torsdag 19. november 2009

We suck

Ok. We suck at updating our blog.

But I'm sure it will get better once we get to Argentina, because we should have a lot more to tell. For example, here is a summary of what I have been doing lately: waking up, studying, eating, going to sleep. You see..? not that interesting.
Apart from the fact that yesterday morning I got to ride in a police car.
Yeah, we may or may not have parked our car in a zone where they at 6 (!!) o'clock in the morning started setting up a market, and therefore got our car towed. The police drove us to the place it was parked and I can now for the first time say that I have driven in a police car! (totally worth the fine, right Alejandro?)

However we did also just have a really nice visit: Ida&Simon were here in Spain!
I can mention some of the highlights:
- when an old man started yelling at Ida&Simon in Spanish (or rather, Catalan) for kissing on a bench
- when Alejandro started yelling back at the man
- when we found a swedish street musician
- when the police came and chased away the street-sellers (this was more sad than a highlight, but still, there's something fascinating about a lot of people running with all their merchandise on their back.. I'm sure the people running would disagree with me)
- when Ida&Simon be-friended a girl in a disco so that she could sleep on Simon's shoulder instead of alone on a bench
- when we realized we could order pizza on the door
- when Alejandro&Simon came back with a pedestrian sign
- when someone said "cheers boys" instead of "cheers guys" - no names need to be mentioned
- when we discovered the game Junglespeed

I'm sure there were more, but that's all I remember for now.

A great deal of exciting things happened before November too btw, but that will be too many updates at once. I should however mention that I'm gonna be an aunt! juhu!! :) My sister is il tempo pregnante.

All I need to do now is pass a grammar exam in a language in which I can't speak in past or future - and then it will almost be xmas.
Then I need to take a multitude of injections to get me ready to go to South America.

the 18.of January 2010, I, Ida and Kjersti (the newest edition to our travelgroup) will take off! :) jiiiiiiiiiha

onsdag 11. november 2009

Aachen gefällt mir!

The last months have been pretty intense. A lot of stuff going on, from the day me and my German friend started driving towards Italy and until now, just finishing a great weekend of reunion.

Italy was amazing. We spent 16 days driving, enjoying, singing, speaking bad Italian, driving, visiting, stretching our legs, sightseeing, swimming, driving, eating and loving… And it was also a lot of people to meet on our way thorough the upper part of this beautiful country. First we met Cecilia in Milano, then Fabio in Genoa, AK and Alex flew in and we met them in Pisa, then it was Matteo in Roma, Thommaso in Ancona, Marco, Fabio (again) & Sivia and Gaspare + more in Dezensano del Garda. And on the way back we met up with Anna, Katha, Jitske, Ruth ++ in Austria. Everything about the trip was amazing, thanks to everyone who was a part of it, and a special thanks to my German friend, who - through it all, managed to live with my attempted sing-along to every single song that was played on the radio, in English or in Italian – egal!


Then, after some days in Germany, I flew home to Steinkjer and stayed there for a month, this was in September. The plan was to work as much as possible and then at the same time help out with the renovation going on at home. I ended up only working – and not helping. Unnskyld pappa! But it was very nice to be at home for a while, and now I really look forward to going back for Christmas and seeing everyone again. Can’t wait!

Then, the last weekend of September, we went to München and the Octoberfest. We drove down, again (and that will be the last time in my case – small cars and crazy huge autobahns don’t belong together I belive, cause somehow the cars always end up in a freaking STAU; other places known as a traffic jam). In München we met AK and Alex again, our other half, and also Marco came driving up from Italy.

Monday, the 28th of September I started my language course in Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf is a big city in the eyes of a girl from Steinkjer, and this gives a small reminder of that the girl will be totally lost when she gets to Buenos Aires in January. Hopefully Anne Kristine gets to see some shit going down in the dangerous ciudad of Barcelona, and therefore can take good care of both herself and the Steinkjer-girl when they meet the reality of Argentina face to face (diversion comes to an end, finally, and probably YOU – Alejandros grandma, who of course is a passionate reader of this blog, are very happy about that). Ok, so the language course was to last for one month and by doing a placement test I got to start in Module 2. While staying in Düsseldorf I lived with a woman named Ruth (by her parents I belive), in a nice area 15 minutes walking from the Altstadt. I never walked. I like public transportation. After a month of visiting Aachen in the weekends and getting visits from Aachen during the week I was suddenly done, got a grade that here in Germany is called “Sehr gut / 1,3”, and then I moved to Aachen.

The 23rd of October I was officially an inhabitant of Aachen. And the same day Bente came to visit. Thank you Bente!


I have been living here for two weeks now. And this far I think Aachen is a nice place. I’m doing a second language course here, and today was the first day of Module 4. Apparently I wasn’t smart enough to learn the language in one month, so I’m hereby giving it 5 more weeks. But then it better be fluent.

The 30th of October people began running down the door of a local restaurant here, when we managed to convince an incredible amount of Erasmus friends from the sadly passed year in Trondheim to come to Aachen for a Reunion. Most of them stayed for the weekend… others stayed for a week. It was perfect!


Btw I realized yesterday that even Aachen is a big place for a Norwegian contry-side-girl, when a robbery took place right in front of my eyes in the local supermarket. I was about to pay for my bags of soup and paprika when this woman shouts something, I guess it was “Help… thief… stop him… please!” and then 3 women (working in the supermarket) jumps him while he is running for his life, they hold on as long as they can, but he’s to strong, and suddenly he’s gone… Then I paid and left. Somehow I’m getting there, BA, here we come!

But first, Barca!

-Ida-