Happy Holidays from South Dakota!
It's been a busy holiday season around the Meyer house with activities basically every day since I came home. Lots of fun relatives, gift opening, singing, talking, and even a Christmas Day 5k
for the family. We needed to run off all the great food we've been eating. It's been more of a Christmas extravaganza than a Christmas vacation, but fun none-the-less. And as one of my international friends noted, just like a postcard! It's always great to see the family and friends and enjoy a postcard Christmas, but I feel this year more detached from the US than I have before. I guess I really am carving out a life in Norway.
One of the biggest changes has been worrying about weather again. It's great in Tromsø that all I have to worry about is not falling on the driveway and running to catch bus 32, but now that I'm home and have to drive everywhere, I'm glued to the tv (ok, the internet) trying to figure out if it will be icy. The colored maps appear every five minutes during the news, and I'm never quite sure if there is actually a threat or if they are just trying to get people to watch the news by selling fear. I guess either way it worked. Plans have already been altered to try to beat the storm coming tonight in order to escape to the east.
The other crazy change was going out on the town in Brookings with my brother! Now that John is 21 years old and can legally drink, we enjoyed a night in downtown Brookings together, along with about 10 of my high school friends and my college roommate Paul 
who surprised me and showed up for some hang out time. It felt a little strange going out with high school friends because we never really have since we grew up always being underage. Just feels different without those crazy Norwegian and international folk. Fortunately, one of my friends went to college in Brookings and was able to give us the full tour of all the desireable and undesireable night spots in Brookings. A good learning experience. We had a great time together and spent the next morning recovering with lots of water and episodes of "The Office."
I hope everyone had a great holiday season and will have a fun New Year's. Like Rachel said, if you're reading this I've probably been thinking about you, so feel loved because you are. I'll be enjoying a little more relaxation the next week and will fly back across the pond on the 8th of January. Until then, relax don't do it when you wanna go to it.
Although Thanksgiving was totally missing from my life this year, I think I had the next best thing: an early Julebord! Julebord is the traditional Christmas feast, and although Christmas is about a month away, Stian and 19 other friends have an annual tradition of having a Julebord in late November. They figure that they never get to celebrate Christmas with friends because everyone is always at home, so they get together and do the whole shabang, and this year they even invited an American!
The night was very cozy and Christmasy. I felt like it seriously was the 24th of December with a coat hanger decorated as a tree complete with gifts underneath and a Christmas star hanging in the window. We arrived at a girl named Sara's house and enjoyed great conversation while smelling amazing smells coming out of the kitchen. After what seemed like an eternity. The food was ready and we sat down for a traditional meal of ribbe (rib meat), potatoes, sauerkraut, plums, cooked apples, sausage, little cabbages (not sure what they were), and of course, aquavit to help clean the heavy food out of the stomach. There were lots of "Skål!" and a loud din of conversation and passing of food the entire time. At the end of the meal, it was me and the other skinniest guy still working on picking off the last remaining slabs of meat and taking the last of the sauce. So good! It felt great to eat a big meal with friends and to see everyone so happy and dressed up.
After eating and drinking, we began the present opening. We all had the mission to buy 5 useful gifts, each for less than 20 kroner. I went with the hygiene theme and bought toothpaste, dish washing supplies, soap, axe body wash, and soap. We passed around the gifts and everyone showed extreme excitement for each gift that was open. I got a muffin making kit that I already used this morning as well as candles, a small snow globe, English Premiere football cards, and some chocolate. Not a bad haul. I think I'm putting up the Michael Owen star player sticker as soon as possible. Might even be guitar case worthy.
We then cleaned up and enjoing more conversation and some games. Fredick busted out balloon animals from his balloon kit he got as a gift and soon the Yatzee game was out to the approval of all the men at the party.
Finally at about 1am Stian and I headed home with the Christmas spirit. On top of all the Christmas fun, earlier in the day I bought myself the new Sufjan Stevens Christmas album, so now Christmas songs and Christmas joy fill the top of Stakkevollveien 60. It's been a great Christmas already, and to think I have another month of it. How exciting!
God Jul alle sammen.
