I am sitting here with mixed feelings. I don’t know if I am jealous at the first years for being back in Flekke. I don’t know if I am happy I don’t have to go back. I don’t know. I just simply don’t know.
RCN is not my RCN anymore. The place got new people, new faces, new thoughts, new cultures, new friendships, new relationships, new activities and new memories. If I would go back it would be visiting a school, not going back to my school. We, my co-years and I, took our RCN with us, when we left the Flekke bubble.
I am lovesick in so many ways.
I miss the fjord. I miss the late night bonfires and star gazing sessions. I miss playing cards against humanity and random camping trips. I miss talking with Peter (the chef) in multiple languages at the same time. I miss the footsteps in the hallway and knowing who is coming. I miss the post-it notes on my desk, the “hi”‘s on my way to school and the hot chocolate in kantina. I miss the postcards in my mailbox, lifeguarding sessions and countless walks to the island. I miss the silence of the landscape combined with the chaos of the people. I miss running up teacher’s hill and reminding yourself you should exercise more often. I miss the moment of realisation as soon as you walked into silent house. I miss the happiness as soon as the kayaks were out. I miss the running around to look for a working printer, the endless Student Council meetings and porridge on Saturdays. I miss the slow Finland House automatic door, the not working lock on Norway House and the endless problems with Internet and electricity. I miss the First Aid Team, which had less members showing up each week. I miss emptying paper boxes after Ozonizer meetings (which never lasted longer than 8 minutes). I miss the faces of relief after IOCs, IOPs, FOAs, orals, mocks, exams or just a difficult day. I miss the appreciation for the sun and the acceptance of the rain. I miss the first morning it’s light again when you walk to breakfast. I miss the college meetings and clapping for every slide. I miss the dayroomparties, the deep conversations far after your planned bedtime and the difficulty mornings as a consequence. I miss the shoes shattered around the hallway, the couples secretly walking hand in hand and the happiness when the only washing machine in UTC you trust is free. I miss the no judging. The acceptance about who we are and what we want. I miss Flekke fashion and Ashok’a accent. I miss the running back to Student Village because it was colder than you thought. I miss the movie nights in somebody’s cosy bed (even though I always fell asleep-sorry Nina) and the unexpected love you got. I miss the talent. I miss the passion in everything we did. I miss the drive to make a change. I miss laying in the hammock ‘studying ‘ and listening to the people walking by. I miss the skateboard with a different owner each time I saw it. I don’t miss Philip’s orange hoodie. I miss Dutch gatherings and Mottak afternoons. I miss my teachers at connect and the peers for evening snack. I miss the place in front of Finland house, and my favourite places at the islands. I miss jumping in a fjord that is as flat as a mirror. I miss the football match between the first and second years. I miss the tears in my eyes at Ridderrennet. I miss the bus trip to college after a break and going around ‘the corner’. I miss skinny dipping at teachers beach. I miss the cheese toasts and introducing people to hagelslag. I miss missing my family. I miss waking up 5 minutes before class and still be there on time. I miss dinner at Kip’s. I miss the hikes to explore. I miss Joker Flekke and the sale on apples. I miss student shop and it’s it-is-an-emergency-I-need-chocolate.
But most of all, I miss the people that made the place.
Emma in Noorwegen 