Last Saturday was my birthday. In an effort to get prepared, I baked two cakes (well one cake and brownies) on Friday. Ok, the cake didn't really bake so much as rise up out of the pan and get burned while remaining completely liquid in the center. I made the decision to rescue the party by making a new cake, learning from the lessons of the first one.
On Saturday, I made cake. And Birgit made cake. And Mona brought cake. Eventually we had six cakes and ice cream to complement the dinner I made.
Dinner was deviled eggs, a couple of quiches, rice, and salad. I'd invited roughly eight of my friends for dinner and everyone else for dessert and party afterward. For me the highlight of the evening was sitting at the head of the table while everyone stood and sang the Norwegian birthday song!
The party continued until long into the night. We played games. We played fiddles. I got to talk to lots of people. It was a lovely way to spend my birthday, even though I missed my family and Seattle friends.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Time to think
This morning (I started writing this a week and half ago) I woke up early to go to work. The advantage of getting up at 6am to wash the floors at the dentist office is that I have time to relax and really wake up before classes start. Today I had time to drink coffee, eat breakfast, and watch the sunrise.
The sunrises here start with the stark contrast of white on blue illuminated by the moon in the pre-dawn. As the sun creeps above the mountains behind me the blues slowly change to shades of pink and lavender, but the snow is always white. Once the sun has finally emerged from it's evening resting place, the blues return; now, the snow is almost blinding in its whiteness.
I appreciate the luxury of time to watch the sunrise in the mornings. I'm able to wake up and gather my thoughts before the day begins. On days when we have singing in classes I'm able to warm up my voice too. If only I could remember this in the evenings so I didn't stay up so late!
The sunrises here start with the stark contrast of white on blue illuminated by the moon in the pre-dawn. As the sun creeps above the mountains behind me the blues slowly change to shades of pink and lavender, but the snow is always white. Once the sun has finally emerged from it's evening resting place, the blues return; now, the snow is almost blinding in its whiteness.
I appreciate the luxury of time to watch the sunrise in the mornings. I'm able to wake up and gather my thoughts before the day begins. On days when we have singing in classes I'm able to warm up my voice too. If only I could remember this in the evenings so I didn't stay up so late!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
24/7
Thousands of pictures and millions of words will never accurately describe the beauty those of us fortunate enough to live in Rauland are surrounded by constantly. Vinje kommune (where we're located) is home to a disproportionate number of Norway's artists and authors; they're here either because the landscape inspires talent or talent is drawn to these surroundings. There is ample evidence of both in these parts.
When I wake up on a sunny day (or a day that will be sunny) I walk into my kitchen and look out the window. The first thing I notice is how the mountain (Skarsnuten) completely fills my frame of vision. I want to take a few steps back in order to see the whole thing since the top is too high for me to see from my room. Instead I approach the window (floor-to-ceiling, which makes no sense from a heat saving standpoint, but we'll take it) and look out and the rolling white giant that slices the heavens off at their knees.
Sunsets here are equally impressive. The sky stays blue while every reflective surface (mountains, buildings, clouds) turn a rosy warm shade of pink. The lake, which is frozen over and covered in snow, turns into a huge pink disc. I do miss the rich array of colors we get in Seattle, but the simplicity of just pink between the long shadows is breathtaking.
I have always been a sucker for nighttime. When it snows at night you feel like the stars are descending from the sky to hibernate in the fields for winter. When it's clear, you can see them, safely in the sky. The air is so clear and there is so little light pollution that the stars really seem like they could fall to Earth. Last night was a stunning crescent moon; I tried to take photos, but they all turned out a little blurry. I'm no night photographer.
During the day, everything glitters. The colder it gets, the more the ice crystals sparkle in the sun. There are icicles hanging off of every building and car, varying from clear to mineral tinted greens and reds. Cloud cover means two things, warmer weather and more snow.
When I wake up on a sunny day (or a day that will be sunny) I walk into my kitchen and look out the window. The first thing I notice is how the mountain (Skarsnuten) completely fills my frame of vision. I want to take a few steps back in order to see the whole thing since the top is too high for me to see from my room. Instead I approach the window (floor-to-ceiling, which makes no sense from a heat saving standpoint, but we'll take it) and look out and the rolling white giant that slices the heavens off at their knees.
Sunsets here are equally impressive. The sky stays blue while every reflective surface (mountains, buildings, clouds) turn a rosy warm shade of pink. The lake, which is frozen over and covered in snow, turns into a huge pink disc. I do miss the rich array of colors we get in Seattle, but the simplicity of just pink between the long shadows is breathtaking.
I have always been a sucker for nighttime. When it snows at night you feel like the stars are descending from the sky to hibernate in the fields for winter. When it's clear, you can see them, safely in the sky. The air is so clear and there is so little light pollution that the stars really seem like they could fall to Earth. Last night was a stunning crescent moon; I tried to take photos, but they all turned out a little blurry. I'm no night photographer.
During the day, everything glitters. The colder it gets, the more the ice crystals sparkle in the sun. There are icicles hanging off of every building and car, varying from clear to mineral tinted greens and reds. Cloud cover means two things, warmer weather and more snow.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Burrs in my Side
I think I have managed, to a substantial degree, to avoid complaining on this blog. This probably accounts for it being one of the less exciting personal accounts of life at school on the internet. I am going to take a moment to share with you, my dear friends and readers, what little I have to complain about, which should put all of the posts about the weather into perspective.
First, it is my opinion that the whole point of being here is, well, being here. By that I mean, attending classes, going to concerts, taking time to practice, and soaking up as much as possible of Rauland. It's not a big place, but it's got a lot of history. It absolutely infuriates me that so many of the other students here (I come up with at least 3 names without trying and that's almost ten percent of the student body) don't care enough to come to class everyday, or on time. Now, I am not the world's most punctual individual, and I am planning to take two weeks off of school to be at home in April, so I clearly don't consider myself the perfect student. But I find the disrespectful behavior of my classmates appalling.
Next: A cooling world economy has meant that Rauland's ski season has gotten off to a slow start. This means that I haven't been working at the hotel which in turn means that I haven't been earning nearly as much as I would like to earn. This is compounded with January being the month to buy travel tickets and a unwillingness to exert real spending controls has put me deep in the red for January. Fortunately, I'm operating on a fiscal budget that started in July and looks like it will stretch until June. Next year I'll have to find a cheaper place to live.
Third: I like to work on projects in teams, it turns out. This is a shock to me since I always detested group projects in school. What makes teamwork function is all of the team-members working enthusiastically (or at least working) toward the common goal. Our class project (Vinterkappleiken) is not voluntary, so it should go without saying that some people are more interested in it's success than others. Regardless of interest level, everyone has a job and it needs to get done now. The festival starts in ten days. I'm tired of being asked why we're having a meeting. We have meetings because they give people deadlines to meet. Without deadlines, work doesn't get done. If work doesn't get done, we look like a bunch of idiots come February 14th. My job as co-chair of the kappleik is to make sure that we don't look like a bunch of idiots, but I can't do that with barely half of the class participating in the planning process.
I also have some conflicting complaints about playing music. I really want to play more in small groups (playing with the whole class is nearly impossible to coordinate). I also want to play more solo for dancing. Allow me to explain the difference. When playing in a group, it is extremely important that everyone gets along with each other; communication is critical. We're supposed to be having fun, so it's vital that the group members enjoy each others' company and can find musical common ground.
I want to play for dancing alone because it's a much more personal experience and it's much easier to react to the dancers. Jamming with an audience annoys me; I also don't really like listening to jamming. It probably comes back to playing with people who have a similar viewpoint about danceability in music. It's one thing to sit with a group of musicians who have a similar background and repertoire and just play tunes - that can be great fun. It's another thing entirely to try to find common ground with other musicians while the dancers stand around, get bored, and leave. That kind of jamming should be left for kitchens and corners while the dancers and people trying to enjoy a beer can relax and enjoy their activity of choice.
Finally, my biggest complaint. Everyone who saw my apartment in Ballard knows that when I live alone, tidy is not a word most people would use to describe my living situation. I currently share a kitchen and I do my best to make sure that when I get something dirty, I clean up after myself. This is pretty easy since we have a dishwasher. The other girl in the kitchen doesn't seem to think it's that important. Actually, if I didn't clean, I don't know if it would ever be clean in the kitchen. I had finally come to terms with this, when she started eating my food. Not just practical sharing of more perishable items and things that are cheaper in bulk (milk, cheese, butter, onions, potatoes, etc.), but the expensive things like fruit, meat, and beer. Before the holidays, I don't think she went grocery shopping for three weeks. That's expensive in Norway. I don't mind sharing food, but I don't like stealing.
Ok, enough for now. On to more positive thinking!
First, it is my opinion that the whole point of being here is, well, being here. By that I mean, attending classes, going to concerts, taking time to practice, and soaking up as much as possible of Rauland. It's not a big place, but it's got a lot of history. It absolutely infuriates me that so many of the other students here (I come up with at least 3 names without trying and that's almost ten percent of the student body) don't care enough to come to class everyday, or on time. Now, I am not the world's most punctual individual, and I am planning to take two weeks off of school to be at home in April, so I clearly don't consider myself the perfect student. But I find the disrespectful behavior of my classmates appalling.
Next: A cooling world economy has meant that Rauland's ski season has gotten off to a slow start. This means that I haven't been working at the hotel which in turn means that I haven't been earning nearly as much as I would like to earn. This is compounded with January being the month to buy travel tickets and a unwillingness to exert real spending controls has put me deep in the red for January. Fortunately, I'm operating on a fiscal budget that started in July and looks like it will stretch until June. Next year I'll have to find a cheaper place to live.
Third: I like to work on projects in teams, it turns out. This is a shock to me since I always detested group projects in school. What makes teamwork function is all of the team-members working enthusiastically (or at least working) toward the common goal. Our class project (Vinterkappleiken) is not voluntary, so it should go without saying that some people are more interested in it's success than others. Regardless of interest level, everyone has a job and it needs to get done now. The festival starts in ten days. I'm tired of being asked why we're having a meeting. We have meetings because they give people deadlines to meet. Without deadlines, work doesn't get done. If work doesn't get done, we look like a bunch of idiots come February 14th. My job as co-chair of the kappleik is to make sure that we don't look like a bunch of idiots, but I can't do that with barely half of the class participating in the planning process.
I also have some conflicting complaints about playing music. I really want to play more in small groups (playing with the whole class is nearly impossible to coordinate). I also want to play more solo for dancing. Allow me to explain the difference. When playing in a group, it is extremely important that everyone gets along with each other; communication is critical. We're supposed to be having fun, so it's vital that the group members enjoy each others' company and can find musical common ground.
I want to play for dancing alone because it's a much more personal experience and it's much easier to react to the dancers. Jamming with an audience annoys me; I also don't really like listening to jamming. It probably comes back to playing with people who have a similar viewpoint about danceability in music. It's one thing to sit with a group of musicians who have a similar background and repertoire and just play tunes - that can be great fun. It's another thing entirely to try to find common ground with other musicians while the dancers stand around, get bored, and leave. That kind of jamming should be left for kitchens and corners while the dancers and people trying to enjoy a beer can relax and enjoy their activity of choice.
Finally, my biggest complaint. Everyone who saw my apartment in Ballard knows that when I live alone, tidy is not a word most people would use to describe my living situation. I currently share a kitchen and I do my best to make sure that when I get something dirty, I clean up after myself. This is pretty easy since we have a dishwasher. The other girl in the kitchen doesn't seem to think it's that important. Actually, if I didn't clean, I don't know if it would ever be clean in the kitchen. I had finally come to terms with this, when she started eating my food. Not just practical sharing of more perishable items and things that are cheaper in bulk (milk, cheese, butter, onions, potatoes, etc.), but the expensive things like fruit, meat, and beer. Before the holidays, I don't think she went grocery shopping for three weeks. That's expensive in Norway. I don't mind sharing food, but I don't like stealing.
Ok, enough for now. On to more positive thinking!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
January hi-lights
The main attraction in January has been the snow. It snowed almost non-stop for two weeks straight. For at least twelve days we didn't see the sky or even the mountains. There are number of amazing things about snow, one of them is that snow falling never stops being beautiful. Another is that, unlike rain, snowfall is quiet. Of course, one of the more impressive things about this snow is that we got over two feet in just under two weeks (which I can say fairly accurately is all new since we had a period of warm days just before the long snow).
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. After we demolished the gingerbread cathedral, those of us who don't live at Nesland walked home in the moonlight. The sky was crystal clear and the moon was reflecting off the snow so brightly that our flashlights were superfluous. In spite of being 2am, we could see everything perfectly and everything was beautiful. The wind had blown the snow off the ice on the lake. The mountains cut the horizon so short that they seem like part of the sky.
Things are really starting to get busy now. The Vinterkappleik, which my class is responsible for, is in two weeks. Dancing will be starting again next Wednesday at the school, with a considerable increase in student organizing (that means me). My class will be playing a lunch concert next Thursday for a group of visiting high school students. Last night the second year class played a concert for us as a dress rehearsal for their West Coast tour.
I'll do my best to update more regularly! I'm sorry for the long pause.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. After we demolished the gingerbread cathedral, those of us who don't live at Nesland walked home in the moonlight. The sky was crystal clear and the moon was reflecting off the snow so brightly that our flashlights were superfluous. In spite of being 2am, we could see everything perfectly and everything was beautiful. The wind had blown the snow off the ice on the lake. The mountains cut the horizon so short that they seem like part of the sky.
Things are really starting to get busy now. The Vinterkappleik, which my class is responsible for, is in two weeks. Dancing will be starting again next Wednesday at the school, with a considerable increase in student organizing (that means me). My class will be playing a lunch concert next Thursday for a group of visiting high school students. Last night the second year class played a concert for us as a dress rehearsal for their West Coast tour.
I'll do my best to update more regularly! I'm sorry for the long pause.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Mis(sed)-adventure
The day after Christmas, we were sitting around at the Schrøders', socializing between breakfast and dinner. There was bowl of unshelled nuts on the table and an implement that was clearly intended to be used to crack the nuts.
Jan's mother was enjoying herself cracking nuts, but eventually got tired. Being the squirrel that I am, I almost immediately began when she stopped. I hadn't cracked very many when I came to one that seemed uncrackable. But, I'm stubborn, so I kept trying for a while. Eventually I moved on to a new nut and that's when it happened.
First I should mention that this implement was actually a shellfish-cracker (having never cracked any shellfish, I wouldn't know). Apparently last year, they had managed to break two nut-crackers on the same nut and were reduced to using the shellfish-cracker.
In spite of being told many times to be careful, when I placed the new nut in it, I mis-calculated and squished the pad of my little finger. It only hurt for the first few minutes, but it left two small black blood blisters. Both of which are still visible, although one has been fading for some time now and the other has finally started fading today.
Jan's mother was enjoying herself cracking nuts, but eventually got tired. Being the squirrel that I am, I almost immediately began when she stopped. I hadn't cracked very many when I came to one that seemed uncrackable. But, I'm stubborn, so I kept trying for a while. Eventually I moved on to a new nut and that's when it happened.
First I should mention that this implement was actually a shellfish-cracker (having never cracked any shellfish, I wouldn't know). Apparently last year, they had managed to break two nut-crackers on the same nut and were reduced to using the shellfish-cracker.
In spite of being told many times to be careful, when I placed the new nut in it, I mis-calculated and squished the pad of my little finger. It only hurt for the first few minutes, but it left two small black blood blisters. Both of which are still visible, although one has been fading for some time now and the other has finally started fading today.
Limbo and a New Beginning
I returned to Rauland before any of my classmates. Vacation was over, but school hadn't started yet. The holidays were over at the hotel and ski season hasn't picked up; the nights I worked were slow and short. The guests were mostly families with small children who didn't stay up late and party.
Fortunately, the beginning of the semester didn't wait too long. Classes are pretty much the same as last semester, that is, awesome. My goals this semester are to play more. I want to really improve both my individual playing and my group playing and that takes practicing. So far, I'm doing pretty good.
The first Wednesday of the year, was a staff party for everyone who works in the tourist industry here in town. It was really fun! We went on a bus ride to all the various locations (the hotel, tourist office, three ski areas) and ended the evening with free pizza, pool (the kind that doesn't involve water), and cheap beer!
Last Friday was both a great party and a sad event. It was time to break the gingerbread Nidaros cathedral. About twelve of us gathered to help with festivities. We played music and hung around until we figured we'd reached critical mass, wrapped a hammer in tinfoil, and let the main builders have at it. We did our best to eat a fair amount of it before returning to playing music late into the night.
Fortunately, the beginning of the semester didn't wait too long. Classes are pretty much the same as last semester, that is, awesome. My goals this semester are to play more. I want to really improve both my individual playing and my group playing and that takes practicing. So far, I'm doing pretty good.
The first Wednesday of the year, was a staff party for everyone who works in the tourist industry here in town. It was really fun! We went on a bus ride to all the various locations (the hotel, tourist office, three ski areas) and ended the evening with free pizza, pool (the kind that doesn't involve water), and cheap beer!
Last Friday was both a great party and a sad event. It was time to break the gingerbread Nidaros cathedral. About twelve of us gathered to help with festivities. We played music and hung around until we figured we'd reached critical mass, wrapped a hammer in tinfoil, and let the main builders have at it. We did our best to eat a fair amount of it before returning to playing music late into the night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)