Syttende Mai (Day Nine)

Yesterday was Syttende Mai, which is Norway’s constitution day, where they celebrate their independence as a free country from Denmark. The meaning of Syttende Mai is the seventeenth of May Norway was not considered a free country until 1905, so you can technically say that Norway is technically only 107 years old, as a free country. For Norwegians Syttende Mai is much like the forth of July to Americans. Norwegians have a lot of similar things on their constitution day such as parades, games, street vendors and also fireworks. However, there was one thing that I noticed that is very different from the forth of July. That one thing is that Norwegian’s dress up on Syttende Mai, more so than American’s dress up on Christmas. The traditional dress of Norwegian’s is a Bunad, which for girls is a dress that is very intricate with embroidering and other things. It is typical for a girl to receive a Bunad when she has been confirmed, this is usually because a girl stops growing physically around confirmation time. Also these dresses are not cheap, they can be any where from 5,000 dollars to 12,000 or more. For men they can also have a Bunad, which usually has a vest a coat, capris and fancy socks and shoes. Also for every Bunad there is a different color and design to them, which shows the region where the person is from. So a young girl can have a different Bunad then her mom or dad. For me it was really interesting to see all the different kinds of Bunad’s because I have only seen a couple different ones at Skogfjorden. 

So enough about Bunads, and onto my Syttende Mai experience. Well it was something that I will NEVER forget, let me say that. The day started out with breakfast at our hotel, which was different than any other breakfast we had. The breakfast selection was huge! It was like a buffet style that you would have on Easter or Christmas. My breakfast was huge it consisted of Smørbrød (open-faced sandwich) with shinke, øst, og brunøst (ham, cheese, and brown cheese). I also had granola with raisins, and my favorite part of the meal was Rømmegrøt. (Which is a sour cream porridge that Norwegian’s will eat on special holidays with sugar and cinnamon.) During our breakfast, the hotel also allowed people from the community to eat. This was super fun because it was our first exposure to all the different kinds of Bunad’s. The best part was when we see little toddlers in bunad’s! (I just wanted to snag one for myself! I also told myself, that my child will have a bunad!) After eating breakfast we walked down to the brygge to watch the parade that would start at 10:00. I was so excited to see the parade and what was ahead of the day. My favorite thing was all of the Norwegian flag’s flying, and everyone holding Norwegian flags especially the young children waving them around. When we found a spot on sidewalk we were right next to this young boy who was waving a Norwegian flag, and saying Heia Norge, Hurra! It was so precious! When the parade began it was just like a parade on forth of July, however there was more kids  involved. I learned that Syttende Mai was something that was for the kids. Majority of the parade consisted of clubs that the kids were in, such as athletics. (This is because in Norway they do not have sports that are tied with the school, they are associated outside the school with clubs.) My favorite club that walked by was the figure skating one and the dancing one. There was little girls twirling everywhere, and it made me remember the old days. Not only were there just children in the parade but there was also older people, who were the majority ones wearing bunads! There was also bands that were marching as well. At the end of the parade there was the Russ, which I mentioned before. They were all wearing their overalls and dancing and handing out things called Russekort (russ cards) that had their picture, their school and a random quote. It was cool to see them handing out to the crowd, because they would hand them to the children to collect. This young boy next to me, had almost 300! When the parade was over we had no idea what to do, but we were exhausted! We looked at our watches and the parade was a little over 2 hours, and the whole time we were standing in the pouring rain, so we decided it was nap time! When I was trying to nap i turned on the T.V and watched the Olso Syttende Mai parade, and I was so jealous! I hope one day to see that parade, because it was so crowded and there was so much Norwegian pride everywhere!

After I took a nice nap, a group and myself decided that we would walk around and people watch. (Which was actually very interesting!) We also walked around torget (which is known as the main gathering area that is in the middle of the town square, kind of like a times square.) After walking around for a long time, I was invited to meet up with my cousins who lived just outside of Bergen. I was super excited for this because there is nothing more exciting to be with your family for a holiday. When I met up with them it was super exciting to see them in there Bunad’s! It was also exciting to know that if I had a Bunad it would look somewhat like my cousin Nils’ but a dress! We talked for  a bit, and then decided that we would catch something to eat. I had a delicious sandwich at a cafe. When I was with them I felt like I was at home, with my own family. I instantly felt like I was a part of their family, and it made me realize how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life. I also thought how thankful I am to be so interested in Norwegian, so that I can have similarities with my cousins half way around the world. As we finished our dinner, I was not ready to leave them. I almost had tears coming to my face when Elisbeth (my cousin) said that she was not ready to leave, because she wanted to spend more time with me. 

After being with my family for a while, two girls and I went on the fløybane, which would take us up to the top of a mountain overlooking the city of Bergen. The fløybane is like a train! When we got up there it was so gorgeous, because it was night time and there were things happening everywhere! We could see dances happening, and a parade of lights! The view was also amazing! It was then when we all realized Bergen really is like an island, surrounded by water. After we went back down to ground level, we went to the park where fireworks were going off! It reminded me of forth of July!

We than decided to people watch again. (This time it was more interesting because it was late and it was constitution day.) Then we finally decided that it was a special holiday so we had to go out to the bars, and be culturally aware! We walked into a bar alongside the Bryggen, and it was perfect because it had live music! When we first walked in the guy was singing Neste Sommer, which is a song i know from Norwegian Camp. And also throughout the night I felt culturally aware because they played so many camp songs! I felt right at home! Then I got asked by a Norwegian to swing dance with, and I had a lot of fun. He was surprised I could speak Norwegian, and then the last song they played was “Ja Vi Elsker” which is the Norwegian national anthem. And of course I was singing along, and he was so shocked. He told me I was the coolest American girl ever, and that I was so amazing. I laughed to myself a little bit, and was like Takk Skogfjorden! So overall Syttende Mai was a day I will NEVER FORGET! I hope one day I can experience it every year! 

Snipp Snapp Snute! 

Bunads!

Sami children!

The figure Skating Club!

A little boy two stepping!

The fire station

The brygge on Syttende Mai

Shopping & Cousins (Day 6)

Norge in a nutshell tour! (Day 8)

Yesterday, (Yes I am one day behind my blogging still! sorry) we went on a tour called "Norway in a nutshell" It was a tour on the train from Bergen to Flåm, which is a small town cuddled up in the fjords. The tour was an 8 hour tour all day long, it was long but so worth it. If you ever get a chance I would reccomend a longer tour, one that stays overnight somewhere, because this one went to quick! The train ride was so beautiful because we were climbing up the mountains, and seeing the fjords. It was crazy at one moment we were super high in the mountains and then we took a 180 degree turn and the train was already down the mountain. On the train tour we stopped in a town called Voss, which making Voss sparkling water. (The only reason I knew this is because of an American film refernce. In a Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff, one of the girls in the moive asks for a glass of Voss water.) Voss was somewhere I could see myself living, it was a decent size town with all the shops you needed, but also so beautiful. After Voss we went through a town called Mydahl, which was when majority of our group woke up from a nap. It was crazy because we woke up and there was SNOW everywhere! Some of us referneced it to being like we were in Narnia, or that it was Christmas day! It was incredible. When we reached mydahl we switched trains onto the Flåmbane which would take us to Flåm. When we finally reached Flåm it was a view that I cannot describe. Well in Flåm we ate some lunch and toured around the small town. They had some shops, but of course I didn't buy anything because it was tourist traps everywhere. After an hour it was time to board our ferry to tour the Fjords! We boarded our ferry, and claimed some seats at the top of the boat and we were ready to sail off. However, before leaving the harbor the captain of the ship had mentioned there was an accordian band on the ferry coming in that wanted to play for us! It was funny, because when we first boarded the train in Bergen they were on our train, and they were from Ireland. In total we have seen them now 4 times! small world! Well on the fjord tour I was in HEAVEN! The sights were making me jealous because I wanted to just get off the boat and move into a house in a fjord. I thought to myself how simple life would be here, and how much more you could appreciate life living in such places like these. I hope one day that I can move here, and who knows maybe one day live in the middle of nowhere and enjoy some stunning views!

When we got back to Bergen, we had planned to go to a Brann Soccer Game, but it didn't happen because we were so exausted. So we just walked around alot. And it was an interesting night, because it was the night before syttende mai, so everyone was out on the streets drinking and socailizing. And the Russ were up to no good as usual!
Snipp Snapp Snute!

Flat stanley on the Train ride!

Voss Train Station

Snow!!

Myrdal!

Flat Stanley & SNOW!

Flat Stanley

Danielson Videregående Skole Visit (Day 7)

Today was another good day. I started the day out bright and early with some frøkost (breakfast), with my smørbrød (open-faced sandwich and coffee!) To get our day started we took a nice ten minute walk to the school we were going to be visiting. (The one thing, I enjoy most so far about Iceland and Norway, is that everything is so close to everybody, that you can walk from one end of the town to the other and have everything you need in a walking distance.) The school that we visited today was called Danielson Videregående Skole, which is a private Christian high-school for grades 8-13. Funny 
coincidence was this school we were scheduled to visit, was actually my cousin Nil's school. He is currently the vice president, but has also been the president of the school. When our group ate with my 
cousin's Nils explained alot about Danielson, and how not everybody at the school is of a Christian faith or religion. Danielson welcomes anybody who is willing to want to learn and enjoys learning. He mentioned that because it is a private school it does mean some tution, however because every child in Norway recieves free education the government will pay up to 85% of their tution, equaling out to around 1,000 a year. Which I thought was amazing! I was trying to compare Concordia to Danielson and they have a lot of similarities. Such as the classes that they have to take like religion and the atmosphere that Danielson has. When we visited Danielson, it was a suprise to where the location was, because it did not look like a school at all from the outside, it actually was in the middle of the downtown. When we walked in I was
astonished by the schools setting. The school had five floors, but the floor plan allowed the middle of the school to be open and in the middle a spiral staircase. Each floor was super open and had railings around the floors almost like a porch for each floor. It was so cool. When we entered the classroom of grade 1 
(grade 8 in highschool), the classroom looked very similar to an American school, with desks and chairs 
and a white board. We immediately were interacting with the classroom, and you could see how
multicultual Danielson was, almost as equvalient to Concordia. The students were learning about the 
British government, and the classroom was run almost like an American school. Until the bell rang at 9:00, at this time the room fell completely quiet. This was because in highschool the students are required to take national tests, one in English, one in math, one in another language other than Norwegian and English, and one in Norwegian. Throughout their years the students can be assigned to a random test, and this day was math. So a little after 9:00, the kids were all on their laptops (something that was different than an American Highschool- they all had laptops rented for their highschool years) eager to find out who was going to take it. In the class we were in, 3 out of 20 were assigned to take it, they were pulling their hair from their heads, while the others were cheering that they didn't have to take the exam today. One student who had to take it told me how he was kind of glad he took it that day because he could get it out of the way. After we were in the classroom, we then were treated with a lunch in the staff lounge, however before we got there we were interupted by russ. Who are graduating students who were red overalls for 17 days before 17. may. During this period they pull pranks on everyone, they party, and celebrate that they are almost done with school. We came across Russ dumping water on their peers, and also tying a teacher to a pole with ducktape. When we finally got into the staff room, we were treated with Rømmegrøt, which is pourage, and it was delicious! Afterwords we went into an English classroom, and we were assigned to help the students with their assignments. I got to work with a young man and girl. The young man was paying attention very well, which was nice to see because half of the class was on facebook, which was frusterating to see. The atmosphere of the school, gave me some nerves because it made me fell at home, which led me to question teaching in the highschool. So maybe oneday? who knows. Overall the school visit was my favorite so far, because it was such a homey environment much like Concordia.
After we went on the school visit we went to the art museum which was interesting, and then we did some more shopping, and I found a nice present for my mom at the market!
Then for dinner, we ate some nummy fish and chips alongside the Bryggen. (Also anytime we ordered anything I used my Norwegian!)
Snipp Snapp Snute!

Here is Danielson, right in the middle of Downtown

Åstrid, the teacher teaching the class about the British Govermnet

Some of my classmates talking to students

Here is the main room of the school, it is like an entry way/

Me helping some students with English

Some of the Russ

The Spiral staircase in the school

Shopping & Cousins (Day 6)

Yesterday was an amazing day filled with tons of fun things! First off we decided that it would be a good idea to sleep in a little bit and then head our for a day of shopping. (which turned more into a day of window shopping) We first started at the brygge, which is the old historic buildings that are super colorful and are lined up next to the harbor. Cool side note, that the brygge is not really all that "norwegian" if you can say that. It was actually made by German's. Anyways in bryggen there is tons of shops and of course magority of them are tourist shops so they attracted people like me! I didn't purchase anything other than some shot glasses that people had given me money to purchase. I was dreaming of purchasing a real Norwegian sweater, because my Norwegian sweater has sleeves that go to halfway up to my forarm, however the sweaters where super expensive. (Like everything else in Norway as well.) After we went to the touristy shops we went to the more mainstream clothing stores, which I loved! Me being a girl, the fashion in Norway is so in, if you can call it that. However, there was observation I made, the girls who wanted to be "in" on fasion all looked the same, which kind of reminded me of Americans all wanting to be "in" with fashion by wearing Hollister clothing. Almost every girl in Norway had long hair, a long green jacket, skinny jeans, pearl earrings, a big purse, and white high top converse. I was astonished by how simliar  girls here look. But anyways I did purchase one thing! I got a scarf that is like a jade color, I think that every country I go to I am buying a scarf because they are resonable and I can always use them. (Plus if you know me, I love scarfs)
After a long day of shopping and cold weather, I was looking forward to seeing my Norwegian cousins who live right outside of Bergen on an island called Søtra. They had invited my group to have dinner at their house. And I don't even know where to begin when talking about my experiance at dinner, it was unforgetable. The adventure began when our whole group walked from our hotel to Danielson Skole. Which is my cousin's school in Bergen. It is a christian school in the downtown that has grades 8-13. When we reached the school we were greeted by my cousin Elisabeth who took half of our group to the bus station, that would take them to her house and meet us. The rest of our group with my cousin Nils in his car. The car ride from Bergen to the island Søtra, was amazing, the views were outstanding and unexplainable. As we reached Nils house I was amazed, it was the cute red house sitting on a hill in the countryside overlooking a lake and the mountains. I instantly wanted to move in. As our group all got situated into the house, we took a tour around their lovely house, and then ate. The dinner was AMAZING, because it was delicious and home-cooked by Kristin. Before we ate, we were privlegded to have a nice prayer and a norwegian song, thanking for our food. For dinner We had a hotdish with chicken and vegetables and then potatoes and rice. For desert we had way to many things but it was all so good! We had a delicious tasting berry desert with vanilla cream on top and then we had cinnnabon rolls, ice cream, sola and coffee. I would love to have that desert again. The berries were actually picked from my couin's garden, and they were to die for. After we were finished eating we mingled forever and it was lovely! I was super happy to see my cousins, Peter, Elisabath, Rebekka, and Hanna. The last time I saw them was this summer, so it was so amazing to be in Norway and be at their home and to see all of them! We had an amazing time socializing and learning about Danielson, Norway and everything. It was so nice to feel at home in Norway! And I cannot wait to go back, and stay for longer!

After my visit to my cousins, we took the bus back to bergen and we decided to take some pictures by the harbor, because the SUN WAS SHINING!! (which is a rare occurance in Bergen, because it always rains) While we were taking pictures, I ran into a good friend of mine  Elsa, who also studies at Concorida and I worked with her at Skogfjorden. So a group of us and her went out to a cafe, and had a nice drink and chatted. Afterwords we headed back to our hotel and crashed! well i watched some awesome Norwegian tv, then crashed!
Snipp Snapp Snute!

Here is the harbor setting with the SUN!

Here is my cousins! Elisabeth & Peter!

Flat Stanley and our YUMMY desert!

Elsa and I! SKogfjorden staff :)

MY AMAZING FAMILY! :)

My cousins cute and amazing and gorgeous house!

NORWAY! (Day five)

Yesterday May 13th, my dreams finally came true! Yes we made it to the homeland, aka NORWAY! On the flight to Norway, the flight attendant spoke Norwegian, and I could understand her, and the piolet. So knowing this I thought it would be a wonderful idea to order in Norwegian. and i did! and she understood me! I felt so good when I was ordering. I must say I was proud of myself. When we arrived in Bergen, it was perfect, because I was understanding people, I could read the signs, and I could talk to the bus driver in Norwegian!It was everything I hoped and dreamed for, well except all of the rain.. But Bergen is AMAZING! it is so gorgeous. You almost have to be here to enjoy the beauty. As we arrived in Bergen, I was more smily then ever. As our bus took us from the airport to the bryggen, we walked to our hotel. And one thing that was super interesting and weird was our hotel's elevator! It was one of the kinds where you close and open the door and you can see when your at your floor. It was kinda cool, until we had someone touch the door when we were going down and we got trapped in the elevator for a little bit. After settling in we attempted to go out and tour the city of Bergen, but we went out and came right back in. It was so windy and cold and rainy. (WORSE THAN FARGO!) it was crazy! However, we went outside and walked to a resturant for dinner called Peppes Pizza. It is known to be Norway's number one pizza chain. I thought that it was funny going to this pizza place, because at Norwegian camp I "went" to Peppes pizza and had to order my food and everything. It was funny to actually experiance going to Peppes. When we got there, I ordered once again in Norwegian and I shocked our waitress :) it felt pretty cool. We got HUGE delicous pizzas and enjoyed them very much. Then we headed back to our hotel played some intense Nertz (a card game) and went to bed early, because the traveling is biting our buts on sleep!
Here are some pictures!

Here is the Bryggen, which is super famous in Norwegian history

       Here is a picture of Bergen and its city life, and as you can see the rain is pouring down!

Here is Peppes Pizza, where we ate dinner!

A napkin at Peppes Pizza, which tranlates in to "The best time is when you share with others"

Kristin, Myself & Moriah and our NUMMY PIZZA! (It had bacon, pepperoni, corn, and bbq chicken)

SNIPP SNAPP SNUTE!