Last week was very laid back, I hung around at home, and tried to get people to go to the town and hangout with me/show me where the shops I need were. It didn't work until about wednesday night when I put out a fb status requesting somebody's partnership for at least a couple hours... or not even that long... thus when I went to town on thursday I was done shopping for other people about 10 min after I started... most of that time was because of walking to the various stores... :D It was quite humorous actually, I was getting off my bus and saw Morgana walking towards hers, so I took the oportunity to give her a hug and wish her a god jul! Then I met Aom and a bunch of girls from school in the bus station. Aom had a present for me (which made me feel like a piece of... poop... seeing that I didn't think about getting something for the AFS students in Harstad... ugh, I fail.) I promised that I would get her and the others something after christmas, so DONT WORRY!!! she thought I was funny.
After that I met Yngvild and S(cantremememberrestofname) so they could quick like show me where my needed stores were. I learned when trying to exchange some boxers (that Karro bought for Pappa) that you have to order his size online so I couldn't exchange them for her... sorry again Karro, eventhough you dont read this. And then we went to find simpsons socks for Ole-Peter... I didn't know what else to get him, so I just went with Karro's suggestion. Then all I needed were some earrings and I was all set, though we did go underwear shopping for about 5 min... I guess that's just something that I can do with my gang in the US... :)
Soon after Yngvild and S... went home, and I met up with Aom again, and when she went to the bathroom I saw Weronica while she went on her smoke break. I chatted with her then when she went back to work I went back to the bbus station to wait for Jostein who I had been told was coming to help me shop fot the things I already bought... oh well! I met back up with Aom there, and Morgan showed up too. Jostien showed up with a holiday cheese box, which he complained about more than I complained about my purse... He said it was ruining his image, I offered to trade with him... he stopped complaining :D
We ended up going to Bik Bok, and low and behold my PURPLE ZIPPYHOODY WAS ON SALE!!! I think a little part of me died and went to heaven. I immediatly snatched up my size and ran to the line before anybody could pry my prize from me... *hiss with claws at the ready* Jostien said somehting about not having a christmas present for me so I said we could split the costs on the hoody and that would be great, but he kept bugging me about him being able to get a whole present for me, so I pointed him in the direction of the black hoodies with the white zippers, size L please. (for the leangth, not the width if anybody is wondering, they fit quite well, because they are made for long skinny people like me).
I had a really good time, and then Jostien said his dad could give me a ride home! What he failed to mention was that his dad would act as the adult in the passenger's seat while Jostien himself would terrorize Harstad by sitting behind the wheel!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
actually, he drives really well, probably better than I would faced with these terrifyingly twisty thin roads... good jobb Jostien! *gives round of applause*
It was kinda funny actually, the day before (shopping) a series of callers came to the door to bestow presents on my unworthy self, and one of them was Karin, my contact mother. She told me that Brunjar (did I spell it right this time?) and Jostien were in the car if I wanted to say hello, which gave me the opportunity to run like a chicken with its head cut off up stairs to snatch a semi-decently wrapped present from the stack that occupied the chair at the end of my bed, then gallop back down the stairs to locate my hiding pair of boots to hurtle outside to the car just as Karin was getting into the passengers side (RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! BRUNJAR IS DRIVING!!!) and let the guys know that I was behind/beside them. Jostien didn't know that I lived here, so it was kinda funny for me to hear "wow Devyn, you live here?!" why yes, yes I do. I gave him the present and ruffled Brunjar's hair *(cause it annoys him and it looks so smooth but really his hair is rather coarse) and wished them a god jul. it was funny!
random fact time. did you know that God is Gud in norwegian? but way back in the day the old norwegians would capitalize all the nowns, not just names, so to make God stand out they would write GUd. kinda cool and interesting right? It kinda looks lopsided to me... :) anyway, random fact over. Not sure why I went there, but there it is!
Christmas was an interesting event, the day before our house went from sadly lacking in christmas decorations to OMG THERE ARE NISSE EVERYWHERE!!! which I think is thanks to our tramping up to the ski hill to cut down a tree. it is not as full as the trees I am used to, and I didn't insist that we cut down the tallest tree this time either... (its a reference to a family story that will makemy parents and grandparents laugh, but im too lazy to write out what happened so you will have to live with that unless you can convinve me or my parents or my grandparents to recount it for you). Anyway, christmas included 11 people total eating and opening presents and being really loud from 5 until 10 or 11... though it felt more like 20 people because Aksel was very energetic about having sooo many presents!
Really, I was astonished by the pile of presents around the poor tree... it was about 4-5 years worth of christmas presents for my family including my aunt and uncle and cousin that we often celebrate with. and possibly some other family members too... O.O I got alot of socks... 4 pairs to be exact,and while im very happy that people were thinking about me, I dont especially like socks. infact most of my childhood i scorned socks, even in the middle of winter. I would wear shoes (when forced to) without the annoying tubes of cloth with their seams in the toes unless bribed or threatend. The resentment towards that piece of apparal remains today, and it seems to bug Mamma. She is always telling me that i need to go put sock or slippers on because i'll get a cold... but really, I DO appreciate the gesture, and I have used a pair of them when I went snowboarding on sunday.
I finally opened the present that Yngvild gave me, the one that has been tormenting me... It is a book about 2 people that are from different social statuses trying to get something done despite the fact that their whole world seems to be against them... I actually haven't gotten very far into it yet, I got distracted by Nemi and The Glassblower of Murano... But I loved the note she wrote in it! thanks Yngvild! You will be getting a card for it, and the joint present from you and Jostien, which is a Guild Wars Account! UNfortunatly this computer cannot have anything else going on if it is going to load any of the new places in a reasonable amount of time... actually about 20 min... +
Anyway, back to christmas in norway. They have a tradition where a Nisse comes with a present for everybody! This year it was Tante Berit in costume, which Aksel didn't realise. When she knocked on the door he went to answer it. after about 30 sec he cam racing back and tackeled Pappa and clung to his arm staring wide eyed and tante berit/the nisse. SO FUNNY! Tante Berit is actually Aksel's grandmother which made it even funnier! But after getting a blue guitar from the nisse Aksel wasn't so afraid of the nisse anymore, and he was quiet ready to collect everybodys' presents for them... awww...
it was a crazy night, happily Karro and Guro and Mamma were very pleased with their presents... Im not sure about Pappa, he doesn't seem to be as interested in Our Dumb World from The Onion as I had hoped... Karro was bouncing because of her shoes! (she designed them on the converse website, I bought them) and Mamma was open mouthed about her necklace earring set, she actually got up and gave me a hug for them! Guro said that the nail stuff and sack that I got here were perfect! so I think I did ok!
Saturday was christmas day, and marked the third time that I skyped home. It was hard, but not as hard as skyping for G's brithday suprisingly... Im not sure I get that, but there it is. It was nice to see my family, and since they were celebrating with my aunt and uncle and cousin I got to see them too! My aunt laura said that she would save my library if it turns out that my parents really did paint it pink, and she agrees with me that Mustard Yellow is a nice color. Im still waiting for pictures of my library, and it's getting nerve wracking... :)
My parents opened their presents from me, which was a set of mugs with "the boss" and "the slave" on them... I didn't get to mark which was which in the store, so when I wrapped them I said they were for one or the other, and they would know who got which when they opened them... they opened the right ones! it's pretty obvious who got which, and it got a laugh from everybody! Unfortunatly G's presents didn't get there in time, so I will be skyping him to see him open them as soon as he get them. or as soon as I can after.
I got a hat! 2 actually, ones a hat for the cold, and the other is a normal decoration type hat! I also got things for my boots to help me stick to the ice when trying to walk down and up slippery hills. :) I got a book, a cute chia-plant thing and speaker thing that I can attach to my backpack and put my ipod in so when I walk down the road of doom I can share with more ease with the moose. :D I also got peppermint bark! which is almost out, despite the fact that I hid it from everybody but myself in an attempt to stretch it out over a long period of time... yeah... i fail... BUT I LOVE IT SOOOOOO MUCH!!! I also got my headphones (which is lucky, because I was going crazy from music withdrawl) and a shirt that says "Born in Maine, Living in Exile" on it! Im not sure Norway really constitutes exile, but it will definitly apply next year. Minnisota according to Our Dumb World Atlas is a Bullshit state. *giggle* and I will be exiling myself there for atleast 4 years... i keep telling myself that it's a good thing, but them i remember there is no ocean there and it makes me want to sit in a corner rocking back and forth and mutter and cackle to myself... im sorry, BUT LAKES NO MATTER HOW LARGE CANNOT COMPARE TO THE OCEAN!!! THEY ARE JUST NOT RIGHT!!! they dont smell right.
I am likely to be getting "ah!"s of indignation from my Mum and her family right now since they are all from Minnisota (or "from away" if you really want me to get to my Mainah roots) so I think I'll change the subject.
I spoke to them for a good 2 hours, despite the fact that it was 9 in the morning there and they had all forgone breakfast to talk to me... I thought I had schedualed our skype-in late enough that they could have eaten, but obviously I failed in that quest... oh well, I tried. G got new skiis! He was very happy about it! and he told me that they were going to go skiing on mon, but i later learned that since there was a Nor'eastah (a storm that blows in from the north-east, and is known to be strong, and cold. usually brings snow, but in the spring it brings rain, which floods the school. Sorry, I figured I would explain what it is for people not from Maine and who have never been exposed to a Mainer when they are talking about one... :D ) so, he couldn't get to the mountain. too much flying snow.
But anyway, it was lovely to talk to my family. Again Im glad that I only skype them once a month, incase any possible future AFS-ers are wondering. AFS suggests that you only skype or call every two weeks, but i am finding that if you cut it down to once a month ones homesickness is cut down alot. I only get homesick around the time of the actuall event usually... We're going to excuse November for breaking that pattern since there were events that are acceptable homesickness causes... :) So, if you are reading this to get some information about how an AFS year goes, on this point I would suggest trying to cut down to a few emails a week and only one skype/call a month. It makes everybody feel bad if you're homesick, and it doesn't help you make friends. justa tip!
Sunday was fun, I went snowbording with Karro, and after she found some of her friends I had a good time practicing more control than trying to keep up with her. I prefer to have control over where im going than to go fast, so im not as fun for people to ride with as say, Karro or G are... but by the end I was getting down the mountain in 4 min and doing pretty good carving turns! my last run however I kept falling when i was switching from my heel edge to my toe edge... ugh. After the 2nd time I threw my hands up and sat on my knees so I could regain my composure... and try to getmy legs to stop shaking... Im getting better at using the lift for extended periods of time, but its still hard on my legs. But I got going back down the hill and actually made it down the little vally and up the other hill without going as slowly as I normally do! Im pretty close to where I was last year I think, I just have to try to do some flatspins and 180's and riding switch. :D
When I was done I called Pappa to ask if he could come pick me up. He told me that it would be about 15 min, since he was going to pick Guro up first, so I told him it wasn't a big deal. I went to wait for him when something that's still making me laugh happened. Some guy who turned out to be my age walked out away from the lodge building thing and looked towards the parking lot, and me. I thought it was odd since when he saw me look at him he turned around and walked back infront of the lodge again, but I brushed it off as he was looking for his ride. then he came back and walked to the parkinglot with a group of people, so, cool, he was just looking for his ride and went to tell his family that it was there... until he walked back past me, sans the group. about halfway between me and the front of the lodge he turned around and came over to talk to me. He said that he had seen me fall my second time and seen me giving my self a dispairing shake of my head.
It was fun to talk to him, even though we didn't exchange names, I remember he was one of the better dressed skiiers there. (im coming back to this, but it can wait until after I finish this story) we didn't really talk about much, but he did say that he goes skiing every day, and he can walk to the hill from where he lives. He also goes to the other Videregånde school in the area, in Stagnes. he seemed like a nice guy, and he was trying to convince me to go up again when Pappa showed up. I'll probably be seeing him there again, though he skiis... so it'll probably be in passing (him passing me going at a breakneck speed down the mountain).
Okay, back to the skiiers and their apparel. one word is required for them in general. HORRIBLE!!! Honestly, all their floresents will mean that they wont get shot by hunters, but the fashion police will be hunting them activly if they wear that stuff anywhere besides the ski hill... Im not sure what possesed them to buy matching floresent Yellow/orange snow pants or jackets, or matching floresent yellow/blue/red jacket and snowpants... or dare to mix floresent orange and purple with various other unidentifiable colors, but it's enough for one to be glad they are a snowborder. All of whom have acceptable outfits, usually one bright color tastefully matched with a black or brown. *sigh of relief* so, beware skiiers, yes you, the one with more than one floresent color on your skiing outfit, I have allerted the fashion police to your existance and they will be watching very closely for you to stray into the general public and expose the masses of unprotected people to your horrendouse (sp) apparal, then they will take you down!
:D
Yesterday was quite, instead of going snowboarding again I decided to try and hang out with Kristin and to read while waiting for her to respond. I didn't actually leave the house until after middag, and im not going to tell you how much time I spent in bed, but you can probably tell from that that it was an extended amount of time. :D After middag though I went over and watchedBuffy the vampire slayer with Kristin, which was fun, eventhoughwe kepthaving to pause the show so she could squeal over Spike... and eventhough she is completely gaga over Spike she says that I still cant get Olli (the one werewolf who has ever been considered as possible boyfriend material BTW, though im still holding out for Eric Northman or Lestat as at least my maker... :D yes, i still love vampires. I actually got a wallet with some fangs on it for christmas too!)... she's greedy... :P but its ok, she says that since she got Ruka from Last Friends I can have Alexander Skarsgård/Eric Northman... it was a hard sell, but atleast I know I dont have to fight her for him! >:D (note my hollywood crush on him is going into it's 4th year... this spring anway. XD )
Oh! I forgot, on sunday night I helped Mamma get in touch with her long lost family memeber that moved to WA years and years and years ago. I found his name on the white pages then his daughter's name (who I thougt was his wife because it didn't list the man's other children and it didn't list her age) who had a phone number and an adress. So, she called them and they are now exchanging emails! I feel like a hero, now I only have to find out if I ahve family here... Im hating Ancestry rightnow for commandeering all sites and their access to various records from various contries... >:P so mean. I dont want to spend more money on a site that i thought would atleast give me something more to work with... grrr...
okay, im rambling again. and ive only got a few songs left in the Les Misarables soundtrack (it's my favorite musical, but ive never seen it if anybody's wondering) and i should go downstairs today. :) Oh, I also have decided to kiss my tentative plans to go to the UK to see The Decemberists in concert goodbye... the ticket to the concert its self is actually cheap, but it's the plane there and back, and the hotel and the train or bus to the city that the concert actually is happening in that is expensive... so, i'll just wait until next year and hope that they have a concert near where i am living... *crosses fingers, sqeezes eyes shut and mutters a variety of pleases*
okay! I hear cookies calling my name over the sound of Marius singing about Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, and how he was the only one to survive the revolution... oh, he's done now, only 2 more songs and I would have listened to the whole musical while writing this post! too bad, Ive got nother to write about now, well, nothing is coming to mind right now... but im sure that this post is long enough to make some people shake their heads at me so I'll leave it at that.
VI SNAKKES!!!!!
Well, it is about time! Still no gift for G. We will tell you when it comes. xox Mom
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