"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