All packed up and Norway to go.

Hi. This blog business is foreign to me - I never feel like I have much to express verbally that may actually be of interest to anyone other than my loyal listening sufferers like Leslie, Lbz, and former members of the Pleasure Cove Establishment (and obviously a couple more, but don't have a hissy fit)...but since I'm a few miles away now, I guess I'll give this a shot. So, hello honeybunnies.

Play this while reading:

Buckle up, let's go.

After an unexpectedly emotional goodbye with the parental units, I boarded a cozy plane from San Francisco to London. My last view of the USofA was a reflection of the beautiful city lights on the TV screen nearest the window. It was a bittersweet moment. This was just the beginning of a long and sleepless flight which included many episodes of Arrested Development, 30 Rock, and Modern Family, along with a couple movies not even worth mentioning. I was seated next to an interesting young Swedish guy who I eventually discovered is a very successful computer game designer and entrepreneur. He travels the world to gives talks at companies like Microsoft and other such hot shots. He thought I was crazy for heading to Norway having never really traveled before and he helped me through the confusion that is called "HeathrowAirport" and made sure I had everything sorted out for my next flight. Such a nice and awkward guy...never got his name though.

Heathrow was a hoot! Too many people, in my opinion. Everybody from each terminal sits around and watches the flight board for their gates to be announced about 30 minutes before take-off. I was too tired to even get a chance to thoroughly appreciate all of the abundant diversity at that airport. Highlight of Heathrow was buying a great pre-made avocado/basil/mysteryotherstuff wrap at a little shop, admitting it was my first time paying with pounds, and the cashier yelling an extremely accented (from mystery country) version of "Arnold Schwarzenegger!!" upon hearing I was from California. Good times were had, then I left for Oslo. I think by this point in the journey, I had managed to lose my beloved Ray-Bans...cue some funeral march sort of music because I'm literally devastated. Not that it's too sunny here, I just feel like some part of me, particularly a part that shades my eyes, is missing. Real talk, I'm even getting emotional just thinking about the reality of this situation. I think Kathleen Lee can relate, she lost some sweet white wayfarers once.

ANYWAY.

Upon arrival in Oslo, I had to HAUL. From the plane, we had to walk to a bus, which drove us to the international terminal, which emptied us into the passport check line, which took a long time and the guards thought I was funny for coming to Norway for a year but they gave my passport it's first stamp (woo), which then led me to a long hallway and then I had no clue where I was going! Did I mention my flight was due to take off an hour from when my previous flight landed? So I finally found my luggage, finally found where to check-in, then finally made it through security (after the awkward moment when you accidentally start to grab for someone else's jacket...it was weirder than it sounds...language barriers, man). Luck would have it that my gate was the farthest one from security but I ran and made it just in time! Sweaty, because of all the layers I wore to avoid packing them, but just in time.

Then I made it to Bergen. The flight was short and beautiful. A perfect clear sky over Norway. But with killer turbulence during the landing process...I was terrified. But I made it and was soon greeted by Cato, the father of the family I am staying with, and all was well! We made it home by about 11:30PM and I met Solfrid, the mother of the family, and we had some delicious Thai soup. The tour of the house blew my mind! And my room is the nicest room I've ever seen! I have a ton of closet space, a perfect desk, a comfortable bed, a big TV, a nice couch, a fireplace, and a backdoor onto the porch with the most amazing view of the water and islands. This place is flirting with heaven. Then I slept. I haven't even spent the time to figure the exact number of hours I was traveling, but I was exhausted.

The next morning, my first day in Norway, Solfrid took me out to lunch and then on a tram to the top of Floibanen(?) Mountain. The view was spectacular. The weather was great and you could see all of Bergen. We walked around the top a bit and I learned of the prevalence of reindeer fur and trolls (which I find quite nightmarish at times) within Norwegian culture. Then we walked around the city for a bit and did a spot of shopping. In the afternoon, we went to pick up the kids, Emil and Mina, and I met them for the first time. I'm telling ya, these two could not be cuter...

Since then, I've just been trying to adjust. The Zachrisen family has been entirely understanding and welcoming and I'm so thankful to be here with them. They're spoiling me and I hope to be able to repay them by working my hardest to meet and exceed their expectations of me. I think this will be a great year.

Notable tid-bits from the past few days:
- I had a driving lesson from Cato today...it looks so easy but there are still a few small differences that definitely throw me for a loop. ALWAYS YIELD TO THE RIGHT. It's weirder than it sounds.
- TGI Friday's is the hottest dining establishment in Bergen. I had never actually been to one in the states but it's a pretty big deal here. The fajitas weren't anything worth writing home about but hey, what can ya expect when you're this far from Mexico?
- Emil has already learned a few nouns like sun, dog, moon, uhh I'm totally blanking right now, but a handful more! And he understands what I mean when I ask "what" and "where" questions, and "come here" and "careful," and the difference of "opened" and "closed." Small things but exciting nonetheless.
- Helping Solfrid with dinner two nights ago. We had soft tacos! Why have I never technically made guacamole til now? Bad Californian right here (taps nose).
- Carving a pumpkin for Halloween! Halloween is not even close to a tradition here but it's on the up. Slightly. But we bought some pumpkins and we carved the biggest one tonight! I'm sure I'll post a picture on Facebook someday. I'm a terrible carver but technically the most experienced. It turned out pretty good for a simple, traditional carving! We still have a couple more to carve though. Maybe that was just my warm-up?
- I start Norwegian class on the 15th. Whoever the poor soul is that will be my conversation partner in the class has no idea what's coming for them. I hope they like quoting Will Ferrell movies and discussing Harry Potter and rafting because what else is even worth talking about? Not. Very. Much.

On that brilliant note, I'm going to go to bed. Morning routine starts at 7:30AM and I'm bringin' my A-game. So, that's my first bog. Thanks for reading, Mom.


Psst...Talk to me on skype (evernizzi), e-mail me (vernizzi.emily@gmail.com), Facebook me (uhh I'm Emily Vernizzi...), or add me on AIM (oh sweet lou)....but don't call or text me! That stuff is pricey.