Pittsburgh

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

Just letting you know that I`m off to Pittsburgh for the weekend to meet up with Catherine, my previous roommate of 2 years in Trondheim!

Appearantly, this is what Pittsburgh looks like:


It takes about 3 hours to get there by bus, and because of school on Monday I will be returning Sunday (during the superbowl - go steelers!!)

Have a great weekend! :)

Snowday!!

I woke up at 5.30 this morning, to check www.scasd.org where we get information about any delays in the school day because of the cold, or if school is cancelled because of too much snow.

And today was one of those days: SNOW DAY!
That means no school..I don`t think we have days like that in Norway..do we?
Anyway, this is the view from my window today:


Not too much snow if you ask me....but I`ll take it!
(sorry the picture is taken from inside, but I fet that going out during snowday would be wrong)

Teaching my first lesson...on Norway!

So gang,
today I taught my first lesson..I had a presentation for the 2 classes I`m teaching where I talked about Norway, and a little bit about myself too.

It was AWESOME (to use an American word), they were really interested, and asked good questions, and they even enjoyed brown cheese!!

Some of them wanted me to speak in Norwegian to them, just to hear what it sounded like. And a girl said:
I have 2 questions about Norway:
1) how cold does it get?
and 2) how do you get your hair to be that long?

The conclusion from my first day of teaching is: this is gonna be fun! :)

JUHU

Gin&tonics and Chinese New Years

I forgot to tell you something really important about Hooters:
The Gin&Tonics there only cost 2 dollars...TWO DOLLARS!
that`s 14NOK...14!!! 14!!!! That wouldn`t even get you the tonic in Norway..
I like this country!

And yesterday I payed 4dollars to get in to a disco and hang my coat..that`s 28NOK!
For that you would just be able to hang your coat in Norway..and that wouldn`t help you, cause you`d still be on the outside, so why would you want your coat on the inside, when you ain`t got no money to get in? you get my point.

This country is cheap, and I like it!

Other than that going out in the US is quite similar to going out in Norway..same music more or less, same dancemoves more or less, same creapy people sneaking up behind you.

PS. Donuts make a lovely night-snack. I recommend the peanut butter cup donut!

Oh, and also: there is a Chinese New Years celebration going down in my kitchen.
That`s all I wanted to say.

Peace out

Mind the bumps

Hooters baby!

One of the decorations in the restaurant:



Friday night was the time for visiting a famous historical American institution:
Hooters!

For those of you who haven`t heard of this all-american awesome concept, it is a restaurant/bar chain, where all servers are female (with hooters) wearing shorts
(borderline panties based on size) and tight tops.
Now, what more can a Norwegian girl ask for on a friday night?
Beats me!

In order to preserve my confidence I decided that all the beautiful girls working there for sure are stupid. It helped.
Anyway, here I am, in my burka with my two hooter-hotties :



PS. There is a small chance my good friend Lloyd might have enjoyed this visit too.

Smack that!

I just remembered that I have to share with you the special feeling of Akon`s "smack that" played by a school band! It truly is a beautiful song..deep lyrics to.

So I`ll let you enjoy that:


Apart from that I`ve spent the entire day like a high school student,
or, almost anyway. I`ve been the shadow of a 14year old boy through his day,
and it was quite interesting. Observation 1) they say the pledge of allegiance to the flag every morning. Observation 2) their days are from 08.10-15.16. Observation 3) they can choose cool subjects like "3D graphic design" from 9th grade (when they`re 14!). Observation 4) some 14 year old boys are really polite and mature, chivalry is not dead in the US!

More basketball!

So, me and Lloyd went to another basketball game, and this time we won!

We also discovered the fact that those who get there first get the best student seats, it isn`t related to numbers where you are placed..so this time, we sat almost courtside baby! I think that`s why the team did so well..they could feel our good energy! I take full credit!

And I also re-discovered the pleasure in popcorn, it`s so nice to grab into my box of popcorn, pull up a fist full, aim it where I think my mouth might be (I`m not sure as I`m still watching the game with full concentration) push the hand against my face, open my mouth and hope that at least a few popcorns find their way.
Then I look down at my sweater and realize that 90% of the popcorn ended up in my hair..man, I feel like a woman! :)

"Pedagogue"

I learn new words over here every day, and today I am proud to bring you the accurate definition of the word "pedagogue": a teacher, especially one who is dull and narrow-minded.

It seems being dull and narrow-minded is something deeply embedded in all teachers.

I was making a vocabulary quiz for my students today, and I felt extremely funny when I wrote:
"Please fill in the right word.
Miss Vasset is about to start teaching and we hope that she isn`t a typical __________"

I think I`m hilarious, but I just realized that the fact that I feel this was very funny might in fact confirm that I am dull?

Well, what can I do? keep laughing at my own jokes.

Martin, Barack and Tupac

So, two big days in the US are coming up:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday the 19th of January,
where we celebrate the birthday of MLK (which was the 15th of Jan. but is always celebrated on the third Monday in January), for his Civil Rights efforts and protests about racial discrimination...



and what better way to celebrate than to inaugurate Barack Obama as the first black President in the US on Tuesday the 20th of January, both for Democrats and Republicans?



Tupac was wrong! ("and though it seems heaven sent, we ain`t ready to see a black president")

Happy MLK day and happy inauguration day! :)

US address

So, I keep throwing my US contact information at you,
take it or leave it, here`s my address:

(didn`t get myself a US name yet, so the name is still the same)
301C Garban Hall, White Course, University Park
Weston Community Center
Pennsylvania 16802
USA

I`m adding a picture that shows how serious me and Lloyd are about fitting in over here..we walk around in our Penn State sweaters trying to be just like the locals:

US cellphone

Hi all!

I finally got an american number:
001 814-206-4869 :)

My Norwegian phone does not want to charge, so I am not able to receive or send any sms from it sadly. So if I`m not answering it`s not cause I`m being rude

Today me and Lloyd went to WalMart..it`s HUGE (like everything else).
But we have both unanimously agreed that it`s too cold right now..forecasts say that it`s between -11 and -15. Wow.
I guess I`m not a viking after all ..she said (and climbed under a truckload of blankets:))

Norway is in Europe, right?

Take a look at some pictures from my first 5 days in the US:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=206024&l=2f1d8&id=736410091

Everything is bigger over here!

Yes, sometimes the people too.
But most definitely school sporting events!
Take a look at this video of a basketball game between the school teams of Penn State and Michigan State, it`s HUUUUGE! a bit different from the NTNUI games I`d say!



PS. We lost, but only by a few points!

Arrival!

Hi again people (the 2 people reading this blog might be Ida and myself, but whatever..HI, anyway!:))

I have safely arrived in the US, after a sprint through Heathrow airport, and A LOT of security checks..I would tell u how many but I lost count right around number 5.
We received a warm welcome here in State College and I`m settled in to my new room (not nearly as nice or cheap as Moholt sadly but it`s ok!).

I have discovered that State College the city is covered in University buildings so there are students everywhere, which is great! :)

My mentor in the high school where I will be teaching (get this:) advanced (!!) English is very nice, and I`ll be starting tomorrow. I`m sad to report that there are no metal detectors by the doors of the school building (aka dangerous minds), but I`ll try to find some drama elsewhere.

In an attempt to blend in I have eaten a lot of burgers, said "awesome!!!" 50 times per day, and to top it off, tonight me and the other norwegian student (lloyd) will be going to a school basketballgame wearing our brand new "Penn State" sweaters.

The city is more or less covered with snow, which makes me feel right at home, but I kind of miss Norwegian food (we learned the hard way that macaroni and cheese, at least the kind u get on a box, is disgusting!).

Hollah back Norway! :)

USA - e pluribus unum...AK

The day has come, I`m finally going to the US, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Interestingly it`s also the country (of the top 20 industrialized nations) that is #1 in: millionaires, billionaires, military spending, firearm deaths, beef production, calorie consumption, energy use, oil consumption, C02 emissions, municipal waste, hazardous waste, rapes, and births to mothers under 20.

If you were wondering, the US map picture shows which state specifically I`m going to (Pennsylvania).

JUUUUHU!

I`ve said goodbye to Trondheim, and am already looking forward to coming back the 13th of April! :)

Stay tuned!