Not inspired

No not at all and this blog is obviously not interesting to anyone else...... so not bothering anymore. TTFN

I'm having a bad day;(

There is no individualism in Norway, ask anyone here they will all disagree with this and that is the point! They don't even realize they are all clones.

And no one in the neighborhood re-cycles, it is disgusting they are all to complacent to pull their fingers out and do something helpful for the world.

They are in their own world and for their sake and mine I hope they never leave it.

Sad Norway, sad!!!

Loans and homes and automobiles

We just made a few enquiries at the bank and found out that to get a car loan or any kind of personal loan in Norway you have to be here for 4 years.  The only kind of loan that you can get is a home loan (mortgage), I guess they figure you can drive away in a car or sail away in a boat but your house will stay put.

When we were here last, getting close to 25 years ago it was no problem to get a loan for anything but having heard of people disappearing with the assets at that time I guess Norway decided to tighten up the banking laws.

The bank suggested that we use money from our country of origin, could be an option for us but I feel sorry for others who do not have that option. The brochure handout about life in Norway never mentioned this along side of "Living the Good Life"  that promise seems a little more remote now! It seems that you have to spend quite a long time looking at others "living the good life" first.

I found out about an English language newspaper : http://www.newsinenglish.no/ 
This may prove very handy as I have missed the start of the Norwegian lessons and I will remain only English speaking with a smattering of Norwegian to tide me over until the next semester.

Alice in Wonderland and other weekend treats

Yesterday, after a couple of scintillating hours in downtown Sandefjord and a very nice coffee in Etasje which is in the main square, we decided that we just had to do something different in the evening. We were both suffering from cabin fever.

A quick scan of the entertainment options came up with a movie or a movie....  To make it a real treat we decided to see "Alice in Wonderland" 3D which was not playing at the local movie house but in Tonsberg.  That is about 30 minutes by bus from our home.  Quite an exciting departure from our regular routine. Here is run down on the cost just for those who have no idea how expensive it is to have even a small life here:

Bus for two: 90 kroner each way = 180
Movie for two: 280 kroner
Grand total 460 kroner or just over $80.00

This is not counting the small bag of licorice or the two small cartons of apple juice which pushed the evening over a hundred dollars. So to compare with the $18.00 I am used to paying I can tell you I will not be doing this again any time soon.  The whole of life here equates to just about the same comparison of cost so for those who think they can live here cheaply think again.

Alice in Wonderland trailer

The movie was very good and very entertaining, I would recommend it, but I believe the 3D was unnecessary we would have enjoyed it just as much without it.

Today we went for a run, cheap and nice in the current weather and about all we can afford now!

New things to learn.

Norway welcomes all new landed immigrants with 300 hours of language lessons and instructions on how to fit in the the society here with no charge, yes that is what I said it is all free folks.

I went to sign up today but only managed to get a couple of phone numbers to call and inquire about this service. It is remarkable how none of this in on line or even printed out in various languages just to hand out to new immigrants. No it is written and re-written for each individual on little stick it notes with minimal information, no addresses, no details just a number on a stick in note. Get a grip Norway, you can organize things better than this!
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Change is in the air

I think I had my final ski outing today:(

The weather has been warming over the past four or five days and today the snow was finally giving way.  It was also the first time I have applied klister and what a messy affair that is.  It didn't work too well either, the grip was good in a few areas but the constant moving from sun to shade and +3 to freezing and ice to slush proved just too much for the grip of the klister and it was hard going.  Still I was out in the beautiful fresh air and the sun for an hour and a half and it was all worth it.  The clean up was even stickier than the application of the klister but I found that the citron cleaner did a good job in the end and the skis are clean and put away for the summer, that is unless we get a late snow fall, here is hoping (sorry to those who are looking forward to summer).

So skiing is over and this week Tormod has been has been offered work in Stavanager. Could mean another move. I don't mind I guess, I have not had time to settle in here but I was looking forward to the local cycling that is supposedly great in this area.  Also it will mean that we will be moving further away for my sister in law who although we don't see her very often will miss her brother.

Also this week I got my new Norwegian bank card which would be great except that the shopping in this little town is non existent and besides I don't enjoy shopping much unless it is for fun stuff that I can do things with.

Spring is sprung, almost.

The last few day's have been bright and sunny in Sandefjord. After the last snow fall the xcountry ski tracks were re-set and the many kilometers they cover near the town were well used this weekend. I had been told that most Norwegians wait for the good weather to come out and enjoy the snow, sun is a prerequisite and the sun was full on Saturday and Sunday so the tacks were crowded. Why they have to wait for the sun I don't know because given the nature of the beast this means that there will only be one or two weekends of fun in the snow and then it will be gone.

I received a letter from the government that informed me I am required to take 300 hours of Norwegian if I ever wish to become a citizen. Not that it is optional or available but that it is required. Funny last time I checked the other 3 countries I have lived in offer language courses but don't say that to be a citizen of that country I must have the brain operation. Nice of them to offer the course for free but I think I will pass because I can't think of a more useless language to spend time learning. I mean what are the chances of going anywhere else in the world and meeting locals who only speak Norwegian. Now French, German or Spanish I would go for but Norwegian, nah, I can get by without that.

Norway, eh!

I am now official, I have the visa to say that I can stay here for the next three years. Now all the paper work is in place I am planning my escape and it can't come fast enough for me. The winter is endless. Oh here comes the snow blower again. I tell you I am sick of Norway already, the boredom is mind boggling!

Okay some of my relatives are Norwegian, I ask them what they do in the winter and apart from going for holidays in the sun the answer is "very little". Norwegians shop, they are really good at it, gazing for hours at table settings and making purchases of just the right colour shape and style of items for their dining room tables, it is anal, and why? Because there is nothing else to do!!

There are ski tracks all over the place set by "who knows" but they run for ever and it is beautiful out there. I have been on them two or three times a week since I discovered them and who else uses them? Well I see the same few people from our neighborhood time and time again unless it is a sunny day and then everyone else comes trooping out for an hour or so. Don't believe it when you are told that Norwegians are fit. They used to be perhaps but now they are like fat cats, content lazy and living on the reputation of having been a fit nation once.

Yeah, Norway has a lot to offer, safety, solid houses, fairytale scenery but it is all on the surface, there is no depth here. There is no fun found in socializing and don't ever believe they are not prejudiced here, just scratch the veneer and you will find that most would like to keep Norway for the Norwegians and the rest can go to........

I have an interesting booklet called "Welcome to Norway". In it the phrase "enjoying the good life" crops up frequently along with instructions on how you are expected to do this. It could be the way things are written here but the whole booklet reads like a "now you will obey" handout and well shit, it just makes me want to rebel just reading it!

Snow snow everywhere.

There was so much snow in Sandefjord this year even the snow plows gave up!

They had been doing a great job until this recent snow fall that this is quite a disappointment. Throughout December and January the snow was cleared almost faster than it hit the sidewalk. This weekend February 21st (also my oldest son's 30th birthday) after three day's of continuous snow which accumulated to about 25cm there was no sign of any effort of snow removal.

After almost 3 months since my arrival here this did not dismay me as much as it should have. Obviously there shouldn't have been any more snow this year because the government had decided that snow will end prior to the 21st of February. When you live here for any length of time you begin to go along with the general view that the government is always right and their decisions are final and perfect.

The mind meld must be working.

Anyway as I observed earlier in the winter neighbors here, for the most part, do not help each other. I have walked past people with snow blowers happily clearing their driveways in record time oblivious to the fact that their snow is drifting on the wind into their neighbors driveway. Later in the day the neighbor comes out with a shovel and begins the labor intensive effort of clearing their own drive from the fallen snow and the additional neighbors snow. Sad!

I was trying to give Canada's reputation a boost by helping dig out cars and clear driveways like we do at home. The reaction is confusion which is replaced by amusement as Tormod explains that I am crazy and he is just dragged along with my pursuit.

Humph.

Memory is a Funny Thing

23 years ago my family and I waved goodbye to the shores of Norway as our ferry to Newcastle slipped away from the dock. What thoughts were with me then are faded now and as I had a 2 year old child holding on to my knees I was probably distracted. I seem to remember a feeling of relief mingled with nervous anticipation but I think the words "it's over" were in there somewhere. So why am I back after all this time, that is the question.

Memory is a funny thing, it systematically filters out the worst and enhances the best so I find myself looking back with rose coloured spectacles. Somehow I always wanted to remember Norway as a great place. I met so many great people in the seven years we lived there, some of them I am still in touch with sadly others vanished. I still see the faces but the names are missing or the names are with me and their whereabouts is a mystery. Lets face it, I am lazy when it comes to friends, you should never be lazy with friends!

Anyway this blog is really to record my thoughts, impressions, rants and life on this return trip. My husband, Tormod, and I plan to be here for a year or so, but who knows. We are the kind of couple who are blown about by life, lacking in anchors and still unable to commit to any single place to live.