Night time and a long walk

Last night was extremely nice. I finished working at 23.30, and went straight fromt here to my best friends place. We just chilled for ages. I got to read his manuscript for their music video, made some comments, and we discussed movies for a while.

There is one thing, my dear reader, which I have to comment on. It's the view that all nordics are rich and therefore must lead happy, succesful, carefree lives. NOT TRUE!
We were discussing some of our friends. I'm going to make four examples, straight from real life. No.1 has an awkward relationship with his parents, and to be honest, they don't take too good care of him or his four younger siblings. His dad drinks a lot, and his mom works all the time, so she's not at home a lot. No.2, brilliant guy, was bullied almost to insanity in school, and had NO friends AT ALL... it's actually true. He was very lonely, and still has trouble with his self-confidence, although he hides it very well. No.3 didn't meet his dad before he was 14. His mom disappears from time to time, and he once had to take a huge loan, to go pick her up in another country. His siblings live in different places, and he lives at his grandmother's place, his mom living there from time to time as well. No.4 ...let's say life gave him a beating, and he's having a hard time getting back on his feet. His dad lives somewhere far away, and his mom lives in another country, unable to take care of him. He has lived in different places as he grew up. With a foster-family for some time, then with his aunt, and currently with the father of two of his siblings. He is quite far into drugs, making most of us, his friends, worried about him. A couple of days ago, he was piss-drunk, and wanted to go visit some friend in another village. He stole a car, and crashed it at high speed into a fence. He wasn't hurt seriously, but he's in a lot of trouble, and owes a lot of money to the owner of the car etc.

Did I manage to shake your view of the nordic culture? Did I manage to shock you at all? These things exist wherever you go in the world, not just in places with economical troubles. If you ever think we're just spoiled brats again... I don't know what to do to you.

I'm just sick of all the crap. We always hear about the poor countries, about famine, about abuse in those countries... it never ends, and those things are serious too. No doubt. But we live in the Nordic college, and I doubt most people there even know, that in Norway, at least one out of ten women are beaten by their husband, or that the highest suicidal rates in the world, come from the nordic countries. Are these things not worth exploring and knowing more about? Shouldn't we know these things too?

Meh.. I am not in a bad mood or anything, just felt like lifting my heart a bit, and share some things that I worry about. But apart from those, more sinister parts of our conversation, we also talked a lot about memories, and nice things. We walked, in the rain, to the beach, and we talked about all the things we remember from that place. The first time we talked, the first time he walked me home, and he told me about once when he had a fight with his girlfriend, and he found her down there, sitting on a rock. It was comfortable and safe, walking with him, and I didn't get home until six in the morning.

I am in a good mood now, but I really want people to remember that life isn't easy. Not even in the Nordic countries...

Coughing and a new forum

For some reason I am still awake at 4.30 in the morning... I am lying in my bed, creating a new forum. I made an attempt of this last year, as some of you will remember, but my timing was horrible, and I wasn't very experienced as an administrator. Now I think the time has come for my second try. It can be found at http://rcnuwc.proboards77.com/index.cgi , and is still being made. I would greatly appreciate (constructive) comments and ideas.
Also, any UWC-person out there is welcome to join... (hint, hint)

For the other half of my title, I have managed to develop an absolutely horrific cold. I am caughing at prolongued, odd moments, my throat feels like it pissed of the older brother of a flamethrower, and my lungs feel like they accidentaly on purpose ran away with my nose. The lungs noticed too late that they are stuck inside my chest, and are currently struggling against my ribcage to get out. I think they are using drills and dynamite at the moment.
The nose has shut down any functions it usualy partakes in, (Like breathing, sensing, etc.) and is ready to go, but is now still standing in it's usual place, waiting for the lungs to pick it up.
I am furthermore quite convinced that my head is a popular night-club. I can feel the bass, and I even get part of the hangover from time to time...

Apart from the oddities of my body, being home is great. I can finally relax a bit, and chill out with my family. I even go to work! I went to work for 6 and a half hours today =)
I know for sure that there is no teacher breathing down my back, and I feel safely "away" from their long-reaching angry eyes.

Oh yes... being home is good.

A horrible person

I think I'm a bad person. I think so, because I keep missing the damn classes. Some of them are plain boring and pointless (Danish) But I should still be going to them... Others, I really love, and hate missing (Theatre, Philosophy), yet I still oversleep, or don't care when I wake up in the mornings. The last group, Spanish, Maths and E-systems I really need to go to, in order to catch up on work... but instead I miss more, and slip further and further away.

Daina left already, but I think she would continue dissaproving of "me" since I miss classes alot. I talked to Karina already, but I don't even know it myself anymore. I used to oversleep because of insomnia, but now it almost seems like a choice I keep making wrong everytime...

Why must I be so bad? I feel that other things have equal importance as the school. Friends, staying sane, theatre, writing, thinking. All these things that so many others give up without a whimper, I kling on to as if they were what keeps me alive.
Others are capable of studying from end of school 'till 23.00, and then they go to bed so they can be awake the next day. Should I try that? It would be so lonely. I am scared of the IB. Why does it attempt to eat us all the time?

I just see this place as a UWC as well. If we are here for two years, but know no one else than our study buddies, have we not wasted our time here? I have friends from several countries, and nice acquaintances from even more. If I change patterns, would I lose them? Should I dare the attempt?

Yeah guys, today I missed another entire day of classes. And I don't have time to go around and apologize to the teachers, since I have a theatre trip to Bergen this afternoon. Just brilliant.

Did/Does the IB-monster try to eat you too? Did/do you ever feel like you are drowning in the IB-inlake?

Am I really a bad person?