Why I Would Recommend Studying Abroad

Today, we had a skype conversation with another English class from Lesotho. Some of the students introduced themselves, and they did it quite well! In their class, there were two exchange students from Norway so we talked a little bit with them aswell. The topics that we talked about were mostly ambitious, but we also talked about what it was like to be an exchange student in Lesotho. They seemed to be having a great time, planning to go sightseeing, among other things the next day. While studying in Lesotho, a country so distant and different from Norway, they must be confronting new and unfamiliar impulses every day. To me, that sounds like a very exciting and informative experience that i certainly believe everyone should consider having.

Novel Review - The Raft

The Raft is a novel by Peter Orner. The whole story is concerning the dialogue between the me character, who is a 13 year old boy, and his grandfather, an ex-captain on a destroyer ship during World War II. Basicly, the story is conveyed by the me-character, who is retelling an event from the past, so the story is told in present tense! I liked this, because it made it much easier to understand what actually happened. In the event, the grandfather is telling a horrible secret to the young me-character. The grandfather's personality is displayed as strict and mean, a real military tough-nut, but conscientious. His mean personality is well displayed when he says: "Just because I'm smiling, don't assume I couldn't kill you right now. Know that about a man.", very ironic and heartless, telling the boy to him to take this message very seriously. 

From the start of the story he tells us that he is a former military captain from World War II. Once he mentions World War II it is obvious to me that he is going to tell us of some bloody incident. This is in my opinion what sets the climax of the story, because throughout the story I am just waiting for the grandfather to finally reveal the horrible truth, which he eventually does.

The themes of this story are in my opinion conscientiousness and regret. These feelings are probably what leads him into telling the boy this awful story. He knows that the decision he made back in the day was a big mistake, and he needs to let somebody know so that he can get it off his heart and lighten the burden.

Thinkb4u.com - Informative Site for Noobs

Thinkb4u.com seems in my opinion to be an internet site made to inform people about the use of modern technology in the everyday life, as well as working as a good guide for internet awareness. The title of the site is obviously an anagram, meaning "think before you", without including the "act". This further confirms my opinion on the purpose of the site, a guide for internet awareness. Why? Because thinking before you act on the internet is severely important. Some mistakes made on the internet can never be erased. Newer generations with less experience are naturally more exposed to making these sorts of mistakes, but fortunately for them, this site is very friendly and fun to navigate through. This makes all of the important information easily accessible for both inexperienced parents and children. Whenever one is in need of help or counseling with any either ethical or practical problem regarding, for instance, ones' kids' excessive playing on the gaming console, thinkb4u has very helpful answers. Thinkb4u provides great advice regarding all kinds of modern technology, and i think it could work as a strong component to preventing unintentional accidents on the internet. Therefore, i recommend everyone who are inexperienced or confused with new technology to pay thinkb4u.com a visit.

Redemption Day

We watched the movie "Redemption Day" in class today. It is a film based on a true story, starring Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich and the story of her biggest case. Erin was a woman with three kids, two ex husbands, a heated temper, and no job. As awful as this might sound, there were some amazing sides to her aswell. She had a very strong understanding of ethics and moral, was very compassionate, and she had a unique way of expressing herself. Even though it may not always have beeen expressed in the most decent and appropriate way, she somehow managed to gain other people's attention and respect.

In the movie, after struggling for a long time, she eventually stumbles upon a job that she is good at. With no law education, she finds herself working for a small law agency. After an obviously tough start, she finds her true purpose in life, and she finds it within this job. Making use of her exceptional traits she works hard and well, and and the work starts taking over her life.  She becomes so passionate in a case that she is forced to make tough choices and sacrifices in order to succeed. Among the sacrifices are valuable time with her kids and her boyfriend. However, the sacrifices give her large amounts of recognition in return, not to mention trust from her clients. Her passionate work actually ends up making this case a success. By winning this case against the 28 billion dollar company, she secures the lives of more than 600 people, and as a bonus she turns the formerly small law agency into a rich and famous one.

Erin Brockovich was a woman working within law business with no law education. Nevertheless, this did not stop her from becoming a key person in several court cases. Watching her being able to play such an important role in a huge law case while relying only on her own ideals was truly inspiring. This film shows how strong passion for ones' ideals and true compassion for other people is all you need to serve justice.

The Butterfly Circus

As I have already mentioned in my previous post, I attended to my first lesson of International English today. During class, we watched a short film called "The Butterfly Circus" and we were assigned to make a blog post about it. I would suggest watching the film yourself before reading this, as this post contains spoilers. The film revolves around a circus called the Butterfly Circus, its ringmaster and its performers, whereas each performer have been through hard life struggles. Before joining the circus, all of the performers found themselves as failures.

The ringmaster has a talent for seeing the potential hidden within these "failures". From that, he helped them back on their feet by letting them know of their strength. In my opinion, the most admirable quote of the movie was: "The greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph". This was said by the ringmaster while he was trying to convince William, a man with no arms or legs, that he could be a circus artist aswell, if only he would believe in himself and recognize his own strength. He eventually finds his strength, and becomes an admired performer. The circus was surely named after its performers, comparing them to cocoons who have spread their wings to become wonderful butterflies.

I found the film very touching and well made, and i would definately recommend watching it.

Introduction and New School Year

Hello, my name is Viktor Johansen. I am a student at Sandvika High School in Norway. The new school year just started, and today I am now attending to my first lesson of International English.

I live with my family in Bærums Verk. Bærums Verk is an area that is a 20 minute bus ride away from Sandvika. Traveling to school by bus is very common around Bærums Verk, as there are no high schools within walking distance. In my spare time I play games on my computer, go to the gym, and work at a grocery store.

This is going to be my third and final semester of highschool, and i have therefore decided to make a solid effort this year. By doing that, I am expecting myself to exceed my grades from my previous semester considerably. I am certain that I posess the ability to improve because, within myself, I know that I didn't take the previous year of school seriously enough.