First year student Daphnie Knoll writes:

Life at UWC Red Cross Nordic can sometimes be very intense and stressful. So for Inga and me – it is ‘Lucky us!’, as we have the opportunity to go to a local host family for some weekends during the year.

Our host family live on the island of Atløy, which is about an hour away from the College. In the family there are the parents, Oddgun and Dag Grane, and their three daughters Dorothea, Frida and Thea. Going to the host family is something Inga and I really look forward to for many reasons. First of all, being in their house gives you a bit of a feeling of  home which is something that we sometimes miss at the College. Our host parents are very welcoming and it’s wonderful to have meals with them and learn more about local culture and it  is so very interesting to get a different perspective on the life of those who live in our host community. Dorothea, the eldest daughter of the family is our age so we get to spend a lot of time with her, and this helps to make us feel closer to our local peers. During the weekend we get a lot of rest, we eat good home made food, we have great conversations and lovely exchanges of cultural values as we tell our stories, and they tell theirs. Having a host family is definitely a great opportunity we have and we are very grateful to the College, and to the Grane family for all their kindnesses. We are both looking forward to our next weekend there!