Kurs I Papirklipp

I just got home from my class on the art of Danish paper cutting--it was fun and I was wowed by the amazing decorations the teacher had on display. I made the little wreath of stars in the picture above--not perfect by a long shot, but I'm pleased for my first effort. The class was just what I needed--a reaon to get out and meet some new people and use my brain in a new way.
At the beginning of the class, because I was from the U.S., the director of the Folkuniversitet made me come to the front of the classroom and introduce myself. I was so embarrassed--I must have turned 10 different shades of crimson! I was able to blurt out who I am and where I'm from in Norwegian, and then I reverted to about age 13, started giggling and squirming, and said a couple of inane things in English. Yessiree, I made the good ol' U.S. of A. proud today--no dispelling any myths about stupid Americans for me! (Sadly, this is how I conducted myself throughout my whole academic career--I would rather write a 30 page paper than give a 30 second speech!)
I was able to compose myself during the 2 hour class, busily cut, cut, cutting away. And then, at the end of class, I stuck my foot right in my mouth...sigh. One of the ladies in the class said something to me in English, and I was impressed by how beautifully she spoke--such a polished British accent, so I complimented her on it. She and everyone else in the class burst out laughing, and then she said, "Well I should hope I speak English well, I am from Great Britain!" Oops! In my defense, it's not like I live in Oslo--Gjovik is a little town of 30,000 with very few immigrants. Just about everyone I have met here is from here, so I really was not expecting to meet another foreigner in my paper cutting class! (And she also spoke Norwegian really well!) Thankfully, she was amused by my gaffe, and said, "At least you didn't say I speak good English for a Norwegian!" Well, of course I didn't! And I wouldn't, to anyone! Really, I do have some social skills, occasionally...sigh.
Trying to muster up a little dignity after class, I walked out of the school and promptly fell off the curb, ripping a hole in my new jeans. (It was ridiculously dark out and there were no streetlights--yeah, that's why I fell, that's the ticket!) Oh well, the second half of the class is tomorrow evening, so I'll have another chance to make a good impression (or at least try to keep the blurting, babbling and falling over to a minimum)!