CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

Alloa vs. Blackpool, round two!
Scoreboard:
Alloa: 1
Blackpool: 0
Challenge of the week: Prettiest view from room
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blackpool; Lena’s view:




Alloa; Ane’s view:

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You have one week to vote (it’s easy; just click next to where it says Alloa)! Go, go, go!

The Big Gigantic Massive Catch-up post!

Hello all, apologies for tardy response! Or to put it simpler, I’m sorry the updates have been comming so slowly lately! Also, because of that this post will be very long! I’m going to try to cover ever event that has happened since last time, starting furthest away and working my way towards the present. Good news: I am happy to announce that I have started my new and better life (you know the one with all the pictures?)
Bad news: I suck at it, so if you read any further than this you have officially lost the right to comment on my tardiness at that area.

EDINBURGH!
Yes, as you may remember I was just on my way out the door and to Edinburgh when I left off. And I have to say, it is truly an amazing city.
A fact that might be fun to know; Edinburgh is really close! A 15minutes bus ride to Stirling and a 40minutes train ride to the capital itself, it’s brilliant.
If I am being completely honest, I may have been a little lost part of the time. Okay, a lot of the time. The fun, or not so fun, part is that after having wandered Prince’s street for hours I realized the actual main street was just a crossing of a bridge away. Of course, at the point that I finally figured that out it was almost time for me to go back. I’m not really that bothered though, I had a good time and the streets I was were still pretty cool.

And here are some pictures: I call it; man on horse. (Strangely enough.)

This picture is taken from Prince’s street and those houses you see are part of the Royal Mile, which is the main street.

And this is a cute little house from the same park as pictured above.

And this is just a funky flower bed.


I did find some cool shops!

And here I’ve finally found the Royal Mile! Go me!

The high street had a way older look than the other street I was in, and it had lots of these little thingies hidden around.

This though was, of course, the highlight of my day!

Guess where I’m going when I’ve turned eighteen, the opportunity is just to cool to miss out on! And to all of you who don’t understand the significance of this…well, I have nothing to say to you.
Okay, I have rethought that and considering my grandparents are reading this, I might have to make a few exceptions.

GLASGOW!
Yes, that’s right! Now, I’ve been there as well.

Okay, so I’ve not really seen much of the city as of yet, but all that shall be explained and I’m certainly planning on going back.

I went to Glasgow, more specifically the University of Glasgow with the whole of sixth year in my school to the open day, hence my non experience of the actual town. Open day itself was okay; I thought it was very interesting, but it got slightly boring after a while. The most common opinion among the students was actually that it had been a waste of time. But as I said, it was quite interesting; I got to speak to lots of teachers and they all insisted on giving me flyers on their courses so now I’m very aware of what’s going on at least. I think the problem was that we had too much time, it sound ridiculous, but after a while people really didn’t know what to do with themselves.

There were lots of cool stuff outside of the academic side though, so here comes some more pictures!

We got these really awesome green bags (that I just know Biljana will envy me for)!

And my Harry Potter experience continues! Glasgow Uni is really the (second) coolest school in the world, I’m convinced of it. Although, I have admittedly not seen Edinburgh uni, I might have to go there just so I can compare properly.
Envious? You should be!

And now to something completely different!
I went to a concert just this last Friday, it was great! It was in Alloa’s Town Hall and it was put up by something called Glasshouse. It’s a project here that gives young musicians the opportunity to practice and record their own music, I think. Anyway, it was a show put up by several different local bands, among them Fraser’s band Diallis. Sadly I didn’t take any pictures, please don’t hang me! But I’ll remember to bring my camera the next time something like this comes along.

Another thing I would say I am, shall we say moderately excited about?

...

WE HAVE HOUSE POINTS!

It’s true! We have house points, and at the end of the year one house will win a trophy! Isn’t it great? This place freaking rocks! As it is right now, Devon (my house) is at the bottom with 80points, Grange has 90 points and Forbraes is leading with 100points.
There was a Devon assembly meeting last morning though, and I learned that Devon has actually won the trophy three years in a row! How cool is that? And of course we want to win again, so we were basically told to get a grip next time!
In other school related news I am now a part of the year book commity! And I’ve joined the charity group, did I mention that? I think I might have forgotten, but I did, quite a few weeks ago by now actually.
And you’ll never guess who I got to meet last week!
This chap here:

(Picture from google images.)
Any of you know who that is?

Yes, yes without a doubt. It is undeniably Prince Edward. Indeed.

And he visited Lornshill! But of course we already knew that, the student body that is. That was expected. What was not so expected was when he just randomly walked into my Philosophy class, because apparently he had a few minutes to spare! It was great and I was kind of psyched about it, even though I'm starting to realize it really wasn't that big a deal.

It was cool though, now I can say I’ve met Prince Edward. And if my life goes completely down the drain and this turns out to be the only exciting thing that ever happens to me I can sit as an old lady and tell everyone over and over again how I met someone royal when I was young. How great wouldn’t that be?

(If that in fact happens, I want someone to shoot me. And then take care of my twenty one cats of course.)

A part of me thinks this should be divided into several posts, because some of it certainly deserves their own headlines. But I’m trying to bring the blog up to date with my life, so that I can avoid massive posts like this one, but for now you’ll just have to suffer through.
And maybe a miracle will happen and Lena will actually post something! How much fun wouldn’t that be?

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

Alloa vs. Blackpool, round one!
Scoreboard:
Alloa: 0
Blackpool: 0
Challenge of the week: Rooms

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blackpool; Lena’s room:

Alloa; Ane’s room:
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In this week’s CotW there is not much text, I hope we’ll be able to change that for the upcoming ones.
Now, you have one week to vote (preferably for me)! Go, go, go!

NB! Poll is at the very bottom of the page! (Don't ask me why, I didn't know how else to do this!)

“Would you die silently please?”

Yes, it’s true! The dreaded PIG FLU has finally invaded Lornshill! Which basically means the classes are reduced (very reduced) and that we have something new to joke about in drama. Hence the quote above which was actually my drama teacher to a student with a bad cough.

The student is now off sick.

Another funny episode was when the head of the drama department came in and my teacher explained that we were watching a movie because with only five people there wasn’t much use doing anything else, the reply she got was this: “What, are they all dying now?”

Of course it’s not all fun and games with this swine flu, at least I’m pretty sure the sick students don’t think so, and today we actually got a pamphlet on it. And also the teachers have been putting up posters with coughing people on. We’re taking this seriously I’ll have you know! Although, my drama teacher’s theory is that now that so many have caught it already they won’t bother closing the school. I’m not quite sure what I think about that…

But let’s talk about something more joyous! I was at an African themed barbeque last weekend, and let me tell you, Scottish people know how to party! The majority was admittedly Peter and Alison’s age, with quite a few twenty somethings and the odd representation of other ages. But it was really the most fun I’ve had in ages, everybody had dressed up in something they deemed typical African. This of course meant there was a wide range of costumes from ‘African outfits’ to animal themed outfits to movie lookalikes. Two people who stood out in particular were maybe the man dressed as ‘The African queen’, anyone know the movie?, and the younger man who had actually turned himself brown for the occasion and was running around in a hemp skirt. It was all great fun; the Scots are all very friendly and open.

Also, I feel it is my duty to inform all of you of this one thing I was recently made aware of. You see, the Scottish schools are very informative, I’m always learning something new. The latest is this; I don’t exist. I’m sorry to disappoint everyone who thought otherwise, and let me tell you I am just as surprised as you are! Now, one would expect this kind of information was something I’d picked up in philosophy right? Well, I’ll have to disappoint you again; it was actually Mr. Taylor, my modern studies teacher, who told me this. Then again he was only the messenger; the real source was … the IT department!

Now, to all of you who didn’t understand, this is just another great example of my shitty humor. The issue was really that I still do not have a log in on the school computers and apparently am not yet admitted to the big system, hence my non existence. But what fun would it be to just put it like that!?

And here! The promised picture of my school uniform, taken on photo day as well! By me admittedly, but never mind that.

To be perfectly honest I wasn’t all that excited about the jacket, it probably doesn’t help that I’m swimming in mine, but I think it sort of looks like a cross between a brass band uniform and a sailor’s jacket.
Update on the jacket, which really is a blazer, thing! After a careful study of the other students at my school I have come to the conclusions that my blazer is the boy version (which explains why it fits me so badly) and also I have to say that it’s starting to grow on me. Why? Because it has like thousands of pockets! It’s got three pockets on the outside and two on the inside, and to be perfectly honest, that is quite handy! So yes, it has definitely grown on me through the past week and now I think it’s just brilliant! I can fit everything in my pockets; whatever shall I do without it?

And then lastly a note on the Weekly challenge segment!
Lena and I decided together that the first challenge will be; rooms! Then I decided, admittedly without consulting Lena, that it will start first next week. Lena of course thinks we should just go ahead and start RIGHT NOW! But here’s the catch, Lena has just arrived in Blackpool and took a picture of her room right away. I’ve been here for nearly three weeks, and let’s just say my room need’s a bit of tidying (especially since my mom sent me everything I had forgotten and everything I didn’t know I would miss) before it’s presentable for anything. Since it is a weekly segment I’m going to try make it so that the poll’s are open just for a week so that it is just possible to vote for that particular week’s challenge, if I just manage to do that that is. But it can’t be that hard, I’m positive I’ll manage!

Maybe I also should mention that I am dead tired of waiting for Lena to get her ass moving and actually posting something, so I took the liberty of ignoring the one-post-each rule and just post something. Also, I have decided to start a new and better life! Meaning I’m going to start taking loads of pictures, because really, pictures are fun! And now if off to Edinburgh!

Either it’s Wednesday, or it’s not.

The long awaited, at least from my side, rain came today! Leaving me looking like a drowned rat after the twenty minutes walk home from school, but no matter, I’ll always dry up again sometime. Like in June or something. Seriously though, it could have been worse. It’s been raining the whole day, but when the end of school came around it really wasn’t more than a shimmer of rain. It got worse though, but now it looks like it’s stopped again. Just my luck, eh?
And now it’s raining again, what on earth?!

Okay, here are a couple of things I’m not going to talk about in this post:
My house
My room
My school
Disappointed? Now that I think about it, what will I talk about?
Never mind, here’s the reason:
Lena and I have decided to have a weekly segment, don’t know how long it will go on for before we run out of ideas, but if I get my way it’ll be around for the whole year. It’s called Challenge of the Week and we’re going to fix it so that there’s a poll under each post so that you all can vote. (This blog isn’t called Alloa vs. Blackpool for nothing!) We’ll come up with different challenges and you’ll vote for one of us! Easy as that. At first we’ll probably start up with some stuff like whose room do you like best, whose house is coolest, who’s got the nicest view from their window. Stuff like that, and then we’ll just make it up as we go along. Now, we’re not starting up before Lena has arrived in Blackpool obviously, and that is why I am holding back a bit on some of the information.

However, out of the goodness from the bottom of my heart, we will not have a challenge called coolest school attire. Therefore I will post a picture of my uniform here! When I figure out how to do it of course. Great! It’s all good fun.
...
Okay, so the picture thing is going to be a bit delayed (I’m rubbish at taking pictures of myself and I haven’t found the magic button that will make the camera do it for me yet.) But I figured you’d be happy with an update instead of waiting for me to stop farting about with my camera. (I love that expression!)
But, I guess I can tell you a bit about my school now as well. Just because I’m feeling oh so nice right now.

I am enrolled at Lornshill Academy, United in Effort (!), and the school building is brand new! Of course that just means that no one really knows their way around yet.
I’m not sure if I’m in fifth or sixth year, according to my age I’m a sixth year, but it’s an ongoing debate.
Also, I’m in Devon house! How cool is that folks?
Now, to all of you who have been dying to know how we get sorted, here’s the truth:

Step one; wander out from the school theatre looking like you’ve just fallen down from the moon.

Step two; ask a random teacher about when you’re supposed to go see the study counselor.

Step three; random teacher will say this (at least if you’re me): Oh, right. I think you’re in Devon house, go stand over there.

And that’s about it. Later I realized that the fact that my host mother is head of Devon house probably had something to do with it as well, but as one of the students told me, the houses really don’t do anything at Lornshill. As I understand it, it’s just a way to keep better track of the students or something.

The subjects I’m taking this year are as follows: Psychology, philosophy, modern studies and drama! It all sounds pretty good right now, but drama is definitely the best! Also I’m trying to get something worked out so that I’ll get some sort of English lessons as well. The day at Lornshill is pretty different from a day at a Norwegian school. We start the day with tutorial, that’s a registration class where you go to get registered (oddly enough), and then we have two periods before break. Break is about fifteen minutes and the students hang around “the hub”, often grabbing a bite to eat. The cafeteria at Lornshill is open trice a day. Once in the morning, offering breakfast to those interested. Once during break, where they among other things sell something called ‘rolls’, which are pretty ghastly. It’s basically bacon or an odd sort of sausage in the whitest bread imaginable and nothing else. And of course once during lunch, where they have quite a lot on the menu, my favorite being the Panini’s at the moment. After break we have two more periods before lunch (which is fifty minutes long) and then yet another two periods before we go home. All of my classes at Lornshill consist of different people, because the students can chose whatever they like from the subjects and then they’ll put together the classes based on that.

In other news, I am happy to announce that I’ve been working on getting my whole phone dilemma sorted out and that I have now succeeded. Of course, as some of you already may know, it wasn’t all that easy. I somehow during the process managed to get my phone blocked and all of a sudden I needed a PUK code. After some advice from someone not as technically retarded as me I went online to my networks homepage, searching for an answer. Just as it happened; how do I get a PUK code, was a part of the most asked questions section. I was told that all I had to do was signing in to my account or register, and then I would receive the code. The only problem was that to sign in I needed to type in my phone number and then a code to verify that I was in fact who I claimed to be. That code happened to be sent to me as a text, to the phone that was blocked of course. So, to get my PUK code so that I could unblock my phone I needed to register using another code that was sent to my blocked phone. Who on earth could ever think that would be a practical system?

The solution: I bought a new sim-card.

It was actually the cheaper solution as well, and now my phone is working! (Mostly…)
And that’s about it for this time! Now go make Lena write something again and I’ll try think of something clever to tell you about for the next time as well.

And I am still in Molde

First, unlike Ane, I don't have too much to tell. Second, I must apologize if you expect a witty, well-written post.
Not everyone can write as well as Ane, but I realized to late what a mistake I had done when I agreed to share a blog with her.

I am still in Molde, and I won't be leaving Norway until next Saturday. Since Saturday is really not that far away I should start packing soon. Well, if you know me, then you know that I'll end up packing the day I leave and thus making me forget things at home.
On Sunday (I have to stay in Winchester until then) a bus will take me to Blackpool. There I am staying with Val, Tony and Jade and Elisabetta, a student from Italy. They all seem very nice and I can't wait to meet them.
I'll miss my friends and family though, but on the other hand I don't have to listen to my fathers poor jokes (he is the only one laughing) and my annoying sisters for a while.

I am in Scotland

Okay, so I wrote this a couple of days ago, but haven't had a chance to post it untill now, so you'll probably feel that this is a bit outdated and this is what you do then. Nag on Lena to make her post something and I'll promise to update a little quicker with the actual life in Scotland.

As you probably understand I am in Scotland. Right now. It’s kind of unbelievable. I’m just going to start with a quick summary. I am in Scotland, more precisely in a small town called Alloa. Alloa is the largest city in the county Clackmannanshire, and it’s actually a bit smaller than Molde! I’m staying here in a very large, old English house, with what seems as a very pleasant family of four. I haven’t actually met the daughter in the house, but the rest of the folks seem very nice.
I left Molde a rainy Friday evening (just last Friday really), with the plan of driving to Oslo so that I could reach my flight at a quarter to seven. This of course meant I had to be at Gardermoen airport at a quarter to five, which was jolly fun obviously.
Now here’s a quick little fun fact before I proceed: When travelling (at least with planes) you need your passport. Leaving without it and then driving for say, thirty minutes means you’ll have to go back and then leave again which will cost you about an hour. Not that I would know anything about this by personal experience. Of course not, I’m just saying.
Anyway, we finally reached Gardermoen in the early morning, just in time, and here we met yet another challenge. This is probably a good time to tell y’all that I always get these sorts of troubles when traveling, and that this time I had a lot of them.
In the last letter I received from EF I was told to meet up at a BIG stone sculpture at the right of the entrance. Now, when you enter Gardermoen it is quite correctly a big sculpture shaped as a stone that catches your eye, only it’s to your left. So my mum and I walked over there thinking whoever had written the letter didn’t know left from right although that seemed a bit dodgy. Still, by the big stone sculpture we actually met another EF student so it couldn’t be all wrong. Then my stepfather called and told us that on the other side of the airport (to the right) there was a sculpture as well, only this wasn’t BIG, it was actually quite small, shaped like an upside down U and made of steel. See how I was confused there? Now, to all of my friends who are also travelling with EF this year. If your letter says to meet by the BIG (yes, in capital letters) stone sculpture, what they really mean is the small steel sculpture.
Then EF realized that because of some technical problems they hadn’t actually booked my ticket. Now, if I may ask, why does that kind of thing always happen to me? This made it so that I was placed by myself on both flights and then, as if that wasn’t enough, the grumpy tax free lady forgot to give me my boarding card back so that I had to run across the airport like a maniac, in heels as well, while the other passengers started boarding the plane. Luckily things went a lot better after that point, the other EF students travelling to Scotland were all quite pleasant and I had a good time travelling with them. After a short wait at the airport in Edinburgh my host-parents came to meet me and we drove to their home in Alloa where I got to meet their oldest son. Their daughter will be home in a couple of days.
Scotland met me with a clouded sky and lots of wind, the best weather we get here according to Fraser. And tomorrow I’m starting school; I’m sort of starting to dread that to be honest. It feels very strange being here, I can’t really explain it, but I believe Jannicke and Lena will understand when they have arrived in Tokyo and Blackpool respectively. It feels like so much has happened, but at the same times nothing really worth mentioning. Also, I feel a bit like a nag right now. This became quite long, but in my defense there was a lot to tell. And I think I’m all out of words now, I’ll write some more later or tomorrow or something.