Peace, Love, and Lutefisk: Adventures i Norge

Christmas time is here. and it certainly is tangible in Tromsø. Red curtains and candles fill most windows around town, constantly lit both day and night because, well, day is night. It makes Tromsø glow feel very koselig...cozy! As Marjaana put so well (see her blog to the right), I too recently faced the firing squad during our oral exam. I escaped with only a few limbs damaged. As the oral examinator said, "We gave you a B, but not a very solid B." Thanks. Great ego booster.

I also partook in the eXtreme Pepperkaker with most of my classmates at Silje's house (see Rachel's blog). What I thought would be a relaxing evening making gingerbread shapes and eating them turned into a gingerbread house making contest that took three days to complete. I couldn't even make it to the last day, so the house lacked my oh so honed decoration abilities. Ha, probably for the best.

Besides these Christmasy events, the highlight was definitely on Sunday when I finally broke out of a religion and participation funk. I have been missing church, music, and activity the past couple of weeks and finally took matters into my own hands. I went to the Domkirken which is the largest, oldest church in the middle of town. It felt surprisingly koselig, like First Lutheran in Brookings with a long rectangle design. It was also welcoming to see the pews somewhat full, maybe 150 people, and to partake in three traditional Norwegian baptisms. Baptism is a big deal in Norway, one of the few times Norwegians go to church, and it was great to see the parents and sponsors in their traditional Norwegian dress called bunads. Gorgeous, colorful dresses with lots of jewlery and meaning.

The service itself was good. Sang some Christmas songs in Norwegian and tried to understand the sermon with my Norwegian dictionary in hand. The best part though was the choir. A choir got up and performed, and I was so excited to listen to some music again. After the service I went up to the director and introduced myself and told him that I was interested in singing. He told me they had practice the next day and invited me to come.

I was already excited about this opportunity and was almost ready to leave when I started talking to a Norwegian man who I found out worked for the YMCA in town. I was telling him how I was hoping to get more involved in the community, and he wondered if I would want to volunteer for the YMCA working with youths there. I was pumped! I'm going to go see him after come back after Christmas to hopefully start helping. A great way to practice Norwegian and do something outside of my normal group of friends.

Well, after a great Sunday, I went back Monday to the choir rehearsal and had a blast! It is a small choir of about 12 people. They only had one tenor that day so I joined a short high school kid as the tenor section. The choir is for people aged 16-26, and I think I was definitely the oldest one there. It was great though. Everyone there loves to sing and although the quality isn't quite Luther, it is fun and definitely infused me with some Christmas spirit. We sang Coventry Choir, O Holy Night (in Norwegian), and 3 other Norwegian Christmas songs that were new to me. After a few songs the director asked me, "you're singing with us at our concert next Wednesday right?" Unfortunately I had to tell them that I would be in the US so I wouldn't be able to come, but I promised to come back in January. I am excited to start singing with the group some more. It was amazed how quickly the singing came back. I warmed up to an A and felt great singing! It's amazing how invigorating doing something familiar like that be! So, I guess I'm going to get to know a few high schoolers and some young college kids in the coming months. It will be nice to be the oldest for a change.

So yeah, Christmas is alive in Tromsø. With the snow now covering the ground, the whole Christmas package is complete. Things are going great here, although I'm excited I'll be able to spend Christmas with my family and loved ones this year.