Life Is Great!
Beloved Vessel, I have left you for too long.
So... Another post. Another update. Live is great! Simply great! I can tell you now, from the bottom of my heart: I made the right decision. If you've read my 'Rant of Ignorance' post, you might know what I'm talking about. I had a choice and I made a decision. I went to England! Oh yes, the little girl went to England.
I'm currently studying Creative Writing at a university. And well; I love it. The course is amazing, and I truly enjoy my time here. We do read a lot of literature - old literature. It's all about the old classics and going back in time. So far I've read The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, The Epic of Gilgamesh and Discourse on Method and The Meditations by René Descartes. And it doesn't stop there. I've got one week to read The Odyssey of Homer. One week = one book (at least!).
I've never really doubted my English. I knew I could speak more or less fluent and I knew that I could write pretty well. But that was back in Norway. Who did I compare myself with? -Other Norwegians! It's different here. It's like I can feel the gap between my classmates and I. Their vocabulary is ten times bigger than mine. And the fact that we read a lot of "old" literature, doesn't make it easier. The English is hard to understand... Even for native English speakers.
Still... I love it. It will be a challenge - I knew that. But I'm up for it. And isn't that all that matters? This year WILL be a huge challenge, but due to the fact that it is difficult, I will learn a lot. Which is why I came here in the first place. To learn. To develop my writing skills; my proficiency in writing, but also my sociability.
England will change me. It has changed me. I came here: didn't know a single soul, had never been in England before, had never taken any Creative Writing classes etc. EVERYTHING is new. It's like a fresh start. Like opening a book, only to find blank pages. But I guess that is the main reason I like it. It's not like being at home was bad or anything. But just having the possibility to start again... I can be whoever I want to be, because no one knew me before - no one had expectations. Not the teachers... Not the students....
I love it.
I've also joined a lot of societies. Societies are fun, fun, fun :) There were so many that I actually had problems figuring out which one to join. As of now, I've joined 8.
1) Aikido
2) Jiu Jitsu
3) Gliding
4) Archery
5) Musoc (Music society)
6) Orchestra
7) Poetry and Short Story Society
8) Nordic Society
And... I'm having a blast in every one of them. It's good fun. Aikido training is actually in the mornings. From 8:30-10:30 am - BEFORE ANY OF MY CLASSES OR LECTURES! Who would have though?! Me, the sleepyhead as I am, get up around 7 - not because I have to, but because I WANT to train. The worst part is; I suck! But it's good fun anyways.
Jiu Jitsu on the other hand is in the evenings. I love it. It's cool and fun, and you get all sweaty and tired. Oh, and I actually bought a gi last night. Hurray! I'm so proud to wear my pyjamas.
Gliding? Well, I've glided once and it was amazing. Hopefully I'll go out to the base and glide next weekend.
Archery... Oh, how I love it. I've always wanted to do archery, but I've never really gotten the chance. Now, I do! (And I do think I'm pretty good!)
As for Musoc. I love music and everything that has to do with music. I don't know WHAT exactly I'll be doing in the society, since I haven't decided yet. But get this: I'm actually thinking about teaching people how to play the guitar. Go figure! It would be new - but fun. And it would look great on my CV ;)
I also play the violin, but I'm not used to play in an orchestra. I usually just play with my violin teacher or in an ensemble or something. See the thing is: I can deal with big orchestras. No problem! But this one is not that big. I mean: It's too big to ask our conductor for help - but too little to get away with mistakes *pout* Not fair :p I guess I'll just have to practice then.
Then there's the Poetry and Short Story Society. We have a meeting once a week where we discuss literature, do exercises and write/share our creative work (often followed by a pubcrawl). I don't really like sharing my creative stuff, but it is a good change. They are not there to bite me or judge me. We're all amateurs who loves to write. That's not scary, now is it?
Last, but not least is the Nordic Society. It does speak for itself. People from the Northern countries and people who are interested in finding out more about the Northern countries... We play games and arrange parties. Viking parties, Swedish themed parties, Danish themed parties etc. Now, I'm not a party person. Not at all. But theme parties can be fun. Sometimes...
All in all... Life is great! School is great! -The teachers, the students. The societies are great! The people are great! England is great! Campus is great! I love it! I don't know how many times I've written that in this post, but I don't care. I do love it. And I am truly having the time of my life.
(Which kind of fucks up my plan. This was supposed to be a year of "fun" - ONE year of fun. Then afterwards, I would go back to Norway and study Radiography. That's what I said. That's what everyone thinks. But... I really want to stay. It's a scary thought. And I don't know what to do...)
So... Another post. Another update. Live is great! Simply great! I can tell you now, from the bottom of my heart: I made the right decision. If you've read my 'Rant of Ignorance' post, you might know what I'm talking about. I had a choice and I made a decision. I went to England! Oh yes, the little girl went to England.
I'm currently studying Creative Writing at a university. And well; I love it. The course is amazing, and I truly enjoy my time here. We do read a lot of literature - old literature. It's all about the old classics and going back in time. So far I've read The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, The Epic of Gilgamesh and Discourse on Method and The Meditations by René Descartes. And it doesn't stop there. I've got one week to read The Odyssey of Homer. One week = one book (at least!).
I've never really doubted my English. I knew I could speak more or less fluent and I knew that I could write pretty well. But that was back in Norway. Who did I compare myself with? -Other Norwegians! It's different here. It's like I can feel the gap between my classmates and I. Their vocabulary is ten times bigger than mine. And the fact that we read a lot of "old" literature, doesn't make it easier. The English is hard to understand... Even for native English speakers.
Still... I love it. It will be a challenge - I knew that. But I'm up for it. And isn't that all that matters? This year WILL be a huge challenge, but due to the fact that it is difficult, I will learn a lot. Which is why I came here in the first place. To learn. To develop my writing skills; my proficiency in writing, but also my sociability.
England will change me. It has changed me. I came here: didn't know a single soul, had never been in England before, had never taken any Creative Writing classes etc. EVERYTHING is new. It's like a fresh start. Like opening a book, only to find blank pages. But I guess that is the main reason I like it. It's not like being at home was bad or anything. But just having the possibility to start again... I can be whoever I want to be, because no one knew me before - no one had expectations. Not the teachers... Not the students....
I love it.
I've also joined a lot of societies. Societies are fun, fun, fun :) There were so many that I actually had problems figuring out which one to join. As of now, I've joined 8.
1) Aikido
2) Jiu Jitsu
3) Gliding
4) Archery
5) Musoc (Music society)
6) Orchestra
7) Poetry and Short Story Society
8) Nordic Society
And... I'm having a blast in every one of them. It's good fun. Aikido training is actually in the mornings. From 8:30-10:30 am - BEFORE ANY OF MY CLASSES OR LECTURES! Who would have though?! Me, the sleepyhead as I am, get up around 7 - not because I have to, but because I WANT to train. The worst part is; I suck! But it's good fun anyways.
Jiu Jitsu on the other hand is in the evenings. I love it. It's cool and fun, and you get all sweaty and tired. Oh, and I actually bought a gi last night. Hurray! I'm so proud to wear my pyjamas.
Gliding? Well, I've glided once and it was amazing. Hopefully I'll go out to the base and glide next weekend.
Archery... Oh, how I love it. I've always wanted to do archery, but I've never really gotten the chance. Now, I do! (And I do think I'm pretty good!)
As for Musoc. I love music and everything that has to do with music. I don't know WHAT exactly I'll be doing in the society, since I haven't decided yet. But get this: I'm actually thinking about teaching people how to play the guitar. Go figure! It would be new - but fun. And it would look great on my CV ;)
I also play the violin, but I'm not used to play in an orchestra. I usually just play with my violin teacher or in an ensemble or something. See the thing is: I can deal with big orchestras. No problem! But this one is not that big. I mean: It's too big to ask our conductor for help - but too little to get away with mistakes *pout* Not fair :p I guess I'll just have to practice then.
Then there's the Poetry and Short Story Society. We have a meeting once a week where we discuss literature, do exercises and write/share our creative work (often followed by a pubcrawl). I don't really like sharing my creative stuff, but it is a good change. They are not there to bite me or judge me. We're all amateurs who loves to write. That's not scary, now is it?
Last, but not least is the Nordic Society. It does speak for itself. People from the Northern countries and people who are interested in finding out more about the Northern countries... We play games and arrange parties. Viking parties, Swedish themed parties, Danish themed parties etc. Now, I'm not a party person. Not at all. But theme parties can be fun. Sometimes...
All in all... Life is great! School is great! -The teachers, the students. The societies are great! The people are great! England is great! Campus is great! I love it! I don't know how many times I've written that in this post, but I don't care. I do love it. And I am truly having the time of my life.
(Which kind of fucks up my plan. This was supposed to be a year of "fun" - ONE year of fun. Then afterwards, I would go back to Norway and study Radiography. That's what I said. That's what everyone thinks. But... I really want to stay. It's a scary thought. And I don't know what to do...)