This will probably be quick, as it's getting a bit late, and we didn't get loads of sleep this weekend.
...so we took the night bus (9 hours) to Oslo on Friday night, and used the same method returning. It was quite an experience, but really as comfortable as you could expect such a thing to be, particularly in a country full of winding mountain roads. very good seats, pillows, blankets, and few enough people that we were able to have a pair of seats each for 12 of the 18 hours. Besides, it was the cheapest method (could argue driving would be, but we wouldn't be able to drive and sleep at the same time - and there's no guarantee we'd get a good rate on the rental), and we didn't have to front for a hotel room on Friday or Sunday.
Oslo was nice, but not overwhelming. Of course, everything in Europe is old, compared to our North American history (even coming from Newfoundland, most recently), and there were definitely still moments of wonder, but having recently (last fall) travelled to England, Wales and France, Kes and I have some experience with that. Besides, Oslo is a growing city (growing through the general wealth of the nation - Norway's interest rate went up last week, while everyone else's is going down, for example), so some of the most impressive things (like their new opera house) are actually new. However, if you're looking for new and impressive, well then, Canada has a decent amount of that, too.
So anyway, I don't want to sound too cynical or anything, but Oslo was not overwhelming from a tourist point of view. On the other hand, I think that living there would be a lot of fun - it seemed full of restaurants (the good ones of which were pretty much all non-Norwegian food!) and pubs, and we had a really good time out on Saturday with some folks from the Norwegian national rugby federation.
Speaking of rugby, that's why we were there, nominally - I was getting my Level 2 IRB (International Rugby Board) referee certification. I am hoping that, even though we're a long way away from the nearest club, here in Ulsteinvik, I may be able to use my refereeing as a vehicle to see some more of Europe. For example, there are tournaments through much of the summer that I may attempt to link up with, as a referee.
We did see some of the negative side of Oslo - some neighbourhoods had extreme amounts of grafitti, and I would say that there is an immigrant immigration problem - there are lots of people of colour in Oslo, but we didn't see very many instances where people of different colours were walking together.
Of course, the large number of immigrants makes for great food, and there is Turkish restaurant that has become our new favourite restaurant in Norway.
'night,
Ashley
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Back in action...
For those who didn't know, I travelled to Duncan, BC for two days last weekend, for my grandfather's funeral. There were (of course) also two days of travelling in there. That's really why I've been away from the blog for about a week. Many of you won't have even known that he died, of course, but many who know have been very kind in their comments - thank you. At the same time, my grandfather was a man who had 101 remarkable years (Well, his first 2 or 3 may have been a bit boring, but I assure you, he probably had more years full of good stories than most of us will ever have a chance to accumulate) - so his passing at the end of a very long, very full, and very productive life was, in some ways, not a tragedy, precisely because he hade done so much, so well. Regardless, enough about that - suffice to say that my family actually had a very wonderful chance to get together, even though I just about fell asleep in my soup dish, thanks to the 9-hour time change.
Sometimes one can expect that much travel to grant deep insights into humanity and the universe. Here, then, is a selection from my thoughts during the marathon of flights (Ørsta/Volda - Oslo - Frankfurt - Vancouver - Nanaimo - Vancouver - London - Oslo - Ørsta/Volda):
- If you are in an airport with moving sidewalks, anywhere in the world, then you can guarantee that, somewhere in that airport, there is a 7-year-old running in the wrong direction along one of those moving sidewalks. (Confirmed in Frankfurt, Vancouver, Oslo and London).
-Lufthansa has really cool trans-Atlantic planes - the bathrooms are downstairs!!! Who knew planes had basements?
-It feels a bit surreal to start your day on a Dash-8 (Nanaimo-Vancouver), and 21 hours later, finish it on one, too (Oslo-Ørsta/Volda).
-Duty-free shopping in Oslo is nuts! They have a special legal setup whereby you can actually go duty-free shopping in the arrivals area, where you pick up your luggage, so that you don't even have to carry all the stuff with you on the plane! People were pushing shopping carts FULL of hard liquor and cigarettes. ... again with the idea that the Norwegians don't mind, collectively, being part of a high-tax socialist state. However, personally, they do everything they can to get around it - especially the part where you pay an arm and a leg for booze.
The Norwegians really know how to build tunnels. The drive to the airport (no, we still don't have a car - we borrowed the company car.) includes a drive through this one:
(Yes, of course, that photo's from the official opening - needless to say, there's not so much pedestrian traffic normally.) - It's 8 km long, and has really steep grades to get down below a really deep waterway. However, it cuts about 30 minutes off the drive to the Ørsta/Volda airport - unquestionably the closest airport, but only since this tunnel opened at the end of February. I think this tunnel will probably do a lot to reduce the dependence of Ulstein and the surrounding kommunar on Ålesund - Ørsta and Volda are decent-sized places, with a combined population of 18,569, an airport (no international flights, but 45 minutes to Oslo), and an arts-focussed university college. Now, the (practically combined) communities are only 25 minutes or so from Ulsteinvik, thanks to the tunnel.
I had my first Norwegian class, yesterday. It went well, although there are only two others in my class - a middle-aged German man who does not want to learn Norwegian, and a younger (but still old enough to have two kids) Austrian man who wants to learn Norwegian, but does not want to learn Nynorsk - the form of Norwegian spoken here in the Western portion of the country. Thus, I was reduced to being the keener everyone thought I was in high school, while the "cool kids" sat at the back of the class and spoke a language I didn't understand. At least in high school it was only figuratively "a language I didn't understand". In this situation, they were actually speaking German.
I'll elaborate on the whole "different types of Norwegian" thing next time (barring some other distraction), but I know that at least some of you have been waiting with bated breath for winemaking results. They are... mixed, I'd say.
The wine, if you think to yourself "fruitwine" (or, of course, "fruktvin") before you taste it, is of medium quality - not so good, but might survive as a 10-dollar special in 2-litre bottles at the liquor store. However, if you think to yourself "Merlot" (which was on the label on the box!) before you drink it, you will likely spit it out.
Kes has found a clever solution - 1 part Morton Especial Rødvin, 1 part Diet 7-up, sprinkle of cinnamon powder. She claims that it tastes like sangria. I claim that the smell of the cinnamon distracts you from the taste of the wine. I think we're actually saying the same thing.
Anyway, we're having our other expat friends over to taste it tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.
Cheers,
Ashley
Sometimes one can expect that much travel to grant deep insights into humanity and the universe. Here, then, is a selection from my thoughts during the marathon of flights (Ørsta/Volda - Oslo - Frankfurt - Vancouver - Nanaimo - Vancouver - London - Oslo - Ørsta/Volda):
- If you are in an airport with moving sidewalks, anywhere in the world, then you can guarantee that, somewhere in that airport, there is a 7-year-old running in the wrong direction along one of those moving sidewalks. (Confirmed in Frankfurt, Vancouver, Oslo and London).
-Lufthansa has really cool trans-Atlantic planes - the bathrooms are downstairs!!! Who knew planes had basements?
-It feels a bit surreal to start your day on a Dash-8 (Nanaimo-Vancouver), and 21 hours later, finish it on one, too (Oslo-Ørsta/Volda).
-Duty-free shopping in Oslo is nuts! They have a special legal setup whereby you can actually go duty-free shopping in the arrivals area, where you pick up your luggage, so that you don't even have to carry all the stuff with you on the plane! People were pushing shopping carts FULL of hard liquor and cigarettes. ... again with the idea that the Norwegians don't mind, collectively, being part of a high-tax socialist state. However, personally, they do everything they can to get around it - especially the part where you pay an arm and a leg for booze.
The Norwegians really know how to build tunnels. The drive to the airport (no, we still don't have a car - we borrowed the company car.) includes a drive through this one:
(Yes, of course, that photo's from the official opening - needless to say, there's not so much pedestrian traffic normally.) - It's 8 km long, and has really steep grades to get down below a really deep waterway. However, it cuts about 30 minutes off the drive to the Ørsta/Volda airport - unquestionably the closest airport, but only since this tunnel opened at the end of February. I think this tunnel will probably do a lot to reduce the dependence of Ulstein and the surrounding kommunar on Ålesund - Ørsta and Volda are decent-sized places, with a combined population of 18,569, an airport (no international flights, but 45 minutes to Oslo), and an arts-focussed university college. Now, the (practically combined) communities are only 25 minutes or so from Ulsteinvik, thanks to the tunnel.
I had my first Norwegian class, yesterday. It went well, although there are only two others in my class - a middle-aged German man who does not want to learn Norwegian, and a younger (but still old enough to have two kids) Austrian man who wants to learn Norwegian, but does not want to learn Nynorsk - the form of Norwegian spoken here in the Western portion of the country. Thus, I was reduced to being the keener everyone thought I was in high school, while the "cool kids" sat at the back of the class and spoke a language I didn't understand. At least in high school it was only figuratively "a language I didn't understand". In this situation, they were actually speaking German.
I'll elaborate on the whole "different types of Norwegian" thing next time (barring some other distraction), but I know that at least some of you have been waiting with bated breath for winemaking results. They are... mixed, I'd say.
The wine, if you think to yourself "fruitwine" (or, of course, "fruktvin") before you taste it, is of medium quality - not so good, but might survive as a 10-dollar special in 2-litre bottles at the liquor store. However, if you think to yourself "Merlot" (which was on the label on the box!) before you drink it, you will likely spit it out.
Kes has found a clever solution - 1 part Morton Especial Rødvin, 1 part Diet 7-up, sprinkle of cinnamon powder. She claims that it tastes like sangria. I claim that the smell of the cinnamon distracts you from the taste of the wine. I think we're actually saying the same thing.
Anyway, we're having our other expat friends over to taste it tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.
Cheers,
Ashley
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Finally, Some Photos...
Okay, let's see whether I can make Blogger show you some of our photos (of course, I say "our", but Kes is the only one with a camera who hasn't lost it). For most of them, you can click on the picture for a larger version.
Here's the view to the left out our front window. You can see the fjord, and the downtown core is that bustle of buildings below us. The road coming up toward us is Skulevegen. You can sort of make out two towers on the far side of the town - that's another shipyard. (not mine).
The outside of the apartment, looking right. You can see the steeple of the town church, and then, at the end of town, the cranes of my shipyard. There's a ship at quayside right now - the "Island Constructor", that is in the final stages of its outfitting.
Kes hard at work, making wine.
We're not quite ready for a job translating Norwegian winemaking instructions. Not quite yet.
This is our apartment. Just a tiny bit smaller than where we lived in St. John's!
The "Ishall" in Fosen. That's a hockey rink (European size), a curling sheet (just one - straight ahead), and a soccer field, inside a long-track speed skating oval!
This is on the ferry from Vestnes to Molde - that's the return boat, going the other way.
This is from our drive back from Trondheim - remind anyone of Bella Coola?
These are the boats that I'm working on. Now, that was the picture that was released when the contract was signed, so the design has morphed a bit since then, but they're still really cool. Yes, that is the front end pointing to the right. There's a helicopter platform on top of the bridge.
I think I'm going to be lazy for the evening, and just leave you with the pictures. These have been long days at work, due to a visit by the owners to the yard. At the same time, it's rewarding, because I feel like I'm actually slowly becoming a contributor - it's taken a while to get there!
Cheers,
Ashley
Here's the view to the left out our front window. You can see the fjord, and the downtown core is that bustle of buildings below us. The road coming up toward us is Skulevegen. You can sort of make out two towers on the far side of the town - that's another shipyard. (not mine).
The outside of the apartment, looking right. You can see the steeple of the town church, and then, at the end of town, the cranes of my shipyard. There's a ship at quayside right now - the "Island Constructor", that is in the final stages of its outfitting.
Kes hard at work, making wine.
We're not quite ready for a job translating Norwegian winemaking instructions. Not quite yet.
This is our apartment. Just a tiny bit smaller than where we lived in St. John's!
The "Ishall" in Fosen. That's a hockey rink (European size), a curling sheet (just one - straight ahead), and a soccer field, inside a long-track speed skating oval!
This is on the ferry from Vestnes to Molde - that's the return boat, going the other way.
This is from our drive back from Trondheim - remind anyone of Bella Coola?
These are the boats that I'm working on. Now, that was the picture that was released when the contract was signed, so the design has morphed a bit since then, but they're still really cool. Yes, that is the front end pointing to the right. There's a helicopter platform on top of the bridge.
I think I'm going to be lazy for the evening, and just leave you with the pictures. These have been long days at work, due to a visit by the owners to the yard. At the same time, it's rewarding, because I feel like I'm actually slowly becoming a contributor - it's taken a while to get there!
Cheers,
Ashley
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Socialist, not Collectivist
Okay, I think I'm going to get into some dangerous territory here, because I'm going to throw out some generalisations about Norwegian society. I know, I know - I'm clearly an expert, because I've been here all of 21 whole days, but I feel like some things are clicking into place. Please, don't be insulted - if I'm completely out to lunch, let me know.
The idea that Norwegian society is socialist is "common knowledge" - the pension plans, the free education, the high taxes, the subsidies... I mean, there was a case in 2004 where the courts here ordered the government to purchase a car for a man who was too short to ride public transit. ...Not because he couldn't physically use the transit, but because riding on public transit exposed him to traumatic memories of being ridiculed for his height on the school bus as a child. I'm not going to debate the merits of that case, but I think that it demonstrates the accomodations the state feels it must make to provide a social safety net. Another aspect of this is the pension system. This is the sort of sacred cow that the health care system is in Canada (only because there is no sense, here, of any threat or other option to their socialised medicine). Under the Norwegian pension framework, every worker expects to receive, when he/she retires, presuming he/she worked long enough, and at a full-time job, a significant salary from the government's pension funds. By "significant", I mean that the "pension salary" is enough to provide full necessities of life, at significantly above the poverty line.
Anyway, those features, among many others, confirm the label that many people apply to many European (but particularly Scandinavian) countries - "Socialist". However, there is another, seemingly contradictory, aspect here, as well.
That is the individualistic nature of life here. For example, while the government controls alcohol sales through their monopoly, and taxes it very highly, many, many people make their own. While the government subsidises public transit, almost everyone has a car. While the government encourages physical fitness, the sports of choice are individual ones (skiing, speed skating, ski jumping), rather than team ones (say, hockey, or even soccer - though they clearly follow soccer, and play it, it's not nearly the magnitude of many other European countries). I think that this is shown in many of the national heroes, who are often individualistic explorers, people who were the first to ski solo to the north pole, or first to do this or that - rather than people who do things like found movements, or even lead political parties. Norwegian society clearly respects entrepreneurship, and there are successful international businesses everywhere - far more than the population should be expected to generate.
...so Norway is an interesting study in contradictions. It seems to have found its own, successful answer to a number of problems - I don't mind voting for a socialist system, and high taxes in general - but don't get in the way of me going hiking, starting a business, clubbing a seal, or making wine in my bathroom.
Speaking of which, the wine production is complete, but the wine needs to be filtered now. Our supplier of winemaking equipment (the elderly gentleman in the store called "PartyMan") is inexplicably closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Therefore, filtration on Thursday. ...Unless we want to drink something that is currently about the consistency of tomato juice. Still, we tasted it. I hope the filtering improves it - Kes assures me that it will.
Cheers,
Ashley
The idea that Norwegian society is socialist is "common knowledge" - the pension plans, the free education, the high taxes, the subsidies... I mean, there was a case in 2004 where the courts here ordered the government to purchase a car for a man who was too short to ride public transit. ...Not because he couldn't physically use the transit, but because riding on public transit exposed him to traumatic memories of being ridiculed for his height on the school bus as a child. I'm not going to debate the merits of that case, but I think that it demonstrates the accomodations the state feels it must make to provide a social safety net. Another aspect of this is the pension system. This is the sort of sacred cow that the health care system is in Canada (only because there is no sense, here, of any threat or other option to their socialised medicine). Under the Norwegian pension framework, every worker expects to receive, when he/she retires, presuming he/she worked long enough, and at a full-time job, a significant salary from the government's pension funds. By "significant", I mean that the "pension salary" is enough to provide full necessities of life, at significantly above the poverty line.
Anyway, those features, among many others, confirm the label that many people apply to many European (but particularly Scandinavian) countries - "Socialist". However, there is another, seemingly contradictory, aspect here, as well.
That is the individualistic nature of life here. For example, while the government controls alcohol sales through their monopoly, and taxes it very highly, many, many people make their own. While the government subsidises public transit, almost everyone has a car. While the government encourages physical fitness, the sports of choice are individual ones (skiing, speed skating, ski jumping), rather than team ones (say, hockey, or even soccer - though they clearly follow soccer, and play it, it's not nearly the magnitude of many other European countries). I think that this is shown in many of the national heroes, who are often individualistic explorers, people who were the first to ski solo to the north pole, or first to do this or that - rather than people who do things like found movements, or even lead political parties. Norwegian society clearly respects entrepreneurship, and there are successful international businesses everywhere - far more than the population should be expected to generate.
...so Norway is an interesting study in contradictions. It seems to have found its own, successful answer to a number of problems - I don't mind voting for a socialist system, and high taxes in general - but don't get in the way of me going hiking, starting a business, clubbing a seal, or making wine in my bathroom.
Speaking of which, the wine production is complete, but the wine needs to be filtered now. Our supplier of winemaking equipment (the elderly gentleman in the store called "PartyMan") is inexplicably closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Therefore, filtration on Thursday. ...Unless we want to drink something that is currently about the consistency of tomato juice. Still, we tasted it. I hope the filtering improves it - Kes assures me that it will.
Cheers,
Ashley
Monday, April 14, 2008
"Why didn't we buy these books before we moved here?"
Kes just said that (the title of this post) after coming across a really useful-sounding book about Norwegian customs and etiquette on the internet. In some ways, it's shocking just how unprepared we were before we came here - this relocation was not based in a long fascination with this place - it was a really neat opportunity waved under our noses, that we just took a deep breath and jumped at. On the other hand, I think we've both proven our existing abilities and added loads of new abilities in the general category of "adapting".
At the same time, we shouldn't glorify our undertaking - Norway, and particularly Ulsteinvik, has proven to be shockingly familiar and similar to previous life experience in Canada. In addition, the Internet has made life so much easier! Of course there is the basic stuff, like emailing friends and family, and reading news from home. However, some of the most important advantages might not be immediately obvious. For example - it's a good idea to go to a supermarket website (even if it's only available in Norwegian) in advance of your trip, look up all the words you need in your dictionary, get a sense of prices, etc. Thus, when you actually do go to the store, you can do so with much more confidence. Well, that and you're less likely to buy licorice when you meant to buys spaghetti. Still, we ended up getting turkey when we expected chicken the other day. If that's the worst we do, I'd say we're doing fine!
We spent the weekend in Trondheim and Fosen (a region across the Trondheimsfjord from Trondheim proper). We initially thought of doing this because there is a rugby club in Trondheim, and they're probably the closest one to us here (although it's about equidistant to Bergen). The TRK (Trondheim Rugbyklubb) was having an overnight trip to Fosen for a day of training and "teambuilding". We contacted them and they were happy to have us join in and inflate their numbers.
In addition, Trondheim has an Ikea. Ulsteinvik, needless to say, does not. We needed to buy Kes an office chair. She's working from home, and will be for the next several months, so wire-backed, slouch-inducing, butt-bruising kitchen chairs just weren't appropriate for 6- to 12-hour days.
Unfortunately we still lack a D-number, thus a bank account, thus a car. Still, we decided that an excursion was in order, so we sucked up the financial hit and rented a car. We drove up via the "coastal route" - the E39, which is a "Europavei" - European highway (indicated by the "E" in it's number) We assumed this guaranteed a certain quality. Apparently not. Picture the road into Bella Coola, complete with one-and-a-half lane patches, blind corners, and switchbacks (not quite as steep, but still...), except paved. Now, leave that road alone long enough that it develops 6-inch ruts. Wow. Of course, that wasn't the entire trip, but it was the reality for at least a few heart-in-throat moments. However, the views were beautiful, with snow-capped mountains, 3 ferry rides, ancient farms, and numerous transitions between white and green as we gained and lost altitude.
I could fill a week's worth of posts with a description of the trip, from the fun of playing rugby on an artificial grass surface inside a speed-skating oval (the inside of the track also had a full-size hockey rink and a curling sheet), to the really neat reclaimed port warehouses that Trondheim has turned into a trendy bar area, to Kes's experiments with driving a standard (hey, what are rental standards for, right?) to our trip back through the interior, including the Dovrefjell mountains, and the wasteland of snow, on forever.
However, I'm going to work on a Norwegian lesson, and then head to bed - I have a big meeting this week at work, with the future owners of the ships I'm working on visiting from the USA. Normally, I wouldn't be in an owners' meeting. However, this meeting will focus exclusively on "my stuff", so I'm going to have some long-ish hours in the run-up to it.
Cheers,
Ashley
At the same time, we shouldn't glorify our undertaking - Norway, and particularly Ulsteinvik, has proven to be shockingly familiar and similar to previous life experience in Canada. In addition, the Internet has made life so much easier! Of course there is the basic stuff, like emailing friends and family, and reading news from home. However, some of the most important advantages might not be immediately obvious. For example - it's a good idea to go to a supermarket website (even if it's only available in Norwegian) in advance of your trip, look up all the words you need in your dictionary, get a sense of prices, etc. Thus, when you actually do go to the store, you can do so with much more confidence. Well, that and you're less likely to buy licorice when you meant to buys spaghetti. Still, we ended up getting turkey when we expected chicken the other day. If that's the worst we do, I'd say we're doing fine!
We spent the weekend in Trondheim and Fosen (a region across the Trondheimsfjord from Trondheim proper). We initially thought of doing this because there is a rugby club in Trondheim, and they're probably the closest one to us here (although it's about equidistant to Bergen). The TRK (Trondheim Rugbyklubb) was having an overnight trip to Fosen for a day of training and "teambuilding". We contacted them and they were happy to have us join in and inflate their numbers.
In addition, Trondheim has an Ikea. Ulsteinvik, needless to say, does not. We needed to buy Kes an office chair. She's working from home, and will be for the next several months, so wire-backed, slouch-inducing, butt-bruising kitchen chairs just weren't appropriate for 6- to 12-hour days.
Unfortunately we still lack a D-number, thus a bank account, thus a car. Still, we decided that an excursion was in order, so we sucked up the financial hit and rented a car. We drove up via the "coastal route" - the E39, which is a "Europavei" - European highway (indicated by the "E" in it's number) We assumed this guaranteed a certain quality. Apparently not. Picture the road into Bella Coola, complete with one-and-a-half lane patches, blind corners, and switchbacks (not quite as steep, but still...), except paved. Now, leave that road alone long enough that it develops 6-inch ruts. Wow. Of course, that wasn't the entire trip, but it was the reality for at least a few heart-in-throat moments. However, the views were beautiful, with snow-capped mountains, 3 ferry rides, ancient farms, and numerous transitions between white and green as we gained and lost altitude.
I could fill a week's worth of posts with a description of the trip, from the fun of playing rugby on an artificial grass surface inside a speed-skating oval (the inside of the track also had a full-size hockey rink and a curling sheet), to the really neat reclaimed port warehouses that Trondheim has turned into a trendy bar area, to Kes's experiments with driving a standard (hey, what are rental standards for, right?) to our trip back through the interior, including the Dovrefjell mountains, and the wasteland of snow, on forever.
However, I'm going to work on a Norwegian lesson, and then head to bed - I have a big meeting this week at work, with the future owners of the ships I'm working on visiting from the USA. Normally, I wouldn't be in an owners' meeting. However, this meeting will focus exclusively on "my stuff", so I'm going to have some long-ish hours in the run-up to it.
Cheers,
Ashley
Friday, April 11, 2008
Busy, busy...
Hi everyone.
Sorry I've been out of touch lately, but I've honestly been too busy. This post is going to actually be pretty short, for the same reason, but I wanted to update things before we went away for the weekend.
Wednesday night, I went to a movie. It was just an American one, "Charlie Wilson's War", nothing really special (though I liked it), but it was nice to feel "less foreign" for an hour and a half. I must admit, though, it's my first experience with being, literally, the only person in a theatre while a movie is playing. (Kes was busy at hime, fighting the good fight with her thesis - when the mood strikes, it's best to ride it as long as she can, because there are days when it's really tough to stare at the computer and wrangle numbers for as long as she does). Still, the facility is really nice, clearly open less than a year, I'd say.
Thursday night we went bowling with our fellow ex-pat friends, Marco and Nadine (Venezuela & Germany). We had a lot of fun, though we demonstrated our general incompetence at 10-pin bowling. Kes and I protested that, had it been 5-pin, we would have been much better.
We're off this weekend to Trondheim (Friday night) and then Fosen (just NW of Trondheim) for Saturday, to hang out with the folks from the Trondheim Rugby Klubb. Should be a good time.
I let the folks from the Norges Rugbyforbund (Norway Rugby Union) know that I was a referee and coach, and have been told that I should set up a club here in Sunnmøre (that's the region that includes both Ålesund and Ulsteinvik), and that I should start refereeing around the country. In fact, the president of the union said today "You know, the head of our referees just retired, and we don't have anyone to fill his position...." I said no, don't worry.
By the way, my email address, ashley.morton[at]utoronto.ca still works, and is my primary personal email address, in case you'd rather not post comments (I think that it might make you log into a Blogger account in order to post - if so, sorry about that. I'll see if I can change it.
Cheers,
Ashley
Sorry I've been out of touch lately, but I've honestly been too busy. This post is going to actually be pretty short, for the same reason, but I wanted to update things before we went away for the weekend.
Wednesday night, I went to a movie. It was just an American one, "Charlie Wilson's War", nothing really special (though I liked it), but it was nice to feel "less foreign" for an hour and a half. I must admit, though, it's my first experience with being, literally, the only person in a theatre while a movie is playing. (Kes was busy at hime, fighting the good fight with her thesis - when the mood strikes, it's best to ride it as long as she can, because there are days when it's really tough to stare at the computer and wrangle numbers for as long as she does). Still, the facility is really nice, clearly open less than a year, I'd say.
Thursday night we went bowling with our fellow ex-pat friends, Marco and Nadine (Venezuela & Germany). We had a lot of fun, though we demonstrated our general incompetence at 10-pin bowling. Kes and I protested that, had it been 5-pin, we would have been much better.
We're off this weekend to Trondheim (Friday night) and then Fosen (just NW of Trondheim) for Saturday, to hang out with the folks from the Trondheim Rugby Klubb. Should be a good time.
I let the folks from the Norges Rugbyforbund (Norway Rugby Union) know that I was a referee and coach, and have been told that I should set up a club here in Sunnmøre (that's the region that includes both Ålesund and Ulsteinvik), and that I should start refereeing around the country. In fact, the president of the union said today "You know, the head of our referees just retired, and we don't have anyone to fill his position...." I said no, don't worry.
By the way, my email address, ashley.morton[at]utoronto.ca still works, and is my primary personal email address, in case you'd rather not post comments (I think that it might make you log into a Blogger account in order to post - if so, sorry about that. I'll see if I can change it.
Cheers,
Ashley
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
In phase, out of phase...
Kes and I have a "rule": We're not allowed to both be sick at the same time - that way one of us is always able to look after the other one. Of course, this doesn't always work (for instance, Kes had a terrible bout with the 'flu while I was in the hospital having my knee looked after just before we left to come here), but we always tell ourselves that we're doing our best to follow it.
I think the same needs to apply to "homesickness", or culture shock, or whatever you want to call it. Unfortunately, today we both hit "I don't want to be here" moments at the same time this afternoon after I got off work, and really reinforced our own negativity. It was pretty crappy. Now, we realized what was going on, and we were fine by supper (Kes's cooking usually puts me in a better mood, anyway), but it did go to show us how important it is to remain positive.
There wasn't any specific incident or anything, that put us off, it was just a bit of a "blah" feeling. The challenge here is that it is really easy to blame any negative feeling on the fact that we're in the middle of this big adventure. ("God, this place makes me sick to my stomach! ... wait... Oh, nope. It was just gas.") For example, we were kind of bored tonight, and ended up watching TV and surfing the internet. Our initial reaction was to say "there's nothing do here". Still, the idea that our lack of stimulation was Norway's fault is ridiculous - everyone has those nights, no matter where you live.
So, we have plans to go to a movie tomorrow night (there's an English one on at the Sjøborg hall), and have a "double date" with our Venezualan/German expat friends to go bowling (Yep, they've got a 10-pin bowling alley here) on Thursday, then on Friday we're renting a car (still can't buy one, because I still don't have a tax number), and driving to Trondheim for the weekend. We really can't complain - life is pretty good.
The company gave me a cell phone today. For those who have a desire for large phone bills (or who want to call me through Skype), the number is +47 (Norway country code) 991 20 844. I would love a phone call, or even a text message, but please do a time-zone check, first, if you're going to call! You can find out what time it is here right now from this webpage: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=288
The sun is already setting really late, even though we're only two weeks after the equinox. Sunset today was 8:42 pm, and by next week, it will be past 9:00pm. Sunsets here are wonderful, as the sun goes down over the Atlantic, looking west from our hillside vantage point.
The wine is burbling along in the bathroom (we're keeping it in the bathroom, because it's the smallest space to heat it up to the 22-24 degrees that we're trying to keep it at.) I wonder
how it will turn out!
Off to bed now - maybe tomorrow will bring a D-number!
I think the same needs to apply to "homesickness", or culture shock, or whatever you want to call it. Unfortunately, today we both hit "I don't want to be here" moments at the same time this afternoon after I got off work, and really reinforced our own negativity. It was pretty crappy. Now, we realized what was going on, and we were fine by supper (Kes's cooking usually puts me in a better mood, anyway), but it did go to show us how important it is to remain positive.
There wasn't any specific incident or anything, that put us off, it was just a bit of a "blah" feeling. The challenge here is that it is really easy to blame any negative feeling on the fact that we're in the middle of this big adventure. ("God, this place makes me sick to my stomach! ... wait... Oh, nope. It was just gas.") For example, we were kind of bored tonight, and ended up watching TV and surfing the internet. Our initial reaction was to say "there's nothing do here". Still, the idea that our lack of stimulation was Norway's fault is ridiculous - everyone has those nights, no matter where you live.
So, we have plans to go to a movie tomorrow night (there's an English one on at the Sjøborg hall), and have a "double date" with our Venezualan/German expat friends to go bowling (Yep, they've got a 10-pin bowling alley here) on Thursday, then on Friday we're renting a car (still can't buy one, because I still don't have a tax number), and driving to Trondheim for the weekend. We really can't complain - life is pretty good.
The company gave me a cell phone today. For those who have a desire for large phone bills (or who want to call me through Skype), the number is +47 (Norway country code) 991 20 844. I would love a phone call, or even a text message, but please do a time-zone check, first, if you're going to call! You can find out what time it is here right now from this webpage: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=288
The sun is already setting really late, even though we're only two weeks after the equinox. Sunset today was 8:42 pm, and by next week, it will be past 9:00pm. Sunsets here are wonderful, as the sun goes down over the Atlantic, looking west from our hillside vantage point.
The wine is burbling along in the bathroom (we're keeping it in the bathroom, because it's the smallest space to heat it up to the 22-24 degrees that we're trying to keep it at.) I wonder
how it will turn out!
Off to bed now - maybe tomorrow will bring a D-number!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Victory at Høddvoll, then Monday
I'm not feeling overly inspired tonight - I think that Monday can do that to you, no matter what country you're living in. As a result, just a quick recap, and some observations:
-We went to the soccer game. We were worried that it might be tough to be supporting Hødd this year, as they just (over the winter) moved up a division, so they should be playing against opponents who are a lot better than they're used to. However, it turned out not to be the case. They beat Sparta (from Sarpsborg, near Oslo), veterans of this division, 2-0. It wasn't the best soccer I've ever seen, but it's always fun to be cheering for the winning team. There were probably 1,000 fans there. Refreshments consisted of coffee (no milk or sugar available), various types of sausage-in-a-bun (one was very close to a standard hot dog, but others were available), and something that was basically a cold pancake, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and folded in half. Good, but odd.
-Today was back to work. Another new guy came in today. He'll be interesting to watch, because I have a lot more marine experience than he does, but he speaks Norwegian. It'll be interesting to see who gets up to speed more quickly.
-I think there must be every car brand on Earth represented on the streets of Ulsteinvik. Okay, I retract that, I haven't seen Delorians, Vauxhalls, Ladas or Yugos. Still, there are everything from Dodge Ram pickups straight out of rural Canada to Nissan Micros, which are clearly VW Beetle competitors. There are Skodas (from the Czech Republic), VWs, BMWs, Saabs, Volvos, Peugeots, Renaults, Citroens, Range Rovers, Jaguars, Fords (including an enormous old Econoline van), Chevys, Dodges, Nissans, Chryslers, Minis, Kias, Toyotas, Subarus, Nissans, Mazdas, Audis, Merecedes-Benzes, Opels (German company owned by GM), Hyundais, Mitsubishis - really everything. This is particularly odd considering that there are only two car dealers in town (that I've found yet!) - Toyota and Mazda.
We went out tonight for a couple of hours to meet a young woman who will be coming to Ulstein International (part of the Group) for two years starting this August. This was a Facebook link-up, where she was excited to learn that there were any foreigners in Ulsteinvik. She's from Beijing, but has been going to school in Bergen, Norway. As I've mentioned, she needn't have worried - Ulsteinvik is far more international than you'd guess, but we were happy to go out for coffee, regardless.
'Night.
-We went to the soccer game. We were worried that it might be tough to be supporting Hødd this year, as they just (over the winter) moved up a division, so they should be playing against opponents who are a lot better than they're used to. However, it turned out not to be the case. They beat Sparta (from Sarpsborg, near Oslo), veterans of this division, 2-0. It wasn't the best soccer I've ever seen, but it's always fun to be cheering for the winning team. There were probably 1,000 fans there. Refreshments consisted of coffee (no milk or sugar available), various types of sausage-in-a-bun (one was very close to a standard hot dog, but others were available), and something that was basically a cold pancake, spread with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and folded in half. Good, but odd.
-Today was back to work. Another new guy came in today. He'll be interesting to watch, because I have a lot more marine experience than he does, but he speaks Norwegian. It'll be interesting to see who gets up to speed more quickly.
-I think there must be every car brand on Earth represented on the streets of Ulsteinvik. Okay, I retract that, I haven't seen Delorians, Vauxhalls, Ladas or Yugos. Still, there are everything from Dodge Ram pickups straight out of rural Canada to Nissan Micros, which are clearly VW Beetle competitors. There are Skodas (from the Czech Republic), VWs, BMWs, Saabs, Volvos, Peugeots, Renaults, Citroens, Range Rovers, Jaguars, Fords (including an enormous old Econoline van), Chevys, Dodges, Nissans, Chryslers, Minis, Kias, Toyotas, Subarus, Nissans, Mazdas, Audis, Merecedes-Benzes, Opels (German company owned by GM), Hyundais, Mitsubishis - really everything. This is particularly odd considering that there are only two car dealers in town (that I've found yet!) - Toyota and Mazda.
We went out tonight for a couple of hours to meet a young woman who will be coming to Ulstein International (part of the Group) for two years starting this August. This was a Facebook link-up, where she was excited to learn that there were any foreigners in Ulsteinvik. She's from Beijing, but has been going to school in Bergen, Norway. As I've mentioned, she needn't have worried - Ulsteinvik is far more international than you'd guess, but we were happy to go out for coffee, regardless.
'Night.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Saturday Night in Ulsteinvik
I was contacted on Facebook yesterday by another Canadian living in Norway, who said something to the effect of "Ulsteinvik? That place has, like, only 50 people, doesn't it? How are you surviving?" Now, it's true, Ulsteinvik is no metropolis. However, Kes and I have decided to take it for all it's got to offer. I can't stand people (I used to run into them in Bella Coola while I was growing up, but really, they're everywhere) who complain about the lack of opportunity in a place, when they aren't taking the opportunities that are available. It may be, in a few months (particularly in the winter, when outdoor activities are minimal), that we decide Ulsteinvik is too small, but that won't be until we feel like we've done pretty much everything there is to do here - given it a real chance!
Armed with that logic, we decided to go out on the town last night. There are two nightspots here, the Kaffebaren, and the Hong Kong (The Hong Kong seems to be trying to be everything in one - lunch place, coffeehouse, sit-down-dinner place, pub, bar, disco...). The Kaffebaren was advertising on their website (www.kaffe-baren.no) that they had a live band "Pikka Bird" playing. Perfect. Out we went.
We were underwhelmeded by our first, 10:45pm, impression. We had to pay cover (80 kr each - $16), and there were probably 20 people in the place. However, as the evening went on, it did fill up nicely. Of course, the band went on late (has there ever been a band, anywhere, that started on time?) . The evening picked up significantly when a man in his mid-20s walked up to our table and said "Ashley! Good to see you out!" I didn't know the guy at all, but it turns out that he works on my floor at the shipyard. He introduced himself, and sat down and joined us. From then on, we had a rotating cast of table-mates, with our initial greeter being the one constant. At one point, there were seven people at our 4-person table. Kes managed to link up with a marine biologist, who seemed as surprised to find another marine biologist in a bar in Ulsteinvik as we were. I learned several things last night:
-If you meet someone in Ulsteinvik, that person has, at most, one degree of separation from the shipyard.
-Being a lawyer may not be a fantastic career choice here (we met an unemployed one)
-If you want to have a shot as a band (unless you're in metal), you sing in English.
-The bar will serve you, no matter how drunk you are. No, this was not from personal experience, mom - observation. If I had been as drunk as the guys buying 6 glasses of Jameson's at a time, I don't think I'd remember it to tell you today (well, that, and I would still be in bed with a headache).
-The local beer, Hansa, is not bad. It's a standard pilsner, with a lot of head on a pint, but pretty good. It's always nice when the cheapest option is not awful!
In keeping with the "do everything that's on offer" philosophy, we're off to see the local soccer team, Hødd, play their first home game of the season today. They're a first-division (that's below the Premier League) team, which is apparently pretty good, for a town this size. They're the only sports team here, so I guess we'll have to go watch soccer.
Armed with that logic, we decided to go out on the town last night. There are two nightspots here, the Kaffebaren, and the Hong Kong (The Hong Kong seems to be trying to be everything in one - lunch place, coffeehouse, sit-down-dinner place, pub, bar, disco...). The Kaffebaren was advertising on their website (www.kaffe-baren.no) that they had a live band "Pikka Bird" playing. Perfect. Out we went.
We were underwhelmeded by our first, 10:45pm, impression. We had to pay cover (80 kr each - $16), and there were probably 20 people in the place. However, as the evening went on, it did fill up nicely. Of course, the band went on late (has there ever been a band, anywhere, that started on time?) . The evening picked up significantly when a man in his mid-20s walked up to our table and said "Ashley! Good to see you out!" I didn't know the guy at all, but it turns out that he works on my floor at the shipyard. He introduced himself, and sat down and joined us. From then on, we had a rotating cast of table-mates, with our initial greeter being the one constant. At one point, there were seven people at our 4-person table. Kes managed to link up with a marine biologist, who seemed as surprised to find another marine biologist in a bar in Ulsteinvik as we were. I learned several things last night:
-If you meet someone in Ulsteinvik, that person has, at most, one degree of separation from the shipyard.
-Being a lawyer may not be a fantastic career choice here (we met an unemployed one)
-If you want to have a shot as a band (unless you're in metal), you sing in English.
-The bar will serve you, no matter how drunk you are. No, this was not from personal experience, mom - observation. If I had been as drunk as the guys buying 6 glasses of Jameson's at a time, I don't think I'd remember it to tell you today (well, that, and I would still be in bed with a headache).
-The local beer, Hansa, is not bad. It's a standard pilsner, with a lot of head on a pint, but pretty good. It's always nice when the cheapest option is not awful!
In keeping with the "do everything that's on offer" philosophy, we're off to see the local soccer team, Hødd, play their first home game of the season today. They're a first-division (that's below the Premier League) team, which is apparently pretty good, for a town this size. They're the only sports team here, so I guess we'll have to go watch soccer.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Wine-making and Winemonopoly
We have decided that, with the price of alcohol here, if we intend to have a glass of wine for anything but the most special of occaisions, we're going to have to make it ourselves. Now, Kes is actually a master vintner, having managed to put out a pretty-much-endless supply of wine in our house in St. John's. However, we were unfamiliar with any of the brands in Norway, and decided that the result would be us purchasing the cheapest brand available. In a pleasant correspondence, this lead us directly to the brand which was also advertising the shortest time-to-completion. Great!
(Yes, I know, warning bells are going off in everyone's head already, but let's see what happens...)
So, we bought a big ol' bucket and other associated requirements (thermometer, vapour lock, 4 kg of sugar, etc.), and headed home to give it a shot. Now, every kit we had used before involved us receiving grape juice as part of the package. This one, however, seemed to have some sort of pellets inside the biggest package in the box. We assumed that they were some sort of dehydrated pellets, or something. Nope. They were actual berries, dried. Some are grapes (yes, I know that makes them raisins, but they sure don't look like any raisins I've seen), which would be expected, but I could swear that some are blueberries and others are currants. Now, if the package said "fruktevin" (fruit wine), I wouldn't be surprised. ...but our box says "Rød Merlot" (Red Merlot). Since when does regular red wine such as Merlot use blueberries?
Oh well, we're about to find out. We've mixed the sugar and berries into some boiling water, and left the bucket in the bathroom to cool. We'll see whether we have anything worth drinking in the 7-10 days the box advertises. There are many more steps for us to take. I'll keep you updated.
The second part of the title of this post is taken from the name for the liquor stores here. They are operated by the government, and are called "Vinmonopolet" - literally, "Wine monopoly". At least they're honest! I bought some wine from them today. It was about $56 for a 3-litre box (we've become fans of box-wine, because it allows you to have a single glass without needing to finish the bottle, if that's what you feel like), and it was the second-cheapest in the store. I thought, since I really didn't recognize very many of the wines, that purchasing the second-cheapest one was a valid option. Apparently not. It's so bad that I'm not sure we'll be able to finish it.
Oh well, in 7-10 days we'll have something like 20 litres of wine made out of dried blueberries. Heaven help us.
Ashley
(Yes, I know, warning bells are going off in everyone's head already, but let's see what happens...)
So, we bought a big ol' bucket and other associated requirements (thermometer, vapour lock, 4 kg of sugar, etc.), and headed home to give it a shot. Now, every kit we had used before involved us receiving grape juice as part of the package. This one, however, seemed to have some sort of pellets inside the biggest package in the box. We assumed that they were some sort of dehydrated pellets, or something. Nope. They were actual berries, dried. Some are grapes (yes, I know that makes them raisins, but they sure don't look like any raisins I've seen), which would be expected, but I could swear that some are blueberries and others are currants. Now, if the package said "fruktevin" (fruit wine), I wouldn't be surprised. ...but our box says "Rød Merlot" (Red Merlot). Since when does regular red wine such as Merlot use blueberries?
Oh well, we're about to find out. We've mixed the sugar and berries into some boiling water, and left the bucket in the bathroom to cool. We'll see whether we have anything worth drinking in the 7-10 days the box advertises. There are many more steps for us to take. I'll keep you updated.
The second part of the title of this post is taken from the name for the liquor stores here. They are operated by the government, and are called "Vinmonopolet" - literally, "Wine monopoly". At least they're honest! I bought some wine from them today. It was about $56 for a 3-litre box (we've become fans of box-wine, because it allows you to have a single glass without needing to finish the bottle, if that's what you feel like), and it was the second-cheapest in the store. I thought, since I really didn't recognize very many of the wines, that purchasing the second-cheapest one was a valid option. Apparently not. It's so bad that I'm not sure we'll be able to finish it.
Oh well, in 7-10 days we'll have something like 20 litres of wine made out of dried blueberries. Heaven help us.
Ashley
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Some Administrative Goings-On
With the new apartment, and a bit more familiarity with the town, things feel a bit calmer today, as compared with the previous days, where there was always a rush to do something, or a bit of a frantic feeling about not having enough (information, paperwork, time, you name it).
The walk to work took a whole 12 minutes this morning, which was fantastic. Of course it was made even more pleasant by the fact that the sky was clear and the water calm.
Apparently, tomorrow is going to be rainy, windy, and bitter. Here's a really neat link - best weather page I've ever seen - the link takes you to the 48-hour forecast for Ulsteinvik, in English:
http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/M%c3%b8re_og_Romsdal/Ulstein/Ulsteinvik/hour_by_hour.html
Our address, for those who are interested, is now:
Skulevegen 2
6065 Ulstein
Norway
Thus, we live on "School Way", and that's no misnomer - the major primary school and then, above it, the major junior high, for the town are both located on this street, up the hill from us.
Still no sign of the actual paper copy of my work visa at the Ulsteinvik police office. However, we had to have a whole bunch of paperwork associated with the sale of our house back in Newfoundland notarised today. Interestingly enough, there is no real "Notary Public" profession in Norway, nor is the role carried out by a lawyer - you simply present yourself at a police station with suitable identification, sign your documents, and a police officer "notarises" them - all for free! It was a thoroughly pleasant experience!
In fact, the role of the police here is interesting. Your local police station ("police office" would probably be more appropriate - for example, the Ulsteinvik location is on the upper floor of a mall) is where you go for all sorts of "government interaction" - immigration papers, registering for the census, notarising documents, etc., as well as all the standard "police stuff" (paying tickets, reporting crime, etc.) I wonder whether this diverse and expanded set of interactions between citizens and police helps to make people more comfortable with the police, and feel less like "the only time you see a police officer is when something bad is going on". They're sort of like a cross between a police force and Service Canada.
Unfortunately, they're only open 8-3. Fortunately, however, Ulstein Verft has moved to what they call a "flex-time" schedule. Basically, as long as you're at work for 8 hours a day, averaged over your pay period, and are usually there at least between 8:30 and 2:30, there's no issue. So I just ducked out at 2:30 sharp today, walked to the police office, was back to the office by 3:30, and everything was fine. Now, I know that wouldn't be odd in most professional environments in Canada or the US, but in Norway, where everyone is on a punch-clock (an aspect of the socialised nature of the country, I think), it's fresh thinking, and really appreciated.
Kes and I went out for coffee/beer with a couple of other ex-pats after work today - a Venezuelan guy who works at Ulstein and his German girlfriend - a certified nurse who works at the tourist office ("Why work shiftwork when I can work 8-4 and make almost the same money?") They've been in Norway for 14 months and several years, respectively, but Ulsteinvik is new to them, too - one month. It was nice to chat socially with people who either are going through, or have gone through, many of the things that are going on in our life right now.
Huh - long post today. By the way, please feel free to leave comments (that's the "Kommentarer" link under each post - then, when you've typed your blurb, click "Publiser Kommentaren Din". I switched the blog over to a Norwegian one - I've tried to switch as many things as I can on my computer over to Norwegian, so that it will help me learn. (Update - April 4th - I've switched the tools to English - easier for everyone!)
Cheers,
Ashley
The walk to work took a whole 12 minutes this morning, which was fantastic. Of course it was made even more pleasant by the fact that the sky was clear and the water calm.
Apparently, tomorrow is going to be rainy, windy, and bitter. Here's a really neat link - best weather page I've ever seen - the link takes you to the 48-hour forecast for Ulsteinvik, in English:
http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/M%c3%b8re_og_Romsdal/Ulstein/Ulsteinvik/hour_by_hour.html
Our address, for those who are interested, is now:
Skulevegen 2
6065 Ulstein
Norway
Thus, we live on "School Way", and that's no misnomer - the major primary school and then, above it, the major junior high, for the town are both located on this street, up the hill from us.
Still no sign of the actual paper copy of my work visa at the Ulsteinvik police office. However, we had to have a whole bunch of paperwork associated with the sale of our house back in Newfoundland notarised today. Interestingly enough, there is no real "Notary Public" profession in Norway, nor is the role carried out by a lawyer - you simply present yourself at a police station with suitable identification, sign your documents, and a police officer "notarises" them - all for free! It was a thoroughly pleasant experience!
In fact, the role of the police here is interesting. Your local police station ("police office" would probably be more appropriate - for example, the Ulsteinvik location is on the upper floor of a mall) is where you go for all sorts of "government interaction" - immigration papers, registering for the census, notarising documents, etc., as well as all the standard "police stuff" (paying tickets, reporting crime, etc.) I wonder whether this diverse and expanded set of interactions between citizens and police helps to make people more comfortable with the police, and feel less like "the only time you see a police officer is when something bad is going on". They're sort of like a cross between a police force and Service Canada.
Unfortunately, they're only open 8-3. Fortunately, however, Ulstein Verft has moved to what they call a "flex-time" schedule. Basically, as long as you're at work for 8 hours a day, averaged over your pay period, and are usually there at least between 8:30 and 2:30, there's no issue. So I just ducked out at 2:30 sharp today, walked to the police office, was back to the office by 3:30, and everything was fine. Now, I know that wouldn't be odd in most professional environments in Canada or the US, but in Norway, where everyone is on a punch-clock (an aspect of the socialised nature of the country, I think), it's fresh thinking, and really appreciated.
Kes and I went out for coffee/beer with a couple of other ex-pats after work today - a Venezuelan guy who works at Ulstein and his German girlfriend - a certified nurse who works at the tourist office ("Why work shiftwork when I can work 8-4 and make almost the same money?") They've been in Norway for 14 months and several years, respectively, but Ulsteinvik is new to them, too - one month. It was nice to chat socially with people who either are going through, or have gone through, many of the things that are going on in our life right now.
Huh - long post today. By the way, please feel free to leave comments (that's the "Kommentarer" link under each post - then, when you've typed your blurb, click "Publiser Kommentaren Din". I switched the blog over to a Norwegian one - I've tried to switch as many things as I can on my computer over to Norwegian, so that it will help me learn. (Update - April 4th - I've switched the tools to English - easier for everyone!)
Cheers,
Ashley
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Thriftiness!
Clearly, I was exaggerating in my last post. A beer, a glass of red wine and a big brownie only cost us 138 kroner ($27.50). Virtually nothing!
New Digs
This is great! We finally have a new place to live, and it's really nice, too.
We had been living in an older, small-ish one-bedroom apartment, with a 35-minute walk to work, and a minimum of a 15-minute walk to even the closest store.
Now, we're about a 10-minute walk to work, and about a 2-minute walk to all the downtown shops and restaurants. (There aren't loads of shops and restaurants, but there are enough to keep us entertained for a while.) We still have a nice set of south-facing windows, and have a view right out over the harbour. The shipyard has leased the apartment, and we will pay rent to the shipyard. The yard is simply growing so quickly that they know they need pretty much any housing in this town that they can get their hands on. They now have a full-time property manager who Kes and I refer to as a mafioso, because if you want to make money with your basement apartment, you get in with him, and he'll keep it occupied!
To give some idea of prices, we are paying 6,500 kroner per month, including cable TV (basic) and internet. We will have to pay our electrical bills, and we don't know how much that will be, but we are very happy with this. If we hadn't taken it when we saw it tonight, there was someone coming in behind us to see it, and we believe they would have taken it. That's $1,300 Canadian per month.
Mitigating that cost, though, is the fact that the place is really nicely furnished - down to a corkscrew and a garlic press (not that I'd know what to do with the second one - but Kes says it's nice to have).
An interesting item is the fact that both apartments we've lived in are heated through wires in the floor - no baseboard heaters. Also, clothes dryers don't seem to be common - pretty much everyone has a washer, but then dry on a rack, or outside on a clothesline. We have a shower, without a tub (same at the last place), and a toilet that has two types of flush - half tank and full tank. (no, they're not labelled #1 and #2, but they should be). Another household difference is that it seems to be standard for a double bed to have two separate duvets on it, one for each person. I suppose it stops any fighting over the blankets!
Okay, we're off to our newly-close pub to enjoy an 80-kroner ($16) beer.
Cheers,
Ashley
We had been living in an older, small-ish one-bedroom apartment, with a 35-minute walk to work, and a minimum of a 15-minute walk to even the closest store.
Now, we're about a 10-minute walk to work, and about a 2-minute walk to all the downtown shops and restaurants. (There aren't loads of shops and restaurants, but there are enough to keep us entertained for a while.) We still have a nice set of south-facing windows, and have a view right out over the harbour. The shipyard has leased the apartment, and we will pay rent to the shipyard. The yard is simply growing so quickly that they know they need pretty much any housing in this town that they can get their hands on. They now have a full-time property manager who Kes and I refer to as a mafioso, because if you want to make money with your basement apartment, you get in with him, and he'll keep it occupied!
To give some idea of prices, we are paying 6,500 kroner per month, including cable TV (basic) and internet. We will have to pay our electrical bills, and we don't know how much that will be, but we are very happy with this. If we hadn't taken it when we saw it tonight, there was someone coming in behind us to see it, and we believe they would have taken it. That's $1,300 Canadian per month.
Mitigating that cost, though, is the fact that the place is really nicely furnished - down to a corkscrew and a garlic press (not that I'd know what to do with the second one - but Kes says it's nice to have).
An interesting item is the fact that both apartments we've lived in are heated through wires in the floor - no baseboard heaters. Also, clothes dryers don't seem to be common - pretty much everyone has a washer, but then dry on a rack, or outside on a clothesline. We have a shower, without a tub (same at the last place), and a toilet that has two types of flush - half tank and full tank. (no, they're not labelled #1 and #2, but they should be). Another household difference is that it seems to be standard for a double bed to have two separate duvets on it, one for each person. I suppose it stops any fighting over the blankets!
Okay, we're off to our newly-close pub to enjoy an 80-kroner ($16) beer.
Cheers,
Ashley
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Getting somewhere... maybe...
So - first day of work!
I survived, and discovered that, like people the world over, if you want to do work, the Norwegians will certainly let you - as opposed to the "no one works on the first day" I was told before going to work.
Thus, within an hour and a half of arriving at work for the first day, I was in a meeting with a major supplier, talking about what temperature our cooling water was going to be on the couplings for our generator's alternators. Fascinating, particularly considering that I really didn't have much of a clue about what was going on.
Norway has clearly become an international workplace. To give some idea, there were two contract employees turfed out of their joint office in order to give me an office. I felt bad, but then I learned that they were scheduled to move to another space already. Anyway, the point is that it was a Romanian and a Venezuelan who I displaced. Shortly after that, a Sri Lankan (who is an exception, really, because he has been in Norway for more than a decade) popped his head into my office to introduce myself. Finally (at least for today!), the supplier with whom we met this morning was represented by a fellow from the Czech Republic. The Czech wasn't an immigrant - his business card still has an address in the Czech Republic - Rather, he's sort of on secondment here, because Norwegian industry is going like crazy, and they just don't have enough technical folks here to do all the work.
Thus, there are really two languages swirling around me at work - Norwegian and Broken English. The Norwegians are still the strong majority (I'd guess 75%), but if you have more than two people in a room, the odds that one of them doesn't speak Norwegian are pretty high. Even though it means that I could certainly survive without Norwegian, I definitely want to learn. There are many details and subtleties that people really only ever express in their first language - particularly in an environment like the one at work, where complex, nuanced English is seldom spoken, giving people who might have the ability very little practice.
My work visa came through today, which is good. I don't actually get it in my hands for another day or two, because it still has to travel from the immigration folks in Oslo to the police in Ålesund, to the police in Ulsteinvik, but at least now I can be paid for the work I'm doing! The "tax card" which will give me a number we can use to set up a bank account and a bunch of other things was only filed today. They wrote "Urgent" on the top of the form, but I wonder how much effect that will really have.
On the good side, the company has provided me with a laptop to use, has free coffee everywhere, and has a cheap cafeteria. My office has a big window, with a view of the dockside cranes (I'm only on the second floor, so I can't quite see the water, but still, the natural light is really nice, and I'm sure it will only be more valuable in the winter!) I will be co-ordinating work on a pair of sister ships, seismic research vessels. I'm sure the details would bore most people, but if you happen to be a shipbuilding geek, contact me privately, and I can share further info. Suffice to say that they're pretty impressive boats!
Cheers,
Ashley
I survived, and discovered that, like people the world over, if you want to do work, the Norwegians will certainly let you - as opposed to the "no one works on the first day" I was told before going to work.
Thus, within an hour and a half of arriving at work for the first day, I was in a meeting with a major supplier, talking about what temperature our cooling water was going to be on the couplings for our generator's alternators. Fascinating, particularly considering that I really didn't have much of a clue about what was going on.
Norway has clearly become an international workplace. To give some idea, there were two contract employees turfed out of their joint office in order to give me an office. I felt bad, but then I learned that they were scheduled to move to another space already. Anyway, the point is that it was a Romanian and a Venezuelan who I displaced. Shortly after that, a Sri Lankan (who is an exception, really, because he has been in Norway for more than a decade) popped his head into my office to introduce myself. Finally (at least for today!), the supplier with whom we met this morning was represented by a fellow from the Czech Republic. The Czech wasn't an immigrant - his business card still has an address in the Czech Republic - Rather, he's sort of on secondment here, because Norwegian industry is going like crazy, and they just don't have enough technical folks here to do all the work.
Thus, there are really two languages swirling around me at work - Norwegian and Broken English. The Norwegians are still the strong majority (I'd guess 75%), but if you have more than two people in a room, the odds that one of them doesn't speak Norwegian are pretty high. Even though it means that I could certainly survive without Norwegian, I definitely want to learn. There are many details and subtleties that people really only ever express in their first language - particularly in an environment like the one at work, where complex, nuanced English is seldom spoken, giving people who might have the ability very little practice.
My work visa came through today, which is good. I don't actually get it in my hands for another day or two, because it still has to travel from the immigration folks in Oslo to the police in Ålesund, to the police in Ulsteinvik, but at least now I can be paid for the work I'm doing! The "tax card" which will give me a number we can use to set up a bank account and a bunch of other things was only filed today. They wrote "Urgent" on the top of the form, but I wonder how much effect that will really have.
On the good side, the company has provided me with a laptop to use, has free coffee everywhere, and has a cheap cafeteria. My office has a big window, with a view of the dockside cranes (I'm only on the second floor, so I can't quite see the water, but still, the natural light is really nice, and I'm sure it will only be more valuable in the winter!) I will be co-ordinating work on a pair of sister ships, seismic research vessels. I'm sure the details would bore most people, but if you happen to be a shipbuilding geek, contact me privately, and I can share further info. Suffice to say that they're pretty impressive boats!
Cheers,
Ashley
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