Monday I spent the day at the school with a group that played a bunch of different sports outside. The students played Rugby, Volleyball, a game called Cannon Ball, and their version of American Football. It was a lot of fun to watch the students run around and play in the snow-which there was a lot of! While they were playing Rugby and American Football, the students were not afraid to tackle each other at full speed, and it was awesome to see the girls hold their own with the boys!
The students on Monday had a great time playing various games in the field-Not a bad view either!
Tuesday was probably my favorite day of the week. The group I was with was going cross-country skiing. One of the teachers was kind enough to offer to let me borrow her skis, and at the encouragement of one of the students, I took her up on her offer. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, as I have never gone cross country skiing before. I had an absolute blast! I didn't ski the whole course that the students did, but rather I met them about half way, and was able to keep up with them pretty well! A couple of the girls were hoping I would give them some entertainment by falling, but I'm happy to say I didn't fall once!! We skiied to a rest point, where we had lunch. On the way to our rest point, I was told that when Norwegians go skiing, the usually have three things in their bag: an orange, coffee or hot chocolate, and a Kvik Lunsj (which basically a Kit-Kat bar, but better!) Well, I think I did pretty good, as I had two out of those three things!
After lunch, we skiied back to where the (very brave) students would be camping overnight in lavos, which are tee-pee type structures. After we arrived there, the students had a bit of time to explore, then they were taken to a large field to play some games. After the games, we returned to the camp and hung out, then ate some supper. It was at that point that I said good-night, as I was not quite brave enough to camp overnight (even if the lavos were heated!)
Skiing through the Norwegian countryside was awesome! I'm hoping to go again before I come home!
When I first strapped the the skis on Tuesday, I looked a little like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time!
By the end of the the afternoon, I was a pro! Okay, so not really, but at least I was much more steady on my feet!
On Thursday, the whole school got to go watch day one of the Norwegian National Ski Championship. This was a very cool experience. The students had all had the opportunity to make signs and banners earlier in the week to cheer on the skiiers, and it was cool to see how excited some of them were. While we were watching, some of the teachers would get really excited when a certain skier would pass us, but I, having absoultey no clue about anything related to skiing was completely clueless! All I know is that the reigning champion is also (I believe) the world champion and Olympic gold medalist!
I brought a little Minot State to Norway's National Ski Championship!
This is the scond year that the school has planned a full week of winter activities for the students to do. Last year, I was told they had to cancel them because there wasn't enough snow, which I couldn't believe! I think it is really awesome that the school takes a full week to let the students get out and do various activities and enjoy the great outdoors. For many of them, skiing wasn't anything too special, as that is a VERY popular past time here. It seems that people of all ages (and I truly mean ALL ages) enjoy skiing. While we were out, I saw people I would bet were in their late 70s enjoying the trails, as well as infants being pulled behing their mothers in a little sleigh type thing.
However, while skiing might be a common thing, some of the activities such as camping outside and ice fishing may not have been. All of the students seemed to be very excited to be spending time outside, and the teachers all seemed to agree that it was very important for the students to be having these experiences! Overall, it was a wondering Winter Week!!
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