Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Train of thoughts

Dunk, dunk, - dunk, dunk, - dunk, dunk. I'm sitting on the train towards Oslo. I have turned my back on Stavanger and the life I know and I'm heading for the new and unknown. In about 48 hours I have moved to my new home in Serbia, to Belgrade. The place where central-, east- and south-Europa join together. A million city... A million city which is going to be my home for the next six months. Actually my home will be in Pancevo, a kind of suburb to Belgrade, a 35 minute train ride east of the great metro pol.

For the last one and a half month I've been attending Hald International Center. That time has now passed and a new era is dawning. But what about this time spent in Mandal, have I learned anything? Has it made any difference? What was it actually like? The short answer would be brilliant. I'm not saying all classes has been fun, but at the least they get you thinking, reflecting upon a lot of topics, ranging from raising children to spiritual gifts. But I would say the best thing about Hald is the people. You get to know a lot of people really well. It's amazing how well you get to know people when you spend a lot of time with them every day. I wouldn't miss it for the world!

We are sitting in the comfort area of the train. Actually we are sitting in the far end of the train. The seats are next to the cockpit in the rear end (which actually is not being used now). We have like an own apartment on the train. There are two 2+2 sitting groups with a table in the middle of each, and we are the only people using it. We even have our own coffee & te table, newspaper rack and two sofa chairs facing the window where we can let our eyes rest upon the glorious view of the panorama of Jæren passing by. But in Marnadal station it alls start to change. Two new people arrive in our "little" apartment. They use the other chair group so its actually not that big of a problem, but ever so we are not alone. The worst part had yet to come... We arrive in Kristiansand with bright minds and happy thought about the future but here it all changed. The train turned around, the front become the back, and the back turn front. Like it says in the Bible, the first will become last. Suddenly nausea started to appear, and we got more company in our little apartment. A man turns up and puts a pile of paper - the size of two telephone catalogs -
on the table. The man turnes out two be a lowyer and on of the two people sitting next, his client. Half of the time from here to Oslo they discussed a case, concerning and medical sue against a major hospital. The rest of the time they were discussing a wide range of topics, ranging from hunting to christian concerts in South Africa. It's amazing what people can talk about, and how much you can learn about people just by sitting next to them on the train. I will defently think twice of what I discuss in public in the future. All of this made it hard to sleep or actually do anything at all on the rest of the ride. At least until Bø. On the bright side, we got to learn a lot about norwegian law!

But what am I going to do in this new era of my life? How will my days turn out to be? I know I will be living with Danijel and Bojan, two Serbs. I know Danijel from before, he attended Hald last year and stayed in Bergen for six months. As a matter of fact I even know Bojan from before. He came to Bergen in may this year and we attended some meetings together. They are both great people! Still I will probably be the only Norwegian guy for miles around. I look forward to it! Some days I will be working in a kindergarten, we are also doing some work in the gypsy population of Belgrade. A lot is still unknown, but I will share more when I know.

The train moves on through the darkness towards Oslo, like a snake through the water. Sound waves flowing through the air. I'm sitting next to a guy I have known for the last 20 years of my life, Jone. He lives in Oslo, but has been in Stavanger for the weekend. Just after passing Bø he gathers up some extra courage and walks over to the ticket inspector. Before we know it we are standing in the cockpit of the train looking through the front window talking to the driver. He explains about the instruments and shares some thoughts about train culture in Norway. The meeting is highly appreciated after a long trip. Mostly, controlling the train is about controlling the speed. Isn't this what life is all about? Just following the tracks that God has laid down before us. All we have to do is stay in touch with the central to make sure we keep the track, maintain the right speed and drive safely!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

åå, eg kjenne eg får klump i halsen når eg lese dette!! Tenk at me ska ver så langt fra kverandre itte å ha bodd nærmast ved siden av kverandre i de siste 6 ukene.. Det e godt du e ein aktiv blogger, så føles det kanskje ikkje som at du e så langt borte som du egentlig e..
Have a safe trip and enjoy! ;)

Sheta said...

Lykke til i Serbia, Torstein, og hils Anja og Danijel og andre kjente du måtte treffe på der nede. Blir spennende å følge med på hvordan det går med dere.

Anonymous said...

Du glømte å skriva at me holdt på å spy opp kjuddkagene i resturantvågnå...