Happy Birthday, Jackson!

My nephew turns one today. I’m super excited, because he is awesome.

But I’m also bummed because I’m not home to celebrate him. Just about the only crappy thing about being in Trondheim is that I’m so far away from the people I love.  Jack and my cousin’s daughter, Cadence, are the two latest additions to our family, and the first of the “next generation.” I got to babysit them both a lot before I moved to Norway so it’s hard to be away from them, but I’m thankful for the quality time we’ve had together. 

One year ago!

I hope I see him again before he can read on his own

It’s really exciting to have little ones running around. I was never much into babies, except when they were related to me. My foray into babysitting began when I was underemployed after college and my relatives starting having children. When you spend a lot of time with someone you start to get attached, you know? I love Jack and Cadence dearly and even though they’re still pretty young, I genuinely miss them. If I have any regrets at all about moving to Norway for two years, it’s that I’m not spending this time with them or the rest of my family. It’d be great if there were a way for me to live here yet be close enough to home to babysit.

I got to skype with my brother’s family recently, and it was a thrill to see Jack in action all over the house. I know he’ll be walking and talking soon, so it's special to see him before he progresses too much more. I’m pretty sure I made him laugh and smile a few times too, so hopefully that means he hasn’t totally forgotten about me. I’ve been worried that the little ones won’t know who I am when I come back home, but I think they have better memory than I give them credit for. A few weeks ago my cousin told me that Cadence says my name when she recognizes me in pictures, which made me really happy.

Both Jack and Cadence have been huge blessings in my life so far. They bring everyone a lot of joy, and it’s fun to see how they impact the family dynamic. One of the coolest things, I think, is how they’ve helped bring people closer together without even knowing it. I know I’m closer to my cousin and my brother because we’ve spent more time together since their kids were born. I’m excited to watch Cadence and Jack grow, and be a part of their lives again hopefully soon.

One last picture... I stole this from Chelsea’s blog because I really like it. Hanging out at my going-away party with two of my favorites (four, if you count Dodo and Gib :) See how unimpressed Cadence is as she delicately holds the cookie just out of Jack’s straining reach:

Can't wait to hold them again!

Julebord on Veterans Day, why not?

Christmas comes early in Norway. During the fall they don’t celebrate the same holidays we do in the States, like Halloween (it’s here, but not a big deal) or Thanksgiving (this is a shame, I'd love to see what Norwegians could do with a Thanksgiving meal). So Christmas is on everyone’s mind much earlier than I’m used to. Stores are selling Christmas goods by October and it’s normal for businesses and other groups to host fancy Christmas dinners (julebord) beginning in November. The student leadership for the masters students at the Department of Medicine organized a julebord for us last night. Part of the reason we had our julebord so early is because everyone will get busier as exams approach, but it’s also normal to have Christmas parties more than a month before Christmas.

I was excited about julebord and looking forward to a hot, traditional, delicious meal. I’m happy to report that my expectations were exceeded. What I found is that julebord means lots of meat. Meat is expensive in Norway, so I don’t eat a lot of it. We had to pay for the dinner but it was "Norway cheap" and I feel I got my money’s worth.

Hungry Hungry Students

Here’s what was on the menu:

Ribbe – Roast Pork Ribs (from a whole side of pork, not just the spare ribs). In other words, bomb. My new favorite.

Pinnekjøtt – Lamb Ribs (not my favorite, but still good)

Medisterkaker – Patties made of ground pork meat

Julepølser – Christmas sausage, smoked and unsmoked varieties

poteter – potatos, of course

rødkål – red cabbage

svisker – prunes, surprisingly delicious (another new favorite)

kålrot – rutabaga

and don’t forget the gravy! Almost as good as my Grandma Dodo’s, dare I say it.

 Ribbe in the front, isn't it beautiful?

As you can see, they go all out with the pig meat at Christmastime. I know my brother and dad would have been in hog heaven (pun most definitely intended) and I hope the whole family can experience julebord some day. The ribbe was some of the best pork I’ve ever tasted, though it’s possible my opinion is skewed because of my lack of meat intake recently. I went slightly overboard and ate more than my fill, it was all so good! About the only thing I didn’t touch was the vegetarian option. It’s 1:00pm the next day, I haven’t eaten since julebord, and I’m not hungry yet.

Besides eating, we also learned about Norwegian Christmas traditions, played games, and had a visit from Santa Clause. But I think you know my favorite part of julebord, the food. Needless to say, I’m glad the Christmas season in Norway is long, and that I’ll be here to experience the real thing next month!

Trønderrock 101

My introduction to Norwegian music began last month when I visited the Rockheim museum with friends from school. It’s a new museum in Trondheim dedicated to Norwegian pop music, from the 50’s until now. I didn’t realize that Norway had a pop music history before going to the Rockheim. It was a cool place with lots of interactive exhibits, sort of like the EMP in Seattle but with less memorabilia and more wall-sized screens. We listened to Norwegian folk music, rap, and the signature style of Trøndelag, Trønderrock. Here we are exploring the Rockheim:

Some of the biggest Trønderrockers are DDE and Dag Ingebritsen, local boys who made it big singing in their own dialect a long time ago, and are still going strong. Bet you didn’t know Norway had its own awesome 80’s bands. Check out this video of Dag Ingebritsen and the Kids in their hair- ...er, hay-day: 

In case you don’t understand the song, it has a classic storyline: Guy is in love with girl, girl is in love with teacher instead, maybe it's because guy looks like girl and wears tight leather…

Oh hey, Dag!

As luck would have it, DDE and Dag would be coming to Trondheim in October for Trønderfest, a concert fit for a… Trønder? A Trønder is someone from Trøndelag, but more specifically it's someone who looks like this:

The main thing is they need to have a Trønderbart (Trønder mustache), leather vest, beer, pants tucked into their socks, and ideally, a mullet. Apparently this is what Trønder actually looked like a few years ago when these bands were at their peak. They still exist but it's becoming rare to spot them today, except during Trønderfest.

The concert was fun. We hung out at Marit's beforehand, where I was enlightened on more Trønder culture.

Trønderjenter

Our Trønder costumes were lacking, but others were on top of it:

Trønder of the female variety

Tons of young people turned out for the concert, keeping the Trønder tradition alive. Mustaches, real and fake, were rampant. Old Trønderrock is fun, feel-good music, but it's hard to describe. I've never heard anything else quite like it, I think you should just watch this video I took at the concert:

All I know is that he is singing about his butt, and that means he needs to take his shirt off.  I don't get it either, but that's Trønder for you.

Here's one of DDE's songs that I actually kind of like, called Herlig Hemmelighet (Wonderful Secret). I think the accordion really rocks, but see if you agree...

Of all the wonderful things Trønder, this has to be my favorite:

I definitely feel a little more Trønder after all this, but no need to worry, I have no plans to grow a Trønderbart anytime soon.

Sorry I'm so lame

It's been a while since I've put anything on here, and for that, I apologize. It's not that I've forgotten about the blog or have a lack of things to share, but that my time is occupied with many other things right now. I’ve been busy with that minor detail of why I’m in Norway, graduate school. The pace has really picked up the past couple weeks with a big lab project, even bigger paper, and the search for a thesis. Yes, I’m busy, but whatever the excuse I'm also disappointed in myself for not keeping a more regular blog. I haven’t come up with a strategy for churning out posts quickly and consistently. I will work on that and you can (hopefully) expect several updates soon, though they may be out of order. At this point I just want to get things written any way I can.


In the interest of telling you something, anything at all, new, here's a little bit about my day, studying with some Norwegian friends.

 Meet: Gunn, Nina, and Marit

We're all first-year students in the Molecular Medicine Masters program. I feel lucky because they've taken me under their collective Norwegian wing, but also because we get along really well, and take each other's ribbing in stride. They've schooled me in the way of the matpakke (lunchbox), invited me over for delicious waffles with brown cheese & homemade jam, and taught me how to be sassy in Norwegian, though that will take some practice to perfect.


It's great to have made friends that I not only get along with, but who are Norwegian too! The one problem is that they, like many non-native English speakers, really want to practice their English with me. I don't begrudge them that, but I want to speak and get better at Norwegian, and there isn't really another country where I can go to do that.


Today, the three of them had to write an assignment in English, as our entire masters program is supposed to be conducted in English. They are quite good in the language, but still need help once in a while so in between my own readings, I fielded their English vocabulary and grammar questions. I'm no English expert but when you are a native speaker sometimes you just know what sounds right. It's been a lot of fun to teach them new things and discuss the differences between our languages. After being in our program for about two months now with most speaking English as a second language, I have a greater appreciation for knowing English fluently. I wish I was a native Norwegian speaker but I'm thankful that I haven't had to learn English as a foreign language because it makes little-to-no sense, and it is seriously everywhere.


I had to take some pictures of the girls today because it looked like they planned their wardrobes together to be triplets. This may be a gross generalization, but it seems like every Norwegian girl wears a variation of this same basic outfit. I'm not saying it's bad thing, just an observation that there's a distinct style here.

From the back they're almost indistinguishable

When we're together, I feel like people know I'm not Norwegian since I'm not wearing a variation of this outfit. Maybe someday I'll fit in...

They're good sports.

All About Trondheim

A general and incomplete overview of where I am...

First, where is Trondheim? It's in the kingdom of Norway, which is in Scandinavia, which is part of northern Europe. Hopefully you knew at least one of those things.

Trondheim is at the heart of a region called Trøndelag, just before Norway gets really skinny.

Though I'm in central Norway, we're still pretty far north. Trondheim is about 300 miles south of the Arctic Circle, which seems a little close for comfort, now that I think about it. The climate here is sometimes considered “subarctic” but the Gulf Stream is supposed to help tone that down a bit. I guess we'll see about that.

Next, a little history.

People have lived here for thousands of years but Trondheim was founded in 997 by the Viking king, Olav Tryggvason. That means the city celebrated it’s 1000^th birthday 14 years ago. Geez, wasn't Burien just incorporated, like, 14 years ago? So, Trondheim is pretty old. It was Norway’s first capital and a trading hub during Viking times, helped by its location at the mouth of a river within a protective fjord. I don't know a lot about its history between the Viking Age and now, except that there were a few fires that caused destruction and reconstruction of the city, and it was occupied by the Nazis during WWII. Since its official beginning and even before, I think Trondheim has always been pretty important to Norway. 

Statue of the town founder, with the mall in the background.

The Nidelva river winds around the city and frames the downtown area. I miss the Puget Sound, so it's nice to have the river nearby and easy access to the harbor along the fjord.

Gamle bybro - the famous old bridge across the river

 Deserted pedestrian street - most shops are closed on Sunday.

Trondheim the home of Nidaros Cathedral, which was built on top of the grave of legendary St. Olav. It is the northernmost cathedral in the world, and one of few in Scandinavia. Nidaros is a focal point in the city, as its in the center and bigger than just about everything else. I really like being able to walk freely through its yard, or sit an enjoy the view of the cathedral from across the river.

Today, Trondheim is Norway’s 3^rd most populated city, with around 170,000 people. Being one of the bigger cities in Norway means a lot of stuff is happening here, like research, education, and festivals. But, it still has a small-town feel to it, at least to me. There are no skyscrapers or clogged freeways. That's not to say that the one or two lane roads don't come to a standstill at rush hour, but it still feels small for being a big Norwegian city. The downtown area is quaint and walkable. I can take the bus and be there or at school in 10 or 15 minutes. As you spread out from downtown there are several residential neighborhoods with parks and schools and beautiful views of the fjord. One of my favorite things is the lack of commercial chain stores you see when you walk down the street. There is one McDonald’s that I know of, in the mall at the center of town. 

One of the reasons I chose to come to Trondheim is its reputation as a good student city. They say at least 1 in 6 residents is a student, so there are about 30,000 students in a city of 170,000. That's a lot. Because of all the young people, there's many musical and cultural events, and big names come here that probably wouldn't otherwise. Snoop Dogg, for example, is performing in Trondheim this week. When I first heard that I thought, "Wow, Snoop Dogg in Norway, how weird, I should go." Then I realized that's a terrible reason to go to a Snoop Dogg concert, as if I really needed a reason not to go to a Snoop Dogg concert. Anyways...


Trondheim is also the technological center of Norway. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, where I go to school, is officially responsible for engineer education in Norway. This school and several smaller ones, along with St. Olav's hospital, the SINTEF organization, and many private companies centered here make for a lot of research. I get to take classes at a modern research hospital, just a stone's throw away from a medieval cathedral. That's pretty cool.

So, what have we learned about Trondheim? It's big, but small. Modern, yet ancient. And, I really like it so far.

Have you had your cod today?

Some of you (mom) may be wondering what I've been eating. The example today is not what I typically eat, but it is typically Norwegian. If you didn't know, fish is a staple here. You can buy all kinds of it from the store and in many forms (filet, ball, pudding, etc.). But we all know there is nothing better than fresh fish. What's a girl to do when it's so expensive? Add a class to your schedule that goes fishing instead of having lectures the first week. This is what my roommate, Melina, did. A few weeks ago she got to go on a professional fishing tour while I sat inside and learned like a sucker. I'm not sure how she picks these classes, but she's got a knack.

While I did not get to go on the fishing trip, I did get to enjoy the fruits of Melina's labor. She brought home a huge hunk of cleaned, scaled, skinned, and gutted blue lingcod.

The Provider

Beautiful. 

Added bonus: no fish smell, it was so fresh! We set about cooking up the fish alongside rice and an improvised white sauce.

 Fiona er glad i fisken

Any fish sauce needs a little white wine...

 and every Norwegian dish needs a healthy, or unhealthy, dose of cream

 Ready to enjoy the catch of the day

It was SO good.

Catching and cooking your own dinner is a pretty satisfying experience, or so Melina tells me. Needless to say, we felt very Norwegian after this meal. If only we could go fishing instead of going to school every day.

Words Alone Just Won't Do

I’ve been in Trondheim for six weeks and am acclimating to some of the ways they do things here. But a few customs are so different, so strange, that they must be analyzed before they are understood and accepted. Today I will discuss one Norwegian cultural peculiarity that has been on my mind from the beginning. Norwegians can be, self-admittedly, shy and reserved when meeting new people. This potentially poses a problem when you are one of the biggest universities in the country and must greet approximately 1000 new international students at the start of the school year. So, how does NTNU reach out to foreigners? By singing, of course.

Monday, August 15, 2011, 9:00am. International Student Orientation. The VERY first official interaction between the university and new foreign students was in song form. A musical act took the stage of the auditorium before any “welcome” and without any introduction. A surprising first point of business for the day.

This duo sang Norwegian songs and led us in a silly sing-a-long.

I swear, each event during the orientation week included some sort of song and I have the documentation to prove it. During a BBQ outside the International Office, our attention was called upward to a window where a lovely young employee appeared and serenaded us with “Summertime.” 

Ironic song choice considering the weather, but indeed, this is summertime in Trondheim.

Singing is a bit of a national pastime in Norway and choirs are a big deal. Several of my Norwegian relatives, of all ages, are choir members. And don’t think for a second there are just one or two choirs at the university. No, it seems like every branch of the school has its own singing group. Take for instance, Foetus Ex Ore, the men’s choir at the Faculty (Dept.) of Medicine. Apparently, there were enough musically inclined medical students needing an outlet that they started a choir. Here is Foetus Ex Ore welcoming us with a tune at a master’s orientation meeting:

Girls have special choirs, too. At another orientation event we listened to several songs in Norwegian from this spirited group:

All this music is presented as entertainment, or just a bit of culture, but I don’t buy that. I’ve never listened to so much gratuitous melody in my life or heard tell of it anywhere else in the world.

Here’s my theory:

Norwegians are inherently at least a little awkward. I mean that in the kindest way possible and being part Norwegian myself, I think I’m allowed to say it. That said, Norwegians are also a kind and hospitable people. I believe they use song as a way to bridge the gap between a sincere, welcoming attitude and an honest lack of another way to convey that sincerity. Maybe it didn’t start that way, but song is now a frequently used tool to incorporate outsiders and spice up otherwise mundane introductions. Also, Norwegians tend toward informality, so goofy music first thing in the morning must feel normal for them. There were times I just wanted to get the information or food I came for and not be subjected to another song. But overall, I find it an interesting and endearing practice and I was delighted to listen to their beautiful voices. Delighted, but confused. J