So. Several news items to report.
By far the most important - I finally beat my Venezuelan friend at squash! Now, he had a head start on me (had played for a year or two, while I was a rank beginner), but you really would think that I should have beaten him by now. We've been playing for at least three months, and I hadn't beaten him until tonight. I'm normally not that competitive, but having a guy that works with you (in fact, I supervise his work, often) beat you three or four games per night, twice a week gets to even me, eventually. So, tonight, celebration! (While remembering that he still beat me 3 games out of 4, even tonight).
We have now officially passed the average-coldest day of the year (January 25th, here in our area). It was 4 degrees and raining. Hardly difficult to take. While we certainly won't get away without a few more cold snaps, winter here really has been quite manageable, weather-wise. People here seem surprised when I tell them that I'm really happy with how warm and dry it is. Then I explain that the last place I lived was St. John's, Newfoundland.
We have been skiing twice since our return, and will go again this weekend. In fact, there hasn't been as much snow as many of the mountains here would like, but the cabin we'll be at this weekend has both a sauna and a hot tub, so we expect that we'll be able to last out the snow shortage quite handily, should it happen to continue.
The CEO of the Ulstein Group, Gunvor Ulstein, had a baby early in January. This is big news in a town where she's the largest employer (and overwhelmingly the largest employer of local people.) For whatever reason, this got me to thinking about baby names (she named the new girl "Tora" - I'm guessing that her brother's name, Tore, and her partner's, Torunn, had something to do with it). In Norway, because you have to register with the government whenever you move anywhere, and thus the government basically has a constantly-running census, all the time, with basic information on every citizen (where they live, what their name is, when they were born), there are all sorts of neat bits and pieces available on the internet.
For example, the Central Statistics Office, via this link: http://www.ssb.no/navn/, allows you to find out all sorts of interesting things, like the fact that there are 37 Ashleys in Norway, though only 12 are men. There 48 Kathryns in Norway, though none are men.
The most popular baby names last year were Lucas (or Lukas) for boys, and Linnea for girls. The second is a Swedish name that has something to do with Lime flowers ("Lind" in Swedish). What's probably more interesting is that, in Oslo, the most common name for boys was "Mohammad", with 2.3% of all boys born in Oslo called that.
Relevant to that kind of discussion is the fact that "Mohammad" didn't even make it onto the top 20 list of baby names anywhere else in the country (stats are available for every fylke, so that's 23 different lists). This division between Oslo and "everywhere else" is reinforced by the fact that Oslo had a net international migration of over 8,000 people in the first 9 months of this year, while it had a net internal migration of 18. That's not a typo - it's the largest city in the country, but people from here don't want to go there. Or at least, almost as many want to get out!
I really hope, for the social health of the country, that perhaps what is happening is this: Immigrants "get off the boat" in Oslo but, within a few years, many move on to other places in Norway. However, I fear that that's not the case. As a result, I think that there is a starker and starker division building between "Norway" and "Oslo". As someone who's grown up in Canada, and seen the real benefit that immigration can have to a country, I worry a bit - I feel like Norway's not getting as lucky as Canada was. Sure, in Canada, the majority of immigrants go to our large cities. Still, there are very significant immigrant communities in every major city in Canada, not just one. This is part of why it works, I think. Almost everyone, on both sides of the immigration storyline (and, of course, over time, every immigrant eventually moves to the other side!) ends up interacting with those on the other side.
Well, anyway, that's enough of a political, or at least demographic, discussion for this evening.
I will leave you with a link - www.ulsteinlab.com This is where my company puts up its "cool stuff", the primary among these being the videos patched together when a ship is built, showing the engineers hard at work, the empty hull being floated in, the various pieces being welded, painted, etc., cable being pulled, and eventually the finished product.
Well, that, and you can download a ringtone based on the music that features in one of the videos. But I'm not sure anyone's actually done that for real, though we considered doing it to the guy down the hall's phone when the site first went live.
Oh, geez, and I almost forgot! There's been more bar ownership drama! First, our favourite place went bankrupt (clearly, we're not hard enough drinkers, I guess!), but now it is being resurrected by a trio of owners, two of whom are folks we know. They say that it will be a real pub, which Ulsteinvik lacks at the moment. Here's hoping they're successful!
Cheers,
Ashley
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Monday, 12 January 2009
This could become regular (but don't hold your breath...)
Two days in a row. Cool.
We're getting back into the swing of things here. Many of our friends took an extra week of vacation, so are only back now. Kes is going to be starting a Norwegian course this week. We're still sorting out the details of what level, and when she will be going, but I'm sure that will be sorted out within the week.
There will be a bit of a speed bump for her, because she will be changing from Bokmål to Nynorsk. If she intended to use it academically, or even "just" professionally, that would be a problem, because she would end up spelling many things wrong, and probably be permanently confused about spelling. However, we've agreed that since she works in academia, where all the formality is conducted in English (and only the water-cooler conversations are really in Norwegian), it isn't so much formal spelling and grammar that she needs, but rather generally greater exposure. Thus some confusionion over whether her present tense verbs end in "-ar" or "-er" isn't such a big deal.
The shipyard (well, really, the Ulstein Group, not just the yard) announced just before Christmas that they will be funding a professorship at the Ålesund University College (Høgskole i Ålesund, or HiÅ). This is really good news for the area, because it will allow the HiÅ to drive towards a second full master's degree program (at the moment, they teach only Bachelor's degrees, and one Master's program.) Eventually, this could lead to them being upgraded to full University status, but that's some distance away. At the moment, it helps to pull them out of the lowest tier of University Colleges. There's no explicit "tier" system, but when every student simply attends for 3 years and gets out, and your professors have no graduate students to build proper research laboratories with, there's only so far that your school can go. The existing Master's program is in Product and System Design, and the new one will be in Ship Design.
Also in the news, the company is buying a new, BIG crane. This may seem a bit minor to care about, but there are two things that really caught my attention.
First - it's really really big. Even though it's mobile (has treads, like a tank), it has 600 tonnes (1.32 million pounds) lifting capacity, and cost us 5 million euros (C$ 8 million). It will get here in December next year, in time to help finish off my boat!
Second - it shows how Ulstein is clearly not letting the global economic downturn spook them. All their fundamentals are good, they have cash available (and credit is cheap), so why shouldn't they make some forward-looking investments?
Finally, in local news (selection from today's Vikebladet):
-Local students may have to cancel their trip to Poland, due to an official from the fylke saying that that's not what the "gratisprinsippet" ("free principle" - the welfare state, as applied to education) was meant to be used for.
-Local woman makes model of Notre Dame cathedral from gingerbread.
-The kommune intends to withdraw funding from the boat that runs from Ulsteinvik out to the little island in our harbour called Hatløya. There are only five people who still live there.
-Local furniture manufacturer from nearby kommune moves to new factory.
-Record-large cod caught by man with harpoon (27.53 kg - 61 lbs).
-And, of course, training has started for the region's local 5th division soccer clubs, including mine, Flø IL (reporting on the spring training for three local 5th division soccer clubs took up almost half a page).
Sun Report - 5 hours, 51 minutes from sunrise to sunset today!
Cheers,
Ashley
We're getting back into the swing of things here. Many of our friends took an extra week of vacation, so are only back now. Kes is going to be starting a Norwegian course this week. We're still sorting out the details of what level, and when she will be going, but I'm sure that will be sorted out within the week.
There will be a bit of a speed bump for her, because she will be changing from Bokmål to Nynorsk. If she intended to use it academically, or even "just" professionally, that would be a problem, because she would end up spelling many things wrong, and probably be permanently confused about spelling. However, we've agreed that since she works in academia, where all the formality is conducted in English (and only the water-cooler conversations are really in Norwegian), it isn't so much formal spelling and grammar that she needs, but rather generally greater exposure. Thus some confusionion over whether her present tense verbs end in "-ar" or "-er" isn't such a big deal.
The shipyard (well, really, the Ulstein Group, not just the yard) announced just before Christmas that they will be funding a professorship at the Ålesund University College (Høgskole i Ålesund, or HiÅ). This is really good news for the area, because it will allow the HiÅ to drive towards a second full master's degree program (at the moment, they teach only Bachelor's degrees, and one Master's program.) Eventually, this could lead to them being upgraded to full University status, but that's some distance away. At the moment, it helps to pull them out of the lowest tier of University Colleges. There's no explicit "tier" system, but when every student simply attends for 3 years and gets out, and your professors have no graduate students to build proper research laboratories with, there's only so far that your school can go. The existing Master's program is in Product and System Design, and the new one will be in Ship Design.
Also in the news, the company is buying a new, BIG crane. This may seem a bit minor to care about, but there are two things that really caught my attention.
First - it's really really big. Even though it's mobile (has treads, like a tank), it has 600 tonnes (1.32 million pounds) lifting capacity, and cost us 5 million euros (C$ 8 million). It will get here in December next year, in time to help finish off my boat!
Second - it shows how Ulstein is clearly not letting the global economic downturn spook them. All their fundamentals are good, they have cash available (and credit is cheap), so why shouldn't they make some forward-looking investments?
Finally, in local news (selection from today's Vikebladet):
-Local students may have to cancel their trip to Poland, due to an official from the fylke saying that that's not what the "gratisprinsippet" ("free principle" - the welfare state, as applied to education) was meant to be used for.
-Local woman makes model of Notre Dame cathedral from gingerbread.
-The kommune intends to withdraw funding from the boat that runs from Ulsteinvik out to the little island in our harbour called Hatløya. There are only five people who still live there.
-Local furniture manufacturer from nearby kommune moves to new factory.
-Record-large cod caught by man with harpoon (27.53 kg - 61 lbs).
-And, of course, training has started for the region's local 5th division soccer clubs, including mine, Flø IL (reporting on the spring training for three local 5th division soccer clubs took up almost half a page).
Sun Report - 5 hours, 51 minutes from sunrise to sunset today!
Cheers,
Ashley
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Just a quick one. Don't want to start the week on too little sleep!
We're back from the holidays, and a week into rediscovering life here in Ulsteinvik. The cats survived their sojourn at "Pusenfryd", and we survived the nine different flights that brought us to, and then home from, Canada. It was good to be back home for a while, even if it's always a bit odd when the visit is so short, because you're never really settled.
This week, we're pulling together the first meeting of our new "Rugby Klubb". We're going to be working with some folks from Ålesund, just to increase numbers. In a magic future, we could have clubs in both Ålesund and Ulsteinvik, but I think that's some time and struggle down the road.
Work is continuing apace. I really feel like the next 3-6 months will be the most important ones that I have on my project. Earlier, we laid the ground work. Late enough, and the success of the project is really in others' hands. This chunch of time is when our (the electrical design folks) rubber really hits the road. Here's hoping it goes well!
We went skiing at a nearby ski hill (Bondalseidet, or the Ørsta Ski Senter) on our first weekend back. The weather was fantastic (-10, but sunny), and our new skis (Christmas presents) did everything we wanted them to. Since then, however, the weather's really warmed up, and it's been above 4 degrees, even at night, for 5 straight days now.
Time between sunrise and sunset today: 5 hours, 47 minutes. ...but moving in the right direction.
I've decided to take the Norwegian level 3 test in February. It is the highest test that is given out as part of the "train immigrants to speak Norwegian" system. It will be challenging, but the prospect has helped to keep me focussed on learning. There is a test beyond that, but it's more for those who want to get a job that actually requires the professional, written use of Norwegian. I doubt that I will shoot for that. In addition, this "Level 3" test allows me to get a permanent resident visa, should I decide that I want that. At the moment, I'm here on a regular work visa for professionals that will expire in April 2011.
Okay, off to bed.
Cheers,
Ashley
We're back from the holidays, and a week into rediscovering life here in Ulsteinvik. The cats survived their sojourn at "Pusenfryd", and we survived the nine different flights that brought us to, and then home from, Canada. It was good to be back home for a while, even if it's always a bit odd when the visit is so short, because you're never really settled.
This week, we're pulling together the first meeting of our new "Rugby Klubb". We're going to be working with some folks from Ålesund, just to increase numbers. In a magic future, we could have clubs in both Ålesund and Ulsteinvik, but I think that's some time and struggle down the road.
Work is continuing apace. I really feel like the next 3-6 months will be the most important ones that I have on my project. Earlier, we laid the ground work. Late enough, and the success of the project is really in others' hands. This chunch of time is when our (the electrical design folks) rubber really hits the road. Here's hoping it goes well!
We went skiing at a nearby ski hill (Bondalseidet, or the Ørsta Ski Senter) on our first weekend back. The weather was fantastic (-10, but sunny), and our new skis (Christmas presents) did everything we wanted them to. Since then, however, the weather's really warmed up, and it's been above 4 degrees, even at night, for 5 straight days now.
Time between sunrise and sunset today: 5 hours, 47 minutes. ...but moving in the right direction.
I've decided to take the Norwegian level 3 test in February. It is the highest test that is given out as part of the "train immigrants to speak Norwegian" system. It will be challenging, but the prospect has helped to keep me focussed on learning. There is a test beyond that, but it's more for those who want to get a job that actually requires the professional, written use of Norwegian. I doubt that I will shoot for that. In addition, this "Level 3" test allows me to get a permanent resident visa, should I decide that I want that. At the moment, I'm here on a regular work visa for professionals that will expire in April 2011.
Okay, off to bed.
Cheers,
Ashley
Thursday, 18 December 2008
Julegaver!
Hello world! We are in preparations for our epic journey to Canada. Tomorrow, I will take the kitties to Pusenfryd (a play on the amusement park Tusenfryd, meaning "a thousand smiles") which will be an undertaking itself - two cats, 15 minutes in a car, a ferry, another 30 minutes drive.... I'm sure they are both very excited. Then we're taking the 14:50 hurtigbåt to the airport and flying to London via Oslo. Two days in London, where the most generous Mike Wood has lent us his flat, and then on to Vancouver via Toronto on Monday, overnight in Vancouver, and finally on the 23rd we will fly to Bella Coola. PHEW!
In the picture you can see the christmas gift from the Ulstein group to all of their employees, a beautiful woolen blanket. Mysteriously, it is not plastered with Ulstein all over it, and not a boat in site. Just fishies! Works for me. The cats love it too.
Our favourite restaurant and bar here in Ulsteinvik, Snorrebuda, has gone bankrupt and closed which meant our weekly Norwegian speaking group was held at our house instead, where we had delicious shortbread cookies from my grandma's recipe, courtesy of the fabulous mixer I purchased using Rene and John's birthday present. Thanks guys!
Anyhoo, I must get back to loads of laundry and packing, with a little work interspersed. I'm a little too excited about the trip to settle down to work!
All the best,
Kes
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Yepp, that's 9 am in the morning and the beginning of suggestion of sunrise out our windows.We have been very busy of late with the holiday season and my birthday. Last night was the company julebord - direct translation is "christmas table". Of course, it is more than the table! This is the company office party, which served a full dinner to 400 people last night. We arrived at 7 pm to a bunch of speeches which we caught some of, then were hustled into one of the three seating areas where we were served pinnekjøtt ("peen-uh-chuhtt" - Ashley) (dried salted lamb ribs), ribbe (pork rib served with the fat and skin on), mor (sheep sausage) and all the fixins'. Of course the main topic of conversation was whether or not we liked julemat (christmas food), which Norwegians are rightly very proud of. Luckily we didn't have to fib because we do like it!
Other than that, observations of the holiday party was that like any other christmas party around the world, the booze was flowing. However, as a difference, about 25% were not drinking, I presume due to a combination of principles and the very strict drinking and driving laws (one drink here is too many to drive). People were quite dressed up, and as my father reported from London, black is THE colour this season. After dinner people started dancing to a random assortment of music, but you will have to wait until Ashley wakes up for details of that because at that point, I went home. I've been fighting a cold for what seems like forever and I really want to be well by Friday when we TRAVEL HOME!!! YAY!!
Talk to you later,
Kes
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
"Stuff" from the last few months.
Okay, back on the wagon again! I'm really excited that Kes has started posting, but it has made it even that much more obvious that I haven't been!
...well, that, and it makes it obvious that I leave myself logged into my google account at home, so that she ends up posting under my login. Huh.
So, many things have happened since I last wrote. Here are some highlights:
My parents were here in October - celebrating their anniversary with us. It was wonderful to have them here, so that they can see more about our life here than the little bit we can relate to them through a computer screen and a telephone. We met them for four days in Stavanger, first (again, location and date dictated by the rugby schedule), and then travelled home on our own, to meet up with them again for a second four days in Ulsteinvik. In the interim, they took boats (one to Bergen, one the rest of the way up to Ålesund) up the Norwegian coast.
I won't go into too much detail on that - suffice to say that we had a great time, and it was great to show them our life here.
The domestic rugby season concluded with a flurry of trips. All in all, my weekends since I got here have included four trips to Trondheim, two trips to Stavanger, one trip to Bergen, two trips to Fredrikstad, one trip to Tønsberg and six trips to Oslo. Oh, and one trip to Copenhagen. Wow. The best was last, though, refereeing the national club final between Oslo and Bergen. Oslo won, 20-13 in a pretty good game, though one played in chilly, slick conditions.
Still, the big prize is up next. FIRA, the European amateur rugby association, has seen fit to appoint me to referee an international game. Now, to be clear, this is pretty much the lowest level of international rugby on Earth. The match I've been appointed to referee is Bosnia & Hercegovnia vs. Azerbaijan, in Zenica, Bosnia. Bosnia & Hercegovnia are currently 89th (of 95) on the world rankings table, and Azerbaijan haven't yet played enough international matches to be ranked at all! Still, it's a fantastic opportunity, and I'm really excited. The match is on the 22nd of November - wish me luck!
Kes reported on our Hallowe'en party, which was a roaring success, and it has been both cause and effect of our social circle here in Ulsteinvik growing, particularly among other ex-pats. The other causes have been several, including two new Norwegian language courses (one Bokmål, one Nynorsk), our growing confidence, in general, in the language and, of course, Kes's fantastic social organizing skills. As just one example, we now have a Norwegian conversation group on Wednesdays from 7-8pm at a local café/bar. For that hour, we are only allowed to speak Norwegian. We had eight (from six countries) on our first night, and I think we'll have more this Wednesday. Funny how a beer or two sometimes improves one's language abilities...
A friend here berated me the other day for my blogging having failed to report on my other sporting involvement - Flø IL. Yes, I have finally given up and started playing soccer ("fotball"). I decided, over the summer break, when there wasn't much else going on, that it would be a good idea to do something to keep in shape, because I am not one for going to the gym on my own. Kes had met a fellow marine biologist here who plays with a local club, Flø, and he invited me to come out with them. Quickly, I proved to decrease the average ability on the club, and while everyone was very welcoming, I think they were secretly happy that I didn't expect to actually pull on a jersey on game day. Still, the club puts out two teams - an 11-a-side "serious" team, that competes in the local 6th division (two regional 6th div's feed one 5th, and so on up, until you reach the 1st divsion, which is a national division - that's the one that Hødd is in), but they also have a 7-a-side team, which is really just for laughs, and exists so that everyone gets a decent chance to run around.
Now, the type of guy who shows up for the 7-aside team doesn't want to play in goal. Really, the only reason he bothers to show up is to run around, kick the ball - maybe score, if things work out. So I showed up to my first 7-aside match, not dressed to play, and expecting to cheer, and maybe retreive stray balls. The guys sized me up, and none of them wanting to play goal, decided to put me there. I went along with the plan, and ended up playing there for the rest of the season - 4 games. Let me tell you - I am terrible. In my four matches, we lost by scores of 8-3 , 8-6, 7-6 and - wait for it - 20-13. That's right - twenty goals in a soccer match. It was a bit ridiculous. Still, the guys in the club have been great, and it's been really nice to have non-work links to people who actually live here, rather then just ex-pats and rugby players who live 500 km away. I'll practice this winter and see whether I can maybe lower my goals-against-average a bit next year - maybe even win a game.
It's getting very dark here, now. Sunrise is technically about 9am, but it "rises" behind a hill, so we don't see it until about 10. It sets again at 4 but, again, more like 3:30. Those times aren't that strange, having grown up in Bella Coola, because of the mountains that block the sun in the winter through so much of the Valley. Still, the sky is light through much more of the day there. This, now, is like Bella Coola on the darkest day of the year - and we've still got six weeks of "darkening" to go.
We're planning to go back to Bella Coola over Christmas. We will be gone from Ulsteinvik for two weeks, but with travel time, plus two nights in London and three in Vancouver (one coming, two going), we'll only be in Bella Coola for a week. Still, I'm really looking forward to it - my family, of course, but it's been a long time since I've been back to Bella Coola itself, as well.
Anyway, enough for now.
Cheers,
Ashley
...well, that, and it makes it obvious that I leave myself logged into my google account at home, so that she ends up posting under my login. Huh.
So, many things have happened since I last wrote. Here are some highlights:
My parents were here in October - celebrating their anniversary with us. It was wonderful to have them here, so that they can see more about our life here than the little bit we can relate to them through a computer screen and a telephone. We met them for four days in Stavanger, first (again, location and date dictated by the rugby schedule), and then travelled home on our own, to meet up with them again for a second four days in Ulsteinvik. In the interim, they took boats (one to Bergen, one the rest of the way up to Ålesund) up the Norwegian coast.
I won't go into too much detail on that - suffice to say that we had a great time, and it was great to show them our life here.
The domestic rugby season concluded with a flurry of trips. All in all, my weekends since I got here have included four trips to Trondheim, two trips to Stavanger, one trip to Bergen, two trips to Fredrikstad, one trip to Tønsberg and six trips to Oslo. Oh, and one trip to Copenhagen. Wow. The best was last, though, refereeing the national club final between Oslo and Bergen. Oslo won, 20-13 in a pretty good game, though one played in chilly, slick conditions.
Still, the big prize is up next. FIRA, the European amateur rugby association, has seen fit to appoint me to referee an international game. Now, to be clear, this is pretty much the lowest level of international rugby on Earth. The match I've been appointed to referee is Bosnia & Hercegovnia vs. Azerbaijan, in Zenica, Bosnia. Bosnia & Hercegovnia are currently 89th (of 95) on the world rankings table, and Azerbaijan haven't yet played enough international matches to be ranked at all! Still, it's a fantastic opportunity, and I'm really excited. The match is on the 22nd of November - wish me luck!
Kes reported on our Hallowe'en party, which was a roaring success, and it has been both cause and effect of our social circle here in Ulsteinvik growing, particularly among other ex-pats. The other causes have been several, including two new Norwegian language courses (one Bokmål, one Nynorsk), our growing confidence, in general, in the language and, of course, Kes's fantastic social organizing skills. As just one example, we now have a Norwegian conversation group on Wednesdays from 7-8pm at a local café/bar. For that hour, we are only allowed to speak Norwegian. We had eight (from six countries) on our first night, and I think we'll have more this Wednesday. Funny how a beer or two sometimes improves one's language abilities...
A friend here berated me the other day for my blogging having failed to report on my other sporting involvement - Flø IL. Yes, I have finally given up and started playing soccer ("fotball"). I decided, over the summer break, when there wasn't much else going on, that it would be a good idea to do something to keep in shape, because I am not one for going to the gym on my own. Kes had met a fellow marine biologist here who plays with a local club, Flø, and he invited me to come out with them. Quickly, I proved to decrease the average ability on the club, and while everyone was very welcoming, I think they were secretly happy that I didn't expect to actually pull on a jersey on game day. Still, the club puts out two teams - an 11-a-side "serious" team, that competes in the local 6th division (two regional 6th div's feed one 5th, and so on up, until you reach the 1st divsion, which is a national division - that's the one that Hødd is in), but they also have a 7-a-side team, which is really just for laughs, and exists so that everyone gets a decent chance to run around.
Now, the type of guy who shows up for the 7-aside team doesn't want to play in goal. Really, the only reason he bothers to show up is to run around, kick the ball - maybe score, if things work out. So I showed up to my first 7-aside match, not dressed to play, and expecting to cheer, and maybe retreive stray balls. The guys sized me up, and none of them wanting to play goal, decided to put me there. I went along with the plan, and ended up playing there for the rest of the season - 4 games. Let me tell you - I am terrible. In my four matches, we lost by scores of 8-3 , 8-6, 7-6 and - wait for it - 20-13. That's right - twenty goals in a soccer match. It was a bit ridiculous. Still, the guys in the club have been great, and it's been really nice to have non-work links to people who actually live here, rather then just ex-pats and rugby players who live 500 km away. I'll practice this winter and see whether I can maybe lower my goals-against-average a bit next year - maybe even win a game.
It's getting very dark here, now. Sunrise is technically about 9am, but it "rises" behind a hill, so we don't see it until about 10. It sets again at 4 but, again, more like 3:30. Those times aren't that strange, having grown up in Bella Coola, because of the mountains that block the sun in the winter through so much of the Valley. Still, the sky is light through much more of the day there. This, now, is like Bella Coola on the darkest day of the year - and we've still got six weeks of "darkening" to go.
We're planning to go back to Bella Coola over Christmas. We will be gone from Ulsteinvik for two weeks, but with travel time, plus two nights in London and three in Vancouver (one coming, two going), we'll only be in Bella Coola for a week. Still, I'm really looking forward to it - my family, of course, but it's been a long time since I've been back to Bella Coola itself, as well.
Anyway, enough for now.
Cheers,
Ashley
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Halloween in Ulsteinvik!
So we had a little Halloween party in Ulsteinvik, and invited all of our new friends. Norway hasn't really gotten into Halloween, and unfortunately many who observe the holiday here have adopted the negative aspects like pranks and throwing eggs at houses without much of the positivity. As a result, many Norwegians that we have talked to are actively against Halloween.
However, we were able to convince our new friends that it was a good idea, although it did take some explaining what we were going to "do" at a Halloween party. Getting a pumpkin was also a challenge, finally I found some that cost $4 a kilo. So two tiny pumpkins were about $16 each. I also made some "witches fingers" cookies, and I attempted to make a white chocolate "slime" but I don't have a double boiler so I burnt it. I had ordered some costumes from Ebay some time ago, and I also picked up a few extra masks at the Nille (expensive Norwegian version of a dollar store) for guests who might not have gotten masks but want to participate. Ashley carved the pumpkins and we discovered that Riker likes pumpkin. Who would've guessed?
The big night was a roaring success, with guests from 12 different countries :-) Everyone had a great time, we played some halloween games, mingled, and even people who weren't so sure at the beginning were very happy to have had their first halloween party. Then we went out to one of the local bars and I won best costume :-) Not that hard in Ulsteinvik, admittedly, but I did feel a sense of accomplishment nonetheless.
That's all for now, we're off to have tacos at our Venezuelan and German friends.
Kes
However, we were able to convince our new friends that it was a good idea, although it did take some explaining what we were going to "do" at a Halloween party. Getting a pumpkin was also a challenge, finally I found some that cost $4 a kilo. So two tiny pumpkins were about $16 each. I also made some "witches fingers" cookies, and I attempted to make a white chocolate "slime" but I don't have a double boiler so I burnt it. I had ordered some costumes from Ebay some time ago, and I also picked up a few extra masks at the Nille (expensive Norwegian version of a dollar store) for guests who might not have gotten masks but want to participate. Ashley carved the pumpkins and we discovered that Riker likes pumpkin. Who would've guessed?
The big night was a roaring success, with guests from 12 different countries :-) Everyone had a great time, we played some halloween games, mingled, and even people who weren't so sure at the beginning were very happy to have had their first halloween party. Then we went out to one of the local bars and I won best costume :-) Not that hard in Ulsteinvik, admittedly, but I did feel a sense of accomplishment nonetheless.
That's all for now, we're off to have tacos at our Venezuelan and German friends.
Kes
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