Hilsen fra den Norske hjemlandet!

  That's "Greetings from the Norwegian homeland" for those fellow Norske out there! I landed here in Norway on Thursday afternoon for a short "holiday." My Uncle Joel, Aunt Susie and their two kids, Ilsa and Carl, are here in Hamar for the ISU Speedskating 2010 World Cup.  They have been very involved with ISU for quite a few years and they actually lived here in Norway for a whole year(about 2 years ago).  When I found out they were coming, I jumped at the chance to meet them in the land I've dreamed about exploring since I was about 10 years old.  Yes, it's very cold here and no, I do not have the most appropriate winter gear with me(England doesn't ever get this cold, so I haven't needed any hardcore cold weather clothing), but it is TOTALLY worth it!  I cannot even tell you how excited I was to see the snow!!!  I definitely felt right at home with all the evergreen trees covering the beautiful mountains and the cold, crisp air. When I landed in Oslo, I couldn't believe it was already dark, and it was only 4 pm!  Thursday night we stayed at their neighbor's(from when they lived here) house and had some Thanksgiving dinner. The mom's name is Ingvild, the dad's name is Bo(pronounced Boo) and they have 4 adorable kids, Ole, Ludde, Engla, and Wilma.  The kids were Ilsa and Carl's best friends when they lived here, so it was really fun to finally meet them after hearing so much about them this summer(I was a nanny for Ilsa and Carl in St. Joe, MN). 
   After staying the night and doing some shopping at the mall(where they wash your car while you're shopping- what an amazing invention!) with Susie and Ingvild yesterday morning, we hopped on a train in Oslo and headed up here to Hamar.  The speedskating races started yesterday so Joel had to be here already to work but today we all got to go watch the skaters.  I forgot how much I enjoy watching speedskating!  We had VIP tickets (because Joel was working, doing the "doping control" on the athletes to make sure they're not cheating by doing drugs) so as we cheered on USA (and Norway) in the heated room with nice couches, we sipped on delicious Norwegian coffee and nibbled on the hors d'oeuvres. The rink is called the Vikingskipet, or "viking ship" and it looks like exactly that, an upside down viking ship. When the Olympics were in Norway in 1994, Vikingskipet is where all the speedskating events were held, so it's a rather famous place in Norway.

Vikingskipet is long dome on the left(view from hotel room)

  One of the things I love the most about Norway is the people.  Everyone is beyond genuinely friendly, it's incredible!  Even though I don't really speak Norwegian...at all...everyone is so patient and they just keep on smiling and chattin away.  Ilsa has gladly become my personal translator.  (She was fluent after spending their year here. She's 11 years old. The young whipper snapper's got brains.) But I've decided I really need to pick up another language(since the German I took freshman year at Concordia didn't stick too well) so I figure what better way to connect with my ancestral roots then through language! Good idea?  I say, Ja! Kan ikke bli bedre enn det!