Tur Med Foto

        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'd be taking a hike with the Photo Class. 

        Photo is small, and has always stuck to themselves, so my friends and I in NLC were very excited for this opportunity to get to know them a bit better. We planned to take the minibus to Tangvall, and then hike up to our local Hollywood, or, 'Søgne' Sign. When we got off the bus, all dressed in wool and ready to gå på tur, we were each given a pair of spikes for our shoes to make the hike easier. (In the wrong circumstances those things could be murder weapons--they were scary but necessary). 

        Marianne paired each of us with a photo student. I was paired with Alex, who is a stipp, and we led the way up. It wasn't a very long walk, but there was one steep part where we were basically climbing up a frozen river/waterfall. As we trekked up the ice we were very glad for the spikes on our feet. 

        At the top, there was a great view out over Tangvall and the surrounding area. We made a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows together, and took some pictures with the Søgne Sign. It was such a nice day, despite the cold (about 15 degrees Fahrenheit), and we all had a really great time. My walking buddy on the way down was Victoria, who transferred from Global to Photo before Christmas. We talked and had a nice time together. Overall, that was one of my favorite trips we've taken so far. It was a great activity with a great group of people, and I hope we keep doing things like this!