(Note: if you just want pictures, there's a link at the end of the post.)
Well, I spent last weekend in Fredrikstad and Oslo, getting my first "real" chance to referee since getting here (I'm not including the statistician role for the international game). Fredrikstad was a neat place, with a historic old town (I forgot the camera for that part, sorry!), and some excited young rugby players. As a result of this, I have made my Norwegian television debut, being visible for about 3 seconds during a piece the local channel shot about the day's rugby. Here's a link to the piece - click on the video that's a short way down on the right hand side of the main text. Most places that I go in Norway, rugby is such a novelty that we get some media coverage. On the other hand, that might have something to do with the fact that Norwegians read an average of more than one newspaper per day for every man, woman and child, and many of those newspapers are small-town dailies. They have to find something to fill all those pages!
I slept in Oslo, went out with the Oslo Rugby Klubb folks on Saturday night, and then assisted (by refereeing) with a youth rugby camp they were organizing on Sunday. The camp was an overwhelming success, with 60+ kids running around tackling each other.
The light here continues to impress me. I know, logically, that it's not really going to get dark, but it's just so cool when it's 1:30 am, and I could go outside and play catch! On the other hand, it's a bit odd to walk out after the end of a movie that started at 9:30 pm - into sunlight!
Sunset is 11:00pm right now. It will top out on June 20th at 11:36pm, with sunrise that day at 3:34am.
I've hit a bit of a wall with my Norwegian-learning. It's becoming very frustrating that I still can't understand much of any conversation. I know that it's only been two months, but there's a significant problem that I really don't hear much Norwegian. People walk into my office, and immediately switch to (usually very fluent) English. At the lunch table, there are Romanians and a Venezuelan, so much of the conversation is either completely incomprehensible (Romanian), or in English. However, the top tiers of the company are 100% Norwegian. In fact, I'm one of the more senior people who is not Norwegian by birth, and I'm probably, at the moment, the most senior who doesn't really speak Norwegian.
Therefore, the people with whom I need to have meetings are all Norwegian. This makes it really difficult. I could ask them to speak English, and they probably would do it, but it is really awkward - asking eight people at a meeting to speak awkwardly and slowly (because, while their English is good, there's no hiding that it's the second language, except for a select few) is both rude and non-functional. As a result, I just sit there, and become frustrated, because I'm not learning fast enough. Then, I usually have to approach the meeting's chair privately after the meeting, for a review. He seldom seems to mind, but I can't help but think that it would be more efficient with someone who didn't need such repeats. I know that there were some in the company who didn't agree with hiring a "fresh off the boat" foreigner, because of the language problem. I'm worried that, so far, I'm only proving them right.
To be clear, I shouldn't exaggerate the issue - The work is coming along just fine, and I'm learning, and I suppose it gets better every day, it's just a frustration that I really wish would go away!
Anyway, the pictures below are "around town" ones from Ulsteinvik proper, as well as a series showing what the walk to work is like. Enjoy!
Around Ulsteinvik
Cheers,
Ashley
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