Meeting an American

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Finally. The day has come where I have met an American in Norway.

The fact that she is an American the same age as me doesn't really matter. It's nice to consult in a friend, no matter where they are from. A person is a person. BUT of course it is nice to speak with someone who has the same type of background and culture as you as well as trying to learn Norwegian with having the same mother tongue.

Although she is from busy, high trafficked Los Angeles, California and I am from back woods, rural Kentucky (two different cultures right there) it's very interesting comparing the two states and backgrounds, yet still having the same nationality and other things in common. She comes from a state where marijuana can be prescribed for tons of medical issues and I come from a place which was a dry county and it was illegal to even buy or sell alcohol until a recent vote 2 weeks ago (although Kentucky is one of the largest whiskey and bourbon makers in the world!).

I come from a place where everything is fried in bacon grease and sweet tea can never have enough sugar and she comes from health conscious, vitamin and calorie counting California. She talks about what's healthy and I talk about what things my grannie has fried before and tastes ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! She seems to think Norway is boring as she grew up having tons of recreational activities to choose from and I grew up in a place where the local car wash or grocery store parking lot was a popular hang out spot. The place I grew up in was so rural we had to drive 45 minutes to go to the nearest mall, bowling alley or decent cinema and I think Norway has TONS of things to do! :-) She's from a sub-city in LA with a population of 113,000 people and I'm from a small town with a population of 1,000. So, you see there is definitely a difference in Kentucky and California, but we both kind of agreed Kentucky is maybe more similar to Norway than California and Norway.

However, she is soon to be moving to Norway and she's sought me with advice in helping her out. Like what to wear in Norway in the winter - layers and layers of clothes and snow boots! What paperwork to fill out and turn in upon moving to Norway. Where to find this or that food and this or that product. And so on and so forth. It's comforting to know someone with the same nationality will be living nearby.

I have talked to a few Americans who live in Norway, but they seem to be scattered and a lot seem to reside on the western coast of Norway. It's comforting to find a friend who cares and celebrates the same holidays, national heritage and culture as I do and it's even more comforting to know that Americans in the Skien/Porsgrunn area DO EXIST!!! :-)

Comments

lille-trille said…
hi, I came across your blog, there is an English woman club in Porsgrunn with American women.
March 3, 2013 at 11:45 PM
Evelyn Sand said…
AHA! I'll be sure to check into that!!!! Tusen takk for det! :-)
March 4, 2013 at 2:18 PM
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