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