A car (finally!) and some fotball (soccer)

So I now own a car. Thank goodness.

It is, ridiculously enough, a bright red 1998 VW Polo - that's the size below the Golf (for North Americans who didn't know that there was a size below the Golf).

I've never considered myself someone who absolutely needed a car, but living here, I can tell you that it sure feels good to have wheels again. Aside from the fact that it turns my 15 minute commute into a 5 minute commute, which is really not the point, it means that I can explore the neighbourhood - there are tremendously beautiful areas less than half an hour's drive from my house that I haven't seen.

We decided that we should take the most basic little car for the moment, because so much of the structure of our life here depends on what happens with Kes's employment. If she's working in Ålesund, that will mean one thing. Another opportunity she has is in a very rural research station about 35 minutes' drive from here - that would clearly mean something else! In fact, there's actually a big difference between a position in downtown Ålesund and a position in the suburbs - if she's in the downtown, then she can take the passenger ferry from our island, and walk to work on the other end. On the other hand, if she works in the suburbs, then it probably makes more sense to live in Ålesund, and have me be the one commuting. You see, while it seems like there's no question that she will find work somewhere (and somewhere reasonably close), the details are going to make a big difference in our lives.

My primary deciding factor with regard to the car was its gas mileage. I don't have the exact stats, but considering that I now drive a VW the size of a matchbox, I'm not really worried. Gas here is currently 12.99 NOK per litre - that's Can$2.54/l. Thus, I'm perfectly happy to drive a matchbox. This weekend, I'll be going to Tønsberg for the Norway-Lithuania rugby game, and I'm considering driving. It would be a long drive, but I think that it would be valuable to know what the overall cost of a return drive to Oslo (Tønsberg is beyond Oslo) is, so that I can compare it to the cost of a return bus ticket (1100 NOK - Can$215), or a return flight (which varies massively, from about 1000 NOK in the low season to 4000+ in the high season).

In Tønsberg, I will be touch (line) judging for the international, and playing in the 10-a-side tournament that is happening earlier in the day (for the Oslo team). Should be a really good day!

I spent a couple of hours this evening watching fotball (soccer) up at the Høddvoll stadium. There are two different competitions in Norway, the League (which is what we North Americans are used to, except with the idea that if you win your league, you get promoted to a higher league, and similarly, you can be demoted for losing), and the Cup. In the Cup, the national Association effectively takes every team in the country, throws their names in a hat, and draws out pairs to play each other in a single-elimination tournament. Then, they take every team that won that round, throw their names in a hat, etc. So it's really neat, because you can end up with a fully professional team playing "Joe's Friday Night Soccer Club from Fredrikstad", or some such. While it seems, at first, like that's a bad idea, it means that these local recreational teams get, probably just once in their lives, to play against the stars of the game. Sure, they get beaten 11-0, but they never forget it.

Tonight was a good example. The local team (Hødd) is a fully professional outfit, with at least two international imports, one from the USA, and one from the Faeroe Islands. The team they were playing against (NTNUI) was a university recreational team from Trondheim. Hødd had physios and a goalie coach. NTNUI had a really excited player/manager. Hødd had completely separate warm-up jerseys. NTNUI didn't have matching shorts, and their jerseys were clearly from two different years. Still, it was 2-1 for a good portion of the second half. However, with about 20 minutes left, I think the difference between a professional fitness regime and two practices each week finally showed. The final was 4-1 for Hødd. I think the local fans are really looking forward to when the competition advances a little bit further, so that they get to be the underdogs again. Hødd, generally, thrives on that environment - this is too small a town for this team - the club doesn't have enough money - they don't bring in enough internationals - the travel costs are too high... and yet they still do remarkably well. So it's a bit odd for them to be playing a team who are even worse off than they are. Bring on Lyn (Oslo) or Rosenborg (Trondheim's main professional team). Then they'll be happy, because any victory is massive, and even a defeat is honourable. Oh well, they've made it to the round of 32. Here's hoping things keep going well!

Cheers,

Ashley