My week from 13/10 to 19/10

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.