Back to School

Hi everyone!!

Remember me? It's been a crazy long time since I updated the blog! I've been in an all-out vacation mode, so I'm sorry if you were checking for updates without finding anything new.. :(
Gulli already told you about our trip to Japan, it was super crazy mega awesome! I got so much inspiration and plans for the future that I don't even know where to start. First of all, I'm definitely aiming to take a year abroad. I know it will be hard mastering the language differences, exams and all that, but it will be worth it. I guess it would be more fun for you as well, if I can update the blog directly from Tokyo!  ^^

During my stay in Tokyo I also got the opportunity to explore different fashions, and I got to taste a bit of the lolita style I've always been longing for. We don't have that many pictures of the clothes we bought yet, but I'll try to update you on that later. I'm bursting of fashion inspiration after spending many long afternoons at my beloved Harajuku. Seriously, it's not just a myth. Harajuku is just as freaking amazing in reality as you picture it to be!

I have to admit that I feel a bit lost after finally returning home to our little town. It felt like traveling back in time, actually. It felt like waking up from a fantastic dream and realizing you're still in your bedroom.
I didn't feel ready to leave Japan, so it was a bit painful. We got into the new lifestyle so naturally, it somehow felt like I've been doing the same for years. Getting up early, eating breakfast with the host family, sleeping on the local train to school, grabbing a coffee before class starts.
It all became so nautral for me that I still sometimes close my eyes and pretend I'm at the same train again, at the beginning of a new, fantastic day in Tokyo.
Oh, this became very nostalgic. At least you got a feeling of how our trip was.

School starts in a few days here, and autumn is about to make it's arrival. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it, but in my lack if a time machine I just have to accept it. I'm sure many of you feel the same way ^^
Enjoy your last days of vacation to the fullest, and remember to bring the good memories and experiences from the summer with you when everyday life starts again!

Family picture ~ From the back left: our lovely host mother Noriko-san, Gulli, myself, our host brother Jan from Switzerland
Front left: our super kind host father Osamu-san, and Noriko-san's older brother Shingo-san ^^

Talk to you soon!

Just one week until departure! \^.^/

Hello everyoone! Remember me?

Today it's just one week until Gulli and I take off to Tokyo! I'm soo excited! The whole trip has always been something "far into the future", so I got a little shock when I realized we're not talking about months or weeks anymore, but days... Now I have to think about packing, learning the rest of the Hiragana (Japanese signs), and go through my checklists. Do I have enough copies of my passport? How much clothes should I bring? (Considering the fact that I will be shopping a lot.) Come to think of it, what is the weight limit on luggage again...? Do I need to bring this much shampoo?
It's so typical of me. I always slack off and take things lightly until the last minute. No wonder I'm always late. Even though I'm talking about it now, I probably won't start packing until the night before...

A-N-Y-W-A-Y!  Our schedule for the trip is super full with super fun stuff!
I'm really hoping we can manage to make a dairy out of it. It would be more realistic to call it a "every third day-dairy" or something though, as I'm guessing we'll be pretty dead tired.
If we see the opportunity we could maybe make a vlog too, with Gulli's cute little camera that was sent in that crazy huge monsterpackage you saw in the last post.
Some of you have may seen our introduction video? It was pretty amateur-ish, but at least we learned some valuable lessons about video blogging. Such as:

1. Don't make a video if there's a party downstairs. 
2. Steer clear of noisy roads and camping cars.
3. If two people have to stand under an umbrella, use a big one.
4. If you don't have a big umbrella, at least stand still so that you don't hit the other person.
5. Avoid camera men that laugh at everything you say. 
6. Don't use almost full memory cards. 
7. If you're going to speak English, learn the difference between "dairy" and "diary". (Big fail from my side.)
8. Once you're at it, learn the difference between "trip" and "tour" as well. 

Well guys, I hope you'll stick with us through the learning process, so that we can make better stuff in the future!

I know this is super delayed, but I have some pictures from the 17th of May (Norway's national day), to those of you who wonder how a Northern Norwegian national costume looks like ^^
I guess it's okay to upload some patriotic photos before I leave, so I won't get all blinded by Japan's glory. Or something like that.

 
Talk to you later ~

Summer vacation soon! ~

Hi sweeties! Long time no see!

I really wonder where all my energy went. It's the final days of school over here now, next Thursday I'll be graduating... So I'm really using my last energy reserves before summer vacation to get over and done with it. Today we got to know our subject and theme for the final oral exams that will be held on Tuesday.
I got English! My theme is "Being young on the edge", so I choose to focus on youth rebellion. Finally a task where I can express some of my own opinions, not just the endless mathematics!

Yesterday we had a day off, so I got time to catch up on non-school stuff. There are so many things going on now, you have no idea! I'm really tired, and I can't wait for the vacation. My grades are finally where I want them to be now, so I can relax with good conscience ^^
As you may know I'm self-studying Japanese now, and that won't take a break just because it's vacation. The blog won't take a break either, of course! I hope I'll have more time to write here once school is finished. Also, a few days ago I got chosen as the new leader in our theater for next season! I'm really looking forward to begin with a new play! Luckily I got a co-leader, so I won't take on too much responsibility.
Since I had some time on my hands yesterday, I took on a long neglected task: bathing my dog Tinto.
Tinto has A LOT of fur, and he really dislikes water. Sounds like fun, right?

"I thought... I thought you loved me :("

"Do you see how much pain I'm going through because of you? :(("

"Please stop... I promise I'll be good for the rest of my life!"

"Wiiih, finished! ~"

And here's a practicing sheet from my Hiragana studying. It's starting to look okay, right? :D
Now I just have Katakana and Kanji left... 

I can't believe I'm graduating next week. I haven't had the time to think about it, so I realized just now. I'm really excited to see what lays ahead of me now that I'm finished with this period of my life. 

I'm sure you all are feeling excited for the summer as well! Remember, no matter how hard things may seem in the present, there are always good things waiting for you in the future! 

Stay well, everyone! Until next time ~

Sweden ~

Hi everyone! :D

Today it's Gulli's birthday, and right now she's out enjoying her first legal drink ^^
I am, on the other hand, stuck in Østersund in Sweden on a class trip. I've actually never been to Sweden before, and that's a bit embarrassing for a Norwegian. Well, it's okay, cause' I've always had a more exotic alternative. Like; "Silje, do you want to go to Sweden or Italy this summer?" Obviously I choose Italy, right?
Now that I am in Sweden, it really is no difference between Norway and here. Except everything is cheaper! I feel so sorry for all the poor Swedish people that go to Norway, and have to spend all their vacation money on a single bottle of cola :(
To all our Swedish readers: I understand your pain.

It's really fun here though! We're at some sort of activity camp, and we have a bunch of mazes and tasks to solve, and activities to do ^^
Today we tried laser shooting, and I really surprised myself with the shooting skills I didn't knew I had. I really got into the game, I bet some people wouldn't even recognize me! I got so enthusiastic, I think I even at some point shouted: "Die bitches!!" Sorry for that. But it was fun :3

I decided to add a random picture of a Swedish house in winter. We are in more urban areas now, but the weather is about the same. Just like Norway, really.

When we go home on Monday (8 hours with bus, yaay) it's finally easter vacation for me! ^.^
I really, really look forward to getting some time for myself to sleep and recharge. Yeah, I know I say that all the time, but I'm a girl who's completely addicted to quality time with myself.

This was a rather short post, and it's probably full of nonsense. I got pretty distracted when I wrote this, so I'm not even sure what this post is about. Hope you enjoyed it, though!

Talk to you later, have a nice holiday! :D

Weekend! ^.^

Hi guys!

Today it's officially weekend! I am so looking forward to sleep for a looong time tomorrow, because I need to get back some of the sleep I've lost because of my sore muscles. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep good tonight, so I can get enough energy for tomorrow when I'm gonna be working at a party serving food, cleaning up and stuff like that. Anyway can you guess what I've done all day at school, except eat lunch?..... Cutting thin carrot strips into smaller strips! I think I've mentioned the product we're making at school, right? Yeah, I am so going to get sick of carrots by the end of this.

I received a mail today from the company we're going to Tokyo with and it was an information file about Tokyo. So now I'm SUPER excited about going to Japan!! ^.^ I was jumping up and down and reading it out loud to my mom once I got it. There is so much to look forward to. Going to Shibuya and Harajuku, trying and getting a Kimono, visiting an animation studio, visiting a shrine and much more!

How I'm feeling! >w<

This is where I belong! Watching the bacon~ <3

This was a rather short post, but I hope you forgive me, nee?
Bye Bye~

My hobbies! Are weird.

Hi everyone! ^.^

Oops, I did it again... Now you probably thought I was gonna say: "SORRY I FORGOT TO BLOG YESTERDAY!! :((", but nope.
That is true of course, but the particular thing I messed up with this time was school work. School work that I was supposed to deliver digitally during the winter break.
Have I delivered it? No.
Have I written it? No.
Have I started to write it? Haha, nope.
When should I start to write it? NOW.
What am I doing? Blogging.

Luckily it's a rather simple text about "my hobby". I have a bunch of weird hobbies, but when it comes to writing it down, my brain goes blank. I don't have any hobby it's easy to write about.
Hobbies I could (not) write about:

• Watching Korean music videos. Yeah, I do that a lot. But isn't it a little hard to explain why? Something tells me that my teacher doesn't share my passion for Asian boys dancing and rapping so fast that not even Koreans can understand, all while wearing such creative fashion that Joan Rivers eyes would probably pop out. Well, it her loss. 
• Watching anime. I do that a lot too! Still, as a hobby it's not so much to tell about, unless my teacher want me to go in detail in the different series. (Which I doubt she will). Well, it's still her loss.
• Acting and working in a theater. Yes, that may have some more substance, but still I don't exactly what to write. And I must admit, knowing my teacher, that she would expect me to throw in a lot about theater history. Yaay. No.
• Walking my dog. No wait, that's not a hobby.
• Sitting for many hours in a row, always at the same cafe with Gulli. But what am I supposed to write about? Our conversations? I doubt my teacher would be interested in that. (Hint: the two upper points on this list.)
• Blogging.... That could work! I'll just write why I blog, how often, what I've learned from it etc. 

Then, sweet people, I'll just go and write a little text about blogging, and to be more effective I'll just add this post as a part of the text! :D (Do you think I have to translate it? Noo, she'll understand.)
Before I go I must make sure that you all watch this hilarious video, which always make me laugh so hard I can't breath. Once you watched it you'll probably understand why people say I have a bad sense of humor.

Admit it, you smiled at least once.

Now I gotta hurry and write that text before it's Monday ^^

See ya ~

The ideal vacation!

Hello, my rays of sunshine! ^^ (wow, that's creative)

Last night when I couldn't sleep, I found myself to be in the poetic corner. So I wrote a description of myself in my dairy, going like this: "Silje, you are much like a flower. Whenever the sun shines and everything is well, you blossom along with all your colors and all your glow. But as soon as a little shadow comes in front of you, you pull back all your flower petals and become a regular, boring plant. You need to learn to be more sensitive for sunlight, so that you can shine during dark times too! ^^"
When I read it again this morning I didn't understand why I made it so complicated. "Silje, honey, you have serious mood swings. Do something about it." That's how I should have written it.

Anyway, I'm happy now! It's Friday and I can finally stuff in on chocolate and candy like the sinful girl I am.
The weather at home now is seriously crappy; I feel so sorry for all the tourists that have taken their time to visit now. I hope you make it home alive, and that you don't break any bones on the icy roads.
I would also like to apologize on behalf of the Norwegian weather gods. They suck.

As you might understand, I need a vacation. Kind of ironic since I have a vacation right now, but it's not the type of vacation I need.

Key elements for a successful, tropic vacation: 

• Temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius.
• A good place to buy yummy, cheap ice cream.
• A little shop that fulfills all your cravings for sun lotion, soda in foreign tastes, weird candy, aloe vera-gel, and plastic flowers to put in your hair.
• A beach bar or pool bar that makes excellent fruit shakes.
• Cheap massage and manicure/pedicure.
• A little market to fulfill the rest of your needs after you've been to the little shop.
• At least one good restaurant that have something you like.
• At least one, fancy place where you can dress up with all the summer fashion outfits you brought, but can't use on the beach.
• Good summer music.
• Some hot guys.

Key elements for a not-so-successful tropic vacation:

• Sunburn. Serious sunburn.
• All kinds of diseases like infections, wounds and diarrhea.
• Insects. Insects everywhere.
• Evil monkeys.
• Evil animals in general.
• Scary people that speaks way to fast or way to slow.
• Jellyfish. Especially those who hunt many together.
• Others from your home country that acts like morons.
• Men who wants to marry you after knowing you for three seconds.
• Men who doesn't take no for a no.
• Bikinis and swimsuits that doesn't fit you.

 Well, it's going to be a long time before I can experience any of the above again. Not that there's anything wrong with going to Tokyo for the summer, but that's a different type of vacation. In fact, I think I might make a good/bad-list for city vacations too.
As it is now, any place would do good! >.<

How I feel these days (if you haven't watched this video yet: DO IT) :

You gotta love that woman.

Talk to you guys soon, and hopefully the weather is better where you are! :D

Bye bye ~

What I and grumpy cat have in common

Hi cute ones! ^^

Today I felt so incredibly bored. I seriously can't remember last time it was so bad. It wasn't because of school either, I had a lot of fun there. (Friday's at my school are usually quite chill.) It was when I got home my brain suddenly decided to remember all the funny moments that have ever happened or could happen in my life.
I have winter vacation now too, and while everyone were talking about how nice it would be to finally get a vacation, my mind went like "damn, damn, damn." And you know why? I, as the spoiled little brat I am, will for once not travel anywhere. And this vacation came so sudden that I haven't made any other plans either. What's a girl to do? "Relax", said my classmates. "Just enjoy the fact that you are free from school work and schedules next week."

It's Friday night. All that remains of my winter vacation is:

• Saturday
• Sunday
• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

And I'm already bored to death.
This afternoon I couldn't sit still. I walked around the house from the kitchen to the bathroom ten times, tossed myself around on the couch for about 15 minutes, took a very long walk with my dog, and emptied the battery on both my iPod and phone.
And this is what I'm supposed to do a whole week? "Relax and take it easy"?
Good thing Gulli is finally coming home soon, cause' this is an emergency. So many people are going away on fancy vacations, and I wanna go too! >.<
If someone offered me a cheap air line ticket right now, I would take it, no matter what destination.
I'm quite impulsive about travelling, especially long distance.
Gulli, on the other hand, is a smart, young woman who thinks of all type of factors like budget, time, planning, legacy and such.
She was very keen on my idea of going to South Korea for the NU'EST concert which was just held in Seoul, but pulled out as soon as she understood that I was serious... :(
She is also concerned about stuff like where we sleep and such. I would gladly sleep at a park bench if I could attend that concert!

Just to make it clear: I'm a huge fan of vacations, but I think they are much more fun when you're going somewhere or it's nice weather at home. Right now it's cold, dark and icy outside, and people are running from one warm building to another. In other words, it's not the right season to stroll the streets or hang outside, and the conditions are definitely not right for sleeping at park benches.

Random picture of my hair taken after my good friend Tonje had braided it. You see this look all over the web these days, and I think we nailed it pretty good. (Teen swag: How many likes for this hair?? <3 <3 <3 <3 etc.)

Talking about web stuff: I have always disliked the grumpy cat, until today when I realized that we had something in common after all. I'm generally a quite cheerful and positive person, but when I first get grumpy I think we look a lot alike. 

Me when I got home.

Me when I read all the "Yaay, finally vacation! <3" statuses on Facebook. 

The more I look at that cat, the more we look alike. Crazy stuff. The blanket he got on the upper picture looks just like the hood on my jacket and everything.

Well, no one I know have more shifting mood than me, so by tomorrow I'll be a happy, "that's so cutee!!" girl again, just like I was before I got home. The kids in the lowest grades on my school performed a carnival parade today, and I was paying more attention than any of the parents. How can someone possibly think that a little kid in a self made panda mask doesn't look cute? :3

Talk to you later! ^.^