Peace, Love, and Lutefisk: Adventures i Norge

Tonight was wednesday night, and wednesday night now has a new name: Poker Night! This would be a change from the previous name which was basketball night. I guess it's good that today in Norwegian class I learned how to say å legge på meg (to gain weight).

Last week I went for the first time to one of Stian's friend's house to play Texas Hold'em with 5 Norwegian guys. They are all from the same home town in Norway and are very fun! They bought a poker table just for the event and we all drink light beer and eat chips while pretending we're poker stars. They especially love busting out the english catch phrases when they go "All-In" and when they take someone out. Well tonight, the "Damn Yankee" as I am called got revenge.

See, last week I was the chip leader for a long time, but they eventually caught on to my wild play and knocked me out. Well, this week I used their ideas about my strategy against them and single-handedly knocked three people out when they thought I didn't have good cards. It came down to the final hand when the last Norwegian standing didn't think that I had the flush and went all-in. I did. So, I won! It was such a big day for me. Everyone puts 50 kroner into the pot (about 8 dollars) and the second place finisher gets their money back and the winner gets everything else. So, I am now the proud owner of 200 kroner. This should cover lunch for next week at the university. Wow, the student's life, so rough. I have to gamble to survive.

It is great fun though to play with them. I'm learning "useful Norwegian" according to the guys and it's nice to just have some male bonding. I miss the cluster days so it's kind of a replacement for the man love I guess. Wish me luck next Wednesday. I'll try to bring home the bacon again for the peace house!