Me no speak English good.

Last summer my family gave me a bit of a hard time--apparently I sounded more like a Norwegian than an American when speaking English. I remember even after I had only lived in Norway for 7-8 months and went home and worked for the summer as a waitress there were a few different customers that refused to believe I was born in the US.

One of my sisters commented that it always sounded like I was asking a question. This must be thanks to the sing-songy-ness of Scandinavian language. I totally blank on English words and format my sentences with Norwegian structures. Do you think this has gotten better after being here even longer? And especially now that I have added Norwegian sleep-talking to the mix?? Doubtful. And kinda embarrassing.

To make it even worse, when my boss Hai and Frank (Victoriahaven's manager's husband) were renovating the restaurant, there were understandably some delirious late nights. And the boys thought it was a kick to speak stereotypically bad norsk/engelsk or Norwish or Englwegian or whatever you want to call it. And everything at that time of night with those dudes was hilarious. So of course, I joined them. And am now terrified that I will never break the habit. ;)

Frank building the bar

Hai getting his paint on

Luckily we've got quite a few English speaking employees in the kitchen so I get to practice a little before we visit WA this summer (JULY 26th-AUG 15th!!!).

Me screwing together the outdoor furniture

Strange to feel like a tourist in your own country.
Ya sure ya betcha.