Week 3 : More Skole

Halllo. Well another week has gone by and not too much has happened, which is kinda nice because everything's beginning to feel very normal.
As far as school goes, I moved out of my Architecture class and into History and Philosophy and Spanish. I don't mind it this way because now I get to have a "normal" Norwegian schedule (with people closer to my age) which is what I came here to do.
I was also put into an International English class. The class is part of the regular Norwegian school (there's also an IB program here) but is taught in English. It's nice having this class because for 5 hours a week I actually understand what is going on. It's also funny because in the class they talk about things like American customs and news. For instance, my last lesson was all about small talk. You see, in Scandinavia, people typically keep to themselves. They don't just start talking to a stranger, even if you're both standing next to each other waiting for a bus or something for 20 minutes. If you've ever been on a bus or in an airport or a restaurant here, you'll notice it's much quieter than buses or airports or restaurants in the USA. So anyways, my class learned about what small talk is, when you use it, and what is appropriate and inappropriate to talk about when having said small talk. It's really funny to watch because they'll ask me "Do they really do this in America?" It's also interesting because it's reminding me of all the differences between Norway and the US after I've already adjusted to them. The first day I was in the class everybody had to say what they thought of when they thought of the United States. Most people said things like fat people, Obama, tall buildings, and fast food. I hadn't even noticed that they're are like no fast food places here (except for the McDonalds in the center of town where you can buy an $8 hamburger).
Anyways, I'm becoming happier with school, even though I usually don't know what's going on in my classes until my teacher says something like "by the way we learned about the Ice Age today" as I am about to walk out the door. It was hard at first to make friends because Scandinavians are shy when you first meet them, and I felt bad making them speak English. But apparently they like "practicing" their English on me. And a lot of people will tell me what's going on now, or translate part of the lesson for me (even though I don't think I'm expected to do homework). I mean I understand some Norwegian, but not enough to keep up with lessons. Gym is the most confusing, because the coach screams out directions on games I've never heard of.
Other than school, this week I have gone to the movies twice, and to a museum tour thing of this Iron Factory (where the guide spoke all Norwegian and I gave up on trying to understand after 20 minutes). Next weekend is the District Conference for Rotary, where I will meet the other 11 exchange students living in my area. So I probably won't update this until after that, unless I have something to say.

Also my residence permit stuff finally came in the mail, so I'm living here legally now! Yay!