Back in Norway

09.06.09
For thoose of you who have visited the blog frequently you have probably noticed that we have not updated our blog in a long time now. The reason for this is that Blogspot was blocked so we could not open, or update it the last weeks we were in Ningxia. We are sorry for this.
So now we will write about some of the things we did the last weeks we had in the Middle Kingdom.

In the beginning of May we held exams at the schools we worked. The last month in Ningxia we also spent time preparing for the follow up work that we have now started in Norway.
The last period in China we went on a couple of trips in the Ningxia area. In the May holiday we visited Sha Hu (Sand Lake), a beautiful site outside Yinchuan, where the desert is right next to a big lake. It was cool to see desert and water this close. It makes you think about the closeness of fjord and mountain in Norway and why it is so extraordinary. Along with Sand Lake we also visited the famous Helan Mountain rock carvings.

The 18th we got to go with the Red Cross to visit a school they help to run in the Tongxin district in Ningxia. The school is situated in one of the poorer areas in Ningxia, where water is scarce. It was an interesting visit for us to the school, and for the pupils, who probably hadn't seen to many foreigners around, it also seemed interesting for them to have us there. The Ningxia Red Cross is giving away different materials to help supplying the school in Tongxin.

The 17th of May (Norway's national holiday) we celebrated with both Norwegians (Tom and Karen from Norway) and Chinese, and we made pancakes in the evening.

The last week in China, we said goodbye to everybody at work and that we knew. We attended some farewell banquets with our Chinese class, and with The Foreign Affaris Office at Ningxia University. We also bought our last gifts and finished our packing.

We came back to Norway in the end of May, and the temperature was about 20 degrees lower than we have gotten used to this spring. In that way (one of a few:)), we knew we had arrived back home. The rain also helped to convince us we had arrived back home.

It is good to be back, with all the things we have missed while in China. The food, our families and friends and the chilly weather.
But we cannot guaranty that we woun't miss China, Ningxia, the people we meet there and the travelling in the future. We had a fantastic time in the Middle Kingdom, a year we will most likely never forget.

Now we are in Flekke working on our follow up work. We want to send a great thanks to all who made this year possible, to Fredskorpset, Red Cross Nordic United World College, Ningxia University and the Ningxia Red Cross. Also we want to thank those at home and thoose who have followed us.

Chris and Tom

SYCNNO's Deaf Cafe

Saturday the 13th of December we attended the first SYCNNO, Shou(w) Y(o)u China Norway, Deaf Cafe in the old city in Yinchuan. This is a cafe where the deaf can meet, communicate together, play games and relax. In the future the cafe will be open to everyone who is interested in joining. It was really fun to see that so many could come. We were between 30-40 people and the ones who showed up seemed to have a great time. It was also a great opportunity for us to learn a few words in Chinese sign language (shou yu). The organizers of this cafe is Alexander Sløk Mjelde and Qin Wen. Both Alexander (2006-7) and Wen (2005-6) are former participants on the Sinonor project. They have together with Tora Hope (2006-7) formed the organization SYCNNO, which is a result of the Sinonorproject. If you are interested in learning more about this organization you could visit the website www.sycnno.no

The Sinonor project has during it's 6 years had different partners. The first 5 years the project partners were RCNUWC, Ningxia University, the CDPF (China's Disabled Persons' Federation) in Ningxia and Fredskorpset.
The cooperation meant approx half and half teaching for CDPF related schools and at the Ningxia University.
The places where the participants taught were The Ningxia Special Education School (for deaf students and also blind students), The Kindergarten for Hearing Impaired Children, The Mentally Disabled School and The Blind Massage Institute.

About the project - Sinonor

The Sinonor project is an exchange between China and Norway. Here they exchange experiences, ideas and, maybe most importantly, people. We are a part of the teacher exchange, where Ningxia University in Yinchuan gets English teachers from Norway, and the Red Cross Nordic United World College in Flekke gets Chinese teachers from NU. The exchange has existed for six years now, and it seems like we are in the final year. That's why we are just three participants this year, compared to around seven the other years (5 Norwegians and 2 Chinese). So we, Christian and Tom Christian, are the Norwegian participants. At the same time a really nice young lady called Li Dan stays at the RCNUWC.

Now there is a new project from RCNUWC called Sahanor. It will be the new focus for the next five years. It's an exchange project between RCNUWC and Polisario, who runs the West Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria. This year there will be six young norwegians who work for the refugee camps. You can read more about their lives in Algeria at http://sahanor.blogspot.com

If you have any questions about these projects, feel free to ask the writers in both blogs. We'll answer as soon as we can.

Two newly educated teachers on their way to China

Tom Christian (right) is a smiling and nice guy from Isfjorden in Romsdalen. He is 24 years old, interested in movies, reading and football. He is an educated teacher with English and Theatre as main subjects. His favourite teams are Fredrikstad FK and Liverpool FC, and he knows a lot about these teams. He is full of knowledge and loves to meet new people.

Christian (left) is a just as nice guy from the innermost part of Sognefjorden, Gaupne in Luster. He is just as old as the one mentioned above, and he loves to kayak and everything else that involves the nature. He has a bachelor's degree in Russian studies from the University of Tromsø, one year of Comparative Politics from the University of Bergen, and took Pedagogy last year at Sogn og Fjordane University College. He is hard working and loyal, and he misses his girlfriend a little bit as well.

This is our blog which we will use during our year in China. Due to a busy schedule during the introduction weeks the content of our blog will be quite limited. More will come eventually, and we hope you are patient and will visit our blog every now and then...

Best regards,
two good neighbours (in China)