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!