DEDICATING THIS YEAR TO THE MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER STANLEY H. CROW &
THE ENDURING SPIRIT OF MY GRANDFATHER
FREDERICK O. LANPHEAR

To Be of Use

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
~ Marge Piercy ~


Monday, March 29, 2010

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
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1 comment:

  1. CCApril 8, 2010 at 5:14 AM

    Gleder meg til du kommer Noah! Tenk at det er bare 15 uker igjen..

    Now, try and understand that!

    CC

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