Vagabond reunions

I wonder at the vastness of our planet -- even more so when connections are found when flung far away from wherever home happens to be. The truth is that sometimes I feel kind of sad not to have deeper roots and a community in which I am invested. Sometimes I feel kind of sad when I realize how far away and disparate my communities are. Sometimes I feel kind of sad when I don't get to spend as much time a I would like with my people as often as I would like. (Sometimes I feel sad that I do not have a dog... wink, wink.)

However, I always feel HAPPY when I meet and connect with other travelers and vagabonds. This week, Uli and I met with some of my favorite residents of Norway (and former classmates from MIIS). We also reconnected with members of the church I grew up in back in Gillette, friends of friends from Estonia, and even one of Uli's graduate school classmates from Germany. I guess our world, our communities, and our connections are stronger than we think. There is no need to be sad about that at all.

Lefse

Did I tell you that I have a bit of Norwegian heritage? I do, although it has mostly been passed down through culinary traditions that we bust out for the holidays in the form of lefse, a potato-inspired tortilla from Norway eaten with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on the top. Oh, and, yes, there was infamous lutefisk that must have appeared at festivities in my Dad's family in the past. We were handed some pre-packaged lefse snacks leaving the university earlier this week. Not the same as the homemade variant, but still pretty tasty!

Contending Norway

Today was drippy. A sharp contrast to the bright sun and blue fjords of days past. Drippy might be a bit on the optimistic side, but, hey, weather isn't everything, is it?

We wandered into a lovely cafe in the late afternoon and picked up a book about living in Norway written by a French Canadian who has significant international experience.

It was insightful and humorous, covering familiar territory about personal space, expression, and relationships that can be difficult to navigate in any country, but apparently also in Norway. We found some truth to what the author was trying to say and so we went home and googled and watched. The author has started a consultancy in working on cross-cultural issues with Norwegian businesses called Mondå.  The book, Tedtalk, and website were reflections of the kind of academic work I have been doing at GWU over the last year, so I continued exploring and also watched a talk from an Italian-British-Norwegian guy doing similar kind of work. Maybe there is an interesting niche for me, should we choose to stay longer in Norway, in working with internationalization. At the very least, this sounds like an intriguing culture to explore in more detail.

Curious?

Ulriken

"The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change." - Heraclitus

If this adage were set to music, it could be our theme song. We are in Norway this week not only to ponder the weather, the fjords, and the quality of coffee, we are here to interview Bergen as a potential suitor. My Uli (not Ulriken but Ulrich) is a finalist for a competitive academic position here. How in the world does that work itself into our current life rhythm? It changes the beat, the tune, and even the language of the lyrics.

It is a luxury to constantly be reconsidering our place and purpose on the planet. It is also stressful and exhausting. And we cannot seem to help ourselves. A few years ago I had to take a mandatory leadership course which relied heavily on Myers-Briggs. Although the personality types have been debunked and likened to the accuracy of a horoscope, I found myself listening and wondering if some of our inconsistency issues had to do with a personality mis-match. Like a good student, I marched home to confront my partner with these revelations, armed with discussions from class. Turns out that we have both taken this test multiple times with the same results...and we have exactly the same personality type: ENFP. Apparently ENFPs are change agents who are "keenly perceptive of possibilities." Yep. It seems we cannot help ourselves--or each other. We thrive on choice and change.

Settling down may never truly be possible when there is another option on the horizon. I guess we'll always feel compelled to check it out and really consider it carefully. That is what we are doing here in Bergen. Today, Uli had his interview (which he nailed!) and I decided to climb a mountain while he was at the university. How appropriate that one of the seven mountains surrounding Bergen is Mt. Ulriken? On another stunning day, I did what I love to do. I wandered around in nature, taking a small hike from the top and then scrambling down this 600 meter mountain overlook on what was another breath-taking day.

The gondola up to Mt. Ulriken (oh that I had bought a round-trip ticket...)

You never get a second chance

However fragile, first impressions are emotionally powerful. Before making the trek to Western Norway, we had read in travel guides and heard from friends about the infamously rainy climate in Bergen. I am a sunshine person. For this Wyoming native, there is nothing that evokes a better feeling in the gut than a crisp, blue, bright, eye-squinting sky. It's even better when dotted with a few puffy clouds and a view for miles across the horizon. This narrative just shows you that yes, the land is around and within. The dirt of my upbringing must somehow be in my genetic disposition for sky and sun. A diatribe about weather may seem extreme for those of you who did not have the wind-swept skies of the American West forming your perspective and putting oxygen in your lungs, but I assure you that it is important. Although my weather sensitivity might be extreme, my perspective is not quite the outlier assumed and you will find many a folk in my hometown complaining and grumping around after a day or two (yes, just one or two days!) of overcast weather. The sky is important and connected to my mood, outlook, and energy. 

A long way to say, that I wasn't sure I would be enamored with Bergen, however beautiful the fjords and landscape, if the skyscape was a constant gray drizzle. Good thing the universe had something else planned.

Out comes the sun! Can you believe that our first day in Bergen was spectacularly clear and sunny, sparkling and fresh? I am completely charmed by the mountains surrounding the city and accessible hiking from the city center. The wooden Hansa-inspired architecture is playfully mixed with modern Scandinavian design. Coffee and cinnamon buns (the local skillingsbolle are apparently Bergen originals). Light-filled afternoon. What a great first day!

A new adventure begins... Norwegian style

Uff da! Today we are still in the making of our cross-Atlantic journey from DC to Brussels to Oslo to Bergen. It's back to the land of ancestors, the gateway of the fjords, and a quiet, week-long respite from the everyday. We haven't been here together since a memorable skiing trip to Trysil with Estonian friends circa 2008. I'm very tired and excited. More impressions as the week goes on, I promise!