Halloween 15′

My original costume wasn’t ready so I had to go as something else. Gratefully I read a comment on Youtube about a very original idea; so of course I borrowed it, making a small change though.

It being original made me put my art skills into it, but it wasn’t difficult at all.

I changed the bag with ice for the “chill” into a bucket with candy. I wasn’t very keen on the idea of carrying ice the whole school day. A lot of people got the reference, and some loved it. They also liked the candy.

On Saturday, actual Halloween, I went to a friend’s house and had a small gathering. We spent the evening playing games, listening to music, eating candy and getting to know each other better. At night we tried to get into the only two existing night clubs in this town, without success. Nevertheless, it was still fun. Around 02:00, we were back at the house and then we watched some Netflix. I don’t remember falling asleep, but I remember waking up a few times during the night. At 8 something am I decided to come home.

One thing I missed from previous Halloween celebrations was the decorations. I guess I’ll have to compensate next year then.

Till’ next Halloween.

Brigadeiro

Thursday, week 42, I adventured myself in the kitchen. Every Friday at school, two people are set up to bake any kind of cake or dessert for the whole class. I did brigadeiro, a popular Brazilian dessert. Never having done it before, I looked it up on the Internet and asked my mother for more specific instructions (that ended up not being very specific).

Brigadeiro is quite simple to make, so I assumed nothing could go wrong. Well, when it comes to me cooking/baking, things can and most likely will go wrong.

It wasn’t a total disaster though, I received good feedback, and I learned from the mistakes I made. Personally, I didn’t enjoyed eating it as much because it wasn’t as sweet, but it still looked and tasted like brigadeiro.

Ingredients:

Condensed milk

Chocolate powder

Butter

Optional: sprinkles

How to prepare:

Put the condensed milk in a saucepan with a spoon of butter, and wait for the butter to melt.

Then add the chocolate powder, while stirring it. (That’s when I made the first mistake, I put way too much)

The amount depends on how much condensed milk you have.

Keep stirring it, over medium heat, for 10-15 minutes. (Second mistake, I did it for like an hour)

Then leave it to cool. When it is cooled, you can eat right off the pan or form into small balls and put some sprinkles over it.

CAS experience, and a new recreation

On Monday, 21st of September, week 39. Me and Karen went to our first Taekwondo practice.

The lack of females was a bit unusual, but the guys were nice and welcoming.

We were introduced to a bunch of Korean words, although I haven’t really learned them. It was very intense, and the next day my body was aching all over. However, it was very fun to start doing a type of martial arts, which was something I’ve always wanted to do but never got the chance.

On Thursday, second day of practice, I was sure that I wanted to keep practising it, so I became a member of Elverum Taekwondo klubb.

On week 40, I ordered my uniform or dobok. It took a few days to arrive since the closest store is in Oslo.

Week 41 was høstferie (autumn holidays in Norway), so there was no obligatory sessions.

On week 42, Karen brought Silje along, they both got a 6-month membership as well.

Monday last week, 43, Solveig tagged along for a trial-out.

The physical training is mostly fast-paced, there’s a lot of kicking and some punching. I’m learning all these different way to kick and improving my balance.

Poomsae is a pattern of defense-and-attack motions which I must learn to get a higher level of belt. So far it is my favourite part. I guess because of the self-discipline that you must have to perform it, and the improving of coordination and balance.

1st CAS experience

On the first day of school, 17th August 2015, my class went on a trip so that we could get to know everyone.

We took a bus to this place up north, where we then climbed a mountain. It took about 1h30min to get to top, and the view was worth it. Being surrounded by mountains and all those shades of green was legen- wait for it -dary! (I’ve been watching a lot of HIMYM lately). The way down took less time, but we also had to walk a few kilometres to the spot where we’d stay the night.

The location was not what I had expected, we were literally in the middle of woods, there was water nearby but the vegetation made it difficult to swim in, and I don’t think anyone had brought any bathing suits.

After finding a not so flat spot, me, Maren and Solveig learned how to set up a tent. It took a while but mission accomplished.

Then it was dinner time, we were set up in groups of 6, and we had to prepare and cook our own food. Something I’ve never done in a forest before. After dinner, we learned a little about the IB Leaner Profile, and the teachers went around and discussed it with the students.

I went to sleep somewhat early and the small space in the tent was a bit claustrophobic. I woke up several times during the night, because I couldn’t get a comfortable position and because of the temperature; my upper body was too warm while my legs and feet were cold.

We got woken up at around 9 am, and although I was eager to come home, I wanted to keep laying for a little longer. Anyway, we got up and dressed and then went to the spot we had dinner the previous night, to have breakfast. After that, we got our things ready and waited for the bus.

Back at school, we disposed of the garbage, washed all the cooking utensils and put up the tents to dry. Then, we were free to go home.

Overall, it was a good trip. And I had a good time, despite my anxieties.

Check-list:

Not being the last to get to the top of the mountain. √

Learning how to set up a tent. √

Peeing in the woods. √

Being bitten by mosquitoes. √

Wearing shorts. √

Bathing in a lake. X

Sitting around a fire eating marshmallows watching someone play the guitar and everyone else attempting to sing. X

Getting to know my classmates I didn’t know from last year. X

Taking a few good pictures. √