14.50

It's 14.50. I also have 14 school days left at RCN - ever! And 50 days until graduation. Time flies, huh.

This means that exam studying has kicked in. First years are starting Leirskule training (see "Leirskule" for more) meaning their away most of the afternoon and second years have crawled back to their desks, the library and classrooms for reviews and intense studying. Even though we just had Easter, the usual afternoon-tiredness is kicking in and coffee seems like my best friend once again.
(I even decorated it with this lovely picture saying "I'm so tired, I just want to sleep for a couple of days" - seemed appropriate :)

In reality it isn't that bad. We are socializing a lot, every night (hint the tiredness) and enjoy every last moment in beautiful Flekke. Today I am going to take pictures for my second year corner in the yearbook. I took the one below on Saturday, but I have a slightly different idea in mine now.. You will see! Anyways, the sun is out and has been for the longest time (except for the occasional snow storm). It is also supposed to stay out for at least another week. Spring might have actually come to Flekke this year! 

As I am waiting for a letter or an e-mail to come with my financial, my book, that I ordered over a month ago, finally came today. I have promised myself not to read it before I have finished my English books for exams, but I am really excited. I don't actually like reading, but maybe I have just gotten so used to school literature being throw at me with a deadline, that I forgot what it was like to read for the literature itself. We will see how it goes. My motivation to finish my books for English is high now, because I just want to get started with "Looking for Alaska". I don't know much about it, and the reviews are mixed, so let's hope won't disappoint me. 

Happy belated Easter to everyone! 

Last, last, last.. and then?

The fourth and last term for RCN's class of 2013 is halfway over.
This means last sledding-trip, last Global Concerns day, last cultural day.. Last times of everything, and then what? It ends. Something else starts. But what?

I think most of my class, including myself, has realized that the unknown future is coming our way, meaning that we've put away excuses and blog updates in favor of tea, long walks, pool parties and RCN fun. I hope this explains my lack of updates. I'll try to make up for the lost with a picture update now:

In February, while the first years were off to ski-week, we had reading week. This is a week off to study and prepare for the following week's practice exams. This was my life. A cup of coffee and a bowl of fruit. Not to bad, huh? 

Following the tradition, we pranked the first years for their return to campus. The second years always switch around their curtains, so when they come back tired from skiing, they have to walk around from room to room and find out who has their curtains. Furthermore, Tenzin (Tibet/India) and I blew up what felt like a million balloons and put them in Maja's (Sweden) bed, and hung toilet paper in Nkanyezi's (Zimbabwe) bed. We are such sweet roommates :) 

Reading week meant quiet! Everyone was studying and having fun. Study breaks meant many walks and tea sessions like here - an early morning sunrise, Flekke style! 

Just my new wall of physics........ 

As the sun rises, it also sets - Flekke style! 

Maja's (Sweden) parents sent her a sushi kit = many room-sushi-dinners. Mhmmmm!

And then the sun came, for real! It has not rained in Flekke for what feels like forever! Though it is freezing cold and icy, because the snow that does melt freezes again over night, it is beautiful. Nothing a photo can capture. 

Since we only had one Danish birthday last term, they are all coming now. Kris (Denmark) and I have been trying to bake awesome cakes, but it has been hard to to beat the "kagemand" (cake-man) above!

 

The following birthday we failed at beating it, even with more than 50 pancakes and Nugatti (Norwegian version of Nutella) - Frida and Hannah (Denmark) beat us, baking amazing cinnamon buns. Don't worry, we're back on track now!  

Aaaaand room-pictures for the yearbook. The condoms is a long story, involving Noot's (Thailand) prank after ski-week, that I didn't explain earlier, but here is a sample photo. 

Our group of 5 (Florence, Christine, Veerle, Carlos and I) who always watch Pretty Little Liars together threw a Pretty Little Liars season finale party for ourselves.

And finally: today is Afro-Caribbean Day and I am off to the show in a minute. Here is some pictures from the Bazar. 

Take care! 

100 days of RCN

There are no words for this.
Today, we have 100 more days in the fjords of Norway, to enjoy the rain and brighten up the night.

My friend, Alonso (Peru) has made this blog and I just had to share it http://rcn100.tumblr.com/
Take a look through his experience - I think it will talk for itself.

- Mette

RCN MUN 2013

Dear readers,

As this year's RCN Model United Nations conference has officially been opened with tonight's Opening Ceremony I would kindly invite all of you to take a trip with me back to last year's conference, but also to look at the changes for this year. The travel from the delegate of the State of Palestine of to Ms. Mette Dehlbæk, chair of the DISEC committee.
Again this year MUN last for three days including today, tomorrow and Tuesday. Delegates in DISEC will be discussing, with me charing, the question of total elimination of nuclear power and so far it seems as it is going to be a fruitful debate. Delegates are as always asked to use formal language and dress accordingly to the formal dress code. Delegates not following these instructions may be excluded for the chamber for an amount of time set by the respective chairs.

.. Okay, really, it gets old. I can talk like this all day, no problem. I love dressing up and I wouldn't mind doing it every day for the rest of my life, but when I get home, back to my room and put on pj-pants and a sweat-shirt, I wanna be able to let out my thoughts and use "I" and not "the chair".

Just like with a lot of the other things I am experiencing this year, it is a totally different but just as meaningful experience to be 'on the other side'. I see the first years going through MUN with thoughts exactly like mine were a year ago, and still they don't understand that the advice we give as second years are really from experience. I guess everyone will have to learn on their own.

Here is a link to the media's blog: (yes, a gossip column from the conference) - most of it is pretty funny: http://mun2013.tumblr.com/ 

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As IAs (Internal Assessments) are thinning out (I finally finished) and mock exams are only three weeks again, the end of the term; the two years and graduation seem closer and closer. Though it seems like this winter will never end and I will never see anything but a school book again, summer is really getting closer quite rapidly and suddenly it will be May. Universities, summer jobs, drivers license and future plans are filling our senior heads, as we try to get every last squish of joy and happy memories out of this place.

Hopefully we will succeed as many items have already been checked off my bucket list. More about that in the future post :)

Happy almost last month of official winter (even though we all know about Flekke and snow in May..)

ToK Moments

It's Thursday morning, a pretty usual school day. I just sat through yet another Theory of Knowledge presentation (ToK) and it got me thinking. Theory of Knowledge is a course mandatory for all IB students, in order for us to become 'critical thinkers.' In the end of the course, which at RCN ends after the third term, everyone has to do a ToK Essay and a ToK Presentation. I don't want to go into more detail, because most people taking the course probably still wouldn't be able to explain to you exactly what it is.

Today, my friend Alonso (Peru) had a presentation of our aesthetic perception. He was talking a lot about how for example the layout of an university website defines part of our final decision. This made me think. I have gone on to many university sites, after reading just a big about them on CollegeBoard. Many times I haven't been too impressed about the school from reading and have then gone on to an unorganized and to be not very pleasing website leading to me often not giving the school much consideration. The other day I went on a virtual tour of a Campus and even from pictures of a school I had really liked from reading, I didn't find it the buildings and the feeling I got from this very personal and therefore not very pleasing to me. I think this had a big impact on me as I went on to further reading and learning about the school (that I have now decided probably not to apply to anyways.)

Some of our discussions after the presentation made me think about my schooling and how we learn differently. I remember when I took piano lessons, how I had a very clear way of learning. If I got a piece to learn for the next lesson and my teacher didn't play it for me before leaving, it could take me a very long time to get it right, but if she just played it once I would remember and hear it right away if I played a wrong tune. In that way it always  worked much better for me to hear and get things explained than to read them myself. It made me thin of how weird it is that no more research or effort has been put into developing people's different ways of learning. If someone is very visual vs. someone very oral and everything is taught in lectures, do we really give everybody the same fair opportunities for education? I don't know. I just wanted to share some thoughts as I am waiting and waiting for the big university decision e-mail.

Tonight we have advisor movie/Christmas night. I think we are watching one of my favorites "The Polar Express", eating Christmas cookies and drinking Gløgg (traditional Nordic Christmas drink, in this case non-alcoholic).

8 more days until home!

Follow Up (in pictures)

As promised: me and the Queen of Norway.

Okay, I admit it. I didn't get a picture with the Queen, of course not, I'm not important enough for that. But I saw her, I smiled at her, I talked to a minister instead and met a lot of other interesting people. 

Northern Lights: Here is one of my pictures. It was the strongest, most beautiful Northern Lights I have seen, better than last year. Unfortunately it is very hard to photograph..

Since my last post forever-ago, I went to the US and found my dream school. I applied and now I'm waiting. Yesterday I had a Skype interview with another school, but it's not even comparable. Cross your fingers for me :) 

On Saturday, we had the Asian Day. Here's some pictures, but the structure was like the European and American day, that you can read about here and here. 

Currently, Christmas has moved into my corner and Sweden House. I live off Christmas cookies and hot chocolate and studying with "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" blasting out of my headphones. This Sunday I organized a Christmas gathering for the Danes and we watched Danish Christmas shows, listened to Danish Christmas song, ate Danish Christmas food and made Danish Christmas decorations. It was lots of fun and very cozy. I have been counting down the last 24 days until we leave (the RCN December month) and today is the 15th. Almost there :)

I am getting very excited to sleep in my bed and eat my mom's food and see everybody again, so I can go back, fully charged, for the fourth (and last :S) term. It is a bit scary that the time is flying so fast, but I guess it is all just about enjoying as much as possible what we've got for now.

Phew, very fast and brief, but lots more to mention. I will update more later!
Take care and Merry Christmas.

Back to Busy

I know I still owe an update about the Queen and Oslo. Until that comes in here's a link to an article written by the school on the event. There should also be a couple of pictures coming from the outstandingly amazing Northern Lights we had here last week.

For now the update is the following:
This past weekend I went to my host family. It was an amazing weekend away, a good break, lots of cake and good company. I made this with my host mother and cousin:

(Hoping it will make my bedstemor and aunt proud!)

Apart from that I am working hard to finish everything before next Friday, so I can travel to the big USA and enjoy my time there away from too many books. Also, I am working hard on finishing my first college application and I must admit that after rewriting a supplement 3½ times, it's hard to find the perfect way to represent yourself on paper. 

For now I went back to scratch and restarted by brainstorming everything that could answer the question about something in my life that has changed me. (I am deliberately not mentioning the name of the school, mostly for privacy and because it is irrelevant to the fact that I am writing an application. Even though I would be very excited to attend this school in the future.) 

Have a great week! 

More is less

I was getting really tired of the old design; I guess that is another proof that my taste changes. So I updated! Also, here is a couple of more 'the beauty of Flekke' pictures from today!

Fall Colors!

The one and only Sweden House! 

A journey into self-publishing

As I mentioned earlier this week, this week is PBL-week and I am attending "A journey into self-publishing." Goal for the week? To produce and publish at least one book. Personal goal? Find out whether there is still creativity left in me and do something different. Earlier this week I posted a picture from my personal process, but you can see more on my teacher Ana's blog: anaflecha.blogspot.no. 

As of today I have finished two very similar books, one with a black and white background and colored characters and one with a colored background but black and white characters. My book is an image book and a comment on how we easily get stuck in life just doing the same things again and again. It is a continuous and never ending book with the quote "Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back everything is different".

Here is the complete story in pictures from top left corner to bottom right. 

Colored background, black and white character 

Black and white background, colored characters 

The week has been amazing. Not too much rain and the art room must be the classroom on Campus with the best view - especially on a day like today.

As of last week I thought I was gonna have to sit  down and write an actual full book during this week; a thought that scared me a bit. I had planned on writing a children's book so it could be short and simple, but when I found out that everything was possible the ideas came flowing. It is so relaxing to just sit and create a something that was once a thought and develop it unto paper. It really clears the head.

Tomorrow I am headed to Oslo and my biggest concern is still what to wear :-) Not too bad a concern.

Roger out,
Mette

Fall colors

As more and more leaves hit the ground and the trees turn from green to orange and yellow to brown and become emptier for the minute, the sun decided take a (maybe) last visit to RCN.

It is getting colder by the minute and I have had to unpack both woolen socks, thermal shirts (for my Flekke runs) and my winter jacket. According to the locals, taken from the amount of berries on the trees at this time a year, it will be a long and very cold winter with lots of snow. Can you feel the excitement already? If yes, please share. There is (almost) nothing worse than feeling cold. I even decided not to interview with a university or two, among other things, because they were located in climates too cold for me. I am also exaggerating a little bit :-) In reality I love wearing woolen socks and have been told multiple times that I am the worst Nordic ever, because I am always cold.  

Here is a couple of pictures from the weekend. Hopefully tomorrow morning will be as beautiful as today. This time I will bring my camera and be prepared so I can share some of the beauty of Flekke with you!

On Saturday was the dear First Years amazing show and I think we all enjoyed it. It was based mostly on sketches making fun of us second years, mixed between lots of talented dancing, singing and so on. Here: a picture of Emma (UK) and part of her band - Yondeen (Nepal) on the bass. Following the show was another Saturday night party and for the first time this year I stayed from beginning to end - 2½ hours of dancing and having fun! As always in great company :-) 

This week is Project Based Learning week (PBL). Some might remember it from my not extremely enthusiastic and positive post about the Chinese PBL I attended last year. I can promise you that this year's review will be much better! This year I am in a PBL called "A journey into self publishing" with my Spanish teacher, Ana. We are in the art room with a view over the fjord and tunes of music in the background - just as I like it. I won't talk too much about it now, but rather update by the end of the week, but here is a pre-view of the first step of my image book. It will not look like this once it is finished, but here is a teaser anyways :-)
When I'm not in the art room, I spend my time getting some of my to-do list finished and ticked off. Lately this has taken place from my new favorite spot: my bed, he he. It makes the cold a little more bearable when you can sit under a blanket with a cup of something hot, with candles and lights all around you!

On Friday I am headed for a day-trip to Oslo for the Norwegian National Committee's celebration of the 50 year anniversary of UWC. We are a group of 8 (I believe) students and a small number of staff selected to go. Attending will be no one else but the Queen of Norway, the Norwegian minister of education and other 'important' people. I am indeed very excited and still trying to figure out what to wear, ha ha. You know life is good when that is one of your biggest concerns! - More on this later as well.

I hope you are all keeping warm!
Mette 

Work first, then fun!

These last two weeks have been a good mix. Firstly, I worked until my brain almost exploded; handed in my Extended Essay, other assignments and did my best on big tests. Last week I moved myself and my things into the library and spend every break from classes and every left-over minute in the little study-booth I had occupied. Ironically, I was the person who said all last year that I would not study in the library and much more preferred a classroom, but after giving the library a chance for the first time, I actually came to like it. It came as a big shock to many; not only me :) 

Christine and I were also trying to find out what to do for a fun break in small-village Flekke and coming up with free things, that doesn't require you to be outside in the cold! Sometimes demands a bit of creativity. 

Now, I don't want my life to sound horrible, because it is really quiet perfect. All the hard work last week payed off well and for the last couple of days I have been relaxing, sleeping lots at night and then napping in the afternoon, hung out with friends, gone to birthdays, baked the muffins that Rikke (Norway) and I bought the mix for in intro week. I have relaxed! Now I feel re-charged and ready to follow my plan for assignments and studying the next couple of months until November and Christmas break. I feel like I have it under good control and I just need to work a little every day for it to work out. 

So not much is new in "The World of Mette" (except for maybe this guy staring at me)

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Shakespeare is a little better with a cup of coffee and some of my newly bought fruit and yogurt. 

Tomorrow a team from school (including myself) are playing soccer against the local high-school from Dale. It's apparently been years since there was last such a game, because the Dale team used to beat us so badly that they didn't see it as a real challenge. Let's hope we can change that! This match is in celebration of the International Peace Day (every year on September 21st!). We are having a special day and celebration here all day tomorrow, so I will update more on that post the day. As of now we should get both media coverage here and at the soccer field! Maybe I will be on the Norwegian News tomorrow? Let's hope I don't embarrass myself more than necessary :) 

Overall, I am happy as.. zoo animal getting food? 

Hope you will share the Peace Day with us and maybe help spread the message? You can take part and read more through this link: http://peaceoneday.org/

-Mette

IB Times

As school is back on high speed and the (infamous) third term has started there is plenty of things on my plate. Deadlines, exam practice, presentations, more deadlines, test, studies and then all the other activities on the side. I'm just gonna apologize in advance for the next couple of months and then (maybe) lack of posts. For now, I'll give you some more picture updates:

The other night there was supposedly a storm coming (over night). All I know, is that from around four in the afternoon until I went to bed our power was as unstable as a sleeping cow (I just came up with this expression. Pretty good, huh?) For hours it would go out, then come back on and we could only just sit and wait until it disappeared again. This is how I survived. 

Wednesday: Laundry day (for me) and when there is no more space on the drying racks, you just have to be creative, right?

Friday: First years vs. Second years soccer match # 1 of the year and we FINALLY found someone we could beat. Oh, it feels so good. (3-0 by the way). 

I hope you will have a good weekend, while I'll get my head back in the books.