Opening of Isklar

Today I went with my friend Dave Henrickson to the opening of Isklar, the new water bottling plant that opened just north of Tyssedal across the fjord from the glacier. They pipe water from the glacier across the fjord, bottle it using machines, and pack it up to ship to England. There was a big ceremony with all the bigwigs of the local area, the entrepreneurs and the co-owner from Oman with his people. I forgot my camera, so I can't post any pictures of the balloons being let off into the sky, etc... We also got cake and ice-cream and a tour of the facility. Pretty cool stuff. Here's a link to an article about it: Isklar Opens .
In the facility, as a souvenir, we got to take a bottle before it gets made into the actual container for water - I took a picture of the before and after once i got home. Pretty impressive how they stretch the plastic out into that shape with the machines. We also got to wear plastic suits, and since it was raining after the tour, Dave and I wore them on our bikes - pretty handy as raincoats!

Mixing and such.

It was a bit uneventful today - just taking care of business related things. I worked on the apartment that needs to be fixed up to show to a potential renter. The same one on which the windows were broken. There are a few other things that need to be done there, and I'm slowly completing the tasks. I also arranged for some of the trash to be picked up tomorrow.
I worked a bit on mixing some tunes. Play Switch is nearly ready, I think. The instruments sound good - maybe i'll redo the vocals. I did some recording with my mic today, working on 'Herre Mitt Berg', the Norwegian praise song, and I discovered that this room is not particularly conducive to recording - due to its smallness and flat walls, I would imagine. So I might have to go elsewhere to record. Maybe they'd let me do some recording in the church... I'll have to check.
I met with a guy named Ove Danielsen yesterday who wants to record an album. He is very talented and so I think I'll probably work with him over the next few weeks - test the limits of this Mbox Mini. Fortunately he has access to a large room for recording - the Bedehus in Odda, where he leads worship. Maybe I'll just do my vocals in there as well. He also knows everyone involved in the music scene here, so that is rather handy.

Apartment #6 Tour

So today, instead of writing a lot or giving you pictures, I'm going to make this a Vlog (video blog) and let you watch the video I just uploaded of a tour of my apartment here in Tyssedal. Hosted by yours truly, using the camera in my mac. Pretty sweet. =) Enjoy.

Gratulerer Med Dagen

Today, the 17th of May, is Norway's independence day - the day they declared independence from Sweden. It was quite a busy day. We started off with a parade in Tyssedal from the town center, up the hill and around to the pavilion at the school. People were greeting each other with 'gratulerer med dagen', which roughly translated means 'congratulations on the day'. It's also what you say on a birthday or any other special day.
Everyone wore their best clothes, which means the national dress if you can afford it - the 'bunard' that is different depending on which region of Norway you are from. Pretty dang spiffy if you ask me. If I spoke Norwegian better I'd probably save up for one just so I could sport it on holidays. I guess I have a soft spot for cultural expression - you should see me in my african clothes or central asian garb. I think I look better in them than western clothes sometimes.
At the pavilion, the Tyssedal choir sang. They are apparently famous throughout Hardanger and pack out the house whenever they sing anywhere. I wonder if they need any recording done... They sounded pretty good, though it was a bit hard to hear because of all the kids running around and talking and yelling. I think if the kids did the same sort of thing in the US they'd be smacked, but here in Norway they are tolerated. Something about them needing 'freedom to express themselves' according to popular opinion. Not in my house. Bring up a child in the way they should go, and when old they will not stray, as Proverbs says.
After lunch we went in to Odda, where another parade was going on. Much bigger than the one on May 1st, and much bigger than the one in Tyssedal that morning. All the local believers had made a banner and were going to march together, so I went to join them. It was quite a good experience. At the end we gathered at an open-air grass amphitheater, and there was some singing and the mayor spoke. Dave Henrickson kindly translated for me.
Finally, with the day over, around 6pm I went to the Filadelfia pentecostal church for a meal and a message. I played a song after the message by Roman (from Russia) in Norwegian, which Samuel from the Congo translated into English for me. It's crazy how many languages there are floating around here. We filled up on sandwiches and coffee and topped it off with many different kinds of cakes and ice-cream, all in celebration of freedom. Now this is the kind of freedom I like to enjoy!
Only one downside: no fireworks. But we did have cannon salutes - almost as good. =)

Rainbow

Today I finished fixing the windows in Salthellervegen 7C and did some other chores to fix it up (painting, cleaning, etc..) as well as doing some laundry. I had left one of the windows open while some paint on the frame dried, and had gone back up to the Slottet to do some mixing, thinking I'd come back in the evening to shut the window. After a few hours it started raining, and I ran down to close the window. Reminds me how little exercise I've done and how out of shape I am. As I walked back up the rain had mostly stopped, and over the Slottet was a huge rainbow. It was probably the most complete rainbow I'd seen, as its ends touched the mountain on either side. Quite a cool sight to see.

House Meeting

Last night I went to a house meeting with local believers. There were about 17 of us, meeting further north of Tyssedal along the fjord. It was quite a multi-national meeting, with the Congo, Eritrea, Ghana (myself), Holland, and the US represented, not to mention Norway. Prayers were in Norwegian, English, Congolese (I don't know exactly which tribal language), and French. I brought my guitar and tried to figure out the songs without chord sheets, which worked for about half of them. When we got into the Gospel songs (black gospel, here) with the multiple key changes I was pretty much lost. I'll have to get Jan Olav (the other guitarist and worship leader) to teach me.
I also played the Norwegian song I wrote with my friend Håkon (did I mention I wrote a worship song in Norwegian?), and it was very well received. It's in NyNorsk and is mostly taken directly from verses in the Psalms, so I could do an almost literal translation to English, though it wouldn't flow in the same way. When I told Jan Olav that he said "Yeah, but you put it to music." I guess that's always a gift I've taken for granted - can't everyone put words to music? I guess all can, but it doesn't always make sense. Hopefully I can encourage more people to try at least.

Glass and Food

Today I ventured out on my own to town for the first time since my uncle left (he left on Monday). I had to go get some work tools and materials at the local building supply store. To get there, I caught the 8:30 bus from Tyssedal, through Odda to Eiterheim on the other side of the fjord (I probably could have gotten there quicker by boat if i had one). A place called Montèr, which supplies most of the local contractors. I got a few things, but apparently they don't supply cut glass, just the whole windows, so I had to go somewhere else. They also don't have plumbing equipment. For a building supply store they sure didn't have a great selection - I had to walk down the road to find a 3-in-1 combination painter's tool at a smaller supply store, and learned that one of the glass cutter/supplier companies had an accident earlier in the week with broken glass and so none of them were at work. So I walked the rest of the way into Odda and ordered glass from the only other glass supplier in town.

I figured while I was there I should do some grocery shopping, and I'd brought my list - I managed to find everything. Mayonnaise is pretty expensive, I learned (what isn't), and comes in a squeeze container as if it were toothpaste. Probably the packaging is what is so expensive - although peanut butter comes in a jar but is still expensive. A small amount of either (the smallest jar in the US) costs $3-4. Wow! So if you come to Norway, expect to spend twice as much on food. I figured I'd include a picture so you can see. Notice the rice cooker (a must-have) and the cutting board, which comes standard in all Norwegian homes - it jut pulls out from underneath the counter, quite handy in my opinion. I haven't seen that in the US.

Waiting for Deliveries

The new washing machine (for clothes) is supposed to come today between 12 and 5pm. It is now 5:11pm and still no sign of the washing machine or the guy who's supposed to deliver it. Maybe we're at the end of the line and he had trouble with one of the other deliveries. That's a long time to wait for something that doesn't come. I could've gotten a lot of other things done today, but I assumed that since this is Norway the guy would be on time. Wrong assumption to make, apparently. Maybe Warren should've left his phone with me so the guy could call, or maybe it's actually coming next tuesday.
Ah well. At least I got a lot of mixing done, and I wasn't sitting around doing nothing. Tomorrow I'm going in to get some supplies so I can finish making one of the lower apartments ready for a tenant who's coming to look at it on May 23rd. Should be able to finish the projects in a couple days, and if I can get the supplies tomorrow that should be plenty of time. I'll probably also go shopping tomorrow for a few minor items. I got the 'deal flyers' today in my mailbox, and the prices are pretty insane when compared with the US. Fortunately I was able to open a bank account so my uncle can deposit funds if necessary while he's gone.

Norwegian Wood

Today is the second sunday of Pentecost. There was a morning service here in Tyssedal, which doesn't happen very often. There are so few believers/churchgoers in this small town that the Lutheran church (the only church in Tyssedal) only holds a service here once a month. I counted nine people in the pews, including the organist. Perhaps there would be more if the service had been on a sunday. It's a really pretty church, though, and a shame not to see it used more often for worship and other events.
I was able to talk with the officiators after the service (some of which I understood - Jesus praying for his disciples in the gospel of John after his resurrection, that they would receive the Holy Spirit when he left) and they were friendly. The priest, a reader, and an offering taker. They were all pretty new to it, so none of them knew of my uncle - the old priest who is relocating knows my uncle. Very friendly though, and could answer some of my questions.
Here's a couple pictures of the church in Tyssedal - the outside with the really steep roof and the mountain backdrop, and the inside with all this beautifully bare Norwegian wood supporting the high ceiling, and the Lord's table at the center.

Pentecost

Today is the first day of Pentecost, when the first believers in Jerusalem received the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire on their heads (first few chapters of Acts in the New Testament). This is a national holiday here in Norway, as is tomorrow (it being the second day of Pentecost). It seems like they have a holiday almost every week here, but my uncle says I'm just experiencing what it's like in May, which happens to have tons of holidays in it. Which is a great thing after such a long winter - the sun shines and you're able to enjoy the day without having to worry about work.
A lot of people take the extra time to work outside and get their gardens ready, as well as doing other general maintenance around the house and having barbecues with friends and family. Norway is a pretty social culture - not like the US where people are glued to their TVs or computers.
But regarding holidays, it's interesting that so many of them are based around the church calendar, though most people who live here in Norway would probably tell you there's no God. "There's no God, but I'll enjoy the holidays He gives us!" Seems like quite a funny mindset.
It's interesting that so much of the societal framework we depend on and take for granted - laws based on morality, a system of government founded on the premise that the hearts of humans are bad and checks and balances are necessary, the simple distinction between good and bad, right and wrong - so much of it was founded on biblical truths by people who sincerely believed the scriptures to be the word of God, yet so easily people slip into worshipping the created framework and denying the existence of the one who created the foundation of truth in the first place.
Well, on Pentecost the believers received the Spirit of God, which enabled them to proclaim boldly the truth of the Gospel. "God is One and His name is One," they may have said, "And His name is Yeshua - the Lord Saves, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth, of Bethlehem, a Benjaminite of the tribe of David, a light to the Gentiles and to his people Israel - salvation to all those who call on His name." May I speak so boldly to those around me.

Apartment #6

I may have mentioned that I moved into one of my uncle's flats last week - I think I blogged about cleaning it out. Well here's a shot of before I cleaned it, and then one of after:
As you can see, it looks a lot nicer now that all the stuff is out of the way. And that was just the bedroom. My desk is in a great spot by the window, with a nice view (I can see Lilletopp on the opposite mountain as I write) - this is where I take care of business, write emails, and mix music. I also watch movies once in awhile. I just set up the second monitor, to make it easier to mix, and today I've actually been spending some time with my songs on ProTools, for the second time since I got here. Just so many other things to keep me busy.
The only downside to this space is that I don't have internet access from here - I have to take my computer into town or find an open wireless network here in Tyssedal. Few and far between, unfortunately. But check out the view I get from my balcony! Oh yeah, I have a balcony.

Learning Norwegian 2

I've started compiling a list of Norwegian words to learn, and I'm finding that the biggest issue is pronunciation, whether you speak Nynorsk or Bukmol. But knowing English has helped - there are a lot of words which are similar sounding to English, if you use a bit of imagination.
For example: lære (learn/teach), sofa (couch), bror (brother), mann (man), fot (foot), far (father), ting (thing), gjest (guest). What you have to keep in mind is pronunciation - the word 'gås' looks like 'gas', except for the fact that you pronounce the character 'å' like the short vowel in the English word 'mall'. When you pronounce it correctly, it sounds more like the first syllable in the English word 'gosling' (baby goose), which is closer to what it means - gås (goose).
Of course, then there are words that are completely unrelated to English words in appearance and sound. Words like: bonde (farmer), ås (hill), stong (rod), barn (child) - I think even more difficult than those, however, are the words (like barn) which look and sound like English words (or at least American english) but mean something totally different.
Fortunately the characters are pretty much phonetic. Unlike English, where the sound of the words sometimes seems independent of spelling, in Norwegian each character has a specific sound. So once you learn the sound for each character you can simply sound out the word. And then you might be able to recognize it. Of course some dialects leave off part of the word or pronounce it differently... but most of them are consistent in where and how they do it.

Laundry

Today was a bit of a long day as well. Up early and on the road by 11 - we had some breakfast and then drove to Haugesund, where I caught the bus to Odda. I got to Odda around 4:30 and was able to check email and get the Norwegian language course from the library before coming to Tyssedal. I'll be spending some time with it over the next few weeks to get more of a handle on the sound and basic vocabulary.
I'm still reading the Psalms and Proverbs in English and NyNorsk, thanks to the bible that Knut gave me. Håkon's dad also gave me a dual English-Norwegian NT that I'll probably dip into. Since the grammar is so similar to English, it's relatively easy to figure out what the words mean - some even sound like English words. There's still a tension between Bukmal and NyNorsk that I'm trying to figure out. I'll probably end up learning both.
Well, back at home now and trying to do laundry. There's no washing machine in my flat, so I'm using one in the flat next door. Had to send an extension cord through the window to my flat, since the apartment the washing machine is in doesn't have the electricity turned on yet. It seems to be taking a very long time, though, so maybe that machine is broken. I hope not, but if so we'll figure out what to do. Dinner of trout and rice - officially the first meal in the flat. Quite tasty if I do say so myself...

Siggjo

Today was an eventful day. A trip to Bømlo, where we visited the local mini-mall, tasted Norwegian ice cream and chocolate, bought some decent shoes that were on sale, and passed by the highschool - where Håkon greeted some old teachers and raced me around the track. 800 meters in 3 minutes, not too bad.
Later we checked email and chilled out, enjoying the beautiful day from the deck, had a light meal of lasagna, salad and bread. Did I mention they eat a lot of bread here? And it's really good. Last night we finished writing a song in Norwegian that I'd begun writing in Tyssedal, so we played that for his parents, got some good feedback.
Around 6:30 or so we decided to go ahead and climb Siggjo - the large peak in the distance, the natural landmark that early Christian missionaries headed for from England. It was a nice hike - a good hour or so and his dad came with us. Håkon's dad had open heart surgery this past Christmastime, and this was the first big hike he'd been on since then. He did pretty well to climb the 1500 feet or so in an hour. Some more beautiful views - hard not to have nice views in Norway, I'm learning. My camera quit once we got to the top though - I think it has trouble with the cold or something.
We got home around 9 and then Håkon took me to the old stone church which was the first church in Norway - built here on the island of Moster, about 15 minutes from his house. His grandparents who were missionaries in the Congo are buried there, and right now they're doing restoration on the building. But we got to see it, and also the open air amphitheater where they have plays and particularly the re-creation of the story of Christianity coming to Norway. Good stuff. Then we came back and had some fresh shrimp. Good day alltogether, but full. Tomorrow we head out - Håkon back to London and his wife, and I back to Odda. Glorious. =)

Sunset in Moster

Today I took a bus ride to visit my friend Håkon, who grew up in Moster on the west coast of Norway. He leads worship for a church in London, but was visiting his parents this week and invited me to come and visit. I took the bus from Odda to Haugesund, skirting Folgefonne - the giant glacier to the west - and then traveling north from Haugesund through the Bømlo tunnel to Føyno, an island where the road makes a giant fork. Håkon picked me up there and we went over the long bridge to the island of Moster.
This place is beautiful! We took a ride in his family's outboard speedboat around the islands that surround Moster. The water was so calm you wouldn't know we were on the ocean except for all the seagulls and the smell of the ocean and the taste of salt water on the wind. My camera froze up after a bit, so I didn't get as many shots as I'd like, but it unfroze long enough for me to get a shot of the sunset at 10pm.
The island of Moster, and particularly the landmark of Siggjo was the first place where Christian missionaries came to Norway. Siggjo is a peak on the island just north of where Håkon lives, and we might climb it tomorrow. Håkon says Moster can be bitter during the winter, but they hardly get any snow - just a lot of wind and waves. I'll be here until thursday, so hopefully the camera will unfreeze and I can get more shots.

Gallery Rallaren

Just down the hill from me, on this side of the tunnel from Odda, is Galleri Rallaren - a small group of highly skilled artists who have decided to make Tyssedal their home. They do some wonderful work in photography, sculpture, ceramics, painting, and mixed media. They also have some great rotating displays. This past weekend was a gallery opening which featured some snowboard art (on the boards themselves) with video, some themed pop/modern art pieces, a crowd participation expression wall, and last but not least a live tattoo artist.
I'm beginning to make their acquaintance (they are just down the hill from me, after all) and would really love to buy some art, but the limited budget of a traveling musician still trying to make it big doesn't lend itself to that. At least I can enjoy it and maybe make some friends at the same time...

A Light Meal

This blog is for my friend Ken Mueller, who is really into ethnic food. He's been bugging me since I got here to describe the food, so I'll do my best.
First of all, let me say that Norwegian food is, by definition, grouped into the general categories of 'Western ' and/or 'European'. So if you come from one of the countries in that group, you will find the food to be similar. However, there are distinct variations between countries and even within countries which we would call 'regional specialties'. This is also the case in Norway - just as there is dialect differentiation, there is culinary differentiation. This can be said to be due to geographical boundaries to some degree, but by and large the food people eat is similar across the breadth of the country.
Since Norway has traditionally been a country of farmers and fishermen (at least in the recent centuries, vikings having become more and more scarce), the fare you find here comes from the land and the sea.
A traditional meal can be seen here: bread and cheese. The bread is whole-grain, some of the tastiest bread I have eaten, and substantive - not fluffy and airy but thick and heavy and filling. The cheese comes in many different varieties (Jarlsberg on the left), but the favorite of most Norwegians is their special brown goat's cheese, seen on the right. This is made from the milk of goats that graze in high mountain pastures, and every region of Norway makes their own - differing slightly in texture and flavor. It is extremely flavorful - almost nutty - and sweet.
Another specialty to be eaten with bread is Norwegian honey. The most special kind of honey can be seen in the foreground of this picture and is hard like butter. This kind of honey must be spread with a knife, and it melts on warm bread or toast. In the back, right, you can see a Norwegian cheese slicer, which is probably the best kind of slicer that is made. Personally, with my toasted, honeyed bread and cheese I like something a bit sweet - in this case banana, which is not native to Norway. During the summer and fall, though, other fruits come into season. Norwegian apples are especially well known and are exported to many countries. This particular part of Norway, along Hardanger Fjord, is famous for its cherry orchards and in the spring many tour buses come through to view the cherry blossoms along the roads. I love cherries, so maybe I'll go and pick some when they come in. =)
< As a side note, we keep our bread in a traditional place - two large ceramic pots upended on one another. It keeps the bread fresh for weeks on end. Usually we finish the bread off long before that, but it's amazing how fresh it keeps in these pots.
So that's a Norwegian meal! We eat a lot of other things besides bread and cheese and honey, of course, but this is a traditional light meal here in Norway. If you have lots of bread and cheese and honey, it could be a heavy meal I suppose... but this kind of takes the edge off for most people. I'll try to get another blog up here before too long that's just about food. Just for you, Ken!

Sing for your Supper

EDIT. For some reason this post didn't post properly.
Today I went into Odda and won a karaoke contest. Pretty cool. Turns out the prize was dinner for two at a local restaurant - China House - to the tune of 800 kroner ($150). I think they serve Chinese food. Shows you how expensive eating out can be here, and I'm told that's common.
Understandable, when a hotdog goes for $8. The hotdog that you get at the gas station, that is. And a hamburger is $10 - without the bun. Pretty crazy. So sometime in the next week or two or three I'll have dinner with my friend Tommy, who was the runner-up in the contest. Works out pretty well.
What songs did I sing, you ask? Stand By Me - Ben E. King, and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2.

Lilletop

Well my friend Ken is going to hate me, but I still haven't had the time to blog about food - too many other exciting things to do! I just moved into the empty apartment in the Slottet, so I have some time and space now to do mixing. So that's what I worked on today. Around 6pm I decided to hike up to Lilletop. This is the spot where water is channeled from the lake high on the mountain through five large pipes which let the water rush down and power huge turbines that the power station converts to electricity for most of the area (and perhaps beyond - I'll have to get the exact figures).

The walk up isn't exactly easy, but it is really pretty and I got some wonderful views of Tyssedal and the fjord. So here are a few! But speaking of food, I need to go make dinner... =)

First of May

Today being the first day of May, it was a holiday here in Norway, so none of the buses were running. Warren and I walked the 5 km to Odda to check email and watch the parade. This is a worker's holiday - somehow associated with the communist party, so none of the workers worked today. It was also a bit rainy, so even those who work today in their gardens in protest of the holiday and the communist party were not out.

To get to Odda, you drive through the 'Tyssedal Tunnelen', along the side of the mountain, and through another smaller tunnel. Only, we walked. It's a pretty far walk through this tunnel, and it's not really made to be walked through, though occasionally people on bikes go through. It's pretty tight and people go pretty fast, so we had to walk up on the dirt path a few times as cars whizzed by. There is an old road that goes around the side of the mountain, but half of it has been destroyed by rocks and at this time of year the other half is not really safe, especially lately after all the rain.

We quoted Romans 8 to each other from memory - he reciting the chapter first from the King James, and then I from the NRSV. It was good practice, and with his prompting I was able to get right some of the parts that I had misplaced from lack of use. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but I was still able to get some good pictures along the way.

After spending some time checking email, I went out to watch the parade. Here are some pictures of the flag bearers and band as they came up from the harbor past city hall and then down the main road. It was a very colorful display, and a good band too - quite impressive, I thought, for a small town. It's a small town with a lot of history, vim and vigor.

Language Learning

I'm starting to learn Norwegian now - sorta. Last night I met with Knut Dale, who is the Norwegian teacher here at the high school in Odda. He specializes in NyNorsk, which is essentially a combined approximation of all the dialects in Norway so that when it is written everyone can recognize the word. The other written system in Norway (still spoken in some places, apparently) is Bukmål, which is much closer to Swedish. Sweden ruled Norway until ... Knut is actually from near Voss, further north of here, and so has a distinct dialect - a dialect which most of this area spoke at one time. Back when the factories in this area first opened up, workers came from all over Norway with many different dialect backgrounds, and so the sound of the language here changed.
The benefit for me of Norwegian (NyNorsk in particular) is that the characters are phonetic, so once I learn the right sounds to associate with each letter, it's just a matter of practicing and memorizing the words and meanings. Knut gave me a bible in NyNorsk which corresponds pretty closely to the NIV English translation, and I recorded him reading a passage of scripture. I'm going to listen to it while reading along, and practice repeating the words after him so that I can get the flow and intonation, and hopefully begin to recognize more words when people talk around me. There is still a strong local dialect that I will have to account for, but hopefully it won't be too hard.
The picture for today is of the 'Vasskraft Monument' which they built on the hill above the Slottet. It commemorates the 'waterworks' or hydro-electric plant based here in Tyssedal that powers most of this area and a large part of Norway as well. The monument is supposed to light up and play music while water flows out and along the channels. Then people can follow the path through the mounds in an ever-tightening spiral until they climb up to the rock itself. Apparently it only worked once and continues to break down. They finally got the water to run again, but the music never has worked since that first time.

The Slottet 2

I continued working on cleaning out the apartment today. Somehow cleaning and sorting just takes so much energy for me. On one hand it's kind of nice - my hands know what they're doing, so I have time to process and think. On the other hand I largely think about how dirty the place is and how it is possible that people could allow it to get so messy. And then I have to make decisions about where things go and what to do... It can get overwhelming. But like anything else, I find if I just begin and keep doing something, eventually the task gets done, and in this sort of task, the rooms get clean and start looking nicer.
Maybe it's the influence of my Mom, but I just don't like things to be dirty or unfinished. If I leave something and know I'm going to get to it later, that's one thing, but when things around me are messy, it's hard for me to focus on other things. Not that I can't cope in those kind of environments - it's just not my preference. And then there's the other side, where things slowly deteriorate around me because I'm really busy and don't take the time to fix them. So a month or two later I suddenly look around and realize the terrible condition things are in... I hope that doesn't happen too much, though.
This evening I'm going to Odda to visit Warren's friend Knut. He is a language teacher here, and specializes in Nunorsk - Norwegian dialect. He may be willing to teach me some true Norwegian, which, if I can master, would mean people would think I'm from around here. I'll catch the bus later this afternoon to get up to his place.

The Slottet

Today I went to work on the 'Slottet'. This is an apartment building that my uncle owns - when it was built it was probably one of the largest buildings around. It's still pretty big - about 14 apartments intended for single people or small families. Each one has a bathroom, kitchen, living room and a bedroom. And the views are pretty good - looking north and somewhat west along the fjord. These pictures are from the hill above the Slottet (which means 'castle' or 'palace' in Norwegian), which is what everyone around here calls it. The view is better from up here, but pretty similar to what you'd get out of one of the windows.
To get down to the Slottet you go down these stairs made of rocks from the mountain. They're pretty steep, so you might want to hold on to the steel rail as you go. You can see the building at the bottom.
I spent the afternoon working on apartment 6. The previous renter moved out in October, and since then no-one has been into it. He left a lot of his things around the apartment, which I guess he didn't want. Some of it was good, and some of it was just trash. So since then, Warren hasn't been able to rent it out. It's interesting what you can learn about someone by cleaning out their things. I found a few DVDs and video games, an old computer that had been pulled apart, about 15 jackets, 20 shirts, and 10 or so trousers, as well as a new suit and a bunch of trash. A good trade for losing the toaster, I guess. Apparently this guy moved out because he bought a house - I don't think it bodes very well for his house...
But I did manage to clean it out a bit. I have to go back and wash the floors tomorrow, and wash the dishes. And then I'll probably move in, and have some time and space to start mixing the album. After I do the laundry, that is.

Confirmation

This morning we went in to Odda for a confirmation service. David and Liv-Marit picked us up and we drove to the pentecostal church that they are part of. This is not the state church (Lutheran) or the free church (Free Evangelical), but the Pentecostal, which believes more in the gifts of the spirit. From what I can gather, most of Norway practices a cultural Christianity somewhat like you would find in the US, but far fewer people believe in Jesus as their savior and have a personal relationship with him, also like the US. There are a large number of Congolese Christians that have been attending the pentecostal church recently, having just relocated here.
What is 'confirmation', you ask? Well, in the Lutheran state and free churches, they practice infant baptism, and so just like the Roman Catholic church, they have classes for young adults so that by the time they are 12 or 13 years of age, they should understand the Christian faith. For most people, this is just cultural - some view it as a way of assuring their salvation, others simply as a ceremony, and a few take the opportunity to commit their lives to Christ.
Confirmation, though, is probably the most important ceremony for a young person in Norway - almost like a coming-of-age. This is the time when they are made much of, when they are given expensive gifts like a car or money or clothes. Almost like high school graduation in the US - for some people at least.
It was a multi-ethnic service, and the music reflected it - some Congolese songs, some Norwegian songs, and they even asked me to share some songs. So I borrowed a guitar and sang "There is A God" from Ghana, and a gospel tune I wrote, "Jesus Christ is All I Know" - which I think was my first post ever on this blog. I got everyone to sing and clap along.I think this might be a church I can really plug into - maybe help out in the choir and on Sunday mornings with music. I think it will help me learn Norwegian as well, and interacting with some fellow Africans will be a lot of fun.

Tyssedal Hotell

Yesterday and today I've been doing some maintenance for my Uncle. As I mentioned before, he has a few apartments. One block is a set of four small townhomes, and one of the families that is living there had a few minor things that needed fixing. My Uncle claims to be all thumbs when it comes to that sort of thing, so he's hiring me to take care of them. It's good to be able to work with my hands on my own time.
The apartment/townhome I was working on, along with the bad board in the deck that I was replacing, is down the hill and across the way from where my uncle lives. I passed by the 'Hotell Tyssedal' as I made several trips with tools and other equipment, not having quite got a handle on where everything is. This hotel is a beautiful retreat spot. The art on the walls is all original, so it doubles as a gallery. I'll have to see if I can take some pictures inside. There are a few other great spots for tourists in the area, and my uncle thinks this place has great potential for tourism. Only time will tell, I guess.
Here's a shot (right) looking from the path behind the hotel as I come down from my uncle's house. The hotel is in the foreground, and we're looking north along the fjord. The picture on the left is of the 'festivitet' building, which is basically used for community events in the town of Tyssedal. I'll be trying to take some shots of these places as the lighting changes, just to see what works best. I'll also be exploring all the great tourist spots (and others not so well-known) while I'm here, so if you ever want to come to Norway...

Odda

The other day we went in to Odda to get a few groceries and take care of some business of Uncle Warren's. We also went by the library to sign me up for a library card and check out some Norwegian language books for speakers of English. Unfortunately they only had Somali and Russian versions on the shelf, but the librarian was very helpful and said the English version was due in a couple of weeks, so they're going to email me when they come in.
We had lunch at the "3K Cafe" (Kristian Kontakt Kafe), i.e. the 'Philadelphia' and met some cool folks. Roman, from Russia, and Blaise, from Burundi. The cafe is a place where street people can come and get a free meal, and where the more affluent people like myself (starving artist types) can get a good meal for a really good price (by Norwegian standards anyway). Did I mention that Norway is pretty expensive? Welcome to Europe, where the dollar isn't doing that well.

My uncle knows most of the street folks around here, and we said hi to a few as we met them. He's always telling them about Jesus and praying for them, which I'm not sure they appreciate terribly, but you never know what effect it might have...
Here are a few shots of the mountains and the town of Odda:

That last one is looking north towards Tyssedal, which is just on the other side of the mountain to the right.

Tyssedal

Here are a couple pictures from just outside my Uncle Warren's house. He lives in Tyssedal, north of Odda on the eastern side of the fjord, and the views are stunning. I'll try to flesh out the rest of the town as time goes on.

The first picture there is looking south along the fjord to Odda. Odda is at the very end of the fjord, where the rivers from the mountains come down to meet it. The harbor here is deep enough to accommodate cruisers and other deep ships, and at one time people used to come here often on vacation - back before technology ruined the world, and people actually enjoyed physical exercise.
I'm going to try to post every day from now on, the last few days being pretty full with getting situated and learning the lay of the land. Uncle Warren is quite a talker, and I'm more of a listener, so we get along pretty well. I'll probably move in to one of his apartments in the next few days, so will have more time to myself - at the moment I'm staying at his house and helping him organize some of his things. He has only recently arrived back from the US himself, and there are lots of things for him to deal with regarding bills and tenants.

Bus to Odda

Monday I woke up early and caught the bus to Odda. Helen dropped me off after dropping off Hannah at school, and we had quite a good conversation along the way. The bus driver punched me in and I bought a ticket for the whole journey, he making sure I understood that I had to change at Seljord. (names unfortunately are not in the proper characters - there are sounds that the english characters simply can't represent - i'll try to address that in later blogs)

Here are a few pictures out the bus window along the journey:

As you can see, the terrain was more covered in snow as we went over the high pass (and through a long tunnel) until we finally emerged on the other side near where Odda is, nestled on the end of a long fjord at sea level.

Island Prison

Here is the island of Bastoy, from the ferry. Bastoy is actually a prison, but if you watch Micheal Moore's documentary Sicko (or rather, this YouTube clip that was ripped off of the extra bits of the DVD) you will discover that it is not an ordinary prison.

My friend Sara plays piano for the church on this island, and she invited me to play some music, after okaying it with the pastor. So I came and played a few songs, and they seemed to be well received. It's hard to know when you don't speak the language. Here's a shot of me playing on the ferry on the way back.

Here I Am In Norway

So I've made it to Norway! I flew into Torp (about an hour from Oslo), which happens to be near Tonsberg where some friends of my Uncle live. I've spent the last few days with them and really enjoyed myself. Here's a picture of me outside their house, which we cleaned up yesterday - what a great day for yardwork and spring cleaning!

So I'm enjoying my time here so far. =) Friday night I played a concert for their youth group, and this morning I played in church. This afternoon I'm going to play some songs at the service in Bastoy prison - a prison on an island that was featured in Micheal Moore's 'documentary' Sicko. More about that later.
I'm getting some great responses from people on the songs, and having fun relating to folks here. Still working on learning some of the language, and they're impressed with my ability to pronounce things so far.

The second Beginning

4/14 So... I'm sitting in the Toronto International Airport (Pearson, just in case there is more than one int'l airport here in Toronto - notice the annoying TV behind me that chatters endlessly), and think I have managed to figure out how to blog from my computer without having to log in to a bunch of different sites.

My friend Ethan Demme told me about this cool program called ecto that lets you publish to a blog from your desktop, and i imported my blogspot to my Facebook notes page, so hopefully this will work... I still have to try to figure out how to make it update my Myspace blog, but no luck so far.

I am about to embark on an exciting journey to Norway via London. =) It should be lots of fun! I'll be there for three months after spending a couple days in England, where I'll reconnect with some friends.

The reason this is called 'the second beginning' is because I began this blog back in 2006. February 2006. I have only just now made a second post. So really, it's just the first post of what will hopefully be many fun and interesting posts.

People of note that I have met: Julia Barry, fellow singer-songwriter who lives in London by way of NJ.

Random things: I forgot to get my guitar from the gate check area when I got off the plane here in Toronto - the stewardess had to chase me down on the bus. Whew - that was close! My computer is working great - I'm the only one who can get internet access via wi-fi here in the airport.

EDIT 4/19: I figured out how to get the picture to display.