Norway

Greetings!
I hope it has not been too very long since my last post. I find it difficult to make time to write blogs, but I do know how incredibly important it is so I hope that you know I am thinking of all of you and wish you could read my thoughts daily so you knew what I was up to. Also, apologies for the lack of photos, but they take forever to load, even on good internet connection. I will try again soon.

I am still in Norway.

Here are some updates up to this point...
We had a couple more days after my last blog post with my family in Jaren, Norway. We really enjoyed getting to see Handball played (something we do not really have in MN), and we got to watch Silje play in the Brandbu Skolekorps. They marched, in uniform and all. Very fun. We were sad to leave Mette and family!

BUT, we had the chance to take a marvelous day-long bus ride to reach the beautiful town of Kjølsdalen, Norway. Kjølsdalen is in the west, and they speak quite a bit different than I have heard before, using Nynorsk instead of Bokmål. Here is the Scandinavian Studies student in me communicating, but Norway has two different types of Norwegian language. Nynorsk is based off of Norwegian dialects (which are numerous, due to the mountain-filled landscape). Dialects and slang vary from village to village, and for me, that was different and an exciting challenge to come across. For example, in Nynorsk they say Eg instead of Jeg(I), and small differences like that. I enjoyed learning to say 'Eg veit ikkje' instead of Jeg vet ikke (which means 'I dont know'...convenient, right?). Anyways...We visited Jostein and Johanne, two wonderfully generous and lively people. We had an amazing stay with them. Highlights for me were having the chance to meet some wonderful people (of course...Sophie talking to new people? Weird), visiting Johanne's family in Åheim, visiting the Gilleshammer farm where my great-great grandfather was born, making Klubb (Google it), Norwegian breakfast, eating Gombe (really, Google it), and herding sheep in the mountains! Jostein has 90 sheep on his farm that go into the mountains and basically get to eat to their heart's content, and then come home in the fall. Steve and I went to get the first batch with him. We successfully made it home with 20, 17 of which were his. Exciting! Steve and I found a really good connection at this place, and we were sad to go, but we were taken to the ferry in Folkestad to be picked up in Volda by Bente and family!

We are currently in Eiksund, Norway. Bente, Jan Ove, Maria, and Simon have been fabulous hosts. They are relatives of relatives (cousins of my Grandpa Green's cousins) and we have really enjoyed our time here! We have been visiting around their home, and have gone numerous places daily. We have been out walking in the Norwegian woods, visited Kvalsvik, Ulstenvik, Hareid, Runde, and visited Fugl Fjell (Bird Mountain...if I wrote that right...and is very popular with German tourists in the summer. Luckily, we chose a ridiculously windy day to visit and were the only ones on the mountains. Did not see and puffins, though!), among other beautiful places. Today we picked apples and were treated to Norsk Eplekake (apple cake...yum!). I cannot believe we have already been here 5 days and have to travel tomorrow.

ALSO, we learned of a huge mistake I made...Tyttebær are not cranberries, like I thought and was told, but are lingonberries! Which makes them much better to eat now. Just so you know.

I am really surprised at how similar Norway feels to home. Maybe the huge Scandinavian population, or the geography, or the fact that I went to a Norwegian, Lutheran college have something to do with it, but I really, really, love it here. I guess finding my roots is also important, and I am very grateful to have the ability to meet and visit my family across and around the world.

We will be making a brief stop in Trondheim, Norway tomorrow night on our way to Jarpen, Sweden to visit relatives of my maternal grandmother's. I met some of them 10 years ago when I toured with the Svenskarnas Dag choir there, but it will be very exciting to see them again!

Best thought of the day so far...I will be home in time to see the Concordia Christmas Concert in Minneapolis ( I get back the day before)! I didn't realize how much I missed it until I realized how excited I got about that notion.

I will put up more of anything as I can! I really appreciate everyone who is reading and staying in contact...it keeps me going on a daily basis!

Trip updates, photos and Norge!

Heisan!

(Steve and I at Raukr viking camp in Røykenvika, Norge)

I attempted to make a blog with photos of where we have been so far and what we are doing. Make sure you read to the bottom, I swear you can make it!

This is a part of the crew helping me pack before we went to the airport in Eagan, MN (Me, Olivia, Mom, Kurt). Uff da is all I can say... I know everyone says to pack light and then cut it in half, which I did, but Steve is carrying half the things around that I am. Lucky him.

This is the view from Anwen's house in Dinas Mawddwy, Wales. She lives on a beautiful sheep farm in the countryside!

This is me at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland. We spent a lovely afternoon here, and the best part was enjoying a pint from the 7th floor 'gravity bar' with a breathtaking view of the city from all sides. We walked all around Dublin and we could see how far we had been, walking from our hostel on the north side of the liffey to all the sightseeing we did on the south side.

Steve and I spent 2 days in Liverpool, England. The city was fun but industrial. I really enjoyed going through The Beatles Story and learning about how the group came to be- I really didn't know much before we went. This is me with the John Lennon statue outside The Cavern- the pub the boys made famous in Liverpool. I really liked the photography exhibit they displayed at the beatles museum of John and Yoko's 'bed-in' for peace.

This is the view from Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland. Steve and I hiked up here and spent a couple hours enjoying the view from the top. We met a fellow Minnesotan up here, too! Edinburgh was a beautiful city with a nice blend of history and modern culture. We met a lot of people in our hostel (none of them Scottish). Steve's roommates were 4 French speakers, 3 of whom were looking for apartments in the city. We also met a fellow American traveling Scotland before school begins in a few weeks. It was nice to find some connections there.

Heisan fra Norge!

(Mette, Stina, Me, Kent)

We are currently in Jaren, Norway staying with my family, Mette, Roy, Silje, Stina, Kent, og Tinka (the dog!) Gjerdingen. Mette Gjerdingen is related to us through the Green side of the family. They recently took a 3 week trip through Minnesota and North Dakota so I had the chance to meet them before we came, and now they are showing us unconditional Norwegian hospitality in their home. First, let me introduce their family. Mette and Roy are married, and there are 5 kids together. Roy works driving a 'MaxiTaxi' (a Norwegian word Steve and I both like :)). Side note: I taught Stina how to say 'Mr. MaxiTaxi Driver, Mr MaxiTaxi Driver, won't you please open the door!? Good English game, right? Ja... The 16 passenger MaxiTaxi bus makes its way around the area. The schedule of his driving seems very busy, but I am surprised and happy at how well they coordinate their schdules to be around with the kids. Aina is Mette's oldest daughter. She has a wonderful husband named Lars Erik and a son named Kristian who will turn 3 in March. They were married July 4 and we have gotten to see many beautiful photos from the wedding and reception. Kjetil is Mette's 2nd son. He is my age (22) and keeps himself very busy by working for Gran Taxi service as well. He is very interested in cars and would like to own his own business someday. Silje is 12, Stina is 10, and Kent is 8. They all live where we are staying and we have had a wonderful time playing with them. Silje and Stina play cornet, and we had the opportunity to watch Stina's brass group play a mini-concert for us after her ensemble lock-in at school. Wednesday we will get to see Silje play in her band as well. We also hope to have the chance to talk to their school classes about Minnesota and America. They said we could speak English most of the time, but I hope my Norwegian holds up well enough to explain things to Kent's class! Mette is very interested in geneaology, and so she has explained many family connections to me. I really appreciate finding those connections all the way across the world. She has even helped Steve to find information about his Norwegian ancestors. Very nice! Steve is also learning Norwegian quite well. He will be a pro by the time we leave! Mette and I have been speaking to each other, her in English and me in Norwegian so we can practice. So, that is where we are right now. We have eaten so much good Norwegian food since we have been here. Norsk breakfasts are brødskiver med ost og syltetøy og fisk (bread, cheese, jam, fish. We have eaten so much good brown cheese!). I like Norwegian food a lot, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. We have had potatoes, sausage, onions, tomatoes, kjøttkaker (meat cakes), tyttebær(cranberries), kål(cabbage), rømmegrøt(sour cream porridge), kransekake, eplemost (applecider), og lefse.

(Me, Aina, and Copper)

We went to Aina's last night and she made us Norwegian waffles. They were absolutely heavenly. We ate them with her homemade jordbær syltetøy (strawberry jam), sour cream, brunost (brown cheese), hot chocolate and tea. We had a wonderful time visiting her. We got to meet Lars Erik's brother, Ole Martin, who was quite funny. We played Wii and got to know them much better. It was lovely. They live about 10 minutes from Jaren, in Gran.

(The Sister Churches)

On the way to her house she took us to see the sister churches, a popular site to visit around here. They are two churches, Maria church and Nicolaus church, that stand next to each other. They are built of stone, which is strange because most churches made at that time were built from wood. They are very beautiful and important here. So, we have had a lot of time to get to know the family and have been shown the ropes here in Norway. I hope you can follow my train of thought and get an idea of the wonderful time we are having here!

View from Mette's House in her backyard.

Cheers, Dublin!

...is that a Damien Rice reference?

Hello!
We made it safely across from Holyhead, Wales to Dublin today. Check out Steve's blog, he put up some photos. (meanderingsteve.blogspot.com). We had a great time in Wales and are happy to be in Ireland. We are staying in a very nice hostel on the North side of the river. Tomorrow we will meet up with my friend Alex who is abroad here for the semester. We also plan to go to the Guiness factory and some museums. We have had lots of rain (and since I am Minnesotan and have to talk about weather that was worth mentionaing). A highlight of Wales was taking a 5km hike in the pouring rain. My shoes are still soaked and don't smell as new as they were a week ago, but as is life. I will post pictures as soon as I can!
Love to all,
Sophie