Feb 212012

The main goal with this EAC is to collect a group of motivated and inspirational personalities, whom are able to create a everyday-life with a healthier attitude. Together we will create this source of ‘good energy’ and to do that we will be arranging lots of sport activities. The sport activities varies between mental and physical actions. Our mission as “Health & Lifestyle” experts is to inspire other people to take part in what we call, the healthy lifestyle.

The group meets every Monday to share, discuss and create ideas. They then plan the upcoming events and activities. The current aim is to have at least 3 activities per week with one of the group members responsible for leading the activity.

As of now, the group offers Pilates, Football and Martial Arts, Running (Cardio), Gymnastics, Fitness , Basketball, Breakdance, Swimming, Health and Lifestyle sessions.

‘This exceptional EAC is more than a EAC. This is a source of optimismn and realism, our group creates this opportunity of reaching goals in what we thought was impossible. We want to spread the positive philosophy and be a part of a healthier world by creating our lifestyles.’

 

Feb 212012

UKM 2012…Click on the link below

http://fjaler.origo.no/-/bulletin/show/720344_fjaler-og-gaular-ukm-skal-stimulere-og-synliggjere-ungdo?ref=mst

Feb 212012

Geopolitics is an interesting, educational EAC with fun-to-discuss topics thanks to Ashok, who likes to give nations human properties such as greed, resentment, selfishness and which provides us with the right direction for discussion when we get away from the main track.

Although we meet only once per week, the discussions we are having about today politics and governments broaden our level of thinking each day. The discussion is such that everyone has an opportunity to express their opinion and learn more about the world today and possibly in future.

This term the discussions we had were mostly about topics related to the Arabic world, but now we are turning to the rest of the world.

We often give predictions about issues we discuss based on our knowledge and understanding of the world around us and it is a very nice EAC to have if you want to know more about the geopolitical behaviour of different countries.

 

There are a variety of EAC’s that take place at the Haugland Rehabilitation Centre each week.

The student members all interact with the patients who are visiting the centre. The list includes Yoga, International Dance, Painting, Handcrafts, Water Confidence, Cozy Evening and Campus Tour.

Water Confidence:

Water confidence is a two year EAC which takes place in the Haugland hot pool. Each week the members of the EAC work with different patients from the local Haugland Rehabilitation centre. Patients generally need help with confidence in the water, practicing swimming technique or beginner lessons in swimming.

Every week is a challenge, and all the members have to adapt to the different situations which could occur. Needless to say, this EAC is extremely rewarding for all members, who are able to see first-hand the positive effect that they are having on their patient contacts.

Cozy Evening at Haugland Rehabilitation Centre

Every Thursday a dedicated group of students from RCN are expected to present a small presentation of culture and fun to the patients at Haugland.  There is always music, cultural sharing, games and laughter.  The EAC members often bring other students from the college to talk about special occasions in their homeland, show and talk about national costumes or to share some talent they may have.

The patients are often very active and curious about the presentations, asking questions of the participants.  There is no doubt that the patients appreciate the efforts of the students who both present and organise the evenings.

The key to a good EAC participant includes being a good communicator, a good motivator and someone who simply enjoys being with others.  The EAC is very rewarding to those who participate due to the positive feedback they get from both the patients and employees at Haugland – not to mention the practice they obtain in talking in front of a large group.

Haugland Crafts:

Every Wednesday, from eight to nine, a group of students has an origami and paper crafts session in the activity room at Haugland. They use origami techniques to make flowers, birds, boxes, and sometimes  do some bead work too. All the group members put in a lot of creativity in trying to be efficient teachers, sharing the basics of origami with the Haugland patients.

We all have had a wonderful opportunity to share our skills, learn new things from each other and most important of all – meet people from Norway, and sometimes even beyond the borders.

 

 

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.  ~B.K.S. Iyengar

The Yoga and Relaxation EAC takes place every Wednesday from 6-7 p.m. at Haugland.  Five first years and six second years come together to create an accessible and simple Yoga and Relaxation activity for the Haugland patients.

The people that attend have a variety of different injuries and problems and part of the challenge of the EAC is to ensure that all the patients feel that they are taken care of and that they do not perform a pose that they do not feel comfortable doing. Also the variation in the seriousness of the patients issues is a big challenge for us, as some can barely walk while others are able to do all the poses.

This is part of what makes this EAC so meaningful, the ability to feel that we can provide an activity that fits everybody and that you do not need any prerequisite knowledge or skills before attending.

Hearing from patients that the Yoga and Relaxation has helped them a small step in their physical improvement is a very valuable experience, feeling that you can actually make a difference.

Just before the winter break the first years started doing entire sessions independently and they are now approaching the point where they soon will be able to let go of the second years.

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 082012

Let the people do the talking…

Nukaaka: “A very moving and rich inter-cultural experience in the cold norwegian January.”

Nguyen: “This has been one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve ever had in this freezing Nordic country. Carved in my memory was the spiral wooden stair in Bryggen Museum that led me to all the antiquated trace of a once-upon-a-time flamboyant Norwegian history, or the magnificent assembly hall in Rosenkrantz Tower embellished with ancient symbolic pictures.”

Nguyen: “What stunned me more was the warm hearts of Norwegian youths, including not only the students in Asane Folkhogschool where I was hosted, but also those who donated money throughout the fundraising task for Safuge, who were willing to stop by in the harshly windy weather to listen to me proudly sharing the effort that Safuge members had been making and the philanthropic purpose of Safuge and of the youths’ contribution. The trip was also a chance for me and other UWC students to inspire Norwegian students outside UWC with the cultural values earned from our life-changing UWC experience.”

Ricardo: “I might say we came to earn more than we shared.  An incredible Hollywood theater welcomed us, a typical delicious Norwegian breakfast were served every day and the volleyball game organized at the end by the local students created a wave of energy with happiness and joys. In return, we gave Spanish course, taught Salsa and explained to the school about community service at RCNUWC taking Safuge as an example.  We made this PBL a really successful one, what I am really proud of.”

Claudia: “Any time I travel around Norway I get a completely different shade of its culture; this time particularly we had the opportunity to interact more with other students approximately our age, which was lots of fun despite the short time spent together and the initial akwardness: Asane school’s students were really warm and made us feel welcome from the very beginning, inviting us to activities in class or just for a talk and a cup of tea; I am sure if the PBL lasted a bit more, good friendships could have started.”

Claudia: “What I really liked was the miscellaneous of activities we had, that did not give us the time to get bored: we needed one more singer for the choir, and I joined; we missed an helper for the salsa activities? I found myself explaining steps. We found a volleyball? In a couple of minutes we had too many players in the gym, and had to take turns. It must be said that it has been physically tiring, walking a lot every day, dancing, playing, singing, but it is definitely worth a couple of days of relax and good time (moreover, knowing that you’re doing something good with the fund-raising!)”

Pema: ” The most challenging part for me in this PBL was when we started to raise fund for SaFuGe. I didn’t know how I should approach people to make them listen to what we (SaFuGe) do.  Through the help of a friend I was able to overcome the fear of approaching people. I also got a chance to learn salsa dance, played volleyball and enjoy the theater students’ show. We also gave presentations about SaFuGe to the students of Asana School. It was tiring at the end of the day but there was this feeling of joy that makes me feel that it was worth doing what we did the whole day.”

 

 

The forecast for the trip wasn’t the best with predictions of strong winds, so with that in mind we planned for different scenarios with Plan A and Plan B and several options within those plans. After a lot of planning and packing we were finally dropt of high up in the Guddal valley. This first day was hard with a steep ascent up on the mountain plateau through at times dense vegetation. Late in the afternoon after some small mishaps with equipment we reached our first camp site. Winds were now starting to pick up and there was some little snow drifting.

Making camp went well and tents where soon up and secured for the predicted wind with a wind wall and lots of tethers.

The next day turned out to be more windy and soon after we packed up the camp and moved on we decided to abort plan A and continue on Plan B in a (we hoped) more sheltered valley.  Only thing was that we had do descent most of what we came up the previous day. Going down on skis, with a big rucksack, through dense forest is often interesting, and so it was also this time.

Finally down in the valley bottom we made good progress to our second campsite during the trip where we made camp as the sun was setting on a mostly clear sky. Some more equipment failure this time both tents made for late supper.

Third and last day was still fairly windy but sunny and the group made excellent progress towards the pickup point in Vassdalen.

Below is some reflection from the participating students

“…on top of that mountain range I was anything but comfortable…The PBL took me out of my comfort zone, took away my balance and took the feeling out of my feet. But it brought me to an incredibly beautiful area that I would never have been able to experience otherwise. ..”

“It was challenging at some points, especially Thursday morning when I was close to giving up, but that made it feel so much better afterwards when I knew I had overcome a difficulty.”

“I liked how we as a group made decisions together – whether to stay at this side of the lake or find a camping spot on the other side, whether to ski on the mountain or in the valley as it gave all of us the opportunity to take factors such as weather, skiing level and physical conditions of the group into account.”


“Even though I returned to campus more bruised than I normally would, and with some of my dignity left in the many sits-marks I’d made on the last three days, I also returned with a greater sense of confidence.”

 

 

 

Feb 082012
Last weekend three students and I went with Alistair into the local mountains to make a cave in the snow and ski in the area.

We began by crossing a frozen lake, then climbing a hill with skis (with skins underneath) and a  heavy back pack – and inside two hours we reached a site for the cave.

The cave took about three hours to make then we had a quick ski uphill to watch the sun set.

After warm soup, we were cosy in our sleeping bags by 6PM for a long night in the cave!

It was great feel free, to breath pure and clean air, to sleep in a snowcave (which not many people do!), being a Colombian able to ski in the Norwegian mountains with great people, that is just amazing and unique!

The costs in this case were to get tired for a while and sometimes to get cold, but it was really worthwhile.
-Ervin

A very enthusiastic and happy group has had the pleasure and satisfaction of trying out the basics of several crafts.

Through some most enjoyable and relaxed but busy hands on learning sessions, we acquired some of basic skills.

These included :

  • paper making
  • card making
  • wool felting
  • needle felting
  • winter wonderland creations
  • cane basket work and……
  • tie-dye sessions.

I hope some of us will be able to use and build on these beginnings sometime later in life.

 

 

 

Feb 082012
The Knitting PBL started with a trip to Dale, where we visited the wool shop and everyone chose the wool and needles they wanted for the PBL. After the trip to Dale the knitting began.

Some in the group had knitted before and started more challenging projects such as balls and socks; others had never knitted before and began by making scarfs and a hat.

 

Everyone worked on their knitting with great determination and soon everyone knew how to knit, change thread, reduce and increase.

We had four very cosy and creative days, where most of the time was spent knitting.



However, there was also time for tea breaks, music, cake, hot chocolate with chilli and the exciting adventures of Harry Potter.

 

Everyone worked with great dedication on their knitting and some even managed to finish their projects during the PBL.

 

Well done everyone and Happy Knitting!

© 2011 Extra-Academic Programs Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha