We all slept through the night and woke at six this morning, so I think we are now over jetlag. As we were having breakfast together, Tante Aslaug walked by our kitchen window and stuck her head in the crack and asked us how we were doing. It was very sweet to have a little visit through the kitchen window. (See photo of Kory’s favorite Norwegian breakfast – Cod liver oil, brown cheese on bread, orange marmalade on bread and pickled herring on bread – at least they were on separate slices.)
Yesterday my biggest need was clean underwear. Today, it was a car. Kory got the battery all charged up and we were thankful the car started so we didn’t have to buy a new battery. He called an insurance company to see about getting insurance on it, but the company he called said they wouldn’t insure us because we are not Norwegian residents. They were recommended to us by cousins because they are much cheaper than IF, the company we were using before, but we had no choice but to call IF back again. (I think IF is a funny name for an insurance company.) Of course they will insure us, but for a price. They said we’d get refunded half the thousand dollar premium when we leave the country, but from what I can tell about insurance companies around here (and in the U.S.), their goal is to not pay out a thing, no matter what, so I’m not holding my breath. Even after we bought travel insurance when we lived here, we haven’t seen a dime in reimbursement from Kory breaking his back and us having to buy new airline tickets. I wonder why we even need insurance since nothing is ever covered. Ugh. But insurance with IF is still cheaper than renting a car, even though the insurance premium is only a fraction of the cost of owning a car. We’ve yet to see how much the tabs will be, or if we can even get them.
Once Kory secured our insurance, he walked down to the car registration office, only to find out he didn’t have the proper paperwork with him to get our plates back. We looked everywhere for the paper they need, but couldn’t find it, so if they have to create new paperwork, it might be a while until we have wheels. Norway confiscates the license plates when the vehicle is not in use, and since they sent them off to Oslo, he had to pay $22 for them to be shipped back here to the local licensing bureau, and chances are good they won’t arrive by the weekend, and unless we find that paperwork soon, we’ll be hoofing it for many weeks to come. We need the exercise, so it’s not a problem, and everything is close, but it limits our ability to go visiting our friends. People are happy to come here though, so we aren’t wasting any time.
My friend Tina came by today for a cup of tea (see photo) since she was at the mall anyway. Living in a building attached right to the mall does have its advantages. It was great to catch up with her and we’ve already started putting dates on our calendars as to when we’ll be doing things together.
Since Kory gave the insurance company our address to mail the bill to, Tina drove me over to the post office so I could register our address as being LIVE again. They have very different systems here. I thought all I needed to do was to give them our address and tell them someone is living here again so mail would be delivered, but that turned out NOT to be the case. I had to fill out a form, which required my “person number” (think social security number). I didn’t have it with me, so I couldn’t register the address. I took the form home so I could find my person number, but I didn’t get back before 3pm when the post offices closes, (like many other services around here), so that will have to wait until tomorrow. The woman also told me it takes six days to activate our address, so hopefully they won’t send back the insurance bill if it arrives before our mailbox is officially opened. That was a genuine pain in the pa-tooty, but I guess that’s Norway’s way of being sure people who are here illegally will NOT be receiving mail. They also won’t be owning a car or opening a bank account, having a cell phone, accessing the internet or getting electricity, because all those things require a person number in order to have them, too. Norway is one tough country, but with only four and a half million people, it’s easier to keep track of them all, I suppose.
When I got home I headed for our storage unit to bring up my clothes and household items I stored last year. I was pleased my pants still fit! It was a bit worried about that since I didn’t bring many clothes with me. It’s been my motivation all year to avoid stress eating – knowing I had to fit into last year’s clothes. I’ve also been doing aerobic exercises a few times a week hoping to stem the rising tide on my waistline, and it worked! Hallelujah. I found Kory napping upon my return (see photo.)
Kaleb was gone all afternoon again with his buddies. He rode his bike in the rain to meet them all after school, then as soon as he got back home for dinner, Daniel, a friend from church stopped by for an hour and they “linked” their Ninetendo games and sat in Kaleb’s room yelling things at each other as they played the same game on different screens (see photo). It was noisy, but fun to listen to. Our condo is so small there is nowhere to escape the noise or mess. If two things are out of place, the entire house looks a shambles and with Kaleb around, that’s going to be the norm.
While Daniel was here, Cousin Linda (Aslaug’s daughter) stopped by with some fresh lefse and a household plant as a welcome back gift. That was a nice surprise. She didn’t stay long but just wanted to greet us and give us a hug. Moments after she left, our old neighbor, Tobias, came by after his Confirmation lesson at the State church next door. It was GREAT to see him (he stayed with us for six weeks last summer in America). He’s grown up so much (see photo) and is looking very much like a man. His voice has changed and he’s acting quite mature. He turns 15 on Friday. He seemed pleased with the few things we brought for him – one of them being a Chinese food take-out box with the wire handle. He so wanted to have one when he was with us last year so we ordered up take-out Chinese food and it was delivered in Styrofoam boxes! He was totally distraught over that as all he sees in the movies are those paper boxes all folded up so cool, so I managed to find a few unused ones for him and bring them – full of peanut butter M&Ms, which I discovered he also loves and aren’t available in Norway. It was nice to see him smile and visit with him a bit.
When Tobias’ mom came to get him she gave me a ride back to our old neighborhood so I could attend my old home fellowship group that was meeting tonight. Some of the women didn’t know I was back in town so there was a lot of squealing going on as people arrived and saw me there. We had a great time of prayer, singing, Bible reading and visiting. My brain hurt from trying to understand all the fast talking Norwegian. It was like listening to people speaking in tongues until I asked God to help me understand it all - and He did.
What a day!
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