Angling for a new challenge: UK school head who moved to Norway
Click here to read the article.
Click here to read the article.
Jeg har vært vertsfamilie i ett år for to 2.klassinger; Gautham fra India og Maja fra Polen. Hvorfor vil jeg anbefale det samme til deg/dere?
Å få lov å åpne opp sitt hjem for disse flinke, positive og høflige studentene har vært en stor berikelse. Jeg har fått innblikk i det å være student ved UWC, både på godt og vondt. Jeg har fått lære og øve meg i å snakke engelsk. Jeg har overvunnet en skepsis til å ta fremmede inni huset. Lært nye kulturer og religioner å kjenne. Gjennom diskusjoner med opplyst ungdom har jeg måtte reflektere og begrunne, ofte revurdere, mine standpunkter i aktuelle saker. Jeg har fått flotte opplevelser gjennom det å lage mat sammen – indiske spesialiteter, piroger og kaker fra Polen.
Gautham og Maja på sin side fikk møte mine utflyttede barn som de nå selvsagt er venner med på Facebook. De har måttet smake på jølstraørret og lutefisk i godt vennelag. Følge med meg på kunstutstillinger og vært ute i naturen, både på fisketurer og på gårdsbesøk. Ofte slappet vi bare av sammen hjemme med lange frokoster, så en god film sammen eller de arbeidet med sine studier. Jeg stopper her, men mye mere kunne blitt fortalt.
Helt til slutt; frivillig arbeid utføres uten å få betalt, MEN du får betalt, ikke i form av penger, men med livslangt vennskap, ny kunnskap og takknemlighet.
Eva Marie Halvorsen
If you are interested in becoming a host family, please contact us at: hostfamilies@uwcrcn.no
On Saturday 17 September RCN students Azlin (US), Juan Pablo (Colombia), Paula (Germany) and Ximena (Guatemala) joined local 4-H youth and young asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Syria to prepare a feast for members of the local community at Hyllestad School. This was the realisation of our first collaborative project with the 4-H, and we learned that food can bring people together in wonderful ways!
The planning for the event began in the spring, but the concrete preparations took place in three sessions this term. First the students joined their partners for an afternoon of ice-breakers and cooking, followed by a dinner together where they sampled and learned about each others’ dishes. The night before the event we met to set up tables and prepare the gym at Hyllestad School. On this occasion Juan Pablo’s chicken dish was the focus of a meal before we headed home to rest up before the Big Day.
The kitchen at Hyllestad School was a hive of activity on the 17th, with food from Afghanistan, Syria, Norway, Guatemala, Colombia, Germany and Mexico prepared at different stations and a harmonious, supportive, enthusiastic atmosphere fostered by the cooks and supervisors. The meal was scheduled to begin at 13.00 and we had no idea how many to expect, but visitors began arriving at 12.30 and patiently waited as food was gradually brought to the gym, served, and – as many empty plates and smiling faces suggested – enjoyed by those in attendance.
Once the food had all but disappeared the Mottak youth set up speakers, put on their music and danced, drawing others into their orbit and adding a special element to the day. We have been enjoying the company of youth from Sørbøvåg mottak at our weekly community gammaldans, but this time they showed us their dances, filling the school lobby with their energetic movements and sounds.
This week we have welcomed Thor Heyerdahl Jr to UWC Red Cross Nordic.
His father, Thor Heyerdahl – scientist, archaeologist, author and explorer – played a hugely significant part both as International Patron of the United World College movement and, at a later stage, in developing the concept of a United World College in Norway. We continue to be grateful for the support and energy Thor Heyerdahl committed to the establishing of our College in the fjords.
Please click here for the speech given by Thor Heyerdahl at the official opening of the College on 30th September 1995.
Thor Heyerdahl Jr, his son, has this week been visiting classes at RCN, meeting the management teams at the College and RKHR about developments on campus and projects and the Biology / E systems teachers, and has visited Flekke School. He also gave a hugely stimulating presentation, entitled ‘In and Out of my Father’s Footsteps’ to all students and the Education Staff in the auditorium – part of our commitment to the Environmental and Nordic Pillars and to educating the current generation of students about the history of the College and the UWC legacy of Thor Heyerdahl.
Please click here for a speech given by Rektor Richard Lamont (at the Nordic Association as part of the centenary celebrations of Thor Heyerdahl) about the vision of Thor Heyerdahl and the other members of the founding team of this College.
Thor Heyerdahl taught us of the possibilities of living on a raft or papyrus ship within speaking and touching distance – day and night – with ‘room only for people who could shake each other by the hand’. Following in the footsteps of Thor Heyerdahl and those responsible for the founding of the College, we continue to encourage our students and staff to contribute to society, both now and in the future, by reaching an open hand to fellow humans everywhere.