Rabbit Ears

Norwegian students go on lots of field trips during the month of June. After the long winter, the teachers feel that it is important to get the kids out of the classroom and into nature. Luckily for all of us "Norwegian for Immigrants" students, our teachers also feel that June field trips are necessary. In the past couple of weeks, we have had a field day outside, playing volleyball, bocce ball and soccer (or fotball, as it is called here) and a trip up to a hytte in the hills to plant pine trees and walk through the forest. Today, we went to Lillehammer to see the Olympic ski jumps and ride the chair lifts, and then on to the Maihaugen open air museum to learn about Norway's agricultural traditions.

I have really enjoyed these breaks from the normal school day, as my brain is beginning to feel a bit sated after 5 1/2 months of intensive Norwegian. I know I have learned so much, but I get frustrated with myself too. When I was little, we were the last house in the neighborhood to not have cable TV. We could get PBS fairly clearly, but it took some effort to view the other major networks. I would fiddle with the rabbit ears on top of the TV, and when it seemed like the reception was clear, I would very slowly release them and gently back away from the TV. Sometimes that would work, sometimes as soon as I took one step back, the static reappeared. I kind of feel like speaking and understanding Norwegian involves a similar process. Sometimes I can have a really decent conversation--I understand the other person, he can understand me, I can even crack a joke or two. Other times, I have to ask the person to please repeat himself (or even resort to English), and I am unable to string more than a few words together without making a stupid mistake. I don't know why my Norwegian "reception" is so inconsistent--my mathematical abilities, although poor, are very consistent from day to day, as are my English grammer skills. I'm a little scared to move or even breathe too deeply when I'm immersed in a Norwegian conversation that is going smoothly--if I take one step to the right, maybe the reception will become fuzzy and I'll suddenly blurt out a string of nonsensical "Norwenglish". I'm not sure what to do about this problem, other than to continue to plug away at this difficult language, and maybe put some tinfoil on my head!