Since I didn’t have a Bible study to prepare for today, I decided to go to school because I skipped school last Friday. I was so looking forward to seeing My Pal Vestina, so when I got there and found her to be missing, I never fully recovered from being in the dumps. She wasn’t feeling well so she stayed home. I wasn’t feeling well because I went. There are too many new students in our class and I’m now totally out of my comfort zone. Vestina is my anchor, my partner and my entertainment. I just love that woman (see photo). I think she is a lot like I wished I was thirty years ago. She is from Lithuania and she has it all together. She can have any man she wants, but she wants an education first and foremost and won’t be distracted by their non-stop flattery and pursuit of her. She is so focused, she’s incredibly smart, she’s a hard worker and dedicated student, she’s good with her money, she’s got one heck of a figure, she’s got style and she’s VERY funny. She really wants to be a stylist in the fashion industry so she’s getting her foot in the door by volunteering in a hair salon just to see what she can learn before she starts “frisør” school this fall (hair styling). The owner of the salon is a Muslim who is just ga-ga over her (most men are). When he finally showed his cards last week and revealed his passion for her, she just looked at him in disgust and said, “What? You expect me to move in with you so I can cook your food, clean your house and wash your socks? And then you’ll want me to put one of those black things over my head so I can become your property? Are you crazy? Go find yourself a woman of your own kind because I have NO desire to have any kind of relationship with you.” Oh yeah, she has guts, too. The Good Teacher Inga can’t understand how Vestina and I can be such close friends because of our age difference, but we are, and I will miss her the most. School was so boring today without her.
We are now learning about Norwegian folk tales and today was the first time I’ve heard that trolls turn to rock if they are ever exposed to sunlight. News to me. We also learned about the huldra – a mythical gorgeous woman who lives in the woods and can almost bewitch men with her appearance. She is gorgeous in everyway with long beautiful hair, she comes from a rich family and is hard working, but the only problem is, she also comes with a cow’s tail. But as the stories go, her tail will fall off if she gets married in a church. Now there’s a little propaganda mixed in with the fairy tales for ya. We also learned many descriptive words we can use to make up our own colorful stories. None of them were as funny as the one I saw in an advertisement in Oslo yesterday, however. Norwegians also have “couch potatoes” but the potato is such a staple in the Norwegian diet, and such a revered food they would never associate it with anything negative – so their word for the same kind of lazy person is a “sofa pig” (sofa grisen). I like that much better. And their word for a bratty little kid is “snørrvalp,” which literally translates as “snotty puppy.” There is another Norwegian word for “snot” or “buggers,” and that is “bøb,” which sounds like “bub,” which is one of the nicknames I have for Kaleb. A few times I’ve gone to pick him up at someone’s house and I’ve said, “Let’s go, Bub” and I’ve gotten the strangest looks from the parents. Finally, Tobias told me what it meant, so I try not to call him that in public even if he is my little Bub.
Kory worked today and came home very tired. He was surprised this afternoon when the owners of the house they are building came by the job site with coffee and homemade “bløtkake” (“soft cake” - it has a lot of cream filling and is unbelievably delicious). I guess it’s not that uncommon for homeowners to do special things for the builders when the work is going on. Nice tradition.
Kaleb went to school today and came home very frustrated. He was hit and kicked again by Morten today, but since that is such an everyday occurrence now, he doesn’t even mention it when I ask about his day. What he was upset about today though was that Morten called him “Ugly.” I said, “Was that the best he could come up with, because you are anything but ugly.” Kaleb said, “Well, I don’t know if that’s the worst thing he said. He said some other things too but that word was the only one I knew,” which was probably a good thing. He started crying as he was telling me about it because it hurt his feelings to be called names. There is just no end to his encounters with Morten. Yesterday when Kaleb’s buddies were over, I asked them what they thought of Morten. They have all been attacked by him as well. Andre said he is horrible, but Toben said he feels sorry for him because he has ADHD. He had a very sympathetic tone as he talked about him, almost defending him, saying that Morten often doesn’t even remember when he’s hit or kicked someone, that he just does it without even thinking, and when he does realize it, he feels terrible about it afterwards. And therein lies the goal of the Norwegian socialized school system – to teach tolerance for kids that are different. Apparently we haven’t lived here long enough to appreciate that.
We are now learning about Norwegian folk tales and today was the first time I’ve heard that trolls turn to rock if they are ever exposed to sunlight. News to me. We also learned about the huldra – a mythical gorgeous woman who lives in the woods and can almost bewitch men with her appearance. She is gorgeous in everyway with long beautiful hair, she comes from a rich family and is hard working, but the only problem is, she also comes with a cow’s tail. But as the stories go, her tail will fall off if she gets married in a church. Now there’s a little propaganda mixed in with the fairy tales for ya. We also learned many descriptive words we can use to make up our own colorful stories. None of them were as funny as the one I saw in an advertisement in Oslo yesterday, however. Norwegians also have “couch potatoes” but the potato is such a staple in the Norwegian diet, and such a revered food they would never associate it with anything negative – so their word for the same kind of lazy person is a “sofa pig” (sofa grisen). I like that much better. And their word for a bratty little kid is “snørrvalp,” which literally translates as “snotty puppy.” There is another Norwegian word for “snot” or “buggers,” and that is “bøb,” which sounds like “bub,” which is one of the nicknames I have for Kaleb. A few times I’ve gone to pick him up at someone’s house and I’ve said, “Let’s go, Bub” and I’ve gotten the strangest looks from the parents. Finally, Tobias told me what it meant, so I try not to call him that in public even if he is my little Bub.
Kory worked today and came home very tired. He was surprised this afternoon when the owners of the house they are building came by the job site with coffee and homemade “bløtkake” (“soft cake” - it has a lot of cream filling and is unbelievably delicious). I guess it’s not that uncommon for homeowners to do special things for the builders when the work is going on. Nice tradition.
Kaleb went to school today and came home very frustrated. He was hit and kicked again by Morten today, but since that is such an everyday occurrence now, he doesn’t even mention it when I ask about his day. What he was upset about today though was that Morten called him “Ugly.” I said, “Was that the best he could come up with, because you are anything but ugly.” Kaleb said, “Well, I don’t know if that’s the worst thing he said. He said some other things too but that word was the only one I knew,” which was probably a good thing. He started crying as he was telling me about it because it hurt his feelings to be called names. There is just no end to his encounters with Morten. Yesterday when Kaleb’s buddies were over, I asked them what they thought of Morten. They have all been attacked by him as well. Andre said he is horrible, but Toben said he feels sorry for him because he has ADHD. He had a very sympathetic tone as he talked about him, almost defending him, saying that Morten often doesn’t even remember when he’s hit or kicked someone, that he just does it without even thinking, and when he does realize it, he feels terrible about it afterwards. And therein lies the goal of the Norwegian socialized school system – to teach tolerance for kids that are different. Apparently we haven’t lived here long enough to appreciate that.
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