He's Back!

The mysterious ginger-colored visitor was back this morning, nose pressed up against our patio door. He seems to really enjoy staring at our cats, and they seem to really enjoy looking back at him, so I put a little blanket on the patio for him to sit on while he keeps his vigil. (He was shivering the last time he came to visit.) So far he doesn't seem to like the blanket, and he also turned his little pink nose up at the cat treats I left out for him. I don't think he was being finicky, none of our cats will eat Norwegian cat treats either. Luckily, the dogs think they are divine, so at least they won't go to waste!
I was calling him Garfield, but today I thought of a far better name for him. I have renamed him "Ravi". Ravi is a popular Norwegian red haired rapper/singer. We went to a carnival in Gjovik in September and he was performing. We had no idea who he was, but were very entertained by his reggae set. He has a couple of songs on the radio and also a musical commercial on TV explaining how to recycle. Here is a link if you want to see Ravi for yourself! http://www.nrk.no/musikk/5607598.html
I hope our curious little red haired visitor likes his new name! (Or at the very least, won't cough up a hairball on our patio in protest!)

Andre Omgang

My Norwegian class went to "Andre Omgang" (Second Half), a Norwegian movie, today. Remember all the stuff I blathered on about yesterday, such as my growing ability to speak and understand Norwegian? Never mind! I think I understood maybe 3% of the dialogue in the film. (I know, it's more than I would have understood in August, but still, I had such high hopes for myself!)

Kevin and I have gone to American movies before at the Gjovik kino, but this was my first Norwegian film. The thing that struck me the most was how normal the people looked. In mainstream Hollywood films, the actors are perfect--flawless skin, straight white teeth, thick and lustrous hair. They always live in huge, spotlessly clean homes which are tastefully decorated. The actors in "Andre Omgang" had crooked teeth, lank hair, sallow skin and visible panty lines! They were up there on the big screen, looking human and flawed. Their homes were modest and cluttered with the trappings of everyday life. It was kind of nice to see, but a massive change from the last movie we saw, the latest James Bond adventure, "Casino Royale"! Of course, had I actually understood what the actors were saying, maybe I wouldn't have been so focused on the occasional snaggle tooth!

Progress

Kevin is back safely and we enjoyed a nice day together on Sunday, eating way too much chocolate (more me than Kevin) and unpacking all the American loot. He brought cat treats for all the kitties, and a bunch of my favorite groceries that we can't find here. Reeses Peanut Butter cups--yum! Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful anniversary wishes!

In Norwegian class today, we were discussing how long we have lived in Norway. I arrived in mid-August, and sometimes I feel like I should be more acclimated to my surroundings by now. I made a mental list of the things that I have learned since moving here, and I feel a little better now. Here are a couple of my accomplishments:
When at the grocery store and asked if I want a "pose" (bag), I don't freeze like a deer in the headlights. I now know to say "Ja, takk." And if the cashier suggests 2 pose, I know to ask for 4 pose. Even though you have to pay for grocery bags here, the cashiers are very stingy with them, and I have found that as a rule, you always need 2 more bags than are suggested if you don't want to walk out of the store with some of your groceries tucked under your arms.
I have finally memorized the rules of the road. You must yield to cars coming from the right, and now I instinctively slow down at every intersection and check to see if someone is speeding towards me. That is a very important accomplishment--in the first weeks we were here, I got into many near accidents because I couldn't remember this crucial traffic law. And rotaries? Piece of cake!
I am able to complete entire transactions at pizza parlors, stores and the movie theater in Norwegian. I'm sure I get tenses and genders wrong, but I know lots of vocabulary words now and I'm not afraid to use them!
I can't get too smug yet about my linguistic ability--I went to the post office today to mail a letter to the U.S. I took my number and waited to be called, then confidently marched up to the window and said, "Jeg vil acheter a stamp." "Jeg vil" is Norwegian for "I want", "acheter" is French for "to buy" and "a stamp" is English, obviously, for "a stamp". I don't know how the French snuck in, but I have noticed that when I'm mentally searching for a word, French will pop into my head. I have no idea why, I haven't taken a French class since 1996! The lady behind the counter gave me a very puzzled look, but she also sold me a stamp, so maybe she's used to dealing with confused foreigners?
Despite my embarrassing little language setback today, I really do feel like I have learned so much in my Norwegian class. I love the melodic way the language rises and falls, I love the sound of the rolled r's, I love the 3 extra vowels thrown in at the end of the alphabet. I am excited to go to class every day and I can't wait to be able to speak fluently.
The first few months in Norway were so frustrating--I couldn't understand anything, I didn't know where different businesses were, I was kind of scared to drive anywhere, and I was homesick all the time. I still have moments of homesickness, but they are less frequent and they pass more quickly. I am feeling less and less like an observer of Norwegian society and more like a participant. I may not know how to buy stamps yet, but I have come a long way in the last 5 months!

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Today is our 6th anniversary--on the evening of January 27. 2001, we were married at Danforth Chapel in Iowa City, Iowa. It was such a beautiful night...snow on the ground, clear skies with twinkly stars. Danforth Chapel is a tiny little chapel on the University of Iowa campus. Even though we were living in Chicago at the time, Iowa City was where we met and fell in love. I got my B.A. and M.A. at the U of I, and Kevin earned his MBA there, so it was special to us to be married in a place with so many wonderful memories. The chapel is really tiny (I remember the wedding coordinator whispering to me, "You can fit 80 people in there, but only if they are skinny people!") We managed to make room for all our guests, both skinny and, um, not so skinny, and had a romantic candlelit ceremony. My parents' song was "Lara's Theme" from Dr. Zhivago, so we managed to find the sheet music for the harpist and she played that for the recessional. Kevin was so sweet, tearing up during our vows. In my usual goofy style, I was trying hard not to giggle--we chose some traditional Quaker vows and there were lots of "thees" and "thous" that I couldn't quite manage with a straight face. It was the most perfect night, from the ceremony to the reception--it was amazing to look around the room and see the faces of everyone we love, and realize that they all travelled long distances just to celebrate our wedding with us. I was overwhelmed and overjoyed that night, and I still am when I think back about it today.
6 years have passed and we have had our share of ups and downs. This past year has been especially challenging, but I think we are well on our way to creating a full and happy life in Norway. Unfortunately, Kevin will be spending our anniversary somewhere in the sky as he flies home from New York. We will celebrate tomorrow, so I have been busy making some special treats in the kitchen and madly cleaning the house. (By the way, getting squirted in the face by the bidet while you are cleaning it is not a good time! I have never had one of these contraptions before and we never use it, but from time to time I think it needs to be cleaned. All I can say is eeewwww, between gargles of mouthwash!)
I know in the grand scheme of things, 6 years isn't all that long. 25 years, 50 years, those are accomplishments! I love my husband more and more with every passing year, and I want to grow old and gray(er) with him. No one knows what the future holds, but I desperately hope that it includes us celebrating our golden anniversary in 2051, surrounded again by all those we love.
(Sorry for all the sappiness today--I promise my next post will be full of caustic wit and sarcasm!)

More Snowy Photos

Here are a few photos I took while out on my pre-dawn walk with the dogs this morning. The sky was just turning lavender and I had a newly charged battery in my camera, and I think we all realize by now that I have a serious problem restraining myself from photographing snowy trees and sunrises. At least this time, I also included a photo of our little house in the woods.

I Learn Something New Every Day

We got tons of snow over the weekend, and with temperatures hovering around -10 Celsius, it looks like the snow wil stick around for awhile. I love the way snow-covered trees look...I love snow in general. Everything looks clean and peaceful, and even at night, all that snow reflects the moonlight and makes everything blue. So pretty.
We got most of our snow on Saturday, but we didn't let it stop us from driving up to Lillehammer for dinner with our friends Nina and Anders that evening. There is a tapas restaurant that we wanted to try (and thank goodness we tried it when we did--apparently the concept of tapas is not catching on in Lillehammer and the restaurant will soon be switching to more traditional fare). Anyway, our friends politely pretended to be very impressed with all my Norwegian progress, even though I am not capable of interesting conversation yet. I can ask people what their names are, where they are from, if they are married, if they have children, what their telephone number is, how old they are, and if they are a man or a woman. Seriously, is that not the most ridiculous and insulting thing for me to know how to say? Can you imagine me asking someone if they are a man or a woman? My class is called "Norwegian for Foreign Speakers" but if they keep teaching us how to say such tactless things, it should be renamed "How to Speak Norwegian and Make Strangers Cry"!
Speaking of tactless things to blurt out, over dinner I had several glasses of sangria, so I worked the courage up to ask our companions something that has been puzzling me since we moved here. What is up with the little gasp of air that people take when they say "ja"? No other words are said in this way, and when Norwegians are speaking English, they don't gasp when they say "yes". I have also noticed that women tend to do it more than men do. (See, I don't have to ask someone if they are a man or a woman, I just have to listen for the gasp when they say "ja"!) Our friends burst out laughing and told us a really funny story about the weird "ja" sound. Anders was at a business meeting with a couple of other Norwegians in Brazil, and during the coffee break, one of the Brazilians approached him to ask if his colleagues were okay, because they kept wheezing and gasping for air. Anders had no idea what this man was talking about, he hadn't noticed anything strange. Later, after a particularly loud inhalation, Anders finally realized what the Brazilian was referring to, and then couldn't keep from laughing every time someone said "ja". I guess that the "ja" is said while inhaling to express agreement and understanding for what is being discussed. (This would explain why my Danish papirklip class sounded like an asthmatics' convention!) I still didn't understand why it seems like women seem to make this sound more than men, and Nina quipped that it is because women are so agreeable and always say "ja", whereas men always say "nei"!
Another interesting thing I learned at dinner was the difference between a hot dog in Gjovik and a hot dog in Oslo. Hot dogs, or "polser", are a huge deal in Norway, but I guess the way they are eaten varies greatly. In Gjovik, people like their polser wrapped up in lompe (traditional potato-based flat bread) and then stuck in a hot dog bun. In Oslo, the polser goes in the hot dog bun, and they just slap the lompe on top of the whole thing. I'm still a little confused as to why people feel the need for so many carbs with their hot dogs! Anyway, on the main highway between Gjovik and Oslo, if you order polser, you will be asked if you want it "Oslo style" or "Gjovik style". I found this so funny, but again, I had consumed many glasses of sangria!
I'm glad Kevin and I had such a fun night out with our friends, as he had to leave the next morning for a week of working in the U.S. office. He made it to Amsterdam, but because his flight had been delayed taking off out of Oslo due to weather, he missed his connecting flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. He spent the night in the airport hotel and enjoyed the first 8 hours of sleep he has had in a really long time. The poor guy has been working so hard, and I have to say I was relieved that he was forced to take a little break on Sunday! He is safely in New York now, working like crazy. He is in finance, and January is always a rough month due to year end audits and reports which have to be done. Hopefully February will be a lot easier for him...I don't think he will be allowed to bring his laptop to Portugal with us!

6 Weird Things About Me

I have been tagged by Astrid at "Life With A Seaview" http://life-with-a-seaview.blogspot.com/ (I know, I'm so ridiculously computer un-savvy, I really need to learn how to link web sites! I swear, it's one of my New Years resolutions!) Anyway, the Meme is 6 weird things about me, so here they are:

1. I have "Bionic eyes"--I used to have -12 vision which I corrected with contacts. My eyes became too dry and irritated to wear contacts but I wasn't a candidate for laser surgery due to too thin corneas. In December 2005, a new surgery was approved in the U.S. where they implant permanent lenses over your own lens. Since it was brand new technology, my doctor offered the first 5 patients to have it $2000 off the surgery, so I leapt at the opportunity. The crazy thing is, I have a phobia of anything touching my eyes so I'm still kind of shocked that I did it. Now I have 20/15 vision (better than 20/20!) so I can say the surgery was totally worth it, even though I did come out of the anesthesia once to find a needle in my eye--that was very upsetting, to say the least!
2. I was so poor in college that I signed up to be a medical guinea pig--I did some pretty easy little psychological experiments, but I also did a couple of bronchoscopies. They paid $120, but imagine laying on a table for an hour with a tube going up your nose into your lungs--sure, it bought some beer and pizza, but what a painful way to pay a bar tab!
3. During the bronchoscopy mentioned above, the doctor told me I have a porpoise lung. I guess it's just an extra lobe on my lung, but at the time, I kind of felt like a "missing link"!
4. I'm not a "girly girl" at all--I think mice and bats are cute, and I really don't mind snakes or slugs or lizards. But bugs are my weakness, they turn me into a shrieking, hysterical, leaping on top of chairs mess. I'm fine with "cute" bugs like ladybugs and butterflies, but there is a certain bug out there with so many undulating legs that I am so terrified of that I can't even type its name. Seriously, there are tropical places in the world where I won't go for fear of seeing one of these monsters! (The first thought in my head when I learned that we were moving to Norway was, "Oh good, it's too cold and too far north for my nemesis to live!" I was wrong, but they are mercifully much smaller here!)
5. I'm really bad at telling time on non-digital clocks. It's not that I can't, it's just that it takes me a lot longer than the average person. I mean, I know immediately if it's 6:00 or 6:30, but a time like 6:45 is tough, when the hour hand is between two numbers and I have to figure out if it's 6:45 or 7:45...sigh, no matter how I try to rationalize it, it does make me sound a little dense, and my husband and friends love to ask me what time it is and then laugh and laugh.
6. I'm kind of nervous about flying and heights, but I did go skydiving once. (I was only 19, so I think I might have still been in that "I'm invincible" stage of life.) Unfortunately for both me and the jump master I was strapped to, I suffered severe motion sickness as we careened toward the earth. I can still hear him moaning, "Man, why do I always get stuck strapped to the pukers?!?"

Okay, so there are 6 weird, random things about me. I don't really know too many people in the blogging world who read my blog, but if you do read it and you want to share weird things about yourself with all of cyberspace, please consider yourself tagged!

Way to Go, Leos!

I just read a funny article about how different zodiac signs compare when it comes to driver safety. I was very pleased when I read that Leos are the best drivers out there--yeah we are! We are generous and willing to share the road with others! (And lest you need more proof of what a fabulous driver I am, even though the roads are completely covered in snow and ice here, and we have plain old winter tires instead of the studded tires, our little Toyota Avensis is still in mint condition. Except for the dent in the side from where I slid down a friend's driveway into their garbage cans. Or the little piece of plastic that is missing from the right side mirror when I got a little too close to the garage door. Oops! But seriously, if I was a Libra or an Aries, I probably would have totaled the car by now!)
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/StudyLinksZodiacAndCarCrashes.aspx

Churches

Kevin and I were out running errands this afternoon (I finally got a new battery charger for my digital camera--very necessary after I fried the previous charger with the adapter. Oops!) Anyway, we decided to drive home a different way and found this beautiful old church on the top of a hill. While it was very pretty and had a great view of all the snowy hills in the distance, it still can't compare to my favorite church in the area (in the second photo). This ancient church was built in the 1100's and is still in good enough shape to hold church services. I have only seen it at night, and I can't wait to visit it during daylight and hopefully see the inside. I know I have said it before, but the age of buildings around here really makes my head spin!

The Visitor

When we first moved to Gjovik in August, this huge orange cat was always in our yard hunting. He is absolutely beatiful, but very unfriendly. He would trot by our house every day, but if he saw us, he would take off running. As the days got colder and snowier, we saw him less and less--most likely he appreciates the comfort of home when the mercury drops. Last night, on my way up to bed, I saw my cats gathered around our sliding glass patio doors, staring out intently. Remember those suction cup Garfield dolls that everyone used to stick in their car windows? Yeah, that's pretty much what the big orange guy looked like, plastered against our patio door on his hind legs, peering through the glass at us. I'm guessing he has a proper Norwegian name like Thor or Bjorn or Ivar, but from now on, I'm calling him Garfield!

The Days Are Getting Longer

I took the first photo at about 8:15 this morning--see the sun peeking up over the horizon? The next two photos were taken at about 8:45--the sun is officially up and the sky is all rosy and gorgeous. As I write this post, it's 4:40 P.M. and although it's twilight, it's not completely dark yet. The days really are lengthening! I know spring isn't exactly around the corner, but that's okay. I don't need flowers and robins, I just need sunlight, and we're getting more and more of it every day!

34 Murders

According to this article in Aftenposten: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1605255.ece
there were 34 murders in Norway in 2006. There are 4.5 million people in Norway, and only 34 of them were murdered in a year--that is incredible! We used to live about 45 minutes from Syracuse, New York, a city of about 150,000 people. Over the 5 years we lived in the area, about 20 people were murdered per year. Syracuse isn't a particularly dangerous city compared to other American cities--there are violent crimes across the country. It's strange that the high crime stats reported in the U.S. never shocked me, but hearing that there were only 34 murders in all of Norway last year really amazed me! I don't know why the violent crime rates are so much lower in Norway, but I would guess it has a lot to do with stricter gun control and the fact that just about everyone is middle class here. There isn't a huge gap between the "haves" and "have nots"--everyone seems to live in a nice but modest home, everyone seems to drive a nice but sensible car. I never felt unsafe anywhere in the U.S., but statistically, I guess I'm much safer now than I have ever been! Hmm, I wonder if we can get a break on our life insurance premiums now?

Portugal It Is

Thanks to everyone who left very helpful advice regarding our Portugal vs. Italy debate. We have decided to spend February 16-18 on the Algarve coast in Portugal. The area is supposed to have beautiful beaches, relaxing spas and fantastic seafood, so we are really looking forward to our little mini-vacation. Italy is still somewhere we really want to go, but we are thinking that might be a better destination when it is a little warmer and when we have a little more time to spend.
The list of places we want to visit while we are living in Europe is so ridiculously long: Italy, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, and of course, France. I have always wanted to go to Paris, but so far it just hasn't worked out. I speak the language (albeit quite badly), I love pain au chocolat, and every time I see photos of the beautiful city, I swear my heart skips a beat. Maybe some day...until then, I'll just have to remind myself that the people I know who have been there have complained about all the men peeing in the streets and all the dog poo on the sidewalks! If I keep those nasty images in my head, maybe the desire to go will abate until the time is right.

Oh Deer!

This little guy was munching on twigs right outside the window yesterday afternoon. He had a friend or two up in the trees, but even though I took the photos through the closed window without a flash so I wouldn't disturb them, they all took off running after the second picture. I have seen a lot of deer, tons of magpies and a fox in our yard so far. No moose yet, but I'm still optimistic that eventually one will lumber our way!

Skiing at Hafjell

Yesterday, Kevin and I went skiing at Hafjell, about 15 km. north of Lillehammer. It was ridiculously gorgeous--there were a couple of times I skiied over a rise and was greeted with such an amazing view of the mountains and glaciers in the distance that I literally gasped. Unfortunately, I only took photos from the bottom of the slope, then put my camera back in the car because I was afraid of dropping it from a ski lift or falling and smashing it. Good thing I had some foresight, because I fell hard a couple of times--ouch! The weather was gorgeous, but in general, it hasn't been very snowy here, so the snow base wasn't great. This was the first weekend with a lot of new powder, so it was really crowded. Pretty soon, all the skiiers took their toll on the meager snow and some of the slopes became sheer ice. I lost control a couple of times coming around turns in the ice and did some painful somersaults--again, ouch! I also did some of the ugliest skiing I have ever done in my life on a couple of the steeper icy slopes--full on snowplow, arms flailed out at the side, torso contorting madly just trying to stay upright.
Luckily, we didn't hit all the iciness until our last two runs, so most of the experience was perfect. We started on some green (easiest) runs and worked our way up to some blue (intermediate) slopes. We were not brave enough to try any red (difficult) or black diamond (expert) hills--we value our bones too much! We had our first experience with a T bar lift--that was crazy! It's a big, upside down metal T on a rope, and Kevin and I had to each kind of lean back on the 2 branches and hold on for dear life as it swept us up the hill. We were laughing so hard as we almost fell off numerous times--I must say that while chair lifts are a lot less interactive than the T bar, I greatly prefer the peaceful ride to the top of the mountain!
Sorry, this is probably a really boring post for anyone who doesn't like to ski! I just love it--there is nothing as magical to me than to be among the snowy pines, breathing in the crisp air, seeing the most breathtaking views, with only the swish, swish sound of the skis cutting through the snow. I go into a kind of trance, my mind stops racing and I'm just there in the moment. (Of course, when I hit a patch of ice, careen out of control and fall face first in the snow, I come out of my little meditative zone really fast!)
For more information on skiing in Norway, here is a great website:
http://www.tourist.no/templates/NTRarticle.aspx?id=41250
We went to Hafjell because it was only a 45 minute drive from our house, but there are so many ski resorts in our area--we can't wait to visit more!

Fat Cats

That's 36 pounds of cat looking at you! Abner is the "smaller" orange and white kitty--he weighs in at a mere 15 pounds. Toonces is the heftier gray tiger--he is a whopping 21 pounds. I don't know why I have such obese cats, I swear they don't eat that much and they have tons of toys to keep them active. A few weeks ago, my friend Nina and her son came over to meet the cats because they had agreed to take care of them while we were in the U.S. over Christmas. As soon as they saw Toonces, they burst out laughing and said they had never seen such a huge cat. I find that hard to believe--isn't this the land of massive Norwegian Forest Cats? Oh well, great big cats keep me nice and toasty when they're snuggled up on the couch with me. The earth may shake under their feet, but they sure are warm!

Portugal or Italy?

Kevin and I are so sick of the ice, so we have decided to take a little weekend getaway in February. Our requirements are that the destination be warmer than Norway with NO ice, and close enough to easily fly there and back over a 3 day weekend. Portugal and Italy both meet these requirements...anyone have any opinions about where we should go? Or any other suggestions that we hadn't yet considered? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

A Mind Like Teflon

I have been going to my Norwegian classes every day, but nothing is sticking in my head. It's like my brain is made of Teflon and every new word slides off. I learned French in high school and it was so easy for me--have I just gotten too old to learn a new language efficiently? Or is it because Norwegian is ridiculously hard? Our teacher was trying to explain the difference in pronounciation of the words "kjott" (meat) and "skjort" (skirt). She earnestly repeated the 2 words over and over, but they both sound just like "shirt" to me. How can a word which starts with a "k" sound at all like a word that starts with an "s"? But they sound exactly alike--I'm sure you can imagine the abysmal score I received on my first spelling test yesterday! And really, I was good at spelling in both French and English...what has happened to my brain?
Actually, I think I know what has happened to my brain--massive head injuries incurred daily due to falling on the ice. Seriously, everything is coated in sheer ice and no one does anything about it. I do think that Americans are a little too frivolous with law suits, but fear of being sued does encourage the average American business owner to keep their sidewalks clear of ice and snow. Occasionally, a kind person will toss a little gravel on top of the ice, but that does very little to make the ice less slippery, and it stings like crazy when you fall over and the gravel gets ground into the palms of your hands! I do remember one important phrase from Norwegian class: "Det er veldig glatt. Var forsiktig!" (It is very slippery. Be careful!)
I talked to Kevin earlier today, and he was so proud to announce that he didn't fall once on his walk to work today. Yesterday he fell once, and the day before he fell twice, so maybe he is getting the hang of skidding around on icy, rocky trails with a heavy backpack over his shoulders. So far, so good for me today too, but yesterday--oof! I was walking the beasts up an icy hill when I lost my footing. I shared some choice English curse words with everyone in the neighborhood as I slid on my stomach and chin all the way down the hill, dragging the poor dogs with me. Good thing I don't know much Norwegian, as I'm sure I'm known as the "crazy American" around town. Oh well, I guess every village needs an idiot, right?

A Beautiful, Snowy Night

The weather here in Norway is finally starting to cooperate--the temperature is just below freezing and it has been gently snowing for the past couple of days. Hopefully by next weekend, the skiing conditions will be perfect! Last night, Kevin and I went to our friends' home for dinner. We decided to walk, because it was a beautiful night, and because we suspected we might enjoy a few glasses of wine with dinner. We had a great evening, and much wine, beer and aquavit were consumed! This was my first time drinking aquavit--I think it could be used as jet fuel in a pinch! The picture of me and Kevin and the tulips was taken after several shots of aquavit--I love tulips, and it suddenly seemed like a fantastic idea to pose with them. We learned some more Norwegian drinking songs and toasts (not that we could remember them this morning!) and finally stumbled out the door around 4 A.M. The walk home was just gorgeous--not a single car on the roads, only trees and snow and twisty, narrow lanes. We finally rolled out of bed around 2 P.M. this afternoon. The weather was still perfect, so after the sun set, we took the dogs down to the lake for a peaceful walk in the snow. The weather this winter has been dreary and unpredictable, so this past weekend felt like such a gift. I'm so glad we were able to take the time to enjoy the snow, and I really hope that it lasts--we can't wait to get out the snowshoes and skis!

Hei, jeg heter Emily!

"Hei, jeg heter Emily" means "Hi, my name is Emily." I repeated this phrase about 30 times this morning in my first Norwegian class! There were 10 students today, and we all introduced ourselves and told everyone where we come from. I'm the only person from the U.S. There is a lady from Mexico, a lady from Burma, a lady from Romania, a lady from the Ukraine, a lady from Azerbaijhan, and 3 men and a woman from Iraq. I talked to one of the men from Iraq for awhile--he has 2 children who want to go to the university in Oslo and need to take the TOEFL exam. He asked if I could help them with their English. I'm so excited--for the first time since we have moved here, I feel useful! So far, I have had to ask so many people for help...basically, I've been a bottomless pit of need! It is wonderful to feel like I am going to contribute in some small way to society again. This afternoon I'm going to look through all the books we have to try and find some that may be helpful--at first I wondered why in the world we hauled hundreds of books across the ocean with us, but now I'm so glad we did! If anyone has any experience with the TOEFL and has any advice, please let me know--I really want to help these people succeed! (Hmm, I wonder if my new found goodwill has more to do with procrastinating studying Norwegian and less to do with my altruistic nature...oh well, no time to dwell on that nasty little thought, I have books to find!)

Tybee Island

Here are a few photos from beautiful Tybee Island, Georgia. The weather was gorgeous--there were even a few surfers and swimmers braving the December waves! These crazy turtle statues were all over the island--we lived in Chicago in 2000 during the parade of cows, and these funny turtles reminded me of all the wacky bovine-viewing fun we had that year in the Windy City!

Savannah Pictures

We are safely back home in Norway--wow, the freezing temperature as we landed in Oslo was quite a change from balmy Savannah! Here are a few pictures from our little vacation--it was so nice to get away for a little while and spend some time together! The top photo is "The Waving Girl" statue (Savannah's answer to Copenhagen's "Little Mermaid"). Florence Martus lived out on Tybee Island with her brother and would wave at every ship that came in until her death in 1943. Kevin and I were excited to see the loyal collie by her side--it made us miss Kermit, and also feel very thankful that he and Honey were safe in a kennel, and not wreaking havoc in our kitchen!
The next photo is of this wacky street performer on River St. He was wearing a white suit and matching white sombrero, pounding on a drum while singing about hula hoops. He brought several hula hoops with him and encouraged the audience to dance along. His lyrics basically consisted of "Hula Hoop, Hula Hoop, Rock, Rock, Rock, Rock, Rock, Rock, Rock" repeated over and over. Whenever someone had trouble keeping the hula hoop around their waist, he would offer the sage advice of, "Shake it like you've got peanut butter on your belly!" Kevin and I found the performance highly entertaining, and sang the hula hoop song the rest of the evening. (I don't know if the beverages consumed later during our haunted pub crawl contributed to our incessant singing or not!)
The third photo is of one of the many squares in Savannah. The town was designed to be similar to London, with gorgeous, green, public squares every couple of blocks. This particular square was all decorated for Christmas--even though the weather was in the 70's during our visit, there were so many gorgeous holiday decorations around that it felt really festive. Our beautiful hotel had a huge tree in the lobby and greenery and ribbons around all the fireplaces--this was a really magical time to visit!
The final photo is of a path lined by huge live oaks, dripping in Spanish moss. The gnarled, twisted branches of the trees and the ghostly moss made everything very moody and atmospheric. Our pub crawl tour guide told us some crucial information about Spanish moss--when it falls to the ground, chiggers immediately move into it. One day, he saw a "Yankee" woman gathering up armfuls of the stuff and loading it in the trunk of her car. He tried to warn her, but she tartly replied, "I'm not worried, we have bugs in Connecticut too." He didn't push the issue, just laughed to himself about the very itchy ride home she was about to experience! I laughed along with the story, but was secretly so relieved that I hadn't scooped any up and stuffed it into my suitcase--the thought had crossed my mind earlier! Oh well, at least I captured a few photos of the beautiful plant on my camera!
Anyway, the trip was fantastic and I have lots more photos to post later. It is good to be back home--the animals were very excited about our return and all the treats from PetSmart which we hauled back. I had a meeting with my Norwegian for Foreigners advisor today and classes start on Friday. For the next several months, I'll be in class from 9-11:30 every day--I hope eventually I get past this babbling, pointing and miming phase of communication! Kevin is at work during the classes, so I'll try to pass what I've learned on to him. (Or I could just make up crazy things for him to say and see if he repeats them at work the next day!)

Happy New Year!

Kevin and I have had a fantastic time here in Savannah--what a gorgeous, atmospheric city! I have dragged the poor guy on not one but two ghost tours. (At least the one last night was a haunted pub crawl!) We spent some time wandering around Tybee Island and Bonaventure cemetary yesterday, and today we toured a couple of old mansions, including the Mercer-Williams house of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" fame. We are going to ring in the New Year at the City Market block party, and then tomorrow we're off to Norway. I have tons of gorgeous photos to share, but will have to wait to download them from the camera to my computer. Happy New Year!