The following conversations occurred primarily in Norwegian, and I’ve translated them to English. Norwegian coworker: So, when you learn Norwegian, in which language do you learn it?Italian coworker: Sometimes English and sometimes Italian. Sometimes I have to change from Norwegian to English to Italian to understand something. There are so many steps!Me: I know four […]
Some English translations of some Norwegian conversations I have had recently. Cashier: Would you like a receipt? Me: You’re welcome Boss: What color is a warning triangle? Me: What is a warning triangle? Boss: You know when you get a tire puncture, and you have to pull over on the side of the road… Me: […]
I got to ride in a hydrogen-fueled car the other day. Technically, I can’t admit to driving it – if I’m understanding Statens vegvesen correctly, I’m not allowed to drive with a foreign license after being a Norwegian resident for longer than three months. But I will say that when the car was returned to […]
So far, Norway has surprised me twice with things that I was surprised the US didn’t come up with first. The first is “Bacon Ost,” which is a bacon-flavored cheese paste that comes in a tube. The second is paying students to agree not to take the coronavirus vaccine. My homework for my Norwegian class […]
I remember a story a teacher told me once about a man who didn’t know what “lbs” stood for. He knew that 16 oz was one lb, that an lb was a unit of weight, that adult humans are usually around 100-200 lbs, that 2 lbs of chicken breast is probably enough to make dinner, […]
As I’m learning more Norwegian I start to notice some strange things. If I try to remember how to say something in Spanish, for example, it comes up half Norwegian and half Spanish. I complained to a friend of mine that my brain felt like mush while out shopping. “That feeling is your brain trying […]
If I squint hard enough, and imagine the hills being a bit taller, Grillstad looks a lot like Alameda. Trondheim fjord looks a lot like the San Francisco Bay. The hot summer sun feels the same, my bike seat feels the same, the breeze feels the same. And I can almost believe that I’m not […]
More weird Norwegian groceries! I’m not sure if they spelled Vermont wrong and assumed it was in Canada, or if they very cleverly avoided some copyright issues.
Here we have the four kinds of ground meat available in Norwegian grocery stores: ground beef, ground pork, ground chicken, and tortellini. I still have no idea how to pronounce “kjøttdeig” but I think it translates literally to “meat dough,” since I know kjøtt is meat, and pie crust is “piedeig.” Some things are slowly […]
Many things in my journey to Norway have required copious amounts of paperwork. Applying for residence permits, importing a dog, flying to Oslo, quarantining, COVID testing… everything required a passport scan or a letter or something. Most of this paperwork has sat, perfectly organized, in a thick black binder that I packed before leaving the […]