Hei alle! What a week it has been here in Trondheim! Here’s what’s been going on:

Last Friday Megan and I did not have school. Apparently it was supposed to just be a day off for the students and a work day for the teachers but somehow the teachers managed to get the day off too. I spent the day walking around the city with Megan and we met up with her mentor teacher Gunvor and her daughter for coffee at a cafe. That night Megan and I made a real homemade meal…which was delicious! We were quite proud of ourselves! All in all it was a very relaxing day that was much needed.

Photographic proof of our delicious meal!

On Saturday Megan and I went on the skiing trip to Mer�ker through SiT the housing office. We met at the Samfundet (basically the off campus student union) early in the morning to board the buses for the approximately 1 hour bus ride to the mountain. It was a beautiful drive through the Norwegian countryside. I began to notice that the weather was getting quite bad the closer we got to the mountain. I knew it was going to be an interesting day when our bus got stuck in the ice and started sliding backwards down the road. We eventually got that situation figured out and we made it to the ski lodge. By this time the weather had gotten pretty bad. I didn’t take a picture but I found one that describes the weather conditions well:

No, there is nothing wrong with your browser. This is actually what it looked like. It was a complete whiteout, but not the Penn State kind. You couldn’t see anything! The students running the program reminded us of an old Norwegian saying: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”. And with that, we were off to get our skis.

After being fitted for my skis the staff sent me down the mountain, without direction or instruction. I must have been quite a sight to see. Unfortunately the ski lift (which was more like a people mover: you stood up on the ground and this contraption literally pulled you up the mountain) wasn’t working on the beginner hill so we were on the “childrens'” slope. Well another Norwegian saying goes “Norwegians are born with skis on their feet”. So naturally the kiddie hill was a bit more difficult than the equivalent would have been in the States. Honestly, skiing was really hard, especially with very little instruction (mostly from strangers willing to help me out) and the conditions. I made it down the mountain twice before deciding I should probably quit while I was ahead (i.e. still in one piece). All in all I would say that the trip was a success because I had the opportunity to chat with some other really cool international students and try something I’d never done before. I would like to try skiing again, but probably on a bunny hill with a patient instructor. =)

Monday was my first day teaching my own lessons. Honestly, my lesson was a bit of a dud. I was teaching my students the causes of World War I (which is difficult in itself), but adding the language barrier on top of that made it even harder. It was a great learning experience because now I know the type of language I need to use, how much content I should try to cover in one period, and general classroom management. My other lessons for the week (another social studies lesson, an English lesson, and a current events lesson) went much better. Being here has really made me aware of how difficult communication can be and that I really need to make a conscious effort to make sure that my students understand my vocabulary, the content we are covering in class, and the work that they are responsible for.

Tuesday was quite a day. In the morning Megan and I had by far the worst bus driver I’ve ever had the displeasure of riding with. Not only was the bus late but the driver kept slamming on the breaks for every little thing! By the time we arrived at school both Megan and I were feeling a bit queasy. Unfortunately things kept getting worse for Megan. After eating food prepared by our students, she began to feel quite sick. She made it home after school okay and we parted ways to our rooms. When I woke up from my nap I saw that Megan had Skyped me saying that she wasn’t feeling well…at all. Long story short, she had been stomach-sick all afternoon and needed to go to the hospital. I think that is the worst nightmare of every student abroad. Norway is known for having a health care system that is very different from the US. Did we go to the hospital? A private doctor? Th emergency room? Did we need our HTH medical cards? We had no clue what the rules were here. Megan’s phone was broken so I called our student assistant Ingrid (who did not pick up initially) and our program director Randi, who told us to take a taxi to the hospital. I finally got in touch with Ingrid who arranged to have a friend to take all of us to the hospital.

The hospital in Trondheim (St. Olav’s) is very similar to the hospitals that I have been to in the States, although there is way more art on the walls. Trying to make people feel more at home? I don’t know. We (Megan, Ingrid, Ingrid’s friend, and myself) got to the emergency room waiting area and took a number. We were called fairly quickly and Megan was taken into an examination room. They took her temperature with by far the coolest thing I have ever seen: it was hand-held instrument that the nurse put on Megan’s skin, moved it around to different areas of her face, and then waited for the beep to see what her temperature was. It was so cool! After the nurse (who spoke wonderful English) left, we waited for the doctor. And we waited. And we waited. About 2 hours later the doctor (who did not speak any English) came in and told her that she needed to get treatment in the emergency room. I’m still not sure what we were in for the first 2 hours, but regardless, we were moved down the the emergency floor.

When we got to the emergency floor Megan’s bed was placed literally in the middle of the hallway. There we waited again. Doctors and nurses just walked around us as if we weren’t there. (We later found out that there was a very serious car accident that required much of the staff’s attention, which is why we were kind of ignored for a while.) Once we waited in the hallway for about 2 more hours a nurse finally took Megan. It was the first time anyone had asked us for identification. Unfortunately we had absolutely no identification or proof of address for Megan because we left in such a rush. Apparently that was no big deal. No one seemed to be particularly worried that we had absolutely no form of ID. I guess that’s just how health care works around here: treat first and ask questions later.

It was about midnight when an emergency room doctor finally saw Megan. He determined that she either had food poisoning or the Norovirus (a.k.a. the Norwalk virus: a very contagious stomach virus that is highly contagious and is usually common in crowded places such as schools and cruise ships). Supposedly the Norovirus strikes Norway pretty hard every year. In fact, many kindergartens in Trondheim have been closed in January and February due to outbreaks of the virus. After hearing that the Norovirus is common in enclosed spaces the daily recess for my students (regardless of the weather) began to make a lot more sense. The doctor basically said that there wasn’t much to do so he sent us home. We had to take a taxi home because Ingrid and her friend had left about an hour earlier (they are teachers as well and had to go to school the next day). We left the hospital around 1am and I was home by 1:30am. Needless to say school the next day was less than fun. I’m happy to report that Megan is feeling much better now! She was really a champ throughout the entire ordeal. It’s scary being sick abroad but she handled it really well.

The rest of the week has been relatively uneventful. I’m trying to get in the swing of things: teaching and writing lesson plans. My social life is a bit dull since I have so much work to do and I’m exhausted after school. Hopefully I’ll be able to get more energy and experience some of Trondheim’s nightlife soon!

So a recap of the week:
-Days off from school are a much fun for the teachers as they are for the students.
-Skiing is hard.
-You don’t need ID to get treated in a Norwegian hospital.
-The Norovirus sucks.

Location: Edgar B Schieldropsvei 42-18 7033 Trondheim Norway