"If you feel homesick, get a new home."

Ooops, I lied, here's another blog about normal life! The music will make it better. Really.

There’s something so American about cooking with whiskey… Much of today has been spent cooking in preparation for tomorrow – we are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner (a couple days late, clearly, but Thanksgiving nonetheless)! Never have I ever cooked for Thanksgiving, so to do so for my first time whilst in Norway is something I’ll definitely remember forever. I’m pretty excited – everything is turning out okay so far.  Not only is this my first time cooking all of these dishes, but many of the ingredients are either improvised, slightly different, or also made from scratch themselves. I’ve been having quite a hard time at the grocery stores recently – many things that seem so basic to me are either totally unheard of or not commonly used enough to be carried in the stores. Such as cornmeal, Italian sausage, and canned broth. Pardon my French but sometimes shit’s rrrrough trying to cook foods that I’m familiar with from back in the good ole States.

Speaking of the Land of the Free, I’ve been listening to a lot of country lately. Not like home is much of a country sort of place, but it makes me nostalgic for the USA and rafting. By the way, KAT Country Radio does NOT let me listen online. Nor does Pandora.  People, please keep me posted on new music over yonder! Oh, and speaking of country, there is actually line dancing on Monday nights at the school on this island….as terrible as I am at any sort of grooving and/or staying in a line, I greatly look forward to experiencing Norwegian country line dancing sometime soon!

As I mentioned, today was mostly spent in preparation for tomorrow, but we also went and saw a very traditional Norwegian children’s Christmas play called Putti Plutti Pott. Of course I only understood a few words here and there so I was relatively lost throughout the whole thing, but there was this one part toward the end that included a very traditional Norwegian song accompanied by very, very traditional dance – fascinating! That was wildly entertaining for me. Also, this past week I got to see Solfrid’s bunad, which is the traditional dress worn for special occasions such as their big national holidays. Google “bunad.” They’re so pretty and interesting because they vary by region and are often handed down through generations. I love them.

Other notable highlights of the past week have included my 1-month anniversary of living here! Whoaaaa, time is flying. Real Thanksgiving was uneventful but made me realize that people on Facebook rrrreally annoy me…so many posts about being with family and eating a ton of food and watching football and yadda yadda and it just sorta irritated me to the core because maybe I wanted in on that? But at the same time, I can’t really complain, my life is pretty good right now. Then all the Black Friday posts?? Shhh. I get it, you were crazy enough to stand in huge lines and you got stuff for super cheap. Cool, bros. Not that I wanted in on any of THAT action, I think Black Friday is ludicrous. Actually, I went shopping on Black Friday, too, and it was pretty great. But here there aren’t even lines…or sales for that matter, but I’d prefer there be no insanity and no sales than insanity and sales. I ended up only spending 99Kr (like $17) for a sweet, bright pink, long underwear set. Which girl has two thumbs and isn’t going to freeze to death? This girl.

One other very notable moment in my week was trying caviar!!!! AHH. Did that really happen!!?!?! Yes. I was perusing the fish market with a girl from my Norwegian class and while she was befriending a fellow native Spanish speaker (she’s from Buenos Aires), I was gawking at the abundance of caviars at a particular booth. The sales guy asked me if I wanted to try some and I said “WHEN IN ROME!” I didn’t really say that, it was more of like a squeak and an “ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh errrrrrghhhjhgg….k.” At that moment, I was thinking about how much I really wanted to puke at the idea…yet knowing that it’s something I should probably experience while I’m here. So I was expecting like a cracker or something to put it on but no no noooono, he told me to stick out my hand then smeared that ish (actually the most expensive kind, I felt rather fancy) right on the back of my hand. I just about diiied. Hesitated for a few awkward moments. Then I just went for it. Didn’t even chase it with any beverage of sorts. Just boom. And you know what? Not even bad! It definitely wasn’t any taste I was used to – it was super salty with the essence of fish and embryos or something unidentifiable, but I didn’t pass out or anything. Victory!

So I’m settling in, life is beginning to establish a normalcy that is quite enjoyable because by building the base of my life here, I will feel more confident in branching out and developing a social life, or experiencing new adventures, and etc. I probably don’t make much sense….basically, in the beginning, I didn’t want to stretch myself too thin, I didn’t want to take any risks, or have my mind on too many things – but now that this is feeling more like home, I’m ready to get the rest of my life going. Maybe that cleared it up a bit?

Lastly, I made this mental list recently. I feel like I didn’t pack quite right for here…

Things I’m very glad I brought (the small list): lots of warm socks (no explanation needed) and my mini drybags (they provide me peace of mind for my phone and camera in the case of unexpected downpours).

Things I’m frustrated with myself for not bringing (the long list): warm scarves (my light cotton ones just don’t make sense here, I need some scarves with substance!), bright colors (whenever I went shopping this past summer, my sole focus was to buy bright colors…I thought I did…but apparently I didn’t pack ANY. I dress so boring.), feminine clothes (apparently I forgot all of those, too??? Every day when I get dressed, I take note that on most days, all of my clothes could be appropriately spotted on both guys and girls….which is totally fine sometimes, but I miss dressing like a girl! I clearly didn’t know how to shop for warmth while maintaining femininity.), and the last thing I’m pretty disappointed at myself for not bringing is the card with Matt’s picture on it from his memorial. I’ve had one of those on me since then, yet I managed to somehow not bring one to Norway?? Sorry for getting all sentimental, but November’s the hardest month – two years and just a couple says ago was the last time I saw him alive. I miss him. And I like to think that he would be proud of my decision to take on the challenge of living abroad, like he did. I know I don’t talk about emotional stuff very often, but Matt was a huge inspiration to me while he was alive, and perhaps even more so after his death. Chewball was just so dang cooool. I believe that he lived his life right. I feel the same about Brendo, too. Honestly, I didn’t know him as well as I knew Matt, but their similarities are striking. They both lived their lives so fully and were such genuine, good people. It’s so…frustrating? tragic? unfair?...that they both died so young yet I can take solace in knowing that they made excellent use of the time they were given here. On that note, keep your loved ones close…if not physically, at least emotionally. 

You could never reach the top of a mountain if both sides were smooth.

I want to start this entry by saying congratulations to my cousin, Liz, for doing exceptionally well on the LSATS! I also want to send my positive thoughts to my cousin, Erin, as she is currently in the hospital recovering from complications resulting from a recent surgery. Love to you both.

So, it has now been 3 weeks since I arrived here on the beautiful island of Bjørøy and 23 years since I arrived on earth. Crazy how time flies. Now here’s a tune to read to:

This past week has been interesting, challenging, and wonderful.

Last Thursday was probably my hardest day yet – the communication barrier lingers on and in times of uncooperativeness, the frustrations are amplified. I almost had a meltdown. I found myself sitting on the floor with a crying child in my arms who refused to get dressed as if putting clothes on would result certain death. In due time, everything was resolved and we were eventually out the door, but in the chaos of the moment, I just wanted to cry, too. It was THAT frustrating – I couldn’t say anything to fix the situation, I couldn’t understand what exactly was wrong. But looking back on it, whatevah. So it goes, that stuff happens. I’m still new to them; they are still new to me.

Friday marked my first real day alone with both kids. It was actually only from like 11:30 in the morning til 5:50 at night, but a lot managed to happen during those hours. Throughout the day, probably 8 or so kids from throughout the neighborhood came by, so I was not only looking after 2 kids, but many at a time! It was scary because I obviously couldn't communicate with any of them nor did I know which parents they belonged to in case something were to go wrong. It went okay though. We went on two walks around the neighborhood throughout the day, the second of which I didn’t even wear a jacket…the weather has been THAT nice. That day ended well enough, the biggest bummer was that when I finally had a chance to thoroughly investigate my sore throat; I found my tonsils enflamed and covered in white spots. Great.

Saturday morning began with the first frost of the season, BREATHTAKING! Because Norway is entirely saturated, everything was white. I am starting to realize that I’m in for quite a cold winter – pretty excited for that change/challenge. The rest of the day continued to be great. I made pizza inside of pitas for lunch and the kids loved them! Great success! Then Cato took the kids and me on a drive over some islands and to the North Sea. It was kind of a trippy moment to be looking at the actual North Sea. I’m definitely not in California anymore. It was such a nice ride though, he showed me a really interesting nearby island with a very dramatic, bare, and rocky landscape with lots of trails for me to explore on my own…perhaps this coming weekend. Later that night, Cato and I watched Step Brothers, ate ice cream, and drank a couple hard cranberry ciders. Although I was feeling pretty sick because of my throat, there is no denying that was a pretty good birthday eve!

Sunday, November 13^th was my 23^rd anniversary with life, as well as my parent’s 97^th (give or take a few) wedding anniversary, baby Reagan’s baptism, AND Father’s Day (in Norway). What an important day in history! After breakfast, Cato and I washed a couple of the cars, which was odd because I’ve never washed a car while not wearing something along the lines of a swimsuit. Rather, I was wearing 2 layers for warmth and a shell jacket and pants. I was pretty sure I was going to get frostbite during the washing process, except for the fact that the hose spewed hot water! Ohhh that was a pleasant surprise. Then for lunch, we had the first cake of the day…and multiple pieces of it. Bad idea. We later went into the city and Cato showed me around a really old neighborhood of tiny cobbled alleys and creaky old buildings. This place is right out of a fairytale/history book (kind of the same in my mind...I love history); my heart was melting for this neighborhood. From there, we walked across the city center and had a delicious dinner followed by more cake. Mina told the waitress it was my birthday (of course I didn’t understand though) so she brought out my cake with what looked like a firecracker torch sparkler combo stuck into the top – while it was visually pleasing, I couldn’t help but question the safety of the erupting fire canon on my cheesecake. After dinner, we went to the airport to pick up Solfrid as she returned from a weekend adventure and I was starting to feel sick from toooo muchhh sugarrr.  Eugh, first sign of getting old = not being able to handle much sugar. So then we came home, I skyped with my lovely, beautiful parental units and our pooch, Charlie. He’s so ugly and weird that it’s actually cute (Charlie or my dad?).

And as the day came to an end, I decided I wanted to buy myself a birthday present. Hmm. How about 5 days in Berlin for New Year’s Weekend? Boom. Can’t wait to see Lauren Magill!

Monday – found out I wouldn’t be starting Norwegian class on Tuesday…rather I’d have to change into the M/W class and start a day late. Oiii.

So Wednesday was a different and good day! Woke up early to get ready for my first day of school and left for the city with Solfrid. We went out for “breakfast” and I learned that breakfast foods don’t really exist here…we had sandwiches…which were quite good, but in my mind it was like eating lunch at 9AM. Not going to lie, as a big fan of breakfast foods, I’m really going to miss omelets. Anyway, then she walked me to my class! I was so nervous.

As class began, I knew I was in for one heck of a course. Apparently everybody became fluent on the first day so I was so so very lost. I’m blatantly the worst in the class, but hey, my excuse is pretty valid. So, the class consists of 10 people (only two other girls besides myself) and a teacher who looks younger than half of the students. It’s really interesting though because it brings together 11 people from 10 different countries. I can’t remember where one of the girls is from, but the other students are from Lithuania, Poland (2), Paraguay, Philippines, Greece, Turkey, and Argentina. I’m the lone American and  it's kind of exciting – otherwise I probably would have bonded quickly with another American while there are so many new cultures to learn about! The class is really cool because it is taught in English AND Spanish because the guy from Paraguay only speaks Spanish, so not only will I learn Norwegian but also I’ll get to brush up on Spanish! My Spanish conversations with the Paraguay guy during lunch break were wildly entertaining; I think we will have fun talking with each other in Norwe-anish.

I especially loved the class because it was excellent to socialize with new people a bit. After class, the girl from Argentina, Magali, approached me and asked if I wanted to meet up after Monday’s class to hang out in the city and maybe practice a bit of Norwegian. YES! She’s very new here as well, so this will hopefully be great for both of us. After class, feeling happy and social, I decided to approach a couple of Mormon missionaries just to chat. They’re people, too, and they’re probably tired of being turned down or rejected all the time (Norway doesn’t seem to be much of a religious country), so I just decided to say hi. One was from Death Valley, CA and the other was from Utah. It was nice just to talk to other Americans for a brief moment and their surprise at being approached rather than being the one approaching was priceless.

Wednesday ended on a high note, as well. Solfrid, Cato, and I watched the last episode of the season of Ylvis, discussed fart humor, and played the Norwegian version of Yahtzee (very different scoring rules). Apparently the translation of some saying that basically means "you’re lucky" is that you “have golden hair in your butt.” Classic.

Good weekend, good week, good life. Not without it’s fair share of rough patches and loneliness, but things are lookin’ up. I'd like to end this entry with a bit of Arrested Development greatness....the falling sequence beginning around 5:00 resulted in me having a hard time catching my breath because I was laughing uncontrollably.

Ciao for now.

(Sidenote: As I start to get into a normal living routine, I will have less day-to-day documentation and I expect to shift the focus of these blogs more towards thoughts/ideas, feelings, and significant adventures. Because I’m boring myself with this type of blog rightmeow.)

Christmas in November

Time for me to step back up onto my soapbox and tell you what’s up, however irrelevant it all may be this time ‘round. This entry is chaotic and lacks much structure/order. Ehhhhohwell.

Play this video as some groovy background music while you read:

Five days ago was Christmas for me. My 2 boxes of belongings finally arrived! For the week and a half prior to box-arrivals, I had been living out of a big suitcase and a carry-on. While this actually sounds like a lot of stuff for a week and a half, I didn’t quite pack them very well. I was not at all focused on what clothes I packed into them, so my outfits were few and my jackets insufficient. I mainly packed things that would not have shipped well in boxes. So, long story short, I have all my stuff now! I’m a happy camper. (Random sidenote – in Norway, Christmas presents are opened on Christmas Eve, then they have Christmas day, then they have 2^nd Christmas day. SO much Christmasing!)

This entry will first focus on a selection of words I would use to describe Norway. This could get weird.

Ylvis – Craig (aka Craigory) posted a music video made by the Ylvis brothers just a couple days before I moved here. I thought it was hilarious and was overjoyed when I found out they have a TV show here! It is by far my favorite show I’ve watched since coming here. Sure, it may be in Norwegian, but it is still wildly entertaining. It has become a personal goal to meet one of them within the following year.

Adidas – people seem to love it. Not only because Adidas is a huge name in soccer apparel, but walking around the city, there are so many people in workout clothes, mostly seeming to be made by Adidas. And when I say workout clothes, I mean track jackets and skin-tight pants on both girls AND guys. Power to those guys.

Keyless – keyless cars are so new to me. And they apparently make me forgetful because my first real day of driving, I left the keys in the seat console…….good thing the car didn’t lock and good thing I wasn’t in the US or else the car would have probably been stolen. (Sidenote: cars are so much more advanced here, why is the US so far behind in the times?) Also, there isn’t much need to lock the house…Norway is so trusting and safe, it’s shocking and reassuring that not all of society is yet corrupted.

Voiceovers – Lately I’ve been watching a lot of Disney Junior with the kids and I can’t help but wonder what it pays to be someone who does the voiceovers of different languages for shows. Not that I ever plan to do it but I can’t help but wonder if that can be a career or just a side-job.

7-Eleven – seriously, there are probably 10 within the city of Bergen, which isn’t very big. They are EVERYWHERE. And a bit better than the ones at home. But really, you can see one while standing in front of another. That many.

NY Yankees Hats – if there is a guy walking around with a baseball-style hat, chances are very good that it’s a Yankees hat. I’m not sure why the fascination since they most likely don’t follow baseball in the least bit.

Stylish – for the most part, all the people walking around the city look so good. Although, I did see a ginger mullet the other day. But I need to step my fashion game up.

Cobbled – the streets of Bergen could not be cuter.

Heated floors – mmm. Why isn’t this a common thing in the US? It’s so efficient and so wonderful. The bathroom floor is even heated, therefore, the shower floor is heated. I love it.

Old – really though. This place is so soo old! In the US, we think something is incredibly old if it’s from the late 1700s….we are talking 1200s and 1300s here. Finally some history in my life!

Blustery – exactly how Winnie the Pooh would describe the weather on a less-than-perfect day here. The normal winds are more intense than anything I’ve ever experienced in California. But when the weather is clear (as it has been lately) then the best word would probably be “brisk.”

Sunset – some days it feels like sunset all day! If there are clouds blocking the sun, which is to the south, there is a constant golden glow. So beautiful. And the real sunsets are even better! Also, sunrise is a bit later so it is amazing to be able to easily witness both sunrise and sunset, especially in a location with a perfect view of both. I’m such a sucker for the sun.

Small – not only is the country small (in population) but lots of other things within the country are, too. Cities, portion size, cars, parking spots, items at the grocery stores, etc etc but it’s nice because everything is too big in the US.

Difficult – real talk, it’s not easy-peasy to just up and move from California to a far-away place. It’s oftentimes lonely and scary. But there is a constant underlying sense of excitement and adventure and the optimistic expectation that I will slowly learn, adjust, meet people, and establish a comfortable life here.

Metric System – whoa, I suck.

Now for the most relevant and straightforward umbrella terms to describe this wonderful place:

Clean

Expensive

Charming

Tax-happy

Scenic (understatement of the century)

And ALWAYS saturated (So. Much. Water. Everywhere.)

This past Saturday, I had my first Norwegian adventure. Cato was going to purchase a car in Oslo and he let me tag along, too! We boarded the train from Oslo to Bergen and were on our way by 8 AM. This route is known to be extremely beautiful and it definitely was, even in the awkward transitional phase between fall and winter. Almost 7 hours later we were in Oslo, bought the car, and started the long long long drive back to Bergen. Despite funky weather and nightfall, it was still such a great way to tour southern Norway. The road back took us through the mountains and past some spectacular scenery but I couldn’t quite see, but I could just feel that it was there (if that makes any sense to you). What I definitely could see were waterfalls, creeks, streams, rivers, trickles, brooks, etc EVERYWHERE. There were times I would just stare out the car window watching the little waterfalls as we passed them.

Our first stop was in Cato’s hometown of Kongsberg. After a drive through the town, we got out to walk across a bridge over a huge rapid. I was very impressed by the hydraulics of that beast and the amount of spray shooting up at the bottom. Cato also pointed out the small, old building where all of the coins in Norway are produced. Despite my short time in this town, I think I really liked it. From there we began the journey through the mountains.

The mountains of Norway are so different from the mighty Sierra Nevadas. So much rockier, hardly any trees, and very sparsely inhabited. We later stopped in the small town of Geilo, which is a big winter destination that reminded me of Mammoth but minus the big hotels, and we had dinner at a restaurant that flaunts the title of having the 2^nd best pizza in the world. I don’t know how much I believe that paper certificate near the door but it was pretty delicious. Then the drive continued.

We passed a few really big waterfalls and drove alongside many picturesque rivers. As we neared the western region of Norway, we were driving along the sides of fjords. Visibility was limited due to it being so late in the night, but there was enough moonlight to distinguish the outlines of the steep walls and narrow passages. Quite breathtaking. Because of the difficult landscape, the road has many long tunnels, during which I introduced Cato to the tradition of trying to hold your breath through tunnels. He had also never heard of No-Shave-November. Two of the greatest American traditions! Anyway, at one point we had to cross a fjord on a ferry and despite the extremely cold weather and strong winds, we stood on the upper deck so I could just take it all in. I was so giddy just to be there. I’m drawing out this trip so I’ll wrap it up. It was a great day, even with the less-than-perfect weather circumstances. I saw a lot of the country, learned many new words, and got to know Cato better. And I saw a fuzzy cow – life complete. Good times were had.

The next day was spent lounging around the house throughout the morning, followed by a beautiful outing to the neighboring island. We walked to a secluded beach, where we searched for little crabs and cool shells and rocks. All the while, I kept collecting pieces of glass to dispose of properly. Nothing rains on a beach parade like stepping on some glass. Anyway, the island was so amazing. It had so many blueberry bushes, streams (which you can drink directly from, no worries!), and epic landscapes. We also passed by two strategically placed stones, which I was informed has been blessed as a holy site. The two stones are the only remnants of a church that existed before the Black Death wiped out the entire island’s population in the 1300s. I love living somewhere with so much history and I love living so close to such a perfect little getaway.

When we got home, we watched the end of the Norwegian Cupfinalen game to determine the best soccer team within the country. The local team, Brann, was playing against Ålesund but ended up losing. I’d love to experience a soccer game while living in Europe – everybody gets sooo jazzed about it! Then I made cowboy caviar, which was wildly unpopular according to the general consensus but Solfrid is now a big fan! That means more for us and none for them when I make it again! Yummmm tastes like California.

Monday was devoted to a bit of housework and a bit more exploration. I solo trekked up to the top of the highest ridge on the island. I figured I’d climb up one way, climb down the other side, and run back home. As soon as I left the paved roadway to begin the hike, I realized I hadn’t fully left California mentally…I wore capri running pants and light running shoes….in 8 degree C weather on a trail completely made of mud and huge puddles. It was seriously muddier than Californian trails I’ve been on WHILE it is raining. That whole mentioning of saturation earlier in the blog is meant to be taken very literally. Rainboots are such a necessity in Norway! Well, it took me way longer than expected to reach the top but it was totally worth the mess. It is very safe to say that this island is notttt a bad place to live.

Then I had catfish cakes for dinner. FML. Not even bad, but the thought killed me. Catfish. Oh nasty.

Anyway, sorry this entry isn’t very entertaining – I’ve been writing it a bit here and there over the past 4 days so it got a bit sloppy. Maybe next time I’ll bring out the big guns and/or put my witty pants on. Until then, in the words of the late and great Steve Jobs, “stay hungry, stay foolish.”

P.S. for photo documentation of my new life, check out Facebook. There will be more details, explanations, and more frequent updates. And if you don’t have Facebook, my mom apparently downloads all my pictures to send to people so she’d probably be willing to add your e-mail address to her picture emails. Thanks, ma, and sorry for volunteering your services.