YearbookUniversity of AgderSpring 2014

Board members from Kristiansand: Remy Øverland – PR Manager, Mirela Cacan – Section Representative, Daniel Meisler – Treasurer/Buddy Manager, Amal Lechheb – Event Manager, Sindre Tveitan Dokken – Buddy Manager, Eileen Moneel – President. Not present: Veronika Gulsett – Vicepresident

Dear International StudentsThank you so much for a great semester here in Kristiansand and Grimstad! We are so glad you chose to come to Norway and to study at the University of Agder!Several of the board members have previously been exchange students, and we know by experience how huge a difference it can make to have a support system during your exchange - or not have it. Therefore we have done everything we can throughout this semester to make your exchange semester as awesome as possible. We hope you have enjoyed the welcome week, the parties, the International Pubs, Coffee Hours, the hike to Preikestolen, trip to Gautefall and all the other fun activities we have done together – and of course getting to know all the great buddies! Thirty years from now we hope you will think back to this exchange semester as one of the best times of your life! Its been a true pleasure to get to know all of you these last months, and you really inspire us to continue our work in ESN!

We would like to use this opportunity to thank all the active members, buddies, and committee members for their dedication to ESN Agder and to the exchange students. You really make a huge difference in the exchange experience at UiA! Of course we will also thank the student priest and the waffle makers who made Cof-fee Hour happen every week in Kristiansand and every other week in Grimstad. We will also thank the yearbook committee - it is by their accomplishment you are rea-ding the yearbook now. At last we will give a big thank you to the International Educa-tion Office for a good cooperation and for all your help during the semester.Take care and keep in touch! We hope you will enjoy the yearbook for many years to come!Best regards, the ESN Agder board, spring 2014

Board members from Grimstad: Marita Ramsli - Event Manager, Sofie Johansen - Campus Manager and Kristine Bjørheim – Treasurer

Dear international students,We hope that your stay in Norway and at the University of Agder has been an adven-ture of a lifetime.Many of you will probably give ESN much of the credit for your social integration here at UiA. This coming autumn we will celebrate ESN’s 10th anniversary. Since 2004 the ESN has done a remarkable job creating social arenas for you. We at the International Education Office are really grateful for all their efforts!We are happy that you chose the University of Agder! Hopefully you have had a great time, both academically and socially, and are now returning to your home countries as proud UiA ambassadors. We would like to thank you all for coming to UiA. It has been such a privilege getting to know you! We wish you the best of luck in whatever the future may bring!

With our best wishes,Mette, Terje and AnneInternational Education Office

Yearbook committee

First of all we want to thank all of you for an awesome semester! It’s been a privilege to get to know you!We hope you have enjoyed your time here in Norway, that you have made many new friends and many unforgettable memories. We hope that you will use this book to look back at your semester here in Norway, and that it will remind you of all the good times you have had here.We also want to thank ESN, the board, all the buddies and everyone else who has contributed to making this semester so amazing!We wish you all the best for the future!

Best regards your ESN Yearbook Committee, Vega, Robin, Alba, Maialen, María, Jennifer, Ieva and Veronika

Campus Grimstad

In 2010 opened a new campus in Grimstad, who represented a historic milestone for both Grim-stad Town and University of Agder as an educatio-nal institution. Grimstad’s program ismore directed towards engineering, nursing and teacher education

Grimstad is known for an active and social student environment with a lot of student activities. 2500 students colour the city and the good environment contributes to exciting challenges and experiences and you will come to know the staff and the other students well.

BLUEBOX is a gatheringplace for students with food, coffee, student activities and a two-floor concert areawhich holds 500 people. Here you can get to know new people day and night!

Buddies Grimstad

Kristine BjørheimTreasurer, Grimstad

Marita RamsliEvent Manager,

Grimstad

Sofie JohansenCampus Manager,

Grimstad

International students Grimstad

Alexandre DavesneFrance

The trips to the northern ligh-ts and the Sea Battle or how

to enjoy the countries. Nice to have meet all of you!

Jan HelmuthGermany

Learning how to ski & kite, Tripps with Bluebox Claim, motto. ”Just wonderful!”

Son Ta DinhGermany

I can totally walk from Kris-tiansand to Grimstad

Campus Kristiansand

SPICHEREN is the biggest gym in the southern part of Norway and one of the best. It is a modern welfare facility for students and it has become an important reason for students to choose Kristians-nd as their studyplace. The facilities include: gym, swimming pool, climbing wall and several halls for football and other activities.

ØSTSIA is a cultural center on campus, located in the basement of the university. Here you can enjoy good times with fri-ends and other students. Østsia has seve-ral events during the semester: concerts, pool tournament, international pub and quiz- night to mention some.

The city of Kristiansand has voted the best cultural city in Norway, and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Norway during the summer months. If you want to try out the nightlife, Har-veys, Tollboden, Pir6 and Penthouse is the places to be.

At Campus Kristi-

ansand there’s around 7 500 students, and a lot of dif-

ferent student activity groups like Student Sports Club (KSI), Lacrosse, Studentradio, Studentnewspaper, Cheerleading etc. The cafeteria is

one of the nation’s top student cafeterias, and is a natural

meeting point for stu-dents.

Buddy group #1Amal LechhebEvent Manager

FranceMy motto: ”Nothing is im-

possible, the word itself says i’m possible!” - Audrey

Hepburn

Anna WillrodtGermany

Jonas NianeNorway

Gautefall and the party at the afterski.

Hayley StavrouAustralia

Ski instructor to me: ”You’re the only person who faceplants the snow going uphill on skis” - not only this but I gave myself a black eye...safe to say, I won’t be making the Winter Olympics anyti-

me soon for cross-country skiing.

Nina AfflerbachGermany

waking up in the norwegian forest in my hammock feeling the first shy grasps of the

sun on my face after nearly two months (you sometime only recognize the worth of some things when they are absent), taking a short swim in the ice cold forest lakes around kris-

tiansand and skiing from hut to hut in the endless snowy white under a strong sun in a

blue sky.

Andreas PoulopoulosGreece

Quaff and entertained. Life is mortal and short time on earth.

Immortal is death, when now one dies. Enjoy this unexpected experience. ( Erasmus in Norway

is once lifetime chance).

Ieva AlsbergaLatvia

From feeling like on my first day of school again to experiencing Norway, its nature, people, etc., this semester has been the best of my life. People in the pictures aren’t strangers anymo-

re - they’re friends and I’m glad I got to meet all of them.Thank you, everybody!

Kevin BarSwitzerland

I’ve seen the Aurora Borea-lis and they are much more

amazing then I thought!

Bridget TuttleUSA

”Live every week like it’s Shark Week.”

Prue MercerAustralia

”It’s been an amazing time here in Norway! Thanks to everyone

who has made this such a special experience”

Buddy group #2Eddi

Its been an amazing semester and met some great people.Special thanks to Kemosabe, Beard man, Ponykiller, Pussy hunter and Tio for their ama-zing time and plently of fun.

Jew No goood :)

Edwin Wuadom Warden Woode

Ghana

Enrico DemuroItaly

This is the trip, this is the best part of the trip. I really like it!

Alba VazquezSpain

Finding the army park and le-arning how to hike like vikings. This in NORWAY...12 points! :)

Heyvon HerdhayintaIndonesia

where simplicity meets harmony of the city, this is the best place on

earth

Lucie SvecovaCzech Republic

Best experiences, best peo-ple, best life, best party

Emma Christina SteenGermany

’I fell in love with my Norwegian life more and more each day I spent here. I’m so happy that I got to

know so many beautiful places, but most of all, the lovely people here.

Achtung bicyclette, guys!

Buddy group #4

Alexander VareggNorway

Eileen MoneelPresident

Takk for an amazing semester!

Daniel MeislerBuddy Manager and Treasu-

rer

Vega Lopez GonzalezSpain

Borrowing beers: it started like a joke, but it will become an art.

Christine AlverbergNorway

I am still amazed about how many people that could fit in Vega’s

room!

Kristian Bjelbole BakkenNorway

Norway, definitely worth spending all your money in!

Verity Taylor England

I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to study in Nor-

way at Agder University. I have had some amazing adventures travel-

ling around Norway and had many once in a lifetime experiences!

Thanks Norway :)

Marcus EdwardsAustralia

Never ever will I ever touch Cross Country Skis ever again!

Anna Maria SchachnerAustria

A amazing and unforgetable adventure for me-will miss

it!

Laura TrautmanGermany

I had such an amazing time in a wonderful country with lovely, kind and helpful people from all over the world! Dear Norway “hyggelig å ha

møtt deg”!

Marco GiannettiItaly

Even after 3 years of bachelor, beginning my studies here made me feel like I really am a student, not just a number that has to take

exams. Thank you Uia!

Lillian AchermannSwitzerland

THANK YOU NORWAY! I MET SO MANY GREAT PEOPLE, I

HAD SO MUCH FUN ON EVERY SINGLE DAY AND I WILL NEVER FORGET THE MOST EXPENSIV

BEER I`VE EVER HAD. SKÅL!

Buddy group #5Victoria Mikalsen

Norway

All the great fun I’ve had includi-ng crazy night trips chasing the northern lights, and all the pre- and afterparties with great fri-

ends. So much fun being a buddy when I get to meet so many fan-

tastic people!

Austin Joel TredreaAustralia

Laying on the snow in Tromsø watching the Northern Lights.

Eliska ZalabakovaCzech Republic

Crossing a lake covered by 1,5 cm thick ice on ski with a Norwegian girl who actually wasn’t born with ski and was first time in

her live on one day trip in mountains. Lack of water and experience, but she survived. We both survived. And it was a beautiful

day in snowy mountains with shinning sun

which I don’t want to forget.

Julia PlaschkeGermany

Fabiana Maria CiurinoItaly

My erasmus experience in kristi-ansand has been one of the best experiences in my life but it has a downside: the time flies away too

fast!

Julia KonkolovaSlovakia

I will always remember night expeditions with the reason of seeing northern lights

here in Kristiansands which was unsu-ccessful but realy funny, especialy one

(we were in pyjamas) (: And also discove-ring of gorgeous norwegian nature, cam-ping in winter , cycling with funny sounds bike, and incredible research with fish for

my Bachelor thesis.

Buddy group #6Nina Katharina Aichinger

AustriaNorway is different- at first dark,-no sunlight and then too much of

the light.

Steffen SkwaraGERMANY

Although all the trips we did were awe-some, what I enjoyed most were the

little things. Like cooking dinner toget-her, talking a lot and kicking back at a

movie night.

Flavio BenericettiItaly

Norway a place to feed your eyes and your spirit. I’m very glad to

have met all the members of the K4G family. See you guys!!!

Shelby LarsonUSA

The sheer fact that students go to Denmark to buy groceries and alco-

hol because it’s cheaper.

Buddy group #7Ardit Shelegu

Albania

Sundays CS 1.6 with: The Bearded Fux, Pony Killer, El capitano, Rus_Mafia, Pussy Butcher, Jew Fock, Don’t stab me now i’m having

such a good time, Norwegian CT.

Sergio Arias SanchezSpain

New semester, new students means have more fun, more experiences, sen-

sations, adventures, friendships. Be part of all of these make you feel more alive

in Norway.

Marina Asbah

Silje Pschl GjerdenNorway

This was my first semester as a buddy here in Kristiansand, because I have

been a buddy earlier in Grimstad. This was very different in so many ways and a great experience, since Kristiansand is much bigger. My best memory from this semester was the rave party, crazy night!

Sarah LavrysenBelgium

My best memory so far is an awesome road trip with three crazy French girls across Nor-

way.

Paula Ruzickova Czech Republic

I really love Norwegian nature, it is amazing :)

In Norway, I met many nice people, some of them I’ll never forget!

I’m glad I joined people in Østsia, they are awesome! :)

Jusrtine FrappereauFrance

Amazing experience! I met many awesome people. I will never forget the Italian and Spanish dinners, the-med parties, beautiful landscapes...”

Foteini Bourzikou Grecee

Discovering that my name means forty nine in norwegian, and everybody thought I was telling them my age when they were asking me my name. Sad part, I am only 20...but it

is a funny story!

Sarah Larson:USA

This experience has been the best in my life. I will never forget the won-derful people that I have met or the

beautiful memories that I have made. Thank you to everyone who was a part

of it!

Buddy group #8

Louise Lahouste France

Astrid AaseNorway

Wish you all the best for the future!

Myriam TendilFrance

Caitlin Bilo:The Netherlands

A home away from home.

Robin Terrie:France

leaving your family for a few months to find another one. This is Norway !

Jillian JoneNorthem Ireland

Get involved and travel whenever you can! That’s what makes Eras-

mus!

Oliver SchulzGermany

Taking a shit, bare naked, on top of a mountain!

Hannah Teresa SchmittGermany

”TONTON!” wonderful time & lovely people! One of my best and craziest

moments in Norway was definitely the dancing northern lights. I’m fucking ha-ppy with my decision to study in Nor-

way! Ha det braaa :)

Andrea DociovaSlovakia

I met a lot of good people (new friends), I saw a beautiful nature. I like a walk along the cost, a trips to nature and pleasant evening with

friends.

Callie OlsonUSA

Norway, where learning the lan-guage is impossible because asking 3 different natives how to say the

same word gets you 3 different ans-wers in 3 different dialects.

Sara Rodríguez HernándezSpain

Thousands of miles away from home, bag in hand, looking for new experien-ces, trying to live new adventures.. Na-

ture dances with our souls.

Buddy group #9Sindre Tveitan Dokken

Buddy Manager

Going on exchange in Norway is like skiing. You stand on the top, don’t know anything about it, crash mul-tiple times on your way down, but when it’s over you want to do it all

over again!

Veronika GulsettVicepresident

Thanks for an awesome semester! I really appreciated meeting all of you :)

Vegard SkjeggestadNorway

Describe Vegard in one word: Banana

Amy Walker England

Being able to travel all over Norway and up to Svalbard whilst seeing some breath

taking views!

Katrin PreussGermany

Not toooo bad! - only one more step to hea-ven.

Maria KozhevnikovaRussia

1. Cross-country skiing in Gautefall. It’s so much amazing, I really loved it! And I am so happy that I de-cided to go there. ) Thank you for the company on that wonderful routes Anna, Jan, Shynar, Son and of course

Norwegian god of skiing Sverre! )22. .Sailing on a drakkar in a fjord near Bergen. My

personal must-to-do point marked.) In Norway you should to sail on a drakkar in a fjord. )

3. 3. ESN Sea battle. It was... Wow wow wow wow... So many people... :) Thank you dear organizers,

especially kindest Veronika! And thank you so much my dearest and kindest Eva for the chance to join this

journey! )’

Manuel HubscherSwitzerland

1. Maaaaa boooyyy2. Liverpüüüüül

3. If you are happy, then i’m also ha-ppy

Sean KellyAustralia

Janteloven?! Ha! Please. No, it’s not enough that I should succeed - others should fail.

Buddy group #10María Redondo Fernandez:

Spain

Norway, the best decision in my life.

Marie Natuk NielsenGreenland

If you want to visit Greeland or Copenha-gen, let me know.

Ilary Gasparini Italy

Unforgettable adventure with won-derful people. This experience will

be forever in my heart.

Erwan CoqNetherlands

For being an Outdoor-freak, Norway was one of my best experiences! Love

the nature and the mountains. The people I met here are really friendly. I want to thank everyone who helped

me this semester!

Kyungmin LeeSouth Korea

Having fun with people I love so much and enjoying totally different culture, also tra-

veling ! :D

Maialen GuisasolaSpain

Thank god, is Thursday!

Rachel Lindsey USA

Thanks for the memories

Buddy group #11Mirela Cacan

Section Representative

Once Erasmus, Always Erasmus <3

Remy ØverlandPR Manager

Good luck with your life, don’t screw up! I’m going to miss you all!

JiYoon ParkSouth Korea

Meeting international friends!

Mariana Muñoz ClorennecSpain

Jeg vil aldri glemme denne opp-levelsen. Takk Norge, takk Kristi-ansand... and thanks to you all!

Alex DionisioFrance

Du er veldig pen.

Anton ArustGermany

Trip to oslo :)

Elisa FontaniniItaly

For this girl there are no words to describe this amazing experi-

ence.

Nayara Arribas SerranoSpain

in all this time I have learned that what really matters is not the place if

not who accompanies you.

Nicholas HovdaUSA

When in doubt.... Just relax, you’re in Norway!

Tina SchwengerGermany

Veronika TrasakovaCzech Republic

Great semester in Norway with many unforgettable memories, a lot of new fa-bulous people, places and experiences. I will always remember bike trips with my

Slovak girls, the ESN Sea Battle cruise and I will miss Sundays at Pir6’s Akustisk Søn-

dag.

Pictures from the spring semester

LindesnesLindesnes Fyr, Norway’s oldest lightho-use. It’s been protecting ships from the rocky shores since 1656 when its light was first lit. We watched a neat video and were herded about by a very nice guide. Then, we were set loose upon the rocks to explore and try not to fall into the frigid ocean!

GautefallGautefall, where we played on the slopes of a little mountain. Skiing, snowboarding, sledging, falling, hiking, laughing, starga-zing, and drinking… tea. We did it all and loved it!

Preikestolen and StavangerPreikestolen, or Pulpit Rock, was at the end of a gent-le hike that took us past wet stairs, loose rock, sheer drop-offs, and rotting bridges. No serious injuries were reported, and no one fell over the edge to Ly-sefjord 600 meters below. We didn’t stop working on our sunburns there! Next stop was Stavanger, a cute little city on the west coast where we toured the Olje-museum or wandered behind Amal as she showed us the sights. Last, but not least, we paused at the giant Three Swords, where Norway was founded.

ESN Sea battleFrom the 30th of March until the 2nd of April, students from ESN Ag-der joined the party cruise between Stockholm and Riga, together with 2100 other international students. – One lifetime experience!

Farming day“Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth”Family Farming requires genuine public support, which is non-existent today in most countries. The local UN invi-ted ESN Agder and our students to join them on a day visiting and learning about farming life in Norway.

Boat tripA city tour in Arendal and Grimstad, and a boat trip in the beautiful Norwegian co-astline

Welcome week

Coffee hourEvery Tuesday through the whole se-mester it has been a coffee hour in Lil-letunsstova at campus Kristiansand. It has been a place you can hang out and meet the other students at the same time as you can enjoy free coffee, tea and lovely waffles made by the fantastic waffle team.

International PubEvery second week through the semester th-ere have been an international pub at Østsia. Here all the students have had the opportunity to present their home county. With everything from parodies and stories to songs and dan-ces, it has turned in to a lot of educational and funny evenings. So we would use this oppor-tunity to thank everyone who presented their home country for doing a great job!

Language exchange caféTo be able to learn the basics in a lot of different languages there have been a couple of language exchange cafes at Øst-sia. Here the students have gathered in small groups composed by one “teacher” and a couple of “students” and walked from table to table, just like speed dating. A funny way to learn some new languages

International dayThe 5th of February, the University of Agder and ESN Agder arranged an in-ternational day. It consisted of everyt-hing from stands in Vrimlehallen and a potluck dinner to an international party at Østsia.

May 17th

Canoeing

Winter BBQ

Goodbye weekend

KICK OFF party Celebrity party

Afterski Masqurade

Group leader

Eddi Adeel

Male buddy

Sindre Tveitan Dokken

Female buddy

Veronika Gulsett

Biggest smile

Vega Lopez Gonzalez

Wall of fameBiggest joy spreader

Emma Christina Steen

Most adventurous

Alex Dionisio

Best photographer

Flavio Fux Benericetti

Best dance moves

Ardit Shelegu

Best costume

Olli Dundee

Best preparty host

Eddi Adeel

Best potluck dinner

Italy

Best international pub

Italy

Best ESN party

Welcome party; Traffic light

Best stand at inter-national day

Rwanda

Thank you all for a great semester