June 28th-29th- Spa night and a movie

Monday, Anita had heard of a great deal downtown about the fancy hotel's spa was celebrating its one year anniversary and for only 100KR we could experience the spa. So after work, Bente and I picked up Kristin and Anita and headed for the spa.

So beautiful the colors and music, smells and overall design. There were cold tubs, regular tubs, warm (not hot) tubs. The warm one had a dome ceiling with "stars" to look at. There were 3 different kinds of saunas. One had smells, one was classic "Nordic" (way too HOT!), and the last was a mist sprayed in the room that smelt like Vicks Vapor Rub. Essentially, it was a room to clear sinuses. We all got the giggles in that one because we couldn't see each other anymore.

The Meditation Room: padded floors (like gymnastics) and then hanging from the ceiling was 5 cocoon beds. Seriously, it was like we were caterpillars and just hung all scrunched up with tropical music playing in the background. Every time I opened my eyes, Kristin was doing something silly.

At 9, spas are not to relax but to play! She had a blast I think. There were foot baths and they were perfect "Kristin sized" pools. haha.

Great girl night.

Tuesday after work I decided to go for a walk because the weather was actually summerish! (not close to a Midwest summer, but great for them!) Anita told me there was a great lake to walk around nearby. 1.5 hours later I was tired and a little sweaty. It was a great lake though. When I got home Peder asked if I wanted to go to a movie. Yeah! I haven't watched a movie since I got here! Wait, haven't watched a movie in English since I got here. We decided on A-Team. Couldn't get much more American then that movie (which I kinda needed). We loved it. So funny! Great action. Whole thing great. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Good movie, go see it.

June 25th-27th- Weekend on the coast

Longest blog ever guys, sorry. Don't read if you dont want to. I even know to not write too much....but I want to this time.

Friday: left around 5. Short trip to the ferry boat. We got to the ferry site and everyone else seemed to have the same idea as we did. The line to the ferry was long. When a ferry comes every 20 mins we still had to wait over an hour. On the ferry I tried traditional "ferry food" - svele. Really yummy. After the ferry came a little over an hour drive on the island of Lysoa.

Their place is fantastic. The ocean is only about 100 feet away from the house. The place is what we think of Norway: the wood, the rosemaling, the old style beds. I loved it. That night we waited for Bente's best friend Ingeborg and her family (Leidulf, Ingrid, and Lars) to arrive while making dinner. One late dinner and chatting later it was after one. I had no clue with the sun never setting!

Saturday morning: time to meet my maker- the freezing ocean water. I promised to "jump" in the water with the others. After breakfast, Martin, Bente, Ingeborg, and me suited up and the whole crew was there to hear and see our reactions. Sioux Falls Ploar Plunge has nothing on this. The air temp was only 10 C (50 F) and the water only 8 C (46F) but it felt like my inner organs were freezing. We went in up to our necks and back twice!!! Hot shower wasn't enough for my shaking legs.

Saturday afternoon we went out on the boat. George Lake has nothing on the Atlantic. The waves, the fjords= amazing. We docked the boat and went grocery shopping for the evening meal. Afterward we boated back over to the mainland and docked at the farm of Ingeborg's friend. We were served carrot cake and coffee. Then we visited the cow farm that they and 2 other families run. I have seen my cow farms before, so nothing too new for me there. Their "large" cow farm run by 3 families is about the same amount of cows for one cow farm family at home. Back to the boat and to the cottage for grilling! I was recruited to make "American hamburgers" again and enjoyed doing that. I swear these people don't know a good hamburger! All you have to do is make the patties yourself. They think hamburgers come from frozen patties: no no I say. Fried onions of mine were a hit as well. We had potatoes, salad, pork, and fruit. We thought for sure we would have enough food for two meals: WE ATE ALL OF IT. We even ate a whole bag of marshmallows (roasted of course) for dessert. After dinner was a game of Gin Rummy, lots of wine (ohh boy), and music.

Sunday morning late fried egg and bacon sandwich breakfast. I guess this is a truly typical Sunday breakfast. Off for a new adventure. I can not put into adequate paragraphs, sentences, or words the beauty and magical feelings of Adsen. We docked and set off for the top of the island where a lighthouse is located. The view reminds me of the tourist magazines- perfect shots. The fjords, skaer (tiny islands), and ocean sounds. We then set off to visit the other side of the island....I rock hiked people. The island is a giant rock essentially covered in thick grasses, wildflowers, and moss. I felt like the end of the Sound of Music where they climb over the Alps. Great feeling. The other side of the island somehow (i have no idea how) had an even better view. The others just laid down and began to chat. I went to sit by myself and enjoy my private view and sounds of the ocean, contemplate the vastness of the world and God's wonderful gift of nature the human population clearly doesn't deserve a majority of the time. This was the perfect Norwegian moment I was looking/hoping/praying to have while here. I can go home in peace after that island experience. Great people to share the experience with as well. Picture one shows the island: the lighthouse we climbed to, the fjords, the bottom of the island. Picture two is Bente and me!

After getting back from the island it was time to close up the cottage. Process pretty much like closing our cabin for the weekend. The way home was a bit different. We decided to take a smaller ferry located on the other side of the island. The ride was prettier- the fjords, the villages.

Great weekend, wish the temperature was a bit warmer but still overall wonderful! :)

Things I learned: I'm old (told by two 13 and a 15 year old.) Seriously, at 22?
There are public boat docking spots
The Jack, Queen, and King in a deck of cards has different
letters in the corners
There are many fjords with only one structure on them
(who wants to live all alone?)

Thought about yesterday

So I went to city center because the town was having a market. (Like Old Fashion Fall Festival or the Sioux Falls 'whatever') I was hoping for full on Norwegian goodness in every booth. What was the most popular stuff there?: gross, tacky, American stuff. I mean the stuff Americans wont even wear. There are baseball hats with the Ford logo or $ signs. Ick. T-shirts with our celebrities on them and those rapper necklaces with a symbol for something. I didnt manage to find booths selling Norwegian crafts and foods as well. I bought a pack of potato lesfa....super excited to eat that.

Anyway I am leaving for Bente's family summer cottage....which is on an island....in the Atlantic Ocean. How AWESOME is that?!?!? I will be without internet all weekend so I will tell you all about this adventure late Sunday or Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!

June 23rd- The Midnight Sun: a Norwegian summer!

So the sun never really sets. Or at least its never really dark. Here is some facts and personal experiences with this event.

Wikipedia (amazing tool):
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous 24 hours, mostly north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle. The number of days per year with potential midnight sun increases the farther poleward one goes.

So when my mom and I got to Bergen we had great weather. Due to that, even in southern Norway had light nights. In Oslo, the nights overall had less light but still very different from a Midwest summer night. In Trondheim, even though it rains quite often here, the nights require extra help to sleep.

Tips for sleeping with the lights on- buy a good eye mask. I'm so glad Mom thought to pack 2! No matter the amount of light, its all darkness for me to sleep! Also diffusing the light can be attempted, but masks work best.

Yesterday was the summer solstice. I woke up at 2:30 am on the 23rd and it could have been 3 in the afternoon it was so bright. PEOPLE: I WORE SUNGLASSES YESTERDAY. The sun was out, no clouds, warm (ok, like in the 60s, but still). It was awesome. After work I lounged in the backyard. You know when you havent seen the sun in a while and you start to feel depressed? Well yesterday I got my medicine and feel all better.

Anita got home from work and we picked up Kristin and headed to Neils mother's summer cottage. On the fjord (picture) and had a picnic. I had read that people really celebrate the summer solstice, but they told me this is just for the good weather. Bonfire, beautiful sights, grilled food, and NO BUGS. They just dont get bugs close to the water like we do. In the forests, yes, but not by the water. Nils met us there for dinner and a bunch of his family was there.

Cutest part of the night: I taught 3 little boys (2-4 yrs old) how to roast marshmallows. They couldnt understand my words so I was just demonstrating. One of their moms came over and started translating for me. Great night. Awesome to relax in warmth by the water, have a bonfire, and try new foods again.

The second picture was taken by me from my bedroom at 11:56....yes people no setting sun.

June 22nd- A big meeting and new housing

So the day started out with my big 2 hour meeting. I presented my thoughts on their current website, asked them questions regarding thought processes on certain things and presented guidance and reasons for a new layout and image structure for Sim Optima. I also taught them about the various social medias (youtube, twitter, company blogging) and how and why to use each. I explained that each are going to have their own goals and objectives for their use. Can I just say, I thought Petter (70 years old) was just off in his own world while I was talking about Twitter. Turns out he said later that he hadnt learned so much in 2 hours for a very long time. I also showed the company my ideas for their future image and packaging their products. Really good, productive meeting. Lots of positive feedback. :)

After lunch had a few new things to research and think about for them before we left to bring Ellen to the bus stop. When I got home I had to pack. Holy cow you stay at a place for over a week and you totally have to re-pack EVERYTHING. Ahh....Around 9 we left for Bente's niece Anita's house. (Anita and Bente are only 8 years apart) Anita and Neils got out treats and coffee for us to get to know each other. Their house is beautiful, Anita is a great decorator. The view....I will get pictures by tomorrow. Indescribable. My room is nice, little more girly then the soccer posters and stuffed animals. ;) Their boys came home later. Close to the same ages as my sister and I. Sondre is 22 and home for the summer. Peder just turned 19 and just out of high school. Both are very nice, respectful, mature guys. Sondre is studying law at the University in Lillehammer. Anita has a closet full of shoes.....Paris runway sort of shoes. I get giddy just looking at them. I hope they are in my size!

June 21- A misadventure? followed by nice dinner

Interesting day. Ellen, Bente, and I got up to meet Petter (the leader of the Lillehammer games who I met in Jan 08 in Lillehammer) who was one of the founding members of Sim Optima. He remembered our class this 2.5 years later! Nice older guy.

They had a meeting and I did final prep for my presentation. That afternoon I left early to go meet up with a neighbor of Bente's who invited me to this picture taking type club. Can I just say....GO ME. I try everything people bring up for me to try, to eat, activities, etc. Ok, back to the topic. Luckily this lady started talking to me at the bus stop that this bus stop is on summer hours now and not in service. She got me to the right bus station. After meeting Jonathon (the neighbor boy) downtown we met up with this group.

Ok weird. First off, these people only knew each other online and were meeting for the first time. Second, in the 2 or so hours I spent with them I was a model, held reflectors, and overall felt like not-a-norwegian-youth. This one guy kept trying to touch me-creeper! And the other 3 people were all just a bit off you know? Anyway I did get some good pictures and left them to do a project I have been waiting for decent weather to do. Bente later asked if I regretted accepting his offer to tag along: I dont think so. I always appreciate new experiences, but this one could have been better.

The doors in Trondheim are world famous. They are all over 200 years old and have varying bright colors and designs on them. I had to start getting pictures of them. They are just amazing. There are certain streets I didnt have time to walk down, so this project of mine will continue. Serious- google Trondheim doors look at images

So at 7 I was to meet up with the Sim Optima group for a nice dinner. Great conversations, great tappas (lots of little courses for us to try new things), great people. I tried EVERYTHING- including anchovies, Italian spicy sausage, chicken cooked in rosemary with paprika and sweet onion (my favorite dish), tomatoes with special stuff, oysters, lots of weird tasting cheese, and hard liquor ice cream for dessert. My.... after 2 huge glasses on wine and then liquor ice cream.....Ill just leave it at that.

June 19-20th - I love weekends

Saturday was shopping day. Side note: pouring all day. all day. Rain, Rain, go away, come again....later. SO sick of RAIN. We all got up slowly and ate slowly. I love that. Then Mortin, Bente, and I did errands all over the city. Favorite experience from shopping day: IKEA...totally fell in love. I'm moving into a new apartment in August so that is all I was thinking about. Also went grocery shopping because they are having a dinner party on Sunday. Then Bente and Mortin were off to another bday party so and I ended up having the house to myself a bit. I watched the Crown Princess of Sweden get married (live) and the whole royal wedding thing is fun. All the ballgowns, crowns and tiaras, the bows and hoopla. When Messay came back he fried some chicken and rice for the two of us. When Kristin came home from her bday party we all had ice cream.

In Norway, you throw yourself birthday parties. So the past two nights, Bente and Mortin has had friends throwing themselves a huge 50th birthday party. The guests are supposed to say speeches or sing songs to the birthday person. The one with the birthday chooses the location, style of dress, and even who will sit where. Interesting.

Sunday again slow to get up. Breakfast and getting ready for the dinner party. Cleaning and organizing. We all helped. Bente taught me how to make Norwegian waffle mix. I love them! Fun to learn a secret recipe. I really must find a Norwegian waffle maker in the states.

So dinner party:
Norwegian family
1 American (thats me)
1 Canadian
1 Swiss
1 Ethiopian

Yep thats 5 very distinct, and different cultures and thought processes together in one room. I don't think I will ever forget that experience. We had lamb and couscous (both of which I dont think I have had before) and for dessert, the waffles. So yummy all of it. In terms of conversation, I will never forget parts of it. I was explained the Euro thought process of the Nobel Peace prize. Obama winning to the general American public seemed too early, he hadnt done anything yet. Bente explained to me that she knows how Americans think having lived and studied there. She explained that we prove ourselves by our actions. We are rewarded not by what we say, but what we do. Europeans are so dependent on America that because of the HOPE he provided it was enough to earn the prize. Just the words are good enough for Europeans and now they hold him to their prize. Interesting to look at it from another perspective. The Canadian seemed to think that we were completely different as people. I laughed at that. We looked and, for the most part, sounded alike. We also fought the most.

After dinner we picked up Ellen from the ferry and chatted before going to bed.