scrabble night after christmas

One of the many beautiful winter sunsets.

Lots of family coming tonight! I'll try to get a couple pictures if they want me to.

Picture presented without comment

Perfecting Pancakes

Sorry for the lack of posts. Nothing has really been happening! However, I am trying to relearn how I do Norwegian pancakes entirely.

Apparently the key ingredient is butter (who knew?). Also the batter needs to rest for half an hour before using it.
There's melted butter in the batter and lots of butter on the skillet. It makes for a very delicious pancake indeed. Still getting the hang of it.

I will let you know how the pancake feast goes.

"Just a Hill"

There are a series of mountains that you can hike up and get marked off on a special card. If you climb 10, you get a free mug. It's called "Ti på Topp". Today, we climbed one of those mountains.

Right after starting out. Pictured: the family dog, Milo.

At the base of the actual mountain, before we really needed to work.

From left to right: A friendly stranger we met (she thought I was really Norwegian!), Fredrik (one of Troy's friends), Ellen (host-mom), Sonja (Fredrik and Ludwig's mom), Ludwig, and Troy.

This was pretty high up, I was taking a break and appreciated the pretty colors of the blueberry plants.

Nearly there! Taken at the top of the mountain, but not the end of the trail. It doesn't look that high!

A very tired, very happy Catie at the top of the mountain.

Talk about the perfect house!

Me and Milo at the end of the trail.

Ludwig, Milo, Me, Fredrik, and Troy

Bonus sheep I saw coming back down.

Meeting Fredrik

My host family has 6 members. 

My host-mother, Ellen-Christine; my host-father, Stein; and four brothers. Leon, Troy, Fredrik, and Didrik. Leon, Troy, and Didrik all live at home (except that Didrik lives in an apartment beneath the house, but he often joins us for dinner). Fredrik is in the military several hours away and he has a limited amount of free time on weekends. 

But on Saturday, we got to visit him and bring him back to Harstad with us for a few hours!

Fredrik (tall) and Troy (short)

Troy blinked.

Oops.

Homemade Indian food with Troy, Fredrik, Didrik (not pictured), and Ellen (also not pictured)

Food!!

Hopefully I can get more pictures of the whole family next time everyone is here!

Getting Settled (HOUSE)

So, hi! Let me sum up what's been going on since I got to Harstad.
My host-mom picked me up from the airport and it was a short (30 minute) drive to our house. A yellow house near the sea. Literally. The ocean is right in our yard!

^ Outside the house. ^

^ From the front deck. ^

Note the ocean.

^ My Room. ^

^ The Kitchen. ^

^ The living room. ^

Most evenings after dinner, we watch sports or a TV series.

Pictures of school (maybe some friends) to follow. Hopefully I can get a good picture of the whole family sometime. :)

Just when I was getting homesick.

Guess what I found.

In Harstad

Hi everybody! I've been in Norway for a grand total of 4 and a half days now, and I've been with my host family for three days. I love it here! It's beautiful, no matter how cold it is (and it is a bit cold).
Here are two pictures of the lake outside the hotel I stayed at in Oslo.

And here, ladies and gentlemen, is the view outside my bedroom in Harstad. Yes, that's the ocean. The ocean is in the yard. 

More pictures to come!

School is going to be a bit difficult. I can't read Norwegian very well, and writing is kind of hard. Norwegians in the north also have a different dialect than the Oslo dialect I learned at camp, so there's a lot of "huh?" and "repeat that?" moments. I also managed to contract a cold. It's stubborn, too! I've tried everything to make it better. I've gone through so many tissues, I don't know what to do with myself. So far, I've been drinking lots of hot water with lemon and honey, that helps a bit. I'm staying home and resting today, hopefully I'll be better for the coming week!

Guess what, everybody!

It’s official! I’m going to be living in Norway for an entire year. Starting August 24th, I’ll be living with a family of 6 (suddenly I’ll have 4 brothers, oh my goodness) in HARSTAD, NORWAY!


For those of you unfamiliar with what Harstad looks like, here are some lovely pictures I found.

In other words, it's pretty much perfect.

Goodness gracious!

Up to 700!!

3 dollars away from 400

400 dollars is a lot of money, guys. I can't thank all of you enough. I know nobody really looks at this blog yet, but I feel like it's good to record the progress.

AFS sent me an email stating that I needed to revise some of the forms and my essay, so I still have a bit of work to do! Just when I thought that part was over, more came back hahaha. Not a problem, though. I'm determined to get this all done! I promise Norway, I'll be there soon.

A very big thank you!

Thanks so much to every single person that has contributed generously to my trip. I'm sure the people who contributed all know that I've worked very hard to earn the money I've gotten so far.
It's just a drop in the bucket, but it means a lot to me to have all this support already, and plenty more coming in.
Extra special thanks to Red Bennett for contributing an amazing $125. It will not go unrewarded!

About this Blog

Hi, I'm Catherine Sticco, I'm a senior at the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, Minnesota. I'm currently fundraising to go to Norway for a whole year! Almost everything is already in order, but I need a boost of funds before everything is all set.

Why Norway?
I've been studying Norwegian at Skogfjorden (a Concordia Language Village in Bemidji, Minnesota) for ten whole years! All that practice should be put to use.

What will Catie gain from this?
I want to travel to Norway and learn the culture firsthand. Living in another country is a monumental experience, something I'd really love to do. I want to see new places, meet new people, and really solidify my fluency in the language.

What does Catie have to offer?
If I can offer anything, I can offer my friendship. I can offer a different perspective from a different country. Someone to laugh with and enjoy good times.

Why Catie needs help.
Without disclosing too much, the financial situation in our family is a bit on the low end. The AFS program tuition costs money, and a plane ticket from Minneapolis to New York costs a lot, too. Anything helps, if a lot of people chip in just a little, this trip will be much more affordable.

How is Catie contributing to her own tuition?
I'm still looking for a job, but I get out of school late on weekdays and transportation to a job location is limited. I'm offering commissions for my art online to raise money and give people something in return for their donation.

To sponsor my AFS trip to Norway, please click the ChipIn widget button to make a contribution!
Thanks so much in advance. I truly hope to make this trip possible, and you can really help.