The Demon Norwegian Teacher

In my second year in the Norwegian High School (videregående), I had the most horrible teacher in Norwegian and Gym. He was proud and so full of himself that I gag just thinking about it. He refused to follow the usual method, and in every single class he came in, handed out a piece of paper which he read out loud. Then we had a spelling test to learn to spell things like "Supreme Court Justice" (Høyesterettsjustitiarius) and "penis case" (penisfutteral). Then he left, so that we could use the time to work on our own.

Let me put it this way: The third year, we got (what the school considered, and I agree) the best teacher at the school, so that he could repair the damage and help us so that we at least could pass our graduating exams. We had to spend the first semester just learning everything we were supposed to have learned the year before.

At the end of the second year, the demon norwegian teacher sent everyone in my class a letter, and Im putting it out here. It's in Norwegian, but I might find time to translate it, as I've finished my philosophy-essay and have nothing else to do today.

This last letter is the letter the school management sent when they were informed about the teacher's letter.

Summer vacation at Roskilde Festival

This year, like last year, I went to Denmark to enjoy a week of constant beer-ing, smoking and concert-ing.
The Roskilde Festival is one of the largest festivals in Europe, with around 100'000 guests every year. It started in 1971 and is a non-profit festival which gives you a little better conscience about "wasting" an entire week, as your money dosen't end up in some rich pig's pocket, but like this year helps clearing mines in Congo.
I like doing charity, especially if it's as fun as the Roskilde Festival =)

The entire week is packed with fun and partying and wonderful music. But there's only one experience I want to write about from this year's festival, and that is the...

The Streets concert.

Me and the other campers had been sitting around beeing really down after some bad illigal substances, waiting for the concert that started at 1 am. After a while the to others almost yawned their jaws off and went to bed, but me and Liv-Tone stayed. As soon as the other to had left, we got a kick of energy! We bought huge pineapple-drinks and ran around having fun and talking to lots of people (me half blind, as a manged to poke a pineapple leaf in my own eye). So when the concert started we were in good mood and our drunkness was just perfect. 

I think I have to mention that The Streets isn't my favorite artist. Nor Livi's. We'd heard the most famous sonds, like "Fit but you know it" and I love "Dry your eyes", but other than that isn't rap our kind of music. But as the line-up wasn't the best this year, we felt we had to go to the ones we knew of.

But this turned out to be the best concert I've ever been to! Mike Skinner (aka The Streets) really knew how to put on a show. He talked a lot to the audince and made us laugh, whoop and flirt with eachother! We danced during all the songs, but the climax of it all was when he sang (rapped?) "Dry your eyes". For those who don't know this song, this is a sad love song about breaking up.
It was so good I forgot the lyrics as I tried to sing along with a beer in one hand and my lighter lit in the other. Suddenly Mike interrupted himself and said "Oh, my God, you've got your lighters on!" and then he got really excited and started crying to the crew "Turn the lights off! TURN THE F*ING LIGHTS OF!". And The Orange Stage went black, and on the big screens they showed the mass of people: It was just an ocean of lights, like a great wave of a starry sky! Mike continued to sing (rap?) and, I felt outside myself. It was so wonderful, the feeling of love and sadness and beauty at the same time. It sounds cheesy but I know that everyone who was there will agree with me.

It was just AMAZING!

The 1990 Lord of the Flies movie.

Warning! Do not, under any circumstances watch this movie!
I am one of those people who hate it when a movie based on the book differs too much from the original story. Seeing the Harry Potter films with me is not a good experience. It goes something like this: "WHAT?!", "Yeah, right...", "Oh, come on!!", "WHAT?!?!?". I hate them. "The Perfume" by Patrick Süzkind actually made a good movie, and so did "Bridget Jones". But the worst thing I've ever seen is the 1990 Lord of the Flies film.

The things I recognized from the book:
-The title
-The names of some of the boys
-Some of the lines
-That Ralph was made cheif
-That Jack made himself cheif of another tribe
-That the same people died
-That there existed a pig's head on a stick
-That Ralph started to cry when he saw the Navy guy.

The things I missed the most:
-That the boys were English
-That Jack had red hair and Ralph blonde
-Ralph's and Piggy's personalitys
-Simon's talk with the Lord of the Flies
-The parachuter
-The war, the atom bomb, and the reason the boys landed on the island
-The meaning of the plot

I just... argh.. What a waste of time!

The reason I saw it: I downloaded the wrong one, and thought I'd just see it because I was looking so forward to seeing the movie. FAIL! But now I hope the one from 1963 is a little bit better.

Summertime

Ah, exams are over and it's SUMMER!

I started the holidays getting sick, with a real fever and everything! I had to stay in bed for a week, and all the while the sun was shining from a cloudless sky and it was extremely hot outside. Then I got well and the rain came. Of course. But I did get to spend a few days in southern Norway, in Kristiansand, with Sigrid and it was great fun. Mostly partying, but what are holidays for?

I have also read my first summer vacation book, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I really enjoyed it. It was full of words I didn't recognize, so it was hard reading, but was still consumed by it. It was so scary in the end I had to go and sleep under the protection of the cat. I'm now looking forward to see the movie (the one from 19863, not 1990), because I loved the story - but had trouble with some of the English words.
I think it was interesting how the kids were so unwilling to listen to what Piggy had to say, as he was the only one with much intelligence. Also how they so easily changed sides when Jack started his own tribe, even though Ralph was the one with the plans for a future of survival and Jack's way of life concentraded around the present. Is this a desicion only children would take because they are not as smart as adults, and not yet have the capability (or desire) to plan ahaead? Or would a grown-up after a while start to make the same desicions as time went on and hope started to falter?
I thought a lot about the plane crash in the Andes mountains in the 1970's when a group of about 15-20 yong boys lived in the snowy mountains for over 70 days. Their survival instinct were so strong that they eventually eate the bodies of their friends. They did not turn on eachother, in contrast to the boys in "Lord of the Flies", but is this because they were older or simply because they were too cold?
I also kept thinking about how I myself would react if I was on a deserted island, or even in the mountains. Would my survival instinct be strong enough, or would I give up and try to enjoy the rest of my days?

I warmly recommend the book, not only for people who like to reflect on the ways the mind works under certain circumstances, but also for those who enjoy a scary book!


In five days time I'm off for my own adventure: The Roskilde Festival! I was there last year, and it rained so badly we almost drowned in mud. After only a couple of days there wasn't even a pacth of green grass left! So I really hope it will be better weather this year. But if it's not, I know it won't matter, 'cause we had a blast last year and will this time as well!
I'm looking forward to see the following artists/bands:

Bob Hund
Gnarls Barkley
Judas Priest
MGMT
Radiohead
Slayer
The Streets
Teitur
Neil Young


So I have a lot of planning and packing and CD-making to do.
Must not forget toothbrush or condoms...

Spring Ball and other facilities

Today we're hosting a Spring Ball at Uglebo. There will be cuts (snitter) and champagne and pretty girls and boys. 

The idea came, I think, one late evening at Friday night pub when me and Cecile where talking about the new dresses we had just bought, and that we didn't have an occation to wear them. Then we decided there should be a formal part during spring at Uglebo, as all the other formal parties happen during fall. And as smokers, we do not appriciate having to stand outside in the cold in our fancy dresses and shoes, just to have cigarette. 

And so the Spring Ball came into beeing. As I'm the party-planner for the Philological Student Society, we could just get started.

So today we're making cuts for 50 people (app. 100 slices of bread), and decorating and stuff. It'll be good. People are really looking forward to it, I think.

This week-end, we were on the famous Danskebåt. This is one of FF's annual trips and it's always a blast. This year's trip greatly surpassed last year's, and I think it's mainly because of the foreigners. They had never been on a danskebåt, and as Gwyneth said "This is like liquer on wheels!!!". I think the foreigners had the best time, and I'm really happy they experienced it. 

I had a really good time too, though. Me and Aneth were wasted before the Drøbakksund, and happy to be so. I was in a really good mood all week-end, singing and laughing and hugging everyone in sight. I've gotten some nicknames, as "Miss Danskebåt" and "Miss Wasted before the Drøbakksund" and stuff.. I take them as a compliment!

The only disappointing thing about it was Elfie falling asleep way too early, as I had planned getting him to bed (makes more sense in norwegian). But hey, you can't always get in both a bag and... a... bag.

On Monday it's time for my first exam this semester, and it's a home-exam which means three days of constant work and stress to write an 8-12 page essay about Edvard Munch. As I've only read 1/6 of the sullabus, I'm not looking forward to it.

Other things...

hmm

....

My new neighbour is complaining about me smoking inside ("this is a non-smoking building!"), and I hate her, 'cause noone else who lives there really cares. Except Smoking Guy. And her.

Stupids...

Oslo by Day

Trying to be effective and stuff is much harder in life than in theory. Not just doing it, but it's as if my body resists it. I don't even remember my alarm clock going off at 06.30 in the morning, I just wake up at 10 being all annoyed and confused.

I'm only a month away from my first exam, and I'm trying to get through all the syllabus, as well as trying to lose some of the weight I've gained since I joined the Blindern Bohemians.  Trying to have time and energy to both work out and study in one day without even being rewarded with a beeeeer at the end of the day, is like the Sisyphus-thing. Or not. It's just hard.

But at least it's spring soon. It's kinda spring right now, 'cause yesterday the sneakers were calling, and the students were all sitting outside, but no sunny warm days yet! So no sun = no spring.


I'm really looking forward to the Danishboattrip at the end of the month, after so much stress pulling the thing together.

Oslo By Night

The view from my bedroom window ain't that bad. It's mostly roof tops and sky, and far away I can see the Oslo Fjord on a clear day. But what I'm most taken aback by is the light the city gives the sky. It changes. Sometimes it's orange, sometimes green and sometimes, like tonight, yellow. At Råholt the sky's always black at night.

It's 2 am, and I can't sleep. Not beacause I'm hungry or thristy or restless or have thoughts all over.. I'm just so damn nauseous! And I don't even have a reason to be so.. If only I were pregnant, that would explain it, but unfortunatly that's physically impossible. So maybe I'm like a cat, and have obtained a "pseudopregnancy", an imaginary pregnancy! That would be such a waste of time. Pregnancy' supposed to be a bitch, and why go through it if you're not even gonna end up with a Mini-Me?!

On the subject of things that are wrong with my body:
I am now about to be a brille-slange. I need glasses for my classes at Blindern, 'cause I struggle to see what's on the blackboard (or whatever it is), and get really bad headaches those days I have lectures. So that'll be fun. Just hope it won't make me look too much like my dad or like a power-lesbian.



I'm gonna go read in my Rome-book now, "Romans and Romerettes - Life in the Roman Empire". It'll be like having a cigarette while waiting for the bus. Either the bus comes straight a way (in this case sleep will come), and if not, at least you've enjoyed a cigarette (in this case an interesting book).




Cheerio, Charlie!

Back in Business

Christmas is over, and a new term has arrived. My subjects this spring are so damn hard, I'm already getting nervous about exams.  I try reading, for a change, to keep up but it doesn't seem to help.

But alcoholicly I'm really good this spring. I feel like I spend every single day at Blindern and every night at Uglebo. Not too bad, except that all the beer forces me out of the clothes I could wear a year ago =(

So, I tried to get the job as "locker-person" at FF, but Kari won the election. I was a bit bummed out, but she does a really good job, and it opened for me to be the "party-person". Woha! Which means I'm responsible of arranging the parties for all the people who work at Uglebo, as well as fun things like the anual trip to Copenhagen and the cabin-trip etc. I love it!



The boyfriend hunt was put on ice. I really don't think I can handle one right now. I really miss Sigurd, but not as my boyfriend. No thanks! But I miss the good talks and laughs,  and I think I might contact him. Yes, I know it's a bad idea, but I'm just so curious about what he's up to these days.


I'm going to Rome in a week, and I can't wait!



Ciao!