Sorry it has taken me so long to post! This have begun to pick up here in bø.
On Saturday I made my at to Eplefesten (an apple festival) in the neighboring city of Gvarv with my friends Hannah and Clare. We decided to hitchhike there since it was the only form of transportation that didn't separate us from each other. The first 45 minutes or so of walking were looking rather dismal. No one was stopping, and the walk to Gvarv would take well over an hour. We figured we should have made a sign or something. While walking we kept an eye out for paper to write on, but then Clare found an old painting canvas with a broken frame. The back side was clear so I pulled out my bus pen and proceeded to write "Eplefest" on it. Within 5 minutes an older lady and her friend picked us up, they were going there as well. We chatted on the way and soon arrived, saying thank you and goodbye to our driver, Annelise, and made our way towards the festival. The city of Gvarv is very very small. Apart from the farmlands I'd say it is comparable to Fircrest, WA - and that's being generous. The festival was maybe altogether a city block long, with booths selling Norwegian handicrafts, food, and of course APPLES. One booth was there solely for the purpose of trying different varieties of apples! It was delicious. I found myself in a couple circumstances where my Norwegian was better than someone's English so I would get the chance to practice more. I find these encounters less terrifying now and actually look forward them. I find that I speak better and clearer with strangers, particularly those over 35, than I do with students at the school...probably because I don't get as nervous. After walking around and exploring for a while we decided to make our way home. Deciding that making a sign for hitchhiking would yield the most successful results we used another sign on our way back, this time using a paper plate. Within the first few minutes of walking we were picked up by some nice guys who drove us back to Breisås in Bø. I am sure that some reading this may be a bit concerned about
On Saturday I made my at to Eplefesten (an apple festival) in the neighboring city of Gvarv with my friends Hannah and Clare. We decided to hitchhike there since it was the only form of transportation that didn't separate us from each other. The first 45 minutes or so of walking were looking rather dismal. No one was stopping, and the walk to Gvarv would take well over an hour. We figured we should have made a sign or something. While walking we kept an eye out for paper to write on, but then Clare found an old painting canvas with a broken frame. The back side was clear so I pulled out my bus pen and proceeded to write "Eplefest" on it. Within 5 minutes an older lady and her friend picked us up, they were going there as well. We chatted on the way and soon arrived, saying thank you and goodbye to our driver, Annelise, and made our way towards the festival. The city of Gvarv is very very small. Apart from the farmlands I'd say it is comparable to Fircrest, WA - and that's being generous. The festival was maybe altogether a city block long, with booths selling Norwegian handicrafts, food, and of course APPLES. One booth was there solely for the purpose of trying different varieties of apples! It was delicious. I found myself in a couple circumstances where my Norwegian was better than someone's English so I would get the chance to practice more. I find these encounters less terrifying now and actually look forward them. I find that I speak better and clearer with strangers, particularly those over 35, than I do with students at the school...probably because I don't get as nervous. After walking around and exploring for a while we decided to make our way home. Deciding that making a sign for hitchhiking would yield the most successful results we used another sign on our way back, this time using a paper plate. Within the first few minutes of walking we were picked up by some nice guys who drove us back to Breisås in Bø. I am sure that some reading this may be a bit concerned about