My New Norwegian Home

Halloween is slowly but surely coming to Norway. Each and every year there seems to be a bigger turnout of trick or treaters, the decorations seem to be a little more diverse and more Norwegians seem a tad more eager to follow along. Halloween is perhaps my favorite holiday. That is, until Christmas comes around and then I claim that is my favorite holiday. I've had more fun with it as an adult than a child and I'm super excited to share this experience with my daughter. But first, I like doing things the American way, of course! :-) Being an American living abroad, it's such a great feeling when you live in a country that is "catching on" to a holiday you grew up with. It's a different feeling when it's a holiday that isn't celebrated in Norway such as Independence Day and Thanksgiving. On these days I wake up and I feel excited because I know these are special days, but no one else around me shares the same excitement. Halloween however, I feel v

Recently I've seen a video being shared by Americans across Facebook with exclamations such as, "We should have this here!" and "How awesome!" It's a video about pant. Now, what is pant? For those of you who don't know, when we go to a store and purchase something in a can or plastic bottle, we also have to pay a small fee for the can and plastic bottle. This is the pant. When we recycle we get the pant back. It's a fantastic incentive to get people to recycle. I may be a little wacky about this, but I never walk past a bottle or can without picking it up. First of all, I don't understand people who litter. What seriously goes through a person's head who thinks, "I don't need this. It's in the way. Oh here's a good spot on the ground to throw my trash." Secondly, if I had money in my pocket would I just throw it on the ground? The answer is no. Even for the 2 years I walked my daughter around the neighborhood in her