Scotland’s referendum

Scotland may go through a great alteration this autumn. After more than 300 years as a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the people of Scotland now want independence. On September 18, the people of Scotland will say either yes or no to independence. An independent Scotland is going to be a different Scotland.

First Minister Alex Salmond says that an independence Scotland will give the country the opportunity to be one of the world’s richest, because of its oil wealth. Furthermore the Minister says that its time that Scotland take charge of its own destiny. On the other side, the Prime Minister David Cameron of the UK government says that the United Kingdom of Great Britain is extremely successful both social and political.

The currency is another big area of the disagreement. The Scottish government wants to keep the pound, despite of being an independence country. But it argues if it’s to everyone’s best interest. The UK parties say that whoever’s in power will not agree to such a move. But the poud is a part of The UK, so why is it that Scotland don't have as much say in keeping the pound as England. Scotland will keep the pound if they go independent, but they might change the currency after a while. 

As a part of the UK, Scotland share debt with the other countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. An independence for Scotland will split this debt inbetween the countries. 

There are several pros and cons on Scotland being an independence county is the best solution or not. It is up to the people of Scotland to decide. People aged 16 and over who live in Scotland can vote. Another requirement is that the voter must be British, EU or Commonwealth citizen with permission to enter or stay in the UK.

The referendum on September 18 may lead to great changes and another chapter in Scotland’s history. But for now, it is up to the people of Scotland to use their vote.

Sources: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-26550736 (Scottish independence: What’s going on in Scotland. Black, Andrew. 21.08.14)

My expectations for this year

I have chosen English this year because I think it’s important to have a good English vocabulary, and to have knowledge about politics in the US and UK.

My expectations for this year is to improve my English, orally and written. I hope we get the chance to go on an educational trip with the class, so that we can use our English outside the classroom. I also want to expand my knowledge about politics in the US and UK, I want to learn more about it because I think it’s important to know how politics work outside of Norway, and to know the differences between the countries.  

I look forward to this year.

Sheida

Child Soldiers

https://www.itslearning.com/File/download.aspx?FileID=13754919

"Through the tunnel" by Doris Lessing

Through the tunnel by Doris Lessing is about a boy named Jerry. He is on vacation in a foreign country with his mother. One day at the beach he meets a group of boys. They are jumping off a cliff and swimming though a tunnel. There is a communication problem between the boys because of the language, but Jerry is determined to as the boys, jump of the cliff and swim through the tunnel.

Doris Lessing´s writing is very good. She portrays good and by that you get to know the characters and surroundings in a way that makes you feel that you´re in the story. I liked Jerry´s determent mind. He sat a goal and he accomplished his goal. I liked it because it is inspiring to see and read about others that set a goal to accomplish it.

The themes that underlines the story is pride and courage. Jerry´s pride and courage is one of the things that drove him when he didn’t think he could do it. He would probably not had completed if it wasn’t for his pride and courage. 

Working and Studying in Scandinavia

There’re several of Scandinavian organizations for working and studying abroad. The most popular student exchange organization that has its base in Scandinavia is EF, Across the Pond and STS. EF and STS is a Swedish organization and across the pond is an organization based in Norway. These organizations offer a safe experience for students that want to study abroad. Norden is an organization from Norway that helps foreigners that want to work in Scandinavia to find jobs. We found out after a bit of research that Denmark and Norway is the countries in Scandinavia that is most recommended. Denmark has the best results in education, and shows good knowledge in international tests. Conclusion: they’re the best in education. Norway has a good economic balance, and is rated to be one of the best countries to live in. Denmark is right behind as well as Sweden. The language that is required of you if you plan to study in Scandinavia is English. Most of the people in Scandinavia know English and if you know English there will not be a problem communicating with the Scandinavian people.

If you are a member of EU or EEA you don’t need a visa in countries which are a member of EU or EEA. However, if you are travelling in countries outside of the EU or EAA, you will need to get a visa. In this site you can read about the rules regarding residence permit and visa in different countries. http://www.landsider.no

There are some risks when you study abroad, regarding health, education level, dangers and more. What issues you will meet depends on which country you are going to. It can be smart to do some research on the country you are going to, before you leave. The organization you use will probably provide you with everything you need. I recommend you to travel with a well-known organization such as EF and STS, because a lot of people have travelled through them. Therefore, it is probably possible to read about other people’s experiences with these organizations. 

Oliver Mtukudzi

Oliver Mtukudzi is a musician from Zimbabwe. He is a known musician and he has been on several of tours, from the UK to Canada and the US. 

He sings in Shona and Ndebele which is languages from Zimbabwe, and in addition to that he sings in English. His English has a touch of Shona and Ndebele. He suffers from Aids, and in some of his songs he sings about Aids. His English is not hard to understand, but sometimes it takes a bit more attention than normal to understand the lyrics. 

Oliver has a great energy on stage and you can see when he performs that the audience has a great time. With my poorly knowledge about him I could not imagine anyone say anything bad about him. His supporters talks warmly about him and it is not hard to see that they’re very proud of him. 

A lot of non-English performers do perform in English. By performing in English they reach out to a large audience. English is an international language, and when non-English performers perform in English it's most likely in the intention that almost everybody can understand them and they're lyrics. 

Oliver Mtukudzi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86jM2OmnpqE

Being young in Norway

Norway is one of the safest countries to live in. I have lived here all my life, and I feel lucky to have grown up here. To grow up in one of the safest countries on the planet is safe and reassuring, and we manage to find challenges in the littlest of things.

School start at age six. You can say that going to school in Norway is “free”, but we pay for school through taxes. When you start in school at age six you have circa 13 years of school in front of you. Throughout those 13 years you make friend, lose friends, fall in love, fight, learn and love. You don’t have to worry about it being war or having to escape from your own home and country. Instead you worry about having nice clothes, who´s your friends and your grades. Personally I’ve never felt the pressure on having the nicest clothes or the best grades, but now that I´m in high school I see other teenagers be seriously affected of the pressure. When it comes to grades it can be good to have a bit challenge to improve your grades, but to a limit. The challenges that teenager in Norway face is very much alike other teenagers all over the world. We ruminate over small things that do not matter in the big picture.

I could not have asked for a better way to grow up. I am happy to have grown up in Norway, but this is my experiences and my childhood. All children in Norway do not have the same story as me, and everyone does probably not feel that Norway is one of the safest countries to grow up in. So basically I don’t think one teenager of a thousand can set the picture on how it is to be young in Norway, everyone is different and it will always be that way.