16 minute read
Practicing Seeing the World
Marianne Andresen
Queen Sonja took UWC Red Cross under her wing and helped rescue the school out of several complications. Tis is a well-known fact to many. But how did the Queen frst fnd out about the school? Tanks to another one of the most ardent protectors and supporters of the school. E-18 between Oslo and Sandvika, is the road with the most heavy traffic in Norway. Nonetheless there is a walkway there. I cycle, turn off to Bygdøy, and right after, I turn off again through a gate and up a hill. Just a mighty stone’s throw from the E-18, but still the white noise from the cars turns into a far-off hush. I wander into alleys covered in leaves flanked by flowerbeds, purposely planted in patterns of red and white. The house is the work of architect Arnstein Arneberg. It was in this garden that thenCrown Princess Sonja sat listening to the planning of a Nordic UWC for the first time. The reception was organized by Marianne Ebba Therese Andersen.
Andresen welcomes me at the main door. She takes my hand and says: – Oh, how cold your hands are, come on in! The short story of how important Andresen was for UWC RKN is that she was able to collect the seven million NOK that were necessary to save the school project in 1991. Another story of how important she- and her husband Johan- were, places the emphasis on their donation made at the very beginning of the project. Their one million NOK donation was smaller than the others that came later. But the timing was priceless. Without this “seed money”, Tom Gresvig, Bjørn Rønneberg and the rest of the Foundation Committee would not have been able to gain momentum at all.
Later on, she has laid the foundations for what she considers the little extra on campus- by no means any minor additions: The Silence House and the Bakery. These have enabled students to gather around the essentials: tending to their souls through prayer, reflection and pause. Baking bread, providing themselves and others nutrition, love, and energy. These were spaces to collectively create and to exchange culture. – Bread is baked in every country. Indian naan, Danish rye bread and so on, says Andresen and recounts the background for this initiative: – The old homestead became a gathering house with baking at its center. All of it originates from Magne Bjergene’s idea of creating a traditional Nordic
smallholding on this part of the campus, at Hesteneset. Here lay the tufts of a farmer’s place abandoned in the 1920’s.
– The first building constructed here was the Silent house. It started off by me making an inquiry into what the students wished for. There were few places for them to retreat to when they wanted to be on their own. There are many reasons to feel a need for a quiet place: a letter from home, a wish to pray. Or even when it is just raining outside. That is why I wanted to provide the youth with a Silent house. I got talking to architect Olav Hovland underway, and it turned into a house without religious motives, but keeping with a traditional build, simple furnishing, and a very special light. As soon as the house was up, I understood that it would be put to frequent use. Once I met an atheist boy who had experienced a revelation of a pre-existing entity that could not be seen in the world. That helped him respect those he was sharing a room with. Now I hear that other UWC’s are interested in creating a similar place. I, myself, am a catholic and appreciate a place for contemplation. Everybody should have the freedom to practice their religion.
We will learn more about Marianne Andresen. But first, back to 1990, to the antechamber where she and I now sit. Andresen tells me that it was here Queen Sonja and ninety other guests first heard of the initiative to start a UWC s in the Nordic region. It was the private contributions, economical and moral support, that were secured here in the nineties. Andresen took the initiative to organize a reception, and to give the first millions in private sponsorship. But why?
Paust, Mountbatten - and Nils – It started with Dagfinn Paust12 contacting my husband, Johan Henrik. General Lord Mountbatten was in Oslo, and Paust wished for my husband to meet him. Mountbatten was scheduled to lecture on the Second World War at the University. I remember joining the dinner at the palace and how remarkable it was. We learned much about the IB and about Atlantic College and realized that this school would be perfect for our third child, Nils. He attended the College from 1985 to 1987 and enjoyed it there. There, he was able to channel his interest into sports and was at sea and up on the cliffs with the Coastguard service. He gained a great interest in international affairs, which carried on into his adult years.
12 Dag nn Paust was a Norwegian ship owner, and UWC- enthusiast. Pant contributed both nancially and in other ways to Atlantic college.
1. Tom Grevig’s son Håkon gets married to alumna Zhe Wang. 2. Marianne Andresen was accompanied by many family members for the grand opening of the baking house. 3. Tom visiting the College in 2016.
Nils brought fellow students back home here during Christmas holidays. They were students who could not pay for their trip back to their homeland. While sitting there, Nils might say, totally out of the blue, “Peer Gynt is really interesting, because so and so “. Thanks to the AC he developed an interest in books that he earlier on would not have cared for. We met a lot of his friends from around the world here and felt that he now traveled with the goal of studying, and eventually working. You could say that the UWC’s fire was ignited in me.
–I got involved in the Norwegian national committee13 and had the idea to start informative meetings for parents. I had myself experienced what it was like to send my child out into the unknown. There were already informative meetings for students out in a cabin in the woods, but the parents had nothing. So, I figured out how to tell them about what it entailed. You can imagine the many questions ranging from climate to AIDS and foreign relations. Many were nervous and I said: They will have to realize that their children will not return to the same as they left. They come back full of knowledge that the parents do not necessarily possess. Their young ones will have a totally fabulous experience. –Now the question was being raised about a new school in the Nordic region. After some time, it was settled that it should be tied to the Red Cross. But how should it be financed? As you know, the government promised a certain sum. But then there was money to be collected from private investors, too. I arranged two receptions, the first in 1990 and the second in 1993. There were ninety people in attendance here, and the Queen was one of them. LundMathiesen and many of the others told her about the IB and UWC. The idea was that people could connect. Oh yes, then a date was chosen and then a deadline to collect the agreed sum. I was sitting in the committee then. We needed seven million. The stakes were high. The government would not promise any money without those seven million. So, I approached my husband who was sitting up here, working.” We either give this up, or else we go all in and contribute!”, I said. And so, he contributed- his immediate response was that we would make it happen. So, he went straight to his network, the bosses in the business world. He would donate a certain sum if they promised to follow suit. It was exciting! On my side, I was able to recruit the Høegh family for a contribution. It turned out that Ove Høegh called me
13 UWC national committees are found in almost all countries that send students to UWC’ s across 160 committees in total and is comprised of alumni. In Norway, the National Committee is the same people leading in UWC Norway, and they work voluntarily to nominate students, to market UWC and organize arrangements for alumni.
right in the middle of our campaign. I was standing there in the kitchen, oblivious. Høegh would travel to Waterford in Swaziland. I had been there and was able to tell him about it. It ended with him donating too. It worked out, we succeeded and there we stood some years later and took part in the opening. The Andresen house was up and the Høegh foundation eventually donated a house a little later-in 1998.
–This sounds like a cause that you were burning for. How did that come about?
–Yes, I was passionate about the school. I, myself, had been to schools abroad and knew the importance of good education. I also cared for the school’s standard. The students had to feel that they were appreciated; when Alistair Robertson told me that there were many events at the College, I decided to donate a grand piano. Some of the attending students are especially talented. And one day, after putting the piano in place, I heard somebody say: the window was open. And out of it came music.
Marianne has lived what she herself refers to as the life of a recluse up until 2017, when her big exhibition happened with a book publication and an interview. The money made from sales went straight to UWC RKN. Five of her pieces were bought by Queen Sonja. In a portrait interview from 2017 with Aftenposten, Andresen asked what she most enjoyed listening to, with the reply: bird songs. Nonetheless, there is a grand piano standing here in the salon. And the people I have spoken to have told me about Andresen’s taste for quality in music. But it was the silent art form that became her specialty. Her obvious talents in the visual arts were highly rated by experts. That is why her heart has been beating a bit harder for the faculty of arts. –To draw is an exercise in seeing the world. I think everybody can enjoy and discover themselves through drawing. Music, literature, and painting enrich people. I have myself recently held an hour-long art lesson with the students at UWC RKN. We spoke about what art might mean to them. If it did not turn into a job for them, then it would still remain a portal to a good life. One acquires a new appreciation of the world.
Now she is 85 years old, and still in the lady of Arnsberg’s beautiful house. She met me there with warmth and care.
Get some gloves, says Andresen, before closing the door behind me. I walk into the un- Norwegian park landscape, created by a Swedish artist.
Lied, Nchome and Jordy enjoying the winter sun.
Tor Heyerdahl sails into the Flekke ford with Queen Noor circling above in a helicopter. e College is taking shape. e opening ceremony is something no one will forget, not sta , students nor locals. I am among those who remembers that day and the days leading up to it; our choir rehearsals, the Ukrainian dance troupe already having a performance to show, and Majka, the Maori’s continuous Haka-dance rehearsals. We didn’t seem bored; we had an important task, and I was nervous about the stains on the house’s common ironing board I’d made while ironing my bunad (national costume) short. e 30th of September was blessed by all weather gods and fortunately, even the god of thunder or. As or Heyerdahl and other prominent guests were on their way in a boat from Bergen to the pier below the College, Queen Noor of Jordan ew in by helicopter, and Queen Sonja came via Førde airport Bringeland.
“Hardly a agpole stood naked as Sonja drove in her car from Førde airport shortly before one o’clock.”, wrote Bergens Tidende the following Monday and pointed out that it had only been thirteen months since the construction work had begun, and that Rektor Macoun had organized a sponsored “Queen’s lunch”: canapé with seventeen sh dishes.
My bunad shirt was stainless, nor was there any stain on the many newly ironed national dresses from all over the world. We stood in a warm and friendly living patchwork made from all the world’s colors and lined up with ags at the port when Heyerdahl and the others sailed into the ord. It must have looked like an almost unreal picture. e bay at Haugland is a fairytale postcard. Add to it, us standing there young, handsome, fresh, and enthusiastic with the autumn forest behind us and the pier. It was lush and dense with leaves, red, yellow, green, burgundy, and orange. e high-point for us students was a conversation with or Heyerdahl.” Here you shall learn what my crew and I learned aboard “Ra”: that we are but one family on earth, namely Homo sapiens. But also, it is our responsibility to take care of all other lifeforms.”
Rektor Tony Macoun keeps his composure. Smiling, composed, calm, steady – giving no signs of doubt that this youth and his carefully selected crew will handle a half - nished school. Personally, I recall how the Norwegian national committee asked me during my early introductory interview if I, even if I did not apply for it, might choose RKC. ey mentioned how unique it would be to be a pioneer and the extra responsibilities and tasks one might get then.
My parents and I had driven to Haugland a month earlier, at the end of August. ere was already one
student in Denmark house: Hoa from Vietnam. She was sitting on her bed in our room when I arrived. Why was she sitting there so quietly when there was so much to discover? I understood the reason why a er our rst attempt at conversation. She spoke no English. “Yes “and “no” was all she knew. e English-speaking world was locked behind a door. I was good at English. But I was in no way prepared to help Hoa. Haugland seemed big and was beckoning us. All the time new minibusses kept arriving with new groups from the airport near Forde. “Hello, I am Mette, from Norway.” Constantly new faces, new rooms, new possibilities, equipment, menus, bedlinen, desks, views of the ord. Already here in room 201, there was plenty for Hoa to discover. How to use one of those toilets. I came in and demonstrated the use of the water closet. In the evenings, we’d lie awake listening to each other’s nervous waking breath or the equally nervous sleep breathing. at is how intimate we were. At the same time our language kept us apart. Parallel to Hoa’s impressive speed-learning of a whole new alphabet and language, I learned something about being a fellow human being. If it had existed then, Hoa might have done a preparatory year at RCN to improve her English before starting her studies of the IB-diploma. Hoa had to learn the hard way. And for the ai farmer’s daughter it worked as a kind of tough love. Hoa had a steep learning curve, and soon became one of the most smiling and satis ed students on campus, and she eventually went on to study at her dream University in the USA. In the coming years, the opening of the school year would continue to be something special. For each student coming to Haugland for the rst time, the arrival feels like an opening. e beginning of a new life. e two years at UWC is a transformative experience. A tradition of intense activity resonates in the walls, and there are countless social, sportive, creative, and academic possibilities on o er. e day of arrival for a rst-year student has since 1996, been marked by their meeting a culture developed by the second-year students.
A young man from Greenland describes his shock when he discovered how small Haugland was and how this lled his rst days here with regret. Soon he found out that it was the best thing to happen to him. Maja from Norway has submitted an unedited page from her diary marked 21.8.18, and it captures some
of the magic happenings in a boarding school life with an international environment:
Ahh yes, here I am! It is 15:46 and I have been here for 4,5 hours. I have done silly Yoga with Margret, Maud, Ingeborg, Sunniva, Helene and a Swedish boy whose name I forgot. at was the rst thing I did a er stowing away my bags in room 702 at Norway House. (...) I went to drink tea in Sweden House, room 102. Oh mine, how nice they were. ose who were there were so interesting and grounded. Among the rst-year students was a boy from Costa Rica, me, Helene, Jacob who came a er a while, and a Japanese girl (she was sweet!) who lived in that room. e second-year students were Florina, from Belarus with blue hair (she was extremely sweet and played 16 instruments including the piano in the canteen during dinner. She played “Harry Potter”, and played it well.), Florina and the rest of the roommates whose names
“Snikkarbua” at Haugland was for many years a popular location for student cafés.
I cannot remember now.
It is 00:40, and so much has happened. Otto, Jacinto, and I walked over to Finland house to visit people. Met some cool people, JP from the USA was especially cool to talk to. ere was Arran and a guy from Canada and Yahya whom I ate dinner with. en we went on a trip with the Norwegian rst-year students over to the island. Lots of people. Just as I was going to bed, I walked past the dayroom. ere was a birthday party going on, for a Dutch girl called Isabel, so I joined in. We counted down to midnight, and then celebrated, cheering. But then more happened. People got up, held Isabel’s hand, and led her out of Norway House. And there, four boys grabbed her and li ed her up. All the other second- year students seemed to know what was going on, while me and other rst-year students watched, bewildered. ey stopped on the pier and swung her three times before tossing her into the water, clothes and all.
Proud to represent your country.
