The people you see in the photo today are friends we had over for dinner tonight. A few years ago we had cousins from Norway visiting us in Mt. Vernon so we took them on a little tour around Washington State. We’d stopped at a rest stop near Leavenworth, and when I thought we’d been there long enough I yelled out (in Norwegian), it was time to go. There was a man standing near me that turned around and asked me “Er du Norsk?” (Are you Norwegian?) and I told him I wasn’t, but they all were – pointing to the cousins. Kory’s cousin Linda is married to Lief-Eric Bondevik, who is the nephew to the then Prime Minister of Norway. I was trying to impress the guy so I introduced Lief-Eric to this total stranger. The stranger (Ole-Petter) said that he listens to Lief-Eric on the radio. Right away we knew Ole-Petter (on the left in the photo) was from Kory’s part of Norway because the radio station Lief-Eric works for is only broadcast around Ålesund. So, it was a small world thing… but then it got smaller.
I then introduced Kory with his birth/Norwegian name as “Kåre” and Ole-Petter said, “Kåre Slaatthaug?” three times very slowly and thoughtfully, until finally he said, “Didn’t you used to live in Langevåg and you moved to America when you were a kid?” Kory couldn’t believe it – how could he know! So then he told Ole-Petter that yes, that was the case, and Ole-Petter told him that they used to be neighbors and they played together a lot. In fact, Kory had spent the night at his house before he moved away and their older brothers kept in touch via letters for a few years after they moved. So then I had to ask why he was now in America and he said his friend’s son married a woman from Portland, Oregon and they were here for the wedding and now just touring around before going home the next week. The Bondeviks were leaving us that week so I invited Ole-Petter and his wife Unni to come the next week to stay with us so we could have time to visit. They said they were meeting up with their friends and they would have them along and they hated to impose. Then Lief-Eric told them we had a big enough house and it would be OK, so they took our number and said they would call. I prayed they would as it was so exciting to meet someone from Kory’s childhood.
So the next week, they called. They came for dinner and of course, I wouldn’t let them leave, as we have two guest rooms, and we got to meet their friends, Kolbjørn and Anne-Grete Rørstad as well (on the right). Over the nights’ conversation they mentioned that in Norway no one would just pick up people off the street and invite them home for dinner. I said, “Well, Norway is a small country and we’re probably all related anyway,” and we had a good laugh. Then when they went upstairs to go to bed, I showed them the family tree that I had taped on some closet doors up there and I pointed out Kory’s mom’s side of the family – thinking they would see a few farm names they recognized. Kolbjørn pointed to Kory’s great-grandmother’s name and said, “Rørstad -- that’s MY last name.” So I immediately went to my genealogy files and pulled out the census from 1900 for the Rørstad farm and asked if he knew anyone listed there. “That’s my grandmother,” he said, pointing to a name, which happened to be the sister to Kory’s great grandmother – so Kolbjørn and Kory’s are 3rd cousins and I was right – we were related! And that’s how these two couples ended up as our friends… one an old neighbor to Kory, and the other a distant cousin. In past visits they have both had us over to their houses for a meal, so it was our pleasure tonight to finally have them back into our home. We had another great evening visiting about all kinds of things but mostly laughing about how it is I’m adjusting to Norwegian life and learning the language. Good times.
It was a gorgeous day today – in the 70s and still feeling like summer -- so unusual for Aalesund. ( I’m thinking that global warming will work well in Norway.) Kaleb had an uneventful, but fun day – so that’s the best news of all. Kory worked again today because he’s taking some days off in October for our little vacation up north and his day was just fine, until he had to use the bathroom. It was then he realized they don’t have sani-cans on the job sites in Norway – so he had to drive all the way home to use the toilet. He came home laughing about that, not able to understand the logic in it. He said his co-workers just head for the nearest bushes, which is OK under certain circumstances, but it wasn’t going to work too well for him today. Uff da.
For the last hour of my Norsk class today we got to attend a concert by Ålesund’s finest string quartet. They were great musicians, but the problem was they were playing a composition by some local guy that was about as easy to listen to as a cat in heat. They redeemed themselves afterwards by playing a piece by Beethoven. (I think the Germans beat the Norwegians in more than World War II… I think they get the blue ribbon for musical composition as well.) But Norwegians are very much into ambiance and we do start every school day off with a little music, which I like. There are also blooming flowers in the room and little doilies with candles on the tables in our break room which people light during break. In America we often associate candles, flowers and music with romance, but here in Norway, it’s an everyday thing- especially in the workplace, well, at least in office jobs anyway. My bus passes by several office building and I always see employees eating in their lunch room – complete with flowers, table clothes, candles burning, and I imagine, music softly playing in the background. At his job, I don’t know that Kory would care so much about the ambiance of candles, flowers or music as much as he’d just like a toilet every now and then to sit on.
I then introduced Kory with his birth/Norwegian name as “Kåre” and Ole-Petter said, “Kåre Slaatthaug?” three times very slowly and thoughtfully, until finally he said, “Didn’t you used to live in Langevåg and you moved to America when you were a kid?” Kory couldn’t believe it – how could he know! So then he told Ole-Petter that yes, that was the case, and Ole-Petter told him that they used to be neighbors and they played together a lot. In fact, Kory had spent the night at his house before he moved away and their older brothers kept in touch via letters for a few years after they moved. So then I had to ask why he was now in America and he said his friend’s son married a woman from Portland, Oregon and they were here for the wedding and now just touring around before going home the next week. The Bondeviks were leaving us that week so I invited Ole-Petter and his wife Unni to come the next week to stay with us so we could have time to visit. They said they were meeting up with their friends and they would have them along and they hated to impose. Then Lief-Eric told them we had a big enough house and it would be OK, so they took our number and said they would call. I prayed they would as it was so exciting to meet someone from Kory’s childhood.
So the next week, they called. They came for dinner and of course, I wouldn’t let them leave, as we have two guest rooms, and we got to meet their friends, Kolbjørn and Anne-Grete Rørstad as well (on the right). Over the nights’ conversation they mentioned that in Norway no one would just pick up people off the street and invite them home for dinner. I said, “Well, Norway is a small country and we’re probably all related anyway,” and we had a good laugh. Then when they went upstairs to go to bed, I showed them the family tree that I had taped on some closet doors up there and I pointed out Kory’s mom’s side of the family – thinking they would see a few farm names they recognized. Kolbjørn pointed to Kory’s great-grandmother’s name and said, “Rørstad -- that’s MY last name.” So I immediately went to my genealogy files and pulled out the census from 1900 for the Rørstad farm and asked if he knew anyone listed there. “That’s my grandmother,” he said, pointing to a name, which happened to be the sister to Kory’s great grandmother – so Kolbjørn and Kory’s are 3rd cousins and I was right – we were related! And that’s how these two couples ended up as our friends… one an old neighbor to Kory, and the other a distant cousin. In past visits they have both had us over to their houses for a meal, so it was our pleasure tonight to finally have them back into our home. We had another great evening visiting about all kinds of things but mostly laughing about how it is I’m adjusting to Norwegian life and learning the language. Good times.
It was a gorgeous day today – in the 70s and still feeling like summer -- so unusual for Aalesund. ( I’m thinking that global warming will work well in Norway.) Kaleb had an uneventful, but fun day – so that’s the best news of all. Kory worked again today because he’s taking some days off in October for our little vacation up north and his day was just fine, until he had to use the bathroom. It was then he realized they don’t have sani-cans on the job sites in Norway – so he had to drive all the way home to use the toilet. He came home laughing about that, not able to understand the logic in it. He said his co-workers just head for the nearest bushes, which is OK under certain circumstances, but it wasn’t going to work too well for him today. Uff da.
For the last hour of my Norsk class today we got to attend a concert by Ålesund’s finest string quartet. They were great musicians, but the problem was they were playing a composition by some local guy that was about as easy to listen to as a cat in heat. They redeemed themselves afterwards by playing a piece by Beethoven. (I think the Germans beat the Norwegians in more than World War II… I think they get the blue ribbon for musical composition as well.) But Norwegians are very much into ambiance and we do start every school day off with a little music, which I like. There are also blooming flowers in the room and little doilies with candles on the tables in our break room which people light during break. In America we often associate candles, flowers and music with romance, but here in Norway, it’s an everyday thing- especially in the workplace, well, at least in office jobs anyway. My bus passes by several office building and I always see employees eating in their lunch room – complete with flowers, table clothes, candles burning, and I imagine, music softly playing in the background. At his job, I don’t know that Kory would care so much about the ambiance of candles, flowers or music as much as he’d just like a toilet every now and then to sit on.
