Orientation lesson
–          14-01-15
Today we have a lesson outdoor at Jegersberg to practice our orientating skills. It snows for the first time since I arrived in Kristiansand. It’s below zero and the snow sticks on the ground. We split up in smaller groups to practice our orientation skills. On the maps we have are some numbers who we have to find. After the walk to the numbers we have a lunch break. During the break the teacher tells something about what kind of gear you bring when you are a leader of a group in the nature.

Some things he is always carrying:

Emergency shelter

–          First aid kid
–          Extra down jacked
–          Fire starter (matches, vaseline, tampon)
–          Thermos
–          Emergency shelter
–          Knife
–          Map with mapcase
–          Compass
–          Small rope

We have to collect materials to build a fire and have a lecture about building a fire. We collected together: birch bark, dry grass, small branches, bigger branches. Len starts the fire and we have to keep it going. After this we have to walk to two more numbers on the map and after that we are allowed to go home.

Daytrip with Norwegians
12-01-15

This is our first day trip with the Norwegian friluftsliv students. These student are studying friluftsliv for two semesters and organise some day trips for us. It’s a cold and rainy day with even some wet snow.

We gather in the morning in front of Spicheren and the Norwegian group who lead us today introduce themselves. They hand out a pile of wood and everyone has to take a piece to carry. We walk to one of the tops in Jegersberg and take a look at the view over the city. Unfortunately it’s raining and there is a strong wind. We took a break on top for a quick lunch and walk to the next top. This top is called the Omvente båt. It earns his name to the big stone in the middle, it looks like an upside down boat.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, olny bad clothes."

We leave the top because also here it’s very windy what makes it cold. We walk down and take a break near the water. The Norwegians build two small fires so everyone can sit around it and cook their food. We walk home again after this big lunch break.

During the trip we didn’t really talk with the Norwegian students. They only speak Norwegian and most of them don’t seem to be interested in having a conversation with the internationals. This might be because of the high tempo we walked what made it hard to have a conversation. The trip was maybe a bit too much for the first acquaintance with the cold and wet weather. At least I know now that my gear is good enough to keep me warm and dry.

BBQ @ Odderøya
–          11-02-15
We had a BBQ at Odderøya with the ESN group. We had to bring our own food. Most people brought the cheap sausages and someone made stick bread. The Norwegian students brought Lumpe a traditional Norwegian food. It looks like a wrap and is made of raw potato. (And taste like raw potato) They wrap the lumpe around the cheap sausages.

The organisation brought a BBQ and a pile of wood for a camp fire. It was a cold day and the sun wasn’t shining so a fire was a nice thing to have. Unfortunately no one had skills to make the fire going. After some people tried it, I made the fire with Mirjam, Katja and Anne. Girls rule! We had a lot of fun with building the fire, and I’m really proud of us.

New Year’s dive 06-01-15
–          For the beginning of our semester

Wytse suggested to do a new year’s dive with our class to start the semester. Most classmates thought we were crazy some hesitated to join. We were with a bigger group than expected to jump in the sea.

 
The weather was cold, the wind blow and it even rained a bit. Still we didn’t hesitate to undress and jump in the sea. We ran into the sea and fall into the ice cold seawater. A short stay in the water, and run out again to dry.

I wasn’t cold after I run in the water I even felt warm when I was back at my clothes. We went to the MC Donald’s for a hot cup of coffee afterwards.

First impression Norway
04-01-15
 

I wake up early in the morning to go on a city tour with our buddy group from the ESN. Buddy’s are waiting for us in front of the dorm to walk together to the Cathedral in the centre of Kristiansand. We split up in our buddy groups and I’m in group number 1. Christian our buddy leader of today shows us the city, the cheapest supermarkets and some important buildings we have to go to for registration. We pass the Kiwi, this is the cheap supermarket, the police building, Christiansholm festing at the Harbor, bus station/train station, MC Donald’s, the opera building ‘Kilden teatro konserthus’, the fish market ‘fiskebrygga’ and Odderøya the island connected to the city with bridges.

We walk around the island and go to the Waffle House at the tip of the island. The view over the sea and the small islands is beautiful. The weather is nice and the sun shines the whole day. we see many people who come to enjoy the beautiful weather on the island. People are making camp fires on the rocks. Christian told us we are allowed to make fires till April 15.

We Arrive at the Waffle House and it turns out that many people came up with this idea. Despite the cold it’s busier than rush hour in Groningen at the supermarket.

First impression Norway
04-01-15
 

I wake up early in the morning to go on a city tour with our buddy group from the ESN. Buddy’s are waiting for us in front of the dorm to walk together to the Cathedral in the centre of Kristiansand. We split up in our buddy groups and I’m in group number 1. Christian our buddy leader of today shows us the city, the cheapest supermarkets and some important buildings we have to go to for registration. We pass the Kiwi, this is the cheap supermarket, the police building, Christiansholm festing at the Harbor, bus station/train station, MC Donald’s, the opera building ‘Kilden teatro konserthus’, the fish market ‘fiskebrygga’ and Odderøya the island connected to the city with bridges.

Buddy Group 1

We walk around the island and go to the Waffle House at the tip of the island. The view over the sea and the small islands is beautiful. The weather is nice and the sun shines the whole day. we see many people who come to enjoy the beautiful weather on the island. People are making camp fires on the rocks. Christian told us we are allowed to make fires till April 15.

We Arrive at the Waffle House and it turns out that many people came up with this idea. Despite the cold it’s busier than rush hour in Groningen at the supermarket.

Roadtrip to Norway
03-01-15

I searched for people on facebook and by mail to drive with to Norway. I found Minh and Daphne who drived from Arnhem to Kristiansand. I had too much stuff to travel by plane so I was very glad that I could join them. I wanted to bring my outdoor gear, a whole backpack full, a guitar, my snowboard and a bag of clothes and personal stuff.

Let the adventure begin!
We left Arnhem at 04:30 in the morning, to pick up Daphne in Aalten. We push all the stuff in the car and fortunately it fits! We leave Daphne’s place round 5:30.
The journey ahead soon. We keep a break every 2 hours. Ming is driving and Daphne and I change seats after each break. We arrive in Hirtshals in Denmark at 16: 15 and get the message that the boat is delayed. The cars  are lined up in rows and many people stay in the car. The boat arrives at 18: 20 and we have to Board.
The car is parked and we’re going to explore the ferry. The boat has 6 floors of which the bottom 3 car decks are. on board is a casino, restaurant, ball pit, fast food chain, supermarket, souvenir shop and fashion store. At the top of the ship are reserved chairs, they look like the chairs in planes.. All seats on board are quickly confiscated by people. People lie down to sleep in the hallways and sit down on the steps and floors. We buy evening dinner at a fast food store and take place on the floor. The mayonnaise is on yogurt base and the flesh of my hamburger has barely taste. But after the trip I eat my plate completely empty. Daphne and minh suffer from the rocking boat and go sit down on the stairs in front of the entrance to the car deck. The trip with the ferry takes 3hrs and I walk around on the ship. You can go outside around the ship. There is  a stair who leads to a balcony at the back of the ferry. The balcony gives a few over the car deck and the moon. The stars and the moon are bright and there are no clouds in the sky. The Moonlight on the water behind the boat and the splashing water gives it a fairy-tale picture.

We arrive in Kristiansand at 21:30 and have to challenge the Norwegian drive behaviours and weather.  It’s a complete chaos, there are more than 8 cars and trucks driving less than 10cm next to each other and all the cars have to get in one row. We can’t break because the road is one big ice lane. We survive without bumping into another car and drive to Minh’s dorm to pick up the keys. We drop our stuff at our own places and go back to Minh’s dorm to hang out. I go back to my dorm around 02:00 and sleep in my sleeping bag.

Roadtrip to Norway
03-01-15

I searched for people on facebook and by mail to drive with to Norway. I found Minh and Daphne who drived from Arnhem to Kristiansand. I had too much stuff to travel by plane so I was very glad that I could join them. I wanted to bring my outdoor gear, a whole backpack full, a guitar, my snowboard and a bag of clothes and personal stuff.

Let the adventure begin!
We left Arnhem at 04:30 in the morning, to pick up Daphne in Aalten. We push all the stuff in the car and fortunately it fits! We leave Daphne’s place round 5:30.
The journey ahead soon. We keep a break every 2 hours. Ming is driving and Daphne and I change seats after each break. We arrive in Hirtshals in Denmark at 16: 15 and get the message that the boat is delayed. The cars  are lined up in rows and many people stay in the car. The boat arrives at 18: 20 and we have to Board.

The car is parked and we’re going to explore it in. The boat has 6 floors of which the bottom 3 car decks are. on board is a casino, restaurant, ball pit, fast food chain, supermarket, souvenir shop and fashion store. At the top of the ship are reserved chairs, they look like the chairs in planes.. All seats on board are quickly confiscated by people. People lie down to sleep in the hallways and sit down on the steps and floors. We buy evening dinner at a fast food store and take place on the floor. The mayonnaise is on yogurt base and the flesh of my hamburger has barely taste. But after the trip I eat my plate completely empty. Daphne and minh suffer from the rocking boat and go sit down on the stairs in front of the entrance to the car deck. The trip with the ferry takes 3hrs and I walk around on the ship. You can go outside around the ship. There is  a stair who leads to a balcony at the back of the ferry. The balcony gives a few over the car deck and the moon. The stars and the moon are bright and there are no clouds in the sky. The Moonlight on the water behind the boat and the splashing water gives it a fairy-tale picture.

We arrive in Kristiansand at 21:30 and have to challenge the Norwegian drive behaviours and weather.  It’s a complete chaos, there are more than 8 cars and trucks driving less than 10cm next to each other and all the cars have to get in one row. We can’t break because the road is one big ice lane. We survive without bumping into another car and drive to Minh’s dorm to pick up the keys. We drop our stuff at our own places and go back to Minh’s dorm to hang out. I go back to my dorm around 02:00 and sleep in my sleeping bag.