|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Following is an article from the Minot Daily News taken directly from their web site. The content is theirs and can be found on the Internet at http://www.minotdailynews.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=15124.
Norwegian teens note similarities, differences in American schools
By ANDREA JOHNSON, Staff Writer
ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
*****************************************************
Two Norwegian teens from Skien, Minot's sister city in Norway, are learning about the similarities and differences between the two countries.
"My school is smaller," said Inger Olsen, 13, who attended classes at Erik Ramstad Wednesday with Ramstad seventh-grader Melissa Cresap. Inger also noticed that students at Ramstad move from class to class when a bell rings. In her school at home in Skien, she and her classmates stay in one classroom and the teachers come to them.
Inger's father, Jan Terje Olsen, is the former mayor of Skien. He and her mother, Margrethe, have traveled to Minot for the Norsk Høstfest two or three times, Inger said. This year they fulfilled a promise by bringing Inger and her older brother Trond, 16, along to this year's festivities. It's Inger's first visit to the United States and she's excited to be here.
Inger and Melissa began e-mailing each other this summer. Melissa's mother, Linda Cresap, dean of the graduate school and sponsored programs at Minot State University, met Inger's parents when she visited Skien as part of a group that toured the Scandinavian countries. The two girls have been asking each other about what life is like in their different schools and towns.
"I don't think there's any difference (between kids)," said
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Melissa.
Inger said students at Ramstad dress and act pretty much the way kids in Norway do.
The Norwegian school year is a little bit longer, and Inger said she started her study of foreign languages much earlier than American teens. She began learning English when she was in the second grade. Melissa won't start learning a foreign language until she's in high school.
Inger's older brother, Trond, went to school at Minot High-Magic City Campus Wednesday with Melissa's older brother, Alex Cresap. Trond said his family will travel to Minneapolis before they return to Norway. He's enjoyed having a chance to see the high school and said he might be interested in coming back to the United States to study. Like his sister, Trond said American teens dress pretty much the way Norwegians do and seem to like the same things. There are a few differences, though. He's in school 190 days out of the year, instead of the 180 days North Dakota teens are in school.
Norwegian teens finish high school at age 19 rather than 18, Trond said. They can't get their drivers licenses until they're 18, unlike North Dakota teens, who start driving at 14. But Trond can drink alcohol legally at 18, unlike Alex, who'll have to wait until he's 21 to legally drink alcohol.
Both Inger and Trond will be attending Høstfest this week, as well as seeing other sites around Minot. They're the only children along with their group from Skien.
The Norwegian food most common at the Høstfest isn't all that common in Norway, Inger said. They don't eat a lot of lutefisk at home. Norwegians also don't go around saying "Uffda!"
*SN*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Barnebirkie: Imagine the energy of almost 1,500 kids, ages 3 to 13, standing on skis awaiting the sound of the starting gun for the Barnebirkie cross-country ski race for kids. The excitement - and noise - is exhilarating as each participant anticipates his or her 1-, 2.5- or 5-kilometer event. The children will participate in the 22nd Annual ski races held in Hayward, Wisconsin on Thursday, February 21, 2008. The district supplies the cookies for the young skiers. If you wish to donate cookies, place them in non-returnable containers (shoe boxes, etc.) and call Gene Kaczmarek (847) 222-9244 to arrange pickup by mid-February, 2008. Not a baker?--no problem. We accept purchased cookies, too, but the home-made ones are really a hit with the children, the support staff, and all who eat them. Learn more about the Barnebirkie at http://www.birkie.com/?page=1015
*SN
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
