Tur

Hike (or something)
I won't be updating the blog tomorrow because i'll be going on a hike with the other 1st year students. About 60 of us will hike 10 km into the woods near the school, camp for the night, and return the next day to catch the bus home. That means no school Fredag! Hopefully it goes well.
Today was Onsdag, which as i said before is my most confusing day. this week instead of gym i had Norsk (which is like our english classes in the U.S.). I also had all my other core subjects; math, sociology, and science. The only thing i got out of my chemistry lesson today was that potatoes are made of starch... he must have talked about them for the full 45 minutes, i think.
At 7, me and Nina went to talk to my main teacher/counselor person at the school Richard. It was like a parent/teacher thing. he told me that Norwegian classes will start for me and the other exchange students at the school (there are 2 more) next week. that will help a lot in my learning norwegian. my goal is to be able to understand and talk in 2 months...
Jeg skal skriv Fredag! Ha det!

Mondag og Tirsdag

Monday- Monday was pretty fun. school went by a bit slowly but other than that it was ok. At 4:45, me and Zehra, an exchange student from Turkey that lives in my town, took the train to Lillestrom, where we met some people from AFS to take us to bowling. Before that, however, we had pizza at Peppe's, and "American" style restaurant in the mall. the pizza was really good! at the restaurant, i saw a very strange sight... here's what i put on facebook:

Ate "American" pizza at a restaurant today and evidently I was the only person who even noticed the guy in a one piece red spandex suit walking with his friend down the road.

Yep, that happened. Also, i've realized that Norwegians like to say "Whazzup?!" a lot, like from the budweiser commercial. its very entertaining! 

Tirsdag- Today the only thing i really did was go to school and then at 6 go to football practice. I've been hard at work on my Norsk, and even started a novel today! With the help of the teacher and google translate, i got through almost 2 pages! Almost. I also had a craving for Friendly's today,  in the middle of gym class. It'll probably end up on a list of stuff to do right when i get home!

Ha det bra!

En Uke

One Week
Well, it's been exactly one week since I've been with the Gusteruds. While a challenging one, it also brought a lot of things to light with me- my life is already changing i think!
Today, being sunday, is normally a family day for me in America, so i was missing that a lot. One of the biggest parts of this is sandwich sunday. I'm looking forward to that so badly!
We got to sleep in a bit today, until ten (not like my usual 12-2 wake up time) when we had breakfast as a family. After that, we all straightened out the garage for an inspection tomorrow. I also finally got around to putting up some pictures on facebook today!
This will be a busy week for me. Monday i meet with other exchange students in my area for bowling, tuesday is practice, nothing on wednesday, practice thursday, then a short practice/team BBQ. Saturday me and the 1814's fly to Bergen for our 2nd game, about a 45 minute flight.
Ha det!

Fint dag!

^probably spelled wrong
Today was a really good day! Me and Martin woke up around 8 and had breakfast as a family, then headed to a cafe to meet up with the bus to take us to our first football game! The game was in tønsberg, about 2 hours of driving. I played mostly offense, but got some defense time in, too. We won 33-0.
After that, we got home at around 8. About half an hour later, some guys from the team came over and we went out for a 10:00 kebab run. It was great! When we finished we went home and played some charades and listened to music.
I think I'm starting to enjoy this more and more each day now! The homesickness was probably at it's best today, so I was very happy. Ha det bra!

Americansk Fotball

Today was a pretty long day, even though I got out of school over an hour and a half early. My classes are 2 hours each and were mostly in the morning. I'm tired all the time... I don't think I've really ever been so tired! Luckily my fellow exchange students agree.
After school, I hung out in my room mostly. At around 4 we had soup with ham and vegetables (sope med skinke og...vegetables...). Dinner was early because we had a short football practice at 6, and Martin doesn't like to practice on a full stomach, something I agree with.
After practice, we went to a soccer game (it was pretty much pouring today, btw) with martins friend Stian. Then we went back to the house for a little more dinner, this time we made pasta and put ketchup on it (when I was surprised, they looked at me like I was crazy!) and it was great! Definitely something I'll bring back to the states.
Tomorrow we have our first game, and even though I've only had 1 practice I'll probably play nearly the entire game due to the lack of players. Should be fun! Ha det bra!

Hjem... :(

Today was definitely my hardest day yet, as far as homesickness goes. Some weird things i missed were getting picked up from practice (after football practice) and (not really weird) playing with my dog. As always, i miss my family the most.
Regarding school, it was probably my easiest day. i had about 3 hours of gym in the morning, then lunch, then a health type of class call fitnesslaere. I slept right through that one because the teacher didnt speak much english. Nina picked me up at 1:45 to go get my residence permit at the police station... that wasnt very exciting, but at least its done! i get my social security- type number thing in up to 3 months, they said.
At around 6, me and Martin went to football practice. it was a lot of fun, and much easier than in the states! Mostly because there are only about 12-15 players. Saturday is our game, and i may or may not be playing in it because my AFS local contact wanted to meet me.
She contacted first my host family, then they printed out the email for me. she wanted to set up a grill/pool party. Speaking of which, our first AFS gathering is this monday; we're going to norwegian pizza and bowling... i can't wait to see what thats like! Ha det!

Jeg Snakke Litt Norsk?

(I speak a little Norwegian?). Today was Onsdag (the o should be an o with a slash :/), wednesday, probably my most confusing day. the classes get switched around, split up, and meet in different places with different teachers and students! It's also the only day i sometimes wont have gym. The scheduling system here works by weeks, this week being the 34th. After skiole, me and Nina, my host mom, will go to the police station to get my residence permit.
I'm going to try my hand at a little Norwegian now to tell you what I had for dinner! Its probably not spelled right, so... yeah. Vi ha laks, potet, gulrot og blomscauli, og aspragus. laks ha saus med smor og egg. Vi ogso ha sjokolade pudding med vaniljesaus. Velde bra!
All the norwegian in this post is my own... no translate! Basically, i'm wrong with most of the grammar.
In the skole, they have speakers that the russ (seniors) play there rap+techno (yes, american rap and scandinavian techno. rap is odd, but techno was expected...). Today, a student played party in the usa and i couldnt help but smile. They also play teach me how to dougie, to which the americans in AFS danced to in the talent show last week.
An interesting thing i learned today was that Tom, my host father, bought and restored Charlie Sheens car. He said he afraid to turn on the AC for fear of... dust... coming out!
Finally, i think i'm going to tell everyone the weird things i miss every day. Today, it was traffic on I-95 and putting away groceries at my house. I wont be saying the same things next summer, i suppose

Dag 2 av skolen!

Today was my second day of school. I think it was much better than yesterday, but i still look at my schedule like an idiot!
I also went to my first practice at the 1814's, the local american football club. There aren't nearly as many people as in America, only about 15-16 total. Saturday will be my first game, in a town 3 hours away.
I'm definitely missing home now. The saying/ song "You don't know what you've got til it's gone" has never been truer. It's so strange what you miss when you wont see it for another 10 months! Tomorrow I only have skole, then maybe I'll make plans for the afternoon. Ha det!

Skole!

Today was my first day in Eidsvoll VGS. It's so much more different than what I expected! Unlike Daniel Hand (my American high school) there are no semesters, and classes change day to day and week to week. hopefully I can get the hang of it!
I also learned a bit of Norsk, but just random sayings. And the names of fingers, that's really important. I can only pick out certain words when people talk to me, however. I dare you to tell me your chemistry class is hard.
Tomorrow brings a whole different schedule and my first Norwegian American football practice. These happen tuesdays and thursdays 6-8. This thursday, however, i am going camping with the rest of my 1st grade class. (grades start over in Norwegian high school. I'm a freshman again, basically.) Wish me luck!

Hjem!

After 4 days of orientation camp in a norwegian hotel, i have finally arrived at my new home in Eidsvoll, Norway. i have a room to myself, which is really great. Tomorrow i get right into things and head to Eidsvoll VGS to try to figure out a schedule for the year. I'll be taking the P.E. course in the first year. I think it'll be easier than school in america, mostly because i have to wake up 2 hours later!
My family is really great, seems like i wont have many problems getting into a routine or anything. They say that tomorrow, they will only speak in Norwegian! Better learn fast...

Found my host family!

Well, just 2 days before I leave, I received my host family! I'll be living in Eidsvoll, about 20-45 minutes away from Oslo. I have a mother, father, and 3 siblings, Martin (18), Cristoffer (23), and Camilla (25). Looks like I'll be picking American football back up too, as Martin is on the 1814's, the local club team.
I've been packing the past couple days, looks like I'll fit everything (what a relief), and I've got everything I need (i hope...).
Tomorrow, I take up the adventure of a lifetime!