My Norwegian Class

I started my Norwegian class last Wednesday. The school was called Folketuniversitetet--The People University, somewhat like a community college in the US. There were around 20 students. The first lesson was about introduction, greeting each other. So, I learned that the students came from many different countries--England, Poland, Malaysia, Afghanistan, USA, etc. Then we learned about clock, what time is it, etc. It seemed too easy for me as I have studied the language myself since I was in the US. I talked to the teacher when we had a break. He suggested to go to the administration with him, talk to the headmaster. The following day I was moved to a higher level class, the class that I am still in until now, and the next 4 weeks.
On the first day in the new class, I saw that every student, but me, had a paper for the teacher to sign. I asked the student that was sitting next to me. She explained to me in a very limited English that she was a refugee. Then I learned that everybody there was a refugee, except me. They were from Burma, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, and Kongo. I talked to some Burmese when waiting for a buss to go home. He was a political activist in Burma, lived in Thailand for 5 years before moving to Norway. His wife was also in the class. They had 2 kids that were in kindergarden. Their names were 'King Salomon' (what a name!) and Christopher.
He told me that the Norwegian government would stop the support after 2 years, so he had to strive hard.
Since I did not feel comfortable to talk to my new classmates yet (I was afraid that I would ask 'difficult' questions to them. It's very likely that most of them were still having trauma about their lives back home.), I went to talk with my classmates from the previous class.
Actually, after my first day class was over, I went to have coffee with 2 of my classmates. Krishna who was from Malaysia and Victoria from Brazil. Krishna has been travelling so much because one she liked to travel, and two her husband's job required them to do so. They were living in China for several months before they came to Norway. She went to a Chinese language class there. I was wondering how many numbers of languages she spoke. Victoria did not speak English much. But she understood Spanish which was similar to her native language Portugese. And Krishna spoke some Spanish. I only knew a few Spanish words, amor, grande, casa. So, the conversation we were having was very interesting.
There were 3 new students in the class today. One of them was also called Victoria and she was from Hungary. Her husband has been working here for 2 and a half years. Finally, I had a classmate who was not a refugee and I could converse in English with. All in all the class was fun and interesting so far. My teacher was not perfect but he could make the class fun and interactive. Sometimes it was too interactive and I was a bit annoyed. One day, one of the students complained that since the class ended on 12.30 noon, she had to wait for 45 minutes for the bus to get home. And she suggested to cut the class short. Good thing that it did not happen. I want to be able to speak the language as soon as possible. I feel like the class is going too slow. So, I went to a library and borrowed a 'Norwegian in 3 months' book with tapes. I came home after my Norwegian class everyday and continued with my language study by using the book.
But I think, I have to be patient. Again, P A T I E N T. That's the word I have to always remember.