It is really hard to believe that four full weeks have passed since Greta and I arrived in Norway. The sun sets at a noticeably earlier hour than it did a month ago, and it also seems considerably cooler. However, we did see 70 degrees today, which was delightful. It was 35 degrees this morning. I don’t believe there has been a day that I have woken up and immediately put on shorts or a skirt. I rather sadly packed away Greta’s summer clothes a few weeks ago; sad both because it meant the end of summer for us—a little too early, in my opinion, but also because I won’t see my little Greta wearing those sweet things again.
Greta is settling in well at her barnehage, and her Norwegian is coming along. She said her first full Norwegian sentence after just 3 weeks there: “Jeg skal leke litt til.” (I want to play a little more). Since then, she’s been combining half Norwegian/half English sentences, and reportedly adopting some of the regional dialect when it comes to slight differences in the word for “they”. She also is rather fond of the word “bæsje”, or “poop”, which is only appropriate, as we are spending a lot of time talking about--and making--poop in the potty. Rather successfully, I might add.
My Norwegian is not coming along quite as easily or naturally, no thanks to the local adult learning center. After registering for a beginner class, I was told the class had started 2 weeks earlier and was completely full, as was the 2 nights/week evening class, and I would have to wait until November. This doesn’t really work so well with my Grand Plan to immediately immerse myself in language courses. But to be honest, I don’t feel “immersed”. My exposure to people speaking Norwegian is actually rather limited. I bring Greta to the barnehage, where her teachers will kindly speak in English (perhaps this need to change), and aside from a few trips to the grocery store or post office, and one Norwegian work party, I can lean very heavily on Erik.
As I wrote to a friend, at times it's a little overwhelming when I give it a moment to sink in, and I realize "we're actually in NORWAY and this is my Reality for the foreseeable future!" It's the No End Date in sight that can be a little nerve-wracking. I can't understand a lick of what the children's cartoon characters are saying, but my plan it so eventually get a job here?? What was I thinking??
do they have norwegian soap operas? when I was in Brazil, that was a common recommendation to pick up Portuguese. The dialogue is very simple and slow, and the acting is generally over the top so you can generally guess what was going on.
ReplyDeleteNot sure. However, I did find Days of Our Lives in English, with Norwegian subtitles! I figured out the episodes are 3 years old.
ReplyDeleteIt's been recommended to watch the news, with the subtitle option turned on for the hearing impaired.