Hey there,
October was my second month here in Norway and it was more chill than the first one. As a matter of fact, it started with a one week autumn break that allowed me to have some time for myself and travel a bit. I got to visit some family in Stockholm where my best friend joined me for a couple of days and then we took a night bus for Copenhagen. Those two cities were great discoveries and I was happy to be able to explore more of Scandinavia. My favorite activities were the ABBA museum in Stockholm and the Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen.
The following week, back at work, I took part on an activity for the mental health day at the high school. The students had to saw wood discs on logs and write sentences around the topic of mental health. They were very engaged in the process and came with interesting quotes. It was a good challenge for me as the sentences were all written in Norwegian.
I also got visit from my parents and sister. They came to Vinstra and stayed at my place. We went to visit Maihaugen in Lillehammer for an immersion into ancient Norwegian lifestyle and spent two days in Oslo visiting the Munch museum and walking around Ekerbergparken and the Vigeland Sculpture Park.
We held other activities as a thrift dress sale for the upcoming Christmas ball. It happened in the Kaupanger building in Ringebu that we decorated with many balloons and shiny curtains for the event, serving lemonade in very fancy glasses. I have seen some of the biggest and most colorful ball gowns ever and many girls this night seemed to have found their dream dress.
On the last Wednesday of the month, we had a taco and cinema night for the residents of the student’s home in Vinstra. The movie, Nr. 24, was about a Norwegian World War II hero and how he took part on some sabotage missions against the German invaders. Despite the language, I thought the movie was quite amazing and it taught me a bit more about the role of Norwegians in history.
At the end of the month, autumn was almost over, the leaves had turned orange and had flown away, here the experiencing the fall here was something beautiful. Finally, I have to mention that I love Halloween and spending this time of the year in the youth houses was very fun because of all the decorations we put up and the candies we ate. In Ringebu, we had a costume contest unveiling the humor and creativity of the youths.
Sarah
