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Published: July 10th 2007
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I've made it to Norway and the experience of getting here is something I'll remember. First, the keys on the keyboard are not THAT different...however i've caught myself having to look for certain keys, since they are not where they SHOULD be! The day outside here in Kristiansand is quite overcast, it's not bad out however it is a little nippy. I'm actually quite humbled by my experience here in the morning so far. Generally, everyone here speaks english...but it is the initial shock that they go through when you start speaking english to them that is quite funny. Here's how it goes: You'll walk into a store, the worker will say "Hi." and you respond, "Hi". The problem is..."Hi" in norwegian is pretty much the same damn thing....(spelled Hie)...its after that when you say, "I was wondering..." that their blank stares come...they realize they have to switch to English mode. It's quite funny actually. AS I type this to you, my new norwegian mobile sim card just texted me and welcomed me to the network. THAT is a huge relief...since i'll explain the money situation over here.
Right now, the exchange rate is roughly...1 canadian dollar equals 5
12 Kroners. When you walk into a store and the price of things is marked down in Kroners, you can't help but feel quite stupid. Right away my hand shoots into my pocket, I grab my mobile phone, hit the calculator function and looked like a complete ass trying to do some quick math. The first thing I did this morning was walk into a market and check out the wares...bc thankfully there is a LACK of fastfood joints...except one sole McDonalds that is situated in and old bank (oddest placement of ANY McDonalds I've ever seen!!) I noticed that one beer is about 25 Kroner (close to $5) which isn't as bad as I thought. Norway is expensive, but not as bad as I have been told...and even warned. On my last night in my old hostel in Swiss Cottage in London I had a new roomie who was from Arendal, just up the eastern coast from Kristiansand. He was heading home for a week or so and when he found out I was heading up to Norway the first thing he said was, "Hmm, Do you have lots of money?". Jessica can attest to the fact that I
felt pretty bad about my next 3 weeks..thanks to my roomie. However, it is definately nice to know in hindsight now that Norway has it's share of ASSHOLES too!
On my journey from London to Amsterdam to Kristiansand, I was blessed with being in first class. They bring tiny little boxes of exquisite food (I'm from Macklin...even food in a box is first class!!! Admit it you folk from Macklin, I'm speaking the truth here!) Anyway, I also was pleased to discover that the people of Holland have absolutely NO way of saying the sound 'S', rather it comes out as 'SH'. As my flight attendant said to me when I boarded, "Welcome aboard Mr. SHegberg. Would you like a SHpoon with your dessert?" The funniest moment I had with her is when the cabin lights went down and she turned to me and said, "Ooh, without our lights, the plane feels SHpooky, ya!?".
That aside, we lowered down into Kristiansand and the coast line was unreal. Tiny little houses all over the little islands, that only seem accessible by boat. Fisherman were in their little boats and we landed just 200 metres it seemed from the ocean. The
first sign that greeted me outside of the airport was a large National Oilwell Varco sign...those jerks have taken over Norway AND Fort McMurray as well! haha.
My hotel is the funniest of them all. It is basically like a camp a person would stay at if they were on the rigs up north. My room is fairly tiny, has bunk bed...small television and a ensuite toilet...with a curtain that seperates the toilet from the shower. Above the toilet is a large hot water heater and above a drain placed in the middle of the floor is a shower head. Is a great little time i've had so far. Last night I fell asleep reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" (GREAT BOOK JESSICA!!!) and listening to norwegian television in the background. They watch North American shows and have norwegian subtitles on. I quite enjoyed watching Columbo last night as well as Cold Case!! This morning I made my way through only a small portion of the city, especially into the Kristiansand Cathedral (Very Scandanavian looking building) and will venture forth a bit more when I'm done here. However, I hope you enjoyed my newest entry and again, if you
have any questions or comments (even on some of the pics) please feel free in sharing them!
Ha Det fra Norge!!
Don
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Dean
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NOV
NOV is taking over the world one country at a time !!!!