nellyinnorway

35 Days to go and counting

2009-03-27T06:46:00.001-07:00

The current buzz around Y-Global is the partnership meeting, there is about 9 different patners present. The main purpose for this meeting is to evaluate 2008-2009 part of the program, to talk about what has been done right and what has been done wrong. Its also an opportunity for Y-Global to bid farewell to 3 partners who wont be part of the next interval of the proram. The program now has an overall theme peace and reconcilliation and South Africa, Armenia and Bangladesh do not fit into that theme and are therefore no longer going to be part of the program. For me personally its good to see the direction and the new approuch the program is taking, and its also good to see South Africa bow out of the program and giving other partners an opportunity. As one of the GoCy i have been tasked with putting together a presenation to the new and existing partners where i will talk about my experiences in the program and advise them as to how they can handle having a GoCy ect.

Well i am sure all of us can see that time is moving faster then we expected and i have only 35 days left in Norway. This obviously comes with alot of mixed feelings as i have created a life and a network for myself in Norway. But it also comes with the feeling of accomplishment, pride and excitement about going back to my country and building my life for the long term. Its strange how during all my time in Norway i have always had it at the back of my mind that my motherland is calling for me and that when the time comes i will not be hesitant about packing my bags and heading home. I have experienced Norway to the best of my ability and i feel like the end of my road has come and its time for me to move on. So what am i taking from Norway, for me personal Norway has given me self realisation and personal growth. Being in a foreign country makes you interact with people who either dont know you country or have their own perception of it which in turns make you get out of your comfort zone and dig deep inside yourself. I am taking the below points with me back home:

•Ideas and Suggestions
• Love for scouting
•Leadership skills
•Passion for youth development and community development
• Memories and friendships

Its a great feeling to have been in place like this and i will tresure every moment i have spent here, but its an even greater feeling to be going back to where you belong and where your heart(Sthe) is. I hope that most of us as GoCy have come to the same realisation, and feel like we have achieved what we set out to do and we are looking forward to going back home. Lastly i have always reminded myself and emphasized to myself that coming to Norway was not about having a holiday and the time of my life for 9 months, because if i wanted to take a holiday i would have waited and saved enough back at home and definetly would not have made it 9 months. So as great as Norway has been for me it has never been about, going to another place and seeing people as weird or making comparison between Norway and my own country. Coming to Norway was not about me complaining about the place being extra cold because before leaving home i already knew that, it was not about the diffrence in culture because i already knew that also, It was not about living in a country that is one of the richest in the world because before going home i already knew that.

I came here for more then that, and if you watch this space i will eleborate on what i mean about coming for more than that. So as GoCy, i hope we will not turn out to be one of those people that make continuos comparasons, complain about this and that and get carried away while speaking about other peoples countries because i am sure we knew almost all the things we found before setting off to those countries but yet we still decided to leave. I have always tried to stay away from complaining and being negative about a place i knew was going to be home for me for 9 months. I hope all the people in Norway who have intercted with me can agree on that because its always been important for me to not become a predictable nag. Lets be shining examples for next GoCy and spread the message of ' If you are going to another place to compare, complain, be sad, cry about the diffirences and ache for home then you are certanly going for the wrong reasons because it will be easy to do all the things i have mentioned BUT they will seem unimportant to you if you had a visison before leaving your country and knew what you were leaving home for. Being a GoCy is about yourself and the international YMCA YWCA family we are all part of. Not about the weather, the people, the country you are in, and i do know that all those elements play a major part but the main is myself and the YMCA. So for me Norway has given something diffrent and personal and for that it will always be in my best books.

Staff Personal Seminar

2009-03-12T02:38:00.001-07:00

I have just come back from 3 days in Blestølen with my collegues on something we call a personal staff seminar (dont ask why?). This staff seminar was an opportunity for us as co-workers to spend sometime together, get to know one another, have some interesting discussions and last but not least HAVE FUN. It would certainly not be the scout office if the word fun was not there. So off we all went, and i for one was looking forward to my skiing debut.

The staff seminar had a theme and the theme was Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an african concept which is not easy to translate but for me it means humanity to others, acknowledging the next person as a human being, therefore respecting them as a human being and knowing that human existance is depended on other humans. This being said for me its always come down to the fact that i know i dont live in an island all on my own, and that human relation and relationship is important to me because i am human. Its a hard concept to explain but from the information i read up before leaving for the seminar i found things such as i am because we are, and on being community upliftment orientated meaning that even though you should aim for individual enrichment, these enrichment should also benefit your community. This is definetly not a new concept to be as it something i grew up witnessing and seeing in my everyday life. I can still remember my mom telling me things like umuntu ngumuntungabantu which translates as you are a person through other people. I can also still remember growing up my mom would say oh you know this person has ubuntu and she would be referring to someone that is kind to others. Ubuntu is the building foundation of the new South Africa.

A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can't exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can't be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality - Ubuntu - you are known for your generosity. This was a great theme because it meant i could share what ubuntu means to me and i was able to eleborate more on things from my personal life lessons.

Pretty complicated but achievable and makes alot of sense atleast for me. We looked at ubuntu with regards to our relationships with others, the work place, as an indivisual ect. I wont go into too much debt about the discussions that came about but i just wanted to share what ubuntu is. For me personaaly i dont believe in individual happiness that isolates or diminishes others or individual happiness at the cost of alot of other people. I want and long for success that will contribute to other people's lives and that will make even a small difference to the lives of people around me. I want to share my happiness with others and be generous to the next person. To keep with the African spirit we also had South African food, South Africa quiz and song and dance. This seminar to me was the closest i could bring my co-workers close to my country and i would like to thank them for opening themselves up for something so new.

To the more interesting part, i tried skiing for the first time. Anda what a challnge that was i feel but kept picking myself up i got angry but calmed myself down, i got frustrated but carried on and towards the end i actually had fun doing it especially when i got a small hill downwards. I always believe in trying something atleast once before being judgemental to it and thats excatly what i did with skiing. I tried it and had fun doing it but i would not do it again. I skied for 6 km in total, and you can imagen how long it took me. When i was skiing back to our cabin that was when all hell broke loose, there was alot of downhills that were much longer which meant i was going much faster downwards and then i would panick towards the end and stop myself the only way i know how to and that is by collapsing myself. Now i should not even be saying i was falling because in avtual fact i was crashing lik ea ton of bricks on the snow, with my skies up on the air and my face full of snow. The first few times was fun i ctually laughed at myself but by the 4th downhill and crash i was absolutely feed up. I wanted those skies of my feel but was told i would not be able to walk on the snow without them. At one point i was on the grould with my legs in a position that i had never seen and i could not pick myself up. It was at that point that i told myself, 'You are never doing this again'. It was fun while it lasted though and i am glad i was able to push myself to do such a long distance and finish it. Right now i have pains in muscles i did not know i even had. It was great trip and i had t ons of fun with my co-workers.

So with just about 6 weeks left till my jorney in Norway ends. I feel like i am coming close to end of the road and it feels good to again know that i started something i am seeing it through and i am finishing it no matter how challanging it was. I guess i see a personality trait in myself which is i dont give up and once i start something i always finish it even though i might complain a bit.

The London Girl Trip

2009-03-02T03:23:00.000-08:00

The London girl trip was a trip to inspire young girls that have leadership potential to stay within the movement to understand what it to be a girl, to learn about self confidence, international issues and to take part in the world wide movement celebration called World Thinking Day. To a lot of girls that we left with, this was also an opportunity to network with people that are part of this world wide family and also to see what they can learn from other girl guides around the world.

My trip to London became one of those life changing experiences you only get to experience once. The day I left with 9 girls from the office was filled with confusion, doubt, stress and panic as for the first time it finally hit me that I was on my way to a country I have never been to before and on top of that was one of the leaders for 15 young girls who had all their trust in 3 leaders. On my way to the airport my mind was buzzing with different emotions and feelings but upon my arrival at Pax Lodge and after a short introductory to all the girls I felt calm and I knew that this was going to be a great 4 days.

The first 2 days were filled with different program activities and even though the sun was shining in London we all knew we were here for something bigger than that. I meet the most extraordinary group of young girls from different parts of Norway who were just as excited to be part of the World Thinking Day celebration and to be in London. The theme for World Thinking Day was girl guides around the world say stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases and as the group of Norway our own theme was being a scout girl in the world. With this being the theme I was able to do my HIV/AIDS presentation workshop which was a huge success with the girls and which turned out to be an informative session that was packed with good discussions. I also had a workshop about being a girl in the world, and was able to analyse to the girls that steriotyping women and not realizing that you are just a lucky generation that already had a group of strong women to fight for your rights is not only unfair but also a bit arrogeant.It was after these workshops that I finally was able to see that we were on a trip with well informed, mature, reflected and eager to learn young group of women. The sessions that were conducted but my fellow leaders were just as informative and opened up discussions about what is it to be girl and what it means to be a scout.

We were in an international environment at Pax Lodge and the girls were able to meet girl guides from countries such as the UK, Benin, South Korea and the United States. The day we spent at Pax Lodge attending the different world thinking day activities gave our girls an opportunity to see how different scouts around the world do scouting and an opportunity to learning about different countries. We also attended an international campfire that was a fusion of songs from all he different countries that were represented during world thinking day. During this time the Norwegian guides were included in the program and got an opportunity to teach the other scouts a Norwegian shout.

The trip to London can be summarized as a trip that was extremely important for the girl guides in Norway as it was an opportunity for them to witness first hand just how big of a movement they are part of and also to meet their fellow guides. It was also an opportunity for them to look outwards rather than inwards. It gave them an opportunity to see the differences between scouting around the world, thus making them more appreciative of what they have here at home. The girls got to not only see London a beautiful country but also to learn and appreciate being a girl scout. But most of all the girls got to feel special and were able to make new international friendships. The group of girls we had in London are definitely the cream of the crop, they are the girls that are going to lead the scout movement one day. All the girls I meet have such great potential and I am eager to see where they will be in the next 10 years.

For me personally this trip reminded me of the importance of speaking and grooming young minds at an early age. It made me realise the passion I have for youth development and making a difference in people’s lives. It thought me responsibility in a big magnitude, but most of all it made me fall in love with scouting even more.

The best trip any leader could ever wish for and working along side a great team of two leaders Maja and Marianne. So i am guessing none of the other GoCy just like me can believe that we only have 2 months left in the places we have called home for the past 7 months. I know i will treasure all my memories of Oslo and Norway for as long as i live whethere good or bad and i am hoping that we all come out better, stronger, more ambitious people that are driven by making a diffrence on other peoples lives.

PEACE OUT!!!

My Brutal Welcome to the North

2009-01-20T04:56:00.001-08:00

Ever since i have arrived in Oslo all i have complained about is the lack of snow they have. This is extremely rich coming from a girl who was born and breed in Durban South Africa, one of the hottest provinces in South Africa. Well i guess the snow was one of my main coming attractions. I firstly could not wait to build my snow man, to try skiing, have a snow ball fight and the list goes on. During the weekend my so called wish came true, in a massive way. The weather came from Friday having no snow at all on the ground to Sunday not being able to walk because of how high the snow is on the ground. Its always great to experience something new and something so natural. But my philosophy in life is to always have everything on a moderate level. I always say too much of a good think can be bad for you. So my snow has finally arrived and it feels like it has come in buckets and buckets. Let me just give you a preview of how these past few days have been for me.

1. Firstly walking on snow is not the easiest thing to do, i spend most of my time walking as slowly as i can to avoid the continuous embarrassment of looking like a humty dumpty. ( this morning my roommate said on the way to work, can we walk a bit faster please and i was like you go along i will take my time thank you)
2. Secondly when it is snowing and you are in my position trying very hard to co-ordinate your steps. The snow flakes that do not fall only downwards but feel like they coming from every side of your head hood does not help. So i have a hood on my head but still have snow flakes beating on my face and some even going into my scarf. Being able to walk and see is something i am yet to master while it snows.
3. While i was busy minding my own business walking on the side pavement i had to be the drying block of a bus that went past. I am not sure of i was walking to close to road or if i should have just followed everyone and walked where they were walking because when the bus went past it splattered tons of snow and muddy water on me and my poor boots.
4. I have also had to share public transport with a lot of eager people carrying the skies around and of course there is always the baby prams so this has left me in serious tight corners in transport especially during peak hours.
5. At this time of the year the sun is almost non-existent but the whiteness of the snow still shines through so that's a bonus.
So as i write all these things down i can almost not help how strange and different all of this feels to me. Moreover i cant believe how naive i was when i was watching all those movies that make snow seem like the most romantic natural scenery. So if that was the case why do so many people only get married in spring and summer. I cant believe how easy Jessica Parker made walking on snow in your stelletos look. This is my official snow welcome, it feels strange but today i am going out to build my first snow man and hopefully i will be in skies soon. I am sucking everything in and saying to myself 'Always be careful, what you wish for because sometimes you might just get it'. Over and above all of this, its really a beutiful site, it looks like the heaven have just put a white blanket on everything including peoples carswhich is not so great. I will be taking alot of winter pictures because this is definelty an experience.

I started volunteering at a drug addicts and prostitutes cafe called Marita Cafe here in Oslo. I go there every Tuesday from 07:00-10:00pm. This cafe has shown me another side of Norway or should i say Oslo. I have seen people that are outcasted by the community and people that you can absolutely shadow out if you don't look properly in between the lines. It felt strange for me to walk the streets of Norway in a freezing cold night looking for people that we can approach and tell that the cafe is opened and they can now get some porridge or coffee and tea and also just have a warm place where they can have someone to speak to.

Walking around with an experienced volunteer from Marita cafe, to the places know as the hot spots or the places where we can find all these people. I almost felt like i was in a different place or even in another country. So the question i ended up asking myself is ' What makes a person who grows up in a country listed as one of the richest in the world that also has so many opportunities end up in the cold streets doing drugs and living off begging in the streets' or even ' Are all these great opportunities for all people or do some people loose out as always'. I want to go Marita Cafe for the rest of my stay here in Norway because i feel like this is where i am going to feel the essence of the minority in Norway and see some realities that seem to be over shadowed. And to be honest minorities have always interested me. I think i will have more stories to tell from Marita Cafe so everyone must watch this space.

Better late then never!!

2009-01-08T01:47:00.001-08:00

I decided not to make any new year’s resolutions this year, seeing that they are always the same year in and year out. My top one is always to loose at least 5kg through the year, but the opposite seems to happen every year. So this year I am starting on a new note, with no resolutions but just to enjoy myself, be happy and grateful for what I have. I am hoping this new way of looking at things will instantly make me loose the 5kg lol. Well a girl is allowed to dream right. On a serious note though I hope this way thinking will make me start a year without a new diet, or stress of failing in 3 months but instead just inner happiness and to be at piece with my self. Well as everyone knows I spent my very first Christmas and New Years Eve away from home. I was extremely scared as time went closer because I just did not know what to expect. I must say everything turned out great. I visited two different families during the holidays, and both of them were equally great.

They made me feel at home in every aspect, and were genuinely concerned about how I was feeling and if I was doing well. I was given so much attention that I felt like a kid again and it felt good. I remember on Christmas Eve I woke up to watch Cinderella and the three nuts. I found candy hanging on a sock just waiting for me, after that we decorated the tree while listening to Christmas carols. We all sand around the tree. On Christmas Day I had the opportunity to try luttefisk, no comment on that one but the bacon, steamed potatoes and turnip was great. My colleague’s father was the main chef during the days I was there, and he is such a great cook. The whole family was just really so great, and I would like to thank them for opening their home to me and letting me share Christmas with them. I hope one day when they visit my country I can do the same for them.

In News Eve all the GoCy in Norway packed their bags and went to Arendal to spend News Eve together. I must say I felt a bit uncomfortable about the fact that it was not only 2 people going to the same place but 4. I kept picturing how I would feel if my sister invited 4 people into our home during New Years Eve and to top everything off all these people are from different parts of the world. The family handled the whole situation very well; both Kristin’s siblings were great to us. Kristin’s mom was the main chef for these few days, and the food was absolutely great. On behalf of all my fellow Norwegian GoCy’s I would like to thank Kristin’s family for opening their home for a pack of people and make us feel so at home. I hope one day when they visit our countries we can do the same for them.

In the work front, I am currently working on an article for the scout magazine about Wold Thinking Day. I am working on workshops and presentations that I will do during my trip to London. I am really excited and the days are getting closer and closer. I am also working along side Solveig on ideas for a recruiting scout camp that will be opened to non-scout members. I am working on putting together a stay in Norway magazine that will be distributed in South Africa YMCA and to all my friends and family

Last Day at Work

2008-12-19T06:34:00.001-08:00

Well today is my last day at work, before the christmas holidays and i think its only good that i write something before i go. I am coming back on the 5th January where i will write loads and loads of posts on my different holiday experiences around parts of Norway. I am really excited about the trips i will be taking, but at the same time its really hitting me hard that i am not spending Christmas with my family.

I got a gift from South Africa yesterday, it was from my boyfriend. He gave to Vidar who is in South Africa but came to Norway for his December holidays. If i did not say this incident made me even miss home more i will be lying. Well enough of that i am going to Stryn and Arndel, so people of Stryn and Arendal brace yourselves a South African is coming to town. I have some self evaluating that i need to do. I kind of need to look at myself and see how i have grown and it what areas i have grown in?

3rd Week of December

2008-12-15T00:35:00.001-08:00

The Christmas spirit is on an all time high, everyone around me is talking about gift shopping and how many days they have left till they go home. Its all rather exciting. I am also looking forward to spending my first Christmas in Norway, and i must say i have experienced alot of the traditions through various events that have been taking place from the beginning of December. I sincerely hope i will experience a white Christmas but apparently where i am going it is not a guarantee that it will happen. The days are certainly coming closer and closer and Christmas is here people. I already know where i will be spending my Christmas holidays, and i am looking forward to seeing other parts of Norway in the process. As hard as this time of the year should be especially since its family time. I am still really looking forward to spending my Christmas here. Its kind of funny because most of the time i have been complaining and feeling like things are very hard that i have only realized now that i am doing absolutely fine. I am fully adjusted now and i am no longer weary of doing things on my own. I have treated a life for myself here in Norway and it feels good to be happy and at peace about everything.
This past week there has been alot of event attending. I tried ice skating, since there is a huge ice ring in Oslo central now, and as much as i feel i was terrible. People have been telling me i was not so bad for a first timer. This was really cool and i think i am going to go again and see if i can find my own technique or balance. I also attended a Chirstmas boggie on Friday and got to meet some of the people i will see at Strini and i had a great time. I meet some really lovely people. Yesterday i went to a girls movie night and we were watching Mama Mia. Mama Mia is really a great girly movie that i enjoyed. Most of the girls i was with we watching for the second time but still managed to be glued on the screen. I now want to hire the movie Love Actually, as i have been told its a great Christmas love story movie.

In the work front, it getting close to wrapping up time. The year is almost over and my last day at work is on Friday. I am looking forward to the London Trip taking place in February and i am so glad i am part of the organizing committee. I had a great meeting with the two others leaders for this trip, and we had some great ideas. This is going to be one of those projects that will be really close to my heart. I feel extremely excited about this and look forward to putting together the final logistics in it. As from January i will also be visiting different groups, so i look forward to meeting everyone and sharing some information about my country and the HIV virus.

I would like to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year. I will try to carry on writing even through my holidays.

2nd Week of December

2008-12-08T01:02:00.001-08:00

Well its already the second week of December, and believe or not i am starting to get scared. Towards the end of the week, i was not feeling to well. I had a sort of fever and a massive headache. Surprisingly enough after resting for about 2 full days and taking painkillers i was fine on Thursday. Thursday was also the day for our office Christmas Party and the day i was leaving for my weekend to Bergen. I got really emotional when i received a gift from everyone in the office. What made it so emotional for me first of all, is that they brought me the perfect gift. The kind of gift that is so perfect that it would have to come from people that listen to you when you talk, and who want nothing more then your wellbeing at heart. It was also emotional because for the first time, i was actually hit with the realization that everyone in the scout office has become a part of my family.

They are the people that i spend more time with than anyone, and they are the people i am going to miss most when i go back home. The realization of the fact that i am going to leave them in may was really overwhelming for me, i care so much about each and everyone of them. I also believe that when they call themselves a youth organization, they really do stick to their word. I really would have never dreamed of being in another organization then the YWCA-YMCA Scouts and Guides of Norway. So since i was so emotional at the dinner, i think this is the opportunity for me to say Thank you to all my colleagues and that they all Rock!!!

On Thursday i also left for Bergen, where i we were hosted by Birgitte. She is one of the GoCy's and also a good friend of mine. I must say this before i carry on, i am in love with Bergen. The moment i got out of the train and just looked around i thought to myself this is definetly a homely city. Oslo however is still very close to my heart but Bergen is just out of this world. Its a city that is still very much in touch with its history monuments, and its evident in their achirtecherer that the influence from the medieval times is still very much alive. I love the fact that you can walk around the whole city in a few hours and everywhere you turn you are just drawn by the essence of the city. I find this city even more breathtaking because of the fact that the city is surrounded by houses on its mountains.

I can still remember two houses at the top of its mountain that were identical, and Birgitte told me they was a TV show about the two families in the two twin houses. From the top of these mountains, one can see a stunning breathtaking views of the overall city. We went past a wish well, where you can throw money in and make a wish. The whole atmosphere around the city is very calm and tranquil.
Bergen is a city just like Oslo but for some reason its a city that you can feel more at home in. I have to remind everyone that i saw Bergen at a very cold time, and still thought it was stunning. I cant Imagen how gorgeous it looks during the summer. Bergen is definetly a city i would like to visits even when i have gone back to South Africa. I have decide that i am going to start writing down a list of all the places i get to visit around Norway, so i can make sure that when i go back home i see alot more of my country like i did Norway.

So i have definetly had a fantastic weekend, i am feeling very refreshed and looking forward to more traveling during December and seeing more of Norway.

First Week of December

2008-12-01T03:26:00.000-08:00

I really had a great weekend; I went to something traditionally Norwegian activity on Friday and had a great time and I meet some lovely people. In ths blog I am sure everyone has realised that I have not only made it my travel blog but also a discussion blog. I enjoy writing this blog because it lets me share my experience with so many different people, but over and above that it also shows realistic experiences and challenges when living in a foreign country. I continually make sure that I am forever honest in this blog because I know that when I have left Norway it is I who will read it.

Humour/Jokes, such a great word and something that we all need from time to time to keep us going. But humour/jokes as great as it is if used the incorrect way can be the most insulting, de-grading and embarrassing way of attacking another human being. My dad always you to say ‘Every joke has its meaning’, whether this is true or not I still stand to find out. I have come to learn of a different form of humour in my time here in Norway, and that is sarcasm and irony. This is a great way of joking and at times I have found it more humorous then most jokes that people have to tell or say. In between all this laughter though, I have also experienced that there is a fine line between humour and being down right of offensive.

I have ask myself the question of so where is the line between these two different dynamics and how does one know when they have crossed it or stepped on to you. I have been thought and learned for myself that one should think before they something to another person. This can go as far as re-capping those words like they are coming to you personally from someone else and ask yourself how they would make you feel. Now this is extremely difficult to do especially when having a flowing conversation between two different people and getting lost in the moment as I always say. So I have given myself guidelines and precautions when it comes to humour, I believe that humour should not contain offensive or laughable information about a person’s religion, culture, race, gender, background and sometimes most importantly history. I choose these guidelines because I believe that they are factors that interlink with the individual holistically. These are aspects one can not change because these are factors that make the individual who they are, and so humour linked with them is similar if not exactly the same as making fun of the individual themselves.

I know some people might say I should take a ‘chill pill’ or just ‘loosen up’. But my culture, my country, my race and background have been the source of many criticism, humiliation and de-grading for many previous years and some aspects till currently. I will be the first to admit that these reasons have in some way made me sensitive, but also in other ways they have made me the person I am today. I carry these internal scars with me wherever I go, they have been inseminated in my mind and therefore I cannot just shut them off. I guess one of the reasons why I immediately take a disliking to humour that has to do with race, gender, culture, religion ect is because of the country that I come from, where it is utterly not tolerated for one to be humours about those aspects because of the history we have and how fresh and new the scars are still to many people. I share this with you because I want to hear your views about this broad and funny topic called humour, I want to hear what your boundaries are when it comes to humour.

In the work front, we were handing out HIV/AIDS badges to the public today at Karl Johan Street. It was a very entertaining morning, and I would like to thank everyone who participated in this great course. My invitation letter will be getting sent out very soon, so I am looking forward to meeting all the different groups and sharing a bit of my country with them. February is slowly creeping in, and that is during my trip to London, I really can’t wait. We will be having our first committee meeting on the second week of Decembers, where we will discuss potential activities that will take place during the trip and other logistics.

Its already December and we are just a few days away from Christmas, I really cant believe it. I will be spending Christmas with one of my colleague’s family, and I look forward to experiencing my first Norwegian Christmas and hopefully a white Christmas. I am also going to Bergen, for the coming weekend to visits a friend. I am really looking forward to that and I think it will be a truly entertaining weekend filled with lots of laughter. My December holidays seemed to be filled with a lot of different activities so I am really looking forward to this month.

Last week of Novemeber

2008-11-24T00:44:00.001-08:00

I cant believe its already the last week of November. It will be Christmas soon and i wont be at home with my family its feels a bit strange almost unbelievable. After 21 years of spending every Christmas with my family this year, i will spend it half away across the world with another family. As much as i know i will not be alone on Christmas, i cant help but feel like i will be alone in some way. This weekend has been filled with alot of talking and discussing of issues between me and my roommate.

On Friday she came with the decision of leaving Norway and just dropping the whole program . This came as a big shock to me because i thought that we were both doing okay, and have learned to adjust to our new surroundings and all the challenges they have brought with them. Its so much easier to judge and ask someone why they have not adjusted and why they are quitting when you are not in their shoes. Each and every GoCy has their own story to tell, and their own feelings to share. Nune decided to stay at the end of everything because she wants to finish what she started and to teach her self that some things in life need you to persistent and not to give up. Seeing Nune in that situation made me reflect a mirror on my self and this is how it goes.

The current situation is this. I have never been abroad before or have been far apart from my family for more than a week. I went abroad to be an SA YMCA Youth Ambassadors. This means that i came with the pressures of wanting to represent my organization and more importantly my country. I took on this challenge and told myself i can do it. I get to Norway, and its as if i have entered a new world that i do not fit in, they speak another language, they have different culture ect.

I want everyone to understand that as much as there is benefits through doing something like this. There are also disadvantages. Its not a small or easy thing like some people see it. I know it sounds like i am complaing which i am not sure i am doing or not. This is a big step for any individual and sometime situations and circumstances can make it even harder for you to carry your step through. What happened with my roommate gave me a wake up call, that lets stop trying to hide our feelings and continually say everything is great and fine. Because we made big decisions, yes they are great opportunities but that dos not take away the fact that they are challenging to stick by and they are just not that easy.

Let Nune's experience be a wake up call to all of us about how hard a situation we are in, and how much we need to know that its one day at a time and one step at a time. So if i feel like i am complaining all the time and life is difficult, i am not going to beat myself up about it because i am in a foreign land and no matter what i do it will never feel like home. But it can be like home away from home.

On the work front, we are trying to get some media coverage on the 1st December for HIV/AIDS Day so today we will be putting some ideas about the media strategy. I am also working on potential activities that can take place during the trip to London for World Thinking Day. I still cant believe i am going to London soon. One of my colleague's has also taken me through the evaluation of the Fire and Flames weekend so we all have an idea of what the participants thought of it and what can be done better next year ect.

3rd Week of Novemeber

2008-11-17T00:24:00.001-08:00

Its funny how life can take you in a journey that you have never imagined even in your wildest dreams. Its strange how things can change in one day. Its funny how fear can sometimes rule your life and avoid you from experiencing life changing experiences. When i was given the opportunity to go to Norway, i remember deep down in my heart i really wanted to go. My brain on the other side was telling me logical things like. Do you know how far away you will be from home? They speak a different language from you? Its cold at that place? Are you going out of your mind? But because of the curiosity in my heart and the longing for change i had in my heart the fear did not win.

I remember the first 2 months in Norway, my brain was telling my heart i told you so, and look what you have gotten us into now. I personally felt a deep pain of stupidity and could not believe how i could have talked myself into doing something like this. In life i have noticed that life is how you make it to be, i could still be mopping around complaining to myself about the weather, the language, the difference of culture ect or i could take this whole experience and embrace it. It was really a decision i had to take for myself and it was a hard decision.

I have looked at a typical young South African my own age, and what kind of memories they will build for themselves. I looked at myself, also a typical South African young person and what kind of memories i will have. Firstly i want to give you a sneak preview of my life here in Norway. I live with an Armenian girl, now this is me living with a girl from a country i did not even know existed. When she calls home she speaks Armenian, which sounds extremely strange to me but i am sure my Zulu sounds just as strange to her. I have a contact person that has lived in South Africa for 2 years also on an exchange program, what are the chances of me working in Norway in an office where the most important person to me here in Norway has lived in South Africa. I work with a great crew of people, all from different parts of Norway who each individually share a part of Norway with me in a different way. I work on things that i feel really makes a difference in people life, whether big or small. I work for an organization that focuses on youth development in a very holistic view. I have a friend who i meet at the Norwegian course from Ethiopia, who plated my hair yesterday. It ironic how while she was plating my hair, i kept thinking to myself who would have thought this time last year. I would be in Norway sitting on the floor with an Ethiopian girl plating my hair and my Armenian roommate taking some pictures or even being in a Norwegian class, where i have meet people from Austria, Phillipean, England, Poland, Somilla ect.
My life has changed, the way i look at people has changed. I have realized that i am part of a global world and a cultural diverse world. Where my culture is not better than yours or the other way around. Life is not only in the city or town that you are from. I have found life in a totally different part of the world for myself, and this life is a life that has thought me more then any part of my city or country would have thought me. I am still going to have hardships in this country and things will never be like being at home but I have made life long memories and the next time i see someone from a different country in my country i will make sure that i don't see them as strange because now i have also been a stranger in a strange land.

2nd Week of November

2008-11-12T00:06:00.001-08:00

My life here in Norway seems to be taking a comfortable turn for the better. I have not been feeling hectically home sick lately and i feel like i am at peace with myself. I have accepted my new life here which even though is not surrounding by all the people i love and care about so deeply. Its still surrounded by kind people who i care about more and more everyday. Its getting close to the end of my Norwegian classes and must say i am still not confident with my Norwegian at all, well 4 months later i can only say 'my name is Nelly' and 'i come from South Africa' not very good hey. I guess when you are surrounded by people who speak the language so well you almost become very intimidated to even try. I know this is not within my character, because i always believe in trying and making a fool out yourself in the process but language is a different story.

My social life has had a bit of a turn these last few weeks. I went to a concert by one of the top South African artist Tumi and the Volumes. I don't remember when last i had such a good time, it felt great to be able to dance the night away and just have fun. I know for a fact that i want to do Oslo nightlife more often than not. I also had dinner at one of my colleagues houses yesterday, and then we went mountain climbing. We had the Norwegian traditional dish which includes meatballs, potatoes, greens and gravy. This is a dish that i gave come to encounter in alot of occasions, and for the record i don't mind it because i think its great. We then went mountain climbing and found a short steep hill that was good enough for a beginner like me, it felt great to climb to the top but its a pity i cant say the same about going down. I learnt a few tricks about climbing yesterday, thanks to my very informed companion. The trick of going down is to go with legs first unsteadying of the norm where you find balance with your hands. Its also important to keep the rope tight at all times, to find a solid tree to tie your rope on and last but certainly not least to have a good companion at the bottom who can hold your weight should anything happen. I am now looking forward to trying out skying.

The work aspect, we have just finished 'Fire and Flames' and personally i think everything went fantastic. I got to learn how to make Tapas over a fire, i was really amazed at how much you can cook over a fire. It was certainly amazing. I also did my HIV/AIDS badge presenation which i think went well, i just hope that when i do speak about this subject to people they don't feel like oh well it would never happen to me because that is where the power of this diseases lies. Everyone always thinks it can never happen to them until it does and they don't have sufficient knowledge about it. I also received a short crash course on Microsoft Designer yesterday from Ragnighd, when i was assisting her in putting together a poster for the Christmas Campaign. I will be sending out my invitation letters soon to all the scout groups in Oslo, so i look forward to meeting new people and sharing some of my country with them.

I know i have not been posting any pictures lately, but i will try to very soon.

November has started

2008-11-03T03:31:00.000-08:00

I still cant believe i have already been in Norway for 3 months, time seems to be flying and i already know when i am taking my Christmas holidays and when we are having our office Christmas Party so that kind of shows me that time is moving . I have kind of adopted a new feeling towards this whole experience and sometimes speaking to older and wiser people shows you that somethings in life are not measurable. I know for a fact that when it comes to personal growth and learning more about yourself these past few months have been an extreme eye opener. I feel like for the first time in my life i know what is going on with me and how i feel, which is different from the life i have at home which includes my work, my boyfriend, my friends and my family and i always have to divide my time between all these different things which easily makes me forget to have time for myself and what i feel most of time. So as i look into finishing the next month i open myself to self realization and just treasuring each and every feeling i experience.

Okay enough on that, the past few weeks have been surrounded by alot of things happening around my work and personal life. Me an Nune hosted our first dinner at our place which was a huge success, i really had a great time with everyone that came. During the last weekend i joined the young scouts on a sort of treasure hunt around Oslo. The concept of the game was 'Try to save Norway from a terrorist attack''. I got to see parts of Oslo that i have not seen and it was interesting to see old Norway monuments that have been turned to something else now. I also went out for hot chocolate with my roommate on Sunday to a great coffee shop in Gronland, and we took a long walk back home. I am going to a South African act concert on Thursday, i am really looking forward to that and i think its going to be so great.

I will be going on a leadership seminar this coming weekend which i am really looking forward to. I also have alot of things in the pipeline that i am looking forward to, but i will speak about them as they happen. Norway is getting colder by the day and today i am going to buy myself winter boots, i really hope i make the right decision on the kind that i buy. Other breaking new, i have undone my braids so today is my first day at work with my afro, which i am not sure how i will maintain but i feel like i can now move forward and i have let go of every part of my beloved South Africa. Will post some pictures sometime tomorrow.

My week from 13/10 to 19/10

2008-10-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

In the work front, I am currently working on the HIV/AIDS article that will be published in the December scout magazine. This is a great time seeing that the 1^st December is World AIDS day, so lets all show solidarity and support to people infected and affected by the dieses. I am also working on a devotion article for the magazine, which is something new to me. The Christmas campaign is slowly on its way, I have been doing research on the idea we came up with and soon we will be finalizing all the logistics and element that come into it for the Christmas Campaign magazine. I am almost finished with the South African quiz, and have put together an invitation letter that will be sent out to all the scout groups in Oslo for them to choose what topic they would like me to talk about in their scout meeting. I have enough going on in the work front and I am I am working on things that are not normally my daily task, so it’s a new and different experience that helps me challenge myself.

In the social front, we had Nune’s birthday at Helga-lise’s place on Tuesday. It was really great all the office scout girls were there include our big sis Solveig. Helga-Lise cooked up a storm and even baked a cake for Nune, I just want to thanks everyone for the hospitality and for making Nune’s birthday special.

It was a beautiful day on Saturday and Sunday, so me and my roommate decided to play tourist for the day. We went to the National Gallery and the Oprah House, it was a great walk and one of those really refreshing and relaxing kind of walks.

On the way to both these places we could not help seeing something pretty hanging outside a shop window and walking in and wishing Oh Nune I wish It was a sale here ect. The walk ended up taking longer than we anticipated.

On Sunday I went out for coffee with one of my colleagues and afterwards we went to the statue park. We had waffles on our way to catch the train so that also turned out to be a pretty good Sunday.

My week from 07/10 to 12/10

2008-10-13T02:13:00.000-07:00

Well not much took place this weekend and i was so glad because i think i really need to take it slow and be able to relax during my weekends especially since we have just moved into our new place. I feel like i should spend alot of time in our new apartment so that it will feel like home even more, i want to be able to just sit there and watch TV without feeling like i need to get out of here. During the week i was working on numerous things but my main focus was on the presenation i had to present on Saturday about what the YMCA/YWCA Scouts and Guides of Norway and what they are doing to help the YWCA of South Sudan. I must say i feel very proud to be working and being part of an organization that does such exceptional work for disadvantaged people.

During the putting together of my presenation, i got more exposed to the realities of South Sudan and the situation in that country, i have always known that South Africa is not doing that great and that my country still has a long way to go but when i read about the situation in South Sudan i felt like what happens when there are areas in the world living in such conditions and the world just says and does nothing about it.

The presentation took place in the YMCA/YWCA school called Rønningen high school. The students there were a very good crowd and even though they were not very interactive after the presentation i have come to understand that Norwegians are generally just shy people and you cant measure if they were listening by asking them questions and expecting them to answer in front of everyone especially in English. So my sign for interest and interactiveness has become the 'head nods' i get from them while i am speaking in front of them.

Its my roommate Nune's birthday tomorrow and we have no idea what we are going to do for it but hopefully we can go out for dinner or something ' If we can afford it'. One of the GoCy's Ivee came on Friday because she also had something to do during the seminar at the school, i must say she seemed much more comfortable than she was when we were still staying in that tiny apartment and she had to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag. We went a bit crazy with the camera later and started taking pictures of each other in our pajamas and made funny poses. Its amazing what girls get up too, when they are on their own and are very comfortable with each other.
I hope i can have more weekends like the one i just came from, it was really relaxing for me. I made an English breakfast in the morning and my roommate cooked a delicious Sunday dinner later, it was just a perfect weekend i really would have not changed anything and the weather was beautiful, me and my roommate got to see the sunset from out balcony. So seriously what more could a girl have asked for.

I am looking forward to this week as i will be working on the HIV/AIDS article that will go into the next edition of the scout magazine, and putting together a fun quiz that will help people learn about South Africa in a very fun way.

My weekend at camp Landsarrangement 2008

2008-10-07T00:30:00.000-07:00

I just came from a weekend that was full of surprises and experiences, we were at a camp site that was close to the sea and my roommate from Armenia was excited about seeing the sea for the first time. The area we were at was beautiful and the Autumn colors were showing brightly, there was also a bit of tranquility around the air, I think you just feel that when you are around beautiful nature and appreciate it. This was a leadership gathering and it mainly focused on young people just having fun, and old friends meeting again. We were together with all the GoCy's from around Norway, so i also felt like my family was close to me. When you are in different country i find that you tend to be much more aware of your surroundings and become very dependent on people pretty quickly. I have also noticed that i am extremely cautious and sensitive about people's opinion about my country and Africa as a whole.

The GoCy team had put together a presentation for a seminar we were going to hold and it was unfortunate that only 2 people came to it but i also heard that the other seminars just had 10 people each making only 22 people in total attended those seminars from a number of about 100. I understood that people were there to relax and have fun and attending seminars just does not fit into the fun hierarchy. I went canoing or paddling as some people call it for the first time and i must say it was great. Thanks to the guy that offered to take us there and for the hard work he had to do with the paddling since we were all armatures. There were different fun activities happening around in a seminar but one of them stayed in my mind and that was a concert that was held on Saturday night. It was a really great concert and the performers were seriously great at what they do, but one incident stuck to my mind and made me realize just how little people know about Africa. I feel like people think that we are still just walking around singing and dancing with spears in our hands and poor and ever so hungry but i guess thats the picture travel documentaries and the media projects to people.

During the concert there was a performance where the crowd got involved by clapping and saying a few words. I was one of the crowd that was doing so and the mood and feeing was really at a high, but then the performer randomly started to say things that did not make sense to me but had an African feeling to them and then he said Africa and i did get one sentence from what he said which is 'Nkosi Sikelela', because that is the first line of our national anthem. Now while this is taking place, everyone was laughing and having a good time. which i was also doing myself but then a few minutes afterwards i felt like i needed to go and i started thinking to myself am i just being over sensitive or am i looking to much into this incident. I am still not sure, so people can pass their opinions and comments about this. All i know is that at a very fun moment and during a joke, Africa had to come in and worst of all Nkosi Sikelela our national anthem was made into a joke and this as anthem that i take pride in and that people died for and defines who i am.

Well to less serious stuff, maybe i had my own perception of Europe and the people here but i am certainly not going to cluster everyone to that prejudice and pre-judgment and think that all people are the same because i know that we are all individuals and i don't like being pre-judge or being stereotyped just because i came from Africa. I feel like this topic is not a topic that i should speak about in my blog, but i want to hear people opinions and perception of Africa. I think it would be a great discussion and it will also help us young people to know about other countries. Let me known if i am looking to much in nothing, after all it was just a random performance and i am sure they are not used to having Africans within their audience, but does that mean lets make a jokes and fun of other cultures because they are not around and because we do not know what those things mean to them.

Overall my weekend was great, and yesterday i moved into my new apartment and i am say i am loving it so much and i will post pictures of it so everyone can see why i am so in love. Norway has really been good to me and i have meet some wonderful people here and i am looking forward to the next 7 months to go. W e have also started a GoCy blog, so everyone can follow all the other GoCy's in the different countries and hear about their experiences.

My Week from 22/09 to 29/09

2008-09-29T01:01:00.000-07:00

Well there has not been much taking place this weekend, i spent the weekend at my place so i do not have any pictures about what took place this weekend. On the work front, i have sharpened my presennation and hopefully when Oslo scout groups invite me i will have interesting things to share with them about myself, my country and my YMCA. I started brainstorming for the christmas campaign with Solveig and alot of interesting ideas came through, i am really excited about this campaign and hope we will be able to raise enough funds for the internal and extelnal structure of the school being built in Sudan. I will also start working on the english side of our webpage so i am looking forward to starting with that.

On friday i went to one og my collegues home for dinner, it was really great and we played the game Jenga (or fallling tower) after the food. My shaky hands were very exposed during this game and everyone had fun laughing at me about that. I also went out fot coffee with one of my collegues on Sunday, to very great place not too far from the office. I am really loving these coffee places i have been going to, and if anyone has any further suggestions about great Sunday chill session coffee places please let me know. I like places that serve good coffee, but over and above that a place with great enviroment is the best. I was again caught offguard by the Norwegian weather on Sunday, i was uspposed to also go to the statue park with my collegue but after a few minutes at the bus stop i realised that i was not at al dressed for this outing. I could feel the wind going through my small cotton jacket and it was not a nice feeling so after coffee i decided to head home instead.
I am looking forward to this weekend, because i will be going to a leadership training camp at a place close to Sanderford, i hear there is a sea close to the place, not that i am thinking of swimming in it, i just believe there is a karma that comes with just looking and listening to the ocean. I have just uploaded a few pictures from South Africa that were taken by my boyfriend before i left for Norway, and a picture of my family from left: My mom, me, my sister, my brother and my boyfriend.

My weekend at Utsikten

2008-09-23T00:38:00.001-07:00

My Weekend at Utsikten

I took a 7 hour bus ride to a place called Utsikten where i had a great weekend , i was on a leadership training seminar with Solveig. I must admit i had alot of fun, and i meet some wonderful people during this weekend. I also had my very first official scout camp fire, and was entertained by diffirent individuals with the vast talents. I still laugh when i think of one of the perfomances that were done around the campfire namely the lady imitating the man fishing, it was hilarious.I also assisted in making my first meal over the fire and it was divine, thanks to all the guys that were in my group for your assistance. I dont think it would have been right for an African to be present at such a gathering and not teach or spread the African spirit to others, so i found myself teaching people Shosholoza and akekho ofana noJesu. I must say Solveig was great help because she knew both the songs so i did not have to expose my weakness in singing. The wheather was stunning outside and i found myself just standing around in front of the sun and appreciating nature, and the beauty it carries.

The people i meet in Utsikten, which are from the region of Haugaland were the greatest people ever. I even recieved a gift from them, which were wollen wrist warmers. I did my HIV/AIDS presenation and recieved some great feedback from the participants who attended which made me very pleased because i was so nervous about doing that presenation. I wish i could list everyone by their names and thank them for their great hosipitality and openess to letting someone they did not know end up feeling like part of the team.

I got to learn a very fun card game called president with the help of some participants and enjoyed myself till midnight with them. I am really loving nature these days, i went to see a fontain around this place which is listed to be one of the most beautiful sites in Norway and indeed i was blown away. I have to say Norwegians are really in to chocolate, or should i say the ones i have come across so far and i am so scared of chocolate because i just think fat, but i have developed a massive sweet tooth and i am enjoying the Norwegian chocolate. So please send any Norwegian chocolate suggestions you might have and where i can find that specific chocolate. I hope everyone who was also at this weekend enjoyed themselves as much as i did, and it would be interesting for me to hear what their take was on the weekend. If they also have any comments ect.

Scouts: ''Always prepared''- this is the mentality i am going to take with me back to South Africa and is the mentality that keeps me going while i am here in Norway.

INTRODUCTION TO BLOG

2008-09-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all, my name is Neliswa but eveyone here in Norway calls me Nelly, I am a 22 year old girl from South Africa in a sunny city called Durban. I am an exchange programme participant and will be spending the next 9 months here in Norway. I will share my experinces with you through this blog and all the challenges and accomplishments i came across and ask for your advise. I am very excited about getting to know people here in Norway, and learning more about the scouts of Norway. I will update my blog weekly so everyone can watch this space for new news ect.

I f you want to learn more about me you can look in my profile on this blog,

My first week in the Scout office.

2008-09-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

15/09/2008

Just came out of a quite weekend which i really think i needed because just being in a new place really does exhast you up as a person. I went up to mountains from the 08 September to the 10 September which proved to rather interesting. We stayed in a pretty upmarket cabin that had all the neccessaties one would need. This means that i still have not slept in a tent, not that i am looking forward to that. I just think i will freeze to death because Norway is starting to get really cold now its scary. I also went mountain climbing for the first time which was really an experience. I felt so good when i got to the top of the of the mountain, because i felt like i had accomplished something that words cannot explain.

It was really cold at the top of the mountain and could not even keep my eyes opened. My body was warm though from all the clothing i was wearing, which were all borrowed from different individuals from my office. I also got a crash course on clothing that can keep you warm, ''Wool is Gold''. I need to wear woll underneath my clothing and then i can layer that with a fleece or any other clothing but i have to wear a wind proof jacket at the end. I also need to wear wollen gloves, beanie (hat) and scarf if possible. With this advise i will never go wrong i hope. Please can everyone feel free to give me any clothing advise because i really need that.

I have been working on the re-marketing of the HIV/AIDS awareness badge and this has become very close to my heart. I will be going to Haugaland krets this weekend and i am really looking forward to that as i will get to meet other people that make up the scouts. I will also be doing a presentation on the HIV/AIDS Badge with some of the participants.

First Month in Norway

2008-09-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

Report Back- 1st Month as a GoCy Intern

My first month as a GoCy intern has been challenging both physically, mentally and emotionally. I have had days where I did not want get up in the morning because I felt like my body was too tired and I have had days where I just want to get up and sing ‘Oh what a beautiful morning’. The GoCy preparatory course has proved to be very successful and a good way to prepare GoCy interns before they go to their respective host countries, and as I landed in Oslo and was told I would be spending a week at the country side called Aarholt-Tunet in Stokke Norway doing the first part of my orientation I was both excited and a bit nervous. I firstly thought about the fact that I have never camped before in my life and what a city girl I have become but I also thought about how beautiful nature can be, and what better way to learn than in an environment that inspires you to learn and opens up your mind to the beauty of nature.

The first week proved to a very interesting week, we all had a schedule that had to be followed, we had activities and programs till 22:30pm and the Norwegian sun was still up till 23:00pm. It was also the time when we meet all the different GoCy interns from all around the world and the buzz and excitement was very much in the air and it was obvious that we were all excited and eager to know about each other and our countries and so forth. We were introduced to a program called the buddies system; this is where a previous GoCy intern is assigned as your buddy. The buddy system was well thought of because what you would find is that your respective buddy had either been in the country that you were going to or they had been to your country so they had the full view of the two different sides. My assigned buddy is Ida Marie; she was a GoCy last year and was in South Africa.

We watched a still picture movie called Baraka, this was great introduction as it was a movie that portrayed all the different countries the producer of the movie has been to all these different countries and showed the underlining struggles or threats that the respective country had but also linking those threats to the overall effect to the bigger picture. It proved to be a very mixed emotions filled movie that had different meaning to different individuals.

We moved on to Global thinking and worked on an interesting theory called Guns, Germs an Steel which answered the question of why some countries are rich and others are poor in a very geographical way. We moved to Intercultural understanding which I found to be very interesting, we were again given exercises that showed us what is good intercultural understanding and the disadvantages of bad pre-judgement.

This day was a more personal way of thinking through role plays, and exercises like who am I, what are my preferences ect. This in a way showed you what your qualities are, what are your strengths and weaknesses ect. At the end of this week, we had an evaluation about what we thought we had learned, what we think should stay in the course and any suggestions we might have to add to the course ect.

Week two was Global week, we had just started to feel comfortable with one another when we were joined by another group of young people. During global week our main concern was the campaign themed ‘Give a little wave’. The experience of doing a campaign was very exhilarating, I found myself getting every excited and telling people around me about my experience in marketing and talked about previous campaigns I had worked on. The people in Norway are very reserved and unlike South Africans getting attention from them proved to be a challenge but with the way we had infused all our different cultures and background to create one thing was enough to make some of them stand and look with curiosity. We called ourselves the warriors of freedom and had a different dances and actions that we did to get attention while others handed out pamphlets and other information. It proved to be every interesting and I was involved with the activities group and found myself doing human pyramids that I had only 2 hours to learn how to do, very interesting. The campaign was successful and after the evaluation we discussed the kind of feelings we had during that week. We were very stressed so there was a lot of shouting and arguing and we all had our own idea of what was right but with a bit of guidance we all did a fantastic job.

The third week was the GoCy interns only again and I got to meet Solveigh as she took us through what advocacy is, and how one can reach their audience. She also spoke about different work shopping techniques that involved getting your group of participants involved. She spoke about presentation skills that I found to be very interesting as this is one of the skills I want to sharpen and learn more on. We had a scouts fire one night during the week and had activities around the scout fire, this proved to be very helpful as I will be part of the Scouts for the next 8 months.

The last week was with FK I felt that there was a bit of repetition of what we had already done in the previous 3 weeks, but you know what they say practise makes perfect. We also moved location during this week, which was great because I was really starting to not feel any inspiration within the environment, and were at a point where I just wanted to get out of the camp. We stayed at Sanner hotel, and learned more about FK and what they rules and regulations are towards FK participants and what their objectives are through these exchange programs.

This first month has been full of personal challenges and culture shock at how different individuals can be but it also opened me up to cultural diversity and how one can adapt to different cultures through being aware of the cultures around them. I feel like I am prepared for anything in Norway for the next 8 months and I have a positive attitude mixed with an open mindness and most of all respect for other people and their culture. I am a GoCy intern and now I can see why I am here and when I go back home I will have millions of stories to share and loads of new information, experience and knowledge that I want to share with people from my country and my YMCA. I am happy to be here and I know my stay will be beneficial personally and most of all to people around me.