Let the Craziness Begin!

May has begun, and with that comes the craziness of these last two months. I'd compare May here to November in the US (in Portsmouth, at least). All the small holidays and other days off add up, and you really only end up with half a month in school. International Worker's Day, which the US doesn't celebrate but has its own version of in the fall, was on May 1st, which meant a day off from school. Since we didn't have to get up the next morning, Mathea and I decided to do something Monday night. When discussing what to do, we chose to bake something, the requirements being a lot of sugar and a lot of chocolate. We went back to her house after school on Monday, made dinner and cookies, and hung out. The cookies were some of the best I had ever eaten, and when broken in half while still warm, melted chocolate chunks oozed out like you see in commercials.

Tuesday ended up being a gross day weather-wise, which I used as an excuse to stay in, work on an English presentation, and get stressed out about college. Fun times. Not the most exciting day, but a pretty successful one nonetheless. Wednesday was back to normal school and with that the beginning of our dance unit in gym. We were split up into groups of six and will have to create and perform a dance in a few weeks. It was hard to watch other gym classes outside playing ultimate frisbee (something I actually enjoy) while we choreograph a dance that I will most likely just look ridiculous doing, but I guess I'll make the best of it. Don't expect a video though...

Thursday and Friday were also normal school days with a few rehearsals for our trip to Copenhagen next week (!!). I might be playing horn for a few of the songs which I'm really excited about; the only issue is that the horn the horn player in Kattastrofen found for me to use (which was extremely thoughtful, might I add) is not a regular horn. It has more valves than a normal French horn and unfortunately, those extra valves serve some sort of purpose that makes it hard to play the instrument like a normal horn. I've played around with it and done some research online and talked to a few people, and think I've sort of figured out a way to make it work at least for what I need it to, but it's definitely not the proper way to play it. The fun part though is that it's a good horn for playing high notes and I managed to play a whole octave above what I would usually be able to on a regular French horn.

This weekend (as well as the rest of the weekends in May) was really the exciting part of the week. I woke up way too early on Saturday because I had to go take the SAT. Some things you just can't avoid while on exchange. I'd taken the test last year but in order to be entered for a certain scholarship, I had to have taken it during my junior year (this year). When I got to the place it was held, I saw that Katherine, another of the American girls here with YFU, was also taking it! It was so nice to catch up with her and see how she was doing. I think the test went okay, but it's sort of hard to tell. I'll know in a few weeks, though. After the test I made my way quickly to the central station to catch a bus to Kongsberg, a city about an hour southwest of Oslo. I was going to a confirmation party for one of my host cousins, Carl.

Getting confirmed is quite common in Norway, whether or not you're super religious. I had to miss the actual confirmation part because of the SAT, but going to the after party was my first confirmation experience! There was tons of food and cake and presents and photos and meeting new people, but also time to talk to the extended family I don't see so often. Overall, it was a really nice afternoon and the weather was gorgeous. That kind of celebration is often a time for people to wear their bunads, the national costume/outfit in Norway. I think bunads are beautiful; the detail and intricacy on the many different parts to the outfits is astounding. If you wait two weeks you may even see a picture of me in one ;)

Today is Bjørn's birthday; he's turning 7! We got up early to sing to him in his room and brought him a mango with candles in it to blow out :) I then went back to sleep for a little bit before a big breakfast. Later in the afternoon a bunch of family came over for more food, cake, and presents. The weather was, again, absolutely perfect, maybe even a little too warm if you sat in the sun too long. Everyone was out in their yards, us included, enjoying the early summer while it lasts in shorts and tank tops. Tomorrow it's back to school for another short week, and one more will be in the books. Getting down to the wire here in terms of time left in school and Norway!

Word of the Post:
en bursdag = a birthday

A few pictures, wasn't good about it this week and some of them were taken by Anne and Espen :)

Birthday boy!

Proud cookie bakers

Do you SEE that chocolate???

Pictures never do Norwegian nature justice, but it doesn't help when they're taken on a moving bus...

Nutella cheesecake!