Besøke fra Hald studenter fra Laos og Thailand.

Hei hei,

As i promised, I was back. As a testimony, i would like to note  that this week has been a blessed one. Me and Evans have been able to see the other international Hald students in Bergen for the first time since we reported for internship here. We had never had other Hald students visiting before. Although they came on work issues and not really to visit us specifically, it was good that we were able to meet them again after we had met during in-field course at Hald. All of them looked so happy from the time they arrived and Namphueng’s first impression of Bergen was  that, “this is a beautiful city, bigger than Stavanger!” and i totally agree with her. Where i did not agree with her is when she suggested that i move to Stavanger so she can stay in Bergen.

It was a great evening as they prepared laos and Thai food for the evening it was rice and chicken stew (with alot of spices of course) I kept drinking water as i ate inorder to dillute the strength of the spices. But it was really nice food. we also had other former hald students in Bergen. some of them had been to Laos or Thailand so they were reminding themselves of the languages they had learnt while in those countries.

After the meal, Somchai, Namphueng, Jack and Noi sang a song 2 songs 1 in Thai language and the other in Norwegian after which Noi gave a brief presentation about christianity in Laos. After that, there was a presentation about the work that NMS is doing in the 2 countries Laos and Thailand. I had to leave immediately after this but there was a game to be placed and i think the meeting ended well and it was an evening well spend.

some photos here:

Namphueng and Noi making food.

Round table.

Det smakte godt men 2 cups of water should be near by.

How do you like it brada?

When you are “full” this is what happens, you relax.

Wonderful singing graced the meeting.

They were also part of the evening.

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Hadet bra for nå.

Vinter Helga på Lagshytta med BKS.

Taking the bus from Bergen.

It became dark while we climbed the mountain.

I liked the white snow and the blue sky.

Skiing on top of the frozen lake.

Snowman, wearing sunglasses and standing next to his friend.

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Part of the group at the cabin that weekend.

Here comes the story…….

From the word go, when you hear the word lagshytta, what do you think about? Well you may not know but to most people, it is a number one destination for and group trip to a cabin. As it is with many Norwegians, it is very easy for one to one in a while leave their nice houses and instead go spend a weekend in the woods. And I think that is why there is the saying, “Ut på tur, aldri sur.”

Last weekend was a very nice one. We joined the BKS (Bergen kristian Studentlag) for their “Vinter Helga” at lagshytta (near Voss). I have no idea why it is always from 2^nd – 4^th. The last time we were there, it was before we even came to live in Bergen for internship on the 2^nd-4^th of September. I remember it very well because 2^nd September is my birthday. And this time again, we went there on 2^nd-4^th of March.

it was very interesting when we took the bus for about 1 and a half hours. When we got off the bus, there came the challenge. We had already beeen warned to carry only back packs. I realized the reason was to be able to climb the mountain full of snow. To make it worse it was now dark. Fortunately, some people had flash lights. My legs kept sinking in the snow as we climbed up. It was so cold but I was sweating – I do not know why. I kept reminding Evans about our motto as teammates – Never leave your partner especially in the “snow”.

Because it was dark and some trees had fallen on the way, we lost the way somehow but were able to find it again. Finally after about one hour of climbing, there we were at the top of the mountain where the cabin – Lagshytta is located. After this I jokingly told someone that I could now join the Army in Uganda after such vigorous training of climbing. Everyone was now tired but we ate bread and played some games before everyone retired to bed. The next morning after breakfast, I was sharing from the bible before we went skiing. The snow was not the best but I could not imagine carrying the skies all the way to the cabin and not using them so I went and did my best. I fell afew times but I blame the dårlig snø. I enjoyed making the snow man and skiing on the frozen lake. In the evening, we had more games, had pizza for dinner and after had time to sing, pray and read from the bible.

The next day was søndag, had breakfast and Evans shared from the bible and people took up different tasks of cleaning up and we were ready to begin the journey back down again. The “bush” there is very interesting. It is like the one in my village. I was glad that my task was washing the dishes and not draining the “bush”. That was a very wonderful Vinter Helga with the BKS students. I look forward to going back there this weekend with the youth from Frikirke.

Am back.

Hello friends, 

It’s been long since I updated this blog. the thing is that i forgot my password and was reluctant to obtain another one. but i hope all of you reading this are fine and in perfect health.

this is just a small update of afew pictures from last month. just feed your eyes alittle bit as i prepare to write a new blog.

kose dere! 

I love Mountain Climbing

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Mountain climbing in Norway!

 I had never thought of it until I came toNorway, that people can actually just climb mountains for fun. Actually I don’t remember my father ever telling me that he went for a mountain hike or something like that. My first experience was last year inMbale,Ugandawhen the Hald students who were in “Pearl of Africa (Uganda)” last year invited me to join them in one of the peaks ofMt.Elgonthat is in the boarder ofKenyaandUganda. We just climbed up and down again then that was the end of the day. On our way, the local people living around kept looking at us and maybe thinking what we were going to do there.

 Then in my second week at Hald we went for the “blu tur”. I was placed in a group being led by Gregory. “Everywhere we go……” was the song we sang as climbed up the mountain.  As we climbed, we played some team building games like blind-folding your partner and leading them down the mountain in order to build trust among the teammates. We also had to talk and share our life stories with team mates. It rained the whole way up and down but I enjoyed it.

 At another time, it was at a retreat with the BKS retreat at Voss. The other experience was in our second week inBergenwhen me and Evans were invited by one of the students called to join her and some other friends to one of the mountain tops called “Ulriken”. We climbed the mountain just for fun and made some pan cakes at one of the flat areas. I was so happy for having joined in this trip to the mountain top because at the end of the day, I had interacted and made friends with those that came with us.

 In all these times that we went mountain climbing, we met all different ages of people from toddlers to bent-backed almost tired old people whom I thought that fall down before reaching the top but still moved on at snail speed to the top. With young babies being carried by their parents on the shoulders while the older ones are left to walk on their own, they also climbed the mountain. Some children who according to my culture should not be brought out of the house until they are much older were also being taken for mountain walks. This was amazing to me.

 In my countryUganda, it is very rare to find people who climb mountains just for fun. Many people seem to be too busy and think mountain climbing is a waste of time and energy so they would instead something doing something “more productive” than just climbing a mountain. But it is also because the topography in my country is generally flat with a few mountains so few people have interest in mountain climbing.

 I am told that even inNorwaymany years ago before the discovery of oil, most of the people were poor farmers who did not look at mountain climbing as important and left it for tourists who came from other parts of the world. This may show me that beforeNorwaybecame rich, there were less Norwegians climbing mountains but now it is a culture among the Norwegian people to do so.

 I did not like it in the beginning but now as I write this, I have already gone to 3 mountain peaks namely Floyen, Uliriken and Rundemanen out of the 7 that are around Bergen and am looking forward to even climbing the other 4 peaks left. In the evening, it was nice to have a view of the beautiful city lights ofBergen, football fields, part of the ocean near the city, the traffic, the organized streets and buildings from the peak at Floyen. I love this and I hope I can still continue mountain climbing even when I go back to Mbale inUganda.

my latest drama.

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My latest Drama.

 I am really glad that Ican actually write down this story right now. I thought I would still be in the police cell till now.

 On this fateful day “Onsdag” 26th of October 2011,I woke up early in the morning and did my daily devotion (pray and read the Bible). After reading the bible, I prayed a short prayer but in it asked God to lead and direct me through out the day. I looked at my diary and realized that at 11:00am, I had to meet Veronica (a former Hald student that went toNepalin her year) so  right away, I dashed to the kitchen to make some “frokost” (breakfast) for myself – you can guess it was bread, butter and brown cheese of course.

 Before I could finish eating my bread, Evans – my team mate was ready. Then he said that we had only 7 mins to catch the “Bybanen” – (a light train that I will prefer to call  “bb” in this story) then he said that he was going ahead so he could buy some chocolate from Rimi to carry as a small gift to Veronica and that we should meet at the Noneseter station. On reaching Noneseter, Evans was not yet there but I realized I had forgotten my phone in the house yet I have to call veronica so I ran back to pick it. Arriving at  Noneseter again, Evans was now there waiting and disappointed because the bb had just left and he could not go and leave me.

 There were like 6 mins left for the next bb to come, so as we waited, I decided to withdraw some money since the ATM was nearby. When I came back to join Evans where he was standing, another African man (wearing a cap) came the and purchased a ticket and then stood next to us. When the bb arrived, we all entered. Then I sat next to Evans and we don’t know where the other fellow African guy sat.

The arrest.

We were now quite late to catch up with the appointment so evans said to me, “In about 11 mins, we shall be there” and before he could complete his sentence, the bb stopped and two Norwegian men dressed casually came to us showed their “politi” (police) ID and said that we were under arrest. Reason? We were not allowed to ask questions. We were pulled out of the bb and handcuffed. Two men searched Evans while two others searched me. They took away my keys, wallet, bus, library and ATM cards. Immediately, I car came and I was put inside and driven away while Evans remained at the scene (the next time I saw Evans was when we were getting out of the police cell).

 On our way, one of the policemen said, “This is Europe my friend”- I don’t know why he said that. On reaching the police station, I was asked where I live, with whom I live, where I come from, where Evans comes from, why I am in Bergen and if I have any drugs in my house and they threatened to go and open the apartment since they had the key. I was asked if I knew some Norwegian law and I said no. “We can keep u here a maximum of 72 hours as our investigation continues”, he said.

One of the uniformed policemen took me to the 1^st cell, it had no pictures painted on the wall. Then he took me the one empty small room opposite the 1st one and it had pictures of animals like rhino, zebras, antelopes and buffalo. Then he said, “You see those animals, this is Africa and we will keep you here”. I wept in my heart and thought of why he said this coz it sounded like racism to me. Then he told me to take off my shoes, belt and remove ALL my clothes, and he searched them again. I was given back only my trouser and t-shirt. The rest were taken. The floor and the mattress were cold and I was given a thin threaded blanket. It could not keep any warmth at all. The policeman locked the door and walked away.

 One hour later, another policeman came in and told me that I was arrested because the African guy (with a cap) that stood next to us at the bb station was a drug dealer so they think we are working with him and that they were still investigating so they would keep me in the cell for some time. I asked him why i had to be treated the way i was treated but he just said that they if their investigation shows that we are innocent, then we will be released.

 Meanwhile, Veronica called on my phone so the policemen found the missed call and called her back. They asked her a lot of questions about me and Evans including what we were going to do at her home. What saved us is that the story that veronica told them matched with what me and Evans said and it had nothing to do with drugs so we were released 2 and half hrs after our arrest. This was the next time I saw Evans. Some of the policemen apologized for inconveniencing us, sarcastically wished us a nice stay in Bergen and promised that this would not be repeated.

On the other hand, I think that it has helped me and the other African people who have heard this story to be more aware and vigilant for their own safety. I also remind myself continually that this is part of the experience and to take it positively and move on. This is just the beginning of my stay in Bergenso being low will not make me any helpful. It was good when I prayed and shared with my friends and teachers and more secure now and ready to face the challenge to the Glory of God. I delayed to post this story because i was still in shock but i am now fine thanks to everyone for the support and prayers i love you all. God bless.

“Malaria in Norway”

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My Norwegian hospital experience:

 Surprises never cease to happen, i was surprised to learn that i actually had malaria in Norway. By arriving inNorway, i thought that i had escaped  from the malaria inAfrica, i was wrong. It began by a simple fever for abou 2 days. I was very sure that this was just a simple sicknesss that would go away after taking a few tablets.

 On the third day, I am not going to say that ‘’Jesus rose again’’ but the fever intensified and I began feeling unusually cold (yet I was covered in a blanket), some weakness around the joints in the legs and arms and I even lost appetite for the nice food cooked at Hald (yet it is very rare for me to loose appetite for food). Then I knew maybe this sickness is taking another level but I did not want to go to the Hospital. My faith was telling me that I am going to be fine.

 But my fellow students and friends Håkon, Hanna Charlotte and my team mate Evans karanja went and borrowed a car and ‘’forced’’ me to the small hospital in Mandal town. On reaching the hospital, we had to wait at the queue since there were other patients. When it came to my turn to see the doctor, he just looked at my eyes, the way I was shivering and took a few tests then he said he could not handle the situation and that he was not sure exactly with what I was suffering from. At this point I was not feeling very weak even to stand up. Then he advised my friends to drive me to the bigger hospital inKristiansandwhich was about 45 minutes from Mandal so that they could carry out further tests.

 On reaching the hospital inKristiansand, I was rushed to the emergency unit. I was given a bed and the nurses began to draw blood from my veins so they could test it. At first, she could not even trace for my Veins because i was so cold until she used a warm cloth to rub on the arm. It took quite long before the results of the blood test could be brought back.

 Then here comes the shock. Finally the doctor came with the ‘’bad news’’. He began, ‘’Are you Justin Olupot?’’ Then I replied in a low tone ‘’yes.’’ The he continued with a rather sad tone, ‘’I am sorry but the results from our test show that you tested positive for malaria, I mean you have malaria.’’ But I was just easy and was not surprised at all. Then he asked, “Did you hear what I just said?” Then I replied, ‘’yes, but it is ok I will be fine’’. He was so surprised because inNorwaymalaria is not common and is dangerous yet inUganda, malaria is common but not that very dangerous to people above 5 years of age and it can easily be cured with good medication.

 It was very shocking to the doctor that I was not scared of having malaria. InUganda, malaria is very common and you are not given that very much attention because they know you will be fine soon. But here inNorway, I realized when you have malaria, everyone will be concerned and scared. This was so good because I saw the love from all the teachers and students at Hald. Thank you all for the love and care you showed me when I was sick. Gud valsigne alle sammen.