more like now it's time to find a job!!! Wish me luck! <3
After our exam today! I'm gonna miss these girls.. they leave next week :(
(Left to right) Julia, Turunn (our Norwegian teacher!), Ana Maria & I
Boat ride in the harbor!
Hope all is well with everyone back home.. miss you all!!! XOXO
Today I had my written exam for my Norwegian class and it wasn't that bad, to be honest. I was expecting it to be A LOT harder than it actually was, but it seemed to be fair. I definitely studied way more than I should have, because there were a lot of things that we learned over the 6 weeks that never appeared on the exam at all! I was really surprised in myself with how much I understood on the exam, especially for the reading comprehension part. It was about a topic we never have talked about and there were a lot of new words, but I understood pretty much all of it!! It's amazing how much I have learned over the last 6 weeks.. really. We also had to write a 200 word essay, which was of course difficult, but manageable--I'm proud of myself :) Now it's time for a little relaxation. Actually.. more like now it's time to find a job!!! Wish me luck! <3
After our exam today! I'm gonna miss these girls.. they leave next week :(
(Left to right) Julia, Turunn (our Norwegian teacher!), Ana Maria & I
Boat ride in the harbor!
Hope all is well with everyone back home.. miss you all!!! XOXO
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
final exams
Today I had my oral exam for my Norwegian class.. I think I did alright! Granted, I still am only in Level 1, so I definitely wasn't perfect and definitely wasn't speaking very fast. The structure of the exam was 1 on 1 with my teacher and I, who I have had throughout the duration of the 6 week course. I was invited into the classroom, once another classmate had gone, and then I had to pick from a bowl the topic I would be discussing with my teacher. The 5 different topics were: family & friends, vacation & free time, studying & work, food & traditions and what a normal day consists of for ourselves. We were told all the topics beforehand so that we could prepare for each of the topics, because we had no idea what topic we were going to eventually end up choosing. I felt like it was difficult to study for such an exam, because I had written down both in English and Norwegian what I would have liked to say, but it's a lot harder to think of what to say when you sit down in front of the teacher, 1 on 1, without any notes or a script to read off of. Even practicing with Anders and friends didn't really help prepare me for the actual exam itself. So, we had to speak for 10 minutes straight, first introducing ourselves and then talking about the topic we had chose. I chose vacation and free time, so I talked a lot about my study abroad trip (of course all in Norwegian) and how I liked to play sports and such. I still had time left after I sad what I had to say, so I was able to talk about my family and what a normal day consists of for me as well. It seemed that my teacher understood what I was talking about.. so I'm pretty confident that I passed. She's not the only one who grades the exam though--the entire thing was recorded, so that someone else can also listen to my conversation and evaluate how I did.
Thursday is when I have my big written exam (cumulative, of course). It'll be based on chapters 1-14 in our Norwegian Level 1 textbook, På vei. In one of my recent posts I wrote some bullets about what we have learned in each of the chapters, so I will write about the last half of the book now.
Chapter 8: Hva gjorde du i ferien?
-What you can do & where you can go on vacation (vocab)
-Writing postcards
-Different regions of Norway
-Forms of transportation
-Past tense of verbs
Chapter 9: Et nytt liv
-Free time vocab (ex: playing different kinds of sports)
-Days of the month (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.. etc.)
-Format of dates
-Eiendomspronomen (showing ownership)
Chapter 10: Hyemme og på arbeid
-Household chores vocab
-Names of different stores in Norway & what they sell/provide
-Other careers (vocab)
-A little about chores & work in Norway
-Perfektum tense of verbs
-More prepositions & ownership pronouns
Chapter 11: Litt om Norge
-Lots & lots about Norway (geography: different cities, towns, regions, etc.)
-A little site-seeing vocab
-Mange vs. mye, prepositions & more adjectives
Chapter 12: Skolen
-School vocab (ex: names of different classes)
-Writing notes to be excused from class
-Types of school (primary through college level)
-Sentence order
Chapter 13: Familie og samliv
-Family vocab (ex: immediate family, grandparents, etc.)
-How to write invitations (birthday, wedding, etc.)
-A little about Norwegian traditions
-MORE pronouns!
Chapter 14: Slik bor vi
-Apartment & house vocab (inside & out)
-How to read ads in the newspaper (ex: selling things)
-Types of homes
-Komparativ & superlativ (prettier.. prettiest.. etc.)
-MORE grammar also
Our written exam only has chapters 1-14 on it, as I mentioned, but the book has 17 total chapters. We haven't paid as much attention to the last few chapters, but they are still technically part of the curriculum, so we have been reading through them. Chapter 15 is about holidays and other celebrations, chapter 16 is about health and the human body and chapter 17 (the last chapter) is about (more) jobs and how Norwegians create their CV. I'm not sure if we have class on Friday, because our last part of our exam is Thursday, but I guess we'll see! Each part (both the oral & written) count for 50% of our final grade. You only need a 51% to pass the course, so I'm pretty confident that I can manage that..
I am still so astonished about how much I have learned over these past 6 weeks.. it's insane. I hope to be able to find another course to get into, maybe in the spring? I have so much I still need to absorb, because of how fast pace the class was, so I look forward to continue learning at my own speed after this week is over.
I haven't really have done all that much since my last post, besides studying a lot for these final exams.. I did go to a friend's cabin though over the weekend, which I went to last summer as well, when I was here in Norway. Pretty much it is just a weekend full of relaxtion, tanning, boating and drinking. It is located south east of where we live, so closer to the shore and very close to the Sweden border. I can now say that I have been to Sweden, but it wasn't that exciting of a trip!! Unfortunately, we just went into Sweden to go to this shopping center to buy alcohol and food for the weekend--so now that exciting, ha ha. It was beautiful though, regardless, but didn't look any different than Norway. It's like driving into Mass. from NH.. things look VERY similar. We have friends that live in Sweden though, so someday I hope to actually get to see more of the country (sorry it wasn't as exciting than you thought, Mom)!
Us, out on a friend's boat!
I have been more active in trying to figure out my whole job situation too, now that class is winding down.. it is still a difficult process though, because I'm not fluent in Norwegian. I have written e-mails to a few different restaurants that seemed to be hiring, but haven't heard back. The problem with this is that most restaurants are only looking for servers and you need to speak Norwegian to do that. I e-mailed a school today though, called Oslo International School, which is how is sounds.. a school for foreigners, just like my summer school program--so the common language is English. I was just told about it today and that they have afterschool programs during the school year, so I think it would be really cool if I get a response back of a potential position I could have. Anders and I are going to go into the Police Station, Friday afternoon, to ask more questions regarding visas, because I'll need to have applied for one no later than the end of September (when my tourist visa is up), but I would obviously like to begin this process MUCH sooner!! I'll have a lot more time after school is over to figure everything out.. once September rolls around too, I will be able to look more into Masters programs for fall 2012.
I finally remembered to bring my camera to school last week, on a sunny day, and took some pictures around the campus..
The student dorms on campus--Blindern.
One of the main buildings/auditoriums on campus.
A hang out/cafe/student area in general.
A fountain on campus.
The building where I've been having my Norwegian class!
I think I pretty much covered everything, for right now.. don't have much plans for the rest of the week besides studying, going to the gym and hanging out. My friends from class are both leaving to go back to Columbia and Ukraine next week.. wish that they were staying!! One thing that I've realized by being here is that it's hard to make new friends, especially when they aren't staying in Norway, like myself, and obviously everyone has their 'own' friends here, just like I do back in the US. I hope that I will be able to meet some more people over the months to follow.. on that note, I am off to bed! God natt.
P.S. HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY to YOU, Dad, 4 days early!!!!! :) I love you & miss you <3
Thursday is when I have my big written exam (cumulative, of course). It'll be based on chapters 1-14 in our Norwegian Level 1 textbook, På vei. In one of my recent posts I wrote some bullets about what we have learned in each of the chapters, so I will write about the last half of the book now.
Chapter 8: Hva gjorde du i ferien?
-What you can do & where you can go on vacation (vocab)
-Writing postcards
-Different regions of Norway
-Forms of transportation
-Past tense of verbs
Chapter 9: Et nytt liv
-Free time vocab (ex: playing different kinds of sports)
-Days of the month (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th.. etc.)
-Format of dates
-Eiendomspronomen (showing ownership)
Chapter 10: Hyemme og på arbeid
-Household chores vocab
-Names of different stores in Norway & what they sell/provide
-Other careers (vocab)
-A little about chores & work in Norway
-Perfektum tense of verbs
-More prepositions & ownership pronouns
Chapter 11: Litt om Norge
-Lots & lots about Norway (geography: different cities, towns, regions, etc.)
-A little site-seeing vocab
-Mange vs. mye, prepositions & more adjectives
Chapter 12: Skolen
-School vocab (ex: names of different classes)
-Writing notes to be excused from class
-Types of school (primary through college level)
-Sentence order
Chapter 13: Familie og samliv
-Family vocab (ex: immediate family, grandparents, etc.)
-How to write invitations (birthday, wedding, etc.)
-A little about Norwegian traditions
-MORE pronouns!
Chapter 14: Slik bor vi
-Apartment & house vocab (inside & out)
-How to read ads in the newspaper (ex: selling things)
-Types of homes
-Komparativ & superlativ (prettier.. prettiest.. etc.)
-MORE grammar also
Our written exam only has chapters 1-14 on it, as I mentioned, but the book has 17 total chapters. We haven't paid as much attention to the last few chapters, but they are still technically part of the curriculum, so we have been reading through them. Chapter 15 is about holidays and other celebrations, chapter 16 is about health and the human body and chapter 17 (the last chapter) is about (more) jobs and how Norwegians create their CV. I'm not sure if we have class on Friday, because our last part of our exam is Thursday, but I guess we'll see! Each part (both the oral & written) count for 50% of our final grade. You only need a 51% to pass the course, so I'm pretty confident that I can manage that..
I am still so astonished about how much I have learned over these past 6 weeks.. it's insane. I hope to be able to find another course to get into, maybe in the spring? I have so much I still need to absorb, because of how fast pace the class was, so I look forward to continue learning at my own speed after this week is over.
I haven't really have done all that much since my last post, besides studying a lot for these final exams.. I did go to a friend's cabin though over the weekend, which I went to last summer as well, when I was here in Norway. Pretty much it is just a weekend full of relaxtion, tanning, boating and drinking. It is located south east of where we live, so closer to the shore and very close to the Sweden border. I can now say that I have been to Sweden, but it wasn't that exciting of a trip!! Unfortunately, we just went into Sweden to go to this shopping center to buy alcohol and food for the weekend--so now that exciting, ha ha. It was beautiful though, regardless, but didn't look any different than Norway. It's like driving into Mass. from NH.. things look VERY similar. We have friends that live in Sweden though, so someday I hope to actually get to see more of the country (sorry it wasn't as exciting than you thought, Mom)!
Us, out on a friend's boat!
I have been more active in trying to figure out my whole job situation too, now that class is winding down.. it is still a difficult process though, because I'm not fluent in Norwegian. I have written e-mails to a few different restaurants that seemed to be hiring, but haven't heard back. The problem with this is that most restaurants are only looking for servers and you need to speak Norwegian to do that. I e-mailed a school today though, called Oslo International School, which is how is sounds.. a school for foreigners, just like my summer school program--so the common language is English. I was just told about it today and that they have afterschool programs during the school year, so I think it would be really cool if I get a response back of a potential position I could have. Anders and I are going to go into the Police Station, Friday afternoon, to ask more questions regarding visas, because I'll need to have applied for one no later than the end of September (when my tourist visa is up), but I would obviously like to begin this process MUCH sooner!! I'll have a lot more time after school is over to figure everything out.. once September rolls around too, I will be able to look more into Masters programs for fall 2012.
I finally remembered to bring my camera to school last week, on a sunny day, and took some pictures around the campus..
The student dorms on campus--Blindern.
One of the main buildings/auditoriums on campus.
A hang out/cafe/student area in general.
A fountain on campus.
The building where I've been having my Norwegian class!
I think I pretty much covered everything, for right now.. don't have much plans for the rest of the week besides studying, going to the gym and hanging out. My friends from class are both leaving to go back to Columbia and Ukraine next week.. wish that they were staying!! One thing that I've realized by being here is that it's hard to make new friends, especially when they aren't staying in Norway, like myself, and obviously everyone has their 'own' friends here, just like I do back in the US. I hope that I will be able to meet some more people over the months to follow.. on that note, I am off to bed! God natt.
P.S. HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY to YOU, Dad, 4 days early!!!!! :) I love you & miss you <3
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