My New Norwegian Home

We have had many walks in the forest during lockdown. Have I really not written a new blog post since December? I had no idea it had been so long. I'm actually pretty deep into writing a book and have neglected this blog which is now weeded with spam comments. Whew! Before the lockdown began I started writing a post on Norwegian manners, which I never published because it never felt right. I want to talk about how the pandemic has effected us, but then again, talk of this has been everywhere for months and I'm tired of it. Anyways, as every human on this earth knows we're all in a lockdown of some sorts. It really does my head in to try to pick an angle on which to write about the whole ordeal and I don't even know where to begin to articulate it, so I'll pick my best angle that's more personal. Overall, my family and myself have been fine. We haven't had much change in our lives. I've had more time with kids, I've seen more of my husband,...

A blurry but still sweet picture of my eldest daughter dressed in her Lucia clothing some years ago. December 13th is Saint Lucia Day. It's celebrated widely in Scandinavia with children wearing long white shirts, tinsel and candles. Generally, the eldest girl in the barnehage (kindergarten) will be wearing a crown of candles. Not real candles, of course, but battery powered candles. Lussekatter, saffron buns with raisins, are passed out from baskets to be eaten. Delicious lussekatter.  As history has it, Saint Lucy was a girl who was a martyr. She would bring bread to persecuted Christians in Rome at night. To keep both hands free, she wore a crown of candles to light her way through the darkness. Lucy is a perfectly fitted name meaning light.

My pitiful attempt at a cartoon depicting Americans and Norwegians (generally speaking) Oh American optimism! I love it. I miss it. Where else in the world can you experience people with wide, glaring smiles, politeness, friendliness, names describing positive attributes (Hope, Faith, Patience) and the excitement of decorating for any holiday early? USA, that's where! A vast underlining aspect that Americans don't necessarily think about, yet live their lives by, is the never ending endeavor of the puritan work ethic - the mindset carried by nearly all Americans that hard work paves the way to the American dream, and not to mention, social problems creating speed bumps on the way to that difficult to attain dream. For whatever merit my own observations are worth, Americans (generally speaking) are pretty thrilled when we finally reach what we consider the American dream - a house, or well, a mortgage, a car, 2.5 children and a dog (or a cat, because you know, cats ar...

Becoming Norsk 7 years ago I left the U.S. to live out my life in Norway. I had my newlywed husband by my side, a couple of suitcases and my cat with me. I traded a life of convenience for self-sufficiency. Fast food, processed foods and restaurants for learning to cook homemade meals from scratch. My car dependency for walking much more (and sometimes walking for just the fun of it). I traded bottled water for fresh tap water. Consumerism for minimalism, and a culture of broad class divisions for flat hierarchy. Everything I had known until that point, I left and tried to figure out in my new country. Within that first year, I finished college, married, moved, began language classes, became pregnant and then held a newborn scared out of my mind thinking, "what the hell do I do with this?" It was a lot of change at once and I would not recommend anyone to voluntarily tackle so much at once. I never planned on things happening that way, they just kind of fell into pla...

Froot Loops! Who'd have thought so many Americans would be joyously celebrating Froot Loops' arrival to Norway like it's 1972? Yet here we are. Froot Loops have arrived in Norway. Our bland, unvaried  cereal aisle has become  slightly  more colorful. I say slightly because, well, the Froot Loops that have now ascended from cereal heaven to Norway are lacking some color. You know, artificial color! That good ole unhealthy stuff us Americans are so accustomed to eating. When I poured my first bowl of these Froot Loops, my first thought was  it looks like a comparison picture of how someone with colorblindness views Froot Loops.  My eldest daughter on the other hand exclaimed, "WOW! SO COLORFUL!" Same taste, just lacking some pigment. As it turns out, there are some ingredients which are allowed by the FDA, but are not allowed in foods in Europe.  Food dyes are one of those things, but if a product has certain dyes in it, they must have a warning la...

Did you know there are mitten trees in Norway? It's true. The colder and snowier the weather, the more mitten trees bloom. A mitten tree.  Instead of leaving lost mittens, gloves and hats lying in the snow to become destroyed, lost or buried in more snow, a passerby will pick up the item and place it in the nearest tree branch. I like this about Norway; it shows some tiny form of respect for other people's belongings. If a tree branch can't be found, the key is to use something visible and off the ground. For example, in the picture below. The railing to the entrance of our local grocery store was used to hang someone's lost mittens. Lost mittens.