The lion, the witch and the wardrobe.

Today in English class we watched the movie Narnia, the Lion, the witch and the wardrobe. I am sure you all have heard of this movie and perhaps seen it?

The film we saw is about the siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter. It's war, and the four of them have to leave with a friend of the family out in the countryside, away from the bombs and danger in the city. One day they discover a wardrobe with fur coats. But this is far from a normal wardrobe and inside they all discover a new world; Narnia and that they're all a part of a prophecy. I don't really want to spoil more for you. 

The movie is the screen version of the book with the same name written by C.S. Lewis. He has written seven books about Narnia. Lewis himself experienced the second world war this fact shows in the movies. The wars are very well made and filmed and the effects used are great. Also the film music (by Harry Gregson-Williams) is great and really getting you into the right mood.

Lewis, full name Clive Staples Lewis is an Irish-born British who is among other things a novelist, academic and an essayist. And besides the Narnia books he has also written fictional work The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy. Lewis was married to the American writer Joy Gresham. Lewis dies only 64 year old, seven years after his wife. He has experiences both the world wars, and this affects his writing but in a good way. Both the first and the second movie contain more than one battle. These battles are fought by swords and catapults, and fought very differently from the wars Lewis experienced. They are more like battles from the middle ages. But in our world the children experiences a war I think is the second world war, but it could probably be the first one as well. Here his experiences shows.  He was a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, and both of them were leading figures in the English faculty at Oxford University and in the informal Oxford literary group.

Lewis' works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. 


So you're interested in fantasy/was movies with queens and kings, fables and adventure this is probably a movie you like. And soon the third movie will be shown at cinemas in
Norway!
http://www.filmweb.no/bilder/multimedia/archive/00091/Legenden_om_Narnia_-_91892a.jpg

Click the photos to see the source.

a Christmas wish

In English class we are attending a December contest. Link. 

So I chose task 5: [...] write a poem. And so I did. My poem is written with rhymes and is about peace, Christmas evening, family and Jesus. 

The windows are covered with hoar frost

From the radio, Christmas carols fills the air

In the oven the turkey is almost done roast

It's the season for love, joy and care

We will celebrate tonight the evening

When there was born a little baby boy

The son of God came to us without screaming

A king they said, but this did Herodes annoy

He would kill Jesus, afraid of losing his role

But Josef foresaw this in a dream

And escaped to saved his wife and boy

So together they all ran away in the moonbeam

They had to escape to save their own life

So many people have been doing the same

Running away with both housebound and wife

People running away in fear is for mankind a shame

So this night I to the holy spirit pray

I pray to the son, and his father in heaven

That our world will be peaceful and safe one day

And for all our sins to be forgiven

We will celebrate tonight the evening

The evening for love, joy and care

All day I have been washing and arranging

And polished the silver shining clear

All that's missing this December night is some company

They would soon be here with me

The guests are dear friends and family

When they come we'll walk around the tree

The tall and green Christmas tree

Shining pretty and with lots of presents underneath

A knock on the door, could that my guests be?

Come in my dearest family, into the heat

Warmth and laugher makes a wonderful atmosphere

We kiss under the mistletoe and think of how lucky we are

And I wish my words will be heard somewhere

As I make a wish upon the shining Christmas star

For a safer and peaceful world.

Japan

I worked together with Heidi Emilie and Eline while learning about Japanese culture.We decided to watch some japanese anime to learn about the culture. The culture is reflected in the anime, though it's very overdone. However, we watched some episodes of a comedian anime. Afterwards we discussed what we had seen and what we thought was different in the japanese culture from the european. For example, we thought that homosexuality is much less a tabu in Japan than in Europe. Neither is cross-dressing.

Also the Japanese seems more straight forward and not as "cold" as europeans. They show their feelings much clearer than we do through the way they talk and body language. Also I have the impression that japanese girls are very girly. They're very interested in hair dues and nail design. After all japanese(and Asia) is quite famous for their imaginative nail designs. The west has recently started to adopt this trend, though it's not a big hit yet.


Also the Japanese has a quite unique fashion culture. Ever heard of Lolita for example? But also, the japanese are very found of the western fashion.
Also the japanese food is very different from the european. We have already adopted the sushi, but there's still yet to come! Pocky is one example. Really tasty Japanese candy which can be bought in a few "foreigner" stores in Norway.
In Japan they also have the Sakura season, which is when the cherry trees blossom. This is a very popular time to visit Japan and therefore also quite expensive. But very beautiful! They also have the hot springs which are very different from the western standard spa. And the school uniform is very common as well.

So all summed up, the japanese has quite a different culture from us europeans. I know someone who is studying there right now, and she wrote on her blog that the first time she arrived in Japan she was shocked. It was so different and weird.

I think the way we worked on this was great, and I would not have chosen any other way! :)


Pictures:
[link1] [link2] [link3]

Working abroad

When it comes to working in the US and in Britain I think one of the main differences are that they are more "open" and outgoing. They are less formal and I also think Britain is more strict. Of course this varies from where you work. Especially I think you have to be more formal with your boss in Britain than in the US.
I also think there's more opportunities in the US, and harder to earn good money in Britain.

equalities and differences

“Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. 

We took our first steps on the 
same lawn in the same yard. 

And, under the same roof, 
we spoke our first words.

 Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name.

This is the paragraph I though was the best one. I think this paragraph illustrates the friendship between Hassan and Amir and shows how tight they are bonded. And I think that’s the main topic of the story, “friendship”.

I thought this small paragraph told so much about the whole story.

It gives a hint about how tight they actually are bonded, which we will learn later in the story. But it also illustrates their different views of their friendship, and it illustrates their roles in the story. Hassan, the naïve Hazara that never think badly about anyone, while Amir was a spoiled Pashtun with strong and clear meanings, but too much of a coward to express them. This paragraph could actually fit in most of the “themes” because it also shows the conflict between the two boys and the friendship. I think this is one of the strongest paragraphs in the book.

It gives us a hint about what the following pages will be about, and how the story will turn out. 

I can't remember hearing this "quote" in the movie, which is sad since it's so good. But on the other hand it does not really matter too much because this paragraph is shown through the story, since the paragraph tells the story, it's not very important to include in the movie where the story is told anyway.


Link bilde

The Kite Runner - entry 1

At school we're reading the Kite Runner. I have heard so much about the book, but never read it. Thought I have read Khaled Hosseini's second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, which is one really amazing book. So I was really looking forward to the Kite Runner. Hosseini is an amazing writer.
I have been sick and very busy lately so I haven't got much time for reading, but as far as I have come, I really like the book. My favorite part until now must be on page ten, where Ali tells the boys about their nurse and her lovely singing voice and he sings for the boys:

On a high mountain I stood,
And cried the name of Ali, Lion of God.
O Ali, Lion of God, King of Men,
Bring joy to out sorrowful hearts.


The the paragraph continuos:
"Then he would remind us that there was a brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that not even time could break.
Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yard. And, under the same roof, we spoke our first words. 
Mine was Baba.
His was Amir. My name.


I think this paragraph shows very clearly the bond between the two boys and that the bond is to strong to ever be broken. Thats why I really liked it. It tells us something about the rest of the story, that it will be about those boys, their relationship and their destinies.

Bilde link

Say "no" to yourself.

According to this article, Facebook users score lower on tests than non-Facebook users. This article made me think, because I use Facebook every single day, and often at the same time as I’m doing homework. And honestly, Facebook and homework does not go well together. Neither does msn/Skype and homework. Which are programs I use all the time!
I know it takes me almost an hour extra to do my homework if I’m logged on to Facebook, Skype ect. But that it effects my grades and the result of my homework? Never thought of that… So what to do to avoid dropping grades?

You could disconnect your computer from the network, and that way force yourself out of distraction. But what if you need internet to do your homework? That’s trickier, because even though you decide not to log on to Facebook, you probably will be tempted to log on. But my advice is to just decide to focus on homework, force yourself to avoid Facebook, msn, Skype ect.
Be strong and don't let social communities decide your grades.

It's better to reward yourself after the homework is done with some socialization on Facebook.

Link bilde

Global Challenge

"What you think might be an important global challenge to work with in class?"

I got this question from my teacher. And I though a global challenge associated with what we are learning in our English class, would be the challenge to understand and respect people from other countries, cultures and believes. That's an important challenge in the world today and an important reason to the wars and conflicts in the world today. I believe if we learned more about each other, both objective (facts about religious beliefs and cultures) learning and subjective (peoples personal opinions) we would also understand better, and hopefully be more respectful. 

You might ask, how is this related to our class? Well, we are supposed to make friends in other countries. And it is easy to misunderstand each other, especially since our ways of expressing ourselves and our views on things might are a bit different. I often see that Norwegians write and speak English differently than others might, and that can cause misunderstandings. 

So that's what I think would might be a global challenge for us to work on. To understand others was of living. 

Bilde link

Erin B. - one person can make a difference

Warning. Spoiler!




Last friday we watched a movie called Erin B, thought we didn't get to see the end before it was time for us to start the weekend(but we will finish it tomorrow!). First I was a bit skeptical... another movie about a poor woman with lots of kids and no education trying to make it for a living.. if you have seen one of those movies, you have seen all of them. At least that's what I think. But it turned out to be a good movie! Predictable, but still not a waste of time :) Erin is a single mother with three young children, no job and no education. She tries to get every job she can find, and in the end she gets a job at her lawyers office(which she nearly forces him to get). She does her best but her colleagues are not very fan of her or the way she dresses and they does not really make her job easier! But then, one day she discovers something odd among the files at the office, that she wants to dig deeper into and that's where the action really begins! It turns out to be a big case! But I won't spoil why.. (watch the movie)

This movie shows us the inside story of a struggling woman, and how one person can make a difference. Erin is observant and discovers something huge, and because of her being stubborn she manage to help and make a difference for lots of people. This also helps her own personal situation. One person really can make difference. Even just smile and say hi to a stranger passing by, might make that stranger happy. I think we underestimates our selves. Many people don't think their actions alone can make a difference, but they can!




EDIT.
At Friday we finished watching the movie about Erin. I thought it was a very good movie, with a good moral and message. "Do to others what you want in return"
The movie was also very funny. The whole class sat laughing at the end when Erin gets her paycheck.
Worth seeing :)


Bilde link

About me?

If you want to know more about me, you can click on the button above next to the "Start" button that says "About me" ;) Easy as that!

The Butterfly Circus

The Butter Fly Circus is a very strong story about a limbless man who's afraid, unsure and unhappy. For a long time he's been living at a circus where he was a part of the "side show", where he was one of the "freaks". One day he comes to a circus called Butterfly Circus. He's used to being treated like an animal and laughed at, but at this circus he get to learn that he is more than just "a thing". He is a human being. The others on the circus gives him courage and strength to learn how to deal with his problem and inspire others. Its a very short film, about 20-30 minutes and should be seen by everyone.  It's a touching story that will inspire you and maybe make you understand that your own "issues" might not be that bad after all.. 

Nick Vujicic who plays the limbless man Will, have inspired lots of people because of his positive attitude to life and how he is able to deal with his handicap. If you click on the link below you can watch a very touching video of him.

LINK

Pictures: Pic1 Pic2

My Expectations

My expectations for this year(or hopes?) are first of all to become better at both speaking and writing english. Become more grammatical correct and to increase my dictionary. 

And I also hope, and think that I will learn a lot more about different cultures in english speaking countries. 

I hope that we will have fun during our english classes, and not only do tasks and read, but also watch movies, work together in groups, get to know other people and things like that. That we will learn in a creative way!

Here is a picture of the view from the bridge over to Nesøya, where I live! Lovely isn't it?

Picture is borrowed and © LINK