Musings on small town Norway

Hello, I live in Sykkylven, Norway, and I......

*am at a party, introduce myself and the person tells me he/she already knows who I am, what I do and where I've been

*get stared at by folks who don't instantly recognize me

*crave diversity

*can get everywhere even if I don't have a car

*need to plan my shopping since everything closes down during the summer, holidays and on weekends

*always see the same people when I go "downtown"

*often get behind a tractor going down the road

*wish there were a place I could get an iced latte

*wish there were other people that didn't
a) work at Ekornes
b) are busy popping out kids
c) isolate themselves with their significant others
or
d) do all of the above

*find myself wondering why people consider this music

*wish there were other things to do than to join a soccer league, a marching band or the linedancing club

*really don't find Klypa funny at all

*wish more people didn't worship countrymusic

*still get taken away by the beautiful scenery every time I look out the window

*feel lucky to live close to my family :)

No milk today

I feel like I am slowly re-adapting to Norwegian life. But, like any other country, there is a big difference between city life and country life. Duh. I'm getting used to the slow pace, narrow roads and the fact that we don't have a decent pub on this side of the fjord. Going somewhere takes planning. When going to work I have to take a ferry and a bus. Sometimes two buses, and if I miss them... I'm screwed.

We don't have a car, but we borrow my parents' car all the time. Bless them. We can't bike anywhere now that the snow has come. But we're adapting... ever so slowly.

However, I often end up in situations where I have to stop and think to myself, "was it ever like this?" I also get shocked. Literally.

We have shockwaves in the shower! No kidding. That deserves an entire blog post alone, so I will move on to the literal sense of "shocking".

We have ONE coffeeplace in town. One. I've been there quite a bit lately, mostly with my mom. There is always a babyboom in town, and young mothers frequently occupy the place with their little ones. Last time I was there I was enjoying my meal when suddenly I moved my head and stared straight into a nipple. OK, I get breastfeeding. But if you *have* to do it in a public place, can you please cover up with a little blankie? Some things should stay private. I wouldn't feel comfortable flashing my boob in front of strangers.

Let's just say I let my latte get cold after that.




The view. A major difference from Eugene... the bikes are replaced by strollers.

And I am slowly losing my intellect down the drain with dirty diapers.

Phew! What a week!

At last... Friday!

It's been a hetcic, but great week. It was a challenging week at work, but I loved it. This week we focused on the editing part of my job. But that wasn't all.. we also got sent to breaking news. A man is accused of setting fire to his apartment. Fortunately, everyone got out safely. One of the main differences I noticed from America.. police and fire are extremely polite and helpful. It's like they are going out of their way to help media. Good or bad?



I've also had to deal with some difficulties regarding our immigration application. Turns out we need a stamp called 'apostille' to verify the validity of our marriage certificate. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle. The 4 times I talked to UDI before we didn't need it. Jeez.



Jamie and I have been busy moving into our new apartment. Yay! It's not new per say. I was conceived in that very place. But don't you get any thoughts, thank you very much!



My grandma and grandpa built the house in the 50's. My mom and dad lived in the basement when I was a baby. Jamie and I are now getting ready to move in. We're thinking a retro design that will already go with the foundation. Color tones: red, purple and white. I want to keep the organic shapes while still implementing modern items. If you have any suggestions, throw 'em my way.



We still haven't seen any of the stuff we shipped from Eugene. I will have to spend an entire blog post discussing the troubles we've had with Rainier and EuroUsa shipping. ARGH!

Until then.... be safe. I miss you all!

Cultural differences

I have been back home now for almost 2 months. Sometimes I feel like I never left. Everything is still the same. Other times, I am haunted by my lack of experiencing the life here while I was gone.

My friends and I have become very different. Most are mothers, or wanting to be. I doubt I have a biological clock. While I enjoy my free time, they have to schedule everything around the babies. They're concerned with decorating their homes and knitting and waiting for their men to come home. I feel like we are generations apart. I'm not a hardcore feminist, but I refuse the idea of needing a man to "complete me". Love is about mutual respect, not about reinforcing old gender roles. If I had a house, I'd probably go nuts over nesting, too. But my husband and I are adventurous people, and we like to not know where we will be next year. We live in the moment, and are happy with what we have. Of course, we don't have a lot of money. But in a way it's liberating. We don't have to feel we need the latest flatscreen TVs, cars or the brightest flowers outside our crib.

One of the hardest transistions with the move... is trying to fit into this whole different mindset. From living in a city I am now in the country. Everybody has their nose into other people' businesses, and long live the gossip. Catching up over an impromptu glass of wine has changed to listening to babytalk over coffee. Nobody goes out to eat - most people cook at home. Meeting friends for a drink on a rainy Tuesday? Heavens, no. Drinking takes place on the weekends. If I suggest we gather to enjoy a few beer, I get frowned at.

I also feel like everybody has a need to "fit in". I miss diversity and daring to be different. Try to think outside the box!

Most people drink tons of coffee, hikes in the mountains, boils potatoes every day for dinner, complains about people that look different, competes about having the nicest house or the newest car...etc. I am starting to realise what made me want to leave in the first place.

But for now... I am going to enjoy a nice cold glass of Pinot Grigio, read a book and tell my husband to make me a nice meal. :P

Prime time = mocking time

Come on, guys. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we take ourselves too seriously. That's why we need comedians, pundits, bloggers and talk-shows... to put things into perspective. How can we move forward if we can't look at things from a below-the-belt perspective?

Sarah Palin has openly slammed Fox's Family Guy for allegedly mocking her son Trig's Down Syndrome. This after the show aired an episode featureing a character, Ellen, who had Down Syndrome. Palin took personal offense of the skit, and said, "The world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people." Well, indeed.

The world IS full of cruel and cold-hearted people. But what I find more hurtful, is the fact that Palin uses her son as a political prop. She carries him around, and uses him to promote her religious views to fuel her political propaganda. And what baffles me, is why she took offense of this? The show is making fun of everyone, blacks, gays, religious people, conservatives, liberals, students, immigrants... you name it. Doesn't Palin realise that her party is behind mocking gays? To take away their freedom? The conservatives are all about "Legalizing freedom", but they're also denying fundamental rights for those who are not straight, white and Republican. How about taking offense on their behalf, Palin?

I am in no way saying it's OK to mock developmentally challenged people. I'm fortunate to know several people who have DS, and they can be functioning, smart and achieve great things. What ticks me off in this context, is Palin's choice to point them out as fragile and as people who need to be shielded from jokes. What I also don't get, is why when her buddy Rush Limbaugh used the word "retard", she tried to cover his sorry ass.

Andrea Fay Friedman, the actress who voiced Ellen, actually HAS DS.
She wrote Palin this response in an e-mail:

My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in "Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".







What do you think?

Fridge freaks

Without going into much details... let's just say I've come across several "fridge freaks" in recent years. You know, some are obsessed with labeling everything, others that everything needs to be squeaky clean. I don't know, I think there's something so rooted deep inside that if anything seems to be out of order, a trigger goes off. Boom.


When I was in college, my crazy roomie (let's just call her Sue) used to throw my food in the garbage. Throw it! Mind you, I didn't have a car, so I had to walk 10 blocks to the nearest grocery store, and I spent blood and sweat and tears bringing those coveted items back home. And no, I am not a messy person, nor do I keep produce past their prime. Let's just say Sue was crazy (I blame her INSANELY crazy mom for that one) and would all of a sudden start tossing out whatever was not hers in the fridge. WTF?!


At work, we have a very organized system when it comes to the fridge. We have a spy that wants to make sure everything is neatly labeled with the person's name and date of purchase. In case you forget, there is a note on the fridge door reminding you that everything unlabeled and suspicious will be tossed. (OK, I made up the last part).


Even so, there are still brave souls out there that sneak a cup of milk from someone elses jug, or snag that cold can of Coke on stressful days. I admit it, I've been there and done that.


Which brings me to this....


No captions needed here.

If you want to check out more awesome photos, check out this blog .
Now, if you'll excuse me... I have a fridge to raid.

Some of my pet peeves

I have many pet peeves. Here are a few:

* Annoying roommates. The ones who walk into your room without knocking on the door, and want to keep an eye on EVERYTHING you do. I once lived with 5 sorority-type-'oh-my-god-it's-like-totally-whatever' girls that did nothing but diet and watch reality shows on MTV.

*Snoring.

*Bums who ask for my money. I work hard for mine, I suggest you do the same.

*Hipsters. God.... They all pride themselves on being so damn 'different' but they all look the same to me. If you try to hard to fit into a crowd... you suck.

*Heidi Montag. Go. AWAY.NOW.

*Annoying interns.

*Religious nuts. I respect your beliefs, but I don't necessarily agree, so don't preach to me.

*People who hide behind religion to justify their wrondoings.

*Breeders. Both of kids and dogs.

*Did I mention ROOMMATES?! I once lived with somebody who kept a rattlesnake and guns in his room. Can you say INSANE?

*People who only talk about themselves. Seriously, I don't care what you had for dinner or what your kid learned at school. I just don't.

*People who keep their dogs barking.

*Jehovah's Witnesses. I don't come to your house, so don't come to mine.

Now, talk to me. What are yours?