Did you know?

1.  It's normal to eat lunch around 11am, and dinner at approximately 3 or 4pm.  They have a 4th meal "kveldsmat" at 8pm or 9pm, but it's usually small - bread and cheese or a dessert of some sort.

2.  There isn't any real "junk food" at the grocery store, (Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Doritos, etc), which is a good thing, I suppose.

3.  I wholeheartedly agree with the Norwegian saying, there is no such a thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.

4.  A common joke:  When a stranger smiles at you in the street, they assume A.  he/she is drunk, B.  he/she is insane, C.  he/she is American, or D. all of the above. 

Skål!  (Cheers!)

Værsågod (VA-seh-goo)

Here are some random pics I thought I'd share...

Rocking out during a morning walk. 

Venturing out in Haugesund last week.  

Oh herro!  Our dinner tonight...

random

Random observations on Norway:

1.  Everything in the grocery store is smaller than what you would find in the states.  There are no tubs of margarine, gallons of milk, or big jars of mayonnaise.  Milk comes in 1/2 liter cartons, soda comes in 1 liter bottles, and the mayo can only be found in the little picnic size containers.  Apparently everything IS bigger in the states, sorry Texas.  I think I prefer it the Norwegian way though...do you really need a huge tub of margarine?  Or a big vat of mayonnaise?  

2.  Carpets in homes are nonexistent.  It's all about tile or hardwood flooring.  I'm a big fan of this, mostly because I HATE vacuuming.  Vacuums are heavy, evil, and frankly, I don't trust them.

3.  Good luck finding anything (aside from a few restaurants) open on Sundays.

4.  They can curse on tv - no bleeps!  Granted, there aren't that many shows that even have curse words, but still.  

5.  There are restrictions on how many commercial breaks a regular program can have.  For your average 30 minute show, there will be one commercial break in the middle, and it will last approximately 30-45 seconds. I'm LOVING this.  Dad - you wouldn't even have time to mute the commercials!  By the time you locate the remote, wrestle it from Tara's death grip, and find the mute button, the show is back on! 

Andreas Vilhelmsen

Gangsta ride...

sunny skies

If you click on the picture you can see an enlarged version...the snow covered rooftops in the background are my favorite!

Uno & Monopoly

Today I busted out the Uno cards and challenged Ole Martin to a duel.  I finally surrendered after Ole Martin was beating me, 4 games to 3.  He was declared champion, but I am contesting it - we were playing with quite a few new rules, so I haven't quite decided if it was a legitimate win.  I'll keep you updated.  Shout out to BShan - these cards were a great gift - thanks again!  Andreas had gotten ahold of their old Uno deck, and they were consequently destroyed.  Ole Martin was stoked to be able to play again...come to think of it, maybe that's why we ended up playing 7 games. :)

We all played monopoly later on.  Everything was in Norwegian, so it was very interesting..I was definitely at their mercy.  Ole Martin won, again.  I'm sensing a trend. 

sledding!

It snowed about 6 more inches yesterday...the scenery was beautiful this morning!  I've always planned on living in San Diego permanently, but I'm not so sure now...I'm loving this winter season! 

My new background, holla!

Ole Martin and I went sledding on the hills behind their home...

Loving the snow covered street!

Making my way down the hill!

It was a gorgeous day...

daniel vilhelmsen

He's quite the charmer!

It's snowing!

It snowed all day today!  My first time ever having a legitimate snowy day! :)

Stavanger

This past weekend, Anne, Daniel and I drove/took a ferry to Stavanger, one of their bigger cities.  (I use the term "city" lightly.  Stavanger has a population of about 200K).  We went to Ikea and then to their local shopping center, Kvardard - I don't remember how it's pronounced, so I can't help you out.  All I know is that it has two distinct R sounds, and I can't really do those.  When I try, it just sounds like I'm trying to hawk a loogie. 

It was nice to see the hustle and bustle of a busy city...

Downtown Stavanger, by the harbor

Downtown Stavanger

I liked the vine snaking it's way up the front of the building... 

After we got back, we cruised around the old harbor in Akrehamn, just after sunset.  

American music

So one of the things that has stuck out to me so far since I've been here (a week, already!) is the popularity of American music .  They play a mixture of Norwegian and American music on their radio stations, but it's definitely an 80-20 blend.  The first morning I was here, we sat in their kitchen chatting, when The Killers' new song, Human came on their radio.  I was sort of shocked, because that was the last thing I was expecting...later on that day I was flipping through their channels and came upon VH1!  It was in English, and the Killer's video for Human was playing...I'm pretty sure that song will forever remind me of Norwizzle. 

Every time we get into the car, Kurt and Anne sing along with or bob their heads to American jams...I'm talking Akon, the Killers, oldies by Mary J. Blige, 80s rock music (Kurt's favorite) and on and on.  I don't know why but I just can't get used to it, and it makes me laugh every time.  

It's a nice reminder of home...just like my calendars that I put up today!  Trace and Kath - thank you again - they always put a smile on my face :)

L-dog - I hope you can see 3 of the Sookie Stackhouse books on my nightstand.  I just finished #7 last night and need to order #8 on amazon.  I wonder how long it will take to ship to Norway...

M - I've been doing the Rubix cube at least once every couple of days to make sure I don't forget...I almost forgot the Super Down when I tried to do it the first time I got out here!

And yes mom, Floppy made it out to Norway with me...there was no way I was leaving him behind! :)