The way it was before...

Almost everyone in Norway would like to have a cabin up in the mountains, or close to the ocean. And this is not a simple cabin with candles and a toilet outside. Most people want a little castle with more wealth than they can afford in their house at home. In Sirdal(our county) they have built very many cabins cost so much that Im ashamed just to think about it. They spend so much money on a place that they only stay a couple of weekends every year. Well, its absolutely not my business how they use their money. But after spending 5 months in a really poor country I see how "lucky" we are. We have everything. Or, we always want more and are never satisfied. It made a great impression on me to see the Kenyan people thank God everytime they got a meal. They didnt take it for granted that they would have something to eat that day. But even though they had so little, they were so gratefull for what they had. That is a very important lesson that especially I need to learn. When I see what others have, I want it also, even though I dont really need it.

I have also started to think about everything that we have to be gratefull for:

- we have peace, nobody tries to kill us just because we belong to a different group of people

- we get to go to school from an early age, and our parents doesnt have to give up many other things to pay for school.

- we have enough food, instead of praying to God for something to eat, we can't decide what to make for dinner today.

- we have sparetime, but instead of using time on others, we sit down in front of the TV and watch many things that we really shouldn't watch.

-Well I could go on and on, but I will leave the rest up to you. But after celebrating Easter we have one thing that I am the most thankful for. Jesus died for me and he rose again. My sins are forgiven and Iam looking forward to an eternity in Heaven. That is something that our minds should ponder on.

This Easter I stopped by our old cabin *called Støle in norwegians* in the mountains. It's a cabin that my gradfather built a long time ago. They staying in the cabin every summer and worked hard cut down gras and make hay. This is pretty far in the mountains so they had to wait until it was winter to bring the hay back home to feed the animals. The lakes froze in the wintertime, and they could use a horse and a sleigh to bring the hay from one place to the other. A lot of work!
This is Stølen... It's not used very much anymore. It doesn't look as nice as most cabins and there are mice inside. But I like it and I have slept in it a couple of times. The little house in the left corner is an outhouse. Pretty much snow- huh!?!















I found this old picture inside. It's shows my grandfather while he is making a special trap for some birds called *rype*. They are some birds that only lives up in the mountains. In earlier times they needed to go hunting or fishing to get enough food. This picture is taken in 1977.















There is one thing that I really enjoy when I spending time up in the mountains-there is no electricity. To make the cabin warm, you have to do it the old way-with matches, paper and wood. And when it get dark outside, you have to light some candles. I love the smell and the special harmony this makes in a dark cabin. I find it very relaxing and enjoy the easy way of living.





















When my parents grew up it was not accepted to play with playing cards. They thought it was unchristian and a big sin. This was because a lot of people were playing with money and lost their properties and had to move away from their homes. Playing cards were also connected with drinking alcohol with brought many other problems. Well, im telling this because I found some of the cards that were accepted. This game is called *kasjong* and it's kind of like rummy. The deck has 5 colors and numers from 1-13.















So in some ways I like the old things and how people lived before. We live in a new time so it wouldn't work to live the way they did many years ago. But we have to remember, that it's the simple things that often are the best! It doesnt need to cost a lot of money, to be worth much. Memories, happy moments, time spent together, sharing friendship and laughing -all of theese things are so important. As they say in Africa, time is not going, but time is coming!!!


For my own life it is very hard to find enough time for everything. I don't really understand why people are bored, because Im rather struggling with finding time for everything. There are so many things that needs to be done.