Skogfjorden

Vi sees neste sommer

2007-08-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

Well, another year has come to an end at Skogfjorden. Everyone has packed and made their trips back hom, but that doesn't mean that we won't keep thinking about Norge and learning even more norsk. Keep checking back here throughout the year to see what's new og vi sees neste sommer!!

Skogfjorden Folkehøgskole

2007-08-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Søndager på Skogfjorden are special. After a full week of great sang, dans, kveldsprogrammer, kosetimer og kretser it's nice to take a day at relaxing pace and really savor and reflect on one's Skogfjorden experience. A tempting brunsj buffet from our incredible kitchen staff doesn't hurt either.

On lørdag, the day before, all the deltakere filled out folkehøgskole applications and chose the three valgfag they were most interested in pursuing during their time at the folkehøgskole. Choices included videregående- lead aktiviter like kubb, musikk jam, Griegopoly, Fred i Benjamins spor, rød og blå leken, håndvev og folkedans. In between the valgfag there were deilige vaffler to keep us fueled.

As per tradition we all headed to Vespers at Bukkesjøen, a Skogfjorden favorite. With a beautiful setting sol, we enjoyed quiet time gently punctuated with song, poetry, instrumental solos and relaxed by the campfire amongst friends. We're now rested and ready for another fun week ahead. Er det rart vi har det bra?

Gullfisken!

2007-08-03T18:44:00.000-05:00

Every year Norge celebrates creativtity and wit in norwegian advertising with a competion called "Gullfisken". Gullfisken has become quite a tradition på Skogfjorden as well and this year the entries were simply fantastiske! Each strenggruppe was given the oppgave of creating a creative, compelling and effective reklame.

We invite you to share this website with friends. We hope to grow our Skogfjorden familie and have even more villagers join us for this magical time i skogen. Skogfjorden is a special place that can be shared with many. Bli med!

Dans, dans, bygdedans!

2007-08-02T11:36:00.000-05:00

Onsdag was a day of dans. We hosted two folkedans experts who held a special workshop, together with our very own Odin and taught us traditional folkedans. We were thrilled to have them join us and contribute to our vibrant Skogfjorden community. And vibrant it is! Check out our bilder on flickr to catch a glimpse of Sinclairsvise, Trolldans, den gode, gamle Huckleberry Hound (think norge circa 1975) and the internasjonal dag dans.

Hvor er Idunns epler?

2007-08-01T17:12:00.000-05:00

The sesjon is off to fantastisk start! The deltakere are already leading the matpresenteringer, singing their hearts out in allsang and diving into this week's kosetime aktiviteter including folkedans, norsk politikk, Scandinavian design, scenes from Peer Gynt and døball.

We are taking a brand new-to Skogfjorden sang in allsang, Vandringsvise. It's not uncommon to have the melodi in your head and then hear someone else humming it as they walk by. Our sommer of Grieg continues and even more live musikk has been added to the mix. Så koselig...

I kveld we went on a jakt after Idunn's epler. Throughout the day we came to learn the importance of the epler to the Aesir and why they were desired by others. Tre lag went on the jakt under the banner of Loki and his falcons, Thiassi and his eagles or the Aesir. We were aided in our efforts by earning clues from challenges offered by Odin, Freya, Frigg, Fenris the wolf and Yggdrasil. A big, full måne lit up the sky as we ended our kveld with a bål at the badestrand.

Post session questions

2007-07-28T00:59:00.000-05:00

We have had an absolutly fantastic session...and we want you to hear about it!!! Here are some topics that you should ask about when you get your villagers back.

1. Who was Edvard Grieg and why are we celebrating him this year?
2. What is the Internasjonal Polar År (International Polar Year)?
3. What can you tell me about the vikings?
4. What time of the day was your favorite?
5. Who was your strenggruppe leder and what did you do in strenggruppe?
6. What was your favorite meal while at Skogfjorden? Should we try to make anything at home?
7. What did you do in kretsene? Jotunheimen, Soltun, Fagurtun, and Sameland.
8. What was your favorite godteri from the kiosk?
9. What did you do for your two hyttekvelds?
10. What are you looking forward to for next summer?

We will see you tomorrow...klokke 10!

Siste dag på Skogfjorden

2007-07-28T00:06:00.000-05:00

Today was the very last day of NB62 2007...and what a day it was. Such beautiful weather for a great day. We had the last strenggruppe, kosetime, and middagsslur. We exchanged our penger and we finally got ready for the bankett to celebrate what a fantastic session we have had.

The bankett is always a very special event. Everybody got dressed up and came to Gimle. There we celebrated Skogfjorden and Edvard Grieg. There were so many people playing the piano, fiddle, and mouth harp during the meal...it was absolutly amazing.

We then all went down to torget to recieve our diplomer. Every villager got a diplom and those who have been here from 1-4 years also received a pin. We have several villagers who have been here for 5 år that will be receiveing there 'Circle of Friendship' medallion tomorrow...and we have 2 villagers here who are here for their tenth year and will be receiving a special plaque.

After everyone had their diplom, a pin, and their tre...we all headed up to Utgard to danse and have other fun aktiviteter to really celebrate what a great session we have had.

Vi sees neste sommer.

Check out tonights bilder here and some videos...Odin's mouth harp, Olaf's song, and (coming soon) Vemund's song.

Vikinger i Framtiden

2007-07-26T22:06:00.000-05:00

This evening we had some special gjester... some vikinger came to Skogfjorden. Four vikings were stranded at Skogfjorden and had to find a way to get back to their time. The deltakerne helped the vikinger by reading the runes to find out who they had to go meet. After they found those people, they learned about the viking times with games, stories, and jewelry making. Finally the vikings found the magic bridge, Bifrost, and tried to escape back to where they came from but they were thwarted by the British. The vikinger and the British had a battle, which the British won, and then were let go to go back to their time.

To see the pictures, click here.

Fanitullen

2007-07-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

Our kveldsprogram this evening was about Fanitullen, a traditional Norsk folk song. The villagers were divided into groups and given a song by either Gåte, Devils Tune, Våsen, Bukkene Bruse, and Imma. They had to create a historie about the song and then present the historie for the rest of the village. At the end, the ledre presented the story of Fanitullen.

Click to read the text in English, på Norsk, or to see the pictures.

Hyttekveld

2007-07-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

Last night for our kveldsprogram we had a hyttekveld. We all ate pizza in our hyttes and then did an activity with just the people we live with. Some played fotball, watched a film, played games, or did an kunstprosjekt. For example, Bergen stayed in the hytte and made scrapbook pages in the shape of a puzzle piece. The girls drew picures, cut up paper, and used all sorts of materials to create something that represented their time at Skogfjorden. Then all the pieces were put together and hung on the wall to create one big puzzle! For pictures from Bergen's hyttekveld, click here.

What is our focus?

2007-07-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

This year at Skogfjorden we have two main focuses...Edvard Grieg and the Internasjonal Polar År.

Edvard Grieg is the most f'amous composer from Norge and we are celebrating him because he died 100 years ago this year. He wrote many wonderful pieces, some of the most popular are from Peer Gynt which he composed with Henrik Ibsen (who we celebrated last year). To learn more about Grieg click here for Norsk or here for English.

The Internasjonal Polar År is a large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009. This occurs every 50 years or so, when the world's scientists gather to study what is happening around our poles. This Polar År is helping to raise awareness of global warming and the other phenomena that are affecting our polar regions. For more information...click here.

Søndag på Skogfjorden

2007-07-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

Søndag is always the most relaxing day at Skogfjorden. We get to sleep in late and have a fantastic brunsj prepared by our wonderful kitchen staff. This søndag we had a program throughout the day about fotball i Norge. We started the day at the badestrand, preparing for a big soccer game. We made signs, got our face painted, and learned some fancy soccer moves. After a quick break for some vafler, we all made our way up to the fotballbane for the big game. It was ledre mot deltakerne ... and what an exciting game it was. The final score was 3-2 ledre.

To see the pictures, click here.

At night, we always make a trek out to Bukkesjøen. That is a special place in the woods where we listen to natur, listen to musikk, and here stories. This year we learned the song Altfor ofte sier vi. That is a great song about friendship which was written by two Saami women. There was a beautiful solnedgang and we had a lovely evening, before making our way back to Skogfjorden for some snacks ... and then got to go to bed early!

To see the pictures, click here.

A-ha

2007-07-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

A-ha came to Skogfjorden i kveld. But there was a problem!!! A-ha was stuck in their music video, as cartoons. We all created skits, drew pictures, danced, and sang to try to get A-ha to escape from their video. After all of the groups presented for A-ha, they managed to come out of the video and gave a little concert for us here at Skogfjorden.

Check out the photos!

Bygdedans

2007-07-21T09:21:00.000-05:00

One of the most exciting and fun evenings at Skogfjorden is always Bygdedans!!! This year the deltakerne learned seven different dances, from traditional Norsk folkedans to modern Skogfjorden line dances...even the salsa!

Make sure that you have your barn teach you the polka, the reinlander, or the I-dag dans.

To look at some pictures, click here!

Andrehalvdel ledre 2007!

2007-07-18T10:35:00.001-05:00

Here we are. The staff for 2007!!! Now you know who to look for when you want to find out more about your deltakere

SVALBARD

HAMAR

OSLO

KRISTIANSAND

STAVANGER

MOLDE

TRONDHEIM

BODØ

TROMSØ

Vi gleder oss til mandag...

2007-07-14T23:13:00.000-05:00

Sesjon NB 62 og 64 er nesten her!!! All of the ledre have been working all week long getting ready for you guys to come på mandag! The hytter are ready, the strenggrupper have been planned, and we can already smell the kjøttballer!!!

Here's a little glimpse at what you can expect på mandag! You will be greeted at the grense, so you better have your pass ready as you enter a new country. Then you will meet some more ledre who will ask you what you want your name to be since you need a norsk navn på Skogfjorden. We will get you a navneskilt with your navn on it, and what hytte you will be living in. Then you get to make the voyage to your hytte where you will be living for the neste 2 uker! After that there's a lot more that you can do. You will need to go to the bank and the helsesenter, but you can also stop in the kiosk for some norsk candy or the butikk to get a Skogfjorden t-skjorte. There will be plenty of games going on, and lots of time to meet your hytte mates and find the ledre that you will be living with.

We hope that you guys are just as excited to get here as we are to see you!!!

Vi sees på mandag!

Deltaker experience inequity firsthand

2007-07-12T11:43:00.000-05:00

Skogfjorden's mission is more than just teaching about Norway. We also hope to help kids learn about their place in the wider world. A few days ago we had the "Urbefolkning Simulasjon" where both deltakere and ledere received various flags that represented an "assummed identity." Some of the flags included the United States, Japan, France, Samiland, the Inuit peoples, and Polynesia.

During mealtimes deltakere were asked for their passports and country of origin to determine if they could eat upstairs (with the privileged) or downstairs (with the minority nations). That wasn't the only injustice they faced. They also endured limitations on how much they could withdraw from the bank if their country of origin was anything other than the developed nations, i.e. France, U.S., Japan, osv.

The day's experiences ended with a small and large group discussion about the inequities that occur in our modern world and the ways that we could potentially respond to them.

Evy og Pannekaker...

2007-07-09T18:23:00.000-05:00

Her på Skogfjorden the deltakere (villagers) have the chance to do a variety of very Norwegian things, including "cooking up" some Norwegian pannekaker (pancakes), watching Norwegian films, learning modern and folk dances, strikking (knitting), treskjæring (wood carving), and much more.

Click here for bilder of the kids doing some of those very norsk things after I-Day.

Internasjonal Dag, 2007

2007-07-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know what Internasjonal Dag is all about, then this blog post is for YOU! For one day (actually two days, but shhhh) per summer, all the language villages come together to share their cultures, languages, food, and fun. Better still, the villages are opened up to friends, family, and neighbors who want to come and enjoy what the kids have been up to.

The week preceding Internasjonal Dag is a lot of work. It's also like the fireworks before the grand finale. The kids get the music ready in "allsang", the activities polished during "kosetime" working on various projects including the "Grieg music staff" used in our avsluttingsprogram (closing program); and finally, we choreograph the I-Day 2007 dance (Tusen, tusen takk til Anja og Åsta for deres bra gjort).

In the end, it all comes together as a huge day of costume, dance, sun, and fun. When it's over, the deltakere come back to Skogfjorden for a picnic and a rolig night of reminiscing and secretly planning out the letters they'll send to all the new friends they've made.

It's so hard to put into words. Takk og pris that we have bilder. And lots of them!

Click here for I-Day Bilder

Klar, ferdig, gå...

2007-06-26T22:56:00.000-05:00

Skogfjorden's very own anchorwoman, Kim, covered this evening's events including Frisbee throwing with Eli, Goal kicking with Håkon, Golf/Hockey competition with Anja and Kenneth, and last but not least, Relay races with Odin. All the athletes (Deltaker) were at their best, equally showing performances of gold medal caliber. Stå På Dere!!!

Click here for Skogfjorden Idretts bilder

Badestrand Fest!!!

2007-06-26T18:28:00.000-05:00

Click here to see all the pictures

This past week we have had tons of fun things going on here at skogfjorden. Just this Saturday we had a Badestrand Fest on Turtle River Lake. The fun and excitement included a canoe relay that involved each hytte bailing out a canoe as fast as possible. Everyone also had a chance to go for a swim, jump off the raft, play some volleyball, or have ansiktsmaling (face painting).

Vespers

2007-06-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

Vespers is a rolig Sondag night when the deltakere and the staff take time for quiet reflection, thinking back on the past week and the good things that are to come.

For more vespers bilder...

Sankt Hans

2007-06-25T21:23:00.000-05:00

It's the longest day of the år and one the favorites around Skogfjorden.

Here are more bilder.

Bygdedans!

2007-06-25T20:07:00.000-05:00

What is it? Take a look here.

Sommer Olympics på Skogfjorden...

2007-06-24T23:27:00.000-05:00

Skogfjorden was alive with all sorts of activities today beginning with a "griegtastik" brunch, then proceeding to "Sommer Olympics på Skogfjorden," which included ski relays, Skogfjorden trivia, a waffle smorgasbord, and kanon flipping at the Badestranda. Simply put, "vi har det kjempe bra her på Skogfjorden."

Check here for more bilder!