2001 - Terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon

On September 11, 2001, out of that clear blue sky came a stunning attack. Islamic fundamentalists hijacked four commercial airliners and used them as missiles against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. Almost 3000 people were killed and America's response was swift.

We have heard a lot about the World Trade Center when it comes to this tragedy, but what about Pentagon? Five al-Qaeda hijackers took control of Flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. 64 people on the airliner and 125 people in the building were killed. The plane severely damaged the structure of the building and caused a partial collapse. When they rebuilt the damaged section of the Pentagon, they also built a memorial and a chapel for the people who had died. Every year at September 11, they light one candle for each of the persons that died to honor their memory.

Ski Jumping - Traditional Sport in Norway

In Norway we have some traditional sports and one of them is Ski Jumping.The skiers go down an "inrun" ramp with a take-off in the end where they attempt to fly as long as they kan before they land. The skis they use for ski jumping are long and wide and a litle bit heavy.

This is of course a winter sport since you ski on snow, and is part of the Winter Olympic Games. You can also ski jump in the summer but then you have to perform on artificial surfaces like porcelain or have frost rail track on the inrun.

When the ski jumpers competes, they get points for distance and style. The Ski Flying World Record of 239 meters is held by Norwegian Bjørn Einar Romøren in 2005, and we are very proud of that.

“9/11 a day we will never forget, the story of the people”

We all know what happened 9/11 2001. On the morning of September 11th, 19 Al-Quaida terrorists hijacked four jet airliners. Two of the airliners were intentionally crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everybody on board and many others working in the buildings. The buildings collapsed within two hours. The third airliner was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. There were no survivors from any of the flights. 2 993 people with each of their own history died from the attacks, leaving America in great sorrow and fear.

They say everybody remember what they were doing that day, and I do to. I remember going home from school, only 10 years old, and I had no clue on what had happened. When I came into the kitchen, my mom and dad was watching CNN and there it was. I could see the Twin Towers burning, and then one of them collapsed. I didn't quite understand what was going on and I remember my dad being very serious when he explained it to me, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. I didn't even know what a terrorist or the World Trade Center was. But I understood that something sad had happened.

A lot of things changed in USA after 9/11. People was now scared and didn't want to fly, and extreme security started checking everything at the airport. It also made racism presentable, making everybody causious. September 11 affected people in a personal way; the destruction of the city and the loss of thousands of people.

George Orwell

The English author Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell, was born 25 June 1903. He was born in Inida but was brought back to England by his parents when he was only one year old. He attended the school Henley before he went to Eton. Many of the teachers reported that his achievemnts at school was bad, though some said otherwise. Because of his familys inability to pay the fees, he was not able to go to the unviersity.

Orwell then went to Burma to join the police force, since his family had connections there. When he later returned to England after resigning from the police force, he started focusing on writing. His first novel "Burmese Days" was published in 1934, and he wrote the novel on the basis of his time in Burma.

He later took a job as a teacher in England, and since it was a small school, he could also use some of his time to focus on his writing. Through his life, he wrote a lot of novels and some books, including the one we have read in class "Down and Out in Paris and London". He was a heavy smoker and died 21 january 1950 in the early age of 46. Orwell made a huge influence on popular and political culture with the numerous literary concepts he left behind.

To Our Korean Friends!

Today we have our English Social Studies Class, and we are trying to make contact with you guys! We are told to tell you about the weather in Norway. It is Autumn now and it's starting to get very cold here and the winter is coming really soon I think!

We have four very different seasons here in Norway; Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. Our winter is awfully cold and there is a lot of snow on the ground, just like you can see on the picture.

Our winter is very long, it almost lasts 6 months and it is really cold, so we have to wear warm clothes or else, we will get sick a lot. When the winter is over and the Spring leads us to the summertime, I get very happy because finally we can go to the beach and go swimming and things like that.

Which season is your favourite season, and how is it where you live?