Winter arrived yesterday. Here are some pictures of a recent trip to Maruyama hill in Sapporo, in remembrance of the fall 
I’m on the roof of my dormitory. Relaxing, napping, taking some pictures, listening to “How to dismantle an atomic bomb” by U2 and Ane Brun. It’s a lazy and fresh sunday afternoon in the suburbs of Sapporo. I deserve it. My study routines are settling in. I’m studying hard, but I also do other things, like sleeping on the roof. Studying language academically can often give good skills in certain fields of a language and the academic fields in particular. That’s why it is so nice to actually live in a country where people speak the language you are studying.
You get to experience the language in daily use and you actually notice how insufficient academic language can be in real life. I have a nice class and a nice teacher, or sensei as they call it in Japanese. I try to do some studying outside of the regular school work. Especially kanji (漢字) takes special attention. They are the symbols you need to know about 2,000 of to understand everything in the morning newspaper. My goal is to one day be able to read Japanese novells. If I work really hard I might be able to read the really easy ones by the end of this year, I hope.
Hello guys, as usual the activity on this blog is up an down. I’ve been quite busy the past six weeks. The month in Thailand was great. I’m very satisfied with the internship and meeting family and friends was gold. Now I’m in Sapporo where I will be spending most of my next ten months as an exchange student of Japanese language. I’m putting my other major (political science) on the shelf untill I come back to Bergen in the fall of 2010. Now it’s all about Japanese. I’ve moved in at a dormitory and the first class is tomorrow. Japan is really nice. I look forward to experiencing the study, the food and the nature. I will close this post sharing with you a small joy from the everyday life in Japan. enjoys it.
It has been a long summer. I finished my last exam in May and my next semester starts in October. When in Rome, you do as the Romans do, and when in Japan, you start the semester late. Hey, I am not complaining. So far I have been working and saving. Saving for Japan but first, Thailand. Yes and you are nowhere near as excited as me right now. Anyway, I am going to my second (or first?) homeland for a very interesting one-month internship. If it works out well this job might be something to set a goal towards in the future. But work is not all. Of course I have family, friends, food, climate, culture and a hundred more things to look forward to. I could go on for a long time but this post is allready too long. Thailand here I come!!!
Bestemor: David, er det spor i sneen etter meg?
Jan Helge: Denne byen er så død at hvis du er død her, er du mer levende enn byen.
Husby Senior fra Haveræhn é drie på land fær buinnsmæring hér borti bin, sa karrain.
(Brunsvika-nytt)
Brunsvika-nytt er en ultralokal nyhetskilde som er så proppfull av sjarm at man kan bli lokalpatriot av mindre. Det går mye i “boat spotting” og av og til glimtes det til med sitat på breiaste dialekten, som eksempelet viser. Elsk eller hat, dette må være den mest sjarmerende nyhetssiden jeg har sett på lenge.
Drawn with a ballpoint pent by Shohei Otomo (via)
My friend Kris, about to finish his M.S in Information Technology recently told me about the Programmed Data Processor (PDP-1). It was among other things, the first computer one could ever play a game on. Here is a quote from the instruction manual released with the computer in 1960. It describes the groundbreaking but luckily not groundbreaking (in the other sense) computer:
Line 3, “INTRODUCTION”:
“Conventional 110-volt power is used, neither air conditioning nor floor reinforcement is necessary, and preventive maintenance is provided for by built-in marginal checking circuits.”
Jeg trodde aldri at en nittenåring skulle bli min store helt. Tor Økland Barstad har skrevet boken “Hvordan oljefondet kan hjelpe verdens fattige”. Dagbladets artikkel, Barstads blogg og hans fremtreden i NRKs ikveld er mer en nok til å overbevise meg om å kjøpe boka han har skrevet.
Barstad sabler for øvrig ned Dambisa Moyo, damen som skrev boka “Dead Aid” og som jeg selv har omtalt på bloggen her. Det er greit Tor, nå heier jeg på deg.
“Jeg gleder meg til å bli voksen. Da skal jeg kjøpe sikkert 40 brus og legge de i frysen.” – Oscar
“Spunk, spunk, spunk…” – Pippi Langstrømpe
“Prat inte skit om Carola” – Andrew
