Snart kommer JUL!

I think winter has officially hit Hamar. We are now accustomed to about a foot of snow around the place, and I am sure that there is only more to come. Today in class we deviated from our discussion of Norway's immigration history to a light-hearted break down of the norsk snow-speak. Similar to Alaskan Eskimos, the Norwegian language has more words for snow than we native English speakers can really fathom. A few examples are snø, sne, sny, pudder, sludd, slaps, fjon, skare, fjukr haglkorn, and eiter. I am sure there are many more, that they vary from region to region, and even from generation to generation.

But what I expect to be the same around the whole country, is a bit of a lifestyle change once the first snow falls (and sticks around). The more reasonable women trade in their stilleto boots for their clunkier winter ones, cars are adorned with winter tires and take twice as long to get out of their parking spots and kids enjoy walking anywhere a little bit more. It has been eye-opening for me to see people walking around town pushing a spark carrying groceries, their belongings or even themselves! You can see an example of a spark above...the handle that the purse is hanging from is where you push, and if you feel so inclined, you can hop onto the back for a bit of a ride! And, the biggest spark in Norway (and in the world!) is in Tynset!


I am really looking forward to my first, true white Christmas! Lars and I put up a mini Christmas tree on Sunday night, and last night we toasted our frozen three-cheese pizza (mm mmm) with some Julebrus. The drink is similar to other soft drinks, but according to Lars you are only allowed to drink it after the 1st of December. :) It has a nice festive label on the bottle, as you can see to the left (and our tree in the background!!). I have heard that Julebrus started as a Christmas drink for minors, who aren't allowed (legally) to enjoy juleøl, or Christmas beer. I have to say that I personally am very happy to have a tasty alternative to beer (nope, still don't like it). It will be really nice to have something traditional to drink down when I refuse the many beer offers! It can get really exhausting saying 'Nei, takk' all the time!

Then again, I guess I can always turn to Aquavit if I need some festive comfort. ;)