The Day Before Rome

The Good Teacher Inga heard my cries today. I complained bitterly that the class is moving along so rapidly I’m lost in a fog. Others in the class nodded in agreement. Inga looked surprised. The reason she is The Good Teacher Inga is because she cares. She decided we can slow things down a bit and have more time to comprehend all we are learning. Honestly, I was nearly ready to drop out because I just couldn’t keep up with the amount of homework and how hard everything is. I’m still not that great with basic grammar but now we are learning more advanced things like how to build compound words like “underholdingsprogram” which tricks the eye because there are so many English looking words in there, but the meaning isn’t obvious. “Program” means just that, same in both languages, but “underholding” means “entertainment” – why, I do not know. When two words are combined together there must either be an “e” or an “s” between them, unless of course they are short words and then nothing is required, but there are no specific rules on when to use the e or the s. Imagine that. I’m still trying to figure out who came up with this stuff, and I think I might now know. Some guy named Ivar Aasen went around Norway about a hundred years ago and wrote down all the words used in different areas for the same things, and came up with a nice “blend” of them all and then wrote the first Norwegian dictionary – of sorts. I guess he’s Norway’s version of Mr. Webster. If he were alive today, I’m not sure I would hail him as the hero the locals do. There is a museum dedicated to him in his home town (not far from here), I’ve seen ferries named after the guy and of course he’s a big figure in the history books. I’d like to wring his neck. Of course, I have no idea how bad it was before all these grammar rules came in to play, but I’m not real fond of the ones they are using today, that’s for sure. At least I get to skip the next two days and the following week is winter break, so hopefully my batteries will be recharged when I come back.

Kory had his heart test today. They found “something” that didn’t look right (no surprise there), so they ordered more tests for him (including an angiogram) for the first week of March when we are back from vacation. He has to go to Trondheim for the test, however, which is a six hour drive from here. He’s not wanted an angiogram before (they go in with a little camera and see what things look like on the inside of his arteries), but now he feels more at peace with it, so he’s getting it done. After that he’ll see what the doctors say and we’ll go from there. He said the cardiologist he spoke with today said that America doctors have a reputation around the world for being a bit “too eager” with their patients, and Kory agreed, so we’ll see what the Norwegians think.

Kaleb had a fine day at school today and isn’t terribly thrilled about going to Rome tomorrow. He was looking forward to more play dates with his classmates during the break and he doesn’t like to miss Thursdays because that’s the day they have “forming” (hand crafts). I hope he changes his mind when we get there. He worked a little after school today on the two year anniversary edition of The Weakly Puppy, which is due the day we return. I can’t believe he’s been at it for two years. I’m glad he’s taking a little break after this because he hasn’t even petted a dog in at least a month. He is losing interest in them, I dare say. Sabina was over all afternoon and they played games together on the computer. I’m so shocked over how little kids move around anymore. When I was a kid we played kick-the-can and hide-and-seek, but now they just sit on the couch and look at one computer screen or another. These last ten years in Norway have been quite transforming as the internet has taken hold and satellite dishes are the norm. It has changed the culture here for the kids as much as mother’s being part of the work force. This is really the first generation to grow up without a mom at home, and with so many outside influences. It will be interesting to see what happens in ten or twenty years. One recent survey taken asked parents what they thought was important for their children to learn and 92% said “to follow instructions,” but only 11% said they thought it was important that they learn to work hard. That ranking was just below the 12% that thought it was important for the children to have a religious belief. Divorce is now at 50%, but that only measures those couples that actually got married. Living together couples far exceeds “ektepar” – literally translated means “real couples,” but refers only to married couples (as if couples NOT married are “unreal.”) About a hundred years ago all the illegitimate babies were recorded in the church book records as “uekte” (unreal). There are so many hidden agendas in the words that get used in this language. But I like the fact that Rome is spelled Roma here and if you spell that backwards, it spell AMOR (which is Latin of course, for love), and I’m lovin’ that we are going there tomorrow!

We Have Sludd

The snow keeps melting, but there is a lot of it to melt, so it might be this yucky slush (“sludd”) for many more days. They use a combination of salt and sand on the roads here so all the mounds of snow along the roadways are starting to look a nasty shade of brown. The pristine can turn ugly with just a few degrees variation. It’s okay by me though, as we are now packing our bags and will soon be flying to sunny Rome! The entire time we are gone it looks like Aalesund is in for rain, but so far, the weather forecast in Rome is sunny and around 50 degrees. Yahoo. I’m ready for a little vacation because my Norwegian class is moving along at a pace faster than I can manage. I had zero motivation to get out of bed this morning and continue this torture called the Norwegian language. We had a test the other day and I didn’t know half the words on it, wondering where they came from, only to find out, they were our new vocabulary words which somehow slipped right past me. It must be the poor lighting on the bus in the morning when I’m doing my homework… I’m just losing it, I fear.

I checked my e-mail before I caught the bus this morning, and then felt compelled to answer a message from one of our tenants in Seattle, which nearly made me miss the bus. Kaleb ran out the door to hold the bus for me and just as the bus pulled out, he realized he forgot his swimming gear. He has swimming for PE every other week. I told him to get off at the next stop and go back and get it, and he said he doesn’t like swimming anyway because the water is so cold at the pool they use so he didn’t want to do that. He “forgot” his swimsuit the last time they had swimming too so I told him I was very disappointed in him for not being more responsible and that he couldn’t use any electronics today because he was choosing to miss his PE class when there was still plenty of time for him to rectify the situation. He got off the bus at his stop by the school and I waved good-bye and went on to my school. When I got home today he told me that he started walking toward school and about half way there he stopped and thought, “I don’t want Mama to be disappointed in me. I want her to be proud of me,” so he turned around and RAN back to the house (over a mile with a heavy backpack), to get his swim gear and then he caught the next bus and made it to school on time. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He swears his only motivation was to make me proud and NOT because he would lose the use of his Nintendo and laptop (he often doesn’t even have time to play with them), so that cheered me up like nothing else. I guess this is normal parent stuff, where the kid can go from driving one crazy to filling hearts with joy. I’m not sure I have a strong enough seatbelt for this roller coaster ride I’m on, but I’m thankful today was an UP day nonetheless.

Kory had his “Friday” today as he’s now off work for a few weeks, and happy about that. He gets tired, his body hurts, and he wants to be re-retired. At least he can sit and draw and that doesn’t wear him out. Tomorrow he goes in for a test on his heart, which I think has him a little worried. His cousin Odd (who is a doctor) has been pestering him since he got here to have a Norwegian doctor tell him if there’s anything wrong. Kory doesn’t trust American doctors because he thinks their number one priority is to make money, not do what’s best for the patient. It’s been nearly four years now since a cardiologist told him if he didn’t have surgery, he had a 30% chance of dropping dead of a heart attack within six months. We prayed about it and God clearly did not lead in that direction. Kory hasn’t had surgery, isn’t on drugs and is still kickin’, but he is getting tired of all the vitamins and his restricted diet (although he hasn’t been so strict since we’ve been in Norway, nor has he exercised one bit since we got here.) Kory knows God has healed his heart, to some degree or in some places, but he still gets angina pain if he exerts himself, so he knows there must still be a blockage somewhere. Before we came to Norway he had a heart scan and it showed one artery was 100% clean, which is a bit unusual for a guy his age, so he’s thinking that’s the spot he felt get healed once when he was being prayed for. I’m still believing for a total healing miracle, but the heart scan did show two arteries that are partially blocked. We will continue to pray for guidance and wisdom from God, no matter what the test shows tomorrow. Doctors aren’t God, only God is God, and we’d much rather take advice from Him. God can heal through a variety of sources, including doctors, but He just hasn’t opened that door for us. It takes a lot of faith to go against doctor’s advice, but God has never let us down. We refuse to make a “fear based” decision. Every decision we make, we must be at peace with, because the Bible says fear doesn’t come from God – so that only leaves one other source - and we’re not going there.

The Big Melt

It's warming up inside and out. For some reason, which I’d like to attribute to answered prayer, Kaleb woke up in a much better mood today and was as pleasant as he could be and fairly cooperative. We rode the bus down the street together this morning since the roads are still a bit slick (but the snow is melting quickly). This afternoon Kaleb said he had a good time at school – especially at recess when the kids all participated in a covert snowball fight. Such things are not allowed, but the teacher, as Kaleb and the other kids discovered, doesn’t have eyes in the back of her head, so wherever she WASN’T looking is where the snowballs went flying. Kaleb thought it was pretty fun, even though a few hard packed ice balls smacked him upside the head. (They don’t call them hard-headed Norwegians for nothin’.) He spoke to me only in Norwegian today, and I returned the courtesy. I’m so relieved my sweet little boy is back. He had me pretty worried, but perhaps he was just homesick or lonely or tired or overwhelmed or something else that has moved on. As my Daddy used to say, “This too shall pass,” and thank you Jesus, it did.

Today was a little busier for me than normal. After school I cleaned house and made banana bread for the Bible study we had tonight for the refugees. I helped Kaleb with his homework, made dinner, taught Bible study and left early to go to the “Jesus Kvinne” (Jesus Women) meeting at Filaldelfia Church. I took Ledto with me (she’s a woman that attends our Bible study) so Kory stayed behind and finished up the first half of James chapter 2 with just the men. Ledto is from Eritrea, a very small country in Africa that borders Sudan. Eritrea has become communist and will not allow Christians to practice their faith. All the staff from Ledto’s church back home are in prison. She and her husband, Emmanuel, escaped Eritrea just over a year ago. She told me they had to “run away in the night” and it took them 10 nights of walking and hiding (up in trees or in bushes) during the day to get to a place in Sudan where they knew they were “safe,” although she said, they weren’t really. They had to take a lot of money with them (her husband was an engineer in Eritrea), to pay off all the right people to get refugee status in Sudan. We ran out of time before I could hear the rest of the story, but she told me those ten days of escape were very frightening and they didn’t know if they would live or die. She said her husband had been imprisoned for his faith, so that’s why they left. All their family is back in Africa and she’s now seven months pregnant. They don’t know if Norway will accept their application to continue to live here as refugees – they could easily be denied and have to go back. All the refugees here live with such uncertainty, as sometimes it takes years before the Norwegian government approves their application. The refugees in our Bible study have such a peace, and such a handle on the providence of God, that to them, it’s all just part of the process of living a life of faith. Lawrence, the man from Darfur in Sudan, made the comment tonight that ALL Christians are refugees here on this earth, because this isn’t our homeland either. I love that guy. He is so positive and so knowledgeable about the Bible and wavers NOT in his belief (he’s the one whose parents and other loved ones were murdered by the Muslim Jihad.) It’s humbling to be around people with REAL problems and REAL pain and yet I’d never know it unless I’d asked (but I’m learning not to ask too much, which is hard because I’m so curious.)

So today shaped up pretty well but now I’m tired and want to sleep and I haven’t done a lick of homework (I have plenty.) Besides all my regular assignments, I’m supposed to read a newspaper article and be prepared to discuss it in class tomorrow. We are on the topic of the “media” right now and so far I haven’t been able to participate in the discussions because they have revolved around certain TV shows or movies and I’m oblivious to all that since we don’t have a TV and the only movies I’ve seen for the past 10 years have been rated G. I did find out today though that Norway’s government heavily subsidizes all the newspapers, which explains why they aren’t full of advertisements. But I also found out that the biggest newspaper in this country, in the last four years, has lost over a million readers (they had 1.4 million and are now down to 300,000). A sign of the times, they say, with the internet increasing in popularity. But what’s strange is that that newspaper has NEVER had subscribers. Each and every day, people must go to a kiosk or store and buy the paper if they want to read it. If that newspaper want to survive in these “tough economic times,” maybe they can learn a thing or two from the pizza guy because at least he delivers.

I've Had Better Days

For the bulk of today I just wanted to scream. For some reason, Kaleb whined and complained and made every sad and sour face he could come up with the whole day. I hope he’s not getting sick, but he was insufferable today and I couldn’t be happier that this day is over. Tobias even came over to play with him and he wouldn’t go outside – he just sat on the couch with a grouchy look and swore he just couldn’t help himself – that for some reason he just felt crabby. It was contagious. Tobias had the good sense to leave. I guess I should have done the same. Uff da. I tried to take a nap but Kaleb’s whining prohibited that. He sounded like a wounded puppy, just sitting in a lump on the couch making pathetic moans and groans. He doesn’t like being in Norway, he doesn’t like school, he doesn’t want to go to Rome, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want us for parents. Ugh. And I still have the teenage years to look forward to. And to make matters worse, we’ve got a tenant at our apartment building in Seattle that is making me crazy with e-mails nearly every day ranting and raving about all kinds of insane things, and we’re helpless to do anything about them because there are no solutions. He even called Kory tonight to say he doesn’t like people being in the laundry room the same time he is in there – like Kory can do something about that! Good grief. And on top of all that - we went to Filadelfia Church this morning and they were out of translating headsets so I didn’t understand everything that was being preached and afterwards Kory wanted to point out all the things that were said in the sermon that he felt were beneficial for me to apply to my life. I told him I didn’t understand everything, so maybe those things were really meant for just HIM to hear. Ha. What a day. I’m frazzled.

After dinner tonight we walked over to cousin Axel and Kari’s house to see their photos from the trip they took to Israel last fall. Both Kory and I have been there (at different times) so it was fun to see what’s changed since we were there – and to see a few places neither of us had been to. On the walk back home Kaleb and I were talking to each other in Norwegian and he came up with a plan to alleviate some of his apparent pain. He said he would like to talk just Norwegian to me in exchange for not doing algebra (he doesn’t like that I have him do extra school work when other kids don’t have to). He also wants me to speak just Norwegian to him (which is probably a good idea.) I told him it was fine with me. So we made a deal that if he can go a whole day speaking only Norwegian to Kory and I, then the next day he wouldn’t have to do any algebra. He thought that was fair, but just before he went to bed he asked me a question in English without thinking, so it won’t be as easy as he thinks. He’s full of questions, that boy. Yesterday he wanted to know why muscles are more sore the day after shoveling snow than on the day the muscles get used. Good one. I’d like to know that too, since I’m still feeling rather stiff and this is now the second day after shoveling snow.

It got above freezing today so all the snow is sliding off roof tops in big sheets, and it’s very fun to watch. The snow outside now is not as pristine as it was but it’s way better for making snowmen. I tried to make a snowman yesterday but the snow was so dry it just fell apart every time I formed a decent sized ball. Today was a different story and snowmen were popping up all over the neighborhood. And the coolest thing about them is that everyone makes snowmen or sculptures and they put candles in them! In the photo today, the flash overpowered the glow coming out from the snowman’s eyes and mouth, like a pumpkin. It’s such an odd effect – snow and fire mixing to make art. We saw one big dome made out of snow balls with a large candle burning inside so all the space between the balls was glowing. I guess the candle heat doesn’t really melt the snow that fast so it doesn’t hurt to do it. It sure makes for a nice walk in the dark around here since so many creations are lit up. The snowman in the photo today is sporting the AaFK (Ålesund Fotball Klubb) colors – blue and orange. “Football” is “soccer” here and Ålesund has a professional soccer team which the entire city is ga-ga over. They play their games on Sundays and many people fly the team flag to show their support, even though they are the worst team in all of Norway. It’s a situation similar to the Chicago Cubs – it makes no sense that there is so much support for them when their results are so poor but I guess everyone loves the underdog – and it’s the exact same situation here in Ålesund. I’m not a sports fan myself, so I just can’t relate. Kory went to a soccer game with cousin Odd once and thought it was a lot like church, only a bit more rowdy. The soccer team has a huge choir that leads the audience in songs, everyone cheers and shouts (not “hallelujah”, but they might as well), and they all dress for the occasion (in blue and orange, not their Sunday best.) Kory came home from that game wondering why we don’t get that fired up for God. And I came home from church today just wondering “why.”

Not Your Typical Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is a new thing in Norway. “That’s American,” I’ve heard more than one Norwegian say about the day, right after they let off a big huff. They are sure the retailers have only picked up on the idea because there is a profit they can make from it, which disgusts the Norwegians even more than the fact it’s one more American tradition invading their country. The fact it’s a day to celebrate LOVE is completely lost on them. Oh well. What’s interesting is that red hearts are the traditional Christmas decoration here so I was curious how Valentine’s Day would play out in the stores, and the answer is – PINK. They only use pink hearts for Valentine’s Day, which distinguishes it from the left-over red Christmas heart things still being sold for a 75% discount everywhere. Too funny.

Our trip to Rome on Thursday is my Valentine’s Day present and romantic enough for me, so I just the let the day slide so Kory’s off the hook (as am I). Kory doesn’t do well showing his affections on prescribed days of the year like anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas or Valentine’s Day. He feels too controlled by the calendar and he’d just as soon choose the moments he does something special for me, so I’ve had to make peace with that. A trip to Rome works well though, even if I did have to plan it myself. But I got the best Valentine’s Day gift today from Kaleb, and he doesn’t even know it. I went to Agape Church this morning to hear a special speaker that came in from England to talk on church growth (I mostly went because I just wanted to hear a sermon in English.) Afterwards, the pastor’s wife (who is a teacher at Kaleb’s school), told me something about Kaleb that filled my heart with pride. She said that this week at school the kids were rehearsing a song for an Easter production. It is a Christian song and one of her favorites. The kids were supposed to be raising and lowering their hands during different parts of the song but Kaleb was so in to it, she said, that he just kept his hands raised, closed his eyes, and began worshipping God while singing it. She said all the teachers saw it and talked about it later. That’s my boy! It does my heart good to know he’s not afraid to love on God like that outside of church. Every day I pray for him before he goes to school that he will be “a light in the darkness,” and my prayers are being answered. Hallelujah!

Kaleb spent the entire day with four of his classmates that all live on the same street, quite a ways from where we live so Kory had to drive him over there. Kaleb said they built snow caves, had snowball fights, rolled down the hills covered in snow and dug each other out after they jumped off a cliff into a huge pile of snow. I’m sure he’ll remember this day for years to come. I want him to connect with as many kids as he can while we are here so when we come back every year he has friends to hang out with. Today was a good day for that as the snow provided so much entertainment. I hate that so many kids are hooked on electronics these days, so I’m glad there was something else to do besides that. Kaleb had a lot of fun, but it wasn’t so much fun for us when we went to pick him up tonight and got stuck up on the hill where he was. Kory and I both had to dig out the van, which took about 30 minutes, and the snow keeps on falling, but I still love it! (The photo today is of Kaleb and Tobias’ snow cave from yesterday.)

This afternoon Kory and I went to a concert at the local high school. Cousin Linda’s son, Rasmuss (age 18), played the piano for several songs. That kid is incredibly talented so it was nice to hear him perform. The concert was to promote the use of “fair trade” products. I think it’s a pet project for some of the high school kids – their shot at doing something to help make the world a better place – as there was quite a long presentation on the state of food production around the world and what a difference it makes for the farmers when they are able to sell their foods at a “fair trade” price. It was interesting to listen to that talk on the same day I heard the talk about church growth. Everyone has their “product” to sell. On some level, I hate that church is a “business,” but it is. The speaker at church today said that church isn’t a country club where we pay our tithes as dues and then expect to have our say about the worship style, how long the sermon lasts and the color of the carpet. He said church is supposed to be about helping people connect with God – and not about making it what WE want it to be. I also liked that he said if we want to focus on other people’s sins, then we should just focus on one – their sin of unbelief - and then let the Holy Spirit do the rest. When the church hand selects which sins get more attention than others, then they become known more for what they stand AGAINST, rather than what they stand FOR. And what we are supposed to be standing FOR - is the love of God. Now THAT’S some good lovin’. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Mocha Day

We must have gotten at least six more inches of glorious snow overnight. I’ve never experienced anything like this. They say it’s been a long time since there’s been this much snow for so many days around here. I feel it’s a gift from God just for me, as I love it so much! It is quite difficult to walk through however, up over my knees, and if I fall, it’s nearly impossible to get up, but at least it’s a soft landing (my knee is much better). I tried to make a few snow angels and as much as I loved lying in the snow, getting up was a whole other story as the ground was farther away than my arm could reach and there was nothing firm to push up against. It gave Kaleb a few belly laughs, but it proved to me just how out of shape I am. I did however get a work out today as I shoveled all the snow out from around our van and cleared a spot all the way to the driveway (no small task). Our neighbor sweet-talked the snow plow operator to come down our driveway, which now made it possible to get vehicles in and out, but in the process, blocked our van off completely with the snow berm, so I had to take care of that problem. If it rains, the snow gets too heavy to move, and if it freezes, it becomes a solid object. I had visions of missing our plane to Rome next Thursday because we couldn’t get our van out of the driveway, but I managed to clear the snow and move the van to a level spot. Kory was at work all day and I wanted to spare him from doing any shoveling, but now I can barely move a muscle. Uff da. I found out today they have one word for “shoveling snow” in Norwegian and it sounds exactly like the word “mocha” (“måke”). Everyone’s been talking about “mocha” this and “mocha” that and now I know firsthand what it is – and it’s not a drink to be ordered from a coffee bar. (So if ever in Norway and someone asks if you wanna mocha, you are warned.)

I skipped school this morning so I could go to a prayer meeting with The Praying Women from Filadelfia Church, and I’m so glad I did! We had an incredible time of soaking prayer and then praying for each other. We also took communion together which was amazing. I love how God moves in that group and He did a lot of things in those hours so I gotta say, Hallelujah! (The photo today was taken from the balcony of the house where we met.) One of the women, (in her sixties) invited me to go for a little swim after the meeting. Nearly every day she goes down to the fjord and jumps in – totally naked. She does this year round and says it’s the best feeling ever. She can’t stay long in the water in the winter, but it’s just enough to satisfy her. It sounds a bit crazy to me but she swears by it. She’s one hardy Norwegian, that woman. I told her “maybe next time” because today I didn’t have a towel with me. Whew.

The sun came out for quite a while today but we still managed to have a few good snow showers mixed in. When it was snowing, the sky was a steel gray and all the world was pure white – I’ve never seen anything like it. I just wanted to go throughout the whole city and see everything, from every angle. I took a lot of photos again today as I’m noticing my memory isn’t what it used to be and photos help me remember. Today is a day I don’t want to forget. What’s most incredible to me is that life just goes on like normal - the busses even run on-time and nothing gets canceled or delayed. Everyone knows how to drive in this stuff and no one misses a beat. All the roads and walking paths are starting to look like bobsled runs though as walls are being built along the sides of everything. It’s so exciting because it is all just temporary and we could wake up tomorrow and most of it could be gone, or more could arrive. The weather changes so fast here that this many days of consistent snow is almost freakish. And it feels warm – just hovering around freezing – so it’s very pleasant to be outside.

Kaleb and Tobias played in the snow all afternoon building snow caves over at Tobias'. After dinner and a game of Aggravation with Tobias tonight, the boys insisted I go see their caves. They were worried the snow plow would ruin it by morning. So I took the spark over to Tobias’ house and felt very much like the ducks on those carnival games that move steadily along as someone with a gun shoots at them. As I was gliding by Tobias’ house on the spark, I was assaulted with all the snowballs the boys had hidden in their caves. They only managed to land a few on me before I took aim in return. Nothing like a good snowball fight. As we were getting ready to leave I told Kaleb, “Let’s go, Bub.” Tobias asked me, “What is bub?” I told him it’s just a nickname people call each other sometimes. He told me in Norway it’s the word for, “The stuff up your nose that comes out,” so Kaleb and I had a pretty good laugh over that one. For once, an English word that sounds funny to a Norwegian.

More Snow

Okay, I’m not feeling so sad that I missed the epic snow in Washington State at Christmas time. According to the locals, what we have been getting is far from record breaking, but it’s the most snow I’ve ever been around and it gets more and more exciting every day as it piles higher and higher in the yard. All our doors here open out, which makes me glad we live in The Sinking Houses. If the ground around our houses hadn’t sunk, the snow would have made it impossible to open the door by now. I was up to my knees in snow walking to the bus this morning. So fun! The sun was out this afternoon, but now a new snow storm has arrived and is dumping more. Kaleb, Tobias and Kory were outside until bedtime building snow forts as it packs nicely in a cooler for making building blocks.

As much fun as it is, I did have my first little fall today walking home from the bus stop, something I’ve been so careful to avoid. I landed on my knee first, then on my side, so I am not terribly injured but my knee is very stiff and a little swollen as it hit ice, not the nice fluffy white stuff. I’m hoping it gets me a little sympathy and out of a few household chores as I nurse myself back to health. We’ll see.

My Norsk class met back at our old school just for today (it sits behind the dark brown building on the left in the photo) because they are putting an elevator in our “new” school and it was rather noisy yesterday. (My new school sits at the bottom of the hill on the right behind all those other buildings). I took the photo today during my lunch break. The stairs up to the top of “Fjellstua” (mountain living room) are visible on the right side of the hill. I’m hoping to make it up and down all 418 steps during my lunch break as soon as all this snow is gone and my knee heals. It was nice to be back in the ol’ neighborhood as I love being close to the harbor when I’m walking to and from the bus. Everything was just so darn gorgeous today – every branch on every tree was sprayed with snow and all the world was white. I love it.

Kory took a side job today for Odd’s neighbor. I guess the guy got himself in over his head with his home improvement projects. He tried to save some money by buying a new door without the door frame attached (since he already has a door frame in his house), but it’s costing him about double the price to get the door installed in the frame because he can’t do it. (They put doors in the frame at the factory for a reason.) Kory didn’t really want to take the job but with our trip to Rome coming up, and not knowing how the dollar will fair against the Euro, he thought it wise to have a little cushion on our spending money, so that made me happy. At least he could walk to work, as getting our van out of our driveway is impossible since the snow plow has made such a huge snow berm we could never dig out. Kaleb and Tobias were able to make a long snow tunnel out of the berm in front of Tobias’ house. It’s so fun to have all this snow!

Kaleb had a good day at school, even if he did have to walk over a mile, through the snow to get home. He’s had a pretty good week and has been rather cooperative the last few days in doing his homework. He wrote his first report all in Norwegian this week on the planet Saturn. He is so proud he’s on the same level as the other kids now, but I’m still making him do Algebra so he doesn’t lose any ground in all he’s learned so far. I’m not as nice as his teacher.

The Good Teacher Inga was in Oslo today so we had a new substitute named Astrid. She is a good friend to cousin Turid, so it was fun to have her teach us. She is from Sogndal (about a five hour drive south of here) and she read to us in her dialect and we couldn’t understand a thing she said. She told us her sister was not understood in Oslo once so she’s had to learn to speak a little differently. We caught Astrid on a few spelling “errors” because she was writing Nynorsk, and we are learning Bokmål. Honestly, I just don’t get it with all these dialects and two official languages and all the variations on the theme, but I just do what I can. Astrid told us today an expression that is common to use in Norway if a person buys something they are sorry they bought, they say they, “kjøpte katta i sekken” which means they “bought a cat in a sack.” It has the same origins as our saying, “letting the cat out of the bag.” In mid-evil times (according to Kaleb), piglets were sold in cloth sacks tied up tight and dishonest sellers would put a cat in the bag instead, to cheat the buyer. So I’m wondering if there’s a saying for a country that might be sorry for a language they started.

My Favorite Norsk Invention

The snow continues to fall but the sun peeked out this afternoon a little while so we all had to go out and play. It was too gorgeous to be inside so we put on all our layers of winter clothes and had a little fun. I bought a pair of snow shoes over a year ago and we haven’t had deep enough snow to see if I like using them, but now I know - they are great! And, I can run faster in them than Kaleb can cross-country ski, as we found out today in our front yard (Kaleb loves to compete). But the fastest mode of transportation in the snow around here is the spark (see photo). It has to be the best invention I’ve come across yet and I’m totally in love with it.

About thirty years ago, when cars were not that common in Norway, every household had a bike with a basket and a spark, so the women could get to the store and buy groceries any time of year. The spark glides farther if there is some weight on it so it’s perfect to set a child or a bag of groceries on the front seat. It works like a scooter, where one foot stays on while the other foot kicks along (“spark” means “kick”.) It glides incredibly well on ice or packed snow and going down hills on it is way better than on a sled because I can stand up, which I like better than being down close to the ground. It’s easy to turn or brake because everything is so flexible and it goes much faster downhill than Kaleb on cross-country skis, as we also found out today. (I like to win.) I am so thankful we now have a spark and that I’m married to a guy who can fix anything. (Kory’s job this morning was to repair it.) Woo hoo. I like it. I love it. I want some more of it! But I must say, I’m glad to now be sitting down as I’m all sparked out and my legs are a bit wobbly. I hope winter lasts a while longer.

Today in class we learned more grammatical rules about things for which I’d just as soon not repeat as it might give me a headache. I’m feeling hopeless when it comes to learning the details of this language. And I hate the fact that some students in our class don’t understand why I find it so difficult. I want to hate them, but they are too nice, so I can’t. I just have to keep reminding myself that I’m older than their mothers and when I was their age, I could learn things quickly too. One of them asked me today if I had any old photos of myself because she suspects I might have been quite the babe in my day. I couldn’t have felt older, or more over the hill, but I’m at least ten years older than her mother, I’m sure, so I must seem almost grandma-like to her. And my pal Vestina asked me today why I wouldn’t consider dyeing my hair. I guess the grey is just a bit too much for her. It is for me too, but I told her I’ve never dyed my hair and I never will because I believe hair dye can cause cancer and she just laughed and called me a “crazy lady.” She’s called me worse, but I love her anyway.

The Good Teacher Inga had us listen to a children’s song today and see how many words we could identify. It was a song about a classic children’s character here named Kaptain Sabeltan (he’s a pirate). I guess there is a TV show with him on it and a theme park in southern Norway with all the characters from the show. What was funny about the song was the word used for “treasure,” as in “pirate’s treasure” - which is “skatt.” I’m sure it’s not just a coincidence that it is the exact same word they use here for “tax,” which I’m bracing for now that we are in tax season.

Inga told us today the number one hobby in all of Norway is remodeling and/or redecorating homes. She said because Norwegians spend so much time inside, and because they have a good economy and can afford such things, most people spend the bulk of their free time fixing up their houses. Whether it’s repainting, tearing out walls, adding decks or extra floors or garages or buying new furniture, it’s what consumes the most time for everyone. Kory said he went for a walk through the neighborhood the other day and there wasn’t one house that didn’t look like it was having something done to it. And most people do the work themselves. There is something in a Norwegian’s DNA that just makes them good at construction, no matter what job they have (cousin Odd is the only exception to that rule, but he tries). I even heard that about 50 years ago (and for many generations before that) it was expected of every young man to have built his own home, with his own hands, by the age of 25, whether he was married or not. It was some right-of-passage thing that has now obviously gone by the way-side, but perhaps has morphed into this whole home remodeling thing. So it seems a man’s home here really is his treasure, and ironically, there is no tax on it.

Blessings

We have a good six inches of snow outside now and it’s still coming down. It’s supposed to snow off and on all week, which is fine by me. I love that it comes and goes so we never get tired of it. The landscape changes so dramatically every time things get covered in white. I was thinking the winter would be the hardest season to be here, but so far, it’s been fantastic. So was summer and fall though, so I must be well suited for this climate. We haven’t had nearly the rain that’s normal so I’m pleased we picked the right year to be here.

The photo today is one Kory finished a few weeks ago. It’s of Solevåg in the snow – the farm where his mom was born. He was once again “experimenting” with his drawing and I’m not sure he really likes how this one turned out. He’s now doing another one of Solevåg in the summer – without the hidden details. (If you double click on the image you can see things better.) In the mountain on the left side of the picture is a face. If the picture is turned upside down, it becomes a Viking – I even think he tried to put a Viking ship in there somewhere but then tried to take it out somehow. Also, in the reflection in the water of the group of trees a little to the left of center, he put a horse drawn wagon – reflective of the old farming days when he was young. I’m not sure if there are other hidden things, but those are the ones I spotted. The house where his mom was born is on the right side of the picture. The pitch of the roof is the highest one visible. She was born in the upstairs bedroom of that house, inside the room with the window. That entire hillside hasn’t changed much in a hundred years, but the hillside across the water from it is experiencing quite a housing boom so it’s completely different. The farm land reaching down to the sea is what makes this scene so spectacular so I hope future generations don’t sell out the family farms in that area or this image will be lost forever. Kory and Kaleb’s roots run deep at Solevåg.

Today in my Norsk class we got to scare all the students that didn’t take the test yesterday by telling them how “vanskelig” (difficult) the test was. Testing is a “free will” thing (“frivillig” – pronounced like “free willy” - which cracks me up every time I hear it.) Testing is not mandatory so only if a certificate is needed for something, is it necessary. Not everyone chose to be tested so those of us that made the choice had to make a presentation on how it went. I guess I won’t really know how it went until I get the results back in a few weeks, but I enjoyed telling everyone it was hard and how strict they were, which scared people even more. Over half the people in Norway that take that test fail it, but I guess the Ålesund Kommune has some of the highest statistics for passing, so we’ll see how it goes.

Tonight I was invited to a dinner party just for ME. I was the guest of honor and it felt great! The praying women I’ve met with a few times decided to say “thanks” by throwing me a little party. I guess I’ve made quite an impact on that group. Of course, it’s not really me, it’s what God is doing for them, through them, with them… but they wanted to thank me for all I’ve taught them. It was so encouraging for me to hear what has been happening with them since they started “soaking prayer.” Miracles, really. One woman took a friend with her to a retreat center and they just soaked all weekend. The things she said happened there were incredible. We decided all seven of us women should go there together next month, so I hope we can get a reservation. They are a fun bunch of women to be around because they are all sold out for God. We shared stories of how God has worked specifically in our lives with perfect timing, perfect provision, healings and teaching us to forgive. Tone, (pronounced Tone-ah) the woman that hosted the party, said she looks at forgiveness like fertilizer because it helps her to grow and become more beautiful every time she forgives someone that does her wrong. She said she learned that from a dream she had once where she was in a greenhouse and two plants stood out as being so healthy and perfect looking. She asked the gardener what he was feeding those plants and he said, “forgiveness.” She feels that when she forgives someone, it protects her from anything that would otherwise destroy her “beauty.” (And she’s a beauty – inside and out.) I thought that was great imagery. These women are a hoot to be around and I so needed it tonight as I’ve had a tough couple of days dealing with both Kory and Kaleb’s crabbiness and my own spurts of depression. I keep thinking I’m not doing enough with my life yet I feel so blessed and somehow that feels wrong. I’ve almost adapted Kory’s mantra of “life isn’t supposed to be this good.” But I know it is, and it should be, and it’s okay to feel blessed and be blessed because then I’m a blessing to others, as I found out tonight. Talk about perfect timing. God is good.

Test Day

Many things in Norway are extremely relaxed, especially when it comes to education, so it surprised me today when we had such incredibly strict rules around taking the Norsk Prøve 2 test. They were all business and they were VERY strict. It was almost comical as it’s so opposite from all my other experiences with tests here so far. We had to come in 30 minutes early to register, we got our hands stamped after we showed photo ID, we had to turn off our cell phones and store them, our coats and backpacks until the test was completely over. We had to have our ID sitting on our desk at all times and we couldn’t get up to leave unless we raised our hand first and had our work reviewed. It was quite formal but it was clear – they mean business. I guess they want to be sure no one is taking the test for us, so the certificate they hand out afterwards must count for something.

I think I did OK on the written, reading and listening parts of the test. I know I got several things wrong, but I’m pretty sure I still passed. The speaking part was the toughest for me only because the subject they had me speak on wasn’t anything I had “material” for. They wanted me to talk about something I’ve wanted for a long time, how much it costs, how long until I’ll get it, how I’m going to afford it, etc. I didn’t know all the words to say how completely satisfied I am with my life right now and I don’t need or want a darn thing, at least nothing money can buy. They specifically asked about a “thing” and I had to say I have all the “things” I need but I did talk a little about how much I love to travel and that we are going to Rome next week and that’s something I’ve wanted for a while, but I’m not sure I communicated all that too well. My conversation didn’t fit the bill exactly so I’m not sure if that matters as there wasn’t much to say. Uff da. I do know this is a test for just a “basic” command of the language, nothing fancy, so I’m pretty sure I met the minimum for that, but it makes me wish I were better at communicating in Norwegian.

I hate that I missed my Monday “off” this week and had to go into town to take the test, but I’ll take Friday off, as I’ll surely die if I have to be gone from home five days this week. And today we had so much snow, which I would have loved to enjoy a bit more, but I was in the city and far from my cross country skis. I got home after dark and just wanted to “kose meg” as they say here (cozy myself) when I got home. It was cold out there (see photo I took out the window this afternoon at my school.)

It seems Kaleb has made a difference in his world as he said his teacher has taken our suggestion and now makes any kid that hits another, stay in for the next recess. Morten didn’t have many recesses last week and Kaleb came home gloating. Whether the punishment makes any long term difference is yet to be seen, but Kaleb is elated that he was able to do something to change the very ineffective system of just talking to the kids when they hit or kick someone. Kaleb feels empowered, so that’s good. Every day I ask him what he learned at school and he always says, “Nothing.” I gave him algebra homework every day now instead of twice a week because I told him I love him too much to let his brain waste away and learn nothing, so at least he can progress in math. All of a sudden he started talking to me in Norwegian, just to show how much he knows and to make the point he really is learning something after all. He tries hard to outsmart me.

He came home today complaining about his day. He liked the fact they went skating, but he hated that they had “to walk twenty miles to get there.” (He tends to exaggerate every now and then to make a point.) But he’s proud that this week he was assigned the exact same homework as all the other kids because he is finally fairly fluent in Norwegian and he doesn’t need extra help to learn it any more. I wish he could get fluent in obedience, respect and time management. Neither Kory nor I had patience to deal with him tonight as we both had a long day and Kaleb was pushing all our buttons. Kory was particularly crabby and short tempered because he didn’t get enough sleep last night, his back hurt, he had to work in the cold today and then come home and make dinner for himself and Kaleb because I didn’t get home until late from the test. At least now Kory’s able to sit down, relax, draw some pictures and calm down since Kaleb went to bed. That kid is exasperating sometimes. Aren’t we all. This is no way to start a week. I want my weekend back!

Mother's Day in Norway

We woke up in the Hotel Alexandra and tried to enjoy the luxury of it all as long as we could before hitting the road to come home. I probably would have slept all day if Kaleb hadn’t woken me up. Kory and I were up until one o’clock dancing and the boys fell asleep just before midnight. They were up late on Friday night too as they couldn’t settle down. They were both trying to gross each other out with certain sounds and smells they were pleased they could make with their own bodies. (I guess this is how boys entertain themselves when they must sleep in the same bed.) Last night was just too funny at dinner time though as they were each motivated to eat only what they thought would create the most gaseous outcome. Tobias was disappointed that Kaleb fell asleep before his body churned out the mother of all “fanny burps.” They were a good match. (I’m glad we are now home and everyone is in their own beds!)

After the boys had a swim this morning and we all stuffed ourselves at breakfast just one more time, we drove to the end of the lake at Loen, which is quite famous for its two huge natural disasters. In 1905 and yet again in 1936, massive chunks of the surrounding mountains gave way and tumbled into the lake below, creating such a large tsunami that it wiped out two small “towns” along the lakeshore, both times. In all, 135 people died – entire families died in an instant. There is a marker near the church with the names of the dead. Totally tragic, but not terribly uncommon in these parts. We drove along the shore trying to see if we could identify the spot that broke free, as often the rock is much lighter in color, but we weren’t sure. We just enjoyed the scenery and stopped to watch some people skate on the frozen lake.

Before we headed home we decided to drive in the direction of a particular glacier we hadn’t seen in a long time. On the way there we saw more people skating on yet another frozen lake, so we stopped to smell the roses, as it were, except we stopped to skate on ice, which was very cold, and had no smell. Initially we were going to go skiing today but there wasn’t much new snow and we brought skates along too so that seemed just as good. Neither Kory nor Kaleb had used the skates we bought last fall so today was their initiation day. (Coincidentally, Kaleb’s class is going skating tomorrow so he was pretty excited to get some practice time in before then.) The day couldn’t have been more beautiful – nor the scenery (see photo above of Kaleb skating.) I took over 300 photos this weekend alone as everywhere was just storybook perfect. And except for Tobias getting too cold out on the lake, we all had a good time. We found a “spark” (a type of sled) on the side of the road by the lake that was all broken up and left for dead, but we managed to get some use out of it. We actually brought it home with us as Kory thinks he can fix it and make it usable again (it clearly was left as garbage). It’s a good option for me to use when we go skating as I don’t like the skates with shoes and a “spark” is something with huge blades and a handle that you stand on and kick (“spark” is the Norwegian word for “kick,”) so I’m thrilled we now have one. We never did make it to the glacier as we had too much fun on the ice.

On the way home I suggested we take a turn off and go a different way to see a famous hotel I’ve only read about. What I apparently didn’t read however, is that it’s closed in the wintertime. So we drove quite a ways out of our way, only to see the outside - and it’s the lobby inside that’s spectacular. Oh well. Then we went to the end of the road to take the ferry, only to realize it might too be closed for the winter, so we had to turn around and back track through “the valley of the shadow of death” to get home. There was this one valley that really spooked me on the way there as the mountains were so steep on both sides and there was no signs of life anywhere – no cars on the road at all and obviously it is not habitable because the evidence of falling rocks and avalanches were everywhere. In fact the road has already been covered this winter with several avalanches that have since been cleared away, but it was freaky to drive through those sections with snow piled up on both sides of the road. I kept thinking some natural disaster was going to strike at any minute and I wasn’t the least bit happy about having to go through that valley one more time as we back tracked to the main road. Uff da. But we made it home safe and sound, just after dark, and just as an overdue snow storm entered the scene. It was all quite beautiful. It was Mother’s Day today in Norway and I can’t imagine doing anything better than what we did, but I’m double-dipping because in my book, the second Sunday in May is still MY day.

Spa Day

Okay, so I may never BE rich and famous, or live the kind of lives they do, but today came close. This whole spa resort thing works well for me. While Kory was off watching one product demonstration after another, Kaleb and Tobias and I enjoyed the facilities. The boys were in the pool right after breakfast while I had my first facial ever. It was decadent. I lost count as to how many products were smeared on my face and then removed with scented, heated clothes. There was also some nice smelling warm steam that was being blown on my face as the woman massaged every little pore. There were so many different scents in the products she was using I was sure I’d come out smelling like a fruit salad. Instead, I came out glowing. My face was softer than a little baby’s behind and I only wished I could have taken a nap afterwards as I was so relaxed. Instead, we played with our laptops until it was time to meet up with Kory and have lunch. (Another feast on par with breakfast, and I’m only wishing I would have brought pants with elastic waistbands.)

After lunch Kory went back to his classes, the boys went back in the pool and I opted for a long walk to a church down the road and a ways beyond. I saw a huge stone cross made about a thousand years ago, which was discovered on the site where The Hotel Alexander now sits. They moved it up by the church and put up a plaque explaining that in Viking days, when an area converted to Christianity, they set up crosses to display their faith but also to show the spot where they would meet together and worship God. They didn’t build churches, they just gathered out in nature. I took a lot of photos as the sun was shining so nicely on the tops of all the surrounding mountains, but baby it was cold outside, so I didn’t stay out too long. When I returned, Kaleb begged me to join him in the pool, so I did. The boys didn’t stay long in the outdoor pool because their hair kept freezing, but I found it most enjoyable. I think the hotel built it to take in the majesty of the surrounding mountains because there is nowhere else that gives quite the same angle on the mountains. The dining room here has glass in part of the ceiling, but even still, it’s hard to see the tops of the mountains, but out in the pool, it all becomes eye candy. The inside pool has its uniqueness too with rock walls, waterfalls and even a fireplace next to the “sunbathing” area (I guess they use tanning bed lights over the lounge chairs.) It was all quite fancy and I felt more than satisfied after taking a sauna.

I was heading back to the room to shower when I saw a sign that said something about a “quiet area” with no kids. I asked at the desk, only to discover there was another entire spa for adults only hidden away out of view. Because I had a facial this morning, I got in for free, otherwise it comes with a $40 entrance fee, but it was worth it! The real luxury of this hotel was well displayed in the ambiance of that spa. They had a huge mineral bath the shape of an almond with massaging jets lining the sides. At one end was a large linear “faucet” coming high out of the wall, which I stood under and got the best water massage on my head, neck and shoulders, while at the same time getting a foot massage from jets of water bubbling up from below. I went into one of the three saunas (it was hard to choose which one because they were all different), laid down and took deep breaths until the sweat ran good, then I jumped into an ice bath they had just outside the sauna area. I noticed I wasn’t the only one to let out a little squeal upon entering. My skin tingled ever so wonderfully afterwards. After about an hour I headed back to the room to take a shower and the boys were there playing with their Nintendos. I really wanted a little nap as I was feeling like a wet noodle, so I gave them each a digital camera and an assignment to go out and take pictures of what they felt represented the essence of God. I told them to use thirty minutes and when they returned, I’d reward the winner. I really just needed some quiet time for my body to recover from all the pampering, and it was a good move. The boys came back so excited with the images they’d captured. Kaleb photographed a light fixture, “Because it looks like the light that Jesus is,” a big overstuffed beautiful chair “Because you’d think God would be warm and comfortable,” the doors entering the dining hall “because it looks like the pearly gates going into heaven, and that’s how I feel when I go in there,” and the entrance to the spa, “Because of that feeling that you get when you come out.” Tobias went outside and took photos of the mountains (see his photo above) that surrounded the area because “He formed the landscape.” Both boys were winners as they each hit the spot. They won a pay-per-view movie in the room but we couldn’t pull them away from the pool table to watch it.

Kory went to the adult's only spa after "work" today and then we all enjoyed another lush dinner. The evening’s entertainment was some well known comedy team which had the audience laughing to tears but Kory and I didn’t get the jokes. Norsk humor I guess. We enjoyed the dancing afterwards though and even danced to a song called “Hallelujah.” Imagine that. It was a dreamy day.

Oh, Glorious Day

It took just a little over two hours of an incredibly scenic drive (see photo) to arrive at our destination for the weekend – Hotel Alexandra in Loen, one of the most popular resorts in all of Norway since 1884. It sits at the end of a long fjord and is surrounded on all sides by incredibly steep mountains with the most interesting peaks imaginable. The hotel is known for its spa services, three different swimming pools, and incredible food. Within hours of arriving, we’d experienced a taste of it all. Tobias and Kaleb barely made it into the room to get their swimsuits on before they were splashing around in the pool. They thought it was just too cool to jump in the pool inside the hotel, and then swim under a wall and be in the outdoor pool. They found out it was cool alright – freezing cool – so they didn’t last long outside. But they liked the indoor water slide and sauna just fine. While Kory took a dip in the hot tub, I had a six o’clock massage appointment so I got my weekend off to a good start with a little stress reduction. By 7:30 we were all partaking of the evening buffet, which had more food than I have words to describe. The boys went back several times but just got French fries and lasagna nearly every time. (I heard some talk of eating like “Garfield.”) They loved having the options of all the food selections even if they didn’t partake of it all. So did I. I’ve never seen such a spread of food in all my life and I’m not exaggerating to say that if I would have just taken one spoonful of all the things they had out, I could have filled ten plates easily. Kory was in heaven, as most of it was special Norwegian foods and he enjoyed the splurge. We all ate until we were downright uncomfortable. You’d think we were Americans or something.

Some of the conversation at dinner tonight centered around a huge painting hanging on the wall above our table. It portrayed the hotel a hundred years ago, but it also showed the mountain peak jutting straight up behind it. Jonathan (one of Kory’s bosses) said that to hike to the top of that peak takes about six hours, but his wife’s cousin was able to run to the top in just one hour and 28 minutes (it’s nearly 6,000 feet straight up). He was not able to break the record for that ascent however, which stands at one hour and nine minutes. The man that set that record died last year while he was out running up yet another mountain when it was just too cold up in them thar hills, and he himself had a cold and he collapsed and died. I guess that’s why we are always told we must REST when we are sick, not go running up mountains. What’s interesting about all that is that every area of Norway I’ve been to, all the locals know how long it takes to reach every summit they can see, and many know who holds the record for getting there the quickest. Local folk heroes, these mountain climbers, even if they die in the process. Jonathan also said that up on top of the nearest mountain sits the remains of a cabin that was built over a hundred years ago for people with tuberculosis. The cure of the day was to give TB patients clean, cold, fresh air. I guess horses took them up in some kind of wagon. So I’m sure that mountain runner guy isn’t the first one to die up there, as fresh air was no cure-all for TB.

Something I thought was ironic today was that I had a Swedish massage, and I’m in Norway. The woman giving me the rub-down is from Sweden. There must be something to that…. And even more ironic, it was the first massage I’ve ever gotten where I was asked to put on some disposable undies, rather than be totally nude. Considering Norway is so accepting of public nudity, I thought that was just downright strange. But what was funny is that they gave me a disposable “thong” to wear. I’ve never put on one of those before so I kept it to show the boys to see if they could figure out what it was. Kaleb thought it might be something I’d wear in my hair. Close, but not quite.

This entire resort, plus the hotel across the street, is full of customers from one building supplier named Dyrøy (said almost like “Deer-roy”). Dyrøy is holding a big product demonstration tomorrow – kind of like an expo, with classes on the use of the newest building materials. They are heavily subsidizing this weekend so it’s a real perk for their customers. Dyrøy pays more than half the hotel, plus all the meals and activities. Such a deal. Interestingly enough, it used to be just doctors that got these kinds of perks from drug companies, but now, they have outlawed doctors from being able to take any kind of outside compensation. Other businesses however, have jumped on the bandwagon and now everyone EXCEPT doctors can enjoy such lavishness. Too funny. I guess, for once, I’m glad I didn’t marry a doctor.

Preparations

Today was packing day for the weekend. It’s amazing how much stuff we need just to get away for a few days. Where we are going has a lot of snow and the boys will be playing in it, plus skiing and maybe snowshoeing. There is also a huge pool so we will all swim, and there is a formal night on Saturday so we all must bring our Sunday best clothes. And then there’s the road food, snack food and lunches for a few days, plus all the electronics; laptops, portable DVD player for the three hour drive plus camera equipment, Nintendo and chargers for it all. I think we’ll have half of what we own packed into the back of the van which makes me happy we bought the vehicle we did. I am looking forward to the massage.

We had more snow overnight so everything is just beautiful around here. Of course, it’s beautiful anyway, but when all the world turns white, it kicks it up a notch (although the photo today was taken the day before it started to snow). Kory drove Kaleb to school this morning, not just because the streets were icy, but because he couldn’t wear his backpack. He had a little accident last night at bedtime and he can’t bear the pain of any pressure on his back. I was lying down on his bed with him, praying for him and having a little pillow talk, and right before I said good-night and got up, he jumped up to go pee one last time. I was just rolling out of his bed but he tried to beat me up and went out toward the end of his bed and fell, scraping his back against a desk lamp. Oh, how he cried. He got a pretty good injury below his shoulder bone and on the back of his arm. I’m glad I had jumbo sized band-aids because it took two of them to cover the scrape. He’s such a drama king anyway, so it took a while to calm him down. I’m just hoping it will heal fast enough so the chlorine in the pool won’t sting. I’d hate for anything to get in the way of the boys enjoying themselves, as they have been anticipating this more than I expected. Most of Tobias’ friends have been to this resort, so he’s heard a lot about it and now he gets to even the score, and he’s pumped. We leave right after school tomorrow. Woo hoo.

I was noticing this morning on the bus I was the only one that didn’t have a scarf around my neck - EVERYONE wears them – even the men. And some of these scarves are more like shawls which they put on backwards. Everyone pulls the pointy tip of the shawl tight up under their chin (fringe and all) and then they wrap both ends around the back of their neck and to the front again, so there is this big ol' bulky thing sticking out of the front of their coat. Even men wear these shawls, which I find odd for some reason. I can’t say that I have really noticed my neck being so cold I need to wrap it up tight, but most people even wear them indoors where it's not at all cold, so maybe it's more of a fashion statement, or just a Nordic thing. I'm not sure as I'm oblivious to both.

I’ve been given extra writing assignments to help me prepare for the real Norsk Prøve 2 test on Monday. I got back some of my creations today, heavily marked up with red pen, yet again. But The Good Teacher Inga insists I’m still beyond the Norsk 2 level because she understands perfectly what I am writing, and that’s more important than all the grammatical details at this point. I finally believed her today when she was teaching us about different types of homes, and the names for areas in a house. She informed us that the west side of Norway will always say they are “in” a room in the house using the preposition “på”, but all those living in the eastern part of Norway will use the preposition “i” for the same thing. I have trouble with those prepositions because “på” more often than not, means “on” and “i” frequently means “in.” Inga says we can use either one, but it’s best if we use the one that’s common to this neck of the woods. So this is why, apparently, grammar doesn’t matter. The entire country can’t agree on what’s grammatically correct so they just figure comprehension is the ultimate goal. It drives me crazy, because there is still that whole, “nynorsk” versus “bokmål” thing going on with these two “official” versions of Norwegian, plus all the dialects. I can’t even have Kory help me with my homework because when he does, I get it all wrong – he speaks “nynorsk” and I’m learning “bokmål.” I want to scream. It’s a wonder these people have advanced as far as they have in the world without the ability to clearly communicate. Oh wait, maybe that’s WHY they are so advanced… because they’ve had to learn how to understand one another in the midst of all these communication difficulties. I’ll keep trying, but I’ve talked to several other “imported” women that are about ready to throw in the towel, as most everyone around here speaks English anyway. I wonder why.

The Third Winter

It started snowing this morning on my way to school (see photo of the street in front of my school). By this afternoon, my world was all white again. I think this is the “third winter”, maybe fourth; I’m losing count. By the time our year in Norway is up, it will seem like we’ve been here for years for all the seasons we’ve gone through time and time again. But I like it because it’s never boring. It did however, put a crimp in my plans to get some exercise today during our lunch break. Yesterday I managed to get almost to the top of the mountain behind my school and today I was looking forward to making it all the way up, but not with snow and ice on the ground. It’s 418 steps, and each one is a death trap when the weather turns. At the top sits “fjellstua,” (“mountain living room”) with a nice view of the surrounding area and probably the most photographed spot in the city. I’m trying to take some of the creaks out of my body and climbing to the top everyday seemed like a good idea because the path is so close to my school – but only wise when the weather cooperates.

Because she had jury duty yesterday, The Good Teacher Inga explained today a little about the legal system here in Norway. She said there are three levels of courts – one for minor crimes, one for major crimes and one that is like our Supreme Court for the most difficult cases. For minor things like drunk driving, petty theft or assault, one would go to “ting retten” and be sentenced for their crime by a judge and two private citizens that make up the “jury” (where she was.) In this court, the majority rules, so if the two citizens disagree with the judge, their opinion wins. In the higher court for bigger crimes, one would go to “lagmanns retten” and there sits more citizens on the jury, with the judge, but the judge’s opinion matters more. And then if a case is taken to the highest level, it goes to “høyesterett” which is made up of all professional lawyer/judge type people and they decide the case amongst themselves.

The penal system here in Norway is quite different from America. We know one guy that was going over 110 kilometers an hour (about 65-70 mph) in a tunnel and got caught by a traffic camera and had to pay a big fine, he lost his driver’s license for nine months, and went to jail for 18 days. Just for speeding! There were no other cars around either, so it wasn’t like he was endangering anyone or driving recklessly (except for the speed). He had enough vacation time that he just used it for his jail time so he even got paid while he was there. He said the prison was just like a volunteer work party, where they were well cared for, ate good food, treated with respect and just had to work a normal workday. They did manual labor - building playhouses for children that would be sold in stores. After “work” they were free to play sports, watch TV, whatever they wanted. He even checked himself into the prison –he just showed up at an appointed date and time to start his sentence, and then took the train home after he was done. After a few years, his “crime” will be off his record, but I think if he has other traffic related incidences the sentence next time might be harsher, but not by much. We know someone that was caught embezzling from his employer and he just had to pay back a fraction of what he took and go to jail for just five months. He even got out on the weekends and holidays to be with his family, so they handle “criminals” here quite differently than in the States. I heard this week that per capita, Oslo now has the highest crime rate of all the major cities in Europe and New York. Oslo’s population has changed drastically in the last ten years even, so that now over 25% of the population is made up of immigrants, which happen to be the bulk of the ones doing the crimes. It’s sad really, as twenty five years ago Oslo was by far the safest city in the world. In 1983 when I first visited Norway, I remember reading in a travel book that it was the only place safe enough for women traveling alone to hitchhike, as the crime rate in Norway was next to nothing. My, how things have changed.

Kaleb had another uneventful day, except for the fall off his bike on the way to school because the road was a bit slippery. (He’s fine.) He managed to breeze through his homework when he was told if it wasn’t done by four o’clock he wouldn’t be allowed to play with Tobias today. I hate that he needs so much motivating, but at this point, whatever works. Tobias came over after he was done with his work and we all went to the store to buy snacks and road food for our big weekend at the resort coming up this Friday. The boys have been counting down the days and it’s soon here. I hope they have as good of a time as they are anticipating. I’ve ordered up a massage and a facial at the hotel as this weekend in Norway is Mother’s Day and I’m thinking I deserve it. What mother doesn’t? Well, I know a few....

Back to School Tuesday

I like these four day weeks I now have. I think it was a good change for me to make, even though I end up with more homework. The Good Teacher Inga had jury duty today so we had a substitute, which everyone loved because she talked slowly and deliberately and taught us a few things we didn’t know. Like, the word “lekke” (pronounced “le-kah”) can mean three different things – it can mean your faucet has a “lekke” (leak), you have a “lekke” (you peed your pants) or you look “lekke” (elegant). Is it just me, or might others think it’s a bit odd to use the same word to describe someone who just peed their pants and someone who looks elegant? You’d think there are enough letters out there that could be shuffled around to come up with a new word for one of those two meanings, since they aren’t anywhere near the same thing. Not like the word “regne” which can mean both “rain” and “bill” (the kind you must pay). It’s easy to see how possibly one day someone got a bill in the mail and they felt dumped on, similar to a heavy downpour of rain, so the same word took on two different meanings; but using the same word “lekke” for such opposite meanings just messes with my head and makes me question the validity of this whole language.

We talked about a lot of things in class today (see photo of my “new” school), like building codes and inheritance rights – handy stuff to know if we were planning on staying a while. I could never figure out why the door threshold on bathrooms sticks up so much higher than the other doors and creates such a perfect place to stub a toe, but now I know. Building codes require it high in case there is a water leak in the bathroom – the water can be contained up to about two inches. But the strange thing is, the building codes also require all bathrooms to have a huge drain in the middle of the floor – in case there is a water leak. So I questioned the logic in requiring both of them since the water would obviously go down the drain and not flood the room, and I just got a shrugged shoulder response as our teacher couldn’t make much sense out of it either. Perhaps the threshold law came into effect before the drain requirement, and someone just forgot to remove the first one, and now for years all houses have been built with double protection against any kind of flooding in the bathroom. Laundry rooms are also required to have the floor drain, but not kitchens, so go figure.

The funny thing about those building codes is what “is” and “is not” required. Eighteen years ago on our first trip to Norway together, Kory and I visited the farm where his father grew up in Telemark. Kory’s cousin (who lived there) was so proud to show off the new house he had just built next to the old house where Kory’s dad lived (that was built in the 1700s.) When we were visiting, I had to go pee and I asked where the bathroom was. Kory’s cousin (not a young man), opened the front door and showed me the path to the barn and pointed out which door I’d find the toilet behind. It was an outhouse, attached to the barn that had been used for hundreds of years, I’m sure. I asked Kory to ask his cousin why in the world he wouldn’t have put a toilet in his new house (obviously the building codes didn’t require such a thing or it would have been there), and his cousin responded with, “Some things you just don’t think about until it’s too late.” He was so used to going outside, it never occurred to him to have it any other way. Unbelievable.
And as for inheritance rights, we learned that it is NOT allowed to disown children in Norway. Most people don’t even have wills because the money just gets divided according to the laws anyway. Children automatically get half (or 2/3rds – I’ve heard both) of the estate, no matter what, with the spouse getting the rest. A person can make a will and leave nothing to the spouse, but they cannot leave out the children. And by law, if a farm is involved, it automatically goes to the oldest child. It used to be the oldest son, but now they changed that law to say it goes to the oldest child (who may have to cash out other siblings if they protest.) It seems the more I learn, the more questions I have about Norway.

Kory worked today wearing six layers of clothes as it was so cold. Kaleb had a pretty good day until he came home and I asked him to do his homework before he played with his Pokemon cards. His nasty side reared its ugly head and he was sent to our room to calm down. He managed to convince his teacher that he has too much homework to do so she cut it in half, but he still sits at the table for two hours doodling, no matter how much work he has. He could do it all in about 40 minutes a day (or less), but for some reason, he doesn’t. Today he took three hours and only finished because Tobias rang the doorbell and he had a reason to be done. What’s up with that?

Groundhog's Day

I set the alarm this morning after I got Kaleb off to school so if I fell back to sleep again while I was praying, I would at least wake up by 9:30. It was too nice of a day to sleep it away, no matter how tired I might have been. And it was a good thing I did that, as I did fall asleep, but only for a little while so I was well rested when I got up. While I prepared for my Bible study lesson the house was quiet and the sun was shining and it couldn’t have been a more beautiful day. I’m not sure if Norway has the same rules for Groundhog’s Day as we do in America, but if so, we’re in for six more weeks of winter - but if this is winter - bring it on! (I’ve heard it’s common to get snow here in April, so it might be a little longer than six weeks.)

After I finished my lesson, I actually did some homework for my Norwegian class. It’s been piling up and it took over three hours to complete it (Inga would be proud). I was a little stressed out however because I really wanted to go for a walk while the sun was still up, but I didn’t want to break my stride with the homework so I kept going. I had to look up so many words in order to complete the assignments that it took forever. Some of them were just downright painful, like “gjennomsnittlige” – which means “average.” You’d think there could be a shorter way to say that word. I finished my homework just a few minutes before Kaleb was done with school for the day so I laid down on the couch to pray a little more and wait for his bundle of energy to come bursting through the door. He rode his bike today so I thought I might have ten minutes to myself, but he walked his bike home to keep Tobias company, and he got home a half hour later than I expected. I got in a little nap during the wait, which felt just right, considering it was my day of rest.

Kaleb ate a few waffles I made for him as an after school snack and then I convinced him to go on a walk with me before the sun set. Initially he just wanted to get his homework done right off the bat and go play with Tobias, but when I pointed out the fact that I was going to go for a walk and when I came back he’d be gone and then I had Bible study and after that he’d be in bed and I wouldn’t have one single minute to visit with him today unless he went with me, he relented with a whiny “all right.” Guilt is a good thing. We walked over to the trail (a good 20 minutes to get there), and then went part way up the nearest mountain (see photo). I just wanted to get up high enough to get some good sunset photos and to see the mountains with a little snow on them from on high. The trail is normally very mucky, but this cold weather keeps it nice and frozen, so it was a pleasant path to take, and I needed the exercise. Kaleb entertained himself with running off the trail and hiding behind trees to see if I could find him, but since he was wearing a bright orange coat, he didn’t stand much of a chance, no matter where he hid. He liked the challenge nonetheless. I was glad for a little one-on-one time with him and we talked about what he’ll miss when we leave Norway and what he misses now back home. The only thing he said he misses about home is our actual house and all his books and places to play, and the neighbor dogs. I guess that was the bulk of his world before we came, so there is no surprise there.

We stayed up on the trail until the sun sank behind the mountains, and then we called Kory to come get us at the base because Kaleb needed to go to the bathroom. I was thankful for the excuse not to walk back home as I’m terribly out of shape right now and my body feels a bit creaky. I used to walk two miles every morning before we moved here, but I haven’t kept up that routine because of my school schedule, so I’m due for a little tune-up.

Tonight we had the Bible study in our home again for the English speaking refugees that attend Filadelfia Church. We are working our way through the book of James, and I just love all the insights they have into scripture. It’s hard to read something like James chapter 1 verse 2 though right after Lawrence, a 32 year old guy from Sudan, tells us that both his parents were murdered six years ago by the Muslim Jihad for being Christians. The verse says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…”. I asked how he can even keep the faith after something like that happens and he said if he walked away from his faith, his parents would have died for nothing. They raised him as a Christian and he trusts God and believes every word of the Bible, and he knows he will be with them again someday. He made it clear he doesn’t like to talk about all the things he’s seen and been through, because he said, he gets too many “pains in his head” if he thinks about it, so it’s better for him to talk about something else. I wanted to cry.

Sunday Dinners

Kaleb had me convinced this morning that it snowed last night. It was certainly cold enough for that and when I looked out and saw a layer of white over everything, I believed him. Turns out it was just a very heavy frost. How ironic it would have been to have a summer-like day end in snowfall. It was cold today but still a lovely day to be outside, so we walked to Agape Kirke this morning and back home again. We were missed at church (we haven’t been there for three weeks), so that was nice to hear. The sermon was excellent, as always, and the people there are very friendly. It’s so good to feel like we have a church family no matter where in the world we go. The fact we all love God is the common bond, despite how different we are otherwise. I like that.

I came home and started preparing dinner for our guests this evening. I can’t let one weekend go without having someone over, so tonight was the night for hospitality. We invited cousin Odd’s second cousin, Arne and his wife Hilde for dinner. We met them over ten years ago when we first started coming to Norway as they are also Odd and Turid’s neighbors. We’ve sat out on Odd’s balcony many summer nights, wrapped up in blankets, drinking wine and talking until the wee hours of the morning. Two of Arne and Hilde’s kids have been very good to Kaleb over the years as well. When Kaleb was younger, their daughter would take him for long walks in the stroller, and when he was a little older, their son would kick around a soccer ball with him endlessly. Sometimes it seemed Kaleb spent more time at their house than Odd and Turid’s when we came for a visit. It was nice to finally have a chance to invite them over for a meal. And once I learned that Hilde grew up and is good friends with The Good Teacher Inga, I thought it would be fun to invite Inga and her husband for dinner as well. So it was a very entertaining evening with these two old girlfriends and their husbands sitting around our dining room table chatting about their children, their childhood and the happenings in the world today. Hilde and Inga were best friends in school and also neighbors in their childhood, as their houses shared a common wall in the 4-plex where they both grew up.

Inga’s husband, Patrick, is from Ireland, and it is a little ironic that he doesn’t speak much Norwegian, when she is a Norwegian teacher! So a good part of the conversation tonight was in English, which I enjoyed very much. Patrick is a carpenter, so he and Kory had something in common, and Patrick, as we learned tonight, works for the Ålesund Kommune and his boss is the guy Kory’s been in contact with that just arranged the purchase of The Sinking Houses. Kory asked Patrick to put in a good word for us with his boss so hopefully we can continue to keep living here. And Arne, the other guy here for dinner, works for the insurance company that just sold The Sinking Houses to Ålesund Kommune, so it was a very fun night as we all told our stories of our experiences with the houses where we live. Small town stuff.

Having guests on Sunday makes the most sense on one hand, because there isn’t much else to do on Sunday’s around here so visiting with friends is a good option. But on the other hand, it’s a bit stressful since no grocery stores are open and everything required to make the meal must be in the house before 8pm Saturday night when the last store closes. Planning is the key because if I wait until 8pm Saturday night to buy something, chances are pretty good the store is already out of it. I planned to make a very yummy salad using butter lettuce (something very hard to find in these parts). I bought three heads of lettuce on Friday, but had no room to store them in the frig, so I set them out in the garage and wrapped them up so they wouldn’t freeze. It was so cold last night that they froze solid anyway. It feels nearly disastrous when there are no options to go to the store and re-buy anything and the menu has to be altered. After soaking the lettuce in warm water I was able to salvage some of it so I went ahead with the salad I had planned and just made them very small, like a genuine French restaurant would serve. But I’ve had that situation before with not having all the items I needed for something I planned to make on Sunday, and had to go begging from the neighbors to borrow this or that. So much for independence. Maybe keeping things closed on Sunday is about more than just a day of rest, maybe it’s also part of Norway’s socialistic planning and how they demonstrate best that we all need each other and must work together for a common goal: Sunday dinners.