My best year!

Text and photo: Arne Markussen, Harstad Rotary Club

I pick her up at her host family, Per Gunnar and Merete, in Samaåsen, just uptown from downtown Harstad. She puts her Rotary jacket, with all her memories, carefully in the back seat. Hailey Budgell is free, school is over, and she is on a countdown for leaving Norway.

-Do you have a favorite place in Harstad?

-You know what, I haven’t thought about that. I will!

She becomes thoughtful, but she takes the question off in perfect Harstad dialect. Writing the text in dialect feels tempting, but to make the interview readable for everyone outside Harstad, I leave the thought. Driving towards downtown Harstad, we are silent.

-Meløyvær!

She pronounces the name of the former fishery village north of Harstad in perfect dialect as we pass the harbor, close to the pier hosting the ferry serving the islands. Meløyvær is about an hour journey north of historic and picturesque Bjarkøy. Now there are only 8-9 permanent residents in Meløyvær, with a number of additional guests during summer.

-Meløyvær is my paradise; calm, wild and beautiful, all in one place. Last weekend, I caught a lot of fish in a small amount of time. I have really learned to like fish and fishing. Meløyvær is so peaceful.

The smile is spontaneous in her open face. We have lunch in the cafeteria at Equinor, Norway’s largest oil- and gas company. Small talk on facts about Equinor and why 300 employees from many countries have found their way to Harstad, some Canadians as well.

-We visited Equinor in Stavanger during one of our Rotary trips.

Hailey is born and raised in Cornwall, Ontario in Canada, a city with approximately 50 thousand inhabitants. Ontario is a province in Southern Canada and has common border with USA. Hailey finished the eleventh grade at Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School before her departure for Norway. The first time I met her in August one year ago, just after arrival, we spoke English. Now, she only speaks Norwegian and with a Harstad touch.

-Your Norwegian is impressive considering you have only been here for under a year. How did you manage the difficult language this quick?

-Thank you! Actually, it was kind of tricky in the beginning. I keep a diary, and one of the entries states “how in the world am I going to learn this language?” I couldn’t understand anything in the beginning, everything was just a flow of strange words and in dialect. But at one point, after about three months or so, it was like “click”. Suddenly I started to get it! From that moment, I made great progress. I am an auditory learner as opposed to visual, and I think that helps.

-You know, I was so tired and exhausted in the beginning. All the first impressions and trying to understand took a lot of energy. I was so tired in the evenings! During the preparations they told us that Autumn would be a mental rollercoaster, from sadness after the first excitements at arrival, to happiness at Christmas. Nobody mentioned anything about being so tired like I was in the beginning.

-How was your first encounter with this small city north of the arctic circle?

-Oh, it was so nice and exciting! I can hardly find words. Harald Alstad, the president of the Rotary Club, met me at the airport. Wow, I thought! At home in Cornwall it’s almost flat, while here in Norway, tall mountains rise directly from ocean level. It was a little shocking coming from 30 degrees Celsius to 10 degrees in August 2018.

-How did you feel meeting people?

-Oh, this is kind of difficult. You know, here in Norway, people are more reserved. You do not talk to strangers on the bus or on the street. In Canada, we say “sorry” at the smallest bump into someone, you hear “unnskyld” not so often here in Norway. In the beginning, I found people somewhat unfriendly and hard to get in contact with. Now, I realize that this is just how people are. As soon as you get to know people, everybody is just so friendly and open! After I learned the language, making contact with people and getting friends became much easier. Now, everything is fine, and I have cracked the code on socializing in Norway.

Hailey becomes silent and thoughtful.

-I have stayed with three families and they have all been wonderful and supportive from day one. I found it interesting that everybody wanted to speak English, to learn of course, while I just wanted to speak Norwegian!

-Harstad Rotary Club has been great and have supported me during the entire year. Harald Alstad and Jan Arne Lund have been my primary contacts and they have been wonderful.

Hailey has attended the club meetings quite frequently. The Rotarians have been impressed by Hailey’s presentations; both personal stories, about her hometown Cornwall and her school. Reports on similar positive impressions at different occasions on her Rotary trips have reached the club members in Harstad.

Before Hailey’s year, it was many years since the Rotary club in Harstad hosted an exchange student. The club members decided that they wanted to try this again. President Jan Arne Lund and a group of members took the lead on this and decided to go for the 2018-19 year. President during Hailey’s year, Harald Alstad, is very satisfied and points out that Hailey has been an excellent representative of Rotary’s exchange program. DYEO in district 2275, Ellen R.O. Strand has arranged formalities and has assisted Harstad Rotary Club in different formal matters.

President from July 1st , Per Gunnar Johnsen, says that the club is determined to host exchange students in the future.

Three preseidents and Hailey, Per Gunnar Johnsen 19-20, Umair Mughal, 20-21, Hailey Budgell and Harald Alstad, 18-19

-You are leaving Harstad in about two weeks. How do you feel about that?

-Oh no, please don’t say that! I feel so divided. I am looking forward to seeing family and friends, but I have to leave all the people I love here in Norway. Leaving Canada, a year ago, I knew that I would be back in Canada again. This time it’s different, because I don’t know how long it will be before I return. My experiences throughout this year will never come back, they will be memories. Home in Cornwall, my life will be different as well since friends will leave for University. It will never be the same!

-How did you learn about Rotary Exchange program?

-No one in my family are Rotarians, but I have been a member of Interact since I was 12 years old. After a Rotary trip to Guatemala, an inquiry about hosting a Danish exchange student for six months was raised. So, Sarah Nielsen from Denmark stayed with us in 2017-18. Sarah became like a sister for me and I saw her in Denmark a couple of weeks ago.

-I stay in quite close contact with Rotary at home, both with my club and the Rotary district. I talk with my counselor every month and deliver a mini-report. After a while we used Snapchat and Instagram instead.

-Student exchange is very well known at my school in Cornwall. Most students are inbound, and only a handful have gone out in the last twenty years. The school has 800 students and every year we have around 50-70 exchange students at the school, most of these travels with AFS. There are a lot of students from South America and Asia, and some from Europe. So, exchange has always been something I have been exposed to.

-But why Norway and Harstad?

-Each Rotary district has specific rules and routines. Our district arranged a “Country Fair” where each country or area could present themselves. From a list of 15, I chose 5 countries. I wanted Scandinavia, but Norway was not available, only Denmark and Sweden. I did not want Denmark, since we had a student from Denmark and I was quite sure that I could visit her in Denmark during my exchange year. Sweden did not have enough “outbounds”, so I was given a choice; Finland or Norway. -My god, I thought, Finnish is too hard to learn! We had a Norwegian exchange student at our school. I talked with her and Norway was my definite choice. Norway was not at the list at first, since we did not have any “incoming” that year.

-When did you learn that you were going to Harstad?

-I got the message about Harstad during a basketball tournament, just two months before departure. “Wow, I am going to Harstad, north of the Arctic Circle!” -I did not have a clue about this area and what it would be like. I searched the map and discovered that the Harstad was very far north. Ontario is about the same latitude as France and northern Italy, so I was terrified since the areas in Canada at the same latitude as Harstad, so far up north, are freezing and are more or less uninhabited. -Hailey, I said to myself, this is a new experience, you need to be open and this is the ultimate opportunity of a lifetime. Then I started to search information on the internet and at school.

-I was worried about the arctic climate, but you know what; winter in Harstad is milder that at home, thanks to the Gulfstream. Summer is colder, but the climate does not bother me at all. Darkness gave me some trouble in the beginning, but after a while I found it cozy, with all the candles around the house, hot chocolate and the Northern Lights! -Northern Lights are my favorite!

-How did you get around in Harstad?

-I have stayed with three families, all living in the suburbs of Harstad; Holtet, Kanebogen and Trondenes. I had to go to school by bus and this was a new experience. Back in Canada, we just have our yellow school bus. We do have public transportation, but people don’t use it very often. I didn’t know how to use the bus, how you pay, where to sit and if you could talk to fellow passengers. I felt proud when I managed the bus after some time!

-How has 2nd class at Heggen Videregående (high school level) been?

-After I learned Norwegian, everything became much easier and I got many friends. -I have studied social science and language. The curriculum is a bit different from Canadian schools. English at Heggen was actually at the same level as in Canada. The Norwegians know English so well that English classes are almost like at home in Cornwall. My biggest surprise came in Math classes; you are actually allowed to use computers here. The idea of using a computer in Canadian math classes is preposterous. History at Heggen was a little challenging as well, since Canadian school does not have much European history.

-My exchange year will not count as a completed year at my school in Cornwall, so I will start in 12th grade when I return. I will receive an “Equivalent credit”, a proof of having completed a full year at Norwegian high school. I had some extra courses last year at home, so I can finish my graduation year in six months. I will study French, English, social science, leadership and other courses within sociology. I will be more or less finished by Christmas, but I will have my last exam in the spring.

-At the university I hope to focus on sociology and psychology and I am committed to be a teacher. It is difficult times for getting a job as teacher, but having French helps a lot.

-How about sports?

-Back in Cornwall I played basketball, badminton and volleyball at school. Off school I played ice hockey and softball. Sports are important in Canadian school, so the students are offered a large selection of sport programs at school.

-In Harstad, I tried Innebandy since it resembles hockey. I just played for fun and not for competition. It was fun, but it was hard to find someone at my age, so I played with some young adults.

-How about winter sports in Harstad, skies and skates?

-Haha, I tried slalom in Nesbyen during or Rotary trip. I was very bad, but it was really fun. I tried cross country skiing as well which was fun too, but I wasn’t very good at that either.  I will try when I return to Cornwall. There are quite a few active athletes in cross country, both competition and leisure. I wanted to try skating in Harstad as well, but the track was usually closed due to rain!

-Rotary focuses on common activities for all exchange students. What are your experiences?

-You know, these are some of my finest and best memories from this year. All students were together in Lyngdal, 2-3 weeks after our arrival in Norway. The trip focused on common language courses. We stayed in smaller cabins and got to know each other very well. Long lasting bonds were made.

-During winter break, we were together in Nesbyen. That was a very Norwegian week with skiing and lots of other winter activities. Our third trip was in Oslo during the quite famous Holmenkollen ski festival. We watched the ski jump competition at Holmenkollen. I wore a Norwegian “Marius sweater” and felt really Norwegian!

Hailey lights up when thinking about the trips they had together. These trips make an impression with the students and creates bonds across borders; one of the important goals of Rotary exchange program. This year Norway has around 30 inbound students and about the same number of outbounds. USA and Canada are the most popular, but several students go to South America, Europe and Asia.

-Then, we were on our Norway tour, three weeks ago. It was fantastic. We visited Oslo, Ål, Voss, Bergen, Stavanger and Haugesund. We did white water rafting, ziplining and other challenging activities. We were at Prekestolen, the famous and spectacular viewpoint. The ascent was actually quite easy, and the view was magnificent.

-The Norway tour was a wonderful week, but also somewhat emotional and sad in the end since we probably won’t see each other anymore. It became melancholic and we planned to meet again very soon, maybe next year already.

-During the trip, we spoke both Norwegian and English. Norwegian is a little tricky since we all spoke Norwegian with different dialects. Many of the students were living in the Oslo area and they cannot understand my Harstad dialect. Not all of the students are good at Norwegian, so I am proud of having learned so much.

-I am grateful to Rotary for the opportunity to experience these trips which is not usual within other exchange programs.

-How about trips not arranged by Rotary?

-I have been to Tromsø, Lofoten islands and Vesterålen with my host families. That was very nice. And then I have been to Denmark visiting Sarah. The last weekend I will go with my host family to Kalix in Sweden.

-My family and I have been to my paradise Meløyvær many times. They have a house there and I am grateful for the opportunity to be there. We have been fishing a lot, and recently I caught three at the same time, a large Cusk, cod and redfish. We used to fish a little in south-western Canada, but we could be waiting for hours without getting anything. I sent a photo to my brother Connor, and he just replied, “You win”.

-I have had fish for dinner very often lately and I really love it! At home in Cornwall we have fish rarely, maybe once every couple of months.

Hailey pronounces the dialectic word “fesk” as a native Harstad citizen.

-Any Norwegian food that you find strange?

-You know what, I love Norwegian food, I even had whale! Whale meat is very unusual in Cornwall. I know that Canada has some whaling, as Norway does. My grandfather comes from Newfoundland where whaling is usual. I even had the specialty “smalahove” coming from the western part of Norway, which is sheep’s head usually cooked on open fire. That was strange, but actually quite good.

-The only dish I couldn’t eat is the Norwegian “Lutefisk”; dried cod, soaked in lye and served with a large variety of side dishes. I tried it, but I found it too bad to eat!

-Also, Norwegian eats a lot of licorice, but this kind of candy is not for me! Sarah brought loads of licorice to Canada, and we just had to pretend that it was delicious. We have Twizzlers in Canada, but the strong kind of licorice that you have here isn’t common.

-Have you noticed any major cultural differences between Canada and Norway?

-The differences are maybe not so obvious. We have similar issues concerning Indigenous peoples as you have in Norway. Cornwall island, in the St. Lawrence seaway at the border between USA and Canada, is part of a Mohawk reservation. Most people in Ontario are open towards our Indigenous peoples, but you will also find people with a more critical and reluctant attitude. We have a governmental program launched to help educate about our Indigenous peoples.

Hailey becomes engaged and switches to English. This is obviously an issue that she has strong opinions about. Her interest in social science and equality is obvious. It takes us back to the school system. Hailey has given presentations at Rotary meetings on differences in school systems between Canada and Norway.

-We are more formal in Canadian school. Some schools require school uniform and we address teachers as Mister and Misses. In Norway, we are far more informal and uses first names when we talk to teachers. School in Norway seems to be more relaxed. -Despite these differences, I think we learn just as much in Norway, but I think the Norwegian system makes students more creative.

-I find it strange that students can just leave in the middle of classes, without any problem. In Canada, such behavior would lead to a call home to the parents. Maybe age is an issue, many students at Heggen are over 18 years old.

-What are your plans after returning to Cornwall?

-I will be free and spend much time with family and friends. I will go to East Canada camping with my family, living in tents! My friends will leave for University, so I will spend much time with them.

-Rotary Youth Exchange program has four D-no’s, Dating, Driving, Drugs, Drinking. Have the rules been any challenge for you?

-Before departure from Canada I was determined not to break the rules and risk being returned. So, this has not been difficult at all. Dating can sometimes be difficult to draw a line against for some people. At home in Cornwall, I have a lot of guy friends that I spend time with. Here in Harstad, it is strange, but boys and girls tend to stay apart from each other and only meet in formal occasions. Maybe this is just an issue in my class at Heggen.

-Do you have any special memories that you want to share?

-I have so many great moments and it is difficult to pick only a few. My 18th birthday was memorable. Like many others I wanted to see the Northern lights, and I had downloaded the Northern Lights App. On my birthday, I noticed that the activity was going to be high that night. I went outside and could see the most spectacular sight; Northern lights in all colors, and all over the skies. I called for my host family and although they’ve seen northern lights many times, they agreed that this was really special.

-During the Norway tour, I made friends with another student from Canada. She was quite sad since she, for the first time, was not with her twin that she had so much in common with. She was really unhappy and we decided to cheer up the mood with music. All 30 students were singing and dancing all night long and there was a strong feeling of togetherness and energy. It is hard to describe the feeling, but I will never forget that night.

-How has this year affected you as a human being?

-This year in Norway has changed my life! I came to Harstad alone and found myself as well as friends and families. The year in Harstad has meant everything to me. I had never imagined it would affect me so much. I will forever be characterized by the people I met and all the memories I bring with me.

We have a common feeling that our journey through Hailey’s year is about to come to an end. Hailey again becomes thoughtful with a slight melancholy in her voice.

-I plan to return to Norway sometime. I chose Norway because I wanted to learn about Scandinavia. My year here is soon over; the best in my life. I've got the opportunity to connect with people from all over the world. I am very grateful for the opportunity Rotary has given me. It is the best program with the best support system. Those who think about exchanging I just want to say "Just Do It".

I love Norway!


 

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Møteinformasjon

Møtested: Quality Hotel Harstad
Adresse: Anna Elisabeths gate 8
Postnummer: 9405
Sted: Harstad
Land: NO
Møtedag: Tirsdag
Møtetid: 18:00
Møtespråk: no

Kontakt: harstad@rotary.no

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før August 2022



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