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Published: February 5th 2009
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Fredrikstad
View from the ferry. I have been on a whirlwind of an adventure these past couple of weeks. I have arrived in Pamplona, and I’m very happy to be in one stable place with my suitcases completely unpacked.
That said, Norway was absolutely a blast. So, let the run-down begin.
After my last entry, I spent three days going to school with Tessa and visiting the English classes that she teaches. The students stay in the same classroom all day and the teachers rotate. Tessa has 13-16 year olds, and they all had really good questions about the United States, as well as some fun facts about Norway to share with me. They asked me about our politics, how kids start dating, and about weapons in the US. I understood that most Norwegians have only ever seen a gun at the American embassy in Oslo, and the kids had a hard time believing that I had gone through a firearms safety course at the age of 12. I explained to them that most gun owners in the States never mean to be violent with their firearms, but I could tell that this was the aspect of the American life that most confused them.
Tessa and Fredrik
...of Fredrikstad At the school I had fun hanging out in the teacher’s lounge, they all told me different anecdotes about
Norway, what it means to be Norwegian, and about their various travels to the US. On my last day at the school, the kids in Tessa’s main class were supposed to go swimming in PE. Just like at home, at least half of them came with reasons that they couldn’t possibly go swimming. So, I even had the opportunity to teach some yoga while I was there. The kids were pretty hesitant at first, but opened up and had some fun with it by the end of the class period. I brought some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and was surprised to learn that they all liked peanut butter.
While in Fredrikstad, Tessa and I went to the old city, which is on an island, and wandered around a bit just seeing the sites. We had coffee at one of the oldest (and cutest) shops I’ve ever seen, and chatted with some gents at an art gallery. Fredrikstad is known for glass blowers, and we peered through the windows at their workshops, but nobody was working while we were there.
Me and the Guys
The day I learned to eat shrimp. I have never worked so hard for my food in my life. We went to school through Wednesday, and then Tessa took Thursday and Friday off so that we could go visit her mom, Hanne. Wednesday night, we drove the car into a ferry which took us across the fjord and then drove to Tessa’s hometown close to Stavern. That night, Hanne made pizza, and I had a spectacular time sitting around the table with their family swapping jokes and stories and laughing just as though I were in my own house. Hanne is a very open person and I felt extremely lucky to have her as a host.
Thursday we woke up, bundled up, and ventured up into the mountains. (Ok, they were mountains to me, more like foothills to the Norwegians…). I borrowed skis from Tessa’s brother, Hanne was on skis, and Tessa was still trying to figure out her snowboard. We went to a ski resort that they said was relatively small. I was still impressed. Hanne and Tessa thought that it would be ok to take me right up to the tourist run, but I convinced them that it would be a pretty bad idea, and that we should go to the bunny hill first. As soon
Ski Coach
Hanne was a spectacular coach and probably the coolest Norwegian mom out there. as they saw me zoom down the hill for the first time without making even the slightest turn to slow myself down, they were thankful that we hadn’t taken the lift right off the bat.
At the start of the day, Tessa had given me a helmet. I asked her if that wasn’t more for snowboarders, and she laughed at me and said, “I think you should be more worried about your safety than about what’s normal.” By the end of the day, after having fallen well over fifty times, I was happy for her advice. Hanne was a very patient teacher and coach. She gave me lots of tips and pointers, and waited for me every time I fell and pointed out the easiest way to make it down the steeper parts. After the bunny hill, we ate lunch and then went up to the tourist hill. For most people, that run might take ten minutes. Max. It was a little before dusk when I started, and significantly darker by the time I finally reached the bottom. I hesitated for a long time when they asked me if I wanted to try a second time, but finally said
Ready to Go
Go slow, that is. yes because I didn’t want to leave feeling like that big hill had won. On the second run I finally started to get the hang of it. I went very slowly, but felt like I was in control of my skis, which at that point was the most important accomplishment.
The next day I had my fair share of bumps and bruises, including a nice scratch/bruise on my face from when I managed to fall face first onto my ski. ??? I was completely unaware that I was that flexible, and I’m still having trouble understanding exactly how that happened.
After a long day of skiing, Tessa and I went to visit her Grandpa. They are very close, and she knew that it would mean a lot for him to meet me. He worked in Minnesota in the 1950’s as a milk tester, and I was very impressed to learn that he still remembers quite a bit of English. We chatted a bit about Minnesota, and towards the end of our conversation, he asked me if I liked Norway. I said yes, very much. He nodded, smiled, and said, “You like Norway, and therefore I like you. I’m
Tessa and Morten
Great people, great hosts, and a pretty cute couple. happy you like Norway.”
The last bit of our adventure in Norway started on Friday morning when we packed up, left Hanne’s house, and headed to Oslo. Tessa’s boyfriend, Morten, is a sailor and works on a cruise ship that goes back and forth between Oslo and Kiel, Germany. He arranged to get us on the cruise for free, so I guess you could say that we were pretty darn lucky. We got on board a while before the ship left at 2 pm, and explored the ship until Morten got done with work. We ate with the crew, who have it made as far as food goes. Everything was delicious. Tessa and I went to the show that night, and then slept until the ship had made it into Kiel. We had a little less than four hours in Germany, so we didn’t really get the opportunity to do any tourism, but we did get to know the mall fairly well. Then, we got back on the boat and headed back to Oslo. That afternoon, Morten took us up to the bridge of the ship, which is a real treat considering that tourists normally drop a considerable chunk
On the Bridge
Me, just giving a few pointers about running a boat...or something like that... of change to have a peak up there. They explained how they steer the boat and even let me sit in the lookout chair. It was a great view, and super relaxing to watch the shore and the other boats as they passed. There’s a discotheque on the boat, and later on we had fun dancing the night away, and then slept in well past the time that we reached the port in Oslo on Sunday morning.
Early Monday morning it was already time for me to catch the bus to the airport, and I’ll say that it definitely wasn’t easy to leave Norway, and especially difficult to leave Tessa. She’s a fabulous friend and was a spectacular host. She’s one of those gems that you just don’t find very often. Aside from not knowing when exactly I’ll get to see her again, it was difficult to accept that I leaving, once and for all, a very strong support network, and venturing into unknown territory.
Tessa gave me a good pep talk before I left, and so far I think that this new place will treat me well.
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