Inki's Adventures in Asia

Ending my adventures

2011-04-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Europe and have ended my adventures in Asia for this time. These 4 months have been some of the best; I've had the time of my life! Starting in Malaysia with beach life and lectures was exciting. Going to Sri Lanka was a wet but very interesting experience before enjoying the beaches in Malaysia again. Then we went to Cambodia, the country with the gruesome history. My boyfriend visited and we had a blast. Thailand was next, where we got a closer look at Buddhism. Our studies came to an end with our exam in beautiful Indonesia. But I had still not had enough. So Stine, Margrethe and I went to The Philippines and the island Boracay, where the second nicest beach in the World awaited us.
The 4 km long White Beach.In the tricycle, a great way to get around in the Philippines. The beautiful sunset in Boracay, on White Beach

Of all 6 Asian countries I've been to, The Philippines is the country that gets my award for the nicest, most friendly and polite people. They end each sentence with “ma'am” or “sir”, and always offer a smile. It was nice being in a Christian country again; around 95 % of the population being Christian!

In The Philippines I also had my best diving experience so far; diving together with Stine, Margrethe and two other friends from our class (Maria and Margrethe V.)

This was a very colourful dive; perhaps the best we have had!
Trumpet fish!nice fishEveryone on the boat very happy with our last dive
One day we took a trip around the island, where we got to snorkel and swim in caves. This experience was so fantastic it nearly took my breath away (literally; when I got water in my snorkel).

We got to see all the beautiful beaches on Boracay

Seeing Margrethe V and Maria again was great, after a very tearful goodbye with the whole class on Gili.Our nice room in the hotel "Alice in Wonderland"
Action and relaxation in the sea.
Relaxing with a tropical fruit shake. Yummy!

Three men gathered around Margrethe to watch her build a sand castle.The evenings were spent out in a restaurant, a bar or on the beach. The street by the beach was so crowdy at night time that we often walked on the beach to get from A to B. I'll miss that!

Going out to dinner

Boracay was the perfect place to spend our last week in Asia. But if you ask me which of the 6 countries I enjoyed the most, I'll find it difficult to answer. I'll end my last post with some of the best things and things that are special (not necessarily good) about every country:

Malaysia: the nicest language (Malay) and the most interesting society which basically consists of Malays (only Muslims), Chinese and Tamils. Key words: Islam, Hinduism (with the festival Thaipusam), Chinese Buddhism, Beautiful beaches, wonderful weather, GREAT food!
Sri Lanka: the country with the nicest stupas, the largest sitting and standing Buddha in the world. A great country if you want to learn about Buddhism, and a country with a very unique and exciting history of kings and warriors. The country that introduced the world to the Protestant Buddhism. Key words: Duttu Gammunu, Olcott, Anagarika Dharmapala. Beautiful beaches, beautiful scenery, tea plantations, poverty.
Cambodia: The country with the nicest and biggest temples – Angkor Wat being the World's largest religious building. Key words: Beautiful people. Cheap merchandise (one dollar!), crazy traffic because of no traffic rules, The Khmer Rouge, temples, Buddhism. Ole Einar was there with me for over a week.
Thailand: A famous tourist country but yet a very interesting country to study Buddhism in. Key words: Good food, elephants, tigers, temples, nunneries and shopping.
Indonesia: lovely islands with fantastic beaches, good diving, interesting Hinduism, death penalty for drugs (also in Malaysia)
The Philippines: nicest people, nicest beach, beautiful sunsets, good friends. :)

After experiencing so much and making so many friends, how can I not feel satisfied and blessed!? :)

The End.

Exam Indonesian style

2011-04-13T00:02:00.001-07:00

I wake up at 6 am and have an upset stomach. Can't figure out if it is the nerves or if it is last night's dinner that wants to come out. After an unsuccessful attempt to sleep for a bit more, I get up and go to eat breakfast. And this is when Indonesian culture shows its real self.

I thought I was early, but I still had to wait 45 minutes before my breakfast was ready. And as I ran towards the restaurant that was ours for the day, I met a friendly man who asked if I needed transport. He was ready with his horse and cart to take me wherever I wanted to go. (There are no cars on the island of Gili Trawangan.)(Kamilla with the typical Gili transport)I kindly said no and smiled to myself as I continued running to the restaurant. I passed several signs saying “Magic Mushroom”. No thanks, don't want to get high today either.

Our restaurant where my last exam this year is to be held has a roof and no walls. The tables are taken apart and placed in rows, just like it would be in a classroom. On my “desk” there are two things: paper and a small plastic plate. What on earth is this here for? Oh yeah – it's to avoid the wind from taking my papers, of course.

As our teacher hands out the exam I feel quite happy. The questions are satisfying to what I've prepared for and in five hours my summer holiday will begin! I write about Balinese Hinduism, the buddhist munk Bhikku Buddhadasa, inter-religious dialogue, guilt and shame. I squeeze out everything I've filled my brain with the last couple of days. A cat comes by my desk and wants attention, but I'm too busy squirting ink out of my pen.

After a while I have to put in earplugs because the party music from the beach and the calling for prayer from a Mosque gets too disturbing. Levi walks around in the restaurant handing out sandwiches for those who didn't get their breakfast in time. I say no thanks, looking forward to the take-away pancake I ordered for lunch. By the time I get to eat it, it's become all greasy and I feel the need to wash my hands before touching the exam papers. But unfortunately there is no sink in the restaurant, so I have to wipe my hands on my shorts, where I had wiped my sweat just a few minutes earlier.

Homo sapiens have a tendency to get quite thirsty in the heat and I am no exception. When I have drunk almost 1,5 litres of water, I feel the need to get rid of some of it. So I signal to the Indonesian guy who has volunteered to help out. He stands outside the toilet as I do what nature has called me to do. Like most toilets in Asia this one won't flush, but after nearly 4 months on this continent I know what to do. Next to the toilet there is a big barrel of water and inside it there is a small pink bucket. I take the pink bucket, fill it up with water and poor it into the toilet. We're talking about manual flushing here! As I mentioned there wasn't a sink, so antibacterial gel would have to do.

But enough with the toilet descriptions. As I go back to continue my exam, I hear tourists from the road talking about diving, snorkeling and beach life. People bargaining and people laughing. A horse running by with passengers in its cart. And all my head is full of is religion; theory and practice. And I realize that I'm grateful for getting the opportunity to learn something so important in such a great environment.

When I deliver 23 pages of my not so nice handwriting half an hour before deadline, I feel satisfied again. Only half an hour later I return to the exam place again, for the first time in history when I'm on holiday. This time to get free lunch paid by our University. So that must have been the smell that had filled my nostrils the last couple of hours.

Before our exam, studying in charming huts on the beach.This was our bathroom in Lombok. Walls, but no roof. And the shower came out of a big jar!
The view from the shower!
Our veranda with a comfortable hammock.
Crazy driving in Lombok, people driving in the middle of the road and overtaking in the most dangerous places!

Gili:
Our last place in Indonesia has been the small island of Gili Trawangan. This is where we prepared for our exam before we took it.

This little fellow has been waiting for us on our veranda every morning in Gili. We've called him Bob Marley, because he looks so tired all the time.

To really feel finished with our exam, we had a party. This great live band played reggae music and we danced in the rain.

This will be my final post from my studies in Asia. But I still have a week of Easter holiday in the Philippines waiting for me, so I just might update again before placing my feet on Norwegian soil again the 23rd of April. Peace out.

From Thailand to Indonesia

2011-03-24T23:57:00.000-07:00

In Thailand we visited two cities: Chiang Mai (in the North) and Bangkok (in the South). Now we have moved on to Bali, but before you hear from this place, I'll tell you the ten top things about Thailand:

1)Riding elephants, watching their show and playing with tigers
2)Eating good food – both Thai and international
3)Getting two tailor-made dresses
4)Shopping
5)Meeting Sak, Tueng Tueng and Nan, who I went to Hald with:

6)Getting a perm
7)Seeing she-males and prostitutes first hand and being checked out by them (okay, this wasn't really fun, but I need to mention it because it is so far from my daily life)
8)Ordering pizza to our hotel room and watching an American film. We got a glimpse of the Western world that it's been so long since we've been in
9)Visiting a nunnery of Buddhist nuns and learning how Thai women also can live ascetic and shave their heads and eyebrows
10)Learning some phrases in Thai. Here are some:
- Sawat di ka: good day/hello, goodbye (said by woman) Sawat di krap (said by man)
- Kapkun kha: thank you (said by woman) Kapkun krap (said by man)
- nung, song, sam, si, ha, ho'k, zet, bad, gao, sip (Ok, I know this isn't the correct spelling, but it means 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!)

After 11 days in the “country of charm” I have come to Bali, an island in Indonesia. This is the last country on our study tour, but I will go to the Philippines on vacation for one week before heading home. The first thing that struck me as we came to Bali, was the heat. Thailand had been quite cold, surprisingly enough. On the airport I saw people dressed in fancy costumes, which apparently is the normal clothing for the Balinese people. My impression is that they are smiling and friendly, perhaps more than in Thailand!men in their national costumes that are worn everyday

Here are some pictures of the Balinese landscape.Rice fields and palms right next to each other. Beautiful.

It didn't take long before we also noticed the beautiful green nature, with rice fields and palm trees right next to each other. By the road are also scary-looking statues to symbolize bad spirits. Although Indonesia is the World's most Islamic country, Bali's main religion is Hinduism, and a quite special Hinduism, in fact.

Everywhere you can see a canang (pronounced “chanang”), which is an offering to the spirits. If the canang is on the ground, it is offered to the bad spirits. Often in front of houses, to keep the bad spirits away. If the canang is higher up, for example on a table, a shelf etc, is is for the good spirits, to welcome them and keep them happy.

one canang for the good spirits, and one for the bad

Another important thing with the Balinese Hinduism, is the holy water. They use holy water in offerings, to cleanse themselves etc. We got to see some people bathing in this to purify themselves.
cleansing themselves in holy waterpraying

The first town we've been to in Bali is Ubud, in the North-East. Every afternoon we heard clinging sounds of instruments – basically drums and cymbals. The music increased in volume all the time, and at times it was difficult to talk because of the sound. Here we lived in bungalows, and had our breakfast on the veranda.
our bungalow our view over the rice fields from our hotelStine, Maria and Margrethe M after a nice but late girls night

To study the Balinese Hinduism, we visited some temples in the town Ubud.Maria, Tone, Stine and Margrethe V. Notice the dress-code: in all temples in Bali it is not necessary to cover your shoulders, but you have to wear a sarong.on the way to the temple there were many shops.On the way to the temple.Levi from a bird's perspective.One of the temples we visited in Ubud.
students in front of the temple.Maria and Stine in the temple. In front of the second temple: Minda, me and Margrethe V.Giving offerings to the spirits Giving offeringsA Hindu priest with a cup of holy water which he gave those of us who were interested in getting a Hindu blessing. This was not for me.Liv Randi with rice on heir forehead.The three Musketeers in front of the famous Tanah Lot temple.Delicious fruit
This fruit, called “snake skin fruit” was delicious! Speeking of snakes, being in Bali has made me a bit crazy:
Margrethe saw the big snake and was disgusted and scared, just like me. But I convinced here to help me hold the snake. Three words can describe how we felt this: adrenaline, fun and fright.Margrethe screaming: TAKE IT AWAY!After we had held the big one, we got to hold a small one by ourselves. This was a piece of cake after having had the enormous one around my shoulders and seeing its head turn towards me.Margrethe holding the small one There were also bats there, but we didn't ask to hold them...

When we came to Kuta, one of the most famous towns in Bali, we visited an orphanage and a prison. Apart from this we went diving in one of the nicest places in Bali. We saw a turtle and many fish.

This is Stine and me, giving the "okay" signal.
I just love this sport and I'm looking forward to diving again when we come to the island of Gili Trawangan. This is where we'll end our study with an exam, a party and an evaluation. And then my trip goes to the Phillipine Islands for the Easter holiday, before heading home to Norway! :)

A day of Adventures in Chiang Mai, Thailand

2011-03-14T23:41:00.001-07:00

Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand (Bangkok is number one). Sunday 13.3 we got to experience some of the attractions the city has to offer. We went bamboo rafting, watched an elephant show, rode elephants, rode an ox cart, visited a long-neck village, played with tigers and visited an orchid park. Great adventures and I feel so lucky!! Here are some photos in random order. Notice the sporty elephants playing basketball and football and also painting pictures!

In the long-neck village there are people with Burmese ascendence. The women put rings around their throats to look pretty. They start with this when they are around 4 years old, and they don't even take them off to sleep. This woman is carrying 3 kg around her neck, while the last one is carrying 5 kg - the heaviest in the entire village. Their collarbones sink and their neck doesn't look nice if they take the rings off.

In the tigerpark we got to play with tigers that were 3-5 months old, and big tigers that were around 1 year old (the biggest ones were too dangerous, so we couldn't go in to their cage).We were told that the tigers had just been fed, and Levi, who has seen drugged tigers before, said that he was certain that these had not been drugged. It was a bit scary but at the same time very exciting!!Stine with the cute cub.
Maria with two playing/fighting cubs.
Helga with the same two.
Margrethe, the tiger and I

A little nervous...

A vegetarian?

We ended our day with a little less exciting and thrilling visit in the orchid park. Want to do the same as me? Come to Thailand!! :) Study religion! (Although I must admit that this adventure day had nothing to do with religion...)

Cruising Cambodia

2011-03-04T02:24:00.001-08:00

Cambodia is the One Dollar country. Here everything costs one dollar: a tuk-tuk, a bananacluster, bracelets, postcards etc. The salesmen come running after you, saying: "Lady, three bracelets - only one dolla'". If you kindly say no and walk away, they follow you, saying: "Five bracelets - one dolla'". You almost have to be angry for them to go away...

The Cambodians who speak English, leave out the endings in some words. Like this for example: "You wan' fis' massa'?" "We go now and have lun' (lunch)." And the word "fried rice" which you can find in all menues, is made to: "Fry rie".

Siem Reap

Minevictims in a band to earn money. These are all over the place, because Cambodia has many landmines in the ground that are left from the Khmer Rouge time (1975-1979). You can get a fish massage on almost every corner in Siem Reap. They want to eat your dead skin. I thought it was too scary to be able to relax.Cambodian Tuk Tuk, the motorcycle taxi. One dollar, of course.

Angkor
One day we went to see the famous temples in Siem Reap. The most important one was Angkor Wat, a very old temple that was in the old town Angkor. One of the opportunities to get inside was on the back of an elephant.

Angkor Wat - the largest religious building in the World (Angkor = "town",Wat = "temple")meeting traffic together at the tempel The famous bricks in Bayon with smiling faces on all four sidesOur guide telling us what the carvings on the wall areTogether on the bridge by the Elephant Terrace, where a king watched elephants fighting each other.Maria playing with sweet children in Angkor Wat.Climbing the steep stairs.The boys have bought themselves a mouth harpe each. Probably one dollar!Helga with a bunch of saleswomen.
Preben with a bunch of saleschildren.Sunset

The Floating Village
The Viatnamese people living in Cambodia had to move to the Tonle sap lake in 1997, where they had to build their houses. Today there is a large village on this lake, and all the houses float on water! The people there are poor and live on selling things to tourists.The floating church.A man and his daughter wanting to sell beer and coke to us.A man and his sons wanting us to hold a snake for "one dollar"On the boat we took to get there.Floating houses

Phnom Penh
When we came to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, we got to see a completely different side of the country. As I briefly mentioned in my last post, the country experienced a genocide between 1975-1979, under the regime of the communist party The Khmer Rouge. We visited one of the torture prisons that were used by the Khmer Rouge. Around 14-16000 people were imprisoned there - believed to be spies or CIA-agents, and only 7 people got out alive. I met one of them outside the prison and bought his book.

Prisoners waiting to be killed.Strict rules for the prisoners.
After a long time of torture the prisoners where sent to a killing field to be killed. We visited this too, and saw sculls that had been dug up from the massgraves. Still there are corpses buried under the paths, and we stepped on their clothes that stuck up from the ground. This was terrible.

I will end this post with a happier experience. I turned 23 the 8th of March and got to celebrate my birthday with the whole class. My fantastic boyfriend gave me tons of presents and I had a blast! I also got an unexpected card from mamma and daddy. :)

The Paradise of Perhentian

2011-02-27T04:58:00.000-08:00

When you zoom in on Perhentian there's a lot to see:

Malays: some with hijab, some without
Clear blue sea; that's what I'm talking about!
Palm trees, beaches and sand
Muslim territory where alcohol is banned (although you can buy it “under the table” some places)

Restaurants where people have their food
All together tourists in a good mood
Divers learning their newest skills
No need for medicine, no need for pills

The food you order isn't always what you get
But better than seaweed I bet
No cars, no cars at all
We're absolutely having a ball

And now I'm certified! Officially a diver!
I saw a shark and I'm a survivor
I swam with fish, stingrays, anemones
luckily didn't get any enemies.

My boyfriend arrived with smiles
better than the thrill of X-files
We've been swimming, eating and more
and been kissing by the sea shore (no secret).

We've learned to deal with the ants
and sunburn's avoided with pants
spiders have shown us their web
we're happy, just like I said!

Our diving school is the building to the left in this photo.

A part of the hotel restaurant

Levi teaching two girls how to wear and use a snorkel

Relaxing in the sun.

The hotel consists of many cabins, and they are so nice! :)

On Skype talking to Granny and Granddad.Lecture about Cambodia, where we're going tomorrow!
Enjoying ourselves on Long Beach.Stine and her boyfriend Arve having fun in the waves.Before you can go diving you have to check your "vest"; the BCD - Bouyancy Control Device.Ready to go diving!

A large freshly squeezed orange juice after diving was just what I needed!
After our exam (multiple choice and we got to discuss the answers), we were finally certified divers! :)

After two lovely weeks on Perhentian, we are going to Cambodia. Tomorrow! We learned a bit about Cambodian history today, and it sounded awful. Have you heard about the Read Khmer and the genocide? If not, you can google it or just wait for my next blog post! :)

Heavenly Grace

2011-02-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

I've been to hell, I've touched (and been touched by) one of God's largest creations, I've been inside Buddha's head, drunk Sri Lankan tea, and I've been to the place where Buddha's last/ Adam's first footprint is. Let me explain.

Hell was a fairly cold place, inside a cave. We were met by dreadful scary-looking statues that demonstrated the torture you are likely to experience if you come to hell. As we walked further into the cave, we saw paintings of terrible actions done to people and the explanation was above the painting. For instance if you kill an animal, you will get a spear through your own body.

The fright of coming to hell as a result of bad actions is a motivation for Buddhist's to live a pure life. As they believe in reincarnation after death (and the fact that they can be born in hell in the next life as a result of bad karma), they strive to reach the enlightenment that Buddha got, so that they can get to Nirvana and out of the “samsara” (the circle of reincarnations).

What strikes me when I learn this, is the lack of grace in this religion (and in the other religions, for that matter). The Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims don't believe that they can be saved and forgiven for their sins, they're completely on their own... This makes me so thankful for what Jesus did for me, that I can hardly figure out where to begin to rejoice. I've never really grasped the meaning of “grace” before now, when I see what it would be like without it. And WOW – God is gracious!!

The creatures I met that God has created were the Asian elephants. What beauties! It was amazing to look into their eyes, feeding them bananas and touching their rough skin and their hard hair. The best way do describe it is with a few pictures.

Buddha's head was fairly empty – or actually just full of himself. We went inside the tallest sitting Buddha in the world, and inside it were many small Buddha statues. Not worth showing pictures of, really, but I'll offer one of his outsides because his insides where pretty much the same...

When it comes to the Sri Lankan tea, I must say that from my English point of view, I am impressed. One of Sri Lanka's main export products is tea, and we were lucky to visit one of the plantations. Here we where also so lucky to get a nice and tasty cup of the delicious beverage afterwards.

a lady teaching us how to make the best tea inside the tea factory

me and Nixon, our helpful Sri Lankan guide who was with us during our stay in Sri Lanka.

My last paragraphes of adventures from this country will be about Sri Pada (Adam's Peak). Sri Pada means “Blessed/holy footprint” and is the name of the mountain where it is said that Buddha placed his last footprint before entering Nirvana. In the Christian tradition, it is Thomas the apostle who stood on the top of this mountain, while Muslims (and maybe also Christians) believe it is here Adam first placed his foot when he was created. As this is an important mountain for many religions and a place where many come for their pilgrimage, we had to experience it as well.
On the way down.

beautiful landscape.

I can't say it was easy to walk 5300 steps up and down in the middle of the night, but it was worth it when we could see the sunrise in the morning (although it was pretty cloudy).

Our skin was covered with “sidalepa”, a potion to avoid leaches. And it took around three days for our muscles to get back to normal again afterwards. But it was all worth it when we got to see the elephants afterwards, who actually had a peaceful therapeutic effect on my heart...
This monk made move on me, ironically enough when he's not allowed to get married. But he was interested in getting married with a tourist in the future – if he decided not to be a monk anymore... Sorry for him, but I had to reject him because I'm happy with the man I already have. :-)
Here's a little extra from the Sri Lankan culture:

These men ran in front of the bus trying to sell flowers.

We found a lovely puppy who was very cuddly and cute!

So I've had a glimpse of what hell could be like, and now I'm getting a preview of paradise. I've come to the island of Perhentian in Malaysia and it is – to use only one word – heavenly! Keep reading my blog if you would like a preview of Heaven as well.

After having read for our exam we are finally finished and can enjoy the wonders of Perhentian. Tomorrow I will start diving!! :)

I'll end my post about Sri Lanka with a picture taken by the sunset in Unawatuna, with my dear friends Margrethe and Stine, who I'm so happy to be travelling with!

Studying Sri Lanka

2011-02-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

So I'm in Sri Lanka now. Quite different from Malaysia, but still quite fascinating. It's been raining non-stop for a week and we've hardly any dry and clean clothes left. This is the view from where I was sitting writing my blog in the town Anuradhapura.
We have now come to Unawatuna, a fairly bigger town on the coast of Sri Lanka, and I can finally post what I wrote when I didn't have internet...

Since we've been in this country, we have been looking closer at Buddhism. The first couple of days we spent by the sea, in the town Negombo. We've learned about the country's history (which is quite complex because of the war that only just ended), and we have been visiting the fourth largest architecture from the Antique period (after the pyramids).
Apparently one of Buddha's collarbones is buried deep inside this construction. We've also seen the “daughter” tree (Sri Maha Bodhi) that Buddha got his awakening underneath. And we've been to the famous Tooth Temple in Kandy, where Buddha's tooth is kept.

On our way from Negombo to Anuradhapura we went on a dolphin safari. We had to show a ticket to this man before our boat could go out to sea. And this man had to guide us through the shallow parts. We were lucky to see some of the beautiful creatures, although our stomachs almost turned inside out because of the big waves.
As we were driving in the bus again, we suddenly heard a big bang! The cows in the fields nearby ran off, and our bus came to a stop. One of our tires had punctured. Luckily there was a tire shop close by, and thanks to our clever Srilankeese friends, we were on the road again by an hour. We were lucky to find a small shop where we could by some snacks to fill our empty stomachs with. Some of us also found a small café where we could have a cold drink. The owner suddenly brought in three rabbits, and we were confused if she wanted us to eat them or what. We figured she just wanted us to pet them (or at least that's what we told ourselves).

We continued our journey and were happy to have half a banana plant with us to eat. Yummy! When we came to this sign, we didn't quite understand why it was forbidden to play the trumpet: But when we came to this sign straight after, we understood: There were wild elephants nearby, and if you honked the horn, you could frighten them. Sadly enough, we didn't see them that day. But we saw a wild elephant right by the road a few days later!

Okay, I am getting covered with mosquitoes now, so I think I have to stop writing. There's also a limp dog here trying to beg me for something. Looks like he's got flees, so I think I'll keep a distance... As you can understand, life here is quite different to Norway. In many ways Sri Lanka reminds me of Madagascar, but then again nobody understands me when I by mistake try to speak Malagasy to them!

Since I wrote this blog we have experienced even more. We visited the indigenous people, the Veddah-people. They welcomed us with flowers and we had a nice meal before we went to sleep on the brick floor.
Our teacher Trond was greeted with leaves and had to dance a traditional dance with the tribe leaders.

Here are just some photos from the last days. Yesterday we had a party (it's after all Sri Lanka's National day today!).Levi and his wife, Anne Lisbeth, who is visiting now.In front of our hotel.
Singing the Asia song we made on the bus.The view from our hotel room when the sun goes down.
Stine was 22 on the 29th of January, and we had a party for her and two others. Nearly at the top of the Sigiriya mountain/"rock", where a king built his palace and lived with his 1000 wives.

Young munks inside the Tooth Temple in Kandy.

Quick upload from Kuala Lumpur

2011-01-24T06:40:00.001-08:00

It's 10.45 pm in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia's capitol) and I am tired. In four hours time I have to get up because we're going to Sri Lanka. Here are some photos of our four days in KL. The purple ones are from the State Mosque where we had to cover us up. The last one is from Batu Caves where they celebrate the Thaipusam in KL. Enjoy! :)

This is Inki, checking out from Malaysia. (But I'll be back for two weeks before going to Cambodia.) Thank you for following me! :)

Thaipusam in Penang - be aware of strong pictures!

2011-01-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

Oh, what they do to be blessed by their god. The Hindus in Malaysia have an annual festival to get blessings from their lord Murugan and to give offerings to him. They carry kavadis (=burdens)and vels (=spears) and hooks in their bodies as a promise to their god. They pray to the god Murugan (for example to get healthy, to get children, good grades at school etc), and in return they do this, as kind of a "thank you" or a "please". In Penang they walk approx. 4 km (from one temple to another) with the spears and hooks in their body (some of them dragging wagons up to 2 tons), and then they take them out. They say that they feel spiritually cleansed after this, and that it doesn't hurt. If it hurts, or if you bleed, you haven't done proper fasting. (You have to fast and be a vegetarian for 40 days before Thaipusam.) We got to see this in Penang and heard that the people attending or watching were up to 500,000 people. In Kuala Lumpur the celebration is even bigger and attracts many more people. The devotees who carry the burdens have to walk 17 km before they can take them out... This makes me happy that I'm not a Hindu.

Piercing through the skin with the hooks (in total 69 hooks - 30 on each side) The red colour is not blood, but red dust/ashes they put on before starting the piercing.
A man being pierced through his cheaks. He screamed like a posessed man and his wife and daughter were standing close to him, watching the whole procedure, looking quite anxious...

Small children were also watching the parade, and the piercing seemed so natural to everyone, even the family members who were sad to see their fathers/brothers in such a state.

We followed a family through the parade. This girl was happy to celebrate Thaipusam, and her uncle (the picture below) had MANY spears through his skin. If anyone came near his spears he got terrible pains.

This man was screaming like mad and looked like an animal. They played loud music and sang to get people in a trance.

Religious Diversity - all in one town!

2011-01-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

My nostrils are gradually getting used to new smells and my stomach is getting used to spicy food. My notebook is full of notes and my memory card is full of pictures. My heart is filling up with new friends and my head is filling up with thoughts. I am in Asia. And I love it.

As we visit Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, temples for the Chinese folk religion, Catholic churches, and get visits from Malaysian youths and interview people with different religions, we get to learn more about the diversity in the world. I am learning more and more that religion often is linked to the culture you grow up in.

Krishna Temple (Hinduism)
We had to wash our feet as we came into the Hindu temple (a Krishna temple). This is my new friend Minda from Oslo.
Some of my fellow students inside the Hindu temple. (From the left: Margrethe V, Maria L. and Kamilla)

Giving offerings to Krishna.
Praying to Krishna.

Murugan Temple (Hinduism)

Ganesha, the elephant god.

Buddhist Temple
Buddha's ashes, that apparently just keep on increasing.
Offerings to Buddha

Happy Buddha in a shop.

Maria L. got herself a new fan and we all envied her in the heat.

Temple of Taoism

Taoism = a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions, The word 道, Tao,roughly translates as, "path" or "way" (of life), although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it carries more abstract meanings. Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation, and humility, while Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos. Want to learn more? Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

We have to write an essay which will be graded and I have decided together with Stine to write about the position of Women in Islam and Christianity. The reason for this choice is that we met Malaysian Muslims who gave us a book on the topic, and who really wanted us to read it. It is of course from an Islamic perspective, but this makes it more interesting, as we get to see the religion from the inside.

Lovely Langkawi and Precious Penang

2011-01-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

Staying in Langkawi was a nice and quiet transmission from the Western world to the Eastern. As it was a place with loads of tourists, we got the feeling that we were on holiday and we got a fairly easy start.

On Cenang Beach in Langkawi, were we stayed. Take a look at Margrethes blog for more photos of this.

Dancing Limbo on the beach

Mamma – you said it didn't look like I was studying, but here you are! We read when he get the opportunity! ;)

Learning to dance Merengue , Salsa and Bachatka from a German guy. Great fun!
The shops don't only sell small bikinis, they also sell swimming costumes for Muslims, that ensures that all “critical” parts of the body are covered. Margrethe was wondering whether she should start the same trend for non-muslims.

Now that we have come to Penang, the second largest city in Malaysia (Number 1 is Kuala Lumpur, the capital), we finally get the feeling that we're on a different continent.

A man selling sweets etc by the restaurants
The salesman was happy to pose for the camera
A proud young girl helping her parents out in the restaurant.

A big food court where we could get all kinds of food

Lots of food
Man walking around with his helmet.
Woman selling newspapers and magazines.
The view from the 19th floor where we have our lectures in Penang

As mentioned earlier, Malaysia is a Muslim country, and the majority of the population are Muslims. Today we were lectured by a Malaysian Hindu, who is ethnic Indian, but has a Malaysian nationality.

Our Hindu teacher

To be called Malay, one has to be a Muslim. Consequently this is a big dilemma here in Malaysia, since there is a large number of people from China and India who also feel they are Malay... In the Malaysian constitution it says that the Malay people (only the Muslims) get special treatment. Only they have the right to get a scholarship at universities, they get a bigger loan when they buy a new house etc. Our Hindu lecturer had quite strong feelings about this, but the only thing the minorities can do, is to accept it. The alternative is to convert to Islam, but then it is almost impossible to convert back, and they have to follow very strict rules...
Sitting on the boat to Penang with my Nugatti (Norwegian chocolate spread) under my arm, with a Sikh next to me.
Lunch. Tandori chicken which is completely red! Delicious!

Here in Penang the majority is either Buddhist or belongs to the Chinese religions. After lunch today we went around in Penang to get a look at the city and to visit Buddhist and Hindu temples. Photos of this will come soon. :)

More pics.

2011-01-12T01:22:00.001-08:00

Don't have much time on the net, but here are some photos from our trip with a boat to different small islands. We met some nasty monkeys who stole one of our bags, and we had to chase them and almost fight them to get all the stuff back. On Friday we are going to Penang, another island in Malaysia. We will stay there for over a week (I think)...

PS

2011-01-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to check out Stine's and Margrethe's blogs to see more photos! Their links are on my page to the right! ;)

Roundtrip on Langkawi Island

2011-01-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos taken Sunday on our trip around Langkawi Island. I got to drive one of the cars - great fun! :) On picture no. 5 you can still see the Chrsitmas decorations on a hotel by the beach!

Finally in (Mal)A(y)sia

2011-01-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

As I stepped out of the aeroplane in Langkawi, an island in Malaysia, I had three thoughts: Hot, Beatiful and Exciting. This green island is going to be my home until the 13th of January.

Islam is the main religion in this country, which became obvious to me as soon as I placed my feet on Malaysian soil. Compared to Norway where it is unpopular for Muslims to wear a hijab (“tudong” in Malay) at work, in Malaysia you see women wearing this hair covering clothing everywhere. Even the policewomen carrying heavy weapons wear this under their police hats. I find it interesting that many Westerners (i.e. Norwegians) tend to think that this isn't suitable when it is so common and important for the Muslims. I'll have to reflect more upon this as I get to know the different cultures and religions better...

Our motel is situated one minute from the beach, where you find green palm trees, clear water, sail boats, restaurants etc. As we only have 3 hours of lectures every day (from 9am-12am), we have plenty of time exploring the market place, the beach and the facilities around. When we first arrived Wednesday afternoon, we had two hours before our first lecture. Jet-lagged and sweaty we got out our pens ready to learn new things. Here's a picture of half of our class during one of our first sessions.

The first thing we learned about was how important the life after death is to the Muslims. They believe that life consists of four phases: 1) life as a foster 2) life on earth 3) life in the grave (where the angels and demons find out where you belong afterwards) 4) life after the grave (Heaven/Hell). Some Malaysian Muslims believe that some people often come back as a ghost after they have passed on (Note: this is not a very common thought among all Muslims!). The chairs you can see on the following picture, are situated outside one of our motel buildings. A local person apparently said that he had seen a ghost there a couple of weeks ago. He was convinced of this, and it seems that nobody doubted his credibility...

We have a very good teacher with us, who tells these stories as if they were true, although he is a Christian himself. That makes it easier to see the religion from the inside, and not just from the outside as we often tend to see it at home. Levi (our teacher) is very committed to his job, and is an inspiring teacher with loads of enthusiasm.

He is also a kind and helpful “caretaker” when we're not feeling to good. In the middle of the night on Friday I woke up feeling nauseous. The red bucket in our bathroom became my friend from that minute on. I counted the times I vomited that day, and was up to 6. Friday is the day the Muslims have their Friday-prayers, so all the shops (including the doctor's clinic) are closed. Friday is to Muslims what Sunday is to Christians. So as I lay in my bed listening to the invitation from the Minaret (the tower in the Mosque) to come to prayer, I realized that I am far from home. This was my first time to hear this in real life, so I was quite fascinated. Sadly enough, my bucket filled up a couple of times, so I couldn't listen too carefully. Levi said that I might need to go to the doctor when it opens on Saturday, but luckily I feel a bit better today. He wasn't too worried as I didn't have a fever, which apparently is quite promising. :-)

Tomorrow (Sunday) we are going for a roundtrip on the island. We will rent cars and drive around to different places, go swimming in crystal clear water etc. Those of us who have brought our drivers licence can drive the cars. I haven't made up my mind about this, but think I'd like to try it. They drive on the left side of the road, so it can be a bit difficult. But apparently Malaysia isn't the craziest country in Asia when it comes to traffic.

I think I will leave you with this for now. Feel free to send me messages or call me (or ask me to call you back) on my Malaysian telephone number: 0060143003862. Just keep in mind that the time difference is as follows: 7 hours ahead of Norway, 8 hours ahead of England and 13 hours ahead of Florida (!). And if you would like to leave a comment, you will make my internet-experiences more exciting!! :-) To this I say: terima kasih (= thank you), which in Malay/Indonesian means, word by word; “accept love”.

Here are some pictures of an evening on the beach.

On my way already!

2011-01-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hey ya`ll. This is a live update from the B&B in Stansted. Arrived this afternoon swetty but cold (don`t need warm clothes in the South-East of Asia) and sad but excited. Saying goodbye to my beloved boyfriend, family and friends was dreadful. But the best is yet to come! :) Our flight to Kuala Lumpur is tomorrow morning at 8:20. We have to leave the B&B at 6 AM. (*Yawn*) And won`t arrive at our final destination before Wednesday around 1 PM. Happy New Year, everyone!! Hope you`ll love it as much as I already do! Finally I`m traveling again! :)
This is a very updated picture of Margrethe and me, sitting in the bed in the B&B updating our blogs.

Sneak Peak

2010-12-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

Not long now! In 16 days I'll be leaving for Malaysia. With a new year comes a new journey and new experiences. I will be faithful and update my blog as often as I can, and I hope that you will be faithful and follow me...

Here's a little teaser so you can see how much I'll be reading when I'm away. Just so you know that I'm not going on holiday, but actually taking a full course study. :) The interesting thing is to see how I'll get all these books in my luggage, when I can only have 15 kilos in my checked suitcase...

For those of you who wonder why I'm writing in English: because I have friends and family across the Globe who don't speak Norwegian, I have chosen the language that most of my readers understand. Hope you'll enjoy my blog and ignore my grammar mistakes if there are any (it's been way too long since I wrote proper English)...

Who knows - next time I post something, I might be in Asia already! :) But for now I'll leave you with a quote by St. Augustine: "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Discovering a new continent

2010-09-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

I know I'm lazy writing new posts on my blog, but please don't give up on me yet. The best is yet to come! :)

Just letting you all know that I will be traveling to Asia in the beginning of January. I will be studying religion in five different countries for three months: Malaysia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia. And I hope that YOU will follow my adventures by reading my blog! I might have a new blog by then, but I'll let you know. So please keep checking in!

I'll leave you with a Chinese proverb for now: A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Heroes of December

2009-12-30T08:22:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!! :)
I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas.

I am back on my blog to share with you my two wonderful room-mates, Stine and Margrethe. Before Christmas, the three of us went to Paris for a short holiday. It was fabulous! We saw the Eiffel Tower (and went up to the top), we visited the chateau of King Louis XIV in Versailles, walked down the mainstreet Champs Elysees, saw the Moulin Rouge and the Arch of Triumph (l'arch de triomphe) and did some shopping. We ate at nice resaurants, went to cafes and had a really nice time together. Two friends of mamma and daddy from their Bridge lub were so kind to host us in their home.
I am looking forward to going back to Kristiansand and spend more time with many great friends. :) Here are some photos of Stine and Margrethe, my heroes of the month.

The Hero of the Month

2009-11-09T03:50:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try something new, that might increase the number of new posts on this blog. :)
The new "thing" is "The Hero of the Month", which will be a person who has inspired me, helped me/others, done a good deed, hugged me and/or made me happy in one way or another. Every hero will get a nickname, to point out his or her unique nature.

The Hero of November will have to be my dear boyfriend, Ole Einar. :) Nickname for the month: Happy Hero.
As we have celebrated 1 year together this month, he has fulfilled all the criterias for becoming the Hero of the Month. Ole Einar is a kind and loving human being who also has a good joke just around the corner - which makes people laugh at all times, even when you least expect it. This man makes me happy everyday and he inspires me to become a better person. Here's a picture of my Happy Hero, showing that he is quite funny and that he makes people laugh:

Update

2009-10-21T01:16:00.000-07:00

Been to Stavanger
Going to Skien
Going to Hald
Going to Søgne for a cabintrip with the Housechurch.
Having the Housechurch here at my place this evening.
So many plans! I like having things to do, as long as it's not too much...

I had my first Yoga lesson last Monday. I found it a little strange in the beginning and a bit scared that it was something religious, but found out it wasn't. We left before the meditation started... ;) Think it was good excercise, so I might do it again.

Right now I'm writing a paper about Maria Mena and her song "Just Hold Me", so I better go back to that. Check out the song on youtube.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4hRyB5YHaY

I'll be back before you know it. Keep checking! ;)

Cumbaya, my Lord

2009-09-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm sick. Sore throat, stiff shoulders, headache, runny nose etc etc...
Praying for God to make me better
Ole Einar's making dinner in the kitchen,
although he's not much better either
We're sick.
Today it's Grey's Anatomy and the girls and I have talked about making waffles. I'm looking forward to that. Tomorrow we have a study day - which means no teaching, only self-studies... Next week-end I'm going to Oslo, I might write a blog on that, because that'll be exciting!!
Some people say we have to focus on the present, and not on the future or the past... The present for me involves illness.... Rats.
SO if you would please like to pray, that would be very okay! :)
Have a nice day.

I'm back!

2009-09-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

Dear readers. Long time, no see. It's already been half a year since the last time I wrote a post. I think that most of my readers are sort of updated on my life, so I won't make a resymè of the last six months, but I'll try to be back and write what's on my mind for the coming six months, if I can manage. :)

As you probably know, I've moved into a new appartment in Kristiansand, in a much more central part of the town. I live there with two friends in my class; Stine and Margrethe (Maggie). We get along really well! :) But I miss my old flatmate, Eline...
I've got to tell you what happened two or three nights ago. I woke up to go to the toilet, when Stine called me from below (they live in the cellar, and I live on the ground floor). "Inki, come down here," she said. She frightened me as she continued: "Someone tried to get in through Margrethe's window!" Maggie had seen a head and a foot trying to get into her room. We were terrified! What was strange, was that whoever it was (she had seen two guys running away when she said: "Excuse me?") had not been bothered taking the two bisycles that were unlocked in the garden. So what did they want?

We called the police and they sent a car to check out the neighboorhood. I called my boyfriend and he came out with his two flatmates. They found a toy snake outside our door, which somebody had put there. We couldn't sleep. All three of us curled up in Stine's bed and we tried to get some sleep, but it took hours. We heard strange noises and our hearts were pounding. Once I was certain I heard a drill (thinking maybe someone was trying to break the window upstairs), but it turned out it was only Maggie breathing! ;)

When we got to school the next day, we found out that the two intruders were two boys in our class!!! We were angry and upset, because they had scared us so much. But I was also relieved, because that meant that the danger was over for now... Puh!

I'll try to keep you updated on my exciting experiences once in a while, but life is busy. Please keep on checking my blog to see if there's news. If I know that I have readers, I'll be more motivated to write. Thanks to Maria who made me start over again! :)

Four hands and a finger

2009-03-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

Finally (?) gone 21. :) The International Women's Day is not only that - it's also my day. Some people say that that makes me a REAL woman. They might be right - and that's what I felt like when Ole Einar suprised me with a romantic dinner out in the open on Saturday, the day before the Day. He made dinner from scratch on a "stormkjøkken" (a camping devise you make food on by using gas), lit a fire and had all the extra things needed to make the moment special. :) And I felt really lucky! But the excitement didn't stop there - when we came back to his house, I found two of my Stavanger-friends sitting on his bed. Maria and Ida had come all the way from Stavanger to celebrate my birthday! :) They had brought balloons, presents and brownie cookies. Boy, was I glad to see them again! :)

Sunday morning came and I was happy to wake up with my two sweet friends. What a joy - and the sun was shining too for a change! :) I had thought I was going to be alone, since my roommate Eline was in Warsawa with some girlfriends. Ida and Maria left after breakfast and Ole Einar came for lunch. We made pancakes and enjoyed the nice weather. The day ended with a service in Salem and then a videonight with some friends at Ole Einar's. A perfect ending to a perfect day, and of course a perfect occasion to have some extra fun and eat good food! :)

Apart from this, I think I should mention that I have started to read a newspaper. I've got a free deal of "Vårt Land" (a Christian paper) every day and I'm learning the pleasure of getting updates on the world. I've not been good at this before - at all! - so it was about time... ;)

And a picturecomment: I got a sweet t-shirt from mr.O', in my favourite colour and with Malagasy words. The text means "I am happy. Very happy" and are the first words he learnt in Malagasy. :) And on top of it all, it's true! :)

Bye-bye Uganda...

2009-02-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

I have just made the hardest descision ever. I have been faced with a choice that has been almost too hard to bear, and it's been really exhausting.

I got the chance to go to Uganda for 4 weeks. I was never 100% sure that this was what I wanted to do, and this has really been nagging me. I have prayed and asked God to give me peace to make the right descision, but I have never got the feeling that Uganda is 100% right for me at this point. ARGH! It's been really frustrating! But now I have finally come to the conclusion that I'm not going. The time is not right and I feel relieved now. I would appreciate it if people could pray that I may find peace with this descision, although I really believe that I have done the right thing. :) It's so nice to relax and not having to think about it all the time! And now I can plan so many other things for the summer! Yeay! :) I am so happy and relieved! :) :) :)

Flashbacks

2009-02-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

Just for fun, I have selected some photos from every year since 2004. :)

2004: I hurt my knee at TMF and had to wear a bandage for many weeks...

2005: Aunty Birgit and I went mountainhiking...

2005: Ingvild, Maria, Helene and I went to Langøy, an island near Stavanger...

2005: Maria, Ida, Ingvild and I went to Maria's cabin in Lyngdal...

2006: Trip to Estonia with a leader-training course...

2006: Estonia at winter...

2007: My friend Camilla's birthday party

2007: My mathteacher and me as a "Russ" - 17th of May...

2008: Easter holiday in Farafangana, Madagascar...

2008: Evening with other Norwegians in Fandriana, Madagascar...

2008: Just started university. This is my studygroup...

2009: Cutting my boyfriend's hair...

No-title post :)

2009-02-10T07:08:00.001-08:00

I'm not going to start this blog by excusing myself for being late again. We all know it's been too long now - but as the saying goes: late is better than never!

The first big thing worth mentioning is that I'm going to Florida in April! My fantastic boyfriend and I are going to visit Marianne and Christen for approx. 10 days. :) YEAY!
Can hardly wait to see them again, to go swimming and relax under the hot beams of the sun and just get away from everydaylife for a while...

Last weekend we went to Os, and seeing bestemor again was lovely. We got to help her out and we spent some quality time with her. I've started knitting a scarf now too - good to do something sensible amidst all the studying.

A few weeks ago I was asked in church if I would like to be the leader of the services every four weeks. I said yes, thinking that I should take the challenges given to me, and on Sunday I will observe the leader and see what my task will be. That's quite exciting - and right now very frightening. So please pray for that, if you feel like it. :)

It's weird thinking that this time last year, I was living in an African village, trying to avoid the cyclones. The people I lived with suddenly got possessed by demons and we were harassed by the police. Life isn't all that exciting nowadays and to be honest, I wish I could do something more significant... But of course, you've got to grab the opportunities you get, and expect that things will come along when they're supposed to. :)

Here are some pictures from our trip to Os. :)

2009

2009-01-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone :)

Here are some photos of my Christmas :) Let's start with one of Ole Einar.

He visited from the 27th to the 31st, then we went together to Oslo for New Year's and to his family in Skien (2 hours South of Oslo) on the 1st of January.

I met up with Eline, Ola and Marita - the three people I went to Madascar with last year.
And Christen and Marianne were home from the States. The three men went together quite nicely. :)
We had a lovely Christmas celebration together.

I was amazed to see so much underneeth the Christmas tree, compared to last year when I was in Madagascar.
And I met my Maria again. :)

Christmas is over, a new year has begun and I am happy. I'm enjoying life and enjoying the people who are in it!
All the best for 2009 - make the most out of your dreams! :)

I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes

2008-12-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

It's the first of December! :)
When I got up from bed today, two very pleasant surprises met me.
1) Eline had made me an Advent-calender for the remaining days here in Kristiansand! :)
2) There was snow on the ground! Perfect timing! :)

And now we've decorated the house so it feels more like Christmas. Red curtains and purple candles. Yeay!

Sadly enough I have two exams awaiting, making the Christmas-spirit wait even longer... Please pray for me Friday 5th and Friday 12th of December. :)

My man :-)

2008-11-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

His name is Ole Einar. He has captured my heart. :-)
23 years old, from the Eastern part of Norway. The most fantastic guy ever! Beautiful smile, wonderful eyes, a good Christian, kind, helpful, sweet, fantastic and great! :-) :-)
He makes me so happy! :-)

I like cooking food for him :-)

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

The Good Muslim

2008-10-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

A girl was going from her house to the town centre. It was dark. She stood waiting for the bus and the rain was poring down, making her soked all through her clothes. As the bus came, it just drove right past the girl, who was waving her hands to make it stop. The busdriver didn't even look at her, but just drove straight on to the next busstop. So the girl took to her feet and ran after the vehicle. She saw some people on the other busstop and shouted "Stop the bus!" but it just drove on.

As the girl reached the next stop, there was only a woman with a hidjab standing there. The Muslim looked at the girl and was moved with pity. She said to her that she had tried to stop the bus, but that the driver would not listen to her. They looked at each other and shook their heads in disappointment. Then the Muslim said to the girl: "Are you going to town?" The girl nodded.
"I am waiting for my husband," said the Muslim. "He is going to take me to town. Do you want a ride?" The girl looked at her gratefully and accepted the kind gesture.

When the car pulled over, the two women sat down inside it. The two Muslims drove the girl safely to the street were she wanted to go.

"Which of these, do you think, was a neighbor to the girl who was lost in the rain? The busdriver or the Muslim who showed her mercy?"
Jesus would say: "Go and do likewise."

This happened to me yesterday and the whole situation reminded me of the Good Samaritan. It is so important to remember to love your neighbor as yourself!

Over to another thing --> Here are some pictures from my last weekend in Oslo.

Friends from Hald

Christina's 25th Birthdayparty.

Autumn is Falling

2008-10-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

Eline and I bought two golden fish yesterday. Our new roommates are called Nono and Tot, named after my Madagascar-Eline and Torstein. They lighten up our appartment and are always there when we come home.

The past weekend we had a henparty for Sigrid. We took her on a plane to Oslo, and she had no clue where she was or where she was going. We had a wonderful weekend - women only!

Now I'm back in the 3rd grade I teach. They're really noisy but I think we have them in the palm of our hand soon. :) I like teaching them, but at the end of the day I'm really tired.

Here you are

2008-09-21T00:48:00.001-07:00

I realize that I haven't posted a real post for a long time.
I've been doing a lot since the 1st of September.

I've met my dear Sigrid again! She's getting married the 6th of December!

I've done a lot of studying. Sometimes we work together in a group, like here.

We're saving power, so it's a bit cold inside...

Jan dropped by with stuff from Stavanger.

We had a house party and invited some of our new friends.

Our friend Torstein visited and helped us out a lot.Last Tuesday I was at KIA (Christian International Assosiation) to help with Norwegian-classes. I enjoyed that. I've also started in a Cellgroup (quite similar to a Biblegroup), which I think will be good for developing my Christian faith.
I've been in practice a week as a teacher. Our job was to observe routines, the pupils and the lessons and help out when we were needed. In two weeks time we will be the ones who will teach. For three whole weeks. I can hardly wait! :)
I've also joined KRIK (CHRISC), Christian Sports Contact. We excercise every Friday and have other social gatherings once in a while. I really like that, and being active in CHRISC might give me a cheap trip to Uganda next summer...!

This weekend was supposed to be a relazxing one, since the past week was really stressfull. But I realize that I have tons of pages to read befor next week's lectures. So I'm still very busy... Hopefully I will go to Salem, the church we've started in, this evening.
I'm happy, but busy!

Coming soon on Inki's Bubble

2008-09-18T08:54:00.001-07:00

I'm in a hurry now, but don't stop reading my blog just because the last post was posted a while ago.

If you hang on and check this site during the first few days, you can read about my practice-period in a Children School last week, how I almost fell off my chair at school today and what crazy stuff I did on Tuesday afternoon...

You wait and see. Don't forget Inki's Bubble

-because you're in it!

If I were a shoe...

2008-09-12T06:54:00.001-07:00

If I were a shoe
I would be around you all day long

If I were a shoe I would step on your ground
And noone would step on me

If I were a shoe
I would visit streets, cities and countries

If I were a shoe I would have to live through coldness and heat
but I wouldn't have any feelings

If I were a shoe I could get torn and worn out
but maybe they would fix me

If I were a shoe I would have my feet on the ground at all times
and I wouldn't go flying to the moon

It would be nice being a shoe.
But if I were a shoe, what life would I have?
Seeing places from my position in the dirt
Noone to talk to and noone to love
Nothing to live for and nothing to do

And you know the best thing about not being a shoe?
Because if I were a shoe, I wouldn't have met you...

Dedicated to all the people I miss; Vatosoa, friends in Madagascar, family in Stavanger, Oslo, USA and England and my dear friends from Hald spread all around the world...

Busy life

2008-09-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

I will study Mathematics and Pedagogics until Christmas. We have lectures everyday except Wednesday, which is set off for self-study. Whenever I come home from lectures, I am so tired but I have to study more and prepare for the next day.

We try to make our dinners healthy and we've subscribed for the gym/sportsclub to get in shape. I have signed up to volunteer for KIA (Christian Intercultural Work) when they need extra help teaching Norwegian to foreigners. I also attend Christian meetings and social happenings, and two days ago I found a cockroach in my bed! We're having friends over on Friday and Christina is staying with us for a few more days. I took my bike to school today, but the pooring rain told me to take the bus home. My bike is still at school and I hope it's safe. I was at Hald last weekend to tell new students about Madagascar. Memories, flashbacks, tears and smiles and I spoke Malagasy again! We still haven't written a contract for our appartment. We need to buy bread.

It's all happening at once, in case you didn't get that. But I'm enjoying myself and I really feel that I'm in the right place with the right people.

We attended a Christian meeting last week and the preacher told us to "reach out" and preach the Gospel to those in our class who aren't Christians. We are 35 students in my class, and at least 11 of us are Christians! Coincidence? I have already pointed out a few people who will be my "projects", and one of them seems quite positive already! I'm so excited! :-)

This is Eline and me outside the University, the day before Semesterstart. :-)

Student-life has begun

2008-08-15T03:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Eline and I drove from Stavanger to Kristiansand. On our way we stopped by two "Kiwi"-stores. They have a policy so that if if you find food that expires today or tomorrow, you get it for free. But even better; you get money for the food that has already expired! So Eline and I tried our luck and got loads of free food. As soon as we got to our new appartment, the freezer was filled to the top. Amongst all our "treasures" were 4 packs of sausages, breadspread, 15 bags of buns etc! :-) Great for when we get visitors or just want something good to eat. Today's and tomorrow's dinner is already planned and we didn't pay a penny for it. And of course we have a couple of hundred NOK to put in our KIWI-fund! :-)

We have also shopped other necessary stuff, and all of it is from First Price, the cheapest brand in Norway. When we stand in line to pay, there's no doubt about it: we are students (although we haven't started our subjects yet).

Our appartment is nice and we like hanging up stuff and getting settled. If you step into our home the first thing you lay your eyes on, is and African ornament. And as you go into our lounge it's hard not to see that we've both been to Africa. It's great fun and I'm very happy with my new room-mate! :-)

What's more, the sun is shining and apparently telling us that we've chosen the right town.

Summer is over...

2008-08-12T03:46:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful holiday in Florida, spending quality time with family. Seeing Marianne and Christen was a big highlight of the year! :-)First we spent a week in West Palm Beach in Marianne and Christen's home. Nearly a week after we arrived, we traveled South and had a relaxing holiday on Marathon Key. One day we were so lucky to spend a whole day in Key West. Snorkeling, diving, swimming, bowling and shopping are some Key words (<--- check out the pun! ;-)) of what we did the 2 and a half weeks we spent together. We ate at Taco Bell, Subway, McDonalds etc and got the feeling of being American. We played games and exchanged jokes. Ken Lee (meet him on youtube) was with us at all times and made us laugh until we cried. We had a fabulous time together but, sadly enough, we were short of two people; Ed and Christina.

On our way back to Norway, Mamma, Daddy, David and I had a day-trip in Germany. We visited Mainz and I felt 100 % like a tourist. My camera was close by and mamma was an excellent driver on the "Autobahn".

I'm grateful for having got the opportunity to do all this with my family this Summer. I can hardly wait to Christmas; the whole "gang" will finally be together again! :-)

Malhereusement, holiday ends and Autumn comes. In two days time I will be on my way to Kristiansand, the beautiful capital of the Southern part of Norway. I am going to start my studies to become a teacher. Excitement, stress, joy and uncertainty are some of the feelings that are racing through my brain and stomach. But I am looking forward to it and I hope that God will use me for the best. Please pray that I may settle okay in my new appartment (which I will share with Eline - a girl who went to Cameroun with Hald:-)) and that I will enjoy my studies.

Off to America!

2008-07-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

In 10 hours I'm leaving for Florda. I have to pack. I worked today and afterwards I had to sleep. So my suitcase is still as empty as it can be. And some of the clothes I'm supposed to bring are still wet. In short: I am stressed. So why am I on the Internet? Because there are things I have to fix on the computer too before I leave.
But I'm supposed to look on the BRIGHT side of life, and that is that tomorrow I will meet my dear sister and brother-in-law. That weighs up for all the stress I have now.

I'm a bit nervous though. I am going to the most Industrialized country in the world. 3 months ago (WOW- is it that long ago?!) I was in one of the least developed countries. Maybe it will be a shock. Maybe I'll be more aware of the huge differences when I see America again. Let's se!

Future plans

2008-07-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

Live

Love
Laugh

These are the main things I want to do in my life:
I have to live to the fullest, not wasting any moments or letting any oppourtunities pass.

I want to love other people, so that I can be a better person. I want to love others the way God loves me; unconditionally.

I need to laugh, so I have joy in my life. If I laugh, the chances are bigger that someone else also will laugh. My greatest joy is to see people smile, and if I can participate in that, I will be content!

(Pictures from Summer 07)

I am going to Kristiansand in August. The plan is to study at the university to become a teacher. I am not quite sure that I have chosen the right way, but if I get to keep my three L's in a good way, I can't complain. :-)

I had to get a new one.

2008-06-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Inki's Bubble!

This new blog is created so I can share my life, my thoughts, dreams and experiences with you. My world is not that big, so I call it my bubble. My bubble is big, so there's room for MANY!

Wherever I go and whatever I do and whoever I meet - this will be my new blog for the future. My Bubble on internet is especially for those who are far away and who I can't speak to everyday... But of course also for the people who live next door. :-)

I am no longer in Madagascar - my base for this year will be Norway, in the sunny city of Kristiansand. It's supossed to be summer, but in Stavanger it's raining. I'm happy to be going to USA in July.

Please read this blog once in a while if you want an update on my news.
You're welcome to leave comments, and I will try to update as often as I should. :-)