onsdag 22. september 2010

Assassin.

So the following days have been used for not so very much. There was a long weekend followed by a normal week at school. I've started having selected courses on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Monday we have ballgames, which is basically just having fun with ball games. And apparently "snow ball" is in our arsenal later this year (this is partially why I signed up *cough*). Tuesdays I have language training. Well, technically I'm not training any language, except maybe English (which I've heard I talk like a native... And a prick) and a bit German. What I do is I've been chosen to help Vikki with her Norwegian. And she doesn't really need much help yet =) On Wednesdays we have volleyball. Also fun.

We have a lot of spare time outside of classes. This time is usually consumed by playing games. Card games, board games and other games. I've been playing Magic with my neighbors, and a board game called "Arkham Horror", which is insanely complex and required about 9 hours to play the first time we played it... We didn't even finish it.

Every day we discover new people who play Magic. Or at least that is how it feels, and we're considering organizing Magic lessons, to teach people how to play and eventually have a large tournament later. A lot of people here have an inner nerd it seems.

The coolest thing is perhaps the game we play called Assassin. It's not a card or a board game. It's a game that we play all the time, and about half the school is involved with. In short we go around and try to kill each other. With spoons and rolled up newspapers that is. Everyone playing Assassin gets a target and their goal is to "kill" their targets and avoid being "killed" back. The only permitted weapons... I mean "weapons", is spoons, rolled up magazines or papers, "poison" which involves simply spicing someones meal or drink so that they can taste that it has been "poisoned" (putting salt in someones tea for example). Bombs are also allowed. You just have to hide a cell phone in a box or something and set the alarm to go of when your mark is in the vicinity.

The first round of Assassin is already over. I failed. Miserably. Will do better in the next round though.

I feel like we're back to kindergarten when it comes to playing. I've never played so much in my entire life. And the Saturday two weeks ago (the 11.) only goes to show. We had what we call "Agderlørdag". Agderlørdag is set in stage by one of the classes on the school. What they do is make dinner for everyone and an activity or two to fill the evening. The jazz class arranged it this time. They made it a 1920s kind of dinner. Everyone was supposed to dress like they did in the 20s. If they could obviously (I couldn't. Closest I got was like the 1990s or something...). Then there was a dinner. And then there was a murder; which I managed to sniff out already when the "Lord Ilkana" left for his study with a glass of gin or whatnot (it was actually Earl Grey tea, we found out later).

Yes, the activity for the evening was solving the murder of the lord. It was really fun and I'm amazed of the creativity and originality in their group. They made a really tricky puzzle, and the acting of the group was really good, come to think of how only a quarter of everyone there actually took them seriously. So after a while I ditched the blockheads of my class (yes, I know you can read this too >:( ), who were trailing of in a completely contradictory line of thought and solved the mystery. On my own! Would you look at that. All those hours of playing Phoenix Wright on my DS wasn't completely wasted after all. After solving the mystery we had dessert - ice cream.

Thanks Jazz =)

That is all.

tirsdag 14. september 2010

Last week.

Monday 06.09.2010: We went on a mountain trip. We drove in the schools mini-bus to a place called Hovden. The ride took about 4 hours... Or would have taken four hours if it had been completely uneventful. What's the first thing that happens?



















Tire blew... So we try to elevate the buss with the jack, which we find is way too short... While others set out to find something to elevate the jack with, some of us try to loosen the spare tire from under the bus. This proved to be difficult because it was a lot of rust and dirt in the picture. When we finally manage to get it out we find that the tire is rusted beyond recognition, and besides is a good few centimeters wider than the old tire. Every attempt to jack the bus had also failed, so after about 40-50 minutes of fiddling with the bus we drive back to a repair shop. Luckily this is also the last thing that happens. After about one and a half hours we're back where we should've been.

 We arrive at Hovden and unload all our stuff. Fully equipped with tents, heavy backpacks and warm clothes, we begin our trip up into the mountains. There's a slight chilly wind and a damp feeling in the air. We get a quick briefing about our heading, and get a map over the area each. We walk for about one and a half hours before we set camp for the night.

From the left: Tent, tent, Morten, Einar, tent, Vanja and Rasmus.

This year is a lemming year, which for us meant one thing: The ground was littered with dead lemming bodies. We stopped counting after we reached about 20...

The next day we would venture over this hill, and further into the mountain where there are no trails to follow.



































After we had set up camp, some of us went fishing while others prepared the dinner or did whatever they pleased. When night fell we made a camp fire and talked until the fires went out and one couldn't even see the tip of ones nose.

The next day we packed everything up and walked further into the mountains. I'm not entirely sure, but I think we walked 15 kilometers that day. The trail we followed ended halfway to our destination. We walked for about 2-3 hours, with a slight but constant ascent and a sour wind blowing from the south.

Morten, waiting for someone lagging behind... Far behind. We've already lost the track, it seems.

A quick stop while we're waiting for the slowpokes =)

And then some lunatic ran ahead to take this picture (it was me).

This is where we were headed. Into this... Somewhere.

Another quick stop to adjust the heading, and onwards!


































Everyone is exhausted when we finally reach our destination by a lake. A constant harsh wind keeps blowing from the south, so we quickly whip up the tents so we don't grow too cold.

Strong wind doesn't really show in a photo.

The lake.
 Here we had a quick lunch and... Well, we stayed mostly in our tents because we were pretty beat, and the winds didn't really let anyone stay warm for very long.

The road back... Is somewhere out there. Also a stone ward which is marked on the map. Nifty for finding your location and bearings =)
We played cards and talked before we ate dinner and started to shamble out of the tents later in the evening.

Brilliant sunlight and fishing.
More mountains.


































Espen is still fishing.

The campfire we made that night was incredibly social and wanted to jump out and hug anyone sitting to close to it. Stupid winds... We talked for a bit until the cold got the better of us and we went to bed.

The next morning no one seemed too keen to stay much longer. The tents literally vanished and everything seemed to get packed down and tucked into backpacks faster than you could say "strong winds today too, hi-ho". Or shout it; so anyone could hear you over the strong winds. According to Morten the trip back would take another three hours, but 2 hours later we were unloading heavy backpacks and relocating shoulders down at the schools cabin. The journey was rather uneventful except for more lemming (some alive too!) and this:

Sweet jebus!
 No one fell in =(

We took a quick trip to the local food store and bought dinner. Taco!
Yum.


































And then we sung a birthday song for Morten, since it was his birthday :D And later he also got cake (small brownies with lights on them). We watched movies until the middle of the night before going to sleep.

And that was all from that trip. All in all I must say it was an exciting trip. I've always wanted to go into the mountains and see what's beyond the first few tops. And I would do it again. Exhausting as it might be, it was an experience worth keeping. Home again on Thursday 09.09.2010.


Later!

fredag 10. september 2010

More pictures!


Hi, I've not had the time to write anything much, so heres some pictures from the canoe trip, and then some =)

We arrive. I couldn't take any pictures of the actual trip, since water and electronics does not mix all that well.

Morten talks and points. No one seems to be listening.

It's nice and sunny.

We walk over to the other side of the island...

... And found this. It's a troll.

Einar prepares what he caught.

This is my catch. It was the largest fish we caught on this trip.

Campfire =)




























































































And lastly, a picture of an unwanted visitor:

Yeah, it's pretty fat. We caught it in a glass. It's one of the largest in Norway, and apparently they thrive here. Agder FHS not a school for the arachnophobic.

And that was all for now. I might get some time of to write tomorrow since It's my day of =)
See ya!

lørdag 4. september 2010

Pictures!

What a boring Saturday. No money and no one at home. Oh well, I'm not complaining. I'm too beat after the canoe trip anyways. I'm glad to get a day of. The only thing I don't like right now is the lack of candy ): How am I supposed to have a nice Saturday without candy?
Well then I suppose I can distract you with these pictures until something happens.

The school (in no particular order):
This is the school. Well, the back side of it. Picture is taken from the doorway of dorm building where I live.

The area that we share brotherly with our neighbors. Toilet and shower on the left hand side, my room (the open door) and the neighbors on the right hand side.

This is my room. I share it with Rune, who sleeps on the right side. He's pretty cool. He listens to the same music as I do, and besides both loosing our wallets we actually have quite a lot in common.

*turns around*

And here's my corner :D





































Billiards!





































Entrance hall and stairs down to the living area (the really bright area).





































I was going to take pictures of the living area and the dining area, but I never got that far... This is the photo-teachers puppy Bruno. Bruno says hi.

Speaking of dining areas. Every time I sit down for dinner I'm thinking "heck, this is the best thing I've ever eaten here!" Today was no exception. Pancakes, porridge, bacon and leftover pizza. Go junk Saturday! All of the food we're served here is delicious. I'd go so far as saying Agder has probably the best food of all the schools in Norway. I can't imagine how it could possibly be any better without it costing a fortune.

I digress. Here's pictures from our trip to Kristiansand:

A church.




































FLOWERS!? IN A CITY!? This is something you wouldn't see in Oslo. Ever.




































Did I mention...




































... Kristiansand is so much better looking than Oslo.

This is a car. This too is prettier than cars from Oslo.




































Even the birds know how to strike a pose. Pretty, pretty city.

Now, a price goes to whoever manages to guess what the Crazy Scottish Girl (Vikki) is leaning on. (hint: It's neither a bank nor a hotel)


I did mention everything is prettier in Kristiansand, right?




































Later!

fredag 3. september 2010

The last week and up untill now.

A lot has happened since I came here two weeks ago. Mostly it's just been fun and getting to know each other, plus a lot of information about this year. Thursday last week, three of my friends (Vikki from Scotland, Kari from Maryland and Mathilde from Germany) and I went to Kristiansand together. Kristiansand is a really beautiful city... Or quaint as you could call it, and we had lots of fun. Took some pictures too.

The following Saturday the whole school went to an old fort from WWII out on an island and had lunch. To my luck I had brought a flashlight, so Vikki, Kari and me were able to explore some of the catacombs underneath the fort. Man were they deep. And pitch black.

Last Monday my class and I had our first trip together. We drove for about an hour to a place I can't remember the name of and went rafting! Man was that cool. At first I was a bit concerned. And I wasn't alone. One of the girls jumped out of the raft before we even started. I can't say I blame her, but then again I'm really happy I didn't jump out too. We had three guides - one in each raft and the last one in a safety kayak - and they were all super cool. One from Australia, one from England and one from Canada. And it was all super fun. They made us "surf" the waves that the river made, meaning that the raft was sucked under water and then spat right out again a few times. And this we did four times. The first time we went in the first raft almost tipped over and two people fell of. None of us fell in, even though the raft almost tipped on us too. That was the most frightening part. After that it was mostly smooth sailing. Well, not smooth, it was damned rough, with clean drops of over one and a half meters, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the surfing.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both spent practicing canoe-techniques, before we went on an over-night trip to the area around the WWII fort.

So it's Thursday morning. We've had a quick breakfast before we went down and set the canoes on the water. There's a small lake between the school and the ocean called Kværnhusvannet, which we have to cross. The water is calm and clear as always, waterlilies tugging and tying up our paddles. We pull the canoes out of the fresh water and carry them over the sliver of land separating us from the ocean. We're immediately hit by 8-10 m/s wind, rough waves and currents. Everyone looks nervously at each other hoping they're not the first to tip over to the foaming waves.

Incredibly enough, no one did. This was our first trip with canoes on the ocean, and despite the rough weather, it went absolutely fine. It was an exhausting but fun trip, and took about an hour. The skies were cloudless and the sun shone brilliantly, making the trip more or less idyllic. We pulled our canoes ashore and unloaded everything on the grass near the beach. After this Morten took us over to the other side and showed us a peculiar rock, and some fishing spots.

Around 5 PM there still wasn't any fish to talk about. Not even a nibble. Just some very nasty jellyfish and a bunch of seaweed. They were busy setting up tents and lighting the fires when I came back. For dinner we had hotdogs and burgers. After dinner we all went back to fishing and whatever it was the others did. Two other students, the teacher and me took the canoes out for a short paddle and found another fishing spot. The only problem I have with photographing is that you can't actually participate in whatever it is you're doing while also taking pictures of it. This was kinda annoying when the sun set, creating pretty colors in the sky, and I hooked the first fish of the day. All in all we got three mackerel and one pollack (which I caught). I also got a cod, but it was so small I just unhooked it and threw it back in.

After hours of sitting around the campfire playing a simple role-playing game called Mafia, talking and playing cards we're about to go to sleep when Morten comes back after checking on the canoes. "Alright, either someone's trying to be funny or we have just lost a 12.000 kroner canoe," he said. Everyone scrambled to their feet and begun flashing helplessly with their flashlights over the water. And quite right, we were exactly one canoe short. When we couldn't see it either he says: "well, then we have to paddle out and search for it." It was midnight and utterly dark. Without the flashlights we couldn't even see the tips of our noses. And we had to go out searching for a lost canoe? It seemed ludicrous, but miraculously we found it. Or rather, I found it :D So there. Ironically it was the canoe Morten and I had used when we went fishing earlier. Hehehe. Afterwards we went to sleep immeditely. After all we had to get home early so that we wouldn't miss cleaning the dorm rooms... Again.

The trip back home was so incredibly uneventful that I've almost forgotten about it already. There wasn't a single wave in sight, the sun shone brightly this day too, and the gentle breeze didn't really do anything at all. And that's pretty much all that's happened today.

Pictures - the few that I managed to take - will be up later.

And now that I'm all ajour, let me just complain about having lost my wallet: crap.