Winter Wonderland

Lena Hoff Church

Lena, Norway during the winter time. Some pictures I took on my way home from school one day.

Håvard, Kjartan, and I going night skiing.

View from the cabin.

Mathilde getting ready for skiing.

It is typical to have cabins way out in the country. The place where we could park our car was a few kilometers from the cabin, so we went ski-backpacking out to the cabin. It was a really fun experience because we all had headlamps on to find our way in the dark. It was just like backpacking but  only more exciting and tiresome. The cabins here usually are without electricity. It is a really peaceful place to go to get in touch with nature because you get away from technology and the city.

Going on a 10 km skitrip. 

Fact: All Norwegians are born with skiis on their feet.

I have come to the most athletic country. The majority of Norwegian Families are very sporty. Probably 95% of the population are crazy about skiing, and they do it everyday in the wintertime. Usually they ski in the evenings once they get home from work or school.

View from the cabin. Vaset, Norway.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My last day of school prior to Christmas vacation was a lot of fun. We didn’t do any schoolwork because we were done with all of our final tests. All of us that are in the third grade, or final year, came to school as blue and red Santa’s (here Blue Santa’s are common). We had a Christmas assembly in the gym where students sang and performed. After the performances the whole school, of 500 students and staff, linked arms and danced around the Christmas tree to sing. After the assembly we all got free risgrøt and the school day was over at11. It was time for Christmas vacation.

Mathilde and I as Blue Santas

The class of Santas

The first night of vacation was the school ball for all the third year students. It was very formal. Everyone got dressed up, not just girls but all the guys too. When we got to the ball all the girls were to enter the dining hall first but before we could find a place to sit we had to put our right shoe into the bag. After we were all seated it was the guys turn to come into the dining hall but before they could sit they had to pick a shoe out of the bag and whosever shoe it was the guy was to sit by that girl. For dinner we had a three course meal with dessert following. After dinner we all entered the dance room with our partner and we all danced together for the opening song. The dance was a lot of fun because we had an actual band and the theme was swing dancing. I was surprised to see that everyone knew how to formally dance, and they all could do it well. It was a lot of fun and great way to begin the Christmas break

The guys entering the dining hall

Melissa and me

Mathilde, Steinar, and me

Crowning the queen and king, Siri and Johan

Christmas was a hectic time for everyone but it was also a lot of fun. The week before Christmas everyone spends a lot of time baking cakes and all sorts of desserts. These cakes are saved for the days to come following Christmas Eve. They are enjoyed with coffee when families invite friends or relatives over for Christmas visits. In Norway it is typical to put out your Christmas tree and decorate it on “LilleJulaften”, which translates to little Christmas Eve. “LilleJulaften” is the 23^rd of December. This was unusual for me because I have been so use to all houses having a Christmas tree up by the first of December in the US. On the 23^rd it is also very typical for families to eat Risgrøt, a delicious dessert described in one of my previous blogs. This Risgrøt is more special than usual on because within the whole batch there is only one almond and if you get the serving with the almond than you are considered lucky. The tradition in my host family is that if you get the almond then you receive a gift of candy or chocolate. Eating Risgrøt and decorating the Christmas tree on the 23^rd creates a fun lead up to Christmas Eve, the following day.

All the baked goods to save for Christmas

On the 24^th of December we had a nice big breakfast with everyone. At 4 O’clock we all got dressed up and went to Church. In the church sermon the priest talked a little about Josef and Mary and how Christ came to be but he more so focused on everyone’s enjoyment. The whole church participated in singing Christmas songs and there were a few little skits on the bible. It is a very common thing for families to go to a church service on the 24^th and then go home to a big dinner. When we all got back to the house we had a big feast waiting for us. We ate lamb with cabbage and potatoes and cooked carrots. For dessert we ate caramel pudding with whip cream. After we were done eating and cleaning up, we all linked arms and gathered around the Christmas tree to dance and sing the Christmas tree songs. I really enjoyed this Christmas tradition. After we had danced around the tree we got ourselves ready for opening presents. Each present was opened one by one, so everyone could enjoy what was given and received. It was different for me to be away from family at Christmas, but I really experienced something special here in Norway, and I had a great family to enjoy it with.

The dinner table for christmas eve

Ask the christmas dog

Amanda, me, Sina, and Johanne before dinner

Sina and me

Mathilde and Amanda

Håvard showing off his christmas ski gear

Me with the little bird Håvard made for me for christmas- by far the best present

The days following Christmas are referred to as the first Christmas day (25^th), the second Christmas day and so on up until New Years Eve. We spent Christmas day with my host dad’s parents. We all dressed up and had another traditional dinner. We ate Ribbe, or ribs, as the main meat dish. The days following Christmas we had a lot of visits where we enjoyed all the Christmas cakes we had baked earlier in the week. Here Christmas is more celebrated after Christmas Eve and it goes all the way into the new year, which I think makes it more special.

Doing the winter vacation we did a lot of cross-country skiing, group hikes, and group runs. My cross-country skiing is not the best but I’m working on it so hopeful by the end of the winter season I will be able to keep up with my host siblings.

For New Years Eve my friend Anniken had a dinner party at her house. On New Years Eve everyone eats Turkey. We had a fancy dinner with turkey, potatoes, and vegetables. When the clock got close to 12 we all drove to Gjøvik to see the New Years Eve fireworks. It was a really nice way to start the New Year.

The Best TIme of the Year

These past few weeks I have been really experiencing a Scandinavian Christmas. A typical tradition here is to have four candles of advent, and with each Sunday in December a new candle is lit.  In lighting a new candle a verse to the, “ Vi tenner lys” song is sung. The first Sunday of December one candle is lit and one verse to the song is sung, the next Sunday two candles are lit and two verses are sung, and so on until the final Sunday where all candles are lit and the song is fully sung.

Vi tenner lys – adventsang

Vi tenner lys for han som gav oss solen Og lar oss leve på den gode jord. Vi tenner lys for alle barn i verden Vi tenner lys for søsken, far og mor.

Vi tenner lys for vise menn på vandring Vi tenner lys for stjernen over dem. Vi tenner lys for Josef og Maria Og for den lange vei mot Betlehem.

Vi tenner lys for englene og stallen For okse, esel, gjetergutt og lam Vi tenner lys for barnet som skal fødes Vi tenner lys for dem som tror på ham.

Vi tenner lys på alle mørke steder Vi tror at lyset skinner i Guds ord. Vi tenner lys for Frelseren i stallen For han som bringer himmelen til jord.

All the kids in the family also have an adventscalendar, which is filled with chocolate for each day before Christmas eve. In addition to that calendar my host family also has a calendar with a new note for each day. The first day the calendar had a message saying, “ I kveld skal vi ha peperkaker og gløgg”. This translates to “Tonight we will have gingerbread and gløgg”. Gløgg is a classic Scandinavian hot-spiced wine served with raisins and almonds. It is the perfect drink after a cold day out. All the traditions here make Christmas a really special time of year and I have been really enjoying celebrating this time with a big Norwegian family.

The first snowfall came much later than usual for Norway this year, but sure enough it is here now, and here to stay. It came a couple of weeks ago and since then it has been snowing off and on. The weather has been consistently in the negatives and the roads are always completely iced over. The way I take to school is almost impossible to go if I don’t have spikes in my shoes because it is so slippery.

Håvard and I having a snow fight on the first snow fall.

The host family I am with now is a really athletic family. All of the kids do sports and the parents too. The youngest, Håvard, is on the Østre Toten Ski team and he is only 8 but soon to be pro. I tried out cross-country skiing with him for the first time when the snow first came. It has been a long time since I have skied because normally I snowboard, and the whole two-leg action was really weird for me but with practice it is coming. The next youngest is Johanne and she plays håndball and soccer. Sina plays soccer too. She is on the best soccer team for youth in Norway. Mathilde, the second oldest, is really into Hånball also, and she is the captain of her team.

From left to right my host sister Johanne, Sina, and me at a birthday party

My host sisters Sina and Mathilde

Recent Activities

Baking Peperkaker (gingerbread) with my Tonje

A trip to Oslo with my friends Sousan and Sheri

International Birthday party for my friend Angela from Taiwan