Bergen Pt. 2

Medieval Wharf

Shops in Bergen

Cathedral

Wolf fish

Bergen Aquarium

Bergen Pt. 1

Elizabeth with a 30 Kroner cup o' tea. (30 Kroner = 6 $)

Bergen

Bergen is a fantastic city. Elizabeth arrived last Saturday, and we spent two days in the city. The city center surrounds a harbor, with one part of the wharf containing medieval buildings and the other part containing modern buildings. We walked around after checking in out our hostel, and saw the local fish market. I have never seen so many decapitated heads in my life. Fish heads, eel heads, etc. There was a funky smell wafting from the tent, but the fish all looked pretty tasty, sans the fish heads. It was a picturesque moment seeing the local fisherman decked out in rubber overalls and Norwegian sweaters.

More on Bergen in the next post.

3 Interesting Facts:

1. The fjord is clear enough along the water's edge that I can see starfish.

2. Brown cheese is brown due to a longer boiling time of the milk, which caramelizes the sugars in the milk.

3. One of the teachers at the Rosendal school has been arrested and interrogated by the Stasi (the East German secret police).

An Overdue Post

It’s been a while since my last post, and there is a lot to cover. Things have been going great, and I’ve even done a bit of teaching too. As I mentioned earlier, school here is quite a bit different and it will take some time/flexibility to get used to it, but it has been a great experience thus far. The teachers/community/students have been incredibly nice, and Jared, Patty, and myself have all been outfitted with touring skis. We have since skied twice. Once to a lake that was still frozen, but looked amazing. The second time was near a ski resort that had a groomed trail that was free to use.

Apart from the skiing, I’ve been doing some hiking as well, as the melting snow is opening up some trails. Rosendal is only a town of 1,400 people, but there is so much to do outdoors. When the snow is completely gone, there are some boulders on the North end of town that look like they will be good for bouldering.

In class, I have taught about Native Americans, U.S. Geography, illegal immigration, and the Rwandan genocide. The students seem quite interested in all of those topics, but are shy during group discussion, which is ridiculous considering the fact that some of the students have English that is equal to their American counterparts ( that’s an exaggeration, but a Norwegian student has not put “idk” for a test answer, something which happened to me in the States). When they do speak, it is really nice to hear their perspective, which gives a greater understanding of not only the world, but teenagers too ( the latter is something I never thought I would want to know about).

My impression so far is the teachers is that they have a much better relationship than the schools I have previously been too. They seem to talk much more with each other, and often co-teach in various lessons. They’ve even been kind enough to let Jared and I in on some of their rituals, like playing darts every day after school. They also have a wine lottery each Friday during the lunch hour, which Jared and I won last Friday. Further, I was invited to help with P.E. today and had it handed to me in soccer by some 10^th graders ( My play was complimented though … for a beginner).

Withdrawal ...

Ungdomsskule

A picture taken during one of my walks around town.

After my first week in a Norwegian school, I think I am beginning to understand how the school works … maybe. School here is quite a bit different than in the States. For example, no teacher controls one room, and no teacher has a desk in one room. All of the teachers’ desks/work stations are in the same room, which the teachers return to after class. The students have been a bit shy, but are curious. Their conversation skills are great, but reading comprehension and writing is a struggle for quite a few. Needless to say, their total English skills are quite impressive. Each time I try to learn Norwegian from the students, I usually get laughed at (for good reason). There are some rolled r’s in the language, and I sound like an idiot trying to reproduce them. Whatever the case, it seems to relax the students a bit, which is what I need to get them to speak in English. It will be a bit of trial and error because I have not taught English, let alone teach it to students learning English as another language. There is a ping pong table in the school as well, and Jared and I have logged some significant time on that. Apart from the ping pong table, the recreation for the students here is great. Many "PE" classes involve skiing and climbing. I went with a group of students to rock climb this past Wednesday. Another student has offered to take me fly fishing! I've gone on a few walks around town, which are wonderful.

We found it ...

At long last, we found the last (S)urge in the world.
Jet lag is a killer. But after taking (S)urge, everything is great.