On Monday the 16th January 2017 our first joint field trip with the norwegian friluftsliv course took place. Their assignment was to organize a typical sunday family trip of a norwegian family. We met in front of the Spicheren Building located on the campus.
As soon as everybody had arrived one of the norwegians took the lead and instructed us to follow. Since none of us knew the the way we were just following. Small groups formed quickly and the hike had rather the character of a freetime recreational trip.
However the group of internationals and norwegians stayed mainly with their own group members.
The hike took us through Jegersberg, a forrest right behind the campus. Furtunately the norwegian course had instructed us too bring warm clothing and some food for the trip, since it had snowed the day before. The track was icy and quite slippery and one had to be careful not to take a wrong step. After about 45 minutes we reached the top of a mountain. Later we learned that the hill is called “Den omvendte bat”, which describes the shape of a boulder that looks like an upside down boat.
On the top of the mountain we set up our shelter. Quickly the norwegians started a fire with wood they brought with them. Soon they gave us our fist lesson in making a fire with firesteel and dry wood. The groups gathered around the to fires and started cooking food and sharing it around. It was slightly unfortunate that the fires were not close to each other because it split the group in two, but on the other hand this offered the opportunity to get to know the people within the same group closer.
After everybody had finished lunch the norwegians initiated a catching game to get everybody warm and lighten the atmosphere. During the game the groups grew closer together and conversations between norwegians and internationals arose. The games developed into a big snowball fight and soon the initial caution faded.
At around twelve the group split. Some of the Norwegians wanted to leave whereas others wanted to stay with the international group. After a few more games we decided to head back to the campus.