My school experience so far has been like riding a giant roller coaster...up and down, up and down. I feel like there are a few characters and key terms to introduce you to before I can begin ranting.
First, asylmottak. There are many of these places in Norway where people can live while they are waiting to see if they will be granted asylum and refugee status. The asylmottak in Hamar is in Ormseter. I found a picture online below. More than half of the students in my first class lived here. In addition to this housing, the state also provides the refugees or the refugee hopefuls with money and a chance at education. So these students are not paying for the classes that I am...they are actually being paid to attend like it is their job. They are thus held to the same geneal rules that Norwegian citizens must follow in regards to sick days etc. In my opinion this is why VO was created. I think the school that I am going to is designed to teach these students and is an attempt by the Norwegian government to help the integration of immigrants into society by giving them an opportunity (and adequate motivation $$$) to learn the language. I think it's a pretty good idea.
Liv is a character you should know a bit more about. She is my teacher and is very very very very nice and accommodating. Perhaps too much at times. She has a tendency to let the more demanding or unruly students take advantage of her or disturb class because she is not looking for conflict. She is a teacher, not a disciplinarian. With that said, I think she is really great. I think she has the best interests of her students in mind, and will do what it takes to help them. She is also 57 and could pass for 40. Oh, and she is always tripping on things.
Ivana is a Serbian woman of 30 years. She stood out right away as the most advanced Norwegian student in our class, and knew it and flaunted it. About a week in to class, I moved next to her because I wanted to be challenged. Since then I have learned a lot about her. She has 
lived in Norway for two years, got her master's in Norway and has a Norwegian boyfriend named Tord. She is incredibly frustrated with the pace of the course and has been complaining to Liv since the first day of class. When Liv didn't seem to be making her happy she was also complaining to the headmaster. She is not particulary fond of Hamar and makes it known. She is intense, direct and in my opinion most likely terrifying to some of the students that are true beginners in the language. She is not all bad however. She is always inviting me to join her places, and accompanied me to police station and loaned me 1100kr ($300) to apply for my work permit (they would only accept cash). So while she can be domineering and a bit pushy, she also did me this big favor. So basically when things are going her way or she can somehow gain power over you, she is quite nice.
I should also explain a bit more about how the school works. We go to class Monday through Thursday for 15-20 hours depending on the week. We just finished the intro course which was the sounds and the alphabet. Next we are starting in our text book, which includes levels A1 and A2. The school also offers level B1. I found a description online of what these levels mean (check it out). At the end of level B1 you can take a standardized national test. I assume that passing this test would result in some sort of certification that you handle the language well, similar to what I earned in Spain with the DELE, or what ESL learners can get in the US with the TOFEL.
Jakob is a 50 year old man from Eritrea. He has family in Africa and is not too
keen on being here in Norway either. I am not sure why he is here, but it is not because he wanted to study, come visit his significant other or sight see, that is for damn sure. Maybe it has something to do with the history of war and conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. I guess that's a good guess. He is one of many of students in the class coming from languages that have an different alphabet. Eritrea has two official languages: Tigrinya and Arabic. He speaks Tigrinya, and some English as well. You can see that the alphabet is much different than the Roman alphabet that I am lucky to already know. I can't imagine how much harder it would be to have to learn a whole new set of symbols. As he is presented with this additional challenge, and maybe also because he is many years out of school, in my opinion he has been a bit behind the class although he has been impressing me more and more lately. But listening to him and Ivana speak side by side, well it is obvious who is better equipped to survive in Norwegian society.
So what we have is two groups of students---one group is getting paid to attend, and the other is paying to attend. At first we were all together: 30 students from twenty some different countries. I thought it was extremely interesting having students from so many backgrounds, but the material wasn't as stimulating. We learned how to pronounce about three letters a day. While I am sure it will serve as a good foundation later on, it moved pretty slow and was relatively boring. Since my knowledge was little to none, however, I wasn't too caught up with complaining about how slow things were moving. I will admit though that some days were quite frustrating when I knew that I was paying $300 per month to be there and I didn't feel like I was able to speak or understand much Norwegian. But instead of wallowing, I spent most of my time observing my fellow classmates and making an ass of myself trying to pronounce the nine vowels: a, e, i, o, u, y, æ, ø, å. I also got caught up in my classmate's stories; during our breaks I would speak to different people--from Ethiopia, Somalia, Burundi, Iraq etc. and each person managed to speak nonchalantly about the war\terrorism\crisis that had led them to Norway while I just tried to hold back tears comparing my privileged experience to theirs.
All along tensions and frustrations are rising. Ivana expressed on multiple occasions that she thinks it is unfair that we are in the same class with these refugees who obviously don't want to learn at all. I have had a hard time keeping my temper a few times and have expressed my opinion that motivations are much different based on our reasons for being in the country. Of course I am in a better spot to learn when I chose to come here because I wanted to be with Lars, I wanted to explore a new culture, learn a new language and a new way of life and experience something new and different. For Ivana, she is here because she has been studying here, and met a Norwegian man who she fell in love with. Other students that are paying have similar experiences, and at the very least we have chosen to be here because we have the privelege to do so. Many of the other students are waiting for refugee status. I am sure some of them are feeling quite out of sorts; in a new place, not because they wanted to be or thought it would be a good experience but because it is a better option that avoiding bombs fallout walking down the street, or worrying everyday about dying. I have come home a few days this week feeling really heavy with the weight of it all.
For example, I spoke with this man named Shiine. He is from Somalia and he is 24 years old. I feel like he is a very special man--very genuine and very nice. He was asking me simple things 
about the election and he was fascinated by it all. He said that he wanted to know all about it because he has never known a stable government in his country. They have been at war for the past 18 years. This made me feel ridiculous even complaining about Bush! I mean, at least I don't have scars on my forehead from mortar exploding in my face like he does! At least I do not fear choas and anarchy like he does! And at least I do not have to leave everything I have behind and go to some foreign place if I do not choose to.
Anyway, we have finished our course with the alphabet and now we are split into two different groups. The group I have been placed in is supposed to be the faster moving group. We are about 16 people. All of the paying students are also in this group, and I think this is probably for the best. It just so happens that the paying students are also some of the more advanced ones, so it all works out. I was also a bit surprised by a few of the students that Liv and Helge has selected to be the fast' learners. There are a few of my classmates included that I wouldn't have expected. But then again I just trust Liv because she knows much more than I do...she is the one seeing their test scores, and hearing them in the one on one reading tests etc. So I am just going with the flow.
Ivana, however, is not. Nor has she ever. She is going to learn Norwegian goddamit and don't you get in her way or else she will push you down and make you feel bad. I am so frustrated with her right now because I feel she lacks any sort of empathy for others, and is completely insensitive to the purpose for this school. I feel like she is crawling and scrambling to get to the top to be the best and she doesn't really mind who she leaves in her wake. So the very first day that we were split into new groups she starts asserting how glad she is to be in a new group because it will be wonderful to finally be able to move at a much faster pace. And she is going on and on and on and on about it. I am watching some of the people's faces in the class and it is obvious that they are uncomfortable. Not everyone is as comfortable with Norwegian as she is! Jakob finally says something. He expresses that he doesn't want to be in class with these advanced people because he doesn't understand what is going on a lot of the time. He doesn't want to ask questions (because Ivana will probably roll her eyes) and he doesn't want to hold the rest of the group back. It was an extremely uncomfortable situation, with Ivana and Anna speaking a lot trying to persuade him they would help him and Jakob insisting that he didn't think it was a good idea. He even said that he wasn't in a hurry to learn this language. For once in my life, I was one of the silent ones in the group. Although I had a lot to say, I just didn't think anything of it very appropriate.
To be honest, I was fuming. What I wanted to say went a lot like this: Seriously---shut up Ivana. See how things go before you start complaining about how fast you want and need to go. Making these kinds of assertions are only making others feel bad. Give others a change to flourish. It is not all about you, and what is best for you! Yes, I actually agree that we shouldn't all be in the same class, but are you the teacher? No! If you really feel like it isn't working and your experience is suffering, talk to Liv one on one. Don't keep saying things in front of the group!! I understand her argument. It makes sense to me as well to take advantadge of your opportunities and learn as much as you can and bask in knowledge. But can't she also see Jakob's survival tactic? Of course he is not in a hurry! He is getting paid to be here! If he learns all this school has to offer too fast, then he is out of a job and out of an income! He needs to use the 300 days from September to June that the state has offered him... For example, what happens if he jumps a few levels to A2, and then finishes B1 before he is granted asylum? Then what is Jakob supposed to do? I just wish that she could put herself in some other people's shoes instead of stomping around loudly in her own expensive winter boots.
So this interaction resulted in Liv taking action. She brought in tests for the five of us in the group that were paying for class. This test is supposed to be taken at the end of levels A1 and A2 from what I have gathered. It was really hard and was asking a lot of things that we just hadn't learned or been taught. I finished it in about 30 minutes, and turned it in. I figured hey, if you don't know it you don't know it. And to be honest, I didn't want to stress about it too much because I wanted it to be an accurate reflection of where I am at with the language. I don't want to be moved to a class where I am in over my head and nothing makes sense. I rejoined the rest of the class and just assumed that I did poorly on the test and was okay with it.
Then today Liv announced the results. She said that Anna and I's scores showed that we need to jump up to B1! But we were the only ones! Just me and Anna. Honestly, I was shocked. The other three girls were between A1 and A2, and really, this might make me a horrible person but I was so happy that Ivana didn't do the best. It didn't have to be me that got the highest score, but I am just glad that it wasn't her. I think she really needed a big slice of humble pie.
So on Monday I will move to another class with Anna and try it out! And I suppose then I will have a huge humble pie smashed right into my face!
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Going inside the Viking Ship was awesome. It is an indoor ice skating arena that was built for the 1994 for the Olympic Games. The show we went to was called the Ice Festival and it introduced us to an interesting subculture that you would have never known existed in Hamar. Derby cars, motor bikes, go carts, bumping systems...it was pretty crazy.
watching the show alone, but was enjoying it like he was there with some of his best old friends...laughing and smiling over at me and Lars (and anyone else that was close by).
The old church was impressive. Construction began in 1152 and the cathedral was completed in 1200. Lars told me that the Swedish destroyed the cathedral and it turns 
out he was right (that never happens) :). It was ruined in 1567 during the Seven Years War. Now, they have built this huge glass structure around the ruins to protect them from prying eyes and fingers, and most likely the elements. And who knows, maybe it is an attempt to thwart the Swedes if they get any more nasty ideas.
