Hangin' with the minister

I just went to a pubquiz which was hosted by our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre. That can happen in the country I live in. It wasn't a big event at all, just a regular old pubquiz. I suppose I should mention that it was arranged by the Labour Party, of which he is a member, but still, very cool. I am not a member of the Labour Party, so I felt a bit like an intruder, but it was fun. =)

This is him. He reminds me a bit of my uncle.

In other news, I just sent in my acceptance of the place offered at NISS. Guess I'm going to be a makeup artist. So all you people out there who work with film, photography, theatre, fashion, events etc etc: Keep me in mind! In about a year's time I'll be qualified to work for you! Hire me please! =)

Love from Maja.

I got in!

So.. I got offered a place on the makeup artist course at NISS (Nordic Institute for Stage and Studio). Now I just have to make a decision. I could go following my dreams and risk ending up with no job and an even bigger student loan, or I could be sensible and attend the University of Oslo and eventually end up as a teacher. Should I choose the latter, I would get much less of a loan (as it's a public university with no student fees) and I'd have much more of a chance for work. But that's not really what I want. I'm just afraid I won't be strong enough to go fight for the career I do want.

I wish someone could just come tell me what to do. I've got less than two weeks to accept or decline my spot at NISS. Scary!

Pros:
- My biggest dream is to work with film. This is a way to do just that.
- I'd get a chance to work within all my major interests (film, fashion, theatre, TV, photography).
- I'd get to be really creative and have fun every day.
- It's only a year anyway, so I could still change my mind later.
- I wouldn't have to go around wondering "what if" and dreaming about a different life every day.
- I already know lots of people who work (or will work) in the industries. Lots of contacts that might potentially get me work.

Cons:
- Money money money. The school fee is 108 000 NOK. An I already have four years worth of loan to pay back, three of which were in England and had student fees. And I'm not great with money. I tend to spend it rather than save it...
- Jobs are hard to get and I don't know if I will have the willpower to fight for them (as that involves having very little money a lot of the time).
- I could always go back and do this later, after I've got the security of a different education.
- What if I don't like it as much as I think I will?



Love from Maja.

Traditional Norwegian Easter

For the first time I'm spending my Easter holiday in a cabin in the mountains. This is probably the most common way to spend Easter in Norway. But we haven't had a cabin in the mountains until recently, so I haven't done it before. Also, I don't care about skiing, so that's not an incentive for me. But my dad loves skiing, so since I wanted to spend Easter with him, this is where I had to be. It's been very nice, though. Colder than Oslo's been recently, but very sunny.

Oj!

I ran into the Norwegian prime minister and his wife on the street today. 
I love that that can happen in Norway. 
I didn't even see any security people (though I'm sure they were lurking somewhere). 
I was surprised when I realized it was him, said OJ! (Norwegian expression for surprise) and then I figured I should say something more. 
I said 'Hi!'. 
He said 'Hi!' too. 
Then he commented on how many people were entering the store I was entering at that precise time. 
There was a big group of us. 
This event made me happy. 
I like our prime minister. 
I was sad afterwards, though, because I forgot to tell him that I like him. 


This is him:

An update, you say?

I'm rubbish at blogging. I do believe I've warned you all before. So now, over 3 months later comes an update. =)

To be honest there hasn't been much to tell. Most of my time has been spent working and when I've been off work I've sat around at home doing nothing. Rather boring existence really. i hope I get my act together soon and do more stuff. The thing is, my work is really exhausting, so when I come home, all I want to do is sit in my room and relax. Working with kids is tiring in itself, but there have been some problems at my job, so it's worse than other places. Hopefully they're sorting things out now, though, so things will get easier. Don't get me wrong, though, I do like my job. I really enjoy working with kids. They're loads of fun! =)

The A4 life is a bit annoying, though. Just work, make dinner, eat, sleep and then work again. I feel like I have no time for anything. But I suppose it's all about what you make of it. I've been very lazy lately. Not good. I'm going to try to be a bit better. =)

In other news, I've been taking swing dancing classes, which has been heaps of fun! The last class before Christmas is on Wednesday, so I have to find something else to do now. But I'll continue after Christmas, I think.

I've also tried taking a class at the University of Oslo, which hasn't gone too well. I've gone to the lectures, but because I'm not getting any other lessons and I have to read everything myself, it's not really happened... The class is philosophy and I find it very interesting, so that's not the problem. I think again it's been the issue of time and energy after work. So I don't think I'll pass the exam. It's a shame, but oh well. I can try again. It's not the end of the world, as I'm not actually doing a degree atm.

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my life. Right now, I'm leaning towards makeup artist, but we'll see. I'm doing a weekend makeup course in a week, to hopefully get a better idea of whether I'd like that.

I'll try to start updating a bit more regularly again.

Love from Maja.

And life returns to normal...

Possibly becoming even more normal than it was before. Suddenly I'm living on my very own (for the first time) and working nine to five (or rather nine thirty to five, but still).


My job is great! I've worked a whole week (yay!) and , although it's very tiring, it's fun too. Thankfully I've gotten a soft start, as around half the kids were still away on holiday this past week. Next week, though, and the week after that, it'll be a lot more hectic and tiring. My (please choose the appropriate word to insert here: area, compartment, department, field, posse, range, sector, ward, zone) has 18 kids ranging from 3 to 5 years old (some turning 6 within the school year). I've mostly worked with the younger kids before, so it's a bit different and I have to get used to a different way of talking to them. These kids are more prone to try to trick me and they are a lot ruder than the small ones. Mainly because they actually can talk... =) But I'm getting used to it already, so I think I'll be fine. The adults I work with are all really nice people, so I think I'll enjoy my time.


As for my new flat, it's also great! (Everything is great at the moment, apparently.) Currently the owners' cat is here, visiting (= happy Maja).  The flat has one bedroom/living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It's not very big, but I don't need that much room. My things need a bit of space, though. I'm still sorting them out, so it's a bit of a mess here atm, but hopefully I'll get room for it all in the end. The people who own the house (I live in the basement) are really lovely. They keep asking if there's anything I need and they've sorted out lots of things for me. They're also just really nice to chat to. They have a son who's 16 and he's lovely too. One of those kind, quiet boys. 


Oslo has gone back to normal, mostly. Which is good. My sister told me today that they're going to make compost out of all the roses people have put down around the city and that the compost is going to be used in a memorial somewhere. That makes me happy. It's such a good way of keeping all the memories intact. But there are still signs of what happened here and there. The bombed area is still blocked off, for one thing. all the people who worked there have had to try to get makeshift offices elsewhere. But there are a lot of them, so it's not been easy to find office space for all of them.


Last night I had to go upstairs and chat to the son of the house because he was home alone and started feeling ill because he was thinking about what happened at Utøya. His mother called me and asked if I could check in on him. So I stayed there for an hour, I think, just talking about all sorts of things, to try to make him feel safe. I felt so bad when I had to go downstairs again to sleep, because he was all shaky and upset, but hopefully it helped that I was there for a bit. I think that's going to be one of the biggest after effects of it all. That we see how the kids and young people react and it'll stay with them for a long time.


But yes, apart from all that, life is very good. I do get pangs of missing my England friends now and then, but most of the time I'm too busy to think about it. I do miss you all, though! Sunniva is coming to Oslo on Thursday, so I'll have a chance to see her again next weekend. =) I'm looking forward to that! =)


And the weekend after that I'm going larping, which will be awesome, as always! I'll be busy making costumes and things the coming two weeks (after the flat is tidied, of course).


I will update with photos of my new flat soon, when it all looks nice and tidy. =)


Love you all!


Love from Maja.

R I P

You all know what this post is going to be about.

I wasn't in Oslo when it happened. I'm visiting my mum at the moment, an hour away from Oslo (in the opposite direction from Utøya). As far as I know so far, nobody I know has been hurt in the attacks.

Still, it's really hard. I always feel a lot for other people and having something this dramatic happen so close to me makes me feel it even more. 

For one thing, the bombing was in my hometown. Where I've grown up. Even though we appear to have gotten away with relatively few lives lost in the bombing, things will never be the same. Our country has always felt so safe. Now I expect we also will see more security and restrictions, even though the politicians are saying Norway will stay the same. I hope it will, but I have my doubts.

Naturally what has affected me even more is the massmurder at Utøya. They were innocent kids. Some as young as 13 years old. I was shocked this morning when I woke up and my mother told me the number of confirmed deaths had risen to 84. It's insane. And incredibly surreal. That one person can do so much harm in such a short amount of time. I don't understand how anyone can bring themselves to do something like this.

I can't help but think of the summers when I too went to political youth camps. When I was 15 and 16 I went for a week with my political party to an island. It was very similar to this. And I had some of my best experiences there. I can only attempt to imagine what is must have been like to have those wonderful times turn into a nightmare. I think what I think about the most is the fear they must have felt and how horrific that must have been. To not know if you're going to survive and hearing and seeing your friends be killed around you.

My heart goes out to all the people who lost their family and friends yesterday. Most of all, my heart goes out to everyone who was at that island and survived. I can't imagine what you're going through, but believe me when I say, I feel for you. I've been crying on and off all day today. Our entire country is in mourning. As are a lot of other people in the world. That gives me hope.

Love from Maja.