ALL THE EFFORT HAS PAID OFF S

BACK TO VOLDA

Back to Volda

how does it feel to come here again?

Hei alle sammen! Jeg heter Alena og jeg er glad for å være student ved Høgskulen i Volda. Jeg snakker ikke godt norsk, men jeg prøver å skrive denne teksten. Jeg kom hit fra Russland fordi jeg elsker Norge og å reise. Well, that’s almost the only thing jeg kan skrive på norsk. Jeg vet du snakker engelsk, men sometimes jeg feel like I can just switch to Norwegian, I only don’t have enough words in my vocabulary. But it’s only a matter of time, of course. I’m here to share my experience being an exchange student in Volda in the fall 2019 and coming back in the spring 2022 after a couple of years. I’m a master student at St. Petersburg State University, the program is called Media Communications. My bachelor’s degree is in journalism. St. Petersburg is a very beautiful city with a rich history and a population of around 5 million people. So, coming to Volda was such an exotic choice for me. I was a bit nervous about moving to the village and didn’t know what to expect. For me, this was the first experience of a long and independent life abroad – before that I traveled around Europe only with my parents and for a maximum of a month. My semester here was full of adventures and it was painful to leave Volda. But sometimes life gives us a chance to come back to “the place you’ll never forget”. So, why not to use it? Some of my friends and family members were surprised that I’ve decided to go on exchange to the same place. They thought I could get disappointed or bored, because “I have already experienced everything this place could offer”. But, fortunately, they were wrong. I was so excited when I just arrived in Volda at the beginning of this January. It was like a good dream when you don’t wanna wake up. I came back to the place I missed a lot, I knew what opportunities I could get here and started taking them. For example, during my first stay in Volda, I never even went to the Rotsethornet swing! Such a shame. This winter, I’ve already been there three times and enjoyed it a lot. I’ve also signed up for Natura and VSI and started doing a lot of sports and other related activities for the first time in my life. Besides, I feel more comfortable being abroad in general. Of course, I had a good time in 2019, but now I’m less shy and more confident making friends and doing new things. I even swam in the fjord in February (first time ever, as you already guessed) and fell in love with this kind of crazy stuff. And the last, but not least, I really enjoy studying in the new media building. In 2019, I witnessed the start of its construction. So in two years not only I’ve changed, but also Volda. As for my plans, I really hope to try more new cool things and make fabulous memories. Now I know that it’s not weird to come back to the same place, because you already have some understanding of what you can do here, but you still have a lot of new things to discover. It feels like Volda is my second home. So, I just encourage you not to limit yourself with any prejudice and do whatever you think is best for you and your life, especially if it’s about coming back to the place you love and miss.

MARS 2022 34 INTERNATIONAL

Text: Alena Rodicheva Illustration: Andrine Gald Myklebust

Frozen Dinner

Not because I’m a cancer

I eat my frozen dinner 90 minutes into the day And try to find the reason why you stood up and walked away Shifting my fork across the edges of recycled plastic Wonder how many you’ve thrown out, shlock motel room fanatic

I eat my frozen dinner and watch the green Borealis Lights of North project your face, solar-powered hippocampus What a shame I marked it mine that one mid-autumn fall of dusk Six weeks leading me on just for you to get your share of lust

I eat my frozen dinner by the window to air out the smell Of a burnt instant meal that now I relate to all too well Crumple up the baking paper as you one day did to me

It’s not because I’m a cancer That I can’t seem to move on Or how others drink for answers While I look for them in song

It’s not because I’m a cancer That I shed a tear each night Or why prose and poem-dancers Orbit me like satellites

It’s not because I’m a cancer I love more than they do me Self-love message and its sender Stowaways in the back seat

It’s not because I’m a cancer I leave my guard down post-attack But because for all I’m safe space And I will fear no blowback

Poems Zsolt Nagy Illustrations Cosmina Ivan

ALL THE EFFORT PAID OFF All the effort has paid off!

We took the first ferry from Volda to Folkestad at 6:15 in the morning. Then we had a long way to the foot of the mountain, approximately 7 kilometres with snow shoes through pretty deep snow.

And then we started to climb the mountain (Sandhornet, 1065 meters high).

MARS 2022

ALL THE EFFORT PAID OFF

The weather changed every 15 minutes, we had heavy wind and 10 meters of visibility on the way up.

But then it changed again and we had just a beautiful view over the fjords and up to Volda. All the effort has paid off!

Text & Foto: Freddy Mette Layout: Cosmina-Elena Ivan

DET TRENGS ALLE SLAGS STUDENTER FOR Å LAGE EN STUDENTAVIS

Vi trenger inke journalister, fotografer og illustratører for å gjøre Peikestokken til den fantastiske studentavisa som den er! Peikestokken er en avis for alle studenter og alle som vil kan være med. Vi tar i mot søknader hele året.

NYHETER: Har du et blikk for nyhetene som kan intressere og engasjere, så er nyhetsredaskjonen perfekt for deg! Her skrives det om alt fra bekjempelse av urettferdigheter til hagenisseforsvinninger.

KULTUR: Hva har bokanmeldelser, artistintervjuer, tips om bedre sex, noveller og dikt til felles? De er alle bare en liten del av alt det som kan skrives om i kultur-delen!

SPORT OG FRILUFTSLIV: Er du en utforskende sjel som elsker å gå, sykle, skate, surfe eller bare være i aktivitet? Da er sport og friluftsliv-redaskjonen noe for deg. Her er det en stor fordel å kunne ta egne bilder! ILLUSTRASJON OG LAYOUT: Denne redaksjonen en super om du vil tegne, deigne og få Peikestokken til å POPPE! Du trenger ikke å ha noe profesjonell erfaring med illustrasjon eller layout for å være med. Blir du med på brekkhelg, en frivillig helg for å sette sammen avisa, får du gratis pizza.

INTERNATIONAL: Are you an international who loves to write and put new perspectives in the student paper? Then join in the international-part of the paper! This is a great oppurtunity to meet norwegians as well as other internationals.

les mer og søk her!