Our trip started bright and early last Monday, as our flight left at 6:45 am. Because Harstad is about an hour drive from the airport, we had to be on the road by 5am! I was surprised that even at that early hour, the sun was starting to peak our and the sky looked beautiful!
The sky on the way to the airport!
Once we arrived in Oslo, I was super excited to finally be leaving the airport and going into the city! We got to take a train into the city, which was a neat way to see some of the view as we were traveling.
Once we got into the city, we went to our hotel and checked in. Then, because many of the students were hungry, we set out in search of McDonalds before we went to our first stop of the day. It was interesting to me how many of the kids were so excited to eat at McDonalds, as that is not something they get to do very often. There are no fast food restaurants like that here in Harstad, so they only get to eat there when in a bigger city. One thing that has shocked me about the McDonalds both in Oslo and in Amsterdam is how huge they are and how they are decorated much more nicely than most in the U.S. Most of the restaurants I have seen while here seat 200 or more people and are multiple levels!!
After getting some food in our stomachs, we headed to the Kon-Tiki Museum. Now, I had no idea what this museum was. Before we left, one of the students explained it to me this way-"Well, this guy had an idea about a boat, and people told him it wasn't possible, but he was like like "Nope it will work...science!". Well, her explanation wasn't too far off! The museum told the story of the Kon-Tiki expedition, which was a group of 6 men who sailed across the Pacific Ocean on a raft made of balsa wood. The group was trying to prove that ancient peoples could have sailed from South America to Polynesia. It was fascinating reading about the 101 day journey these men took, and many of the trials they had to endure, such as one man being thrown overboard by very strong winds, and a whale swimming a little to close to the boat for comfort!
The museum had a replica of the boat used on the expedition.
A documentary made about the expedition "Kon-Tiki" won an Oscar in 1951.
After visiting the Kon-Tiki museum, the students had the rest of the afternoon to do what they wanted. This was one thing that really shocked me-the fact that the students were allowed to go out into this city with no chaperones, and do want they wanted. The only expectation was that they would return to the designated meeting point at the designated time, or this privilege would be taken away. I was even more shocked that the whole trip, we never had to wait for any of the students, as they were always on time! Pretty impressive for a group of 10th graders in my opinion!
Anyway, on day one during free-time, I decided to go and race go-carts with some of the students. Getting to the place where we needed to be proved to be an adventure in itself! We ended up getting on the wrong bus and had to walk a ways (more like run as the boys were in a hurry!), but we finally made it! I was excited to try racing! Little did I know, it would be one of the scarriest things I have ever done in my life so far! These cars go really fast, and people were constantly flying by me! I wasn't so much racing as just driving around the track trying not to get hit! Regardless, it was a blast!
Tuesday we had another fun-filled day! In the morning, we went to the Norwegian Parliament building, called "Stortinget". It was really awesome to be able to see this building! The building is absolutely beautiful, with lots of artwork. In some parts, it almost felt like you were in an art museum instead of a government building! The tour we had was given in Norwegian, which I knew going in. I think that had I been able to understand what was being said, that I would have really loved it as I am kinda a government nerd! Luckily, they had a really great little book explaining about the Norwegian Parliament that was printed in English, so I read through that while the students were listening. There are many similarities to the United States government, but also many differences. One of the biggest differences is that Norway has a monarchy. Other than that, the way that bills are passed, and legislative business is done seem to be pretty similar to how it is done in the United States. If you are curious and want to read more, the website for the Stortinget has some pretty good information!
The Stortinget chamber. While we were touring, we got the opportunity to sit in while a meeting was called. The chamber was only half full, and I couldn't help but note the number of women in the room. There are 169 members of the Stortinget. With this half full chamber (so approximately 85 members), I counted almost 30 women!
The outside of the Stortinget building
After we were done at the Stortinget, we had some free time. During this time a few of us walked up to the Palace. The first thing that amazed me was how close you can get to the residence. You can practically walk right up to the front door! One of the students that went with us was so excited to see the palace, and he spent a good 20 minutes just wandering around in front of the building just taking everything in. It was really neat to see how interested in it he was. We also got to see the changing of the guards. While it wasn't much of a ceremony, it was still cool to see. Another student remarked how the guards act like robots!
View of the city from the Palace
Some of the students got as close as they could to the guards for a picture (you couldn't step off of the gravel), but I wasn't quite that brave. Right behind my left shoulder is the front door to the palace!
After visiting the palace, it was time for the whole class to head to the Pop Center. This was a really awesome place. It has a timeline of Norwegian pop music (I recognized a song or two as we were walking through!), but the best part was that the students got to record their own songs! They split the students into four groups, and each group got to pick a song to record. They then went into a recording studio, where they sang. After they finished that, they came out and got to mix their song. After saving their song, they got to dress up in funny costumes and shoot an album cover! All of the students seemed to really enjoy this, and we got a kick out of some of the costumes the students were coming up with!
Wednesday was probably the day I was most looking forward to! Before we headed out on our group activity for the day, I was on a mission. On Monday, I had passed the Oslo Sweater Shop, and it appeared that they had traditional Norwegian sweaters. So, Wednesday morning, I headed out and after a stop at Starbucks, I was determined to go find myself a sweater. Luck was on my side, and not only did I find myself a sweater, but I may have also found one for a couple of other people!
After my journey to find sweaters, it was time to head to the chocolate factory! I was so excited to visit the chocolate factory! Let me just say, the chocolate here in Norway is much better than back home! (Even if I do miss my Reese's PB Cups!!) We went to the Freia Chocolate Factory, which is the biggest factory here in Norway. Yet again, everything was in Norwegian. However, one of the teachers was nice enough to give me the highlights about what our tour guide was saying, so I was able to piece the story together myself. One of the funniest parts was when they showed us a series of T.V. commericals for one of their chocolate bars. They were so funny I had to post them here-enjoy!
I had a truly wonderful time on this trip. While it was fun to see another new city, that wasn't what I enjoyed most. What I enjoyed was getting to have conversations with many of the students, some who I haven't really had the opportunity to talk to before now. I talked to a few of them about travels they have taken, and found out that many of them have done quite a bit of traveling. I found out one of the students really likes to play football (a.k.a soccer). And I had one student asking me some really tough questions about the United States, many of which revolved around our laws, and many which I couldn't answer. Some of them were giving me tips on how to drive my go-cart better. But the thing that stuck out to me is that they are all getting more comfortable talking to me. Many of the students who I got the chance to visit with were ones who don't think they can speak English that well, or don't like talking in English, so I hope by talking to me more and more they realize that they know and can speak much better English than they realize!
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