The world as a classroom

So it's a cheesy title, I know, but to me I feel like I have a much better connection with this idea. And no, I really, really, really, really don't mean anything sappy, trite, or otherwise casting images of smiling children holding hands around a world, because that's really not what I mean at all. What I mean is the dynamics of this university. Everyone wants to talk with everyone, and everyone is happy to talk about where they are from. There is overall just this strong sense of unity that is just incredibly appealing. It's really just through talking with these people, listening to them and their stories, and your realizations that there is a lot about a lot of stuff that you know nothing about that I think is really what makes this university what it is.

That said, I love being in class. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I mention that I added another course to my schedule---Norwegian literature. It is now the class I really look forward to and am just absolutely relishing. It probably makes it that much cooler just with the fact that I feel so well prepared for this class, thanks to my J-Term. I mean, they're talking about Per Thomas Andersen, Njal's Saga, and my professor just really knows her stuff, and it seems that in her somewhat reserved way obviously has a lot of enthusiasm for what she's teaching (I mean, I think it's just cool to have just listening to music from the ancient Icelandic cycles as part of our instructions in prose, the various forms of poetry, etc....).
But I know I'm also just loving it because it was a rather spur-of-the moment decision. I felt like I really needed to take something in addition to just my Norwegian language class, because as it stands it's once again outside the class that my Norwegian is really improving. To me, it's really more of a springboard for me, a map that charts what I can and should learn/know, but the real learning and everything once again is not in class. I can't tell enough how wonderful it is that countless times people have asked me things in Norwegian, and I have always been able to answer them back in Norwegian; if they asked anything more, they wouldn't even bat an eye and switch to English,...always in Norwegian!!! How cool is that?! Even today I was at the university's bookstore, I asked one of the workers where I could find some of the books, and even after she saw the booklist and saw that it was an ISS course and thus taught in English, she still continued speaking with me in Norwegian. Woot.
And why not take advantage of this? I am in Norway, and have chosen to surround myself primarily with people learning the language and are at least just as equally interested in getting just as much out of being here as possible. Therefore, outside of some certain situations, I find that the vast majority of the time I am just not speaking English (and even when I have to - such as in my lit course - and even then I am having to stop myself from saying something in Norwegian. No, there's a lot I still can't say, but when you've been switched on this way, it's just like when you're running for a long time: after a while your learning/running just becomes second nature, and you pick up so much simply by staying in the zone, which is just so easy to do). What will I do when I am no longer surrounded in this environment??? Well I'll cross that bridge later. (Okay, other sidenote: really, I am just so incredibly impressed with these students who have come from Beijing. Their commitment to learning the language is so impressive, and they always do it with so much gusto and curiosity. What an asset to the ISS...and actually they're quite well known in Norway, if I'm correct..)

But on that side note, I think that's really the concrete example I want to get to about my pseudo-theme for this blog: it's 1 AM once again, and my homework situation today hasn't been bad at all. Which made for an excellent day to do what I have been saying every day since Saturday: return to Sognsvann. I dread thinking about this, but I've heard that the weather may get bad during the weekend, and this in itself was what finally spurred me on to get back to that wonderful lake I visited with my good friends from the Beijing Foreign Language Institue on Saturday (was it really only less than a week ago.........?).

So I should back up. I am the class representative for my Norwegian class, and today there was an incredibly loooooong meeting for deciding who would be president, etc. I decided to run, and unfortunately didn't get the position, but I suppose I'll stay plenty busy without the position! haha. But it's funny because I was debating whether or not to do it right up until I went up there to give my speech, and it goes to show you something about basic psychology that the more I had to get up and speak, the more I realized I could really do a good job at this and wanted to do it. And then I didn't get it, so that's called irony I suppose. Oh well, I'm still looking forward to helping out. I just feel like I should give whatever I can to this school while I'm here. And, of course, represent PLU well :P
So that lasted until dinner.
And after dinner was the lecture series I am attending for a Norwegian society course I'm taking.

So I pursuaded my friend Gro/Wang Qingqing, a girl very interested in international relations, the Norwegian approach and just stuff about rights, conflict management, osv. to come with me to Sognsvann after the lecture, because the sun was still out and from what I've heard, the water was still so incredible and warm.

She was freaking out so much about it ("YOU'RE SO CRAZY, ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT ON CRACK???"...to confess I get this question a lot. Well, it's true I have a lot of energy and I'm generally an enthusiastic person...but I just really want to make the most of everything, you know?)---what if we couldn't get back? And, as I found out, she didn't know how to swim and indeed, it was her first time in a lake! But I don't think this is entirely uncommon in urban China, and especially the latter part. But anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong on this. She was scared to death of drowning.
I encouraged her to get into the water---as it turns out, it's really quite shallow for a long way- at least the part we were at. Oh, and it was really, really warm, even for past 10 PM.

And then, someone near by came to puruade her - a man who had come from Kurdistan in Iraq, and likewise switched between Norwegian and English as did Gro (who realized she wanted to also practice some English as well...haha). In a completely selfless way, he spent a very long time trying to help her, instructing her on how to swim and encouraging her as well, supporting her as many Norwegian kids would have when they were first learning how to swim. We were both very taken by the generosity with his time - he was really just doing this because he wanted to help, and it was clear he wanted nothing in return but an opportunity to give somebody confidence that she could do something she once thought impossible. And to me, this was the embodiment of Norway once again, because at once it was just this sense of collaboration, cooperation, consent, and unity, and of course it was very pretty outdoors and we were swimming in a lake at 11 PM because it was still warm and light out. And I really don't know how to say this last part without sounding really wierd, trite, or anything, because I don't like just saying "international stuff, "but just the aspect that we all come from such different backgrounds seemed part of that, and I can't say quite how it fit in, but it really was somewhat like that last day I had in Blindern when I got off at the wrong stop....

We kept telling her not to be afraid to let herself jump and let herself suspend a little bit in the water, and I just stopped for a brief moment and realized how once again, it was like one of my favorite quotes come to life: "sprang utpaa de 70000 favners dyp," or to be suspended over 70000 fathoms of water, Kierkegaard's famous statement on blind faith and a sense of passionate commitment...except that the water was probably only a meter high at most. ha.

She ended up excited, exhilterated, her fear gone, and the only thing that stopped her was that she began to get tired. She kept talking about how worth it that was, how happy she was, how much she wanted to go back and do it again. Actually, she was giddy. It was like something just lit up, and I felt so grateful I could witness something like that.

The sun was setting, the water was warm, and we were all learning from each other and talking about our lives. Our experiences were all so different, but it was met all with mutual interest. It was as if I had never left Blindern campus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that's what it felt like..Blindern with really warm water, a beautiful sunset, and something that just seemed so elysian.
And that is what it means to travel meaningfully, what it means to realize that learning and the things that make life be truly living.
Okay that's really all for now. I could say more, but wow is it late. This is why I should just upload pictures or something.