maybe i should just post on sat...

sorry again, i dont know what's up, i just dont feel like blogging anymore, and I know people read my blog so i will continue but im just so blagh about it.

this week was very uneventfull. the only really exciting thing happened on Tuesday, when I went to the Ski hill and started getting mini jumps down, Imhoping to go tomorrow and start getting bigger jumps, but im not sure I'll be allowed... :P

The snow was amazing on tuesday! it had snowed for pretty much the whole day so there was a bunch of powder! the plus side of this is that it makes landings softer, the down side was that the ridges that everybody made were large and thus falling was and easier thing to do... i got some of my spectacular headover heels falls for the first time this season that day! good thing im bendy!

I was sick Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so my day amounted to watching tv wrapped in a giant sweatshirt and a fleece blanket and finding out that hard boiled eggs are really good in my noodle soup...om nom nom. Oh, and I watched the first season of Buffy in one day. yay me!

Oh, I almost forgot, Karro came running home after starting to take Kazan for a walk. the reason? there were 6 moose in the fields near our house, and the 4 reigndeer too! I grabbed my camera, but the moose upon seeing Kazan had run into the woods... sigh.

so, very uneventful. Because I was feverish I am not allowed to go snowboarding today, since relapses are not good. also Mamma and I wont be going to the concert we were planing on going to... :( but we will have a visitor from seattle tonight, and they will open the bottle of raspberry wine that Mum and Dad sent, as well as having green mountain coffee, which they love I might add. they told me as soon as I woke up and got down stairs that they loved the coffee! good choice Mum!

ok, as you can probably tell im not at all into this. I hope there is something more interesting to write about soon. tootles!

INTESIVE TRAINING BEGINS TODAY!!!

So yesterday I woke up at about 10:30 and had pancakes with Mamma, since Karro and Pappa were in Tromsø for a håndball tournament. They had a ok time it sounds like, though the team from Alta was not allowed to play because the bus they were taking to the games was in an accident on friday thankfully non of the girls or people on the bus were hurt, but three people from some of the cars in the collision died, and others were ingured. I offer condolences for the families of those that were lost, but at the same time I am very glad that none of the girls on that buss were majorly ingured.

Anywhoo, after breakfast I got my snowboarding clothes on and got ready to go at 12! Tate Eilin came over for about 5 min then Mamma and I got in the car... for about 20 feet. Then Igot out again and well... Im pretty sure you can tell why if you look down.

#1: "Hey, why are you getting out! Why are you looking at me! GO AWAY!!!" (This one has a blue colar)

#2 "Oh, dear... Well, I think Im set if you're planing on hurting us I doubt that you'll have a harder time with me, since I have camoflage! see! I have a tree that looks like antlers! And Im whiter than the others!"

#'s 3 and 4 "Ugh, why do you have to stand there? Your gigantic grin of finally remembering your camera is blocking the view... and we shouldn't have to say that, 'cause before you came along WE WERE SLEEPING!!! Jerk"

Except, that they would probably all be saying this in Norwegian, or Samii... I don't know Samii, soooo...

And yes, that is the field in front of my house. SOO COOL!!! (I would like to note my fail, I just tried to spell "cool" as "cule"... wow)

Ok, news break. im watching America's Next Top Model (because nothing else is on) and they just did a photo shoot in New Zealand, at Bag End. JEALOUSY TO THE EXTREME!!!!!!! AND ONE OF THE GIRLS HAD NEVER SEEN THE MOVIES!!!! OMG HOW IN THE WORLD HAS SHE SURVIVED?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! she should have been sent away at that moment. Im even more jealous since they met the actress for Rosie!!

EVEN BETTER NEWS!!!!!!!!!!! the setting?! in the front yard! the moment?! 20:45! The event?!?!

OH YEAH!!! YOU KNOW IT!!!

IT'S A MOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

^.^ Im beyond happy right now!!! I have seen both of the 2 animals that are so common around here in my front yard!!!! XD

Ok, so... I got to the ski hill at 12! and just barely got there after they started the lift for the start of the day! and letme tell you... IT WAS AN AWESOME DAY!!!! gorgoues (sp)!!! The snow was so crisp and there were only a few people! I got up there and had a wonderful time!

about couple of hours later or so I saw Ingar and some girls from my school as well as a couple other people that I recognized! I was having a blast when Morgana arrived. She was actually there to meet up with the girls from our school I had recognized, but they let me join them too! It only took Morgana about 3 tries to get on the lift as opposed to my 20 times... and she went on with someone else... *sigh*

We were on our 2nd time up asa group when the lift stopped.. and didn't start again... we just stood there... waiting... eventually we decided to get off and just go down and maybe by that time the lift would start again. We got off and the snow-mobiles started up the mountain...right where we were attaching our gear... well, where morgan and I were attaching out feet to our boards...

Then after they passed the lift started again... Oh well.

I had a great time with the girls! It was nice to go with a group and to hang out with them. the girls from our school left at 3:30, but I decided that I would go for as long as I could... 5... :D I only made it to about 4:15, though, because my legs started to shake and my calves were stiff, so I decided to sit and wait for my ride, since Mamma was picking me up at 4:30. It was a great day, and very very exhausting.

I got home and made some soup. :D then I collapsed on my bed and waited for Pappa and Karro to come home so we could eat dinner and I could go to bed. after dinner I went to bed... then my nocturnal instincts turned on and I just had to wait it out.

Today I had a normal day at school... or a normal day in math. Then in Norsk Weronica, Silje and I went to Mat av Vahl. I got a apple cake thing, then I got a couple of slices of pizza from my buddies and we "worked on" our project. teehee!

nothing really happened in gym, exept there was a bubbly-water fight between Weronica and Silje... lol

Norsk for utveksling studenter var... sorry, i switch unintentionally... again. was ok, I had attention problems... :D

then I went to meet Silje at grøttebådet so we could start swimming... :D unfortunatly I ran out of the house without enough cash and I couldn't remember my PIN for my visa... sorry mum! and dad. :)

We only ended up swimming about half of the work out plan that I had schedualed... but that's ok, we did swim 450m YAY US!!! which is good, since Silje doesn't seem so comfortable swimming and I am not in peak form... far from it actually.

After swimming (which took about an hour) we went to meet Weronica, which was about the time that I learned that if I had bought a months card than it would have been cheaper... oh well! next time!

since I was officially out of money I couldn't go tanning with them, so Silje gave me a ride home! and now I am officially tired, and even the extreme thrill I get from Bourne Ultimatum isn't enough to keep me up.

natta alle sammen! Og vi snakkes!!!

haha... im late again... sorry...

First off, HAVE A GREAT TIME ZOË!!! One of my best friends is leaving today for a new adventure! She and her BF are going to India, but from what I've discovered from FB they are going to have some time in Thai land (Bangkok!!!) for a couple weeks! LUCKY!!!

So, har en fin tur Zoë og Max!!! :)

Ok, so Im sorry that I didn't post yesterday, but I didn't get home until about 10:30, and I will tell you why, but I will tell my week in order... like always. Maybe someday I'll tell it backwards... that would be funny yeah?

Tuesday was sooo long ago... I can't remember what happened... sorry. I do remember a little bit about wednesday, I went to eat pancakes with Dina and Yngvild and Maine Maple Syrup was dissed! They said CANADIAN maple syrup was better! Im sorry for any Canadians reading this blog, Most of us Mainers are asked if Maine is part of Canada, but of course we have to have some rivalry! And Maple Syrup seems like an okay one. But they dissed MY MAINE MAPLE SYRUP!!! Yeah, Yngvild, If you thought I had let it go then you are very very wrong! I hold a grudge pretty well!

But it was fun anyway! :)

On Thursday, Weronica was in school for the first time this week (that I was aware) and she didn't look like she was completely well, but it was nice to see her all the same! I got a few comments on my hat that I got from G for christmas, but otherwise it was apretty un-interesting day.

Friday we disected fish. Well, in my last class we did. But in my first class I had History, and since Weronica didn't show up Morten (sang a swedish song about gold shoes and is the president of the class and is quite funny and a typical Norwegian guy otherwise) sat in the seat beside me. as such I was invited to work with him and the guys... it was odd, but I decidedI should try to get to know the rest of my class a little better. And, I actually got along with the guys better than I ould probably get along with the other girls in my class... but as most of you know, I tend to get along well with guys, I act like one a lot of the time. :)

In sosiology Jostein and I debated... a lot. I apologize to that class again... we are both rather vocal people, he more than I because hedoesn't understand the concept of and "indoor voice" so I am sorry for that!

Then I sat and read quotes while Jostein and Ingvild (2nd grade, and a different person from Yngvild, but their names sound the same) debated something, that I never quite got, but there was something about religion soo...

Then there was bio. My "sudden" ability with Norwegian seems to continously shock my classmates, but they are much more willing to talk to me because of it. I actually had a conversation while leaving the classroom! that never happens with that class!!!

But, friday was the day that we managed to stink out the whole wing. we had 6 cod fish deliverd to us so we could see how their teeth were positioned, cut it open from anus to gills and remove it's enternal organs. I sudden wished that I hadn't eaten my whole lunch! I felt so sorry for cutting up the poor fish. then I got the organs out and I was good! The liver looks so much like a human liver, which is what helped me get through the whole "im cutting a poor defenceless animal!!!" I think that a lot of people will find it odd, but I have a more of a problem mentaly cutting up animals (and babies/children because for some reason I associate them with animals to some extent) than I do with humans...

with the help on a couple others in my group we managed to get the liver, intestines, stomach, gallbladder, and male organs (im not sure what to call them in a fish, but they were larger than all the other organs combined) in one go! then we tried to cut off the gallbladder and accidentaly tore it. We did getitoffeventually though, then we cut off the reproductive organ, the liver and the little red organ that we never did get a name for... We untangled the long intestine and it was almost a yard long! The liver was quite like the human liver I handled in Tama, FL, but not plastisised. :D (Body Works is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen!). The we cut out the eyes, and smashed our way to the brain, which was even smaller than the heart, or the gallbladder, or the unidentified red organ.

But it was really fun! that was my first time disecting a real animal, and not a owl pellet. and not online!!!

After class I went downstairs to wait for Karin my host mother to pick Brynjar and me up so we could eat together! Brynjar was the cook, and he made asian food! It was so yummy! and the first food that I have eaten with chop-sticks since I have arrived!!! om nom nom! to tell the truth I was worried that Brynjar's cooking would be like Mum's has been on occasion so I was suprised when it was really good! (Not that Mum's can't, it's justthatIstill remember such meals as the fish soaked in wine... or was it beer... I honestly can't remember, but it tasted HORRIBLE! it was infact poison.).

I spent the night with my contact family and watched the Titanic, both parts, and looked at pictures of my contact brothers from a couple of years ago... THEY WERE SOOOO CUTE!!! I also saw some pics of a younger Jostein... hehehe I couldn't help giggling... a lot. Eventually it was about 10, so I decided to stop annoying them so Brynjar drove me home (with Karin in the front seat, he's not old enough to have a drivers lisence yet) I passed the glass shop where im hoping to find Ms Teller's and Paul's Wedding gift (mostly Ms Teller's though. Sorry Paul. :) Oh god, I just realized I can't remember your last name! dang, im going to have to remember that so I wont call Ms Teller, Ms Teller after the 19th of Feb... :D dont worry, Im on it!)

I got home and eventually got to bed. and woke up late today! I meandered down stairs to boil some noodles! much like the Ramen Noodles that I love and eat for all occasions, but slightly smaller and called YumYum which is as it's name suggests! I ate it with my chopsticks I got for Christmas from Karro and in one of the bowls that I bought at the giant bazaar/gym held yard sale that was held a few months ago at Karro's school! YAY FOR USAGE!!!

The rest ofthe day I spent looking frantically on the internet for a chicken pot pie recipe and a way to make pie crust (can i please get a copy of the secret family recipe Dad, it might help me when trying to make a pie crust for a pie that is supposed to be sweet). I eventually gave into the fact that vegtable shortning doesn't exist in norway, or at least Harstad, and looked to see if butter or something can be subbstatuted. it can if your wondering.

Then we went to buy ingrediants and I began the task of trying my hand at pie making... lets just say that I am considering changing my post title to:

And That, Kids, Is Why You REMEMBER That Celcius and Farenheit ARE NOT The Same...

Just saying... it was edible... or everything under the top layer of crust was edible, but 300 degrees celcius is not equal to 300 degrees farenheit, thus it doesn't take 30+ min to cook... I luckly rememebered this fact BREFORE I set the oven on fire, and before the whole pie was unsaveable... I removed the top crust and we were all set! and for my first time trying to make a pie i think it's good that at least the middle and bottom were edible...

Im now watching the Norwegian approximation of the Oscars and I really like the trophys they are given... sooo pretty!

alright, im going to go apply chapstick for the upteeth time today and hope that this time my lips regaine some moisture instead of feeling like sand-paper wanna-be's... I will be going snowboarding tomorrow and I will take my camera so I can try to get some good pics on Flikr for the first time in months.

and because I feel like it, If anybody has any questions and wants to know more about what I am doing here just comment! I check to see if people leave comments on a daily basis and I always sigh when nobody does so... just saying.

VI SNAKKES!!!

Grades... WHYYYYYY?!?!?!?!?!

So, until the end of school I am actually going to try to get HMWK done... as in, homework that is grade-able... I have been staring despairingly at Victoria by Knut Hamsun for the past 15 minutes... or at least the book that supposedly holds said story... I stillhaven't been able to find it. OH WAIT!!! operation open to random page is a sucess. I recognized a name that was on a summary of the story... yay!

So I already kinda alerted you all to what happened on Sat... aka absolutly nothing. I slept, and it was wonderful. :D

On Sunday however Karro, Guro and I went to the ski hill. It was really awefull weather, and my first time coming down I almost mowed down a fellow snowboarder. But thankfully we both managed to avoid that fate and probably looked slightly cool doing it. Seeing that I was at at least a 45 degree angle flying backwards towards him while trying to slow enough that he would get past me, and se was moving at an equally rapid pace in a turn going the way I had come. Our boards just barely missed each other and we both managed to stay upright. I turned back to make sure he was ok and he gave me the thumbs up. *phew*

I met slightly pushy yet nice ski boy again. but at that point I was in the middle of trying to find Guro and Karro so I wasn't a very good conversationalist. Im sorry ski boy. I still dont know his name... im such a sorry person. :P anyway, it was fun, and im going a lot faster down the slope than I was at the beginning of the season! YAY!!!

After snowboarding we wenthome and got ready to eat at tante Berit's for dinner. It was delicious! Turkey! eller Kalkun hvis du vil snakke norsk! :D and there were sprouts in a really yummy bacon mix, which a little salt on top really helped! nom nom nom! I had a really nice time despite being so sleepy that I ended up napping on the couch for an indeterminet (is that actually a word, and ifso im pretty sure I didn't spell it right... ) amount of time. After eating a handfull of blue m'n'm's... yes, I picked them out of a bowl... and I dont regret it!

Oh, I forgot! On the way into the "ski lodge" I saw Yngvild! It was only a quick "Hi! thanks you so much for the present!" but it wasnice to know that my abilities to socialise were not completely dissolved over the break, and by the weather... :D Hey, Yngvild. Hvis du lese det for onsdag, Dina og æ vil spise pankaker med lonningsyrup, så hvis du vil bli med bare si så!

I did watch Blood and Chocolate and Underworld on youtube this weekend, I love Underworld (the first one at least... im not sure about the other 2...) and Blood and Chocolate is an okay movie, but the book is SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!!! I would love my own copy so I dont have to steal it from Kayla again... :D good book good book... ^.^

Today was not as stressful as I expected, it's not like I expected to be going back to my wonderful crew (who I really miss despite how it seemed that we didn't get along... incase any of you guys are reading this I would like you all to know that I really appreciate how you made my last 2 years so much more memorable and fun! I hope we can have a party or something when we are all back from our various adventures (again sleep-desprate mind will not help with spelling.) just incase any of you are reading my blog...) but I had kinda hoped to have some sort of ho-rah that got us a little more into the spirit of school... but no such luck.

BUT!!! The math teacher was sick today and that meant that I got to do my own thing in math... for which I am partially greatfull, I got most of the problems I did right, which is a mirical since my calculator need life. It died, remember?

I did very little in most of my classes, but utvekslingstudent norsk was kinda fun for once! We got to talk alot and Morgana is also only supposed to only speak and be spoken to in Norwegian!!! YAY!!! it was great, I also learned how to make an oragami frog :D yay for slight childishness!

anywhoo, I am pleased to announce that my brother's christmas presents FINALLY arrived, so people should be getting postcards soon! He really liked said presents. I got him a Halo helmet belt buckle and a old nintendo gaming remote wallet. He almost has more money than I do... wow...

Oh, and just cause I can, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!!! you should feel honored that I remember your birthday, since I can't remember many other peoples'. I remember Yngvild's because ofsomething about a rhyme and people dying en masse on that day, I remember G's because it's thanksgiving every 4 years, I remember Dad's for unknown reasons (something about one's golden b-day), I rememeber Mum's because she made me feel so guilty for not, and I rememeber Grandma's because it's 50 years before mine :D so, congratulations, you don't have to remind me when you turn one year older!

Im in desperate need of ramen noodles... I really want easy delicious snackage... I miss them... O.O

okay, im going to make a mattpakke and go to bed! ^.^ vi snakkes!!!

So I should have posted yesterday, but "Yes Man" was much more interesting.

HEIA!!!!!

SO, I had another lazy week. I hung out with Kristin on Thursday, or some of Thursday. The rest of Thursday I celebrated Agnethe's (I found out that I've been spelling her name wrong :D ) 1'st birthday! It was very cute, I baby-sat her a lot, but it was worth it! She will be walking soon! I can't wait to see her do so! She also stole my hat, everytime I got it back she would reach up and take it back off my head and try to put it on her own. SO CUTE!!!!!

I think I have some form of special powers, the power to charm babies. there were 3 babies (including Agnethe) and all of them would giggle and smile when I looked at them, besides Agnethe one of them was very happy to sit next to me and offer me the little plastic lettuce head that she continued to slime while gigleing and stealing it back away from me. I love babies, soooo cute!

Nothing much happened besides that, though we did try to go skiing on new-years eve day... but since our internet has been wonky we didn't realise until we were all ready to go that we should probably check. Then it was a struggle to get all the spandex stuff and various other warm clothes off and into normal clothes. Or normal for hanging out around the house clothes. Then I was invited to go into town to pick up packages and return christmas presents... Which I didn't do, fyi. SO, I changed into jeans, because capris sweat pants aren't really what I want to wear outside in this weather.

We went to the post office, and Guro picked up the 2 packages. one of which was Karro's christmas present from me. her self designed converse shoes. they were boring in my opinion, but she likes them soooo... O.O

We went to the grocery store to restock on holiday food. Where I met ski hill boy again, I guess he is the younger brother of a semi famous cross-country skiier. huh, he seems nice enough, but he's a little pushy... I am glad that Karro and Guro will be with me tomorrow. But besides that we got lots of yummy food, and more cola. :D

We spent most of the day just hanging out, snacking and watching the movies and such on tv. At about 8 our guests arrived and at 9 we ate supper... kinda late huh? It was nice, I tried champagne again, and i have affirmed that I do not like champagne. I've had it before, but I thought since i was younger then I might have changed and have more of an appreciation now, but that is not the fact... :P

Everybody except Karro likes the maple syrup candy that Mumand Dad sent Mamma and Pappa in thier christmas present Maine bag. there are only about 3 left, AND I DIDNT EAT THEM ALL IN CASE PEOPLE THINK I DID!!! :D

I have to say, new year is going to be one stuck in my memory. we set off fire works while it was snowing. it seems that everybody in the area was doing the same as us, it was great to see the fireworks going off over the field and down the road and trying to keep an eye on the dogs so they didn't decide to go try a firework for dessert... lol.

I cant really describe how different this new year is compared to what I experienced in the past. I am not sure I can ever experience the breathlessness of watching my family, or one branch of it, running away from a spew of multi-colored sparks right before they fly into the sky right over us. At one poin the air was so filled with smoke from the sparklers and fireworks that you could barely see the snowflakes in the air around you. Then, it was done, the new year was ushered in, and all of our fireworks and sparklers and torches were used up.

Its hard for me to see fireworks here actually. Im used to them in general, my Dad used to set them off for professional shows (before I was around) and so I hear all these stories and Ihaveall my life. Im used to seeing around 7 proffesional shows every 4th of July after spending an indeterminant amount of time with my family (if they are all family I'd be shocked actually...) so, fireworks tend to remind me of my family when I think of them. But, I wasn't homesick until after all the festivities, when I thought about what they had meant to me before I missed my family, but not as much as I normally would have.

In all honesty, I cannot say I had more fun this year because the experience is so completely different than what I am used to. But I deffenitly enjoyed myself. Im sorry, I can't think coherently enough to write, so you'll have to fill in the blanks yourselves. :D I wish you luck with that.

Today, we got up extra-late. And after eating we hae watched such shows as Dirty Dancing and I Survived a Japanese Game Show, which in my humble opinion is AWESOME!!! I love it. We are watching Narnia now, and then HP #3 :D and we eat and drink some more. I might play some Guild Wars too... :D lazy days are the BEST!!!

School is on Monday. EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok, enough of you all trying to understand my ramblings, vi snakkes!

Bad Devyn, BAD!

Im sorry about not posting yesterday or sat... honestly, I had more interesting things to do... :D

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!!!!!

Notice

Hei allesammen!

So, it is Christmas here, as in all the family is coming over to open presents and celebrate, so im not sure if I'll have time to do a blog post today. If not I will post tomorrow after my homesickness is thouroughly taken care of.

God Jul!