US of Shame

Then again, maybe it's not so bad that I moved away... bestiality? Really WA?

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On hold.

I am on hold, waiting for a customer service representative with the Department of Motor Vehicles in Washington State. There's relatively decent music and I have a delicious peanut butter\chocolate\banana smoothie to keep me company so I'm not that grumpy about it.

I am, however, a bit grumpy about the bigger picture. I am in the process of exchanging in my American driver's license for a Norwegian one. Up front I have to say that this is waaay overdue and totally my fault in that sense; the rule is as such: when moving to Norway if you are from a long list of countries including the U.S., you need to take a driving test and turn in your old license within one year of your official existence in the country. Or at least that was the rule...I am pretty sure that as of July 1st this time period has now been crunched down to three months, so keep that in mind if you are reading this blog for practical purposes.

My year is up as of March 1st (please don't ask me what I have been doing all year, I promise I have done...stuff). So that means I have a little over a month to get it together. Which I thought was do-able, but after getting the run-around at the Norwegian DMV, I'm not so sure.

So I walked to the DMV (mind you, it's cold, it was relatively early in the morning and kinda far away), waited my turn in line and spoke with a woman (who we will call Lady One) who supposedly told me everything I needed to know. I should have known that Lady One didn't really have a clue when I had to remind Lady One of some of the rules and suggest what the answers to my own questions might be. However, I am slightly naive and just believed Lady One. And made the trip again a day later with the paperwork she told me was necessary.

Then I waited my turn again. And I waited a fairly long time. And I had to get to work. And the place is a long ways away. And it was cold. And I started sweating. And they had three windows open, with three employees and only one was accepting customers! Finally, it was my turn and I approached the desk, ready to get this over with. But I found out I didn't have the papers I needed. OF COURSE! I need to trust my gut more often, obviously! But Lady Two was helpful and we navigated the rules together and found out what I really needed. There's a book btw, and a huge ass folder that explain everything. I understand that it's probably a pain in the ass to leaf through all that junk, but HELLO, it's your job Lady One, be better at it. I should definitely not know more than you when you are the one sitting behind the counter!

Btw, I'm still on hold and my smoothie's gone. I would much rather be playing Xbox Kinect with Lars (his birthday present from moi).

Lady Two was good, but not perfect. She let me use the customer phone and gave me a number to call to get this proof of residence form they must have. Her plan was to have them fax it on over so we could get this show on the road! I like the way Lady Two was thinking, but too bad she gave me the wrong number. I got redirected three times before someone realized I had called the entirely wrong place. So then I got a new number, and talked to someone else who could actually help me with what I needed. Yay. However, she almost laughed when I mentioned faxing it over. That is NOT allowed. They can only send it in the mail. DUH I should've known.

But at least it's in the mail, right? Strange that I haven't gotten it before today really, since this was on Friday. So I went back to the desk, gave Lady Two the appropriate number in case she came across any more Americans. But it didn't stop there--while I was on the phone she found out that I needed something else too. Typical American licenses are just that--typical. At least in WA State there is no description of what types of cars you can drive--it's just assumed that you can drive normal-ish cars. If you are going to do something more intense then you get a commerical license and so on. Well that's not that way it works in Norway; in Norway every license has information on the back detailing what you are approved to drive:

I found this picture and this person online. I did not take it nor do I know him.

It's actually a pretty smart system; WA could look into something similar if you ask me. But regardless I have to somehow get some proof of what I can drive from the DMV in WA. They are not going to have any clue what the hell I am talking about. It's going to be fun. Once I get that from the States and the proof of residence in the mail then I can head back down to another one of my favorite buildings in Hamar, register my application and THEN I can schedule a driving test. I also have to rent a certified driving school car from a traffic school, which can apparently also take weeks. And it's not cheap either. And I have to find an automatic. Uff da, I say, uff da!

And not completely off topic, but definitely random--I just noticed that I actually weigh how much it says on my license! Ha!

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that it's also not allowed to have two licenses. So I have to turn in my American one...for good. Lady One (if we can believe anything she says) also mentioned they have to send it back to the US. Super weird.

Anyway, here's hoping I can somehow manage to get all my chickens in a row before March 1st. Otherwise I have to take a first aid class, night driving, ice\snow driving and the theoretical test in addition to the driving test.

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Harder than it looks.

I'm just gonna say it: I'm fairly athletic. I played softball, basketball and soccer growing up, skied a bit and ran around like a chicken with my head cut off in our backyard trying to keep up with my older brother--throwing around a football, pretending I was an Olympic gymnast, kayaking, swimming, climbing trees--you name it. I played softball and softball in college and don't really know what life would be like without some sort of athletic outlet. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, I am only trying to give you some perspective on my most recent athletic endeavor: tennis.

I kinda suck!
Lars and I reserved a court at one of the centers around town one night last week and played for about an hour. Or should I say, chased balls for about an hour. I have played a little tennis before but have never really gotten the hang of it; I think my baseball instincts always take over (too bad there's no homeruns in tennis!)!

But I must say, towards the end of the hour I did manage to hit the ball over the net and within the proper lines. And even though I wasn't a super star, I did have a good time.

So, just so you know: tennis is way harder that it looks!

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Some practical information.

I have been contacted numerous times by other Americans that are in similar situations to where I was when I first came to Norway and started navigating the labyrinth of immigration bureaucracy. I am more than happy to help in any way I can because I so desperately needed advice and support myself and just didn't know where to find it. I remember so well how many dead ends and frustrated hours I spent trying to find a solution for me and Lars and a life for us here.

Not only has this been a time consuming and exhausting process, it has also been expensive. The first application I submitted cost me a little under 2.000,- kroner, the one that ended up going through cost a bit over 3.000,- kr; I have taken numerous trips to Oslo (train travel is not cheap, let me tell you) to the American Embassy and been charged all kinds of different fees. And today I had to shell out some more cash.

The permit that I was issued last March is only good for a year. So that means I have to renew it. And in turn, that means I have to take a trip to visit one of my favorite buildings in Hamar (drum roll please): the police station.


I sat and waited patiently, like the nice foreigner I am, and made sure all my paperwork was in order. When my turn came I approached the desk, explained my case and was reassured that I had done everything correctly.

All that was left was to pay up... a fee of 1.100,- kr! As of right now that's $186.41! Ugh, killer. I don't understand why it is that expensive just to renew a permit. I do understand that it costs money for the government to employ people to sit there and sift through application after application and make decisions on people's lives, I get that, I really do. But my application is as cut and dry as it gets--they have already issued me the permit! All they have to do is just print out a new sticker and slap it in my passport! Why the heck does that cost so much?

But whatevs. What's one to do really? It's a necessary evil. And to be honest, I would much rather be in my shoes paying a chunk of change every year than where I was in 2008 trying to find a loophole in the system. That's a tough spot to be in. This, believe it or not, is much better.

PLUS, my day could not be ruined. I was so pleased with myself for making the correct decision to wear long underwear, a hat, a scarf and my awesome Norwegian mittens (it was cold today!) that nothing was going to stop me. I have at an age of 24 finally learned how to dress myself properly!

Good luck to all of you trying to work the system, both here in Norway and elsewhere!

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Thanksgiving?

It's already 2011!
I came to Norway for the first time in 2008. Unbelievable. I can't believe how time flies.

It's also impressive to me how many small things have changed in my life and also how easy it was for me to adjust to those changes (not to mention how normal it seems now).

One of those many "small" things are the way we celebrate holidays. Obviously traditions change naturally over time, as you grow up, move out of your parents house, when you are in a relationship and so on. I would also argue that moving to another country quite possibly makes for the biggest change of all!

Thanksgiving for example--how does one go about celebrating an authentic American holiday that falls on a Thursday in a different country without anyone that really has a connection to it? It doesn't happen on it's own, that's for sure. This November there was no Thanksgiving, no turkey and no pumpkin pie. I worked through the holidays--blinked, and they were gone. Luckily I put it an extra effort last year with paper turkey hats and other foolishness haha!

However, I am not sure what will happen to a person if they go an entire year without a good-sized portion of stuffing...so Lars and I decided to host a combined Thanksgiving\New Years dinner party.

Our turkey was a tad bit dry, there was no cranberry sauce and still no pumpkin pie PLUS there were quite a few family members missing. However, it was easily the best Thanksgiving\New Year's party I have ever experienced! And I think our guests had a good time too. Check out all those empty plates! That's gotta be a good sign! ;)

At midnight there was the necessary champagne, sparklers and romantic kiss from Lars (all three things that are now a must on Thanksgivings to come).

We played Trivial Pursuit into the wee hours, boys against girls, according to my family tradition. We don't need to mention who won. ;)

All in all, it was a great evening. And morning. I don't remember crawling into bed before 5am.

Maybe we'll even combine next year...who knows!?

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Photo Hunt

I tried. A little. I definitely didn't get all the photos in the challenge and I definitely didn't capture all the ideas I had floating around in my head. But I tried...and someone once told me it's the thought that counts.

Here's what I came up with:

1. Water

2. Angels
3. Architectural detail\5. Something yellow

6. My favorite beverage

7. Something taller than you

12. Your refrigerator

13. Chocolate

14. Candid

17. Key
18. Board game

19. Candle
20. Fuzzy

Now that I've made it to the end of this post, I guess there aren't really that many I missed! Not bad I say, not bad! Especially for a chick that worked on average 10 hours a day in December!

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Extreme cold

On Christmas Eve in Tynset the thermometer dropped down to -38°C (-34°F)! Luckily for us, we were warm inside feasting, drinking and opening presents. Christmas Day it warmed up a bit--not much I will admit--but enough that I dared to take a short walk outside with Lars' mom and their Norwegian Elkhound Raja.

Don't get me wrong, it's COLD. Like so cold that you think "Why the hell am I outside?!" But there is only so much fatty holiday food and stuffy cozy air from the fireplace that one can handle before you have to get out into the world and move around a bit!

We took a short 15 minute-ish walk around the neighborhood which was more than enough time for us to feel the cold on our thighs and buttocks! And it was definitely long enough for my entire heard to turn into ice!

This walk got me thinking...I had seen on the news last winter when it was equally as cold and even colder that you could throw boiling water up into the air and it would turn into ice! I think it's one of those things that you have to experience for yourself to believe it...for a Washington girl like me, it was at best a myth!

But I can now confirm the validity of that statement. I myself have turned boiling water into ice\snow dust within seconds and a wave of my hand!

I'm a magician!
But then again, so is Lars' mom. Or anyone with a pitcher of boiling water in Tynset at winter time. ;)

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