Monday, June 23, 2014

September 15, 2013 - What's Different??

Jeg lurer litt på om livet ditt har endret seg litt etter norgesoppholdet, eller om det i det store og hele er tilbake der det var da du dro. Jeg vet du drikker kaffe nå, men leser du mer aviser, for eksempel? Ser du nyheter mer på tv? Følger du mer med i verden enn du gjorde før? Ser du dokumentarer, eller er det mest tv-serier igjen. Hva med politikk, miljøvern, verdensfreden – er du mer interessert i det nå? (Det er valg i Norge nå i høst, og Synne skal velge for første gang... spennende!) Hvordan føles det i dagliglivet å være tilbake – maten, kjennes den annerledes? – været, tenker du annerledes på det? – menneskene, hvordan ser de ut nå med ditt nye perspektiv? – framtida, er den mer spennende eller mer usikker... Fortell! Gjerne på bloggen din, så mange kan se.
My host mom sent me an email recently and asked me the questions above. Yes, I realize that they are in Norwegian, so I will translate for all of you who can't speak Norwegian.
I wondered a little bit about how your life has changed since your time in Norway, or if it is completely back to the way it was before you left. I know you drink coffee now, but do you read newspapers for example? Do you watch more news on TV? Do you follow more of what happens in the world than you did before? Do you watch documentaries, or is it mostly TV-series again? What about politics, miljøvern, verdensfreden - are you more interested in that now? (It is the election in Norway now in the fall, and Synne is going to vote for the first time...exciting!) how does it feel to be back in your daily life - the food, does it seem different? -the weather, do you think about it differently? -people, how do they seem now that you have a new perspective? -the future, is it more exciting or more uncertain...TELL US!!! It would be better on your blog so many people can see."
After I read tat email it got me thinking how much everything has actually changed. When I arrived back in the United States and back isn't the town where I grew up, it felt like nothing had changed, but everything was different.
One thing that has changed, that my host mom mentioned and my real mom hates, is that I do drink coffee now, and also a lot of tea...
As far as news goes, I watch the local news a little bit everyday, but I don't really read the newspaper much. I do get the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, on my iPad and I read that at least once a week. But, the problem is I would watch more news and read more newspapers if I had more time; now that school has started and I am taking 7 academic classes I have almost no time for anything besides homework and sleep. I do try to pay attention to the major things that happen in the world.. When I do have the time to watch TV I usually choose TV series over documentaries. With TV series it is easier too just take a break and focus on something different, and you don't necessarily learn anything, but, it's entertaining...
I am a little more interested in politics and what happens in the world. I still don't enjoy arguments, but I do enjoy knowing what is happening and what is changing in the world. Also, I have begun to discuss politics, and different things a little more. I also, give examples from Norway and share how it is different from the US and how a socialized government is not necessarily a bad thing.
Daily life feels basically how it did before I left. It took about a week or two, then everything felt as if I had never left. I seemed as though my entire year in Norway was just like a dream... It was the strangest feeling to have experienced something completely different and lived in another country for a year, then just come back and feel as though nothing had actually happened. I feel as though my Norwegian is getting worse and worse the more days that I don't speak it. The food here doesn't seem any different than before. And the weather, first it was nice to have it sunny every day, but now I am starting to miss the cold. Now that I have a surplus of sweaters, jackets and wool socks I have no time to wear them, well at least not yet. The people here seem very American. Which obviously, they are American. The same way that people in Norway seem very Norwegian. Some of the stereotypes are true, but it is just the difference in customs and sutures that is just a lot more noticeable now.
What will happen, where I will go to university, and what job I will have still kind of concerns me. But, I am not scared. I mean, what happens will happen and everything will work out how it is supposed to. I am working on my college applications now and trying to find out what I want to major in. I am thinking of international business and modern languages. But, I have changed my mind on which major I will take at least 4 times since I have returned from Norway to now. So who knows, I am definitely not certain of anything that I want or anything that will happen in the future...

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