Russ

Yesterday began with a photo opportunity for the local newspaper the "Jarlsberg."  They have decided to do a story on our GSE Team & hosts. [I will be on the lookout to post a link even though it will be in Norwegian :) ]  We then proceeded to BDO to learn about the Norwegian tax system.  One would think this visit would have been difficult to understand [as the U.S. tax system gets me every time] but Ole Herman was great at giving us examples and we had some great dialogue [and sandwiches!! haha.]

After that we went to the local school.  Norway has an interesting school system in that students get to choose an area of focus [whether it be general studies or vocational] and receive a lot of specialized & focused training.  We also caught a glimpse of what Norwegians call "RUSS"

[taken in Oslo of some young Russ in their traditional wear during this time]

My youngest host brother, Jon, is currently experiencing Russ.  Essentially how he described it as a month at the end of your high school career where kids get to "go crazy."  There are lots of parties and what is known as the "day of terror" [where Russ can throw water on other students or take them out of class and tie them up or whatever!] - it is all in good fun.  Another large part of the Russ experience is that they decorate large cars/vans for groups to use as transportation to all of the events [I haven't been able to snap a picture of one yet.]

After our visit to the school we participated in a sailboat race.  Every Wednesday when the weather gets warmer, Holmestrand sailers take to the Oslofjord for a race.  It was a beautiful day for sailing [because the wind wasn't too strong] and we were all put to work to help Tobias place well against the other sailers.  I even had to conquer my fear of water by rushing to the front of the boat to grab the jib :).  Looking back at our day - I think this is one that has a special connection for me as my parents are both educators & sailers. It was so special to see things that mean so much to my family.