DRAMMEN/EIKER/LIER (Drammens Tidende): It is May. People in red and blue suits characterize the cityscape, and buses in different colors roll on the roads while loud music plays over the loudspeakers.
– It feels surreal, because we have waited so long. It feels like you’re just getting dressed when you put on the suit. It doesn’t feel real, says Frida Omre (18) on Formelp1.
Part of a community
The bus consists of 24 girls, Omre, Hennie Hayden Rasmussen (19) and Andrea Hordvik (18) are three of them. For several years they have dreamed of the Russian era, and being on a bus. Both because they have seen others who have done the same, and because, among other things, they think it is fun to be part of a community.
The vehicle is rented from a company that fixes everything the girls want. Everything from sound, light, exterior and interior. They have done little on their own.
– We have primed, and we have washed it, says Rasmussen jokingly.
– We have also filled up with petrol ourselves. No, we haven’t done much, she continues.
Image series
Join Formelp1
– Not many people want to meet us
The girls have spent around NOK 60,000-70,000 each, and are clear that the Russian time is worth the sum. They point to things the gang has done together in the run-up to the Russian era, and the fine friendships that have been built.
24 girls can offer challenges, but Rasmussen says that there is only “love” on the bus. However, they can face some challenges when they are out and about with Russian buses from other places at night.
– Not many people want to meet us. We don’t notice it that much, but there’s no hiding the fact that we’re not the most popular. There are negative comments because you are from Drammen, but we are not bothered, says Omre.
– But we don’t shout out loud that we are from Drammen, adds Rasmussen.
Omre, Rasmussen and Hordvik also say that they can be excluded from rolling routes with buses that are not local.
– We haven’t tried to join, but we won’t try either. We know how we had been met. It’s very strange, because everyone looks the same, everyone dresses the same and we listen to the same songs. Everything is the same, it is only where you live that is different.
– I think we are better off than them. We can have fun without being solemn. We can relax with the gang without it being about performance or being the best, Rasmussen points out.
– People look down on us
“Monroll” – a bus with 25 girls, most of whom go to St. Hallvard high school – has also noticed negativity about where they come from. This is what Malin Righ (18), Ella Ranvik (18) and Selma Hage (18) say.
– People look down on us. “Here comes the dram gang with their articulated buses”, they tend to say when we arrive at McDonalds in Asker. It is an unnecessary problem that does not need to be there, but we are self-ironic about it, says Hage.
– We can’t do anything about where we’re from, haha! We celebrate the same thing. But we don’t care about that, adds Ranvik.
Despite the prejudices, there is a good atmosphere among the girls on the bus. “Monroll” has appointed a shop steward who will take care of any problems that may arise.
– Via her, you can take it anonymously. Not everyone dares to say something, but everyone should dare to use their voice, say the girls.
– She takes on the battles others may not dare to take, and that is why it has gone so well. After all, we have been financially tied to the bus for three years, and then you have to make it work. Everyone should have a good time, otherwise it’s a waste, says Ranvik, and indicates that they have spent around NOK 60,000-70,000 each.
Image series
Join Monroll
Used far from NOK 60,000
Emilie Steinsett (18) and Ugne Simenaite (19) at Vi Elsker do not want to say how much they have spent on the Russian bus, but point out that it is far from NOK 60,000.
Like the other buses, they too have gone to rent the vehicle, not buy it. And to save as much money as possible, they have painted the inside themselves.
– We didn’t bother to try our hand on the outside, says Simenaite.
Image series
Join Vi Elsker
The prejudice against Drammen and Eiker is also something the girls at Vi Elsker have noticed. When asked if it is boring, Steinsett replies:
– To a certain extent, but we have hardly noticed anything.
– I do not care. We are not affected, adds Simenaite.
Worth the sum
Lucas Eiternes (18), Arvin Ali (18), Julius Jagland (18), Max Wilhelmsen (18) and Suleiman Arbab (18) on the Psykuse bus have, like the others, also chosen to rent a bus. Nor have they done much of the work themselves.
– I wish we had done something ourselves, says Ali.
– Then you can wash, Wilhelmsen jokingly interjects.
Image series
Join Psykuse
They have spent around NOK 60,000-70,000 each, and also think the sum was worth paying. In addition, they are quite proud of how the Russian bus has turned out. Outside, it is characterized by both color and light, as well as the fact that it has been given a crown.
– This is one of the best things Drammen has seen in a long time, points out Arbab.
