Packing it UP

I packed five out of six of our suitcases today.  We might make it without having to pay excess luggage fees to get home.  Our place is a wreck right now as things are piled high for different destinations.  It looks like Kaleb’s been living here alone for a week as things are scattered helter skelter.  Hopefully soon I can start cleaning so that we leave this place in good enough shape to rent it out, should the need arise.  So far we have no plans for what to do with an empty apartment for a year.  We don’t want anyone moving in, but we sure don’t mind people staying here for lengths of time.  There’s a difference.

Kory and I worked all morning packing and sorting, then went to Philadelphia Church because Agape had their services out where Kaleb went to camp this weekend.  We opted out of that big event because of the time it would take to get there and back and we needed that time for packing and cleaning, and besides, I had a party to go to!

The minute we walked in the door at church, several people yelled, “Mickey!” like I was a rock star or something, but as it turns out, I was just an answer to prayer.  They had three people show up that knew NO Norwegian and needed to use the translation headsets to understand the service, but no one at church could translate for them.  Apparently, several people there thought that I could do the job so when I walked in, they were all excited they had a translator.  I tried to backpedal and tell them even I only understand about 75% of the sermons because there are so many specialized words used when talking about Biblical things, but they said, 75% is better than 0%.  I tried again to get out of it, knowing I wasn’t fit for the job, but they insisted.

The Bible talks about those who speak in different “tongues” and those who interpret.  Well, I’m certainly not an interpreter, but I prayed God would help me do so, so then I agreed to do it.  What a stresser!  I had to think fast, talk fast, listen intently and try to speak coherently, all at the same time.  I did okay on some normal conversation things, but once the sermon got going, I missed a lot of the points.  I’d start in on a sentence then have no idea where it was going, so I just finished it myself in the way I thought it should be said.  Little did I know I was being listened to by Liv, the church secretary who was with us last week on the Hurtigruten ferry!  When church was over she greeted me with a big hug and a huge laugh.  I told her she should have translated but she had other things to attend to and she just shook her head and said, “In Chile, there is a small city way out in the country and it’s called Better Than Nothing, and that’s what you were, you were better than nothing….” So she thanked me and said I didn’t do THAT bad, and I guess, how would the others who were listening know?  Ugh.

I had to jet out right after the service was over to go pick up The Good Teacher Inga, as we were invited to a little reunion party with some women from my old Norwegian class.  I was telling Inga about the translation job I had today and she said that’s the hardest thing to do in a foreign language so she was impressed I even tried.  I had no choice in the matter.

We had a lovely afternoon out in the sunshine at my friend Melinda’s house.  She made us lunch and we chatted away for hours.  Valesca was also there but she brought her daughter along so she had no time to visit as her daughter is very demanding.  She was really upset by it all so I told her she needs to have an American au pair (nanny) come live with her and take care of her daughter’s needs.  She loved the idea, so now I’ve been given the task of finding her someone who wants to come live in Norway to do just that.  I’m thinking it might not be that hard to do.

So the party was nice, but my time there got cut short because Kaleb called. He was home from camp an hour sooner than expected, so I rushed out of there to go get him.  The undersea tunnel I had to use to get home was closed because some car was stalled and a tow truck had to move it, so there I sat, not knowing how long I’d be.  I called Kaleb and he got a ride home with Andre, then he called me back and asked for a sleepover with Daniel.  I told him I’d like to see him today and he just bawled and bawled and said we were going home in just a few days and I could see him then but he only has a little time left with his friends here.  I had to agree with him.  I feel like bawling, too.  So now he’s at Daniel’s house for the night anyway.  I told Tina, Daniel’s mom, that I was hoping to see him today and she said, “You can have him when we are done with him.”  I thought that was funny.

We stopped by Bjorn and Inger’s house to say goodbye to them and Tobias and the twins.  They are leaving Tuesday to go on a motorhome trip over to Sweden.  In the process of talking with them, Inger offered to take care of our condo for us and to clean it if anyone uses it, so that was a huge answer to prayer for us and makes us feel very comfortable leaving it all behind.  Whew.  We had just prayed for that very situation last night at our home group party, so God was quick in answering!  Hallelujah!!!

We left Tobias’ place and went over to Cousin Odd’s house again to say HI to his daughter, Marit, who came and stayed with us in America last year.  She lives in Oslo but is home for the summer so we hadn’t seen her all year.  We had a nice chat with them and then it was home and time for bed for us.  I could go house-hopping all night, saying our good-bye’s, but I really hate to think about leaving.

And We're Off...

Some people might describe the inevitable ferries one must take along the coast of Norway as “charming”. This morning I would have described them as “inconvenient.” We were up early, ate breakfast in two gulps without even finishing our good cup of American coffee, and were quickly out the door to catch the first of many ferries on the road south out of town. We even waited to brush our teeth until we were on board. Only then did I realize I left my computer carrying case back at Odd and Turid’s house. I had my laptop with me, but many other important things were in that case – including the battery chargers for our cameras. And a road trip which doesn’t include me taking thousands of pictures along the way is no road trip at all. I was sick to my stomach. It couldn’t have been a rougher start for my meticulously planned journey. It cost us an hour, but that was a big hour so early in the day. I stayed on board the ferry for its return while Kory, Kaleb and the car got off on the other side of the fjord. Turid was gracious enough to meet me back at the ferry dock and hand over the precious cargo. I was so disappointed in myself, but somewhat thankful it wasn’t Kory or Kaleb who left something behind. Kaleb was already upset with me that I forgot to pack his favorite stuffed dog he’s had since he was two years old (given to him by my brother’s family). That dog has gone on all our trips with us and as Kaleb says, “He’s a good traveling companion.” (We know he has no broken bones because of the number of times he’s been x-rayed by airport security.) Kaleb cried a few tears until I told him there might be another dog in his future – stuffed of course.

The day was unusually hot but the kind of beautiful one comes to expect in Norway, and is rare in all other places on this planet. We went on Route 39 to Bergen – a road we’ve been on a few times now. Each season brings a different appearance to the all familiar terrain. In winter, the way the ice is formed and the minimal lighting makes it a unique sight. In the summer, the wild flowers and the bright blue skies make the exact same scene appear completely different. Even with the loss of an hour today, we made it to Bergen on schedule. Kory drove like a maniac and fortunately, didn’t get caught. I nearly died a few times from close calls, but surely angels were watching over us. I think he was dreaming of driving a race car very fast around tight corners, and I only let out a screech once or twice along the way all the while praying for traveling mercies. I think Kory misses his Studebaker Avanti back home. Kaleb entertained himself in the back seat reading books and watching movies. We spent so much time in tunnels he had to keep a flashlight handy.

We stopped in Bergen for dinner by the harbor and a little walk around town to stretch our legs. Kaleb didn’t find any stuffed dogs as a suitable replacement for “Brownie,” so the search will continue. It was a five ferry day, which makes for a decent road trip since we are in the car an hour, on the ferry for 20 minutes and in the car for another hour until the next ferry and on it goes. The ferries are also the best public restroom system Norway has going because otherwise, it’s just a bush or a rock providing the same service with no toilet paper or flush. We timed all the ferries well except the last one where we had to wait over an hour, but it was just as well since the last 50 cars didn’t get on board and had to wait two hours for the next one. The harbor where we waited was gorgeous with little boat shacks nestled in between the cracks in the rock walls near the shore. It’s beyond describing. Ice cream helped pass the time.

When we finally arrived at Austevoll - the island of our destination (we are attending Bent-Jarle’s wedding here tomorrow – Kory’s cousin’s grandson whom we love very much), Kory insisted on programming his GPS system to help find the way. I nearly lost it. There is only one road on this island and it goes right past the guesthouse where we are staying, but there’s something about men and their gadgets. It’s not like I didn’t have a map. It wouldn’t have been so bad to have him playing with that thing if he wouldn’t have also been driving at the same time. I keep telling him he needs to lead by example and that sure wasn’t something I wanted Kaleb to see. I decided it was best that I drive and before he could even punch all the buttons on his little “toy,” we magically arrived at our destination without the assistance of GPS or a map. Imagine that.

For the next two nights we’re staying next to a very quaint harbor at a Guesthouse (see photo). We have a suite complete with kitchenette overlooking the sea. The family is all here now and after a few hours with them tonight out on the deck drinking wine and talking about all our hair-raising experiences we had getting here, I had to cut out early (at midnight) to feed my blog addition. They all thought I should just skip today, but they don’t understand either.