Evelyn's Year in Norway

           Wednesday is usually our long day--with class before and after lunch--so we were all very excited when our principal--Reidar--announced we'd be going sledding until dinner on Wednesday. A few classes were away, so the rest of the school was driven to a big sled hill and cross country ski area.           We had two types of sleds, one like a rectangle that was big enough for a few  people, and one like a circle that basically just fit your butt. Sledding was really fun, if not a little scary. The hill was steep, and since we haven't exactly had snow, it was mostly ice. At the bottom, the hill went up again to stop people, but some went a little too fast and shot off. Others threw themselves off of the sleds before they could get tossed.           After sledding for a while, everybody sat down to eat. Most of us had packed lunches, but the reiseliv boys gave everyone a laugh when the pizza truck arrived for them. We sat around the fire hanging out until Reidar said we

           On Tuesday I turned 19! We are often very busy on Tuesdays, so it was a fun-packed day. We had class in the morning, and Marianne brought hot chocolate and candy for us to have during our break! After lunch, my friends and I had volleyball, and after that we worked out. That was followed by dinner, and then knitting class. I'm not currently knitting anything so I mostly skipped to play chess and call home.            It was a pretty normal day up until 6:30, when a bunch of us got together in the NLC classroom for a little celebration. With covid, we're really not supposed to go out, so Ananda baked a delicious chocolate cake, and we all hung out and watched the bachelor. I'd been sent some New Years party poppers, so we used them--making a huge mess, but worth it. My friends also got me a cute Star Wars themed gift for our dorm. Overall it was super fun! 

           I'm a little late posting about this, but a couple of weeks ago I got a new roommate--Ananda! She had been living with Alina, but after we got back from break Alina realized  that she needed more personal space so Ananda moved in with me! It was a pretty easy transition, and we get along really well.           I wanted a roommate when I first got here but didn't get one, though I always knew there was a possibility that they could set me with someone. I'm just happy that it's Ananda and that  everything is working out! I had to move all of my stuff out of the extra closet and fix the shelves, but at least now the room looks like people actually live here! 

           This past week I've been a bit distant on here, but it's because I've had a lot to do, and we haven't done any big exciting things. Instead, I've been in charge of the NLC instagram all week, which has kept me  quite busy.           Marianne had too much on her plate and asked if I could take the instagram for a week. I was able to post stories--that last 24 hours--and regular  permanent posts. It was a fun activity, but I'm honestly glad that my week is over because it's quite a commitment. I posted a lot there, but I wanted to share a few of my favorite things from this past week here!  We went on a trip with Reidar (the principal) to his cabin where we hung out and drank hot cocoa. His cabin was right on the ocean, in a beautiful area.  On Wednesday, we highlighted the fact that the two American boys have decided Norway isn't cold enough for them and decided to wear shorts and t shirts.  Meanwhile Sofia and I were busy eating creme and rais

           Now that we're back to normal, or as normal as it gets at a Norwegian Folk High School, I thought I'd share some of our everyday memories! First off, Ananda and I got  roller-skates! We kept seeing videos on instagram of people skating, and decided to gift ourselves skates for a late xmas. We've been skating in the gym, and even led an American themed Morning Assembly for NLC--don't ask. They're tons of fun, and the goal is to eventually skate to kiwi and/or Tangvall.           When Alina and I were at my family's for Jul, we ate our weight in riskrem. It's a dessert made from leftover grøt (porridge) and it is delicious! We have grøt every Saturday at school, so last Saturday we snatched two extra bowls, and made riskrem that evening. However, we soon realized that we had too much krem and not enough ris. We saw our principal in the hallway and asked if he could unlock the kitchen so we could steal more grøt. He seemed a bit confused as to why we

           A few days ago our amazing teacher, Marianne, rented ice skates for our class! I absolutely love ice skating, so I was super excited. The lake has been frozen for the last two weeks or so, and on Friday, Morten (the outdoor teacher) declared it safe. We'd gotten a little snow, so the surface wasn't perfectly smooth, but it still worked!           After dinner, Bjorn, Sofia, Elise, Magdaline and I grabbed skates and helmets from the classroom and headed down to the lake. Magdaline and Sofia had both never skated before, so it was fun watching them learn. We stayed out for about an hour and a half, and we had a great time.  Here's Bjorn, Sofia, me and Elise. (we did actually have helmets, we just took them off when Cecilie took group pics)          Partway through, the Digital Photo valgfag (elective) came down to the lake to take pictures. They formed a huge line like paparazzi and took pictures of us and the other skaters with the sunset. We had so much fun skati

         Earlier this week each of the NLC students had a meeting with Marianne where we talked about how the year was going, what we liked, and things we wished would happen. I said that I really enjoy our day trips with other classes, and I wished that we did those more often. It's quite a small school--only about 90 students--but there are some people that I have never said more than a sentence to since I've been here.           When we started this year, we all had to stick to our classes and social distance, which really altered the way that the classes interact with each other. Everybody is close with their class, but it's made getting to know the Norwegians quite difficult--especially when we only spoke English in the beginning. In my meeting, I asked Marianne if we could take more day trips and do more activities with other, random, classes. I left the meeting thinking that maybe we'd do something eventually, but the next day she announced that on Friday we'

           On Wednesday we had our long day, where we have class both before and after lunch. Before lunch we worked with our textbooks and did our language training, but the second half we went outside for a bit. It had snowed a little the night before, barely anything, but still super exciting. Before coming here, some of the students in our class had never seen snow!           Marianne told us to do a photography exercise outside. We had a few objectives, so we had to take photos  different things: things that made us feel calm, that showed interesting light, and that made small things look big. Some were harder than others, and we ended up just taking our cameras out and having some fun! I'm no photographer, and my camera is pretty terrible, but here are some of the photos we took--both part of the exercises and just for fun. When we went back to class, Marianne asked us to put the photos into a collage and write a sentence or two about why we liked the photos and how they fit

           Our ten days of quarantine are finally over! Now school can go on a bit more like 'normal' and we can interact with our friends from other classes again. The distancing ended on  Wednesday night, so NLC decided to celebrate by making waffles for everyone. Ananda and Marianne made the dough, and then I helped Ananda cook the waffles. Eventually we swapped out with Bjorn and Heiden, and we all chilled around the coffee bar area.  Making waffles!  Here are Heiden and Bjorn (both from USA). Sofia and I waiting for our waffles.  Tomasso (right) went back to Italy for the holidays and has been quarantining in another building for the last ten days. Now the roommates are reunited! Everybody wanted a waffle!            Finally, the peisestue was full of life again! People from all different classes were hanging out, talking and playing games. There was a huge line for waffles, and everyone was so excited to be back together again. We even got a fire going. It was a really fu

           Today, I decided to go for a nice walk around the lake with Ananda and Alina. When we got down to the water, we noticed something strange. There was a woman standing in the middle of the lake! As we got closer to the beach, we could see dozens of people skating, and walking across the ice that had formed. We've had quite a few days under freezing, but it was still a nice surprise!           We texted some friends, and they texted some more, and suddenly half of the school was scooting across the ice in their sneakers. (Marianne said she's trying to rent our class skates, so hopefully the lake will stay frozen!!) We all messed around, slipping and sliding and trying to make it to the islands. Some of us played tag for a bit, and had a dance circle. It was an unexpected, yet super fun part of the day!         Most people took snapchat videos, which don't cooperate when I try to upload them, so I once again made a big video. This one is much better than last time, a

           We're back at school now--our vacation is officially over--but it hasn't exactly felt like  normal. For the first ten days that we are back, all of the classes must distance from one another. That means no sitting together at meals, watching movies in the classrooms, or hanging out in each others dorms. We also have no electives for this period, so we suddenly have lots of time on our hands.           So far, I've spent most of my time in the peisestue doing work and reading. It's a nice place to be because so many people come through, so even though we can't hang out or play games, we can sit apart and chat briefly. I've missed my friends here, and it's very strange not being able to be close to them.            The cafeteria might be the weirdest part. They have extended the room into the aula--by a removable wall--and placed tables a meter apart from one another, in groups separated into classes. We also eat at timed slots now, so my class goes