Overall:
We really like it here.
In a previous post, I mentioned that we were told it is at three months that homesick feelings start to settle in. We thought we were in the clear at our three month mark since moving. When three months after our trip home for Christmas came around, we felt it. It wasn't so much that we were wanting to go back to Texas. It was more like the novelty wore off.
It was about this time that we left Oslo for a few days and when we came back, it felt like home. That was a cool feeling.
Watch this video. It's funny because it's true.
FAQ:
Weather:
So apparently, there are these things called seasons where the weather distinctly changes throughout the year. I know! It's close to unthinkable when comparing the seasons in Houston. Not so hot, kind of hot, hot, and bloody hot.
I kid. This is just to say that we enjoyed such a drastic change in weather than what we are use to.
For real apparently, the past 3 or so years have had awfully rainy summers. We have been very lucky with this summer. Most summer days have been around 70°-80°F with hardly any rain at all.
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| 12 January a balcony view of the naked trees on our street |
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| 24 February We thought the snow was just beginning to melt. A bit too eager, we went out for a run that turned into tiptoeing across ice. |
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| 24 March I don't so much like cross country skiing when the snow is slushy. It's a lot easier to fall... |
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| 11 April This is when we began to really miss the sun. But our summer days is a much better trade off compared to 100°F. |
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| 28 April I never paid so much attention to tree blooms. I checked everyday for signs of spring. |
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| 25 May a balcony view of trees in full bloom on our street |
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| 20 June at 10:30pm! This is taken from our bedroom. We tried to tough it out by just using sleeping masks, but caved midsummer when we bought blackout curtains. It was totally worth it to save our sanity. |
It is really expensive here. I won't get into the technicalities of why it is so expensive (that's what Google is for), but I will say that cost of living directly correlates with the standard of living. Life here is good.
There is no point in missing out on life when you can't do anything about the price of a beer. Skål! Cheers!
Beer: $15
Coffee: $6
Gas (per liter): $2.30
McDonalds meal: $15
Clothes: We don't shop here...
Language:
In the beginning, when someone started speaking to us in Norwegian, we had one of three responses:
1. "Sorry..." then they repeat what they said in English.
2. "Ja" or "Nei" (yes or no)
3. Pretend we didn't know they were talking to us and just keep walking. This all depends on the timing.
After almost a year now, we are most often able to understand what people say but still definitely reply in English. Vi snakker litt norsk, men du trenger ikke å fordi alle snakker engelsk.
(We speak a little Norwegian, but you really don't need to because everyone speaks English.)
We took a total of 48 hours in lessons and have a good foundation of the basics. Speaking it is a completely different story. Everything I say sounds like a question and I feel like the expression on my face is one of pain.
It's just too easy to use the copout excuses that everyone here speaks English and only 5 million people in the world speak the language. So, I'm going to use my time here to learn Spanish. I'm sure that's exactly what my Norwegian teacher wanted to hear.
It just makes sense.
What is frustrating is that fact that we only speak one language when everyone around us (who is not American) speaks at least two languages, but more often 3 or 4. It is so impressive and makes us very envious. I will leave this place bilingual, even if it just means stringing random Norwegian words together.
Work:
I will continue to substitute teach at the international school and Matt is adjusting to the Norwegian way of working to live versus the American way of living to work. Well, sort of.
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Random sharings:
Matt has lost a lot of weight. It is not because he is participating in a lot of races. It is because men suck. The biggest change we've made is eating my somewhat healthy cooking at home versus Chipotle, Jimmy John's, & Lupe Tortilla in Houston.
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| He signs up for these events with teams at work, but then forgets about it until a few days prior. On a Thursday evening, "I think I'm running a 10k on Saturday." |
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| I just barely got out of having to also participate in Holmenkollstafetten - the largest relay in the world with 30k runners and 18.6km around Oslo. "I signed us up for this race, but I'm not exactly sure what it is." |
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| We tried to wait as long as we could to eat Mexican food thinking it was best to be as far removed as possible. 3 months is all we could take. We got our last real fix when we went home for Christmas and caved at the end of March. It is actually quite tasty. |
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| Matt also joined a sailing club at work. |
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| Oslo Bysykkel - city bikes! the best way to get around on a beautiful day |
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| These are some trails used for cross country skiing. I do much better this way. |
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| Nordmarka - a short train ride outside of Oslo |
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| This is a hill that I definitely did not ski down a few months ago. I'll definitely walk up it - especially after having an ice cream and a cinnamon bun. |
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| This particular day was a bit too windy for me to be in my bathing suit at one of Oslo's beaches. While others were fully exposed, I was wearing a sweater with my scarf wrapped around my legs. |
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| Hiking & picnics in the park are our favorite summer pastimes. |
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| At the warmest part of summer, this beer in a bag didn't cut it. We like ours ice cold, Texas style. |
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| A secret technique to mastering the slackline is to go ninja style. |
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| A sushi celebration for my birthday from a restaurant that Norwegians say is the best sushi outside of Japan. Such a bold statement can be blown right out of the water with one taste from Austin's Uchi. The dark meat on the right is whale. Before any animal activists come after me, think about it. One whale can feed loads of people and I just had a tiny piece. The yolk on the end is from a quail egg. Both were yum. |
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| an after dinner bike ride to a water fall in the middle of the city |
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| What started as a relaxing day next to a lake... |
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| turned into a 10k hike to this great spot overlooking the city. We love this place. |
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| A swim in the Oslo Fjord on one of the warmest days was just a bit colder than Barton Springs, if that helps with comparison. The difference is that these days are few & far between. And you don't sweat your face off when you're not in the water! |
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Events that have made being so far from home really suck:
- the weddings of dear friends
- the birth of our 3rd precious niece
- the superhero/dance party celebration for our nephew's 3rd birthday
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Blog disclaimer:
I envisioned this thing to evolve into some sort of travel resource for the invisible people I envisioned coming across it through the wonders of Google. Yeah, it's not going to happen.
I also don't want to come across as so presumptuous to think that people have an interest in our lives. But if you have gotten to this point in the blog, thank you for reading!
The point of this is just to document the amazing memories we're making. And to share pictures with my parents who are too cool for Facebook.
One word sums up these past 10 months. blessed.
*For anyone looking for a real resource on being an expat in Norway, check out this blog. It gives me blog envy.
