The funny thing about being foreign is that I don’t talk about being foreign. Norwegian TV came to my place of work and interviewed some of our non-Norwegian employees during lunch. They managed to find one of the noisier places in our cafeteria to do so, but also a pretty visible one. (We assume it’s […]
Damen hos politiet ba meg bruke jungeltelegrafen. Om hva? Jo, at nå skal det bli slutt på “stempel” i passet, dette innlimte arket med dårlig bilde og gyldighetsdato. I juni begynner ny ordning med et plastkort (sikkert med like dårlig bilde) og to års gyldighet. Kortet ordnes med personlig fremmøte (som nå), men sendes i […]
Ten years ago I got to see the Manhattan skyline for myself. This photo was taken with not so good camera 10 years ago this month. Two months later, the two characteristic towers of the World Trade Center were gone. I bring this up now because, right now, as I type, rescue workers are still […]
I don’t advertise vacation time anywhere online because I’m told that if I do that, I may as well leave the key to my place under my mat. But it sure is nice to just disappear and come back and discover I’ve been missed. Very nice, and I love the two of you who have […]
No, this is not the usual cheer roared by Norwegians, but a sentiment stated by US republicans. Today’s dead-tree edition of my local paper, Bergens Tidende, has a hilarious editorial on the GOP panic in the US that America is turning into Sweden. Illustrated with a photo from the opening of an IKEA store in […]
My friend Alice has gone on a rant about her experiences with health care in her neck of the woods (and her desire for socialized medicine that we living in other countries enjoy). The same day she ranted, I had been to see my doctor. Here is my comment on Alice’s blog about that: Contrast […]
I got this information from the US embassy in Oslo. As of today (Jan. 12) there are new visa rules for Norwegians wanting to travel to the US. Basically, instead of having to shove what’s left of your last meal aside on your tiny little airplane table to fill out the green immigration form, you […]
Finally! My absentee ballot arrived in the mail. My choices for president are: John McCain (pres.), Sarah Palin (VP) – Republican Cynthia McKinney (pres.), Rosa Clemente (VP) – Green Alan Keyes (pres.), Wiley S. Drake, Sr. – American Independent Ralph Nader (pres.), Matt Gonzalez (VP) – Peace and Freedom Barack Obama (pres.), Joe Biden (VP) […]
A researcher, Bente Ailin Svendsen, in linguistics at the university in Oslo has concluded that bilingualism is an advantage (Norw. article). It doesn’t lead to confusion; it leads to greater flexibility. The article says about her findings (quoted text my translation): Bilinguals react faster to stimuli than do monolinguals, and the brain seems to stay […]
My high school history teacher told us that even if we had nothing to vote for, we always had something to vote against. At least in the US, with two parties constantly stealing the show, that’s how it works. It’s a little harder to vote against in European politics where you have anywhere from five […]
I had another nice walk to the police station this morning. I learned that if I were a European citizen the stamp in my passport would be valid for 25 years. I am, however, not a European citizen. As I left the police and walked to work, I thought about changing my citizenship. Giving up […]
I wrote earlier about a frustration I have being foreign, which involves getting a new visa in my passport. I have permanent residency, so it’s just a matter of constantly renewing the official stamp in my passport that says so. And it was indeed a breeze to use the local police station. (The queue ticket […]
After our 6K walk, the girls and I talked over pizza. One said that a friend of hers, who now lives in Florida, was shocked at American nationalism, with all its flag-waving. So I tried to set her straight. I told her that it took a lot more to make me start thinking of out-of-control […]
A Roll in the Universe 