Good bye!!

So I'm back at home from Norway now. It was an amazing adventure in Norway. I was sad to leave all of my new friends, but now it's ok. I realize that I could one day go back and visit. Plus, there is the magic of Skype, so it's not so bad to keep in touch.

I really do have mixed emotions about coming home. I really miss Norway, but it felt like a fantasy dream in Norway. Nothing felt 100% real; it all felt like a dream; very surreal, but very real at the same time. However, I missed the warmth and luxury of home. Now that I'm back, I'm very comfortable and happy to be able to nagivage in the society so comfortably. However, I'm kind of having re-entry issues. The freedom I enjoyed in Norway is now gone. I'm back to being a regulated and obedient Asian daugther who has to report every action and ask permission for everything again. It's really sad to have grown and moved forward so much in Norway to be moving backwards here at home. It's as if all the skills I have acquired was of no use now. It's all very frustrating. But at the same time, I'm very happy to be at home. I'm so torn, I don't know what to make of it.

But to end this blog on a good note, I'm happy to continue with my life and head in a more defined and clear direction towards a more focused future.

Thank you to all of you who followed my blog. I appreciate it very much. You have made it worth the time I put into bloggin. I will continue to blog after this one. However, I've decided to keep that on the "down low" as I will be expressing more freely with less constraints. So, if you are so very interested in it, and are not afraid to read a few posts that are less sugar coated, feel free to look for it. Hint: it's not on blogger. Or you can ask for the web address from me if you are really interested. :)

Final and most sincere thanks for everyone's support!

Shopping in Oslo

It was a satisfying shopping experience in Oslo today! I got what I wanted to get, and holiday shopping is official DONE! Actually, I might be done with shopping for a while... Now I have to pack!

Can't sleep

I've been laying in bed for the past 3 hours and could not fall asleep. All I can think about is what I'm going to do when I go home! I feel so restless and excited! I wish I could fall asleep soon, so that I have the energy for my adventure in Oslo tomorrow!

Woohoo! Grade A times 2!

I just finished my oral presentation for my case study and I am ecstatic about my results! I got an A on my case study report and and A on my presentation. They said the report was solid and the presentation was great. So I'm as happy as can be now, especially since I was told that it was really hard to get an A here in Norway. That means my work was good! 我太开心了！

Inger also recomended that I write an article about my experiences at the Ormseter (asylum camp) and the Norwegian Language School that I did my research at for a news paper! Because it would be a good politcal message to see the situation from the inside, since I was treated as an insider, although I was doing research. So it's an "outsider's view on the inside" or something like that. It's such an amazing experience, that I will write this article. Inger said that she would help me get it published in the local news or something. I hope it works out!

Final exam

The final exam is OVER! It wasn't hard like I thought it would be. However, I think that I still was going in circles sometimes. But... I understodd the material. So I'm hoping that my writing skills conveyed that to the teacher.

The testing environment was like taking the SATs all over again, but with no confusing logic questions. It was in the gym. So when I went, everyone was just gathered in the little what seemed to be weight room. Then in the room next door, there were desks placed in rows and columns with significant spaces in between. This room was a small gym room. I noticed the court lines marked on the floor. The max time we had was four hours. Considering the environment, atmosphere and operation of the exam, I didn't feel as gloomy and "generic" as I thought it should, especially since there was people sitting there watching us take the test the whole time. But my classmates made the mood merry. In any case, I've never taken a test like this before, aside from the SATs; it was a great experience.

Anyway, the last real assignment is the oral presentation of our case study, which shouldn't be bad because the case studies are complete and turned in. Now we just have to present it. No problem.

Snow and holidays

It's snowing again today. It was really beautiful to look out the window to see nothing but pure white on the ground. Emily, Genevieve and I went for a short walk along the shopping street and beach. The atmosphere was so nice and calming, in contrast to what I've been feeling lately with the mixed feelings of going home and stress from exams and papers. It was a nice break.

Along the main shoping district, there was a band playing holiday music and a stand selling candle lanterns. Everyone was out and about and the children were so lively. I miss my sister.

After coming home, I wanted to eat Asian fried scampi, so I decided to go to Linh's shop to buy the ingredients and ask her how to make it. On my way there, I saw a concert with kids singing holiday music on stage. Families, friends and children in strollers, children on daddy's shoulders had their attention on the stage. It was such a merry sight, I had to take a moment to enjoy this comfortable feeling. But as I left, and continued to the shop, I felt so lonely. I could only feel that family warmth from others for that instand, but once I left, all I could think of was my own beloved family and friends. So I'm so ready to go home and continue with my life with the people I love.

Strange

Things aren't endig the way I thought they would. Funny how that is because it never is the way I think it would be or should be, but I always anticipate. Silly of me to do that, right?

And I've been having strange dreams about random things lately, for the past few nights in the past few weeks. I want to understand what those dreams are and why I have them, I can't even seem to remember or make out what happened in almost all of them, let alone try to understand. I know that these dreams are not good dreams though, so that's what concerns me. It's been making me uneasy. Hopefully, it's just me being homesick. That should be a simple enough reason.

Aside from that, last weekend was really fun. Glenn and Peter had their birthday parties together on Friday night. Saturday night was the Christmas/goodbye party for international students. That was really fun too. I had an excuse to wear something pretty. Here are the pictures: Click me!