The Interview

Today for my blog, I decided to interview one of the students I work with here. Marie Lowzow is a fourth year student at NTNU studying Architecture. She loves buildings and is almost always talking about one. She also has a passion for meeting and interacting with people. She is both a Norwegian and American citizen and has German roots. She has interacted a lot with Hald students for several years now and I wanted to hear her experiences with them.

Meet Marie Lowzow

Mokaya: I remember the first day we met you told me that you always look forward to meeting the new Hald students every year. Why are you always eager to meet with them?

Marie: Well, meeting up with Hald students is always fun. they have this sense of curiosity and the ability to ask lots of questions. I like listening to the questions and answering them. for instance, when you first arrived here, you had many questions on snow. For example, you asked me what we do when there is lots of snow on the streets and I was happy to explain on how the trucks shovel the snow away. I like the honesty and sincerity of their questions too 

Mokaya: What impact have the cross cultural interactions with Hald students had on you?

Marie: I have grown in my appreciation of  things i take for granted sometimes. They have also helped me see my country with new eyes. For instance, it was when you said how lovely it was to sleep in a sleeping bag that I realized what a good thing it is to have one and sleep in it, something i usually took for granted. By interacting with them, I get to see tour country and it's culture in a new way.

Mokaya: What do you always look forward to seeing the Hald students do?

Marie: I always look forward to seeing them the first time they go skiing and they see snow. The child like smile on their eyes and faces is fun to see. The falling and standing up while skiing is always fun to watch. These are rare experiences for me to see what it really means to see something for the first time by a person who is my age mate.

Marie and I during my first cabin trip

Mokaya: Tell me some interesting experiences you have had with them?

Marie: Last year we had two students from Nepal. One day my fiance placed his hand on top of my head as a sign of affection. We didn't know that in Nepali that meant that he was pushing me down and looking down on me. You can imagine my surprise when the two students explained this to me later.

Mokaya: Final thoughts...

Marie:Keep the questions coming. They help me discover more about our country.