Cookies, Dots, and Rudi's Birthday

Today I didn’t have classes, but a few of us did have a mission: to bake something with chocolate. After meeting at Café Bodega on campus, Callie, Holly, and I ventured to the grocery store in search of a cookie mix. At the store, we only had a few things to select from- I guess Norwegians make everything homemade. We quickly agreed on a package of brownie cookie mix.



Baking with Holly, and Callie too

At Holly’s place, we had a wonderful time trying to translate Norwegian directions and converting measurements. Even though we second guessed ourselves at times, we must have done it right because the cookies tasted fantastic! There will have to be many baking parties in the future.

Right after baking, Callie and I headed to Driv to volunteer. Last week Callie and I had signed up to volunteer at the Driv for Debutuke week. We had joined the decorating team. As a volunteer we received an awesome black T-shirt, a wristband that gave us discounts for Debutuke week, and for each day we volunteered we received a free meal from the café. Therefore, Callie and I arrived before 5pm to enjoy our free meal which was a massive pile of French fries, chicken nuggets, and a small gourmet salad. The meal tasted so good!

Once 5pm rolled around, we met the student decorating coordinator and the work began. The decorating group had formed a circle upstairs where all the supplies were laid out. Once everyone was seated, the student coordinator gave all the directions in Norwegian. I had no clue what she was saying, but the task was simple so we didn’t need to ask questions. Our task was to tap strings to red, green, and yellow circles. Sounds simple, and it was.

The first half hour went by quick and soon we ran out of string. I asked the student coordinator where to get more string and she just looked at me, said something in Norwegian, and then continued chatting with her friends. I asked her again in English, but she ignored me. She was too busy chatting with her Norwegian friends while Callie, Tina- another international student from Germany, and I were busy taping strings to dots. I will also point out that the student coordinator and her Norwegian friends had finished a small quantity of dots compared to what Callie and I had completed. At this point we became very frustrated since we were working hard to complete as many dots as we could. We did not expect to be pampered, just respected.

We continued to do the same task over and over. Even though the task was boring, Callie and I formed an assembly line to make things go quicker. After two hours, we decided to head out in order to make it back for a birthday party. We said our goodbyes to the group, but no one acknowledged us. The student coordinator didn’t even thank us for our work.

Once outside, Callie, Tina, and I discussed the situation. We had felt disrespected and unappreciated. Thinking about the situation, it may be a difference in work ethic. In the states, we are always hustling and bustling to get things done as quickly as we can. However, in this case, I think the Norwegian volunteers were just unmotivated.



Me with the birthday girl, Rudi!

Our next stop for the night was to Bill’s house to celebrate Rudi’s birthday. Rudi turned 22 yesterday and she wanted to have a get together tonight with everyone to celebrate. At Bill’s house, he made cheesecake with a strawberry Jello top layer. I was surprised that Bill baked something so complex. The cheesecake was delicious.

We all hung out and chatted while many people took Tequila shots with the birthday girl. Soon it was time to head out. Callie and I stayed back and cleaned up since Callie was sick and my throat was starting to hurt. There is a cold that many students, especially international students, have been catching.

When I got home, I read about another shooting in the U.S. that occurred by the Empire State Building. Even though the shooter targeted a coworker, the story was still tragic and put a damper on a wonderful night. I started thinking about the tragic events that happened this summer and I could not understand why people would commit such violent crimes. I hope the fear of participating in casual activities like attending a movie, entering a place of worship, or viewing a tourist attraction may be removed, and instead replaced with security and safety.