The London Girl Trip

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

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!!

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

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

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

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

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.