Hello

We are Jacqueline and Stephan, two German trainees from BASF, a big chemical company. We are taking part in an exchange program with Norway and stay here for 4 weeks. During this time we both live in Sande where Stephan is also working at the videregående skole. Jacqueline is working in Drammen at the company SOA. We would like to provide you an insight into our 4-weeks stay here…

Our first week: August 23, 2008 to August 30, 2008

The first day is always the most exciting one. We arrived at the airport Oslo Torp at about 4.30 p.m. and were picked up by a very nice woman. In the car she gave us the first important information about Norway and the weekend in Oslo she already booked for us. She brought us to our host families - Nina and Jack - who both welcomed us warmly and showed us our little cottages where we will live at during our exchange. We gladly discovered that we only live about 8 km away from each other which allows us the possibility to visit each other. We were both invited by Jacqueline's host mother to dinner. Then we spent the rest of the evening together until Stephan was picked up by Jack.
At the beginning we were of cause full of doubts but the longer we stayed here, we recognized that there is no reason to be afraid.
The next day, a beautiful and warm Sunday, we did our first trip to Drammen where we did some sightseeing and lay in the sun with an ice cream in our hands. On Monday we had our first day at work and were introduced to everybody. It was all new and exciting because we were not familiar with Norwegian traditions but we both managed well, even if we could only communicate in English. On Wednesday we went to discover our hometown Sande and from Thursday to Friday Nina took us with her to Hallingdal. here we visited some places and climbed through a very nice ski area while Nina and her colleague had meetings. We spent the night in a nice hotel in Geilo playing ping-pong and chatting after a walk through the city center. The next day we had a closer look at Geilo before we went back on a 4 hours train trip to Sande. On Saturday we visited Tønsberg, a nice city not too far from Sande. We also travelled by bus to Tjøme because we wanted to visit Verden’s Ende. When we arrived in Tjøme we found out that there were no more busses after 4.30 p.m. As it was already 4 o’clock we were a bit disappointed and decided to postpone our little trip.

Our second week: August 31, 2008 to September 6, 2008

After a week full of new experiences, people and places as well as lots of travelling hours in trains, cars and busses we decided it was enough – at least for the next two days. Therefore on Sunday we repaired and cleaned the bikes which we had borrowed from our host families in order to use them to visit each other and be more independent from busses. The rest of the day we planned our next trips and tried to clear the chaos in our receipts and documents. On Monday the weather was not as pleasant as the week before. Stephan stayed in his little cottage at Sande learning while Jacqueline had her first experiences with a washing machine in a language she couldn’t understand and walked around the small island she lived at. The next day we went to the cinema with some guys Stephan had met at the Sande train station the day before. Although the movie was in English we understood most of the jokes very well and had a great time. On Wednesday Jacqueline visited Stephan at the school because of a meeting and spent the whole working day there. We talked to some teachers in a mix of German and English and ate lots of cake because one teacher celebrated his retirement. All the teachers were very interested in our story and made every effort to make us feel comfortable. In the afternoon we had a little bike accident on the way to the train station but neither me nor Stephan were hurt and we laughed a lot about our foolishness.

On Friday and Saturday the weather was windy and rainy. That’s why we could not go somewhere during the day. Instead we were reading and talking while cleaning a bit up. In the evenings, some Norwegian guys took us to house parties and a pub nearby. We had a really great time with them and enjoyed ourselves very much though we were a bit shocked by the alcohol prices.

Our third week: September 7, 2008 to September 13, 2008

Sunday the weather was not so nice but still we decided to go to Sandefjord. It is a little town with a great harbour and a pretty city center but we could not really feel good there because it was raining and very cold. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so good the next day, too. That’s why we didn’t go outside and preferred to read and watch the pictures we had taken during the last few days. The next day Jacqueline went to the kids' gymnastics with her host and after that took a long walk back, enjoying the countryside and the sunny weather. The next day one of Stephan’s teachers had invited us to a training of her dog school - but as it was rainy and stormy this afternoon the trip was cancelled.. On Thursday we met with the Norwegian guys to watch some DVDs and talked a lot.

On Friday Nina took us to Fredrikstad, a nice town with a very old part that is quite small but has a big history. Luckily the weather got warm and sunny so we stayed outside most of the time. After having a look also at the “new” city center of Fredrikstad we went on to Oslo by train and spent a great weekend there. Our hotel rooms were pretty nice and very close to the castle. Friday afternoon poor Stephan had to go shopping for a few hours with Jacqueline. And so, in the evening, we arrived at our hotel rooms with much less money but in a fantastic temper.
It was a really great time because there were so many things to do.

Our last week: September 14, 2008 to September 20, 2008

 The last week started with the departure from Oslo on Sunday afternoon. We were a bit sad that we didn’t have more time but we had to go back to Sande. On Monday both of us were very tired and a bit exhausted from the last weekend. It was so bad that Jackie fell asleep at 6 p.m. and didn’t wake up until 6 a.m. the next morning.
We had another great experience on Tuesday when Hege Andreassen and her colleague invited us to a trip from Tønsberg to Verdens Ende, the “end of the world”. It was one of the most beautiful places we had ever seen. We climbed on the rocks and discovered many places with a beautiful view of the sea. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay longer there and had to go back to Tønsberg from where we went directly to the cinema in Drammen.
Wednesday we finally managed to write our post cards for our friends and families in Germany (after 3,5 weeks) and sadly recognized that we would soon have to pack our bags and leave for Germany. So on Thursday we some time cleaning, washing, packing and tidying up because we knew that we wouldn’t have time for it the next day. After that we went to the apartment of a local artist, Marie Benestad, and were shown some of her work. It was very nice of her to give us a small tour and explain her work to us.
On Friday we went on a tour with Jacqueline’s host Nina and her daughter. We enjoyed a great view of Drammen from a platform in the mountains. After that Nina took us to a gallery of modern art and had lunch with us. In the evening we were invited to a dinner with a teacher of Stephan’s school and after that we directly headed off to celebrate with the Norwegians we got to know in the first week. They promised us that we would never forget this night – and we surely won’t. The party lasted forever and we did not sleep until the next day when we were back in Germany.

The last day was a bit stressful. Many people to thank, many people to say Goodbye to, bags to pack, trains and busses to catch and finally… we sat in the plane to Germany – both of us with contradictory feelings because we were happy and also a bit sad that we had to leave now.

Looking back…

...at the last 4 weeks we can state that we had a wonderful time in Norway. We got to know the stunning countryside with lots of beautiful places - each of them charming in their own way. We met very open-minded and kind people who made every effort to show us their country and who always chatted with us. This also helped us to improve our language knowledge. We would not want to miss even one single experience and wish all the other trainees from BASF that they, too, will enjoy this exchange.

Last but not least, we would like to thank everyone who made this visit possible for us:

Alexander Lang and Hege Andreassen who coordinated the whole exchange program between BASF in Germany and the Norwegian partners.

Nina Nilsen Åshaug and Jack Holm - our great hosts !

And every single bus driver in Norway who has patiently tried to explain to us how to get where…