Julestemning :)

Jul!
Jeg var veldig spent til jul, norsk mat, tradisjon, og feiring. Julen var kjempe flott, alle sammen rundt bordet, og juletreet. Vi spiste mye MYE deilig mat, sang sanger, åpnet gaver, og ga MANGE klemmer etterpå! Norsk Jul har mye tradisjoner, og jeg var så glad for å oppleve dette, jeg har ikke savnet de hjemme veldig mye denne julen... Jeg savner familien min i Seattle, men jeg elsker Norge veldig mye og jeg tenker på dette som hjemme allrede. Familien min her, er så snille! og det har vært veldig koselig denne julen med alle norske søsken her, og mye annen familie. Vi har vært på mange mange mange mange MANGE juleselskaper, og det er kjempe artig! Jeg skal aldri glemme norsk jul, fordi det er så koselig og det har veldig rike og morsomme tradisjoner.

I dag er nyttåraften, i kveld skal jeg og familien min dra til onkel, tante og søskenbarn og ha middag der. Etter på, vil det være mye fester og fyrverkeri. Det skal bli en kjempe artig kveld!

Det er litt rart å tenke på at jeg skal være i 2011, når familien min I Seattle skal forsatt være i 2010... haha bare litt rart synes...

God jul alle sammen! og ha et kjempe hyggelig nyttår!


English:

I was very excited for Christmas, the Norwegian food, the tradition, and celebrating. Christmas was amazing, everyone around the table and Christmas tree, we ate delicious food, sang songs, opened presents, and gave many hugs afterward. Norwegian Christmas has much tradition involved, and I was so excited for it, that I did not miss home that much during it. I miss my family back in Seattle, but I love Norway so much and I already think of it as a second home. My family here is so nice, and it has been so nice to have all my Norwegian siblings here, and other family all celebrating together. We have been to MANY Christmas parties and they were all so fun! I will never forget Norwegian Christmas, because it was so nice, and they have such rich and fun traditions.

Today is New Years eve, tonight my family and I are going to our uncle and aunts and cousins house for dinner :) After dinner there are many parties and fireworks. I think it will be alot of fun!

It is a little bit weird, thinking that I will be in a different year then my friends and family back home for 9 hours... just a little weird i think...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas is FAST approaching!

It has been awhile my dear ones! So..... Basically, the year is going at a pace I cannot keep up with, and to be honest it is rather scary! I am having such a rich and wonderful experience that it is hard to slow down at moments to catch a breath. I have been very busy with multiple activities, socializing with friends, learning norwegian, and trying my hardest in school and playing two sports. It is alot, but if you know me, I like to keep moving and don't really like having to much sit down time (or else i get antsy and start squirming).

Ah! Ok so, if you know... I love Ultimate Frisbee, and it has really been hard to separate my self from it this year. But in fact I do not have to do that! I have managed to find a group a kids (who already happened to be good friends) and got them excited and into the sport. At the moment they are all working on their throwing and catching abilities, but every single one of them are incredibly talented and are learning the throws extremely quickly! We are also in the process of finding a hall to rent out, because it is too cold to play out side... It has been so exciting for me to get to share my love of the game with people I really like spending time with. SO HURRAY!! :D

An update on the language. The progress is really starting to pick up, just in the past week I feel that I have really grasped ahold of alot more. I am pretty sure, and I think my norwegian Fam will agree with me on this, but it is because I am stepping up and getting past my fear and embarrassment of trying to speak it rather then just listening and thinking that I will learn it that way. I speak primarily in norwegian on Facebook now, with a few exceptions here and there. My norwegian friends and to die for! They are soooooooo supportive of me learning the language, and they work me through the challenging steps, speak only to me in norwegian and give me helpful feedback when I make a mistake. They are also always complimenting me, which is of course always nice. I have been sitting down with sisters Sunniva and Stine quite often in the evenings, and we have been working one on one or two on one with learning sentences and words I do not know. They give me a sentence in English and I have to repeat it in norwegian, and then they correct whatever it is that needs correcting. Sunniva has also started a list of words I need work on (one mistake and another word is up there!) It is getting long Sunniva :( haha, but no all of it has been extremely helpful! Thanks Ya'll!!

Christmas is fast approaching, and I am starting to get really excited for all the things that surround Christmas here! Family all around, suiting up, going to Christmas parties, and most of all the delicious food!! :D

Well I need to leave you now, I am headed out in the cold for a fun filled adventurous day! :D Hope you all are having fun, enjoying life and are keepin' it real! Love to all! I am putting some pictures up, the last three are from my extremely powerful experience with spreading Stan's ashes, and two are of the beautiful sky here.

P.S. I will be writing my blog in both norwegian and English from now on. (attempting to write in norwegian) :D

The joy continues

So, where to start? Let me begin with saying how appreciative I am of my wonderful Norwegian family and friends. I honestly feel more at home then I ever thought possible. I feel that I have really grasped ahold of some amazing friends, and become very close with my Norwegian family. I can't tell you enough how incredible people here are, they have welcomed me into their groups, invited me to social events and some even say they love me ;) I feel that I have already made lifetime friends that I plan on visiting and hopefully having them visit me. I have only been here a little over 2 months and I feel that I have been here forever. I don't think that this would be possible if it wasn't for the warmth that the people around me give. So you Norwegians reading this now TUSEN TAKK! Dere er alle fantastisk og jeg elsker dere! <3 Dats wazzzzup! ;)

The long awaited blog post!

Sorry to you all that it has been so long since my last update, I hope you all can understand that me not writing is also a good thing, because you can know I am occupied with enjoying every moment of my life here. I feel that now is a good time to write because I just finished my first one week break on Sunday, which I spent doing many things. At the beginning of the holiday, I went with my family to their house in Bjorli, where we went on a beautiful walk, went bowling, swimming and enjoyed the extreme luxury of their exquisite house. Bjorli is a beautiful place, with so much to do. From the front door, I can see the ski slopes where we will ski, of course we have to wait for the snow :( I hope it comes soon! The rest of the week I spent hanging out with friends, seeing movies, have dinners, relaxing and of course much sleeping! It was really hard to adjust back into the normal school mode, in fact I woke up 20 minutes before school started yesterday because I slept threw my alarm clock. I had to rush to school, luckily I live so close! (I made it on time) My parents have decided that there will be no internet after 11 o'clock, I think this will be very good for me, and it will help me get good needed rest for school. They are really fantastic parents, and I trust their method of parenting entirely. After all they have raised 4 amazing children whom I love dearly!

I came here with two tasks that I needed to accomplish, and in fact one of them I have already managed to fulfill, that is eating with a knife and fork. I thought it would be impossible, but it just happened, now I do it without thinking about it. The second thing is the language, I have been really frustrated lately that I havn't been able to understand the conversations around me. The people here all speak close to perfect english, so it is no trouble having a conversation with them, but its not being able to join in one that they are all having together. So yesterday I told my family and many of my friends that I only want them to speak Norwegian to me, and if i don't understand then I want them to repeat it again slower, so that I can find the words I do know and try and form the sentence. I feel that it is very important to learn Norwegian as fast as possible now, because as the year goes on, everyone will expect me to know the language, especially in school. This leads me to my next topic, school.

School has really begun to feel natural here, the teachers know who I am, they expect me to do most of the things that all the other students do, and I have already taken a few tests, which were extremely difficult. I am trying my hardest in school and hopefully I will know Norwegian soon, so that I can really apply myself to the academics. I always knew I was mean't to be at a big school, with many kids. I love seeing lots of new and old faces everyday in the halls, I love saying hi to all the people I have either met once, or the ones I consider friends. You all probably know how loud and social I am, so its nice to get to be like all the time. I have to admit I really miss Waldorf and all my Waldork friends and teachers! They are my home, and always will be. I hope they are all doing well, and I bet its quiet and peaceful without me there ;) Just be prepared for when I return, senior year is going to be CRAZY!!! :D Ok back to Norway, Norway is Fantastic, THE END!

I hope all is well with everyone, I miss your faces, your laughs, your hugs and kisses! I will try and keep up to date with my blog but please forgive me if I can't find the time. Just know that I am doing well, and that I have been and will continue enjoying my life here!!

Much love to you all, Noah!

FRIENDS!

My social life in Norway has been fantastic. The people here are all wonderful, infact I am currently sitting here at my dear friend Ellen's house with her and another amazing friend Ida :) We are watching TV, talking, looking at pictures,and eating candy all while Ellen is chewing on a plastic snake (shes weird... :p). Everyday here is awesome, I havn't had a chance to feel homesick, or lonely in a long time, which I think is a farely good thing... don't you agree? ;)

I must admit I am a tad bit scared about how fast time is flying by, I have already been here for 10% of my year and the days go by faster then I can keep up with. I know this is a good sign, it means I am having a great time and enjoying my life here but it is sad to think I only have 9 months left... It sounds like alot, but if i think about how fast 1 month went by, then 9 will go by in the blink of an eye.

I am so greatful to be making such great friendships that will hopefully last a life time, and I am so excited to see lies ahead for me on this incredible journey.

Much love to all, Keep it real.

Noah

Letting my emotions flow.

I woke up this morning to a knock at my bedroom door, It was my host mother (Astird) she informed me that my mom was trying to reach me, but wasn't able to because I was asleep. Immediately I felt my stomach drop because I knew what It was going to be about. When I got on Skype my family and extended family and even my sister (who is living in Scotland) was on Skype there, we were all gathered around at my grandparents home. I was expecting to hear that my Grandfather had passed away, and that they wanted to make sure I knew. But he hadn't, he was right there along with everyone else, he was able to share with me how proud he was, how proud he was of me for taking this step in my life, by going to a foreign country and spending a year away from home. I told him how happy I was that I made this decision as well. His words have always meant so much to me, and they stay implanted in my heart and always will, so when he told me how proud he was it meant the world!

My uncle took the computer in the other room and shared with me the reason for the urgent call. He told me that my grandpa didn't have much time left maybe a few days, and the tears began to roll down my face. I talked with my dad after this and he told me a little more about the whole situation, he said that grandpa might not be here in the morning. I broke down crying, I told my dad to take me into my grandparents room where my grandpa was so that I could see him, he was in the middle of his nightly ritual just like any other night. I watched him get situated in bed, and then all the family came into the room, at that moment we all witnessed this incredible man pass away in peace. My grandma was holding his hand with her head on his chest crying, everyone was watching as he took his final breath. This is the way it was supposed to happen, it is the way we all wanted it to happen, with the family gathered, and him lying comfortably in his bed, it was the most peaceful thing I have ever witnessed in my life. Quiet and calm. Beautiful. I am more then grateful for the way it happened.

I will never forget the memories I have with this man, he shared his wisdom, his talents, his love of working with hands, and most of all his love. He changed my life and so many others in the best of ways. He was caring, thoughtful, compassionate, loving grandfather.

Grampa Fred, you will be in my heart forever, thank you for always being there for me, for caring for me, and loving me. I love you so much, we all love you so much. Rest in peace.

Moments likes these help us appreciate the things in life that we have now in the present, they help us to remember old memories that are stored inside. This moment now, allows us all to care for one another, to take a deep breath and realize that this man has been relieved from pain. Even though it is hard for us to say goodbye, it is time for us to let him free.

He will be remembered! He will be talked about for generations to come! He will be with us all forever!

Life in Norway

The days have begun to merge together, I am really getting into the "groove" of life here in Norway. I wake up 20 minutes later then I set my alarm clock for every morning, eat a quick breakfast and rush to school. Ok that might sound a little bad, but its not it only means I am feeling more at home, and adjusting to life here. I am enjoying school more then I ever expected to, and I have made great friends quickly. I can wake up with a good feeling in my stomach now, knowing that the day will be filled with many unexpected but enjoyable things. School is still very difficult because i still don't know the language, but i can really feel that I am going to grasp ahold of this incredibly difficult language soon. In school I usually sit in class listening to the teacher talk, and to me it really is just listening (no comprehension what so ever) but I am starting to be able to pick out words I know and and try and fill in the other words that i think might be right. I think this is a good step for me, it gives me confidence in this challenge of learning norwegian.

I am so grateful to be making friends in Molde, it has really made my life exciting here. The people here are all so kind and welcoming, they invite me to parties, soccer games, hand ball games, dinners, and my favorite is when they invite me to jump on their trampolines!

The days are going by so quickly now, I can already realize how precious everyday here is, and that I must enjoy every moment I have in this spectacular country. 3 weeks in and I can already say that this year is going to be remembered for the rest of my life. I am more then grateful to have been given this opportunity and I could never thank the people that made it happen enough! but for now one big TUSEN TAKK!! :)

I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all sooooooooo much, but I am being strong and enjoying life to fullest! Please leave me comments, I love hearing from all of you!

Find the things you love the most and hold them close, enjoy life, enjoy the beauty that surrounds you and be appreciative of it. We can all find happiness in our lives, grab life by the hand and run free!

Much love, Noah!

P.S. here are some pictures of places I have been the past couple of weeks, doing the most incredible adventures!! ask me about some of them :

The beginning of my journey in Molde!

I want to start this blog post with taking a deep breath, a breath that is well needed, a breath not just for me but for everyone feeling the strong tug in their gut from missing someone, something or many people like me. I have been struggling with homesickness pretty much everyday since I left home, but besides this my life here has been outstanding. Because of that I can end each day with a smile on my face and realize how grateful I am for being so fortunate as to be here in this beautiful country!

I can honestly say that Molde is completely different then I anticipated. Different in the best of ways, I love the views, the school, the people, and best of all my incredible norwegian family! Where to start with the Eikrem-Finnøy family.... Since day one they have been so welcoming and have really made me feel right at home. Not only have they made me feel welcomed, but they have been so supportive of me in school, helping me learn norwegian (putting post it stickies all over their beautiful home for me with the norwegian words for things), and helping me through hard times. Without them I don't think this journey would be the same. I am beyond grateful to them for everything they have given me, and all that they have to offer, they are amazing.

I started school, the day after arriving in Molde, and I can't describe how nervous I was going into school that day. My stomach was flustered in way I have never felt before, but thanks again to my family here I had help meeting friends and getting my school schedule sorted out. Astrid (my host mother) walked to school with me that day and made sure I had everything sorted out in my schedule before she left me. Sunniva (my host sister) made sure that I was going to make friends, and she also introduced me to sooooo many people :) It really is a great feeling to know how supported I am by these incredible people.

My classes at school have been very challenging, but in a very good and exciting way, I now feel like I am going to learn the language much quicker then I expected. I have made friends with people in almost every class at school now, and they are all helping me learn norwegian, which is so nice of them! I never expected to feel this much support, it really is an indescribable feeling. I am really REALLY enjoying this country, especially the little town of Molde!

I am sorry that it took so long for me to update my blog, I have been very tired and busy ever since I got here. I will try and update you all as frequently as possible, because I really do want to share this incredible journey with all of you!

I am sending out much love to all of you, and please send some back, you all know how much I love love!

New York

I arrived in New york this morning (the first to arrive) when i got to the hotel I was welcomed by the AFS volunteers warmly, and was offered breakfast and coffee. No other student arrived till much later in the day, so i decided to join in the activities with the student that are leaving for China and Russia in the morning. I soon realized how tired i was, so I went to my room and passed out for a couple of hours. When I woke I went down to the lobby where other students were starting to arrive, so I began to mingle and introduce myself to the other kids. There are 9 kids going to Norway from the US. The rest of the night consisted of discussions, activities, dinner and asking question. I am still fighting the sadness i have inside from missing the people i love, but I am going to stay strong and fight through it.

Best regards, Noah.

Off to New York for Orientation!

Saying farewell!

Today is the start to a new journey in my life, as I say my goodbyes and give the last hugs and kisses, the tears roll down my face and I feel the pain in my heart of sadness. It is hard, but I know this is going to be an extraordinary experience for me. I need to look past the sadness and think about what lies ahead. I love everyone and will miss everyone so much!

7 Weeks Until Departure!

So, I'm 7 weeks out before departing on this extraordinary adventure that I have been so blessed to be able to embark on. I woke up this morning with a rush, or an excitement for what I am going to encounter along my journey in Norway. This is the time when I must pack away the things I'm going to leave behind, and gather the belongings I will be taking with me. There is so much to do in such a short amount of time, but I will do anything and everything that needs to be done.

Though I have not received my departure date, the butterflies in my stomach are apparent. I am excited, scared, nervous and most of all just curious about the things I am going to encounter.

I have been working at my grandparents house for the last couple of weeks earning money for my trip, and also I am so glad I'm getting the chance to spend as much time possible with my Grandpa Fred before I leave. I love him so much and I'm going to miss him more than anything I can describe. My farewells to all my friends and family will be hard, and I know I will miss them all so much, but I know this trip will open up so many doors and broaden my perspective not only of the U.S. but how I look at the world. I know this is the first of many countries that I will immerse myself in. I’m looking forward to exploring a new culture and gaining a greater appreciation for my own.

Takk!
Noah

My Birthday!

This past week I received final confirmation for my travel to Norway. After being accepted, I found out that my application was so strong that all six Norwegian families in Molde had requested me as their choice of student. It was exciting to hear and I promise not to let it go to my head, but I have already chosen the Eikrem-Finnøy family, who I am very much looking forward to living with.

I have been in touch with my host sister Sunniva through Facebook and have been asking many questions regarding school, social activities and friends. I have also been getting to know a little more about her. She has told me many interesting things about the school i will be attending, which is the same school that she goes to. I'm pretty excited about starting classes there next year.

My Norwegian is progressing. My class has begun learning to translate minor sentences, reading short stories and learning more vocabulary. I'm also becoming familIar with the rules of the language. It was really exciting when i translated my first ten sentences with little help and it is amazing how much i am understanding in just a few weeks of class.

This last week I celebrated my 17th birthday. We went out and had a nice dinner and I got to spend time with my friends and family and then entered into my last year as a youth.

learning the language

For the past three weeks i have been attending Norwegian classes, learning the history of the culture and the basics of the language i will soon become very familiar with. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Norwegian isn't as hard of a language to learn as i expected, but the pronunciation of the words is a different story :/

I started this class with an open mind not knowing what to expect. I am very happy with the teacher and the group i am learning amongst. It is interactive, fun, humorous (saying some of the words and hearing other attempt as well...) and overall enjoyable. So hopefully i will come out of this class at least knowing how to ask "where is the restroom?".

Norge her kommer jeg!!
(Norway here i come!!)

16 Weeks Until Departure!

This past week I had my home interview with Damian from AFS. It went really well and I enjoyed hearing Damian's stories about his time in Switzerland in the 1980's. He told me about all the rules for AFS and asked some good questions. I felt very comfortable and confident in my responses. One question he asked was "Why do you want to go to Norway?" and my reply was that my family has all participated in overseas experiences and I want to continue with that tradition. I know that that their experiences were more traumatic, given that they lived in third world countries, but I feel that this is a good first step to becoming a lifetime traveler. I told Damian that I am excited about living away from home and learning simple life skills like managing my own money.

Over the last few weeks I have been able to raise a little bit of money. I cleaned my Uncle Bruce's car and he gave me a generous donation. My other uncle, Heiwa, kicked off my fund drive with a generous donation as well. I got a letter and donation from a friend of my grandparents, John and Lynda Cock, which was such a welcome surprise. They shared with me stories about my Grandpa Stan, something I really appreciated. Today I'm going out to start working for Grandpa Fred and Grandma Nancy who have offered to hire me in return for their donation to my trip. I'm excited to see them and get to work! My Grandma Carol has offered to have me clean her car as well so I will get that done this week as well. Let me know if there is anything that I might be able to do for any of you. I'm open during the next two weeks while I'm on my spring break.

Last week my dad and I purchased a Norwegian language program, not knowing what to expect, but it has been a nice tool. I also bought a Norwegian App for my IPhone so I can learn it on the go. Tomorrow I start Norwegian classes at the Swedish Language Institute in Ballard. I'm excited to meet other people who want to learn the language and to learn with them. I realize that the language is going to be very difficult to learn but I feel like it's important to learn as much as possible before I go because all my classes will be in Norwegian while I'm in Norway.

I talked to my new host sister Sunniva this week on Facebook and I started the conversation in Norwegian asking her "Hvordan gar det?" which means "How are you?". She seemed to approve. I asked her about her friends, and asked if she liked her school. She said that she loves them both, which I think is a good sign. I explained to Damian during our interview that my biggest concern was school, because I really love the way I learn at my current school. It's important for me to like my school and make friends, so I'm glad that Sunniva has good friends and likes her school. I look forward to meeting new people and learning about a new school environment. It's going to be very different from my current school and probably my biggest challenge while I'm in Norway.

I feel very fortunate to have such a welcoming host family because Damian was telling me that for most AFS students the most challenging aspect can be bonding with their host families and feeling at home. I'm not worried about this at all.

So, I really want to hear some thoughts from all of you. Write to me and tell me what you think about this upcoming adventure. Maybe share some of your stories of life abroad. I know many of you have lived overseas and traveled. Tips?

Takk!

Noah

FUNRAISING!

Hey everyone!

So today marks the beginning of my fundraising efforts. There is a button right here on my blog if you would like to make a donation to my trip. I am also available for childcare ($10/hr) in exchange for your donation right here on the blog. Your donation goes directly to my AFS account! Easy!

My goal is to raise $5000 so please help me to reach that goal. I'm open to all ideas for fundraising and I really appreciate any help that you are able to provide me. This is going to be a great adventure!

Thank you,
Noah

My Grandpa Fred

This is my grandfather, Fred Lanphear, who is an amazing man and living with ALS. This is the annual ALS Walk in Seattle. Pictured with us is my younger brother Mason. Both of my grandfather's have been inspirations to me. I've been so lucky in the grandparents that I was given. They are all amazing people.

My Grandpa Stan

This is my grandpa Stan who passed away on Nov. 15, 2009. I miss him so much. This is my Auntie Karyn, who is a sweetheart, and misses her papa too.

This is back in 2007 when Astrid, Odd Tore and Sunniva came to visit CC in Seattle and our family took a hike up near Mt. Rainier. Beautiful day with great people!


This is a photo of me back in 2007 with my two sisters, Ilaria on the left and CC (Siril) on the right.

The Beginning....

So after a lot of effort and expectation we heard today about my AFS Global Leaders Scholarship. I am pleased to announce that I am fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship and hopefully this means I am on my way to Norway in August! There's still some work to do but I am extremely hopeful and excited now!

Thank you to the scholarship committee for this award. I am so very grateful.

So, now it's time to think about raising the rest of the money and taking some Norwegian classes!

With appreciation!

Noah

Why Norway?

I have traveled abroad before, having been to the United Kingdom with my family in 2008. We spent two weeks touring England, Scotland and Wales. It was a wonderful experience. The year prior to that we had an exchange student from Norway living with us. It didn't take long for me to love CC (Siril) as my sister and she always said that I could come stay with her family when I was ready. So, I'd like to take her family up on that offer. Her parents, Astrid and Odd Tore came to visit us in Seattle, along with her sister Sunniva in the spring of 2007 and I really loved them. They are such fun people! We hiked on Mt. Rainier and ate at wonderful restaurants. So, they have graciously agreed to host me this next year and I am so excited to go and share a family life with them in Norway and learn about their culture. They are wonderful people.

My family has a rich history of traveling abroad in service. All of my grandparents, and my parents, aunts and uncles have lived in third world countries where they have served working with local people to make their lives better. These countries include India, Kenya, Peru, Korea, Tonga, and The Marshall Islands. I want very much to be a part of that tradition and I think a year abroad will help me to have a more global perspective. I know that if I can see more of the world I can have a much deeper appreciation for what it means to be a global citizen and be of service.

My family is very supportive of my desire to travel and see the world. If anything I think they wish I was going to a third world country, but my family knows that any experience outside of ones home country is helpful in building a greater global perspective.

Having been a part of a host family for AFS I really do understand the struggles that a student can have coming into a new situation. I think for me it's comforting to know that I will be living with people that I know, but I am aware that there will be many challenges and that I will have to keep an open mind. I know there will be times when I am homesick for the things that bring me comfort. The challenge will be to work through that discomfort and find new ways to balance life.

I'm really looking forward to this adventure and hope that I can record on this blog for you some of those experiences. It's only roughly five months away, so there is a lot of work to be done!