Preikestolen (and the Swords!)

         One of our last trips together was to Stavanger with the Art Class. We left on a Thursday morning, with plans to return Saturday. It was a bit of a stressful time because a number of the NLC (and a few international Art students) were taking the Norwegian speaking exam on Friday. There are two tests, spoken and written. Due to covid, the first exam was taken over zoom instead of in person in Stavanger, but we'd already planned our trip so we decided to go anyway!

        It was about a three hour drive, and we stopped partway for a bathroom break at a rest stop. While we were there another bus pulled up, and out streamed a mass of children. You'd think we'd entered a zombie apocalypse with how quickly we got back into our bus. Coming from around the world and facing the travel and quarantine, the NLC students had always been a bit more aware of the pandemic than the Norwegians. 

        When I arrived in Norway, I still remember seeing on the news that a man in Bergen had died of Covid. People were shocked and talking about it, and I was shocked that the county had the ability to mourn for one man, when the US was registering over 50,000 new cases each day. Throughout the year my life had felt almost normal, and it wasn't until after Easter that cases started to rise and we began wearing masks. The NLC class took that in stride--we had experienced the full weight of the pandemic and knew the consequences--but the Norwegians were less strict, and and didn't regard it with quite the severity that we all did. 

        As the children started their takeover of the rest stop, we cowered in the bus. Despite our initial reaction, we were all joking around and laughing with one another--making apocalypse references and screaming whenever the kids got too close. They probably thought we were crazy. They weren't wrong. It was a real NLC bonding experience. 

        When we finally got to the place we were staying we had to split ourselves into both living and work groups. I stayed in the large cabin with about 15 people, and there were three smaller cabins that had four to five people in each. We unpacked and just hung out for most of the evening. I'd been asked to bring my roller skates, so those living in our cabin had some fun learning to skate--or simply learning not to fall. For dinner we cooked out hotdogs on a fire, and afterwards a group went to check out the nearby beach. Most of us stayed back at the cabin, enjoying hot chocolate and Say Yes to the Dress. 

        The next day I was up early, and though it wasn't my job, I offered to help Valeria and her team make breakfast. We were having waffles, and they were quite time consuming to make, especially since one of the waffle makers kept shutting off and not cooking them all the way. It didn't really matter because when the teachers came in they were shocked to see us making the waffles. Apparently they'd been meant as a dessert, and when the Norwegians got up many of them were confused about why we'd be having waffles in the morning. Admittedly, that didn't make much sense to the American and the Mexican that had been looking forward to waffles for breakfast. 

        After the waffle debacle, we were sent away to the beach so they could take the speaking exam in peace. It was super windy, so Ananada and I wedged ourselves between a few sand dunes and read our books. Some people threw frisbees around and collected seaglass, but the wind was so cold that we were all counting down the minutes until we could go back. Apparently the test was extremely difficult, so we didn't ask much about it, but when they were done we began packing the bus for Preikestolen. 

        To my surprise, only about ten of us wanted to climb to Preikestolen--a very famous Norwegian tourist attraction. The FHS students are from all over Norway, and most had never done the hike, but it still ended up being mostly NLC, with Elise (who yes, is in Reiseliv, but might as well be in NLC so we snuck her along for the trip), Ingrid, and Nöemi. 

        It was a gorgeous day, so I thought I'd take it easy and stick with the notoriously slow Ananda, but about five minutes in I somehow find myself leading the pack with Tommimaru--Amazing Race Dream Team 2.0, though possibly the first time we'd talked to each other since getting back to school. We had a nice group that went at a good pace, though it still took us almost 2 hours to get to the top. The trail went nearly straight up. The path was fantastic, as it's been upgraded recently by the Sherpa guides from Mt. Everest, so it was full of flat rocks and stairs. That being said, it was still not fun to walk up stairs for 2 hours. 

        There were a few slippery spots as we hit the snow/ice, and I dreaded having to go back down. However, it was totally worth it! Preikestolen was amazing, quite the experience. (It was also featured in the latest Mission Impossible movie!) Since the weather was so good, the views were incredible, and we got a lot of cool photos. We even took one where we attempted to spell out AFHS with a heart, which was more difficult than it sounds. Looking over the edge was exhilarating, and we had to get down on our bellies and crawl over because it was so scary and high. Heiden threw an apple core off, but it became so small that it disappeared before we could see it land. 

        We hung out at the top for an hour or so, then headed back down. If the way up was hard, I almost think the way down was worse--at least on my knees. I walked with Nöemi, who I'd never really spoken to before, which was fun! She's really nice and we made it down very quickly, where we waited for the rest of the group with Bjorn and Heiden. 

        On the way back, Marianne proved that she really is Tinkerbell, and granted me another wish. There are three giant swords sticking out of the ground in Stavanger, and some friends had seen them over xmas break. I really wanted to see them while we were there, so Marianne drove another way back so that we would pass them. We were able to get out and see them/take some pictures, which was really exciting! 

        By the time we returned we were all tuckered out from the day, but coming back to grilled chicken and potato salad put everyone in a good mood. The next morning however, it was clear that it had been a tiring trip. We had to clean the cabins and pack up, which included cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen and floors. As expected with group projects, some people did more work than others, and when it was finally done, we all just wanted to go home. 

        Instead, the teachers wanted to show us a beach. We parked a ways off and had to follow a really strange path that led over two fences and a small river, but we finally made it to the beach! It was beautiful, and everyone enjoyed relaxing in the sun. The boys threw a football around, diving headfirst into the sand for our amusement, and we had a small headstand competition. We also broke out the rest of the waffles, a nice treat for the end of the trip. 

        We were all glad when the minibus pulled into the school, none more than Eric who had needed to pee for half an hour, and wasn't shy about letting us know. A bunch of the NLC group ordered pizza, and we ended the night watching Bachelor in Paradise in the classroom. Not a bad day!