Had I known our only assignment today in class was to rank all the swear words by how bad they are, I’m sure I would have stayed home. I couldn’t believe we were given that assignment. And it was out of a book, no less, complete with exercises to define what each word really means. Our teacher was even overwhelmed to hear us pronouncing the words (apparently it’s important we learn how to say them.) Good grief. Then the last hour of class we “got” to go to a presentation by some other students that was kind of like a senior project. It was one of the most boring and horrible things I’ve has to sit through since I’ve been here, so I used the time to get to know my cell phone. I learned all kinds of trick features I wish I would have known before, and I also figured out how to delete old text messages. Everyone and their uncle here use text messages as the number one way to communicate with each other. I had hundreds of them on my phone so I was glad to be rid of them. People send text messages for every possible thing – party and dinner invitations included.
And to really put the icing on the cake today, when I went outside during the lunch break, I saw a girl about ten years old from the private school that shares out building, haul off and kick a boy very hard in his side. She did it right in front of me so I yelled at her that she must NOT do that. She turned to me and with the snottiest voice she could muster, said (literally translated) “You can’t decide that,” which was her way of saying, “You’re not the boss of me.” I told her it wasn’t allowed to hit and kick other students and she must stop it right now. So she hauled off and kicked him again. I was so ticked off at her I marched into the principal’s office and tattled on her. I yelled at the principle and said they MUST teach more respect around here – not just to other students but to adults as well as I didn’t appreciate the way she spoke to me, and why in the world isn’t there an adult out on the playground anyway? The principal did what I expected and said that she would talk to the girl’s teacher, to which I replied that talking isn’t enough. I told her how Kaleb takes his daily blows (today was no exception), and it’s insane there are no consequences to these children beating up on each other. She just gave me a look like I was from another planet and then thanked me for letting her know about the situation and walked me to her door. I could have had a better exit from school, as the rest of the year has been quite pleasant.
Vestina also gave me the what-for today when she told me she’s worried, after reading my blog, that people might think she’s “like this” as she stuck her nose up in the air. She said she might come across as too picky and that no one is good enough for her. I assured her that wasn’t the case. (This is the reason I’ve hesitated in giving out my blog address to anyone in Norway.) And actually, I went to school today to help Vestina. I was going to introduce her to a woman I know from Filadelfia Church that knows a lot about makeup and styling. Vestina wants nothing more than to be around that kind of stuff and see what she can learn. The woman couldn’t meet with us until 2:45 so I had to kill a few hours in town. It wasn’t a bad thing as I was able to change my address info at the bank, post office and library, and I also did a little thrift store shopping and found the coolest hand croqueted bed cover for fifty bucks. A big thrill for me as it’s just like one my grandma made that I always wanted, but my aunt inherited it, rightly so. God provides. I also used the time to take a lot of photos of downtown Aalesund since I won’t be going there so much anymore. Today was my last day to take the bus, too. So after waiting for two hours, it turns out the woman we were to meet was running late so I had to catch the bus at three and I was never able to introduce them. Talk about frustrating. Vestina will meet with her next week on her own, I guess. I had to get home to pack up Kaleb’s things for the weekend as he is now at his first church retreat with forty other kids around his age. He has two friends from school with him, a new friend from church and our neighbor girl, Sabina. They were all sitting in the back of the bus after we dropped them off. I always thought the bus rides were one of the best things about going to camp. They are just going across the fjord but it might take an hour to get there with the ferry wait and all. I’m so praying he stays safe and has a great time. We thought it would be a good way to end out his school year (his last day isn’t until Tuesday however) and have some good memories with his friends before we leave. He was thrilled to go. So I’m thankful something good happened today.
After cleaning up the house a little, Kory took the van in to his friend’s car shop and got two (slightly used) tires mounted and balanced and installed on our car for FREE, just in time for our road trip. Once again, God provides! Tonight we walked over and visited with cousin Odd for a while as Kory forced me to take a break from my computer (I’m still working on picture books of our time in Norway.) The day was not a total loss, but I’m glad it’s now over.
And to really put the icing on the cake today, when I went outside during the lunch break, I saw a girl about ten years old from the private school that shares out building, haul off and kick a boy very hard in his side. She did it right in front of me so I yelled at her that she must NOT do that. She turned to me and with the snottiest voice she could muster, said (literally translated) “You can’t decide that,” which was her way of saying, “You’re not the boss of me.” I told her it wasn’t allowed to hit and kick other students and she must stop it right now. So she hauled off and kicked him again. I was so ticked off at her I marched into the principal’s office and tattled on her. I yelled at the principle and said they MUST teach more respect around here – not just to other students but to adults as well as I didn’t appreciate the way she spoke to me, and why in the world isn’t there an adult out on the playground anyway? The principal did what I expected and said that she would talk to the girl’s teacher, to which I replied that talking isn’t enough. I told her how Kaleb takes his daily blows (today was no exception), and it’s insane there are no consequences to these children beating up on each other. She just gave me a look like I was from another planet and then thanked me for letting her know about the situation and walked me to her door. I could have had a better exit from school, as the rest of the year has been quite pleasant.
Vestina also gave me the what-for today when she told me she’s worried, after reading my blog, that people might think she’s “like this” as she stuck her nose up in the air. She said she might come across as too picky and that no one is good enough for her. I assured her that wasn’t the case. (This is the reason I’ve hesitated in giving out my blog address to anyone in Norway.) And actually, I went to school today to help Vestina. I was going to introduce her to a woman I know from Filadelfia Church that knows a lot about makeup and styling. Vestina wants nothing more than to be around that kind of stuff and see what she can learn. The woman couldn’t meet with us until 2:45 so I had to kill a few hours in town. It wasn’t a bad thing as I was able to change my address info at the bank, post office and library, and I also did a little thrift store shopping and found the coolest hand croqueted bed cover for fifty bucks. A big thrill for me as it’s just like one my grandma made that I always wanted, but my aunt inherited it, rightly so. God provides. I also used the time to take a lot of photos of downtown Aalesund since I won’t be going there so much anymore. Today was my last day to take the bus, too. So after waiting for two hours, it turns out the woman we were to meet was running late so I had to catch the bus at three and I was never able to introduce them. Talk about frustrating. Vestina will meet with her next week on her own, I guess. I had to get home to pack up Kaleb’s things for the weekend as he is now at his first church retreat with forty other kids around his age. He has two friends from school with him, a new friend from church and our neighbor girl, Sabina. They were all sitting in the back of the bus after we dropped them off. I always thought the bus rides were one of the best things about going to camp. They are just going across the fjord but it might take an hour to get there with the ferry wait and all. I’m so praying he stays safe and has a great time. We thought it would be a good way to end out his school year (his last day isn’t until Tuesday however) and have some good memories with his friends before we leave. He was thrilled to go. So I’m thankful something good happened today.
After cleaning up the house a little, Kory took the van in to his friend’s car shop and got two (slightly used) tires mounted and balanced and installed on our car for FREE, just in time for our road trip. Once again, God provides! Tonight we walked over and visited with cousin Odd for a while as Kory forced me to take a break from my computer (I’m still working on picture books of our time in Norway.) The day was not a total loss, but I’m glad it’s now over.
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