The "Dark" Side of Bergen Farm Life

The title of this post is quite literal.  Winter is here, and it is DARK.  It is not my first winter in Norway, but it is my first at the farm.  Last year, I thought it was dark in the city, but I had no idea what it could be like in the country.  Here are a few of the new things I have discovered about the Dark winters at the farm so far...

Morning over the mountain (8:00)

1. The Dark Walk
A working weekday...
It's 6:45am.  My car is still broken and I have to be at work at 8:15.  It is pitch black outside and raining sideways.  It's so dark that I have to check my phone again to make sure I set the time correctly.  Yep.  So, it's a 20 minute walk down to the bus, then an hour long ride into work.  The walk down Bogetveit hill is about one km and steep downhill. There are street lights that give just enough light to see the street, but not quite enough to see into the forest that lies on both sides of the street.  There is no telling what is in those trees.  Most days, it is raining and you can hear the creek rushing while walking down. Most mornings, it is scary..but also oddly calming and beautiful.
An evening walk home...
It starts getting dark around 5:30, so most nights after tutoring (around 6:30), it is beyond dark.  Walking up the hill in the dark is the same as going down, except it is a hike, UP hill to the farm.  Man, it feels fantastic to get inside where the fire is burning and the house is warm!

Walking to the bus in the dark morning

The view of the street while walking down the hill

2. Dressing for dark winter
Like I said, most days it is raining, and the Norwegian saying is true "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing".  If you can dress properly, you can feel comfortable walking through any amount of rain.   So, to prepare for the rain, I put on rain pants (or snow pants), a wool sweater, a scarf, a warm jacket covered with a rain jacket, my backpack covered with a rain proof bag jacket and of course rain boots.  I haven't figured out how to protect my face from the sideways rain...I think ski goggles might be a little extreme.  You can imagine that this is all very attractive:)

Dressing for a trip into town

This used to be my snowboarding outfit

Dressing for the rain is not the end of it.  You also must prepare for the dark.  REFLEX are well known pieces of your wardrobe in Norway.  They are similar to slap bracelets I used to have as a kid.  There are also cute attachable reflexes (I have an owl and a ghost).  I have a slap reflex on one arm, a hanging owl on my jacket and my ghost on my backpack.  With all of this, any car is sure to spot me while walking down the hill.  In addition to this, I have my flashlight safely tucked away in my bag, in the event of any broken street lights or dark passageways...

My owl relex

My ghost reflex

2. Dark winter weather
Last night I woke up about 5 times.  I couldn't figure out what it was then finally realized it was the LOUD wind and rain banging on my window.  This old house creaks and shakes, and it is not delightful at 2am (and especially not after a scary movie!)  When you look out the window, you can't see anything but darkness.  The light from the inside the house reflects the water dripping down the windows outside.  On a very rainy day, it reminds me of being in one huge car wash.  Sometimes, Isra and I shine the flashlight out the window to see a little better.  On the "bright" side, when there is no rain and you go outside, you can see more stars than I ever knew possible and it is beautiful!

3. Social life
Regardless of how positive a person you are, I think the dark, cold weather makes life a little slower, quieter and darker.  I consider myself to be a very positive person, but I can see the dark making me drowsy and a little lazier.  By 8pm, it has been dark for a few hours already and I always think it is close to bedtime.  It is extremely difficult to get up in the morning and leave the house when it is still dark as night outside.  And getting dressed to go downtown when it feels like you should be getting into bed is not an easy task.
The mix of the hour long trek into downtown and the dark weather make it difficult to be social in the winter months.  I LOVE the feeling of living away from the city in a calm and peaceful place, but it makes it very challenging to be a social butterfly.  I certainly have a hard time making the long trip for a coffee visit or lunch with friends.  Any outing is an adventure, which includes dressing for the weather, a hike, and a 2 hour travel time (round trip).
I won't hesitate in saying that I really hope my car can be repaired so it might get a little easier in the next few dark months...

Looking out the bus window

4. Cozy, dark nights
Koselig (def: cozy) is a very commonly used word in Norwegian, and I think I know why.  The dark weather mixed with the rain/hail/wind/sleet/snow make staying inside cozy all the time.  Add a fireplace, a comfy couch, a blanket, warm socks, a movie and a boyfriend, and you have everything you need to have the perfect definition of cozy.  After a long day of work, nothing feels better than sitting on the couch with all of the above and watching a movie before bed.

Our fireplace

My view almost every night...

Life is an adventure.  I can say without a doubt, every day at the farm is an adventure.  It comes with it's dark side, and can sometimes be a little scary, but in the end is something new, challenging and adventurous.  Come on winter, I'm ready to see what you will bring...

What to wear in Norway?

"There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing", says the Norwegian.

I checked the weather today and as usual, RAIN. 23mm of it before 12!  With a warning for Hordaland (Bergen): fra i kveld og først på tirsdag lokalt bye nedbør. Translation, from tonight to early Thursday heavy rainfall.  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind the rain. I just don't like being cold and wet.

Only grey rain clouds to be seen on the forecast.  No surprise there.
 

So, I begin my task of getting dressed for the day.  What do you wear in Norway, where there is an average of 88cm and 275 days of rain each year (Seattle is at about 36cm and 158 days per year)??  Well, what would you wear if you had to get in the shower and stay dry and warm?  You may laugh, but really, it sometimes feels like the same thing.

There are some "regularly" warn items here in Norway that I would have laughed at a few months ago.  Today, I wish I had one. Oh, wait, I think I do!!

The "Norwegian Jumpsuit that has been dubbed the adult babygro".  Ok, people don't wear this out normally, but I have seen it at least twice (in public).  I won't lie, if I had one of these, I might even wear it.  It looks cozy.  

Look closely, and it's warm outside???

Since, I don't walk around sporting this fabulous one piece, I try and find an alternative.  I look at it as a two part equation, the under layer and the outer layer.  The under layer simply consists of what I would wear out on a chilly day anywhere.  I have learned that the outer layer jacket and shoes are the most important. 

My rubber rain boots have become the most useful pair of shoes I own.  Sometimes walking to the bus stop (downhill) in the rain can be like walking through a shallow stream.  Only rubber boots will keep your feet from getting wet.  And of course, I bring my other slip on shoes with me to school so I don't have to walk around in boots all day.

A waterproof jacket with a hood is the best. An important thing to remember is that Rain in Norway doesn't always come from above.  Rain pants are also very important, especially on the days I have to stand outside with the kids and the rain is coming at you sideways.  

An umbrella.  I love my umbrella.  Unfortunately, I can't always count on it to work.  Another important reason to have your rain jacket with a hood!  It can get windy and there is nothing worse than a bent backwards umbrella.  Bergen is sometimes called the "umbrella graveyard" after all of the broken and sad umbrellas people leave on the streets.  Poor, sad umbrellas. 

I'd like to think that my pretty, flowered umbrella will brighten any day, but as you can see...still gloomy. 

Another umbrella having seen the end of its days.

  

My last, very important item is a big bag.  I prefer a big purse that I can fit my book, extra shoes, socks, lunch and my wallet inside.  As long as it can squish comfortably on a crowded bus and fits all of my stuff, it works for me!!

If you're going running outside, just expect to get wet.  Run harder and the chill might feel good.  And if you're going out to the pub, just disregard all of the above.  Rain, sleet, hail, snow.  It's all the same.  Wear a dress, leggings and heels of course.  Because it's not cold or difficult to walk downhill on cobblestone streets in that!!   

Week 15: How I know I live in Norway

Almost 4 months in Norway and I think I've started to blend in. How do I know? Well, I've realized I've started to live the Norwegian way...or what I think is the Norwegian way. Here are just a few examples:

1. When I go to the store, my list always includes bread, eggs, milk, cheese, cucumbers and red peppers.

2. I drink morning coffee, afternoon coffee, hanging out with friends coffee, wasting time coffee, Norwegian class coffee and dessert coffee.

3. I always have a lunch packed for work (matpakke), which includes my open faced sandwich with cheese, cucumber and red peppers and a clementine or kiwi.

4. If I leave the house and forget my matpakke, there's always kaffe og bolle at Narvessen waiting for me.



5. I'm waving down my bus so it doesn't leave me waiting.

6. I have frozen cod and rolls in my freezer.

7. I'm wearing rain boots, a wool sweater, scarf and rain jacket.

8. I colored my hair using boxed hair dye.

9. I take Omega 3 tablets every day.

10. I have Draw Something and Wordfeud downloaded on my phone.

11. The sun came out the other day, so I went outside to sit in the sun, smiled and shivered as I watched as many others did the same.



12. I feel terribly guilty for every second spend indoors during a sunny day.

13. I bring my own drinks to parties.

14. Last weekend, I wore a dress, leggings and heeled shoes out! Goodbye jeans:)

15. I can vacation to Spain and it only takes about 4 hours by plane.

16. In Spain, I am in awe over the cheap prices of food, drinks, haircuts and clothes!!

What week is it again??

I've lost track. So much has happened in the last few weeks. Let me walk you through February and this first week of March.

First of all, it's starting to feel more like spring in Bergen. There are more puddles and less slush, more sun and less daytime dark and it might just be me, but I think there are more people out and about every day. This does not mean it has stopped raining, but what's wrong with a little rain anyways? In the movies, rain always pours when people are discovering something they never realized before. Maybe they are in love, maybe they are falling out of a sewer pipe after crawling the length of two football fields to freedom....or, they are just singing in the rain!! People seem to complain about Bergen weather day in and out. Everyone here knows it rains all the time, so you might as well have a positive attitude about it...just look how much fun Gene Kelly had:)





Now, back on track here. February was a wonderful month. The fifth and sixth week in Bergen were tough for me. My cousin was on the receiving end of a phone call from an unemployed girl in tears, every facebook post about Denver made me homesick and all Skype calls made me tear up after saying goodbye. So, it was perfect timing when my Dad came to visit me in Bergen.

Dad's visit was great! He was only here for one week, but it was the perfect visit. We organized my Grandma's house so she could get around easily, had lots of great visits with family members and even took a quick weekend trip to Hardanger to visit one of his sisters. Check out some of these pics!!


A pretty, small island on the drive.


The view from my Aunt and Uncles house.


Another photo of the view from my Aunt and Uncles house!


The most delicious (and very Norwegian) sandwich i've ever eaten. Fresh bread, squeeze mayonnaise, shrimp and king crab with lemon!!! I ate nearly 5.


The bucket of fish. Oh, the delicious fish!!!


And of course, the one week I didn't want to work, I got a call for work for the entire week for a kindergarten assistant. What a great week with some cute kids!! Of course, with Bergen rain, each kid has a snowsuit, a rain suit, rain gloves, warm gloves, rain boots, gym shoes, and inside shoes. Getting them ready to go outside was like getting 30 kids ready to go skiing. That is a lot of work! Kids in Norway spend a LOT of time outside. I used to complain all the time when I was cold and my Dad always told me to stop complaining. I never knew why he never got cold. Now I do. He was one of the Norwegian kids that went outside for hours a day, in the rain, snow, sleet or even hail! Then the week ended and it was winter break, so one whole week off of school, and no chance I'd be called in.

So...for my week off, I went back to Hardanger to help my cousin paint his mom's(My Aunt's) house. A few of my cousins came as well and we had a great weekend. We played games, my cousin's made rolls, we watched futbol, celebrated a birthday and painted.


Dad, these two are for you. Painting, part 1.


Painting, part 2.


Yes, my cousin looks like he is being pushed out of the window, but he is falling. He was reaching for his beer, which was out the window and fell out. His brother was trying to help him up (while I took the photo and my cousin ate his fresh roll).


The roll making.


The roll baking, yummmm.

While in Hardanger, I got a call from the school. They needed an ESL and Performing Arts teacher, it is unknown for how long. Does anything sound better??? I think not!! So, that is what I am doing now. Working every day this week and hopefully longer. I get to work with small groups of kids from grade 1-5 on their ESL and I'm teaching performing arts grades 1-5. I forgot how much fun teaching is!! Let's hope this continues (while also hoping that whatever is keeping the regular teacher out is not too bad or sad).

What's coming next in Bergen? This weekend is the SOS fundraising event for the village in Malawi and next weekend I'm off to Oslo for the SOS conference. This is such a great organization and I'm so happy to be involved as a volunteer. If you don't know what it is...check it out! http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/Pages/default.aspx



Week 9, Here I come!

One month in Bergen: The view from my window

Yesterday was one month in Bergen. And it has been an amazing month. It feels so right that it's like I've been here forever, but it also feels like yesterday that I just got off the plane.

The one thing everyone in Bergen has in common is the weather. It is a topic that comes up in conversation daily. Yes, the weather is difficult, but I don't mind it. I've seen many pretty views of ugly weather from my apartment window.


Week 1: My first morning and first view from the window. Muggy, but what a beautiful view!!



Sun and blue skies!!



A cold, rainy day



Snow day!

Each day brings new things. At one month, I am now taking Norwegian classes, have a job (kinda), I'm searching for a new job and having a great time!!

I started at level two in Norwegian and it is still a review from what I learned years ago. It's a challenge, but I'm loving it.

I am a substitute teacher at the International School of Bergen. I've been with them for one week, but I haven't been called in yet. I am hoping next week will be the week, but not on Monday.

Monday I have a meeting with a very important man who may be able to help me find a job working at a foster care home for children, many of them immigrant children. I am crossing my fingers and toes that something will come of it. Help me out if you can!!

Things I miss at one month:
1. My family and friends. I am so happy for Skype!!
2. Loads of big, fluffy, white snow, with snow days, snowmen and shoveling.
3. Shopping for clothes.

Things I don't miss at one month:
1. Denver water
2. Driving in the snow
3. Stress
4. The view from my Denver window