Dugnad Day

We are getting close to the big National Holiday here on the 17th of May so it’s required by all entities to spruce up a bit. We had a little "dugnad" at school today (dugnad means "work party") because all government offices, including schools and daycare centers, must pull weeds, pick up trash and do a little touch up painting if it helps, so their places look their best. There is a strong sense of pride here to have everything in tip top shape for 17th of May. All homeowners should have their lawns mowed and fresh flowers in the pots, so people have been scurrying around getting things in order. Even the old widow guy that lives across the street from us was out in his yard today putting fresh blooming flowers in his pots on the patio. I pulled weeds at school for an hour, others planted flowers and swept up the entrance area. The city was all a buzz with tidying up and it will continue until the 16th of May, I’m sure. Good thing the sun was out, as it made the work almost pleasant. Kory even painted over all the graffiti on the bus stop next to our house. He swears tomorrow he’s going to paint a Norwegian flag over the nice shade of white it currently is. I was thinking it would be nice just to leave it white, but he has too much pride in his land for that.

Kory had plans to be flat on his back all day today, but he felt slightly better so he was able to go vertical. Our friends from our Bible study group, Emmanuel and Ledto, called and asked if he could take them and their new baby to the doctor for a check-up, so he was happy to do that. They invited him over for lunch afterwards and he was thrilled to be served a traditional meal from their home country of Eritrea in Africa. I felt bad as I told him he shouldn’t be going there for a meal - we should be taking them one. Sometimes men don’t get it.

At school today we talked more on freedom of religion. I learned that all children here are required to follow the religion of their parents until they are 15 years old. At that time, they are free to choose what religion they want (or not). If their parents had them baptized into the State church, they are free to write to the State and have their name withdrawn from membership. (They picked the age of 15 because traditionally that is the age of adulthood when a child must go earn their own living.) I asked my teacher why they would need to opt out with a letter and she said because then the government would stop sending their taxes to that church. Apparently, a portion of everyone’s taxes goes to support churches so it’s possible to designate which one gets the money (the bulk of any church’s income comes from tax dollars from the government – not from individual giving.) So everyone should be registered with a church and then they can also deduct a portion of the cash donations they make to that church from their taxes (they can deduct up to 30% of the amount donated.) A lot of people use that as an excuse not to tithe or give any additional money to their church because they know their taxes already pay for it, but the tax is such a small portion of one percent that it hardly counts. We give money to both churches we attend, but we are only allowed to deduct the contributions we make to the one where we are registered. Strange system. And for all the taxes paid by people with no designated church, that money goes to the State church – no surprise there.

I got my laptop back from the PC shop today and they were able to get a full backup copy of my data so I boxed up my computer and tomorrow Dell will send someone out to pick it up for repair. They said it might take three weeks to get the motherboard replaced, so I’m glad we have six weeks before we leave town. Then I got smart and activated the 60 day free trial of Microsoft products on Kaleb’s laptop, and using the portable hard drive with all the files from my old computer, I’m nearly up to speed. It’s tough to type on a Norwegian keyboard, and Kaleb has very little memory in his computer so it’s slower than molasses, but I’m not complaining. I’m just happy I can be connected to the world, so Hallelujah for that. Kaleb however is relishing in the fact he has total control over me now because I’m at his mercy. He says I can only use his PC for 30 minutes a day but I cannot use it at all until I finish my homework, which I never even do. He also said if I let him sleep in our bed I get an extra half hour on his computer the next day and I can also earn an extra half hour if I speak just Norwegian the entire day with no mistakes. That kid is a wheeler - dealer. I can’t imagine where he gets that from. Turid often tells me we are too strict with him. Now I see what she means. I can dish it out, but I’m not too thrilled about taking it - especially from Kaleb.

Is it Friday The 13th Perhaps?

My computer died today, and I was sure I'd die right along with it. When I went to boot it up this morning it just made a few crunching noises like it usually does, and then nothing. The screen was black. My heart sank. I hadn't done a backup in too long. All I could think about was all the photos and videos I may lose if it was my hard drive that tanked. I also wasn't too thrilled about losing my blog entries, but I know I can at least re-type them from the internet (I can't copy anything from it for some reason.) So today was full of anxiety and a bit more stress than I'd like. I went to school and during lunch break I took my laptop down to a PC shop. They said they thought it was a bad hard drive, but I should call Dell support. I called the Dell support center here in Norway and they told me my warranty expired on the 9th of May. I looked up my serial number on their website and it showed that was the ship date, so I called back and said if I had a one year warranty, why wouldn't it start from the the time I received the computer, not from the time it shipped (I ordered it from their website last year.) They agreed to give me a 14 day grace period (first answered prayer). Then I took it to another repair place to see if they could do a backup on it before I sent it in for repair. They took it apart and told me it was the motherboard that was bad, not the hard drive, so that was the big answered prayer. Hallelujah for that! I hate that I trust my computer so much. I should NEVER trust it and ALWAYS back up my files, but I get lured into a false sense of security, like it's my best friend and it just won't let me down. Ha. I'm also thankful Kaleb has a laptop so I can at least access the internet. (His laptop has no software on it so I'm writing this blog in wordpad, so if there are a lot of typos, it's because I have no little red lines underscoring the errors of my ways.)

Kory wasn't too pleased with today either as he stayed home from work and was flat on his back all day. He might be there a few more days, as he is in a lot of pain. He won't go to a doctor or a chiropractor, but at least he's taking ibuprophen to reduce the swelling in his spine. He also broke loose a cap on one of his front teeth today when he crunched on an apple. He's had better days. Kaleb was the only one that was in a good mood, so we are thankful for that. He's learned how to stand on his head so that was our entertainment for the day. He is so proud.

As if all else wasn't enough, school was a real drag today. My Pal Vestina was out sick and no one was there that makes me laugh. Our topic for discussion today was on freedom of expression here in Norway. Norwegians take that freedom to extremes and they allow all kinds of things that would be censored in the U.S. Swear words are never removed from TV or newspapers here. Nude photos are also the norm. Even the youth claim that graffitti is just another form of their right to express themselves, so they don't get prosecuted for it. People are allowed to express themselves as long as it doesn't harm another person, so that's where they draw the line. But one thing that did get censored recently was a movie called "The Life of Brian." I don't know much about it but apparently it was some kind of parody of Jesus. The government here felt it was blasphemous so it wasn't allowed in the country which just made it all the more enticing so people found ways to get it and watch it. Just like the original sin....

I was also bummed out because I read a newspaper article today that said 40,000 teenagers will be Confirmed in Norway this year, and of those, only 37% say they believe in God. I think it's blasphemous that they are allowed to go through with it. When I questioned my teacher on that, she said Confirmation is now just a tradition that came out of Norway's religious background. "They needed a religion in the old days," she said, "because everyone had to struggle so much just to survive. But today we know more and have more information and we don't have to believe what the Church says." How sad. I told her the Church and God are two different things but I'm not sure she understood the difference.

A Walk in the Rain

I love Mondays because it’s my day to skip school. I used the quiet time to do some Bible study and prayer. It’s never a bad day if it starts off like that. The sun was shining this morning and I had a strong desire to go for a bike ride or a walk, but I really didn’t want to be gone from a quiet house, as it’s empty so rarely. I told myself I’d get some exercise when Kaleb got home from school, but by then, it was raining. As luck would have it, cousin Kari called up this afternoon and asked if I wanted to go for a hike in the mountains – rain and all. This is where the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes” comes into play. I put on my rain pants and coat and off we went. Surprisingly there were several other people up in the mountains doing the same. It felt pretty good to hike in the rain as the air was so clear and the temperature a bit cooler. We hiked up past the farm called Østrem (see photo of the old barn there), which happens to be the farm where Kory’s grandfather’s family is from. Kory never knew his grandfather, nor did Kory’s mother, Jenny, know her own father. Jenny was illegitimate, the product of two teenagers away from home, working on the same farm for a summer. Their parents thought it best they didn’t get married since they didn’t really love each other so Jenny was raised by a single mom until her mother married another man when Jenny was eight years old. Jenny’s mom and step-dad had three girls together, and they are all the Tantes we love so dearly here in Aalesund. But as we found out in later years, Kory also has a few half uncles and an aunt from the Østrem side of the family.

After Kaleb was born I got very interested in family history and started doing research to find the names of all those who had come before me. I thought it might be nice for Kaleb to learn “from whence he came,” so I began the endless search for dead relatives. I wanted to go back eight generations on all branches, just to see if I could. It took a few years, but I’ve been pretty successful at meeting that goal. On my mom’s side of the family, all her great grandparents came from Norway and I found the location of all the farms they came from, and then I visited them all. It was one of the highlights of my life, as I then went to North Dakota and visited the homestead sites where they landed, so I was able to connect the dots. I had the same desire for Kory’s side of the family but I couldn’t get very far due to this whole illegitimate thing. Families here are good at keeping secrets, so it wasn’t easy to find out information about Jenny’s father. I spent a day down at the local library, reading microfilm and I found Jenny’s birth record, and once I did, I found her father’s name. I then found an old local history book with his name in it and it said where he had lived and the names of his children. I looked in the telephone book to see if any of his children still lived around here, and sure enough, we found one son not far away. So on a trip to Norway ten years ago, Kory called up his Uncle Per and introduced himself and said he would like to meet him. Per was sure Kory had the wrong number because he had never heard his father had an illegitimate daughter, but Kory assured him he did. When Per hung up the phone he told his wife he’d just gotten the strangest phone call. He said a guy from America called to say he was his nephew and that his mom was his half-sister. Per’s wife said, “Yes, that’s right.” Per was shocked. He then asked his wife how she knew this to be true, and she told him she had heard it about fifty years earlier. He asked her why she didn’t say anything to him about it in all these years and she said, “Because it never came up.” And that is an excellent example of the quintessential Norwegian communication style. They just don’t talk about unpleasant personal things. We have since met Per and his wife, and his sister Berit and her husband, but their other brother died before we had a chance to meet him. We were hoping to have dinner with this group of “uekte” relatives last night but they had to postpone. (“Uekte” is the word they used to use for “illegitimate” - it means “not real.”) They are a wonderful group of relatives we are delighted to now know. Jenny had no desire to meet them however as she was terribly embarrassed and injured by the whole scenario and didn’t want to be part of that family. Kory intentionally waited until after she died before asking about her father. (Protocol and pleasantries.) But Jenny’s sister, Tante Berit, is a little bit sad they never met.

Kory came home from work in a sour mood as he hurt his back even more while lifting something today. I didn’t think he should have gone to work, but he did. He was moaning all afternoon, even after taking some ibuprophen and a hot soak in the tub. Poor thing. Kaleb came home from school whining and crying too, but it was just his way of trying to get out of doing homework. He is so tired of doing it and I am so tired of making him. Ugh. I spent all my free time today working on plans for our summer road trip. It’s like shooting at a moving target, but fortunately I’m not tired of it yet.

No Mother's Day Here

Last November, when it was Mother’s Day in Norway, I ignored it. It was too close to Thanksgiving and didn’t feel right to celebrate ME at such an odd time of year. I was holding out for today. But, as I’ve come to discover since living here – being the only one trying to uphold an American tradition in a foreign land, just doesn’t work. A normal Mother’s Day for me back home would involve breakfast in bed, a homemade bird house by my sweet boy, and being waited on hand and foot all day. Not so today. For one thing, Kaleb spent last night with a friend, so there wasn’t even anyone to be a mother to this morning. No breakfast in bed, no coffee, no greeting… a day lost and forgotten on this mother. Oh well, there’s always next year.

Kory and I went to Agape Church this morning. It was a packed house. It seems a small Pentecostal church meeting in downtown Aalesund on Saturday nights, pulled the plug. I’m not sure what all was going on there, but the pastor of that church came and asked the pastor of Agape Church if he could send his “flock” to Agape. They all showed up this morning – including the former pastor. It’s all a little weird, but they did it – they combined the two churches with the hopes that our pastor will branch out one day to do Saturday night services back in the middle of town. Interesting dynamic there and I’m sure there’s more to that story, but I thought it was odd that a church would just shut down all of a sudden. In the US they tend to die a slow death….

We sat by Sabina (age 10) and her mom after church at the café and had coffee and talked. Sabina told Kory how much better his Norwegian is since he’s moved here. Considering I couldn’t speak it at all when we came, I went looking for a compliment in all the wrong places. I asked Sabina if she thought I had improved a lot too in these last several months and she said, “Yes, but you say all your words wrong.” So much for that.

We expected to pick Kaleb up from his sleepover before church this morning, but he called just as we were leaving to ask if he could stay on and play for the day with his friend Andre. Our priority now with him is to get him well connected to some Norwegian kids, so we had to say yes. He couldn’t have been more pleased. We told him we’d come get him before dinner, as we had invited Kory’s uncle and his wife, and his aunt over for dinner (they are Kory’s mom’s half brother and sister). But Uncle Per called this morning to say they couldn’t make it tonight so I called Andre’s parents and invited them and their kids to come eat the food I had already begun to prepare. As it turns out, I saved the day at their house because it was Håvard’s (Andre’s dad’s) turn to make dinner tonight for his family, and he forgot, and they had nothing planned and all the stores are closed on Sundays. They were thrilled to be invited and they even liked the food. Their oldest son didn’t come because he has a big exam tomorrow he needed to study for. I started complaining how difficult it is to learn Norwegian with the two official languages here and all the dialects. Janne (Andre’s mom) agreed with me. All children here must learn both languages and her oldest son was home studying for his grammar test in Nynorsk (the language Kory speaks.) Janne said her son was so frustrated with the language he shouted out, “It’s surely NOT from God!” So it comforted me to know even the locals have a hard time with all the grammar.

It was nice to have some of Kaleb’s friends here for a change. Tobias came over and all the boys were outside playing hide and seek all evening. Janne commented again just how polite Kaleb is and that he always says please and thank-you. Last night she asked if he might need to use the bathroom before he went to bed and he said, “Yes, thank you.” She thought that was pretty funny. She said she’s never heard a kid laugh so hard as Kaleb laughs when he watches a movie. He does enjoy slapstick and for as little as he sees any TV or movies, I guess he has a lot of pent up laughter just waiting to come out. They enjoyed having him around so that was good, but it was sad for me to only see him a few minutes all day today. When I was tucking him in to bed tonight he finally remembered what day it was and then he wished me a Happy Mother’s Day and asked if I liked my present – a day off from being a mother. Ha ha.

A Cannon Day

I was in my bathrobe until three this afternoon. There was no reason to get dressed, so I didn’t. Kaleb was up early and off to Skaathaugen (a neighborhood about a mile away) to play with his friends from school and Kory spent the entire day over at cousin Odd’s house working on his remodel (see photo). I enjoyed my morning cup of coffee while in my snuggly bathrobe and thought I’d just keep the coziness going since I was home alone. It was another one of those days where we tentatively planned to go for a hike, but the weather never looked secure enough, so all bets were off. Fortunately Kory and Kaleb had a plan B, but I didn’t, so I just worked on my friend Paula’s family research. I am so jazzed I can actually read Norwegian books and do the translation! I have so many family history things back home that are written in Norwegian so I’m anxious now to see just how much I’ve learned.

Kaleb called this afternoon and said his friend Andrea wanted him to sleep over tonight, so I walked over to Odds to get the car so I could run some pajamas and his toothbrush up to him. If the neighborhood he was in wasn’t at the top of a very long and steep hill, I would have walked it over there, but I just didn’t feel that spunky or motivated. When I got over to Odd’s house and watched Kory and him working “together” on the bedroom expansion I had to laugh. It reminded me of the car mechanic shop signs that say, “If you want my advice, it will cost you $20 an hour. If you want me to fix the problem, it will cost you $40 an hour. If you want to help me, it will cost you $60 an hour.” I’ve seen Kory do jobs like Odds from start to finish in just a few days. But with his cousin the doctor helping, it’s taking him probably ten times longer. Odd is very interested in the process of how it’s all put together and he needs to stop every now and then to talk about what a good job they are doing and how much he likes the idea of this remodel. It was comical to watch the process. Kory has a tremendous amount of patience (and skill) so they make a good team.

Tonight we finally got to take Turid out to celebrate her birthday. Normally when we come to Norway every year, we take Odd and Turid out to the nicest restaurant in town as a thank you for putting up with us, and for all Turid does throughout the year on our behalf. We didn’t do that last summer when we came and stayed with them for two weeks, and now that we only have about six weeks left, the clock is ticking. We used Turid’s birthday as an excuse to take them out and thank them once again for all the support and help they constantly give us in adjusting to our life here. The restaurant we normally go to, Sjøbua, is now closed on the weekends. Apparently the chefs decided they didn’t like working the weekends so now that place is only open Tuesday to Friday. What a shocker. Turid said the owners are very accommodating to their employees (obviously) and the restaurant has been around for so long they can still survive with just weekday business. So we had to try another restaurant that just opened up a year ago, and as it turned out it, was much better than Sjøbua! It was a fresh seafood place and what I call a “good food” restaurant. Kory calls it “shi-shi” while he lifts his nose in the air as he says it, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a fantastic meal every now and then. The only problem with doing it in Norway, however, is that it costs an arm and a leg. But I’ve become blind to the prices of anything here otherwise I wouldn’t even breath the air, but just for an example as to what things cost… I was the designated driver so I ordered a small glass of sparkling water ($6.33), Kory ordered a glass of red wine ($11.85), Odd ordered a beer ($10) and Turid ordered a bottle of white wine ($135). The way the dinner menu was set up, we could either order a three, four or five course meal. I ordered the three course meal which included a small bowl of yummy curried apple soup, some fresh fish, the best baked potatoes I’ve ever eaten in my life and some pureed yams. It also came with a small slice of cheese cake for dessert ($81 for the three courses). Everyone else ordered the four course dinner which was the same as mine but also included a skewer with two pieces of nearly raw tuna fish on them (glad I missed out on that one) to the tune of $97.50 a plate. All-in-all with coffee and a few extra beers for Odd, our bill was $618.83 (at today’s conversion rate). This is why we only go out once a year. I’ve just gotten numb to the prices here but I know I’ll be doing the happy dance once we get back home and can afford to eat out a few times a month. The funny thing was, just as we placed our orders for dinner, Kory’s cell phone rang and it was Emmanuel – one of the guys from our Bible study whose wife is pregnant. Kory had told them he’d give them a ride to the hospital if they needed it. When he saw it was Emmanuel, our hearts sank, thinking he’d have to rush off to the pick them up, but as it turned out, Emmanuel was calling to tell us Ledto had the baby last night and all was fine with her and Gospel (their new little boy). Odd wasn’t the only one who thought today was a “cannon” day (what Norwegians call a really great day), Emmanuel and Ledto felt the same. So Hallelujah for that!

Sixty-four Years Ago Today...

The flags were flying high in Norway today. It’s the anniversary of the end of German occupation during World War II. There are certain days, by law, Norwegians can fly their flag and today is one of those days. They are such a proud lot of people, I’m sure they would fly it every day if they could. If there is a birthday in the house (or the King’s castle), or someone has been baptized, confirmed, or married it’s also allowed to fly the flag. Easter, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and 17th of May (Independence Day) are national holidays that paint the landscape red with flags flying from every pole. So many people fly flags here it’s just a pretty sight whenever it happens.

I went to school today but it was pretty boring because My Pal Vestina was sick and not many others showed up. I mainly went as an excuse to get into town to pick up some books at the library. I ordered the farm history books for the area in Norway my friend Paula’s great grandparents were from, so I was anxious to dive in and see what more information I could discover. I’ve spent at least ten hours today working on that little project and I’ve got a dead butt to prove it. Fortunately for me, Kory was over at his cousin’s house all afternoon building his bedroom extension and Kaleb didn’t come home from school right away, so I had plenty of time to concentrate on translating the words and connecting the dots. Kaleb asked if he could go home with a classmate after school today and I thought it would be for just a few hours, but I finally called him at 7:30 and told him he needed to come home. He loves playing with those boys from his class and I love that he can, and does. I also enjoyed the quiet in the house as Kory didn’t get home til nearly 8pm either.

When I was in town today there were four Russ (soon to graduate) girls at the crosswalk – two on each side of the street. They are easy to spot because they all wear red overalls. I’ve been asking a bit more about the whole Russ tradition (pronounced Roose) and it seems they are “required” to pull pranks as part of their graduation process (it’s a self-imposed requirement.) The graduates attend a lot of parties in the spring of their last year of school and they all wear hats to them with homemade tassels sprouting out of the top. Each time they accomplish a prank, they attach something that symbolizes the prank, to their tassel. There are long-standing traditional pranks, and then there are pranks each class makes up new every year. The goal is to get as many items on their tassel as possible before they complete school. So today, the girls were standing side by side on each end of the sidewalk, and as people were crossing the street they would reach out their hand to shake whosever hand was crossing and then they said, “Velkommen til andre side.” (Welcome to the other side.) They giggled as they did it, but they are required to shake everyone’s hand apparently, and the locals obliged. Tobias told me today he saw some Russ guys on a tricycle riding around and around in a round-about – right along with the cars going through it, so some of the pranks are a little dangerous. I heard about one where a whole group of Russ kids locked arms and walked very slowly onto a ferry – causing all the cars behind them to not be able to load until the Russ kids had gotten on. It’s silly things but they seem to have fun while they are doing them and the adults just roll their eyes and put up with it.

Before we came to Norway I went to a naturopath who told me I should probably not eat wheat. I rolled my eyes because bread is my favorite food. I kinda forgot I was told that, but ever since I’ve been in Norway I have felt older than my years. Every time I moved, I ached (standing up was the worst). I couldn’t figure it out until just a few weeks ago I remembered the whole wheat thing (no pun intended). Norway’s bakeries produce the best bread I’ve ever tasted, so it’s no wonder I would forget (selective memory). I finally decided to see if my aches and pains were related to some kind of wheat sensitivity and I cut out eating bread and crackers and fresh bakery items (how sad). But the saddest thing was, I immediately felt better! It only took one day of eating no wheat, and I could tell the difference. I wanted to cry. It’s like Kory being here and not being able to eat all those disgusting sausages they make that he thinks taste so good, but dares not nibble on. So now we are on an even-keel. We both have foods we shouldn’t eat. I haven’t eaten bread in weeks (I did have a little cake the other night, however), and I can’t believe how much more energy I have. I guess in some people, wheat causes inflammation, and I’m one of them. My knees even stopped hurting once I stopped eating wheat. Go figure. I guess I’ve abused my wheat privileges and now I must pay the price. Sometimes, when life is so good it doesn’t seem it could get any better – it doesn’t.

A Fairly Normal Day

We had good spring weather today – pouring down rain one minute and beautiful blue skies and sunshine the next. It was like playing the lottery when I went outside as to whether I’d make it to my destination without getting wet – even if there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. All day long it was like rolling dice – the clouds would come and they would go and when they came there were as dark as could be and I couldn’t even see the buildings next door for all the rain coming down. It was pretty exciting. There was a rainbow in the sky nearly every time I looked. I loved it.

I left school early today to attend The Praying Women’s group. It gives me a great opportunity to talk in Norwegian and also more practice listening to it being spoken. Those women talk fast and I’m getting pretty good at following along. Often I understand all the words, but the meaning is lost on me so I need to ask for clarification, but for the most part, I’m holding my own. The Good Teacher Inga says I shouldn’t be so hard on myself – that I’m doing very well and even if I don’t speak properly, people are able to understand what I mean, and that’s all that matters. And my good friend Paula even wrote me an e-mail and said she was impressed when she was here visiting that I was able to talk to everyone and understand them when they talked back – so I guess that’s something. I just know I sound like a two year old when I talk so it’s embarrassing for me, but it certainly doesn’t keep me from talking. That would be a downright shame if I couldn’t talk! But even My Pal Vestina said I need to knock off the complaining. Okay, already….

Hearing a language being spoken is so important so that’s why I keep going to school. I have so much yet to learn. Kaleb doesn’t hear much English now and it’s starting to show. That kid reads a lot – so often he learns a new word without hearing it spoken first and it’s always funny when I hear him use that word for the first time and he doesn’t really know how to pronounce it. Yesterday when we were talking about discrimination and people’s prejudices against each other, I told him wars are started sometimes because one group of people think they are better than another group - for the silliest reasons. He said, “You mean like the protest –ants and the Cath-a-holics in Northern Ireland?” I totally cracked up over that one. He might have coined a new phrase “Cath-a-holic” – gotta love that. And what about those protest-ants? But he was nearly crying the other day when he realized he now uses both English and Norwegian in a sentence without even thinking. He’s worried no one will understand him when we get home if he says something in Norwegian accidentally. I told him they would just say, “What?” But all three of us are guilty of using the easiest words in both languages so we often talk a mixed sentence - but we all understand each other so it’s our own version of “Nor-lish”, a secret language used only in our household. (It sounds better than “Eng-wegian.”)

A few days ago I realized Kaleb’s hair looked kinda funny. His bangs seemed to be off for some reason so I tried to straighten them out and there wasn’t enough hair to cover his forehead. I asked what the problem was and he said he cut his bangs at school. He was playing with some kind of putty the teacher uses to hang papers up on the wall and he got it tangled up in his hair and couldn’t get it out so he just cut it off. I was thinking he looked kinda dorky these past few weeks but I couldn’t believe it took me so long to ask why. So much for being an attentive mother. (See photo of him “playing” with other boys and check out those bangs.)

Kory rested his back a little this morning but then got up and cleaned house before I got home from the prayer meeting. He was walking kinda funny when he went over to cousin Odd’s house to help him on his bedroom expansion. Odd said his mom, Tante Kari, isn’t doing too well. We’d hoped to go visit her tonight in the hospital because she had her hip replacement surgery yesterday, but she’s feeling terrible and doesn’t want any company. She needs prayer, and lots of it. Poor thing.

The days are getting so long now it’s hard to get to sleep. I have been up until after midnight the last several nights and the sky is still a nice shade of blue when I go to bed. The sun is up before 5am - so summer is fast approaching. I love how the seasons are so defined and the days change so dramatically from summer to winter. The tulips are all in bloom now but the hard rain has taken its toll and breaking off the pedals. Isn’t it interesting how our lives are sometimes reflected in nature?

Answers

Kaleb came to me with tears in his eyes today saying he wants to move back home NOW. He had a tough day on the playground and as he said, “It was the last straw.” I guess he’s been the object of discrimination in the past, and today it just hurt too much. Apparently several kids team up to play games at recess and in the past when he’s asked if he could join in, he was told “no” for various reasons – none of them justifiable and all quite unfair. Once it was because he was in 4th grade and all the kids playing were 3rd graders, so they didn’t want him to join. Once it was because it was kids from Class B in 4th grade playing together and he’s in Class C and they didn’t want him… but today it was because he isn’t “Norwegian.” He even argued and said he is 75% Norwegian by blood, but they excluded him anyway because he wasn’t born here. He was devastated and he just cried and cried as he talked about it. It gave me a good opportunity to explain to him what prejudice is like and how sad it is to be discriminated against for the silliest thing like skin color or where a person is born. I felt terrible for him but I promised that God can use that experience for good and someday he might meet someone who is discriminated against and he’ll be able to empathize and say he knows how it feels. He agreed to forgive the kids and to focus on positive things at school rather than dwell on the negative. He did say none of the boys from his little circle of friends have ever excluded him, so that was good. Then he comforted himself after our talk by typing up his ideal school schedule for when we get back home. I know he’s looking forward to being homeschooled again, but this is why we came here. He needs to experience life.

Kory went to work today, against my better judgment. He was still hunched over in pain from over-extending his back, so I’m pretty sure he was thinking of his bosses and their obligations, not his own comfort. I’m just glad he didn’t hurt it worse today, but he’ll probably be on the couch for a few more days. He is so “old school” here in Norway, as it seems employees nowadays look for any opportunity to call in sick. There are such generous policies here for any and all kinds of conditions that it’s amazing this country produces a thing. Today in class we had a big discussion about maternity leave and how the all new fathers are now “forced” to take four weeks off after their baby is born. Women MUST take nine weeks off, with an option to take up to 11 months off with full pay (or 12 months off with 80% pay) if they so choose. The discussion was on whether or not the government should force these policies on people or if people should be able to choose what they want to do. The government is set up a little different here in Norway – the citizens never get to vote for anything other than who their politicians are. There is never a vote given to the people over any policy or law – it’s all decided by the politicians after MUCH discussion on the topic, which is reported in all the papers on a regular basis. So rather than realizing how incredibly lucky fathers in Norway are that they get a month off with pay, they complain about the fact they don’t get to choose to do that – that it’s forced on them. Too funny. And now the politicians are talking about four weeks not being enough and they may increase that up to three months in order for the fathers to bond better with their children. I think it’s odd however, that they want all this bonding time with the parents to their baby, but then parents must put their child in daycare (even if the mother isn’t working outside the house). The government feels strongly that all children should be in the “system” from an early age so they learn how to be socialized. They didn’t like it at all that foreigners were keeping their kids home until they went off to school – and the kids couldn’t speak the language properly, nor did they know how to behave, so they say now that all kids must enter daycare at age one. And there really are discussions now among the politicians as to who should be most responsible and given more authority for raising the children - the government or the parents. Scary stuff.

Well, we got answers today to a few things we’ve been unsure of, so it seems we’ll be heading back home in mid-August. When school is out we’ll be able to take a six week road trip to visit relatives in southern Norway, then go on to see Denmark, northern Germany, Prague, Belgium and Holland before driving through southern Sweden and hopefully visiting friends on the way back to Aalesund. We need a few days in Aalesund to say our good-byes and then we’ll fly home around the 10th of August. Our house sitters in Mount Vernon will be leaving sometimes after the 17th of August, so we’ll hang out in Seattle (and maybe Montana) with friends and family before we plant ourselves back in Skagit County. I’m sure we won’t want to leave home, once we are back there, so we need to get all our visiting done before then. At least now we know what will happen. We had so many uncertainties but now things are falling into place and we have a plan - but we’re totally open for anything God might do to change them, however.

Cinco de Mayo IKKE

I was so proud of myself yesterday as I carved out a little bit of study time to not really do homework, but to look back on my grammar book and see where I went wrong and why some of the basic principles in Norwegian grammar are just lost on me. I studied hard and I felt surely I made it over one basic hump – and that is where to put the “ikke.” The word “ikke” means NOT, or DON’T or sometimes STOP – all negative connotations. The killer is, that word floats around in sentences like clouds in the sky. It’s never in the same place twice and I struggle so much with whether I say it before the verb, after the verb, after the subject, before the helping verb… because different scenarios change the rules about where it goes. I studied it and studied it and was sure I had it figured out. Then wouldn’t you know today in class we had a big exercise on where to put the IKKE and I got almost all of them wrong! I give up. I’m hopeless. Even if I look up a word in the dictionary, a minute later I’ve forgotten its meaning. It’s so embarrassing to be this bad. So I didn’t even try to do homework today. I came home from school and Kaleb was already engrossed in his school work, Kory was laying flat on his back (same position I left him in this morning) and the rain was pouring down. I laid on the couch to try and sleep away the disgust I felt for myself and next thing I knew Kaleb was on top of me wanting to wrestle. So much for rest. That boy needs a trampoline.

Tonight there was no cake, but I did get a free dinner. The Good Teacher Inga invited some of the students in our class to attend a dinner meeting to talk about our experiences at our school. None of us were sure what we were in for, but as it turns out it was the monthly meeting of the Soroptomist Club here in Aalesund. The Soroptomists are an international group of professional women that work together to try and improve the lives of other less fortunate women. I know a few of them back home in Skagit County so it was exciting for me to see the “international” part of that group alive and well in Norway. The Soroptomists run the thrift store in LaConner and do other fund raisers throughout the year and use the money to fund scholarships or help battered women’s shelters, etc. It’s women networking together for the good of other women. It’s the same idea here, only they don’t do the fundraising part quite the same because after all, they are Norwegian and pretty tight with their money. I asked one of the women tonight about that missing piece of the action and she explained to me that in America there is such a division between those who have money and those who do not, but here in Norway, everyone has about the same – so there aren’t really “needy” people to help. They do, however, sell lottery tickets for ten kroner each (about $1.50) at each meeting and at the end they draw the number to see who wins the bottle of wine (it wasn’t me). They also pay dues to be in the club and they use that money to help women in Sierra Leone in Africa, but that’s about it. I think here, it’s mostly about networking, but the club has been around for 26 years and there are 36 women in the group – so that’s something. They were all impressed with our class and how well we could speak the language as we all stood up in front of the group and presented ourselves and told where we are from, how long we’ve been here, why we came, and what we are doing now. I was clearly the worst speaker so it was a little humbling for me. I really should do more homework as I’m being left in the dust. My Pal Vestina made the best presentation and both Inga and I were so proud. That girl has a future. (Inga thinks it is so funny Vestina and I are friends, as we are quite the opposites, but we make each other laugh and that’s the glue that holds us together.)

Kory and I are still trying to figure out how the next three months are going to play out. I think I need to go talk with the immigration office and find out exactly when we need to be out of the country, and maybe that will help firm up our plans, but it’s looking more and more like we’ll be home sooner, rather than later. The more we think about it, the more we like the idea of a road trip around Europe in the Spring of next year, rather than in the summer of this year. Everything is so crowded in the summer and it gets too hot in July and August for my liking. (I’ve been able to generate my own heat now for about a year – hot flashes have their benefits.) So coming home early might not be a bad thing especially since we have to deal with our apartment building. We’ll see how it all shakes out.

(Today’s photo I took on our last road trip. The cabins are set under the shelter of the overhanging rocks for protection from avalanches. It’s a good visualization of how I feel about my relationship with God. He’s always been my protection from whatever might want to dump on me – gotta love that.)

"Rest" Party

Today was my official day to skip school so I could prepare my lesson for tonight’s Bible study. All went well as I savored the quiet of the house. Kory was off to work, Kaleb to school. I prayed, I read, I studied. Days like today go too quickly. The sun was out so I took my new bike for a spin to see how it rides with new tires, and it’s like a different bike. I am so “fornøyd” (satisfied.) I rode down to Kaleb’s school to meet up with him for the ride home. It was such a nice day.

Kaleb did his homework in record time and then we went for another bike ride together on a little “explore” around the neighborhood to see where different paths lead. He complained a bit that we had no specific goal in mind, but the problem really was that he’s been without electronics for so long he wants to make up for lost time and riding a bike with his dear old Mama just wasn’t his idea of a good time today. I took the hint and we headed home. Kory came in the door all hunched over and immediately had to lie down as he strained his back at work, so that was a bit of a bummer for him. We had an early dinner and then our Bible study group came, so we worked our way through the fourth chapter of the book of James. There’s some powerful stuff in there so it was good to have a discussion about it.

I got a text message today from the woman who schedules The Praying Women (a weekly meeting I attend as often as I can.) Kristen wrote me in Norwegian, and I understood the words, but not fully the context. The message, when translated, said she apologized for the short notice but wondered if I was available to come to a rest party tonight at her house at 7:30. I wrote her back that I could come if it was OK I came late because my Bible study ended at 7:30. It was. Then I spent the whole afternoon trying to figure out what a “rest” party was. When we meet for prayer at her house, we often do “soaking” prayer – where we all lay on the floor and are just still before God. Sometimes one or two of us falls asleep. I was wondering if that’s what she was referring to as “rest” and maybe she forgot we called it “soaking” prayer, but then I wondered about the word “party” after it – because it’s really not a party when we are praying. Then I wondered if it’s some kind of party like a Tupperware party, but they just sell things used for “resting.” Norwegians delight in doing nothing, so it would make sense to me there could be a company that would try to capitalize on that one. I just couldn’t figure it out, but I knew enough to know I better dress up a little, as any and all parties in Norway are cause for a bit of formality.

After our Bible study was over I drove over to Kristen’s house. (I’ve only driven our car a handful of times since we’ve been here – and never more than a mile away – so this was a big outing for me tonight as she lives several miles away.) When I got to her house, I immediately understood. Kristen’s daughter had her Confirmation this weekend. I found out it’s customary after weddings or confirmations to gather up all the leftovers and have another party a day or two later to eat up the REST of the food. Her daughter was confirmed on Saturday so she had a small family party yesterday to eat the REST of the cold cuts and regular food, but she saved all the cake leftovers for us Praying women and the women in her own Bible study group. Two points for Kristen! There were about ten of us there tonight, facing at least a dozen partially eaten cakes and it was as if I’d died and gone to heaven. I don’t know why or how Norwegians can make such good cakes, but there is just nothing that can compare to them in America. Normally I don’t eat cake as there is just nothing to them, but Norwegian cakes are incredible. I had to have a little piece of each one and plenty of coffee to go with it so I’m sure I’ll be awake all night. (I keep thinking I’ll start losing a little weight one of these days, and then something like this happens.) I like this “rest party” very much. The women were surprised we don’t have such a thing in America but I told them we usually pack up leftovers and send them home with people - but this Rest party idea is way better because it extends the celebration just a little bit longer.

Kristen asked me to share a few stories with the women – including about how my foot got healed. We talked a lot after that about why God heals some people and not others and how hard it is to accept His choice when it seems to make no sense to us in the here and now. Of course we don’t have God’s perspective on things and there are no easy answers, but as the old song says, “Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God… through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His word.” He hasn’t let me down yet, and I don’t expect He ever will.

Happy Birthday Times Two

The reasons to celebrate just don’t stop. With a large family all living so close by, there is never a week without cake. Last week it was Hege’s baptism, this week it was birthdays times two. Today was both Tante Kari’s 81st birthday, as well as her cousin Oddrun’s (pronounced Ode-run) 75th birthday. Unfortunately, because of Tante Kari’s broken hip, she wasn’t feeling much like celebrating so there wasn’t really a party for her. We stopped in for a visit and to bring her a gift this afternoon however, but it was tough to see her in so much pain. She gets a hip replacement on Wednesday.

Since all the sisters live next to each other, we can’t very well go visit one aunt without stopping in to see the others, so we also had a visit with Tante Aslaug and with Tante Ruth. Ruth went on and on about having the awning over the deck and how nice it is to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. I planted some pansies in her flower pots so she was proud to show me how much they’ve grown in the last few weeks. She couldn’t have been more pleased, so it was good for us to hear how well she is doing. They use the word “thrives” here a lot (trives). We are always asked, “Trives du her i Norge?” (Thrive you here in Norway?) Everyone always wants us to thrive, and today we found out how well the plants on the deck are thriving as well as how Aunt Ruth is thriving with the awning. Good to hear.

Kory and I were thriving well this morning without Kaleb in the house. We were actually able to have a very long uninterrupted talk because Kaleb had spent the night with a friend. We were so engrossed in the conversation, we sort of missed church. Agape didn’t have a service today because of the three day weekend and Filadelfia just had Confirmation (no regular service). I wanted to attend a Confirmation, but the conversation we were having was more important. We talked about many things but mostly about when we need to head back to Washington. One of our upcoming vacancies in our apartment building in Seattle is from our current on-site manager, so we have to figure out Plan B, since he’ll be moving out soon. Within the next week we will be buying our tickets to come home – possibly in July rather than September. We figure we can always come back and do our European road trip next Spring, but things at home are piling up and it stops being fun here if we have too many uncertainties there. We promised Kaleb a trip to Denmark to go to Legoland so we will probably take three or four weeks anyway and travel around a little before we head back, but it won’t be all we had initially planned. Life happens.

Tonight we were invited over to Kory’s mom’s cousin’s house to celebrate her 75th birthday together with all her family. Oddrun is from the Solevaag clan that grew up on the original family farm where Kory’s mom was born. Kory’s mom’s uncle inherited the Solevaag farm and raised all five of his kids there, Oddrun being one of them. All the siblings (except one) live right on the same street as that farm and some of their children and grandchildren also live just a stone’s throw away, so it’s not too hard to rally the troops and call them all together to celebrate. That is one tight knit family. (See photo of the five Solevaag siblings and us. Oddrun is to the left of Kaleb, then there’s Kitty, Olaf, Arnfinn and Terje.) All their spouses were there, most of their children and about half of their grandchildren were all together in one house – at least 35 of us, eating dinner, drinking coffee and enjoying the 11 cakes made for the occasion. Birthdays are no small matter and we so enjoyed being part of that celebration.

Kaleb was pretty peeved with me as we picked him up early from his sleep-over so he could come with us to the party. He wanted to bring his Nintendo DS game to play, figuring he’d be bored to death in the presence of so many old people, but we told him other kids would be there so he couldn’t bring his DS. Turns out every single kid – all six of them there – brought their Nintendos! Kaleb got tears in his eyes and wanted us to go back home to get his, but by that time our car was already blocked in and we couldn’t leave. He managed to entertain himself by watching the others play and when one got tired, he was able to borrow theirs. It was the funniest sight, all these little boys sitting side by side on the couch with their faces planted right in front of a little computer screen – playing “together” – as the technology allows the machines to interact if they are near each other. I’m not sure what it’s doing for his social skills, but his small motor skills sure are improving with the work-out his fingers get. And perhaps this type of interaction is more indicative of his generation anyway, but I don’t think it goes as well with coffee and cake.

An Incredibly Boring Day

The weather was most unpredictable today so we scratched our plans to go for another hike (my body is thankful for that). Instead, we cleaned house. Kaleb had arranged a sleepover with a friend for tonight so I told him we wouldn’t take him there until his room was clean. It took him nearly all day to clean it, but it was pretty impressive by day’s end. I used the time to clean my desk, which tends to get overrun with paperwork and little bits of this and that. And Kory used the bulk of his day changing out the tires on my new/used bike. He was concerned I’d have a blowout sometime soon, so he solved that problem. He likes to solve problems.

Our big outing today was going to the mall at Moa to buy some groceries. We ran into a few people Kory is related to so it almost felt like it was a social outing, not an errand. I also ran into a woman that used to go to my Norwegian class – she got a job stocking produce at the supermarket. She doesn’t like the job so much but she said it’s better than going to class. The mall was packed today. Since all the stores were closed yesterday and will be again tomorrow – there was a run on groceries. We were there around 2pm and many of the shelves were already empty. I guess it also has to do with the fact it’s Confirmation time so many people are having parties this weekend, but it was almost scary looking. There wasn’t a loaf of bread in sight, and an entire aisle of meats was just empty. The grocery store must have been a madhouse when the doors opened today. I’m still not used to NOT being able to buy what I want when I go to the store to buy it. It always catches me by surprise that some basic item like bread or eggs or milk might actually not be there when I go. I’m such a spoiled American.

We saw a lot of “Russ” (pronounced Roose) kids at the mall today. Russ is defined in the dictionary as “sixth former” so I have no idea what it really means, but when I looked up “sixth former” it said something about studies at the “videregaaendeskole,” which is what they call high school. I do know that starting May 1st every year, all the kids that are going to complete “high school” begin their shenanigans. High schools here are more like trade school/community college type things. Kids are only required to attend school for ten years so the last three years are optional. If they go, they have to pick a specific course of study and when they are done, they are certified in some trade, or prepared academically for further study in a field if it requires advanced education. So all these kids we would call soon “graduates” are called “Russ.” And for some reason, after May 1st, they all wear bright red overalls everyday for the last six weeks of school. The overalls have all kinds of things printed on them – weird sayings, the Norwegian flag, handprints… it’s all very artsy. I’m not sure if they order them that way or customize them themselves, but they are pretty darn proud they are finishing up school and they want to be noticed, that’s for sure. Also, a lot of Russ kids go together and buy bright red vans and they all paint their names on the sides of them, along with other slogans and symbols, and they drive them around town honking their horns and drawing attention to themselves. These vans get passed down from one graduating class to another and I think there is a special permit they must get just for these six weeks because I see those vans parked behind buildings the rest of the year and no one drives them anywhere – but now they are out on the roads enforce. The local newspaper had an article on the number of traffic tickets issued to Russ vans the first night of Russ. Russ students also design bright red business cards they get printed up with their picture on it (usually with some corny pose), their personal motto and contact information. Younger kids collect these Russ cards like my brothers used to collect baseball cards. Even Tante Kari has all her grandkids’ Russ cards stuck in the mirror in her entryway – so I’m not sure what’s up with that either, but it’s a long standing tradition here. The Russ kids pull pranks on each other and there is a lot of tolerance for the mischief they make. I’m not sure they break many laws but they do a lot of crazy things and have a lot of parties, that’s for sure. I guess it’s a time they all get to act out and be childish one last time before they enter the work force or go on to higher education. It’s a little different than in the U.S. as graduation itself is somewhat dignified and a more formal event, but here it’s quite the opposite, as they don’t even have a graduation ceremony.

After Kaleb left for his sleepover, Kory and I were incredibly bored as we couldn’t think of a thing to do. We will not be good empty-nesters, I’m afraid. Kory wanted to go to a movie but I didn’t want to spend the money. We now have one vacancy at our apartment building in Seattle and two more on the way. The economic crisis is finally hitting us. We may need to go home even earlier than expected if we don’t find some renters soon! Yikes.

The First of May - International Worker's Day

It’s a National holiday all over Europe and most of the industrialized world today – a day for celebrating how far worker’s rights have come, but also a day to protest if some feel they haven’t come far enough. Most people here in Norway have nothing to complain about, so a marching band here or there might go down a street blasting out tunes, but otherwise, people are up in the mountains or at their cabins just enjoying the day off. We took to the hills today as the weather continues to be outstanding for this time of year. Kaleb perfected his flying skills (see photo) once we were on top. It was a rough landing, but he’ll do anything for a goofy photo. The hike up was slow so as not to overtax Kory’s heart. I appreciated having that as an excuse as the going is pretty slow for me these days too – my knees sometimes feel like they are going to give out on me so I go slow and steady – so afraid I’ll fall. Tante Kari’s fall a few weeks ago broke her hip and now we found out yesterday the pins they put in her to repair the break didn’t hold so she has to have hip replacement surgery next week. I’m extra cautious because of stuff like that because I know I’m not getting any younger and I’m beyond trying to impress anyone.

The spring wildflowers were out in force today and made the two hour hike up ever so pleasant. We also encountered plenty of dogs, which kept Kaleb happy. The hike up was without incident, but the hike down provided one of the funniest moments I’ve experienced in a long time. If anyone would have seen it, it would have been embarrassing, however. It was so hot today I drank a little too much water while we were sitting on top of the mountain. On the way down, nature called. I went off on a side trail and then into some bushes to relieve myself. I had forgotten to bring my walking sticks that my friend Paula gave me, so Kory found a stick I used to steady myself when stepping down from uneven surfaces. I used the stick to beat around in the bushes and make sure no poisonous snakes were lurking nearby, as they often end up, literally, biting people in the butt when they using nature in such a way that exposes their behind. I was confident it was a safe location to pee and when I was done, I used the stick to help me stand up, but it broke in half and I lost my balance and fell head over heels backwards into the bushes and down a little hill. I didn’t go far but I got a few scratches on my butt and plenty of little branches in my hair and places I’d rather not say. I was so worried I’d encounter a snake as I made my way back up the hill and while looking for my camera (it went flying out of my shirt pocket as I rolled backwards). I couldn’t help but giggle all the way back to where Kory and Kaleb were waiting for me and when I told them what happened, Kaleb nearly collapsed in laughter. He wanted all the details, as I’m sure he will repeat them time and time again. He insisted on seeing my scratches when we got home, and then he howled all the more. I guess I’ll be the butt of that joke for years to come. Too funny.

We didn’t spend as much time up on the mountain as we would have liked to because we were invited to Benjamin's birthday party. Benjamin and Kaleb have played together several times over the years as he’s a foster grandson to Kory’s cousin Axel. We were happy to be invited to Kenneth and Miriam’s (Axel and Kari’s daughter's) house for a wonderful outdoor BBQ and time with the whole family. And after the party was over and everyone went home but us and Axel and Kari and Tante Aslaug, we all watched a movie together. But it wasn’t just sitting around watching a movie in someone’s living room kind of thing – no – this was something special. Kenneth built an incredible movie theatre in the basement of their house that is one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. One wall is just the screen and it’s set up to show movies made with Blue-ray high definition quality so the picture is crisper than anything I’ve ever seen before anywhere. And behind the screen wall is a room with a huge movie library, so we got to go in and pick the film of our choice. The surround sound vibrated the furniture when the volume increased, but the whole room is sound proofed so none of the sound escaped and woke their baby sleeping upstairs. They bought special comfy couches to sit on that are so deep our legs couldn’t touch the floor - so we got to recline back with our feet up and watch the show (we picked “Ratatouille”). Kenneth even stair-stepped the floor so those in the back row sat up higher than those in front so every seat was a good seat. What an experience that was. Now Kory and Kaleb are conniving and planning on how they can do the same in our basement. We could never do something as extensive as Kenneth did, but I really think the boys will keep harping on me about it - maybe hoping I’ll just settle for a flat screen TV with some kind of cable hookup when we get home. I’m holding out as long as I can.

We're Havin' a Heat Wave...

There were only six of us in class today. The long weekend ahead took its toll. I’m sure I didn’t learn a thing as I sat in class wondering why in the world I bothered to get out of bed this morning – except that it was another gorgeous day and any excuse to be out in it was good. It was so warm this morning I didn’t even wear a coat at 7am. I had on a short sleeved shirt and sandals and I was roasting in class all day - totally impressive heat for this time of year. I’m getting my summer tan early.

We finally got a new road in front of our house yesterday. They have been working for months on digging up the water pipes in the street and now that they have completed that, they set down new blacktop and it looks so nice. Sabina was out rollerblading on it at ten o’clock last night. The road construction here just cracks me up. They don’t use flaggers to warn of upcoming dangers and sometimes they don’t even fence off dangerous areas. They assume everyone here is responsible for themselves and no one is stupid enough to get in harm’s way. Yesterday, as the steam roller was going back and forth over the fresh blacktop, bicycles and motorists were on the road swerving around all the heavy equipment even as the road was being made. It’s just too weird to see stuff like that. A little boy from the neighborhood, about five years old, sat all alone right next to the road watching the truck dump the asphalt into the machine that lays it down, and he was only about three feet away from those trucks, with no parent in sight. It’s all so strange. I’ve also been on the bus when one lane of the road was closed because a backhoe was sitting in the street working on the shoulder and as the body of the back hoe swung around, it came into the space of the only lane of open traffic. The bus could have had a serious gash in its side if they collided, but the backhoe worker just kept going and the bus waited until the coast was clear before zooming through that space. It made my heart skip a beat, but that’s how they do things here. Everyone is careful and no one expects anyone else to be looking out for them. The mind-set in America where someone else is responsible for MY safety is almost embarrassing. As a kid I remember being hurt from different things and the common response was always, “YOU should have been more careful.” Now, it seems, no one in America thinks that is their job, it’s more like, “THEY should have done something to prevent that.” Crazy system.

The craziest system going on in Norway these days is their Confirmation system! The whole idea of Confirmation is that when a kid reaches age 14, they “confirm” they were baptized in the church with a big ceremony after they have completed a year long course of religious studies. Well, things have changed dramatically over the decades. When the Pentecostal church made big inroads in Norway, they didn’t offer Confirmation because it didn’t fall in line with their belief that everyone gets to choose when they get baptized, and some might not do it before they are 14. The Pentecostals eventually developed a course of religious studies for 14 years old however, but it isn’t a true Confirmation because they don’t require baptism to complete it. The reason the Pentecostals developed that class was because, as Norway has become more and more affluent, kids receive more and more money as gifts and congratulations for Confirmation. It’s a long-held tradition in Norway and unlike in America, high school graduation is not at all recognized here because high school is an option not everyone chooses. So there is no other time in a teenager’s life they have a chance for the big financial windfall that comes with Confirmation. It’s not unheard of that a child will receive up to $6,000 in cash gifts for their Confirmation. No kid wants to be excluded from that, so now they have mutilated Confirmation so everyone can participate – even those who don’t believe in God. I saw in the newspaper today a listing of all the Confirmation ceremonies happening just this weekend, and one of the biggest ones was down at the performing art’s center in town for all those that completed the “Humanitarian Confirmation” course, meaning, it has nothing to do with religion. So kids that don’t want to learn about God can take a yearlong class learning about different humanitarian situations around the world, and they call it “Confirmation” so they can send out the invitations and get the cash. It ticks me off on the same level that all the law suits in America tick me off. (I guess it wasn’t just the weather today that got hot.) I’m sure God is sad about all of this, too. So it was a good day for Kory to not be home - he spent his day helping cousin Odd work on his bedroom expansion. Kaleb and I hung out in our neighborhood, riding bikes, walking, reading, playing games, eating ice cream and wondering what we should do now that everyone seems to have left town for the long weekend. It really will be a long weekend if we don’t leave our neighborhood. We’ve nearly worn out the new road already.

A Summer Day!

I completely tuned out what was being taught today – it was something like past tense participles or something or other that I’m sure I wouldn’t even understand in English. I doodled a lot and wanted to cry when I heard that the best student in our group put herself back in the slower class, as she felt she wasn’t learning anything anymore because our class is going so fast. I guess that’s why she’s the best student – she’s smart. Why I continue to go to this class is beyond me – other than I love my pal Vestina and The Good Teacher Inga. Vestina hates it when I’m gone so I feel if nothing else, I’m helping her as she has a future to think about. She always has to explain things to me. I hope I can hold out.

On the bus ride home I sat next to the new guy in our class. He’s had Norwegian lessons before but dropped out when he got a job, now his work is slowing down so he came back to learn more Norwegian. He’s very industrious. His name is something like Mahn-my – that’s how it sounds anyway. He is a refugee from Burma (now called Myrnmar) with a never ending smile on his face. I asked him a lot of questions both in English and Norwegian and he was just as fluent in both languages and he’s only been here a little over a year. I was so impressed with him, but his story broke my heart.

Mahn-my was born in the countryside of Burma, where the government refused to acknowledge anyone outside the major cities as citizens. When the political upheaval and rebellious infighting broke out near his home (when he was 12) his parents left, taking his younger siblings with them, and sending him and his older sisters to a refugee camp. He wasn’t sure he would ever see them again, but in later years they were all relocated to a large refugee camp on the Thailand/Burma border, where he reconnected with them. Not long after that, both his parents died of malaria, as the conditions in the camp weren’t the best. Mahn-my has lived over 20 of his 37 years in refugee camps. He said when the fighting would slow down, they could leave the camp, but not for long, and then they’d be right back in again. Thanks to several different missionary works within the camp, however, he was educated in English. He said there are currently 60,000 refugees living in that camp – more people than live around this entire area of Norway. They all live within a large fenced off area (surrounded by guards) right on the border with Thailand. He said each refuge must stand in line every day to get their ration of food and they all live in small stick shelters with big leaves for a roof. It is in that camp he met his wife and got married. Because Doctors Without Borders from France set up a medical clinic there, all four of his children were born under the care of a doctor and received birth certificates. When he was born, out in the country, no one was able to read or write, so all the babies were taken to the local monk and he would write their name and birth date on a piece of bamboo stick that was kept in a safe place and used as a record of their birth. Recently he said, 20,000 people from his old camp were “set free” and relocated to the U.S. because they are fluent in English (thanks to the missionary schools.) I asked him if it was a boring life in the camp and he said it was, as they had no freedom and nothing to do. But now, he said, more and more missionaries are coming and teaching people how to do weaving and other hand work so they have a way to make money. Life is improving there, he said, but it can’t compare to life in Norway. He said when his children misbehave now, he threatens to send them back to Burma, and that puts an immediate stop to their bad behavior as they NEVER want to go back there. Neither does he. He realizes how good he has it, but his relatives that ended up in Bakersfield, California tell him it’s much easier to get permission to drive a car there than it is here in Norway. He can only dream of ever driving a car, as he is sure he will not be able to afford it here. I’m sure he will. He’s a go-getter. I've been thinking about him all day.

Kory spent the day over at Tante Ruth’s, making a cover for the awning he installed on the deck. He didn’t like the one that came with it, so he made his own. Tante Ruth is so happy to have that awning – especially on a day like today – it must have been in the 80s today. I laid out in the sun for just a few minutes and got a little burned. It was so warm, when a neighbor stopped by for a visit, we couldn’t even sit on the deck. I’ve been in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt all day. It’s summer! Hallelujah! And yet Kaleb just sat indoors and read all afternoon. He agreed to ride bikes with me down to Agape Church tonight however (Kory walked). They had their normal service tonight, instead of Sunday, because Friday is a holiday (National Labor Day), which makes for a three day weekend, and apparently no one will be around (except us). It’s strange that churches are actually closed some Sundays. I see the logic in it, but it’s still a little odd. I guess if God took a break on the 7th day, churches should be able to have a day of rest every now and then, too.

Tax Day

I skipped school today so I could get my taxes done. There is a tax office not far from where we live, so with papers in hand, I took the bus this morning to be there soon after they opened at 9am. I got there at ten past nine and I was the tenth person standing in line waiting for help. Most places around here have the numbered ticket system so I can just take a number and sit down while I’m waiting to be called - but not the tax office. There are plenty of chairs, but no ticket system, so everyone has to just stand in line and wait their turn. I was expecting it to be hours because there are only two counters to help people, but surprisingly, everyone that works in the office must set aside their normal duties to tend to all the questions this time of year – as employees came from every corner and out every door of the office to help people. That was a pleasant surprise, especially since I wasn’t even in line for ten minutes before it was my turn.

The man that helped me didn’t speak a word of English (maybe he could, but since I spoke to him first in Norwegian, he just stuck with that.) I showed him my papers – already filled out by the tax computer. Since the banks, employers and everyone that has anything to do with money has to report every detail to the government, all the numbers were already pre-filled out on the tax form (including the four kroner – 50 cents – we earned from some profit in a co-op membership). If we had no exceptions (or questions), all we would need to do is sign the form and send it in and pay the bill that comes with the form equal to the amount the government says we owe. They make it so painless here to pay all those taxes. But I had a few exceptions that made their seamless system not so smooth. For one thing, they had no record of Tante Ruth paying us rent, nor did they have a place on the form to add that income. They also didn’t include the interest I earned on an account I set up at our friend Ole-Petter’s bank. So when I told the tax man that I had extra income to report, he looked at some other form to find the line number that rental income should be reported on, then he just wrote that line number at the bottom of the pre-filled out form, along with the amount of income (less expenses), we had. And as for the interest income, he said just to forget it because that account was in my name, and I didn’t have any other income. (Each person in Norway is allowed to earn almost six thousand dollars a year tax free.)

There is no such thing as a “joint” return here so everyone must file their own tax form. Since he said I didn’t have to file one, I asked about the amount they deducted from Kory’s tax return for his “child tax credit.” They always split the credit between the two parents but since I wasn’t going to file a return, he doubled the amount on Kory’s return. Kory earned a whopping $5,000 this year working two days a week for about four months. They held back around a thousand dollars to pay taxes, but the tax man told me today it looks like we might get most of that refunded because our income was so low. Woo hoo. When the tax man was done writing all the numbers on the form, he asked me to sign it. It was Kory’s tax form, but Kory was at work, so the man just told me to forge his signature. I thought that was pretty funny. So all-in-all it was a most pleasant experience and I’m thankful they don’t make us pay taxes on our income from the U.S., like Uncle Sam makes us do for our income in Norway.

I was back home by ten o’clock, wondering what to do with the rest of my quiet time before Kaleb came home from school, since I assumed it would take all day to do my taxes… so I decided to start planning our summer vacation. Everyone in Norway is on vacation the entire month of July and ferries must be reserved, hotels are already booked and theme parks are overcrowded. But it was a good day to start thinking about all the summer fun that lies ahead since now I know our savings account won’t be taken by the tax man. But as I sat for hours at the computer researching where to stay and what to do, I realized the dollars aren’t going to go as far as I had hoped, so the eight weeks of travel might only be six. I’m certainly not complaining, however, as I know we are very lucky to be able to go anywhere at all.

It was another beautiful summer-like day – and Kaleb came home peppy as ever. He and Tobias played together after he finished his homework and I rode bikes with both of them around the neighborhood just as an excuse to be outdoors. It reminded me of my childhood – everyone racing to see who could be the leader as we went up one street and down the other. It’s never a waste of time to relive pleasant memories.

Breaking in the Bike

Today was a glorious day – not only weather wise, but “free from school” wise. I savored every moment I didn’t have to think about the Norwegian language. I had a nice cup of coffee, cleaned house, did laundry, worked on my Bible study, read the news on the internet, laid out in the sun and got a little tan, I stretched, breathed deeply, prayed and thoroughly enjoyed having the morning all to myself. I need more of that.

After I was completely satisfied with my quiet time home alone, I hopped on my bike and took it for a spin. I love it! It’s so great to have wheels, and on such a warm day like today, taking the car or bus would just seem wrong (I actually wore a short sleeved shirt and no coat today). I rode down the street to Kaleb’s school and the two of us rode our bikes together to Moa (more than a few miles away). It was so sweet, riding side by side. They have huge sidewalks next to most of the roads here that are wide enough for a car to drive on but they are just used for baby strollers, bikes and pedestrians. It makes for a pleasant outing, as we were able to talk about school as we peddled and Kaleb was much more talkative than usual. When we got to Moa we were pretty hot and thirsty so we stopped and bought a popsicle. They have the best flavors of popsicles here – our number one favorite is the pear flavored one. They also have pear flavored pop, along with pineapple pop and this yummy pop called Villa that none of us can quite figure out what it tastes like, other than it’s good. (And the jello flavors here are great too, like blueberry, peach, and apple.) Kaleb and I love picking out things we’ve never tried before, in our never ending search for our “favorite food.” Back home, whenever we talked about coming to Norway, Kaleb would always get a dreamy lilt to his voice and say, “Pear popsicles – my faaaaavorite!” It was good to have one today and to splurge (even if they cost $4+ each).

But the purpose of our bike ride today was to take Kaleb to the dentist, which happened to be located at Moa. Kaleb hasn’t had his teeth cleaned or checked for nearly a year so I called a few weeks ago and made an appointment. All dental work for kids under age 18 in Norway is completely free, so I wanted to take advantage of that while I could – plus I knew he was due for a check-up. We arrived thirty minutes early because I wasn’t sure where the office was or how long it would take to get there. There were no forms to fill out – they just asked me to write his name, address, phone and birth date on a sticky pad and that was it for registering him. Kaleb was pleased they had a Lego table in the waiting room so he killed his half hour building a castle while I took a little snooze (I’ve been way too short on sleep lately). Right on the button at 2:45 when we had our appointment, they called us back to the exam room. I’m used to dentist offices with two or three work stations, but this place was like a hospital corridor with rooms on both sides of a very long hallway. That particular dentist office is set up just for the kids in Aalesund Kommune and that’s all they do. The dental hygienist asked me a few questions (she spoke NO English), I answered them and then she took Kaleb into a separate little closet room and took x-rays of his teeth. She shut him in the room with the machine while she stood outside in the hall and watched him through the window. That was different. Then we went back into the exam room and she pulled the x-rays up on her computer screen and showed me that everything looked great. She asked if he brushed and flossed and then she did a quick check inside his mouth. She swabbed some teeth with a little fluoride cream, gave him a cup to rinse out his mouth and he spit it out in the little sink next to the chair, just like I had when I was a kid. And that was it. They don’t scrape tarter or polish kid’s teeth here. I asked, but they don’t’ do it. She said even if he had a cavity, at age 10, they wouldn’t do anything to fix it because he will be losing those back teeth in a few years anyway. I was so hoping he’d get his teeth polished, but since he got a clean bill of health, I guess we’ll just be glad for that.

Kaleb and I headed over to the shopping mall at Moa and he spent a little of his birthday money – finally. He’d lost his wallet with all the money in it (over $200), but the people at the dog sled place we went after Christmas recently found it and sent it back, so he was anxious to buy something. Kory picked us up on his way home from work.

Turid came over tonight for a glass of wine and to help me figure out what papers I need to take in to the tax office tomorrow to get my taxes done (they are due on the 30th). I need an excuse to skip school tomorrow as we have another big chapter test and I already know I’ll fail it, so I may as well take the lesser of two evils and go find out how much money we owe the Norwegian government. It’s okay by me to get everything wrong on my Norwegian test, but I certainly don’t want to get a single thing wrong on our tax return. They are quite serious about their taxes here.

Baptism Day (Døpt dag)

Today was Hege’s big day (Odd and Turid’s fourteen year old daughter). We were invited to attend the State church with them to watch her get baptized, and then attend the celebration afterwards. In the State church here in Norway, it’s required that all those who go through Confirmation, be baptized first. Most people are brought into church as infants and sprinkled with water soon after they are born, but Odd and Turid never did that. Odd was raised in the Pentecostal church (and they don’t baptize infants) and Turid was raised in the State church, and they do – so they could never come to an agreement as to what to do, so they just did nothing, as neither of them attend church anymore. But now that Hege wants to be confirmed in the State church, she must be baptized.

It was all quite formal and very special and I’m glad we got to attend. The church bells began to ring five minutes before the service started, which is actually the norm for every Sunday, and we arrived just as they began to chime, calling all to attendance. (We heard on the radio once that in a remote area of Norway they blast off a cannon instead as everyone lives too far away to hear the bells.) A whole section in the front of the church was reserved just for the family. The church was very modern (and round) and circling the entire church were stained glass windows with a very artsy design depicting the major stories of the Bible (this follows after the tradition in the big cathedrals where they used the windows to tell the stories because so many weren’t able to read or didn’t have Bibles.) When the organ began to play, three women in white robes came in bearing candles, followed by Hege in her white robe, and her two older sisters in their bunads (traditional Norwegian costume.) Normally, for infant baptism, the parents would accompany the baby, but Hege chose to have her “God parents” as her witnesses. (Her sisters will take custody of her should anything happen to her parents before she is 18.) The Priest announced it was a special day today because of Hege’s baptism and then everyone said the Apostles’ Creed (which I recognized even though it was in Norwegian) and we sang a song. (The page numbers to all the hymns we sang today were posted on the walls, but it was done in such a way it reminded me of the numbers on the walls when I was a kid that signified how many were in attendance the previous Sunday, so it took me a while to figure it all out.)

The Priest called Hege and her witnesses forward and they all stood at the baptismal stand. The Priest asked Hege if she believed Jesus was the son of God and that he died for her sins, and she giggled and said “Ja.” He then laid his hand on her head, said and prayer, and made the sign of the cross on her forehead. She leaned over the bowl of water, the Priest cupped his hand in the water and poured it over her head three times as he baptized her in the name of the “Father, Son and Holy Ghost,” and then gave her a cloth to dry off. And that was it. Hege and her sisters sat back down while the Priest went back to the pulpit to deliver the sermon. And I do believe it was the same sermon being preached in all State churches in the entire country today, as that is the tradition here. Our friend Halton, who was born in 1920, once told me that when he was growing up, if the weather was too bad to attend church in person (they had to take a boat to get there), his father would read the sermon right from a book that was published every year that all the churches (and families used). My teacher Inga said when her father was young, the whole family would dress up in their Sunday best and sit by the radio and hear the sermon, if they weren’t able to make it out to church – so they have the whole sermon thing well prepared before the day arrives for its delivery. And the sermon today was good enough in parts that Kory wanted to shout Hallelujah a few times, but he whispered it instead – causing his cousins to have to contain their laugher as they all sat in fear that he might actually raise his voice and embarrass the entire family. I whispered a few “Amens” myself as I caught parts of the sermon referring to God calling us His children, but otherwise, I was lost in the formalities of the service and routine responses, but at least I understood the Lord’s Prayer.

After the service was over we took photos in the church before heading off to Turid’s art studio for a big Sunday dinner. All formal events here in Norway are cause for people to wear their bunads, have sit-down dinners and formal speeches. Odd gave a welcoming speech to Hege and the guests (it was only family in attendance) and Hege gave a little speech as well. We all ate until we couldn’t eat anymore, and then had coffee and cakes afterwards. It was customary to give gifts for this occasion so Hege got a lot of cash and all the silver accessories she needs for her own bunad, which she will get on her Confirmation day in June. It was a wonderful time for the family to gather today and celebrate this religious event, and we felt honored to be included. Kory shouted HALLELUJAH as soon as he was able to not embarrass anyone.