Let's Take a Tour

While studying abroad in Norway my goofy roommate and I's love for trailblazing and adding fake narratives to the surrounding splendor prompted us to create a (fictional) entrepreneurship entitled: Beret Tours. Here we would take awkward mid-western Americans and cultivated European art students alike on breathtaking tours around Norway. The single identifying factor for our clientele would be the colorful berets we bestowed upon them; a different color for each tour of course. And thus was born beret tours. Come with me and see the glory of living in a verdant forest.

                                      

In a country where long rainy gray days are common place one learns to appreciate the sunshine and clear skies more and more. Long three hours walks have become my favorite. Moss inlaid paths lead me on wanderings to combat even Lewis imaginings of fantasy and fairy folk - and off the path into the woods we go! Although I should know better than to leave the path from childhood tails such as the Hobbit and A Pilgrims Progress.. my adventurous heart tends to listen to Robert Frost's "two roads converged in a yellow wood.." etc. Not without the crazy companionship of Grace Trent however, who has become my walking buddy, my companion in laughter and grief, and my friend. Together we plan our tour guide business in Bergen, where we will fool unsuspecting American Tourists into following us off the beaten path. All the while telling them stories of the magical evil trolls that lurk under bridges and convincing them that the walking sticks we randomly fashion out of forgotten branches are actually 'authentic native Norwegian walking staffs.' Needless to say we have a lot of fun sometimes.                    
                      
                         

The Norwegian culture is still taking some getting used to but I have decided that I will not adapt. This sounds pretentious - let me explain. There is a sense when you go to a new culture that you are in the wrong in every situation. And you must assimilate. In Norway this means you don't talk to strangers on the bus, you don't look people in the eye as you walk by them, and you talk quietly in public areas. However sometimes this means a certain sense of yourself is lost along the way. Living in a country not your own is hard and there are things you need to hold on to remain yourself, so sometimes it is more important to be aware of other people's cultures than simply to mimic it. Well just some thoughts from the mind of an Abigail. Also here's me drooling over some vegetarian Lasagna I made.

                        

In other unrelated news I came home from class this afternoon, felt fall in the air, and cut off 7 inches of my hair! Enjoying it v. much. Let this be a reminder to you. Change must be grasped in both hands, held carefully, and then nourished. Change is not something to be left in rain swollen gutters or forgot in so many jars on shelves. If you want your life to change, your mood to change, your attitude to change - go out and do something about it and stop trying to feel for it underneath lumpy couch cushions.

A lesson in Norsk: So the phrase 'I love you' in Norwegian is interesting. There are actually two ways to say I love you. The first is used casually in relation to friends and other things, but never in a romantic way. It is 'Jeg er glad i deg' which literally means I'm glad you exist.

The second way is more romantic. And is a very passionate 'I love you!" to be reserved for that certain someone. Its odd to think some Norwegian people never say this to anyone over their lifetime. It is Jeg elsker deg pronounced "ji eska di."

Truly,

Jeg er glad i deg,

Abigail