12.06.2007 The time for farewells..

Mayauru the fairy lost her memory and lived alone in the forest. One day a girl happened to come by and they became friends. The girl called lots of friends and they all played happily but Mayauru wasn't human and aged slowly. The children grew up and eventually forgot about Mayauru. And then, the girl that she first met... was the only one left. But that girl grew up and wouldn't play with her anymore. Even so, the grown-up girl couldn't forget Mayauru and came back. Finally, Mayauru gave the lonely-looking girl a present. Words of farewell. Until then, people didn't know of the words of farewell. Mayauru was a farewell fairy. She'd forgotten that because it's painful to have nothing but farewells. The grown-up girl learned the words from Mayauru. And that girl who knew the words of farewell...? She became the world's kindest person.

Shouldn't we just part with a smile?

Sayounara.

Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien
Last Episode

The time for farewells is finally upon me and I would bear it as happily as I could. Besides from the fact that it is inevitable, everyone knew right from the start that I am just a fleeting shadow -- just passing by;but nonetheless, they befriended me. Just like Mayauru, being an exchange student is like being a farewell fairy. First I said goodbye to my family, to my friends, to my life and went off to a land unknown. I've found myself a new family and met a lot of friends to play with, momentarily forgetting that I am a farewell fairy and that before I know it, I would be saying farewells all over again. This time, a farewell that just doesn't say "I'll see you later" but, mixed with the fear of the reality that can happen, "We'll never see each other again".

Farewells should not be "I'll never see you again" but rather "I had fun being with you" because if the words "I'll never see you again" wouldn't do anything to change your fate, it is just folly to do it.

This is my gift to you: my words of farewell.
Farewell that says "I had fun being with you"
Farewell that says "I am a better person after I met you"
Farewell that says "I will never forget you"
Farewell that says "You are always in my heart"
Farewell that says "Thank you for everything"
Farewell that says "I love you"

I am, but a fairy of farewells.
Shall we part then with a smile?

Good bye.
Paalam.
Ha det.
Sayounara.
Arrivederci.
Au revoir.
Auf Wiedersehen.
Adeus.
Adiós.
再见.

PS: for wrong translations, just send me a message.

Paris-CERN tour

Photobucket Album

Guest Password is "norway" (without quotes)

17.05.2007 17th of May: Constitution Day

As all of you know, (or didn't know) the 17th of May is the day the Norwegian Constitution was established in the year 1814. So, how do they celebrate? Here's some keywords:

Children
Sausages and ice cream
Formal dresses
Russ
Flags
Stress
Bands

I would explain them, but right now I'm being a bit of lazy. :P

11.05.2007 Norske Stil

Norsk for språklige minoriteter

5 Timers Eksamen

11. Mai 2007

Del A.

Oppgave 1

I hvilken som helst land har språket sitt forandret seg konstant. Ordforrådet, ortografien, fonetikken, osv. har vært i konstant endringen slik at det har kapasitet til å endre et språk til et helt annet språk enten radikalt eller gradvis. Språket også gjenspeiler historien til området og det er det samme til det norske språket.

I fortiden var Norge et selvstendig land – hjemmet til vikingene. I denne tiden hadde Norge bare sitt eget språk (norrønt) og ligner veldig lik til dagens språk i Island. Etter hvert har Danmark tatt over Norge og da begynte det norske språket til å skille til to «språk» som er veldig likt hverandre men er akseptert som to forskjellige språk. Det gammalt norske språket blir dagens nynorsk og det fornorske danske språket blir dagens bokmål.

Oppgave 2

Lærer

Dikten «Lærer» handler om døden og hvor hjelpeløs vi er til å unngå det. Den handler også om hvordan alt vi har gjort, gjøre, og kommer til å gjøre blir intet da døden skulle komme. Uansett hvor bra, eller fæl, du hadde det i livet er døden den samme for alle. Den nevner også hvordan Gud er det eneste håpet som vi har og intet annet kunne hjelpe oss. Teknisk sett er dikten usymmetrisk, eller en fridikt. Den har ikke rime eller rytme og har en veldig kaotisk form og kan gjenspeile hvordan man føler seg forvirret da døden kommer.

Del B.

Oppgave 6

Årene

Tiden går sakte for de som venter. Tiden går fort for de som er lykkelige. Men tiden går uansett. Den nå som er nå blir fortiden til den framtiden som blir nå. Vi kan ikke gjøre noe for det fordi vi er jo en del av tiden. Det er meningsløst å klage på at tiden går for fort og at du klarer ikke å gjøre alt som du vil mens du er nå som du er. Tiden går fort eller sakte er bare en måte til å si at tiden er relativt. Hvordan man bruker det og hvordan man ser det har mye å si om hvordan du «føler» tiden.

Forandringer er også en del av tiden. Den eneste bestemt ting i livet er ubestemthet og man kan ikke bestemme hvordan forandringer går. Det eneste vi kan gjøre er å gå sammen med strømmen fordi det er jo lettere. Slik som fugler flyer medvind og frøene vandrer med de som tar de opp, er det naturlig. En buddhist sitat går: «Bambusrørene kjenner styrken om underkastelsen til vinden.» og elementet «Vann» er beskrevet som en veldig sterk element pga. sin evne til å forme seg til ulik former, dersom vannets universalitet. Vann kan bruke for hva som helst og er en av de grunnliggende stoff som vi og alle levende ting trenger og det klarer det med hjelp av sitt fleksibilitet.

Man kan bare gjør den samme: Å være fleksibelt og å ha et åpent sinn; fordi, der er jo ingenting som vi kan gjøre mer om forandringen eller tiden. De går og de går og de vil ikke vente for deg. Man må gå sammen, selv om man vilje eller ikke.

08.05.2007 Plans

As I've said in my last post, I'm thinking of traveling to Bergen, Denmark or Sweden.
I don't know which should come first, though.
I could go to Bergen because it's a part of Norway and it would be relatively easier to plan for (and as compensation for my host mom which thinks that it's quite sad that I would go to Denmark or Sweden when I'm in Norway.)
I want to go to Denmark or Sweden because I want to see something new, or so I expect. I guess I'll hear about the other's students plan on this one.

Oh well.. I hope I get to see all that I want.

06.05.2007 Things to do.

Waaa.. I'm running out of time and I still have quite a good deal to do.
1. Plan for a tour to Denmark
2. Plan for a tour to Bergen
3. Plan for a tour to Sweden
4. Upload pictures from the Paris/CERN Expedition
5. Update the other posts that I promised to update
6. Study for university
7. Plan for home security
8. Plan for for computer shop
9. Make a list of things to buy
10. Update personal pages such as friendster, yahoo profile, etc.
11. And a lot more.

04.05.2007 Norske Stil

Norge

Der er «sett inn nummer her» land her i verden. Mange av de er store og mange er små. Av alle disse landene, kunne jeg ha valgt hvilket som helst land men hvorfor Norge? Norge er et lite land som ligger i verdenskanten. Det ligger i Nord-Europa, på spissen av Skandinavia. I tillegg, har det en drøyt 5 millioner befolkning, noe som er veldig liten i forhold til landmassen. Det har masse plass her og det er kaldt. Det er kaldt fordi det ligger veldig høyt opp i Norden, men kanskje, mangel av mennesker i Norge gjør det kaldt også. Tenk på en heis hvor du står alene og en annen heis hvor du står med masse folk slik at dere lukter hverandres deilig lukt. Det er betydelig varmere inne i den andre heisen fordi det har mer folk inne. Forskjellige tilfeller, samme prinsipper.

Da vi har kommet her i Norge, hadde vi en ankomstleir for alle studentene som skulle bli her for ett år. Der forventninger våre blir redusert slik at de urealistiske blir byttet med litt mer realistiske forventninger og nakne kjensgjerninger. Lederne våre var nordmenn og de sa det selv, at nordmenn er kaldt slik som naturen rundt seg. Men først, la meg fortelle litt om naturen til Norge slik som jeg oppdaget det.

Norge er et vakkert land, fysisk sett. Det har fjorder som rent tar pusten fra en, fjell som kler på seg forskjellige drakter som sesongene passerer, sjøer som inneholder fisker og rikelige oljefelter, sletter som bærer mat for befolkningen, daler hvor dyr beiter, osv. Med høsten er hele landet overdekket av høstdrakten og dagene begynner å bli kjølige og kortere som forspill til vinteren. I vinteren er det kaldt og mørkt men når snø kommer, gleder man veldig godt fordi snø er et slags psykisk medisin i den mørke vinteren. Når dagene blir lysere og lengre og snøen smelter sakte, men sikkert er kjennetegnene til våren. Med våren kommer ut både dyr og mennesker av sine egne boliger og planter og blomster vokser og åpner ut sine blader som sier velkommen til våren. Og med vårens opptrapping, stiger temperaturen og blir dager unaturlig (for meg ihvertfall) lenge. Så er det sommer, men dessverre kan jeg ikke fortelle mye om sommeren her fordi jeg har kommet på slutten av sommer og skulle dra på starten av sommer. Som jeg sa, Norge er et vakkert land og, som andre land, det har sin egen kultur.

Kulturen er blandingen av de dominant personlighetene i en område, tror jeg. I tillegg er den en samlingen av tradisjoner. I Norge, har de masse merkelige tradisjoner. De fleste er ubegripelige og vanskelige å forstå som bl.a. Russen. Jeg skal skrive en liste av alle de tradisjonene som jeg opplevde.

Bursdagen feiring: jeg hadde bursdagen min i den andre uken jeg var hos familien min. Jeg fikk en «typisk» norsk frokost-på-senga og den dansende sangen som de har som bursdagssang. Jeg skjønner ikke fortsatt hvorfor er frokosten på senga så spesielt.

Jul: Julen må ha den rareste tradisjoner. Fra lutefisken (som egentlig er forgiftet) til dansen rundt juletre. Men den også har masse deilig mat som ribbe, kalkun, osv. Og de gir masse gaver til hverandre, og jeg mener masse.

Påsken: Som et kristen land, påske er en del av tradisjonen fordi den er tiden hvor Jesu døde så at alle verdens synd blir tilgitt, og der kommer kyllingene og kaninene. hm.. burde det ha sammenheng? Ikke spør meg men, kanskje, det er pga. Kristnes tradisjoner er tatt fra hedensk tradisjoner og ikke minst påsken. Men, allikevel, påsken er fullt av «påskeegg» , gul kyllinger, og godterier. Jesu døde for at vi kan spise godteri!

Disse er tradisjonene som er allerede er en del av norske kultur. Men, som jeg sa, kulturen er blandingen av de dominant personlighetene i en samfunne og her kommer inn folkene.

Hvorfor er kulturen en blanding av de dominant personlighetene i en samfunne? Norske folk er veldig blandet, selv om de er bare ca. 5 millioner og jeg mener at folk fra verdenrundt er akkurat den samme inne selv om de er forskjellige utenfor. Overalt, finnes de forskjellige typer av mennesker. De «rare», «kult», «nerder», «dumme», «smarte», osv. Så, hvis alle slags personligheter finnes overalt, hva skaper kulturen? Jo, det er derfor jeg sa de dominantene personlighetene i et samfunne. Og, selvfølgelig, den neste uunngåelig spørsmål er: «Hva er disse dominantene personlighetene»? God spørsmål. Her, hvor jeg bor, er rikdom, egoisme, og snobberi er dominant personligheter. Her, definerer klær, sminker, tilbehør, biler, osv. deg som en menneske. Jeg kan ikke garantere at alle mennesker i Norge heller alle som bor her er sånn men den er karakteristiske i min område. Hvis jeg må beskrive den norske befolkning som enhet, så kan jeg bare si at de er komplisert. De er komplisert å forstå fordi de er så forskjellige og de blir komplisert til å beskrive dem i et par ord.
Så, til slutt, jeg kan bare si at alt er relativt men du kan alltid basere noen ting om hva andre sier, men de er veldig veldig viktig å skjønne at det er bare en side av den hele bilde og alltid blir åpent om nye ting som kommer. De som skjønner seg ikke på den faktum vil, i stor sannsynlighet, skape fordommer mot andre. Den har jeg lært i ett år i Norge. Ω

Men, jeg skjønner ikke hvorfor jeg skriver denne artikkelen på norsk
selv om jeg vet at nesten ingen av dere kan forstå hva jeg har skrevet.

28.04.2007 Unfair

Suddenly, I thought about how I saw the Norwegians and their society and culture and I came to think that, maybe, I sticked with their first impression on me and never wanted to change how I see them. Now, I think it's unfair for my friends that helped me through the year. It's unfair for them that I should generalize and see the Norwegians in a negative way because, whether I like it or not, they still are Norwegians themselves and they can't change it. Instead, I'd gather all my thoughts and observations and list down what I think are positive and negative about them. Though I expect a dominantly negative list, I would try my very best to look through it as objectively as I can. I am a very critical critic and I see the negative in things very easily and I should work on that.

Anyway, the list:

Norwegians
Words that can describe: well-off, nature lovers, "freedom lovers", have an amusing accent when trying to speak English, almost all can speak English, beautiful girls (according to some people; sorry boys :D ), competitive, hard-working, "homogeneous" (the youth), regales with drinking until drunk

Positive: They have a lot of personal freedom, everyone is equal in their rights, proud of their achievements (self-confident)
Negative: Rather americanized, have a tendency to be spoiled brats (the youth), have a tendency to become materialistic, have a tendency for chauvinism

Notes: When I refer to the youth, it is almost exclusive to my experiences in my school but, cross-referencing it with the other student's experiences, i made a basis for my criticism

More to come..

22.04.2007 69 Days

Yesterday, I went to Oslo to meet Hana.
She's an exchange student too, from Germany, who lives in Kristiansand and she was visiting Oslo for a bit. I was supposed to go to Oslo last Friday but my card got locked up because I pressed the wrong PIN code 5 times. It's been a while since I used it so, I sort of forgot the code. hehe.
We met at the park at around 4 or 5. Flavio was already there. So, we played frisbee for a while and then Flavio went to pick up Rikardo from the train station or somewhere. And then we played a little bit more but we both suck at it so we just settled on stopping. hehe. We stopped playing, sat down and just talked. We were waiting for the two of them to come back.

After a while, they came back and then we played more. And then, I threw the frisbee quite high (and wrong) to a tree. You see, the frisbee we're playing with is more of like a hoop so it got stuck. We proved everything to get it down. My shoe, climbing the tree, shaking the branch (which by the way, gave me "emo" scratches) and everything possible. After a while, we managed to get it back with the help of the guys who were playing volleyball. (They took the pole. hehe.) And after that, we played a bit more and then Flavio and Rikardo needed to go home and eat dinner. So, Hana and I went out to grab a bite over at BK. And then stayed there for a while, just talking.

I realized, time runs so fast nowadays. Somehow, I'm really excited to coming back home. You see, I'm going back home to a new home. Literally and in a sense. Literally because we're moving in to our new house. In a sense because I've changed so much that the way I see them has become something completely new.
Although, I have regrets for letting time pass without doing anything about it. That's why I made a pledge that while I'm here, I'm going to make my stay as memorable as possible. Not with big things, but with small, seemingly irrelevant, things. In a sense, I just want to live here while I still have the time. I want to not to be sad when I come home. Probably become nervous, but overall, I want to be happy --without regrets. There's so many things to do in life that there's no use regretting things that have not been done. I'd rather cherish the moments I've created for myself.

Anyway, I just came back home from Riccardo's (ITA) place. I slept there instead of going home last night. I'm just being lazy, that's all. And I'm glad I stayed there. Somehow, I became closer with them. Probably not to be considered a real friend, but I think, close enough. I guess it's a start of something for me. I hope I don't ruin it.

And it's 69 Days and counting.

13.04.2007 Friday the 13th

I didn't notice that it was Friday the 13th today. Not until now, though.
Anyway, whether it was the myth around the day or of my own doings, my day turned out a very crappy day.

I woke up with the sound of my alarm clock. Ever since I used the one on the radio, (it's a multi-functional tingamajig, really) I've been waked up at least 3 times in the morning, and every single time, I sleep again with the exception of the last. On Fridays, I only have Norwegian classes for a meager 4 hours and a half and we had a test today. As much as I like writing, I just hate exams because, besides the fact that I don't really need it, it sucks out a lot of me - not of lack of writing, but of lack of things to do. Sitting there for hours at a time, doing practically nothing tires me out. (Who gets tired of doing nothing? me!) After the test, Jens and I decided to take our bikes to Rema to buy some stuff. Here's where things started to go wrong.

On the way to Rema, suddenly, the gear-changer of my bike (or technically speaking, my host dad's bike) lost its screw causing the chain to go out of track and land in between the fork and the gear. (Why can't the chain just land in the gear? Was he tired and wanted to take a break from the gears?) Anyway.. the sad thing is, I really didn't know that it was just the screw missing and not the entire gear-changer-thingamajig broken into pieces. So, I went home, dragging the bike with me, and went out to carry on a surgery on it. And then I found out that the screw just fell off or something. However, due to an extreme lack of logic on my part or rather an influence of complete laziness, I did not look for it. (I mean, how stupid can I be?) All I thought of the time was to tell it to Trond, the legitimate owner of the bike. (and partly expecting that my butt will be kicked) The thought of looking for the missing screw did not really dawn on me if Trond had not suggested looking for it. And that was roughly 6 hours after. -_-

Anyway, while I was waiting for dinner and boring myself out, I went up to my room, used the pc, played music, read a book and in the process, fell asleep. With the sun shining through my window, I just needed to fall asleep. Anyway, half an hour later, Ragnhild started yelling around for me. Now, I am hearing her but I'm not up to anything besides sleeping at the moment. I really wanted to sleep just because it's feels great. Anyway, she was saying something about a call for me. Now, who in the world would call me? and in my *temporary* residence number?

It was a lady who seemed to be in a very bad temper and is talking to me with raised tones. Ouch. It was my AFS local contact in a bad mood. This weekend, my host mom will have a ladies' party in the house and she already leased all the beds in the house for some of the guests who would not be able to go back to their own respective homes in the course of the night. I really don't have anything against it because, in effect, I'm just a vagrant here myself and have no claims to any property or whatsoever. So, my host mom asked my local contact if I could crash over for the night and generously she said yes. Now, her son sent me a SMS message asking when he could pick me up and I replied something like this: "when? because I'm going to a birthday party of one of my friends at 7." Now, I did ask when, right? By asking when, I meant, what time. Apparently, they only managed to absorb the second part of the sentence. They suddenly had the idea that I'm not going to sleep over. So, she was quite upset that suddenly, i go off canceling things. When I explained that I am still going but I'm coming after the party, she became even more upset. Understandably, as a mother, she would not want her son to be staying up all night waiting for me to come to them. In her perspective, it would be unfair for her child to wait for a stranger to come home to them, and I agree with her. Curse my wording preferences. I could not ask for them to come and pick me up so late, can I? That would be even more embarrassing for me but apparently, as later I would come to know, they wouldn't mind. The end of the conversation left me with two choices, either ask Morten to come with me or i wouldn't go to the party at all.

Now, I already considered these two choices before (and even more alternatives that I taught of) and I can see both as not a real option. Asking Morten to come with me would be a good thing to do, but I don't think he's the kind of person that would be interested with such kind of things. I don't know but I just feel it. The second choice would mean breaking a promise because I already promised her that I would be coming. It's my way of making things up for myself by trying to uphold all promises that I make. So, i already discarded them as options. But here I am, ended up in choosing one of the two. As the whole thing was very stressful, I chose to go to Morten early instead of just going to the party. So, I sent messages to both Morten and Cho Kiu, telling them that I'm coming early and I'm not coming, respectively as well as an apology message for the both of them.

And then came dinner and I told Trond about the problem and we went out, after dinner, to search for the missing nut. We had no luck. So, I took the bike with me and drove down to the sports center and asked if they had a nut that would fit the hole? The first clerk told me that they're not offering Diamant bikes and therefore they have no parts of it to sell too. So, I called Trond and asked if I should ask for something that would just fit even though it's of not the same manufacturer. I was just being sure because it's his bike, anyway; and that I would not want to choose things that would contribute to its wreckage. It's strike #3 for the day and strike #2 against Trond. I got a lecture on how things function. I know those things, hallooo! what do you guys take me for, 6 years old? I don't know your preferences on things so I needed to make sure that it's what he would pick himself. So, I went in and asked a second time to another clerk. This time, this clerk tells that I can just check it in for repair and get it back next week. Oh well..no biking for me.

So, by the end of the day, I was upset myself and I sat down at the church's garden for a while. How long exactly, I did not know. It just felt soothing to be there. Just sitting there, thinking, listening.

So, how's your Friday the 13th?

09.04.2007 2nd Day of Easter

I've never heard of a 2nd day of easter before.
In my own country, we only have Easter Sunday and on that day we go to church.
Here, things are much more different.
Easter is marked with easter eggs and yellow chicks.
Sort of weird for me since as far as I know, Easter is the resurrection of Jesus.
But it's okay. That's what I'm here for anyway.
To learn of differences and of limitations.
Because "what gets us into trouble is not what we don't know,
it's the things that we know for sure but just ain't so."

From last Wednesday up to yesterday, we were at the mountains.
And we were skiing for 3 days straight!
I guess after that I was a bit of tired of skiing. For the mean time I guess.
But I believe that that will be my last time on skis for a very long time after.
And I'm happy with it.

Oh well, normal school day tomorrow.
I've got to admit that I'm starting to feel lazy going to school since it is absolutely, completely, pointless. 1 more month, more or less, until the end of classes. and 3 more months, more or less, until I go home. I'm just counting weeks now.

My gratitude to my host family, Trond, Fredrik, Raghnild and Andrea for having me here for a year, especially to Trond for making a lot of moments special for me. I really appreciate it.

01.04.2007 Party

So, I'm here at Jens' house, in a party with his friends.
I'm glad that I came.
His friends, even though a little bit odd, they're very nice.
It's a circle of friends that moves away from the mainstream and I can see that they have their own character. They're not like everyone else that seems to blend into a homogenous entity and I like them. I try very hard to help around and to get involved with people. For once, I try to make eye contact when someone's speaking. Something that I am not used to.

Anyway, as for the party, majority of the ones that were left behind drank at least 3 shots of vodka (including me but I drank around 2 and a half shots though) and they were very tipsy and acting quite silly. It's fun to watch them. =D I'm not tipsy nor drunk though. :D

25.03.2007 Back from Paris/Genève

For the past week, my class was in Paris and Genève for a class field trip for science students. This was our travel plan:

Sunday, 18.03
16.20: Take off of Flight DY1494 from Oslo Gardermoen
18.45: Landing in Paris Orly
21.00: Check-in to hotel.
Hotel: Kyriad Paris La Villette Hotel
Address: 147-151 Avenue De Flandres 75019 Paris
Location: Within city
Area: North Of Paris
[Comments]
I came to the airport roughly 6 hours before the flight. Why? I don't know. I've got nothing to do at home anyway. So, I sat there and read for about 3 hours before I saw any sign of the other students / teachers. I even managed to come in time for those going to Iceland. haha! The hotel room was quite small but it sufficed. After we checked in, we went out to grab a bite and we ended up about 700 meters away from the hotel, in an Italian restaurant where Eirik and I shared a meal (since we're both in a tight budget, or at least, I was.)
[Memories]
3 hour wait, Egg on Pizza, Biscuits in hotel room, 100 Euros budget

Monday, 19.03
08.00: Breakfast and freetime
14.30: Curie Amphitheater
15.00: Curie Museum
15.30: Lacassagne Amphitheater
16.00: Laboratories
23.00: Hotel check-in time for the night
Madam Curie Institute
Address: 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris
Troulliet-Rossignol Building
Address: 26 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris
[Comments]
The breakfast wasn't really bad. We get to eat as much as we want as long as we don't take things along as baon. On the morning, we went up the Eiffel Tower. 668 stair steps all the way to the 2nd level and from there we needed to take the elevator. It was really something. After that, we needed to meet in front of Notre Dame and from there, we're going to walk to the Curie Institute. After the whole program, Eirik and I went back to the hotel and checked-in early. We bought baguettes and salami for dinner. We got a knock at around 21.00 from Charlotte and the others asking if we're going out to eat. Passed the offer.
[Memories]
Eiffel Tower, snow on top and rain on the bottom, continental breakfast: croissants and cereals

Tuesday, 20.03
08.00: Breakfast
09.30: Jacques Monod Amphitheater
10.30: Coffee
10.45: Laboratories
13.00: Crypt
13.15: Lunch
14.15: Epigenetics
16.00: Visit end
23.00: Hotel check-in time for the day
Jacquis Pasteur Institute
[Comments]
Early breakfast, as usual. The rest of the day, nothing really special. Just some laboratories and stuff. We got free lunch though and I learned french dining in the process. Everyone was trying it anyway. hehe. We walked around after that. We literally walked around the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel trying to find the Avenue des Champs Elysées for the girl's shopping. And then a long wandering, going in and out of boutiques. Then planned on seeing the Louvre but didn't do it due to lack of time and weariness. We bought baguettes for dinner again but we went out with Charlotte, Heidi and Solveig for dinner, too. I ordered a half a melon for dessert. I just ate dessert in the restaurant. We were actually scammed because the 3 girls was planning on buying just 1 portion for the 3 of them but instead, they got a helping each. grr.
[Memories]
Scamming french restaurant, zebrafish, horseflies, mouse embryo, free mouse pads and ID straps, Eirik and melon, round and round the arc

Wednesday, 21.03
07.00: Breakfast and freetime
12.00: Hotel check-out
14.30: Train from Paris to Genève
[Comments]
We took breakfast as always and we set out for a short tour of the rest of Paris. This time, Marianne came with us. We went to Sacré Coeur but we took a rather long way. So when we arrived, we stayed for not more than 15 minutes. Took a couple of pictures and that's it. We also went to Moulin Rouge but it wasn't really so special. Then went back to check out and took the long train trip to Genève. I was kind of nervous in Genève due to some doubts with my passport and visa. Luckily, it went well. And then we took the bus from the station to the hotel. The hotel lies in the middle of nowhere and we haven't gotten dinner. We set out to find a bar or a pizza restaurant in the proximity (according to the desk lady) but to no avail. Dinner became a shared piece of baguette and lots of candies. It's better than nothing.
[Memories]
Marianne, Charlotte, Eirik and I on the quest for a place to eat, dark in switzerland, burning chewing gums on the street, hotel in the middle of nowhere

Thursday, 22.03
07.00: Breakfast
08.50: CERN reception
09.00: Opening presentation
09.30: Film "The Story of CERN"
10.00: LHCb
12.00: Lunch
13.00: Microcosm
15.00: City tour with Guri
21.00: Train to hotel
[Comments]
Breakfast sucked! We got a piece of croissant and a piece of another type of bread and that's it. It didn't take me more than 15 minutes to eat it all up. They had a cool room where the opening presentation was held. It was like a UN room where they get translators in a line and we could wear headphones if we choose to. LHCb wasn't really as interesting as I expected. Microcosm was quite great though. The city tour with Guri was okay too. We get to look around Genève and what is there to see though her feminist comments kinda annoyed me. After that, we went around, in and out of boutiques and buying things. Dinner was at McDonald's. It was really unexpected that we needed to pay for our own train ticket because we did pay quite a sum for the transportation, as the teachers put it. At that time, I was running quite low on cash since we needed to deposit 20 Euros as a kind of "insurance." A lot of people were starting to get pissed. At the hotel, we didn't really do anything but talk. I visited Charlotte and Marianne's room just for company.
[Memories]
Sucky breakfast, lots of tired faces, Coop City, Marianne, Charlotte, Heidi, Eirik and me running around, train ticket paid with own money, pissed students

Friday, 23.03
07.00 Breakfast
09.00 ATLAS visit with Norwegian researchers
10.30 Lecture with the Librarian. hehe.
11.45 Lunch
13.00 Magnet Test Lab Visit
15.00 Back to hotel
[Comments]
When the Norwegian researchers came, that's when I started dosing off in the lectures. It's hard when the brain needs to translate the data first before taking it in. I'd rather sleep (and I did.) The last night of the field trip and as expected, hell got loose. Hopefully, we weren't hell. hehe. All we did was talk and probably, with my entire year here in Norway, this was the first occasion where I tried contributing to the conversation. I really did. I guess probably because there's someone to listen now. =)
[Memories]
Sleepyhead, Walkie Talkie

Saturday, 24.03
16.20: Flight DY1605 to Oslo from Genève
[Comments]
Okay, we got a complain from the hotel that the night before, there were a lot of noise and restlessness from the rest of the group. I could understand that because I saw a lot of tired faces that morning. hehe. I got a present from the teachers too for being so good. hehe.
[Memories]
Contented and Happy. =)


So, that's about all of it.
I would say that I'm quite happy with the trip and I'm glad I came with them. I made new friends too. I guess that's what really matters for me. Friends. :D

Note: Pictures would be added later.

16.03.2007 Pochero

Today, I didn't go to school. Why? Because I don't feel like going. It's just 1 subject for 3 hours, what use is going to school? But, anyway, at this moment, there are about 10+ men in the house because my host dad is throwing a "party", grown-up style.. I however made dinner for everyone.. and, yes, it's Pochero. I never really have made it before and I don't remember the taste. I don't remember tasting it at all before. So, it was a sort of a gamble because, if you guys haven't known already, it's very expensive to cook here and therefore, one cannot really mess up.

So, it went out quite well, though the real test is still not passed: the taste. But everything, all throughout the preparation and the cooking, went great. :D

Dinner's ready! :D

My Last Dance

I dreamt last night.

I dreamt about my 4th year dance competition.
The one where we ended up 3rd place, if I remember it right..
I remember the cheers in the cramped gymnasium..
I remember the wild beating of my heart, out of nervousness or adrenaline, I can't tell..
I remember the white gloves, top hat and the 'suplado' look that we were asked to wear..
I remember the practices where I rarely said a thing, no protests from me..
I remember myself thinking that my classmates would probably think I'll start another revolution among the guys..
I remember the wooden staff covered in electrical tape that we used as a prop (I do hope it's still at home)..
I remember the look my partner gave me as a part of the dance..
I remember it all..

I have been wondering all those time why the f*** am I dancing..
I sure didn't want to win.. I mean, I never really cared about winning or not and it was quite uncomfortable for me seeing my other classmates cry right after performing because they knew we didn't stand a chance in winning.. I never really cared..
It's not a cream1-cream2 hate relationship either.. my girlfriend's in the other class so I really can't completely hate that section, can I? (Though I admit, I have dislike for the section at one point in time) /hate would be a too powerful word/
It's not because we paid either..

I guess because it was my last year and I said to myself that I'm not going down without a fight..
I knew I gave my best.. gave my all..
I did not protest.. I did not do anything to distract or delay any practices.. I even helped the others learn the step..
I think I wanted to leave a legacy.. I wanted to leave a legacy for myself..
That one day, I can say to myself, I danced as if my life depended on it..

I really loved dancing after all..
and I still do.

Memories of Our Last Dance.
This is for you Matulungin 05-06

02.02.2007 Problems

In our daily lives, we have problems. Problems with the family, with friends, with society, with school, with the neighbourhood, with the jeepney driver, with the bus driver, with the sorbetero, with the aso, etc. So, what's the point of this? Nothing really. Just want to tell of a problem that I had.

About exactly a week ago, me and my host mom went to the AFS office in Oslo to talk with the "boss" there. Apparently, my host mom talked with the chief directly because she's having "problems" with me. Coincidentally, I'm having problems with her too because she has problems with me. All this time, I thought that the problem was, in her opinion, I don't have enough friends (which is quite weird because she's not me and she does not have any grounds to tell me that I don't have enough friends. Imagine a person telling you that you don't have enough friends. *sweatdrop*) (and though it's "in her opinion", it is as if she's forcing me to make friends. I guess I need to rephrase that. "In her orders, I need to make friends because she thinks I don't have enough." - more like that.)

It turned out, the problem was, apparently, I was using too much PC (based on the sounds from the ceiling, as she claimed.) First of all, after christmas vacation, I took my PC inside its box and left it downstairs (according to earlier orders.) It looks like she has been using her mouth more often than her eyes, as the majority of human beings nowadays. Now, as logic follows, how can I use the PC too much when I am sitting in my room and all my access to PC use is downstairs? And how can one base assumptions of PC-use with sounds coming from the ceiling (due to the constant movement of my rolling chair)? For the past 3 weeks, I have not been able to use the PC at home for more than 10 minutes a day. You call that using the PC too much?!

Second problem: Social Life
As I said above, in her opinion, I did not have enough friends.
Defense:
A. There's no other person in the world that can tell you that you don't have enough friends.
B. The people in my school is of the rich-snobby-spoiled type and in no way possible to get inside friend circles (except for those few who beg to differ which I thankfully got inside to)
C. I'm not the kind of person that goes out and says hi to a stranger. That's just not completely right. I can get by with talking with a few people, even with none.

So, all in all, I won the case.

PS. The stories are a bit biased on my part but I tried to keep it as objective as possible. If it was quite biased, you cannot do anything about it because I own the blog. (Unless you can hack into it and deface it, though it is not worth the effort because I don't have that big reader-base.)

02.02.2007 Things

I've always knew that I was a perfectionist. That I always wanted to be the perfect person for everyone. That's why I try to be the best in everything that I do. And if I don't make it, I get depressed. That's why for the past few years, I have been depressed most of the time. Because in my quest to make everyone happy, to make everyone like me, I ended up with nobody noticing me. I've always wanted to be somebody. Or at least, that somebody would appreciate me. But my problem with me is that 1 is not enough. nor 2. nor 3. nothing is enough for me. I never get contented. which is really weird because I've always thought that I'm contented in life, which I am but at some point, I'm not. In short, I'm weird.

This is just a rant so don't bother reading it.
If you read through it, you would realize that you just wasted about 3 minutes of your life reading.
Thank you.

02.02.2007 Social Activity Week: Children

Background:
The Social Activity Week is a week held by AFS in some countries (usually 1st world countries) wherein the students get permission to not go to school and, instead, work in the neighbourhood voluntarily. (i.e. without pay)



Today was the last day of my so-called "work" with the nearby children's school. I worked with the 3rd grade (8-9 yrs. old) and with the SFO (I don't really know what it means but it's where the children stay and just play while waiting for their parents to come and pick them up.) It was fun while it lasted. I get to see how the norwegian educational system functions and at the same time, I got to be with children. (I guess it's safe to say that I became a child again.) I drew a lot of things, mostly dragons because of special requests. I went skating with them (where they taught me things), and, all in all, had a good time with them. Sure, it's a lil' bit tiring, with all the screaming, running, crying, asking, talking, etc., that they do but, nonetheless, it was fun.

I guess I love kids. (Not that I would love to have one though.) It kept me wondering, how do they think at their age? I could not remember how I thought when I was small. It was a bit odd because, now that I think about it, I had almost the same line of thought since I was grade 5 but beyond that, I could not remember anymore. I hope that when these kids grow up, they would come to remember me and the one week that I spent with them. If they don't, at least, I know that I would come to remember it all. I guess children are as complicated as adults and, in fact, more dangerous. I feared for the entire week that anything that I might have influenced them would, in a way, affect their entire selves until they grow up and the thought is really sinister. I mean, I never knew how I grew up this way. It could've been my own circle of thoughts or it could have been an outside influence, I don't know. And as I looked among these children, there are a lot of them where I can see myself in and I wonder who they would become as a 17 year old teenager. Would they follow their own nature? or would they go with the flow? Who knows.

But, nonetheless, I would say that they have touched me. And I would hope that I touched them.

I guess it's my thing where I make all simple things complex. It's just me.

Since then..

A lot has passed..
My sprained ankle..
Problems with my laptop..
Christmas Vacation..
Christmas itself..
Fireworks..
A New Year..

In the past 2 weeks, all I ever did was eat, eat and eat as part of the norwegian tradition of celebrating Christmas. Tradition is, prepare a feast and invite your friends and relatives. And an individual can just have so many relatives and friends. So, every dinner, a different place. I even got to drink sweet beer with almost no alcohol content, so, I liked it. Very much.

And under the influence of the Christmas season, my host family have been very nice. I got a dozen of gifts, majority are winter clothes, for Christmas. My host parents, usually my mom, said that "they're happy in me", their version of I love you, a couple of times. And I got to spend the dawn of a new year with my host brother. I guess, I can say, I've got a family here and the efforts are not mine alone. Both sides had sacrifices and adjustments. Materially, socially and emotionally. And, somehow, I can feel myself becoming more open to strangers but I'm more comfortable with the company of adults. Probably because I'm more grown up, inside, than most of people of my age, though I'm not saying that I am a grown up. I'm still a kid, I can't deny that. There's still a lot about life that I have to learn. Not only knowledge, but more importantly wisdom.

From now on, I would try to post more happy moments than sad. I would like to look at the silver lining of the cloud this time. If 2006 was full of sad posts, let's have a change, shall we?

In this New Year, I realized that there's not much that changes.. just numbers on the calender and days of the week. I don't need any new year's resolution because change is so constant, it's ordinary. I'll just go with the flow.. live my life as I ordinarily would and in the process, change, ever so little.

I am still who I am.. or at least, I want to be still..

I hope you had a Merry Christmas.
and have a Happy New Year!