nothing and two birthdays

I thought I'd try to just write a blog without attempting to write about anything specific and see where it would lead me. Today two people that I love very much have their birthday, my room mate at UWC, Natalia, and my mom. If I'd had a nice picture of Natalia and me on my computer I would have put it here, but the time we spent together was when I still had my old camera (meaning not a digital one).
I wish I could have been in Colombia with her now..

My mind is really empty at the moment, so I'll just post some more pics from last weekend's 'expedition'.


På den ytterste nøgne ø

i fyret med raud/svart-kvitt funksjon







moro med kamera

Last weekend I went on a trip to Lindesnes, the southern most point of Norway. We were living on a camp ground that is owned by the family of a friend. We went to the light house on day, and in the evenings we had bbqs and played games. I'll just post some pictures from the trip.
lovely hamburgers

having fun with the camera

here we are at Lindesnes Fyr, those of us who are going to the North Cape (the northern most point of Norway) this summer

chiropractor

So, hopefully in six or seven years I've become a chiropractor through AECC (Anglo-European College for Chiropractic). Hopefully!
I really hope I'll get in because it is a very good school. And I hope to get in this autumn. Originally when I figured out I wanted to become a chiropractor I thought I had to wait another year to begin, but then after corresponding with AECC I realized that I can still apply!
I really hope to get in, but I guess if it turns out that I don't get in, then that was not the plan for next year. But I am so determined so I know I will get in someday. I will work my way!

Peace

It's strange how you one moment can be so certain of one thing, before everything gets crushed beneath your feet and you feel completely messed up and confused. This is how the time after easter has been. But now I have found peace. I know that I want to become a chiropractor. It's the right thing for me!

I have actually never been so certain of anything before as I am now. And I have got it confirmed several times already. For the first time in my life I actually feel that God has told me that the path I'm about to start treading is the right one.

Easter and other thoughts..

After at least ten days of Easter holidays it's time to reenter the life as a student and try to get something useful out of the day. Not that I haven't been doing useful things while on vacation..I have been out playing in the snow with my little cousins twice, been skiing thrice and I've been working at the nursing home four days. And it's been wonderful, at least those days that I spent outside trying to catch all the rays of sun that licked my face. But everything has an end.

I don't know why chiropractic sounds tempting. Or I do. You get to work with people. You learn about diseases and how to set diagnoses. You learn about medicine and the body. Summed up. It's very interesting. A bit more interesting than sitting in an office all your life translating things, that other people already have written, into another language. It's not even your own work. And the pay is lousy. No offence, it is an interesting subject to study and the work is nice as well, but I can't imagine myself spending my whole life on that.

So I've come to a roadmark where I don't know which turn to take. Should I continue on the bachelor degree I've started? Or should I start aiming towards an education in chiropractic? The latter would mean that I have to spend five years either in England or Denmark, but I will be able to work with people for the rest of my life. Am I willing to do that? The other means that I will spend the rest of my life in an office, but I will be able to spend most of my time as a student in Norway with the exception of next year. Am I willing to do that?
Oh, big dilemma!!

I just have to think, talk and pray about it. And apply for all things possible..= a lot of work. But that's what I gotta do when I don't know what to do with my life..

Faste/fast

I dag er starten på ei 40-dagars periode med bøn og faste i Salem, menigheiten der eg går. Til vanleg er det jo ei 40 dagars faste frå fastelaven til påskedagen, og eg vurderte om eg skulle gi avkall på noko i den perioda, men så langt kom eg aldri, og no har me snart nådd påske. Men då det no har vorte sett i gang ei slik periode i Salem tenkte eg å slenga meg på. Det eg har tenkt å gi avslepp på i fyrste omgang er internett. Nærmare sagt bloggar og msn, og berre 15 minutt om dagen til å sjekke e-mail og facebook. Eg vil framleis måtte bruke internett til skulearbeid, så det er den unødvendige bruken eg vil kutte ut.
Det er difor eg skriv her, for det betyr at eg ikkje kjem til å oppdatere bloggen min på 40 dagar!

Just in case people who aren't Norwegian read my blog I'll write a short note in English as well.
Today the people in my Church has entered a period of 40 days in prayer and fast. During the fast I have chosen to give up internet (meaning blogs and msn, and only 15mins a day on e-mail and facebook alltogether( can't shut out the world completely)). Because of this I won't be updating my blog in 40 days!

Everything - Lifehouse

One of the things I do when I'm online is watching videos on youtube, and today is no exception. But for some reason I decided to check if there was anything interesting on Godtube, where I very rarely check into. And I found this video set to the song "Everything" by Lifehouse. I have listened to Lifehouse for three years now, but it was only this fall that somebody told me that it's a Christian band, or at least that the lead singer is a Christian. Just knowing they were an alternative rock group I have never listened to the lyrics as if they were written by a believe. I've always liked the lyrics and the music, but it only now that I have started putting some more meaning behind it. Like in "Everything".

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You Steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything,everything
You're all I want you're all I need
You're everything, everything.
You're all I want you're all I need.
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better, any better.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't understand how I can have been listening to this song without realising that it's a love song to God.

Valet i USA og andre merkverdige ting

Tenkte eg skulle skrive eit politisk innlegg om presidentvalet i USA. Eller kanskje ikkje.
Motivasjonen til å skrive på bloggen denne gongen er vel at eg er lei av å skrive essay om presidentvalet i USA og då er alt anna betre, men så mykje politiske synspunkt vert det ikkje denne gongen heller. Som de kanskje ser så skriv eg denne gongen på norsk, noko som er grunna at folk kanskje blir lei av å berre lesa engelsk, dersom nokon les bloggen i det heile. Eg likar å tru at eg har mange internasjonale venner som les bloggen og at det difor er lurt å skrive på engelsk, men eg tvilar i grunn på at det er noko særleg mange som gidd å sjå det eg tenker på. So time to write in Norwegian, det er tross alt det eg er best på.

Veit ikkje heilt kva eg skal skrive denne gongen for alt som skjer går i ein rundgang, eg står opp, går på skule, les, et middag og så er det anten korps, cellegruppe, pubquiz, Salem eller venner. Det som er nytt då er at eg har slutta i KBB (det eine korpset) og begynt i Blæsen som er studentkorpset på UiA. Blæsen er mest for moro så det er ikkje like seriøst som KBB, noko som nok opp veldig mykje tid. Eg hadde bestemt meg for å halde fram der, men så fekk eg det plutseleg for meg at, nei, eg skal ikkje fortsette, dersom eg gjer det kjem eg til å slite meg ut. På cellegruppa har me prata om tilskyndelsar - det at Gud kan sei noko til deg - og det trur eg faktisk den tanken var. Eg vart i alle fall utruleg letta etter at eg endeleg hadde tatt den avgjersla.

Men eg må vel koma meg tilbake til primaries og caucuses og electoral college. Det som er positivt no er at eg faktisk forstår kva electoral college inneber. Eg har jo tidlegare budd i USA, og eg var der då presidentvalet i 2004 gjekk føre seg og såg statane på storskjermen som vart blåe og raude etter kvart som kvar stat hadde fått svara på the popular vote. Men om eg skjønte the electoral college systemet? Nei, absolutt ikkje. Men no gjer eg det:) Så no er eg klar til å reise tilbake og følgje med på presidentvalet til hausten og faktisk kunne delta i debattane, for no forstår eg det.

Det gjekk plutseleg opp for meg at det faktisk er ei moglegheit for at eg er der borte då, men eg kan nesten ikkje skrive noko meir om det no sidan saker og ting er veldig usikre. Men eg ser fram til å kunne få klargjort litt om hausten.

AmE versus BrE

The differences between British English and American English are becoming more and more frustrating, especially since I've made the choice to write in British English after having spent two years in the US. When I started at UWC I was determined to keep the English form which I'd used ever since elementary school, British English. But after a while I got tired of changing neighbor to neighbour and harbor to harbour when I took notes off the black board, which gradually caused me to adopt the American form of English. For about two years now I've been writing in AmE, but decided to go back to BrE when I started my BA in English-Norwegian translation. Most of the time it works fine, but sometimes going over from realize to realise and color to colour makes me having to put an effort into remembering those changes. But that is only half of it. Changing a letter here and there is not very demanding. What causes the frustration is when words don't have the same meaning or when the words for one object are different.

Here are some examples:
In England they mostly use lorry instead of truck.
In stead of writing riding comfort you should use driving comfort.
An American ton and a British ton is not the same unit, nor is a billion the same.
One billion in the US is a thousand million and one billion in Britain is a million million.
In Britain you change the tyres of your car and not the tires.
To change almost every z to an s is also quite annoying. You shouldn't write
nationalization, but nationalisation, not realize, but realise.
If this isn't enough you have the different things describing a car. You have the boot, the bonnet and the bumper of a car in England, but in the US the car has a trunk, a hood and a fender.

I could keep on going for ever, but it doesn't really lead me anywhere. Conclusion is that I just have to learn to cope with these words, memorise (not memorize) what the differences are and be consistent sticking to one form throughout a text.
Now I just have to decide which accent to work on..

things that are underestimated

I was planning to write about things of which the value is underestimated in Norway:
- garlic
- chili
- quesedillas

People in Norway are scared of these things, at least the two top ones, the latter one is rather unknown. Garlic.Oh, no, I'll get a bad breath. Yeah, that's right, but the extra flavour that it adds to the food is worth it. Chili is too hot/spicy!The Norwegian tongues aren't used to anything a bit more spicy than normal pepper, and not too much of that either. Spicy food is just so good, and the chili is really healthy too. Your metabolism goes faster and there are so many vitamines in the chili, especiall C-vitamins which is so good for you if you're fighting a cold.
Today, I made myself a quesedilla with both garlic and chili. I can't remember having seen a quesedilla since I left the US, and that's a shame, because it's such easy food to make, and it's not terribly unhealthy either.

But now over to something that annoys me.

I'm reading for my classes in "vitenskapsteori" which reminds me very much of the course "Theory of Knowledge" in the IB-curriculum. Sort of nice since it sounds so familiar. The lecturer is better too than the ones we had in UWC, so it's quite interesting actually.But that's besides the point..
I was reacting to something I was reading by Torsten Thurén.

"We may imagine the strong believing Christian who sees everything that happens as a sign of God's goodness. His atheist friend will protest:'But look at all the evil and cruel in the world.' The believer will answer:'That's the punishment for the wickedness of humans.' 'Yes, but imagine all those innocent, think of all the children who are suffering,'the sceptisist protests. The believer answers:'These are trials that have been sent to us from God.'"

I disagree in that the evil things happening in the world is God's will, and I am a believer. I don't think He wants innocent people to suffer.That children should grow up on the streets without parents, struggling for survival.I don't believe that God is punishing us by leading us into wars. That the droughts and the flods are sent by Him to punish us for the cruelty performed by humans.
I believe in an awesome God who wishes the best for everyone. A good father who sees to our needs. But I also believe that there are forces which are evil, but these are separated from God. That is why we need a God. If there was no darkness to fight against there would be no need for a good, omnipotent God. And I think that although God doesn't want us to suffer, he can't stop people from harming themselves. We have our own free will, and we are easily deceived. But God is not the one deceiving us.
God is good!

Kent =D

The plan for the weekend was to go skiing with KRIK at Hovden, which I was really looking forward to. Two whole days with snow,activity, fun and getting to know new people.But, here I am, still in Kristiansand. I'm not packing as I was supposed to be doing right now because I've gotten sick:-( And that really sucks!Bye, bye thought of getting to know more people.Bye, bye snow. Bye, bye slopes..sob.. BUT last night I was at a concert which must have been this month's pinnacle! KENT!! For those who don't know KENT, look them up on youtube or something, they are fantastic. Those who say there can't come good music from Sweden, you are mistaken! Kent must be my absolute favourite. The lyrics are fantastic and the melodies are beautiful. But here are some pictures from the concert, and maybe I'm gonna succesfully upload a video from the concert too;)

It didn't work, it took far too long...but I recorded one of the best songs on their album "Du & jag døden", meaning "You and I death". But the song is "The man in the white hat".

I really don't know what's happening to me, but I'm in this period of missing udub and then I found this film online. It's made of one of the art students in my class and I think she is a great artist (and also a wonderful person).

mi oración

Señor, te pido que me llenes con
un amor por ti que sobrepase mi
amor por algo u otra persona.
Ayúdame a respetar y apreciar tus
leyes y a comprender que están
allí para mi beneficio.

This is Kristiansand

Mette, this post is dedicated to you since you're probably very curious of what is going on in Østerveien 25 now when you're gone;) (For us who aren't as lucky being allowed to spend five weeks in Mauritius). Just have to say that the apartment is doing well, and the microwave is working;)

So, what's going on, really, in Kristiansand? The weather has turned from cold and wet to just wet. Rain every day. I'd heard that Bergen is the city where you always should have your raingear with you, but apparantly this doesn't only count for Bergen, but for Kristiansand too. This morning I put on my rainpants and rain jacket as I normally would. Since it's dark in the mornings you can't really tell whether the weather is wet or dry. Today I had bad luck. When I'd gotten out the door I realised that it wasn't raining. But my luck turned. After a couple of hours at uni the drops started falling and by the time I was done it was pouring. So, I didn't bring my raingear in vain. I don't understand the abundance of water. We should be able to transfer some of the rain we get up here to some dry area in Africa or something where they could have taken use of it.

Mostly,though, there isn't that much time to spend thinking about the weather. As a new year's resolution, as probably half the rest of the country and probably a quarter of the rest of the world, I've been planning to start to work out a bit more regularly than before Christmas. I wish it was possible to store time in reservoirs as you can with water, because time is something that for me goes and doesn't come. In many cultures the aspect of time is circular meaning you will never be able to run out of time because it will always return. Everything is a cycle, what has happened will happen once again. If a summer has passed it's not important because the same time next year there will be a new one. But in our western culture where we look at time as a linear thing, we measure it and look back at the past and into the future and it's harder to live in the moment. Even if you do live in the moment, the moment flies by so fast. I don't get hold of my time because there are so many things to do, so many people to spend the time with and not enough time.
At the same time, in eternity what goes on now doesn't really matter. This is nothing compared to eternity. With a shift in focus, focusing on what is not in this world, but on what is really important in life, what counts in eternity, maybe time here will be less important. With a focus upwards. With a focus on God who is our Saviour. It is easy to be lifted up when you go to a meeting and hear a wonderful speach, but when you get back to the stress it is easy to forget what you heard on Sunday. Maybe that should be my new year's resolution in stead. In stead of working out everyday. I will remember our Creator and remember that this is just another stage of eternity. He sees us and if I have time for Him, He will always be there because he has an abundance of time for every one.

Update...?

Well, not really...I could come with a relatively long update, but this isn't the time for it...or it might be the time for it, but I don't have time for it. Actually, right now I should be in bed, but then I felt that it is such a long time since I've updated my blog, so though this is just a lot of BS just so that I can say that I have updated lately, it is an update...
That was a lot of words just saying the same all over...

Oh yeah, I can put in some pics from the weekend down in Kristiansand (cause I've been back for a week and some days now, and the weather is crazy).


And this picture doesn't give justice to the weather, because it has really been quite terrible. Blizzards, rain, slush...it's just been wild:P Where I come from the weather is normally a little more stable than what it is down here, but it's on the coast so I shouldn't expect anything else.

Today my I was up at the pub-quiz, and my team came third!!!(out of 35) A good start:) yeay!

For unto us a child is born!!

Christmas!! Today I will let the scripture talk...(I'll write in Norwegian, but read Luke 2 and Isaiah 9,6)



"For eit barn er os født,
ein son er oss gjeven.
Herreveldet kviler
på hans aksler,
og han kallast:
Underfull Rådgjevar,
Veldig Gud,
Evig Far, Fredsfyrste."
Jesaja 9,6


I dei dagane lét keisar Augustus lysa ut at det skulle takast manntal over heile verda. 2 Dette var første gongen dei tok manntal, og det hende medan Kvirinius var landshovding i Syria. 3 Då fór alle heim, kvar til sin by, og skulle skriva seg i manntalet.
4 Også Josef drog då frå byen Nasaret i Galilea og opp til Judea, til Davidsbyen, som heiter Betlehem, for han høyrde til Davids hus og ætt, 5 og skulle skriva seg der saman med Maria, som han var trulova med. Ho venta då barn. 6 Og medan dei var der, kom tida då ho skulle føda, 7 og ho fekk son sin, den førstefødde; ho sveipte han og la han i ei krubbe, for dei fann ikkje husrom nokon stad.
8 Det var nokre gjetarar der i området som var ute på markene og heldt vakt over flokken sin om natta. 9 Med eitt stod ein Herrens engel framfor dei, og Herrens herlegdom lyste kringom dei. Då vart dei gripne av stor redsle. 10 Men engelen sa til dei: «Ver ikkje redde! Sjå, eg kjem til dykk med bod om ei stor glede, ei glede for heile folket. 11 I dag er det fødd dykk ein frelsar i Davids by. Han er Messias, Herren. 12 Og det skal de ha til teikn: De skal finna eit barn som er sveipt og ligg i ei krubbe.» 13 Brått var det ein stor himmelhær saman med engelen; dei lova Gud og song:
14 «Ære vere Gud i det høgste,
og fred på jorda
blant menneske som Gud har glede i!»
15 Då englane hadde fare tilbake til himmelen, sa gjetarane til kvarandre: «Lat oss gå inn til Betlehem og sjå dette som har hendt, det som Herren har kunngjort for oss.» 16 Så skunda dei seg dit og fann Maria og Josef og det vesle barnet som låg i krubba. 17 Då dei fekk sjå det, fortalde dei alt som hadde vorte sagt dei om dette barnet. 18 Alle som høyrde på, undra seg over det gjetarane fortalde. 19 Men Maria gøymde alt dette i hjartet sitt og grunda på det. 20 Og gjetarane vende tilbake. Dei lova og prisa Gud for alt dei hadde høyrt og sett; alt var slik som det var sagt dei.
Luk 2,1-20

My christmas journal

I've decided to do something new thise year since I haven't gotten around to the traditional christmas card writing.. in stead I'm going to make a journal over the 'happenings' of this year's holiday. As I, for the first time this year, have broughg no books (that are in the curriculum that is), I find myself with an abundance of time which I can spend on blogging. Another thing which might add to that is that I've gotten a new digital camera, and why should I take pictures if I'm not going to use them?
Just a small picture to show those who haven't seen me in a while that I still look like me:P
Maybe that means that I have to write some more about me... there's not much to say, I'm done with my exams for this term and I got back home yesterday, which is lovely..or...at least quiet..


The 'Advent Star', the star that shines from the first of December till 13 days after x-mas day. And it lights up windows throughout the country and reminds us what time of year it is. It isn't real advent before the star is put up.


And with christmas come all the christmas preparations.. cookies to be made, rooms to be cleaned...and brass, copper and silver to be polished! That is what I have been doing for the last couple of days, I've been polishing these yellow-coloured metal items. I don't understand where my mom finds all these things cause they must appear from deep inside drawers and should never have been allowed to see the light of day, at least not my fingers. But they all get so pretty and shiny afterwards;)


(hope these pictures aren't as dark as they appeared on our desktop screen..they looked much better on my laptop:s)




For those who believe that during winter time in Norway it is dark 24/7, that isn't so. But it is true that the sun doesn't shine everywhere, and this is about how much sun I can expect to see during this break. It is full daylight, but we're missing out on the rays from the sun because of the mountains. So the only sun I will see is when it touches the mountains on the other side of the lake.

Now, I'm gonna sit down by the fire...



...and start on this book.

Ecuador

It's funny how one thing can lead to another, especially when you're online looking for something and then something else will turn up. I was in such a mood for a couple of minutes that I really missed my udub-peeps and I did the classical thing...searching for UWC USA on youtube. But what turned up was a movie about a guy-a quiteño- who is an alumni from the school, but now he was back in Ecuador. Just listening to the Spanish and watching Ecuador was enough to make me miss the country. I don't miss Ecuador very often, but now I really noticed how much I would like to go back, how I feel that it is my country. It is a country where I have lived and that I know.
So here is a movie just to show how beautiful it is..and if you speak Spanish, listen to the song:) I'm not born in the country, but I still feel at home there.

All I want for Christmas...

It is only fifteen days till Christmas Eve which was the best day of the year when I was smaller. Now, Christmas Eve isn't that important to me anymore, but the whole holiday season is what matters. Just being able to get a break from school and go home to see family and friends. It is about two months since last time I was, which isn't that long considering that for several years now it has been almost five months between each time I've been home.
All I want for Christmas this year is snow, I wanta white Christmas. Last Christmas was spent with my wonderful Ecuador-team, Joel and Jon Petter in the jungle, la selva, and it was the best vacation ever(!), but it wasn't Christmas. Well, Christmas Eve actually felt very much like it would have been at home with the exception of not being with family, but at that point last year, the team was my family.

But a white Christmas would have been amazing, because you don't see much snow in Kristiansand. I preferred New Mexico, where there was some chance of snow, and at least no rain.

Yesterday it was the 'julbord' with the translators (the first and third year of the bachelor degree), which is a nice party where everyone dresses up and eat heaps of Norwegian Christmas food. It was delicious...food you only get once a year..mmm...and you get to talk to people you haven't met that often. Afterwards we went out to this place called kick, the music was unfortunately not the best, but it was fun anyways! I haven't gone out much lately, and the last couple of weeks I have only been reading, which means that I haven't done anything on weekend nights, which is kind of boring. But I decided to take this weekend off to relax which is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Now I'm fresh and ready to face the books again tomorrow:)

So, I was supposed to write about Christmas, but I think I rather need to make myself some dinner...
Ok, more Christmas to come in future posts, maybe when I've gotten home and the peace of Christmas has settled and I can feel the fragrance of pine and gingerbread cookies in the house;)

Lester B. Pearson

"How can there be peace
without people understanding eachother
and how can they understand eachother
without knowing eachother"


I think this is what Lester Pearson said in his Nobel Peace Price speech, and this has become some of the foundation of and reason behind the united world colleges - UWC.



For one and a half week now I have been studying for my intercultural communication examination, and in the book I've been reading, I saw this quote and it reminded me (as almost everything else in that book) of my experiences at the college.
I realised how much I miss spending time with internationals and not only Norwegians. Spending those two years at the United World College of the American West has taught me so much and it is first now when I'm actually studying the subject that I pay attention to this. It is funny how I can read examples of experiences that the author has had and say that I have been in the exact same situation. I can read about stereotypes and think that this is how I have perceived people from different cultures as well, and I nod when I read about how stereotypes are washed away when you get to know people on a personal level and see them as exactly what they are, individuals with their own ideas - not solely reflecting their cultural background, but their own thoughts.

In about a year's time I will be in England, again experiencing the beauty of international living. I must admit that I have become very fond of Norway again and only a month ago I had no need to go abroad in very near future. I could even now say that I wouldn't be sad if I were to stay in Norway for the next couple of years either, but reality is that I am going to Exeter (probably)so I just have to start looking forward to it. So, that is what I have been doing the last month - adjusting my mind to the idea of going abroad again, and now I have succeeded:-) yeay!