Gobble, gobble

Lars and I took off Friday afternoon to make a Thanksgiving feast in the house he grew up in. We made the now familiar three hour drive to Tynset and relaxed that evening, making some dinner and catching up. I also made some layered jello salad and my grandma's famous cheese pie in preparation for the feast the next day.

(Downtown Tynset)

The next morning it was into town to pick up some last minute fixings and of course to visit Waagans for some coffee and cakes. I ordered the same thing I do every time there--a latte and Napoleanskake. The cake is seriously the most delicious treat and it goes really well with coffee. I am not sure if it has another name in English (it literally translates to Napolean's cake not Bonaparte's but Napoli's) or if any of you have tried it before, but man oh man I hope I can learn to make it. Although I do think trying to compete with Waagans' version is a bit of a lost cause. Lars and I have done a bit of Napoleanskake sampling and honestly no bakery can compete.

And then it was back to Fåset to get our gobble on. Normally in the Gilbert household the turkey gets prepared and into the oven nice and early in the day to prepare for a 4pm ish meal. This year we were shooting for a 7pm ish evening launch. I worked on the stuffing while Lars made the green bean casserole. Randi had taken charge of the turkey (and later made some awesome gravy from the juices). Stine set the table and Jan tidied up the place to prepare for our guests. It was truly a group effort; it made the preparation seem so easy when everyone pitched in (and all the shopping was done beforehand).

Gjertrud and Vidar arrived around 7 and the food was ready to go. After accepting their generous contributions of wine and chocolates we all sat in the living room for a pre-meal toast of...apple cider. That's right, APPLE CIDER. Last year Gitta and I searched and searched and searched to find some of the fizzy beverage that reminded us so much of our childhood Thanksgivings. We thought it was just another piece to really make this American holiday abroad complete, but we had no luck. This year we had it aplenty (guess I just didn't know where to look). But enough about the cider--on to more important things. While everyone was waiting patiently in the living room Lars and I could finally dish out our big surprise: turkey hats!

Oh yeah, we are that cool spending much more time than necessary crafting construction paper turkey head bands for everyone (names included). Let me tell you, this made for lots of laughs. Imagine trying to take someone serious with a turkey plastered across their forehead? It's really not possible!

(Me, Stine, Gjertrud toasting before dinner)

The dinner was a total success. Everyone was happy with the food, and helped themselves to seconds! Now that's the American spirit! The pie was also warmly welcomed, with coffee, drinks, laughs and games galore. It was the perfect Norwegian-American Thanksgiving. The only thing that was missing was the cranberry sauce (plus about 14 other family members, but who's counting?).

I must say that I never would have thought that I would be expressing what I was thankful for in a foreign language. But I guess no matter what language it is in the list stays the same...and I must add that I am beyond grateful to add this group of Norwegians to that long and growing list.

Read more...

New Students!

I forgot to mention that I have recently acquired two new students: Miyoun, a South Korean looking to improve her English for business and Lucia, a Spanish woman (from Murcia, close to Granada where I studied/lived) who is now living in Miami, Florida. From her mouth: "the U.S. is just not a place to come to practice your English; all of my friends here speak Spanish." Pretty insane that she is in the U.S. and has to pay a native speaker online to chat with. (!?) I want to go to Miami.

Anyway, I am really pleased with both of these students. Lucia's English is excellent. She is a Spanish teacher right now in Miami and is hoping to feel more confident explaining tough language concepts to her students in English. I am actually a great outlet for her; I know what it is like to be a Spanish student and, imagine that--I command the English language! We are a match made in heaven (it's so nice to feel useful!). She is also my first student that has turned on her web cam, which was super strange but simultaneously endearing. She is really likable and watching her body language gives me some serious throw backs to Spain.

Miyoun's English is not as good, but that just means we have more room to grow! She is really a sweet woman, and is about my same age. And she wants to just have half an hour classes, which is really a blessing in disguise. Sometimes forcing conversation for an hour (even though it is twice the money) is really exhausting, for both teacher and student.

I have also reunited with one of my favorite old students: Sergei. He is from a city outside of Moscow and is so easy to work with. He is always bringing his own material and is just a joy overall. It looks like we will keep meeting two mornings a week.

So it looks like I have a little bit of income, even though I am still unemployed! If all these students remain steady, maybe I will be able to make around $200/month. That might be enough to pay 1/3 of my bills? Maybe? Ugh, I need to get a "real" job.

Well, at least I have a kick ass view.
(Plus working in your underwear/pajamas ain't so bad).

Read more...

Close, but no cigar

I got a phone call yesterday from a lady that was responsible for the hiring process for Yara International. I had applied for a position there as an Executive Assistant maybe two weeks ago. Yara, and I quote from their website, is "the world’s leading chemical company that converts energy, natural minerals and nitrogen from the air into essential products for farmers and industrial customers." Sounds pretty legit, right?

Well, don't get too excited--I didn't get the job. However, I see this experience as a very positive one. First and foremost, I survived a professional phone call in Norwegian--a feat that I do not take too lightly. Also, it seemed like the woman was genuinely interested in me and my skills, as they came across on paper in Norwegian. This is a bit of a relief to me, as it has been very easy to suspect of late that I just am not going to get anywhere with this job search på norsk.

And I actually think she would have hired me (or that I would have had a good chance) IF I had had plans to move to Oslo. Her client (who happens to be an American who doesn't speak Norwegian!) sometimes needs someone on a short notice. She explained that if they were to call me in early that even if I left right away I still wouldn't make it to their office for realistically an hour and 45 minutes. Apparently they need someone that lives closer. I am not really sure why this position would need to be "on call" in that way, but I guess they know what they are doing. And I am not sure if she was just being nice, but she also said that they would be sure to contact me if there was a position available somewhere closer to me.

Exciting on some levels, devastating on others. I think that job could have very well been a ticket to a work permit...but I guess that is a bit unfair to say since no one really knows what UDI has up their sleeves.

I suppose the good news is that I have applied to many similar positions and if this company thought I was worth a phone call, then hopefully others will as well.

Read more...

Christmas Beer Tasting

I don't really like beer, but I do like a good excuse to get together with friends! On Friday night it was Martin's traditional Juleøl (Christmas Beer) tasting night. Some of the usual suspects were in attendance--André, a college friend of Lars and Martin, Magnus, who I met for the first time that night and of course Martin Lassen, Lars and I.

It seems like just another good excuse to kick back with some beers, but don't be fooled--this was a serious undertaking. Martin had prepared fancy spreadsheets with sufficient room to evaluate different aspects of the ten different holiday brews...aroma, taste, foam, packaging etc. etc. Finally each beer was awarded a point value on a 1 to 10 scale. Let me show you exactly how serious these boys took their task...

(Magnus analyzing his sheet while Martin looks off thoughtfully into the distance)

(André, pretzels in hand, concentrating on his task)

But you know that sometimes, no matter how serious a task can be, that things can get a little silly. Especially when it comes to the holidays. That just makes everyone so jolly.

(Magnus, who is one of my new favorites)

Just so you know, I tried almost each and every one of the beers (I know some of you are very very proud). I did not gag ever. So that's a sign...of something, I suppose.

P.S. I did not get the job at Energisenteret and I am not disappointed. I have still been applying for tons of jobs and will be sure to let you all know if something positive or otherwise extremely exciting happens.

Read more...

Weekend happenings

Another weekend, come and gone. And what do I have to say for myself?

As far as productivity goes, not a whole lot. I made an awesome loaf of banana bread Friday afternoon and for Sunday night dinner had the best taco salad I have ever imagined. Seriously, anytime I can add a crunch to a salad (sunflower seeds, tortilla chips, croûtons, pretzels, you name it) I am in heaven!

Weekend excitement not related to food you ask? Hmm....well it snowed maybe a total of 5 inches (maybe more) on Friday afternoon/evening. We went for a walk as it began Friday, and another when it was finished and had covered Hamar in white Saturday midday. It warmed up a lot throughout Saturday and all of that beautiful snow has since melted into mush and slush on the streets.

But really other than that, and a quick reunion with some soccer girls and some other friends at the re-opening of Siste Indre (one of our favorite bars) we didn't do much of anything. Which was awesome, by the way.

Read more...