AFS orientation JANUARY

Our mid-year orientation!:) It's so weird only to think about the fact that all that work to fill my application out for going to America is done and I got accepted, but now I'm also done with half my year! I don't know if my mind even wants to know, so I'm pretty sure that I'm going to travel a lot more!

We hardly even had an orientation at this meeting. We just got the opportunity to talk to the AFS people if we wanted too:) Personally I only talked to them because you just have to love Robby! He gives some awesome bear hugs, and he's the one everybody turns to regardless the case:) He's also my Valentines date hahah..together with 3 AFS people too:p

Anyway..somehow I always lose track of what I'm talking about:p I went around socializing!! Totally don't care that people have they're own "groups" now:p In that case they jsut have to realize that I'm a part of all the groups haha. it doesn't seem like too many people have a problem with that anyway:)

So instead of just talking about my non-existent golfing skills I have pictures!:)


Malene and Marianne!:)


LINSELUSI <3 M&M and me


ohh Simon! Are you shy yet?


The Scandinavian group!:D


Simon and Monroe's newbe Angie:)I'm not going to lie to you, I was pretty sure I scared her away at the beginning, but I guess she just talks a little less than me:p


Me, Gustavo, Tarn and Pierre:) Needless to say that Pierre is from...GERMANY ahah:p


Pierre! WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING??


"Lets take a picture us three:)" now where the hell did all those other people come from??


Me in the German group of course!:) All you need to know to get in, is to sort of understand what the conversation is. I can do that! So I'm offically in the Norman group - Jason Marzinsky.


The Norwegians!:D:D ..and Martin:D I guess haha:)


Kendra, Adham, me and Nathalie:) We got US, Egypt, Norway and Denmark right there!;)


Me and Kendra :)


Adham and me:) I think I totally can make those glasses work for me! Or what do you think??

Long time no..blog??

The last couple of months have been really busy. Well, technically it's really busy all the time, and I have no idea why. I guess from the pictures you got thee main idea of my Christmas, which pretty much was what all of my December was about:) A lot of things have happened, and I've thought about a lot of stuff how this year has affected my physically and mentally. I don't regret taking a year abroad at all, but it's not like a dance on roses all the time. First of all AFS' unoffical name is Another Fat Student...so I guess the name says pretty much everything:p But it's just something you got to facew when you go through an exchange year. And no life isn't completely different even though you're miles and miles from home. School is still not the favorite part of life, and people bitch about it..guess what? it doesn't change:p but the thing is all the experiences you get. I could sit down here and write about my everyday life here, and what you would realize is that my life over here is normal:)

I'm training up for soccer season, so after the indoor soccer games are over now, we have practices on mondays and wednesdays, and it's fun:) Oh, by the way got my grade report card too today:) I PASSED ALL MY SUBJECTS! Surprising?..not really:p But if you would've asked me the first month of school..hell yea! School here is definitely a lot easier, it's pretty much all about doing your homework, and you'll be fine. Second term I got a 3.9...I don't know about you guys...but I'm pretty proud of myself:)(It's out of 4) I even got a B in my AP Psych class. Since starting that class with an F, you got to admit that's pretty sweet! (For me anyway).

Since semester is over, and we've started a new one...oh have to say something about finals here in the US...they're horrible! At least in my school anyway. We have finals over 2 days, where we have tests in all of our subjects over 2 days...doesn't that just scream FUN? Haha, but no it was OK, even though I was dead tierd after it was over:p Other than that my life is pretty much about friends, and we've had a couple of AFS orientations since the last time I guess? Yea, we had one in December, with the talent show and everything. I still think it would bee kind of cute to see 4Norwegians singing the National anthem..when neither of them sings particulary good:p

And then we had another one in January where we met at a golfing place..yea in January in Wisconsin! haah but they did have a minigolf thing going on inside...I figured that my future profession wouldn't be a professional golfer..so no worries for me becomming the next Tiger Woods! I'm still in a discussion with AFS about longer orientations, and I got all the AFS students on my side, but I don't know how much I can do about everything by myself. I like that they feel they can talk to me, and I love knowing that I have other people that are going through the same things as I am going throught this year. I have to admit that our first orientation a month after we got ehre, most off us were questioning whether we would ever find friends here, since Americans tended to stay with the people they've always been with. But can you blame them? We're in Wisconsin..even the state capital is a small environment. But after staying here for 6 months I've found some great friends, and my weekends are always busy:) I never have time to miss home:) It's not like I don't think about all the wonderful people at home, and I'm still excited about going home! I'm pretty sure when I leave Monroe, though how small it is, I will miss it A LOT too!

Life and your mind is pretty much based on experiences. Trust me, I know..AP PSYCH! haha. I think going abroad has been one of my greatest experiences, its had its good times and its bad times, the really crappy ones, but then when you're laughing your ears off with your friends those memories are all gone. I know after this year, the things that will really stick with me are all the good times I've had, all the crazy, weird situations I tend to get myself into(regardless country I guess:p) and most of all, all my EXPERIENCES. If somebody ever wants to take an exchange year, you should take the opportunity! I'm not promising you excitement all the year, but what I can guarante a year full of experiences taht will alst you all your life. You'll have friends from all over the World, and you will learn so much more about life.

I was thinking the other day (it happens!:P), I'm finished with over the first half of my year, I'm in a completely different country, but I'm still one of the others here. You'll end up complaining about the same things as everybody else, as I told my teacher too; we're students, that's what we do. I could never expect the perfect year, but all I could do is try:) Making the best out of everything, and jump into everything that sounds different and new, because you never really know if you'll like it or not;)

As of right now, I have my new schedule too, it's interesting..I have an Art class! I'm not really that artistic, so unlike the othher people taking art classes it's not really my favorite kind of class:p So here's how it looks like now:

1. Film Lit & Comp.
2. Calculus
3. Photography
4. Social Psych
5. RP (Study Hall)
6. Physics
7. 3D Concepts
8. Yearbook

To be completely honest, I'm really happy with my schedule..as happy as I can get with some of these subjects anyway, haha. Valentines day is coming up too now:) Haha I have a date..actually 5 dates; one of the AFS responsible and three other AFS students, and some serious ice-fishing at a cabin with no running water! I don't even know if I should be scared, or cry or simply excited?? What do you think? Haha. There's been so many things I would never have tried at home before I got here. Most experiences have been fun, and hopefully it'll continue that way:) Since I'm in the US, AFS is cooperating with BeloTrips, so we're offered different kinds of trips here in the US:) I'm really excited about my trip I JUST ORDERED THIS WEEK!:D I am SO going to the West Coast!:)

It's Christmas time pretty baby:)

One of my shoeboxes of chocolate:) Haha kept finding more chocolate afterwards...so have 2 now:):p



My birthday present and my Christmas present together:) GUESS what it is;) Btw...the dogs liked it too...cuz they ate the box:) Thanks from all three of us!:)



Dude..how cool isn't this present??! Love the scarf too:) It already has the sense of me..and my GUESS perfume!:P



Got to have a ZOOM IN on the card to though!:) Haha, I'll say my mom is pretty creative of her!:) Any sudgestions of where I could go?:)



It was an IQ-test to open that little box! But it was such a sweet jewlery...so all the work was worth it!:)








Sarah got the camera she wanted!:) And it even works under water!:)















Catie sitting with Ali:) He was sitting with her the whole time, even when she got her Wii!:)















Cashis is helping Gail to open her present;) Haha I think he hoped to find some food in there...come to think about it..I think it was chocolate in there lol:)













Pete with Gail's scarf, just waiting for the next Christmas present he can open! Nothing beats the totally romantic present he got from Gail though...A roof rake! <3 ..And here I was so sure, that he was getting himself a pair of new skis!














Catie and Sarah! Pose!:)














"Oh, there she is with her camera again!":) Sarah and Catie by our Christmas tree with present underneath. "We're all good for openng presents now!":)













Here's Dan opening his presents erlier on the day, since he was celebrating Christmas with his family:) Too bad I didn't get the picture where he opened the present with a boxer with smileyfaces on!:P












Haha..don't have too much to say about this picture:p We just opened our presents from Sarah with manicure stuff in it!:) And then we discussed who had the best smell...secretly...it was mine!..but ssh!:p



Well I TRIED to take a good picture!:) Without doubt next years Christmas card..not:P haha:)



Next one was pretty good though:) Definitely better than the first one but it isn't always easy to see where the camera is pointing when I just leave it in the stairs, with 10 seconds to run down!:P Haha..amazing gang to have Christmas with!:)



Here's at our table:) Kind of difficult to catch the picture with the food..it just..disappeared!:O



Our bonding time at Studio 9!:) Oh so pretty!:) We all went and got manicures there:)


...Haha and being the dork I am. I've never had a manicure before..so I said that the lady giving me manicure could just surprise me with the color!:) It turned out really good though:) By the way..got an awesome handmassage(if such a thing excist)!:)



I got my Christmas present a little early...I know I know..I'm a bad girl and so on...but it was really sweet! That screen was reaaly cool too...sometimes you could see the scene behind it..and sometimes you only saw that screen.



If you couldn't figure out that we went to the Nutcracker for my Christmas present..Here we are before the ballet!:) Definitely something I would recommand..it's a first time for everything:)



I just had to buy a nutcracker too tho!:) By the way..guys shouldn't wear tights..unless they have a little...longer shirt:P haha...but my nutcracker probably won't work...at least the people who sold them were honest about it:)



Gail and I making some Christmas presents!:) It's all about being creative..with pine cones...but it's actually possible..even with me doing it!:p



It's actually prett fun:p I had fun with it anyways..haha..and it's retty social!:)



Oh yeah baby! The master in action! haha:p



They're pretty sweet!:) One of the finished pine cone thingies haha:P I like them:) They even have some waxed pine cones in there too!:)



This is all the snow we got over one night!:O Needless to say that we got a snowday the day after! Our first snowday though!:) Haha..cookies with Kendra and Steph that day:)



Almost all the norwegians in our area team:) We're missing Ida...but I'll definitely catch her on the next orientation:) Haha...we pretended that we were talented singers:) "Ja, vi elsker":)



Marianne og Malene:)

Finally weekend!:)

OMG! Weeks in december takes for ever! Im really grateful for my christmas calender..didn't get to see it last night, though. Last night I had to tak pictures for yearbook, and I had a physics test today and I had to do my A-project...so yeah I was working with school stuff from I got home till 3 a.m. this morning..FUN!:) AND the writing I had on my bulletin board wasn't straight!:p Life is rough:p..not really.

The afs people here says that I'm always the one doing like three things at a time. But everything is an experience. My new host family is great!:) I would definitely recommand other students to go abroad..yeah sometimes I get homesick:)

On monday, I went shopping with Gail for Christmas presents, for a couple of poor families...like charity work...it was pretty nice:) After schoolon tuesday, Gail and I went to Chocolate temptations. It;s like this local coffee/chocolate shop. I've gotten my new favorite drink there; sugar free hot chocolate with skim milk and hazelnut. Definitly gotten influenced by Gail there:p When I got home it was like Wednesday in Norway, so I called Kristin to congratulate her with her birthday:) And yes, I even song her a birthday song:P At my explorer meeting the same night, we were doing police-codes and stuff. I would say I got the basics;

10-2 - status?
10-4 - acknowledgment
10-10 - fight in progress
10-50 - accident

I'm in three clubs and one sport right now; UN Nations, AFS club and Explorer...and then indoor soccer in Madison is starting like this weekend:) I would definitely say that yearbook is a lot of work..and it's even more if you do a good job! Because then you have to take over other people's work..-.- But it's sort of fun to take pictures, though. But sometimes I wish I didnt have to take THAT many pictures, especially since I have to identify all the people, and photoshop them and so on. But it's still my favorite class:D It's all about working your ass off!:)

Going to the hairdresser tomorrow..at 7.45 a.m.:s in Monticello. How fun to get up even earlier than whhen I go to school:p But it's not any pictures right now..but I'm gonna try to post all the four haircolors I've had since I came to America tomorrow:) Wish me luck:)

Christmas tree decoration:)

So, the saturday after black friday, we decorated our house for christmas:) It was sort of different from Norway I must say...that we're decorating the christmas tree this early. But here I get to hear..well it's at least after thanksgiving:p When Pete and Catie went out to pick out our christmas tree, with the very specific description; it has to be big and fat, I went to the Y to train. At the time I got back we had a christmas tree in fronth of the house:) It looked pretty big. And it looked HUGE after it got cut out of the bag! Dan, Catie and Pete were the ones that were responsible for the tree and the lights for the tree, while me and Gail decorated the stair with garlands.



They just got up the tree...and after a couple of trips to Wal-Mart the lights are now being applied to the tree;D













Catie and Dan trying to figure out the light:) I don;t really know how many lights there is on our christmas tree:)













Gail checking if the garland is straight:) Which it sort of is now..after many adjustments:p















I'm fluffing up the garland..! okay?!:p There are bows and some white stuff on it now, though. We're still missing the lights, but it's still a lot of time before christmas:)









The same day, Gail went and bought this beautiful wreate..I was with her, and she asked me which one I liked the best, and I said I liked this one the best:



So this one, was the one she bought:) It's really pretty!:) But it had an excellent photographer..yep..I taught Gail how to use my camera:)











So when the garland around the stairs started to look decent, we moved over to the christmas tree with the others:) It was fun decorating it, and as at home in Norway we used a lot of decoration:) Sarah also came downstairs, and placed this really cool iceflake thing with a baby picture of her in it..it was really cute:)


Haha LOL! Me looking completely sane while decorating the tree with the others:p


Figured out that I might as well decorate Ali and Cashes too:) Don't they look cute??:)



I had fun, and I love our christmas tree:) That's what christmas is about!:p The christmas tree!!:) wait..no that sounds wrong, but it's a huge part of it, though:)



PETE!! NO TIME TO SIT STILL!:p You have to hang the last icicle on the tree!:)
















The finished result!!:D With and without lights around:)