Håper alt står bra til med alle i Norge!
To me Monday is like a fresh start. It's a new week with upcoming events and new opportunities. Most people think of Mondays as the worst day because it means five more days of lectures, tests and work. I get that. The truth is that I actually enjoy coming back to school. It's always nice to see my friends again and to hear about their weekends. However, why hate Mondays when you can make them just as fun as fridays? My Monday has been great. I went to school, failed my math quiz (it's ok because I will have a bigger test on Wedensday, which gives me another chance to improve my mark), ate a free lunch in church, had a free period and a rugby class room session after school. Later I went to the tailor with Celine to get my prom dress fixed (it's too long). I also managed to squize in time for a short skype-date with my mom and sister. In the evening I met Celine, Matias, Carol, Larissa and Kayla at the movies. We saw "Neighbors" (starring my biggest celebrity crush of all time - Zac Efron). Despite several disturbing and awkward moments, I must say that the movie is highly entertaining. It will make you laugh, regardless of your sense of humor. I promise :) For my grandparents (mommo, besse, faffa og gretemor): I dag har jeg vært på skolen og hatt et rugbymøte hvor vi så på filmer fra helgens kamper slik at vi selv kunne se hva vi må jobbe med i forkant av neste turnering. Etter skolen gikk Celine (Tyskland) og jeg til byens skredder for å legge opp ballkjolen min (den er litt for lang). Senere skypet jeg med mamma og Pia. Det var koselig å høre at konfirmasjonen var såpass vellykket. Jeg avsluttet dagen med å dra på kino med Celine, Matias (Finland), Carol (Brasil) og to venninner av henne (Larissa og Kayla - Canada). Vi så "Neigbors/Naboer". Som dere vet har Zac Efron ( fra High School Musical) fortsatt en stor plass i hjertet mitt, derfor måtte jeg nesten se denne. Filmen er en smule forstyrrende, men alt i alt både morsom og underholdende (mest passende for ungdommer vel og merke).
Håper alt står bra til med alle i Norge!
0 Comments
Firstly I want to apologize to my dear grandparents for not writing in Norwegian. Secondly I want to explain that there are several reasons why I've been switching over to English lately. I started blogging in my first language because I thought of it as a way of keeping up with Norwegian. After being in Canada I have got to know people all around the world. Therefore I want them to be able to read it to, without having to use google translate. My program has also encouraged me to write in English because that's one of the many "whys" I came to Nova Scotia; To improve my English skills. I've been noticing that the stats have went up after I switched over, and I want to say that I appreciate all the feedback I have had on my last postes. It's nice to see that I can reach out to a bigger audience by writing in English.
Just a small comment to the post saying that exchange is a challange: My intentions were not to offend or target anyone. It was written from an overall generalized perspective. Neither did I mean to give future exchange students a negative impression. All I wanted was to give you all a honest note about what exchange is really about. You are not entering a Hollywood high school musical movie (although, at some point it feels like it). As an exchange student you live a different, new, but real life. It's going to be downs, mostly ups, but like I said: It's an amazing and unforgettable experience. We hosted this weekend's rugby tournament. A couple of games got cancelled because of bad weather. However, both our girls teams and boys team literally "rucked" (rugby term) the field this Saturday! I was so pumped and proud of everyone. Even though we are split in A and B, boys and girls, we are still one team. I don't remember the exact results, but I think Yarmouth A won 15-0 against Shelburne and 17-0 against Barrington (or opposite). The boys played awesome as well. Because we (the girls) didn't win any games last weekend we had to hustle some points this tournament, which we did, to get to the final (end of May). I love rugby, and being a part of such a big and supporting team is the best feeling in the world. After our games I went out for supper with Celine, Jeanne, Matias and Max. Later the whole rugby team (boys and girls) hung out at Sarah's. What a great way to celebrate our wins. The Vanguards, Yarmouth's local newspaper took a lot of great pictures: Click here if you want to see their video from the games.
On Friday evening I went to Carol (Brazil) and Natcha's (Thailand) to celebrate Natcha's birthday. It was a great sleepover. We had a bonfire, played pool and watched a movie; A good start on the weekend. (To my grandparents) Til mommo og besse, faffa og Gretemor:
På fredag var jeg invitert til Natcha's (en venninne fra Thailand) bursdagsfeiring. Vi grillet pølser og smores (marshmallow mellom to kjeks med sjokolade), spilte biljard, så på film og hygget oss. Litt lite søvn ble det kanskje, men det var en fin start på helgen. Many teenagers study abroad to take a year off. It's supposed to be a vacation, a break from old habits, stress and boredom. What many people don't realize is that being an exchange student is a lot harder and not always as fun as expected. Yes, I voluntarily rose to the challenge. Nobody pushed me out the door. I just want to let future students know that every day will not feel like a party. Although, there are far more pros than cons, and even though you run into some difficulties and awkward situations it's a once in a lifetimeexperience. It's an incredible journey. However, these are a couple of generalized and random examples. This is not personal statements from MY perspective and they are not targeting anyone. There will be
What I'm trying to say is: There will be days where you feel helpless, confused, annoyed and frustrated, but make it to your advantage and learn from it. For instance, instead of wasting energy and time on being angry at stupid house or program rules, take a minute and appreciate the freedom you have back home. Also, keep in mind: The "stupid" norms are not stupid, they are different. Just like the "stupid" people who tell you what you can and can't do are not stupid, they most likely want what's best for you, themselves, the community etc. It's your job as an international student to cheer up/suck it up, be accepting and show respect. You are in their country, living in their house and going to their school. Be grateful. However, this should go both ways. You deserve respect and tolerance as well (communication is very important, which leads on to another topic). Despite the "downs", if you are lucky enough to get an opportunity like this, take it :) Just a small comment to the post saying that exchange is a challange: My intentions were not to offend or target anyone. It was written from an overall generalized perspective. Neither did I mean to give future exchange students a negative impression. All I wanted was to give you all a honest note about what exchange is really about. You are not entering a Hollywood high school musical movie (although, at some point it feels like it). As an exchange student you live a different, new, but real life. It's going to be downs, mostly ups, but like I said: It's an amazing and unforgettable experience.
The best part about being an exchange student is that you get to spend the year of your life with the most awesome teenagers on the planet. It's amazing how strange names (you can't even imagine how to pronounce) on a piece of paper become your best and closest friends. As an international student you get the sense of belonging to something greater and stronger than friendship. Cheesy or not; we are a big family. To be honest, I am extremely excited to go home. On the otherhand I can not believe I'm not going to see all my international friends every day, everywhere, anymore. I spend more time with these people than I normally do with my real family. I have good friends in Norway too, but I have never been part of such a big, loving and supporting "social network". Neither did I think that I would feel so attatched to so many people in such a short matter of time.
As the quote says: "Regardless of our differences, we are all the same". There is always someone who will understand exactly how you feel (Ok, they don't know your whole life story or as much as people in your home country, but the people in your home country won't know how to confort you like another person studying abroad, will). You don't have to worry about eating lunch alone or being bored a Saturday night. The person you end up hanging with might not be your favorite person. You probably speak different languages, look different, have different interests and laugh at different jokes but you are both international students "kicked" out of the comfort zone. You are enjoying a new culture and having similar difficulties at the same time. Even though you don't have any hobbies in common, you can chat for hours about your homeland and experience. These are only a very few benefits. However, I think the feeling of being a part of a group like this is what I will miss the most from my year in Canada. It's not about the place you go, but the people you meet. Hopefully with all this fancy technology we will be able to stay in touch, at least virtually and let the world wide connections grow stronger, also after leaving. Like they say in North-America: LOVE Y'ALL, and thank you for taking this crazy roller coaster with me! I dag dro jeg på cafe med en bestekompis. Spilte sjakk, tok en kaffe og skravlet. "Livet i Yarmouth". Senere spiste jeg middag med Celine, Jeanne, Sarah, Su,Tori L og Tori K på Jungle Jims. Stedet har god mat, morsomt lokale, bra service og greie priser. Etter det tok vi turen til et nyåpnet frozen yoghurt sted. En koselig søndag med andre ord.
Rugby er noe av det villeste, morsomste, mest slitsomme men adrenalingivende jeg noen gang har vært med på. Lørdagen var en kjempespennende og lærerik opplevelse for hele laget. Bildene er ikke mine. Legger ut flere senere. For en sport! Lag A ("mitt" lag) spilte 0-0 mot Barrington og 17-5 mot Shelburne. Man får 5 poeng for et mål, og 2 poeng for et spark (tror jeg). Jeg sto over kampen mellom A og B fordi lårene mine var helt gående.
For å si det sånn; jeg trodde jeg hadde kondis helt til jeg spilte min første rugbykamp. Forestill deg at du spurter etter en ball, blir taklet ned i bakken av tre jenter, reiser deg opp, spurter etter motspilleren, kaster deg på henne for så å reise deg opp og fortsette å spurte. Kampene vare 2x7 min med en veldig kort pause imellom. Alt skjer veldig fort. Null tid til å få igjen pusten. More doing, less thinking. Selv om man bør spille smart. Guttene tror jeg vant mot begge Shelburne-lagene. Den ene kampen scoret de 5 mål og Shelburne 0. B laget gjorde det også bra. Selv om vi ikke vant ga lørdagens kamper oss masse erfaring og vi vil forhåpentligvis komme enda sterke tilbake denne uken. Da jeg våknet i dag følte jeg meg som en 60-åring. Hele kroppen gjorde vont og jeg oppdaget flere blåmerker og skrammer fra gårsdagen, men det går seg fort til med litt hvile. Kort oppsummert: Jeg kommer til å savne denne fantastiske lagsporten veldig når jeg drar hjem. Det føles utrolig godt å være en del av et så stort og støttende lag (ca 23 jenter og 17 gutter). Go Yarmouth Vikings! Slik har min uke sett ut. Mandag: Rugbymøte 15:30-16:30 Tirsdag: Mattequiz + Rugby 15:30-17:00 Onsdag: Global historiequiz + Rugby 15:30-17:00 + så Ocean's Eleven med en kompis (bra actionfilm) Torsdag: Shoppingtur til Halifax Fredag: Coop (utplassering hos YASTA) og the Y (treningssenteret, spilte basket med guttene) I morgen må jeg møte opp på skolen 08:00, deretter går turen til Shelburne for sesongens første rugbykamp. Jeg er en smule nervøs, men mest spent. Vi spiller på samme sted som guttene, så vi kan se på hverandre mellom kampene. Laget er delt inn i ett A og B lag. Jeg er på A denne helgen, men det kommer til å bli mikset om fra uke til uke. Hvilket lag som er "best" vet vi ikke enda og ifølge treneren er lagene ganske jevne. For meg blir det en Yarmouth - Shelburne, Yarmouth - Barrington og en Yarmouth - Yarmouth. Posisjonen min er forresten scrum-half hvis noen lurer (må være hvor ballen er til enhver tid, google for mer informasjon). Har ikke tatt et lagbilde enda, men over ser dere bilder av to av mine bestevenner fra en trening som ble publisert i den lokale avisen. Vi må forresten bruke munnbeskytter, dermed blir det fort en del duckfaces.
Ha en fin helg! |
THEA JORDAN (18)
I'm an adventurous and positive girl from Tønsberg, Norway. Last fall (2013) I decided to fly out of my comfort zone to live 10 months in Nova Scotia, Canada. With this blog I want to keep my family and friends posted on my everyday life in Yarmouth, Canada. I also hope this can be an inspiration and guidance for future exchange students.
Med denne bloggen ønsker jeg først og fremst og holde familie og nære oppdaterte på livet i Yarmouth, Canada, samtidig som jeg håper at dette kan være en inspirasjon og hjelp til andre som også har lekt med tanken på ett år i utlandet. Archive
July 2014
Categories
All
|