People ask me all of the time if I miss home. I think this is an indication of how little people know about me. Of course I don't miss being at home. I am studying folk music, living in Norway. All I have to do is look out my window to remind myself that I am incredibly lucky to be here. This is a phenomenal experience that I am here to enjoy and learn from.
What I miss from home are people. People I care about. Fortunately, I can talk to them on the phone. It's not the same as sitting down with a cup of coffee or tea or a pair of fiddles, but it keeps away the home-sickness. I also miss good coffee, but that I can get in any reasonably large town, should I happen to be in one. I miss dancing as frequently as we do in Seattle, but that will be there when I come back.
Yesterday, I made the mistake of missing the rain. The sound of heavy rain drops beating into sidewalks, streets, gardens. And the smell! Even in Seattle, the smell I'm missing is more a springtime occurrence. I love to walk in the rain; the exercise keeping me warm, the water from the heavens keeping me cool.
Today it rained in Rauland. The foot of snow soaked up the precipitation in the places where it wasn't melting. The roads and walkways turned into sheets of ice as night fell. Piles of snow became solid frozen white walls. We were lucky this time. The rain turned to snow and adhered to the frozen paths giving them texture and traction. If it keeps snowing overnight, we can maybe forget that it rained by the time the sun comes up.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
So many different kinds of snow
The snow falls here almost every day. I am amazed by its variety. Some days it falls in great, big, fluffy flakes that float forever before they finally reach the ground. Other days the snow is angry and fast; small projectiles whipped around by the wind create patterns against the night sky. Some days I can't see that the snow is falling, but I can feel the icy precipitation on my exposed skin and hear it as it hits the ground and the hood of my jacket. Sometimes it's just purposeful; intent on covering the ground, it falls in large flakes fast and hard and straight down.
My favorite is when it glitters. I was walking home a few days ago and everything was glittering. The snow on the ground and the houses and the strange little trees they have suspended from the light posts. What was impressive, though, was that the air was glittering. In the background, the sun was setting turning the mountain rose-colored, but everywhere around me the air sparkled like it was full of diamond dust!
My favorite is when it glitters. I was walking home a few days ago and everything was glittering. The snow on the ground and the houses and the strange little trees they have suspended from the light posts. What was impressive, though, was that the air was glittering. In the background, the sun was setting turning the mountain rose-colored, but everywhere around me the air sparkled like it was full of diamond dust!
Early Morning Phone Calls
Sometimes, when the phone rings, even if it's the same phone (or computer in my case), with the same digital ring-tone, and caller ID indicates the same person is calling, you just get a feeling that something is different this time. Last Tuesday the phone rang at 7:30am, naturally it was my father waking me up from a very cozy sleep. Unnaturally, I answered the phone pleasantly.
"Have you read your email in the last few hours?" he asked. He still doesn't get that I sleep at night and he wakes me up, but I was still getting the vibe that this time, I shouldn't point out how irritating he is.
My father had sad news, although it wasn't entirely unexpected. His father, my grandfather, Alfred Hamberg, had passed away in the night. I wish I could say that he passed peacefully and without pain, but that's not true. I think that my uncle was there with him. My grandmother had seen him over the weekend. At 94, Opa lived a long, full life and had lots to be proud of.
The funeral was on Thursday, the same day as my mid-year exam. My cousin missed two finals. My sister took a red-eye across the country after she was done with her exams. I was the only one who wasn't there. There was no way I could've made the exam and the funeral. In fact, living in Rauland, it was unlikely that I could have left when I got my dad's call and made the funeral.
I hear the service was small, but nice. I hear that a lot of people came to visit my grandmother and my uncle at the apartment afterward. Sometimes I feel very far away from my family.
"Have you read your email in the last few hours?" he asked. He still doesn't get that I sleep at night and he wakes me up, but I was still getting the vibe that this time, I shouldn't point out how irritating he is.
My father had sad news, although it wasn't entirely unexpected. His father, my grandfather, Alfred Hamberg, had passed away in the night. I wish I could say that he passed peacefully and without pain, but that's not true. I think that my uncle was there with him. My grandmother had seen him over the weekend. At 94, Opa lived a long, full life and had lots to be proud of.
The funeral was on Thursday, the same day as my mid-year exam. My cousin missed two finals. My sister took a red-eye across the country after she was done with her exams. I was the only one who wasn't there. There was no way I could've made the exam and the funeral. In fact, living in Rauland, it was unlikely that I could have left when I got my dad's call and made the funeral.
I hear the service was small, but nice. I hear that a lot of people came to visit my grandmother and my uncle at the apartment afterward. Sometimes I feel very far away from my family.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Exam time
Last Wednesday we had our first exam. The subject was music theory and ear training. I think it went pretty well. In addition to the exam, it was an awfully busy day; fortunately the fire drill was canceled, since it was supposed to be between rehearsal for the evening's concert and the concert.
My sections of the concert went pretty well. My group played the same two tunes from before, but we sounded better. I sang a solo that I had been stressing about all day. I really wasn't sure that I could do it for an audience, but it was sounding so good in the shower I just had to try! I'm pleased with the result; it wasn't the greatest performance, but it wasn't terrible either and I made it through the whole song.
The student spelmannslag played for some of the dancing afterward. That was exciting. There are about twelve of us, all operating on the assumption that some one else knows most of the tunes a little better. Fortunately, Ånon plays with us, so there is someone who knows the tunes a little better than we do. The dancing was good all evening, plus we were in the gym hall and not on the stone floor we usually dance on. Several of my coworkers from the hotel joined us for the party as well. It was a good time all around.
Since then we've been studying for our exams than are coming this week. Lots of reading, or trying to read. The study train got a little derailed yesterday when the ukulele's arrived. All 17 of them :D.
I also worked all weekend at the hotel. Lots and lots of guests means lots and lots of dirty dishes and empty glasses to wash. It's going to be really crazy when we get a little further into peak season.
Today I changed my ticket back to Seattle. I needed to change it from January 4 to April 4. First, I called SAS USA, but they were closed, so I called SAS in Norway. They said I had to talk to the travel agent. I called Travelocity and after talking to two very nice gentlemen, I decided that $1300 to change my ticket couldn't possibly be right and that I would need to call them back. Instead, I stressed out for a couple hours, waiting for SAS USA to open and then I called them. After a few minutes on the phone and a $300 fee, I am the proud owner of a ticket dated April 5. See you soon, Seattle!
My sections of the concert went pretty well. My group played the same two tunes from before, but we sounded better. I sang a solo that I had been stressing about all day. I really wasn't sure that I could do it for an audience, but it was sounding so good in the shower I just had to try! I'm pleased with the result; it wasn't the greatest performance, but it wasn't terrible either and I made it through the whole song.
The student spelmannslag played for some of the dancing afterward. That was exciting. There are about twelve of us, all operating on the assumption that some one else knows most of the tunes a little better. Fortunately, Ånon plays with us, so there is someone who knows the tunes a little better than we do. The dancing was good all evening, plus we were in the gym hall and not on the stone floor we usually dance on. Several of my coworkers from the hotel joined us for the party as well. It was a good time all around.
Since then we've been studying for our exams than are coming this week. Lots of reading, or trying to read. The study train got a little derailed yesterday when the ukulele's arrived. All 17 of them :D.
I also worked all weekend at the hotel. Lots and lots of guests means lots and lots of dirty dishes and empty glasses to wash. It's going to be really crazy when we get a little further into peak season.
Today I changed my ticket back to Seattle. I needed to change it from January 4 to April 4. First, I called SAS USA, but they were closed, so I called SAS in Norway. They said I had to talk to the travel agent. I called Travelocity and after talking to two very nice gentlemen, I decided that $1300 to change my ticket couldn't possibly be right and that I would need to call them back. Instead, I stressed out for a couple hours, waiting for SAS USA to open and then I called them. After a few minutes on the phone and a $300 fee, I am the proud owner of a ticket dated April 5. See you soon, Seattle!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Light
Before I came to Norway for the first time (when I was ten) I imagined that everything here was colorless, like in a black and white movie. I'm not really sure where I got that image from, but certainly stories of the cold, dark winters and, well, black and white movies didn't help. In college I watched the old version of Hunger as part of my Scandinavian Cinema class; the light in that movie was what I was expecting things to be like. Boy was I surprised when I found the intense color palette. Pleasantly surprised, I might add. When I came a few years later, in the winter, I was also impressed by how light it was in contrast to the stories of darkness I'd heard.
Today, on my way to play for my practice playing exam, I was enveloped in a light that was so thin it barely made it through the clouds. Everything from the trees to the buildings to the mountains in the distances and especially the snow was black, white, or a shade of grey in between. I've never seen silver clouds before. Black ones, sure, but not silver; maybe pewter is more descriptive. They hung over the sky, holding in the horizons.
Somehow, the eerie lack of color didn't make me feel uneasy. In a way, it was rather comforting to know that the strange grey world my young mind had cooked up wasn't an indication of a lack of mental pigment. The stark contrast with Sunday's dazzling blue skies and glittering fresh snow was enough to remind me that I'm in a special place here amongst the mountain tops. If that weren't enough, after my practice exam (or perhaps during or before), the silver carpet lining the sky gave way to several hours of spectacular snowfall.
Today, on my way to play for my practice playing exam, I was enveloped in a light that was so thin it barely made it through the clouds. Everything from the trees to the buildings to the mountains in the distances and especially the snow was black, white, or a shade of grey in between. I've never seen silver clouds before. Black ones, sure, but not silver; maybe pewter is more descriptive. They hung over the sky, holding in the horizons.
Somehow, the eerie lack of color didn't make me feel uneasy. In a way, it was rather comforting to know that the strange grey world my young mind had cooked up wasn't an indication of a lack of mental pigment. The stark contrast with Sunday's dazzling blue skies and glittering fresh snow was enough to remind me that I'm in a special place here amongst the mountain tops. If that weren't enough, after my practice exam (or perhaps during or before), the silver carpet lining the sky gave way to several hours of spectacular snowfall.
Monday, December 1, 2008
A week in review
This week there were concerts, parties, work, more work, and, oh yeah, classes.
Wednesday night we had a great hardingfele concert. Olav Mjelva and Per Anders Buen Garnås played a concert of solo hardingfele for roughly an hour. They make it look so easy! Their bows teasing the music out of the strings, applying just the right amount of pressure to create a clean crisp sound. Of course, there was a lot of tuning, but it's worth it when the fiddles sing like that!
After the concert, we danced to student musicians; I would rather have had them play the concert again so we could have danced to that! Then of course the party moved up to the studentheim. After a brief tour of my very clean room, we settled on the kitchen with a sofa. The party fell apart when someone broke the sofa (it's been fixed now). One of my friends crashed on the air mattress in my room and I headed off to wash at the dentist's office.
While everyone back home was celebrating Thanksgiving, I celebrated my friend Silke's birthday. We had pizza and cake, wine and conversation. She's from Germany and most of the time we speak English, which makes it easier for me to get in on deep discussions. I tend to understand what's being said in Norwegian, but I'm not quite fast enough to cut in to a conversation and make my point in Norwegian, yet.
Thursdays are also contain one of my favorite classes - Tradisjonskunnskap or Knowledge of Tradition. Ånon makes getting up on Thursday mornings after a late party really worth it. He knows so much about the traditions in Norway and folk music around the world that it's impossible to catch up if you haven't been in class to hear what he's said. He also has a phenomenal sense of humor that is terribly dry and helps keep me on my toes to avoid missing any good one liners.
Friday was a review day in Folk Music and Society. We also determined what our project topics would be for the year. Mine is going to be planning US tours for Norwegian folk musicians. Of course, I'll have to have at least one practical example, so I'll be writing more about that later! We rounded out the afternoon by making waffles and taking naps; it seemed like a practical use of time.
On Friday evening I started back at the hotel. We have a new manager and new coworkers and therefore a new system and new degrees of chaos. Things went surprisingly well, however. Things also went well on Saturday when I worked in the restaurant and then late into the night in the bar. Ironically, the fire alarm went off when we had the county firemen as our guests. Not to worry, it was a false alarm.
The best part of the week was definitely during the day on Saturday. I woke up to an overcast sky that was dumping snow all over our beautiful landscape. It was still snowing at one when we all met at the grocery store to purchase decorations for the gingerbread Nidaros cathedral we were going to help decorate. Then we all walked together out to Nesland in the snow. Once we got there, Hallvard and Ingebjørg got to work putting together the cathedral, the rest of the girls made pepperkaker, and the boys played music. After a while I changed tasks to help the other Ingrid grind the almonds to make marzipan. It was hard to leave such a cozy scene to head to the hotel! And the gingerbread cathedral - WOW!
On Sunday we went for a short walk so we could get a good view of the fresh snow. It's so beautiful here! The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and it was freezing cold. Since we'd gotten about 6 inches of snow the day before, it was easy to walk around again, so we allowed our feet to guide us to the finished gingerbread houses on display at the academy.
Tomorrow we are playing individually for our instructors. We aren't getting grades, but pretty much everyone is totally stressed out. It's terrifying to sit in front of people who really know what good folk music can sound like and play alone. I'm going to try to remember to breathe.
Two Ingrid's grinding nuts:
Hallvard, the architect planning his next move:
The cookie factory:
Getting closer:
Wednesday night we had a great hardingfele concert. Olav Mjelva and Per Anders Buen Garnås played a concert of solo hardingfele for roughly an hour. They make it look so easy! Their bows teasing the music out of the strings, applying just the right amount of pressure to create a clean crisp sound. Of course, there was a lot of tuning, but it's worth it when the fiddles sing like that!
After the concert, we danced to student musicians; I would rather have had them play the concert again so we could have danced to that! Then of course the party moved up to the studentheim. After a brief tour of my very clean room, we settled on the kitchen with a sofa. The party fell apart when someone broke the sofa (it's been fixed now). One of my friends crashed on the air mattress in my room and I headed off to wash at the dentist's office.
While everyone back home was celebrating Thanksgiving, I celebrated my friend Silke's birthday. We had pizza and cake, wine and conversation. She's from Germany and most of the time we speak English, which makes it easier for me to get in on deep discussions. I tend to understand what's being said in Norwegian, but I'm not quite fast enough to cut in to a conversation and make my point in Norwegian, yet.
Thursdays are also contain one of my favorite classes - Tradisjonskunnskap or Knowledge of Tradition. Ånon makes getting up on Thursday mornings after a late party really worth it. He knows so much about the traditions in Norway and folk music around the world that it's impossible to catch up if you haven't been in class to hear what he's said. He also has a phenomenal sense of humor that is terribly dry and helps keep me on my toes to avoid missing any good one liners.
Friday was a review day in Folk Music and Society. We also determined what our project topics would be for the year. Mine is going to be planning US tours for Norwegian folk musicians. Of course, I'll have to have at least one practical example, so I'll be writing more about that later! We rounded out the afternoon by making waffles and taking naps; it seemed like a practical use of time.
On Friday evening I started back at the hotel. We have a new manager and new coworkers and therefore a new system and new degrees of chaos. Things went surprisingly well, however. Things also went well on Saturday when I worked in the restaurant and then late into the night in the bar. Ironically, the fire alarm went off when we had the county firemen as our guests. Not to worry, it was a false alarm.
The best part of the week was definitely during the day on Saturday. I woke up to an overcast sky that was dumping snow all over our beautiful landscape. It was still snowing at one when we all met at the grocery store to purchase decorations for the gingerbread Nidaros cathedral we were going to help decorate. Then we all walked together out to Nesland in the snow. Once we got there, Hallvard and Ingebjørg got to work putting together the cathedral, the rest of the girls made pepperkaker, and the boys played music. After a while I changed tasks to help the other Ingrid grind the almonds to make marzipan. It was hard to leave such a cozy scene to head to the hotel! And the gingerbread cathedral - WOW!
On Sunday we went for a short walk so we could get a good view of the fresh snow. It's so beautiful here! The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and it was freezing cold. Since we'd gotten about 6 inches of snow the day before, it was easy to walk around again, so we allowed our feet to guide us to the finished gingerbread houses on display at the academy.
Tomorrow we are playing individually for our instructors. We aren't getting grades, but pretty much everyone is totally stressed out. It's terrifying to sit in front of people who really know what good folk music can sound like and play alone. I'm going to try to remember to breathe.
Two Ingrid's grinding nuts:
Hallvard, the architect planning his next move:
The cookie factory:
Getting closer:
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