My New Norwegian Home

Since this is my first Norwegian Easter, I think it's fitting to mention some of the customs here in Norway. Easter is usually celebrated with a long break. Starting from the Wednesday before Good Friday to the Tuesday after Easter when people usually go back to work. Many Norwegians flee from home and go up in the mountains for more snow or they travel elsewhere. If there's one thing I've learned from just being married to one, Norwegians LOVE time off from work and they LOVE traveling. Basically the entire society shuts down. Stores are closed during these times, very few restaurants are open, but gas stations and convenient stores manage to stay open. Since many people are away, the cities are more or less vacant. One thing I've noticed this Easter at least is that many people here read crime novels during Påskeferien or Easter break in Norway. There are also many crime shows on TV. I'm not sure how crime fits into Easter, but alright then, to each their own.

America is most certainly a cultural melting pot, but just from my experience of living in Norway there are many immigrants here too. The immigrants in Norway tend to be 1st and 2nd generation immigrants. I'll just go ahead and write about this because it's been on my mind a lot and I'm often inhibited by it. Recently an unwanted conversation with a Pakistani man (I say unwanted because I try to avoid conversations like this like the plague) has in a way opened my eyes. For one what I expected from this conversation was said and it wasn't what I wanted to hear, but something I wanted to maybe ignore and I think ignoring the problem is a terrible thing. It shouldn't be ignored. As an American expatriate and going to school with other foreigners I feel in a way obligated to be a good representation of America. I think even those from countries who are American friendly think of Americans as a bit loud and outgoing. Of course I am a stereotypical American in some way

Many Norwegians flock to the Swedish border and do some shopping as there are strip malls located on the Swedish border. Some of the cheaper finds in Sweden include meats, cigarettes, alcohol and well, from what I hear, porn. I remember seeing a competition in the last Alt for Norge season where they had to travel across the Swedish border and find the best deals compared to Norwegian products. It's a common thing for Norwegians to do over a weekend. Traveling to Sweden on a shopping trip is all part of experiencing typical Norwegian culture. I had  to experience it just once, which I'm glad I did because I don't really want to travel that far again just to save around 10% on juice, Coca-Cola, toothpaste and soap. The best deal I found was on bacon actually which I paid 19 NOK or a tad over $3 USD for 3 packs. I was also quite pleased to have found an entire aisle of American food in a grocery store called Maxi-Mat - and stocked up on pie crusts and Jiffy corn bread. I

"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." -  Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichler. Today I went to school and many of the teachers were telling the women in class, "Gratulerer med dagen!!!" (Congratulations with the day!). I was confused and wondered who was having a birthday. Then our teacher was telling us about how today is International Women's Day. I should have known that! In class, we were explained how today is a day where people take a look at statistics and compare equality between men and women, what can be done to fix problems of inequality and why these problems still exist. I mean, come on people, it's 2013 and equality is still an issue worldwide!!! Women still earn less, there are still double standards - okay, they exist for men too, but arguably maybe not to the same extent (men feel the pressure to appear strong when they're vulnerable whereas, well, women can be chastised with vulgar names for the same actions a man w

I'm feeling more and more like a person again so I can quit neglecting you, my blog children, and write some! :-) I haven't been out much. I hate the winter. I'm really not too fond of the cold and my butt has been staying inside all winter. On the bright side, spring is coming!!!! The days are getting longer. The snow is slowly, but surely melting...*fingers crossed* and I've been getting spring fever! I'm still in awe at how beautiful this place is. Even after 9 months of living here, I still think it's just as pretty as the day I arrived. I love living here, but I really can't wait til spring!!! Sunset after hiking in Langesund! This picture of Skien was taken on top of a mall roof/parking lot.  It's a very special feeling, at least to this Kentuckian, when there's a mountain view everywhere and a trip to the ocean is just a 20 minute drive. :-)

I've been a bit AWOL lately. I haven't been writing as much as I've wanted to. I have just had a complete lack of energy... and here's why.... I guess I was suspecting something was off in January while I was in Kentucky. Usually I take dreams with a grain of salt. I don't pay much attention to them, but I dreamt I was pregnant with a little boy. I didn't think TOO  much about it, but I did keep the possibility of pregnancy in the back of my mind. While I was in Kentucky, my husband called me and told me, "It's so dull and boring without you here!" I think he may eat his words now... I arrived in Norway and was complaining to Arild of nausea and he like with every symptom less than normal (I swear it's a curse for being born female, you google a symptom and it ALWAYS points to pregnancy) started making comments in a joking manner like, "I guess that means you're pregnant." A couple of days passed and I told him, "I feel d