International cabin trip!

If you are too lazy to read all of the details on this awesome and epic trip, you can go straight to the photos. Click here to go to the photo album!

The cabin trip was so much fun! It lasted from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. A really nice charter bus picked us up from the school and Frederik Monsens (the student dorms) and took us on a snowy drive that lasted about an hour. Half way there, the driver had to stop and put chains on the tires. I was really nervous about it since this giant bus was basically on ice the whole time, going up into the mountains. However, we made it there safe and sound, although not without surprises! The bus dropped us off at a small distance to the cabin, so we had to walk to the cabin. I was slipping and sliding with my backpack, Kiwi bag full of food and sleeping bag sack. Then one of the guys just surprised me by taking my sleeping bag for me, which was really nice. It made walking a lot easier, especially since we were walking in pitch blackness. The atmosphere was very exciting, yet sketchy. It felt like one of those horror movies where teenagers go to a cabin in the woods for the weekend only to be greeted by a murderer in the cabin. However, we were greeted by a cold and empty cabin.

Once we entered, everyone rushed to find the toilets (which were outhouses and not pleasant at all), started a fire to warm the cabin, claim beds, among others and the cold, empty, and creepy cabin turned into a warm, cozy and lively place for friends. There was definitely a certain vibe in the air that led to a very pleasant gathering of the international students. There was a room that got turned into the dancing/party room with music. And others hung out in the kitchen. So there was some dancing, socializing, then dinner (which was very late at night), followed by long hours of more socializing and card games. It was so very fun! I am now an honorary Indonesian! During this time, I spent a lot of time with the Indonesians and Pakistanians. So now, I feel like we are close friends.

When the majority of us decided to go to sleep, it was about 2 in the morning! And even then, I couldn't sleep! Paul didn't have a bed, so we decided to put our matresses together and share the two matresses between three people. So there was Genevieve's matress on the floor, then mine, then Afrika's. I slept between Geneveive and Paul while Afrika slept on the other side of Paul. It was the most awkward sleeping arrangement I have ever experienced, mainly because I've never slept next to a guy before. I would imagine this to be very awkward for Geneveive and Paul. Everytime I rolled to my side, I was basically invading Genevieve's space or Paul's space. Plus, Paul is tall and long, so I'd say he needs more space. But he kept really still the whole night, which was really impressive. Also, poor Afrika at the end right next to the bunks kept hitting himself into the beds! The people who refused to sleep didn't make it easy to fall asleep either. Hearing unclear voices in conversation, plus the heat of what feels like the wrath of the sun, plus the awkward arrangements made it very hard to fall asleep. However, the whole situation was pretty comical now that I think about it.

When I woke up, the first adventure of the day was brushing my teeth and washing my face. There was no running water, so I just got water from a jug in a cup and brushed outside while my mouth and face froze. After that, we just hung around the kitchen and playing card games. I saw Emily and Afrika preparing to go outside, I joined them in the snow. Then later, Am (Indonesian) and another Pakistanian friend (whose name I cannot figure out at this very moment) joined us, followed by the other Americans. During this time, many awesome pictures were taking. The most memorable pictures at this particular point are the jumping pictures. You can see them in the photo album on Facebook. Those are some awesome pictures!

After the amazing time with jumping pictures in the snow, we took a small group hike. During this hike, everyone (mainly the guys) got into a snowball fight that turned extremely intense. I got hit in the back of my head really hard by a giant and very tightly packed snowball. I was not playing in this battle, so I was pretty upset about that. But that's all fine because everyone was just having fun. After this hike, we just hung out in the cabin, eating food, socializing and playing cards again until we had to clean up the cabin and got ready to leave.

From this trip, I'd like to compliment our bus driver(s). They are extremely skilled in driving on snow and ice on narrow, winding, and steep road up to the cabin. I also made friends with other international students that had never really talked to before. I also became closer to a few others, specifically the Indonesians. It was so much fun! I'm glad that I went!

When we arrived at our appartment, I got a small package from Thanh, and it just made the end of this trip so much better!

So! Now that I have given the lengthy details about this amazing trip, you can see the awesome pictures!! Click here to go to the photo album!

A Different Way to Socialize

I notice that here, people socialize very differently from what I am use to for my age group. Every night since I've arrived, there have been parties and music. They don't even wait for the weekends or anything. Night time is night time and it's a time to drink and socialize. So I assume almost everyone have hang overs every morning or something. These Norwegian students my age, some a bit older, are pretty much drinking when they have a chance, and almost everyone has beer bellies, in American terms. I have no problem with this, but it's just new to me. In the states, especially PLU, drinking alcohol is not something to be so freely discussed, but they talked about it in their opening ceremony (like Convocation) as if it was nothing, which it is nothing of bad significance here. It's as if there is a whole culture of socializing that revolves around drinking. It's fascinating! I'd sit there, not drinking myself, observing the people and the conversations around me. The ones who are not drinking are less likely to introduce themselves to me and start a conversation. However, someone with some alcohol in their system would introduce themself to me and start a conversation as if we have been friends for a while. I feel kind of awkward that I don't drink, just because that's the way everyone is, but also I do not feel pressured to drink. It's very chill and I like it.

This is just something I noticed and it seems very important in their culture. I looked at the case as if it was a case study for anthropology. I'm so glad that I took those anthropology courses, because I feel so proud that I am using them to assess the situation now, constantly. I recognize the cultural differences here compared to the one I am familiar with, yet I can fit in because I understand what is going on. Thank you Prof. Thomson! This has made my experience a lot more enjoyable.

Aside from this, our first Norwegian language lesson was today! I was so excited, because, of course, I am learning a new language. I am always excited to understand another language. Spending some time listening to those audio Norwegian lessons definitely paid off. Today in class, I got excited on many occasions because I undertood things and rememebered words from my audio lesson.

We also got bikes today. They are very nice bikes; like brand new! I'm so anxious to ride around town and explore, especially along the water front!