What we love and what we don't love

I have been making this list in my head for quite some time now. I can't help but compare this assignment to all of our other ones. I needed to get this down on paper...and I thought...why not put it on my blog? We have been having fun at school activities, birthday parties, base events and just being a family here in this kick ass house. I usually post the pics of all that everyday stuff on FB lately. Thought I could give you all an idea of what it is like to live here...not just visit.... ENJOY!

Pros of living in Norway:

-Absolutely beautiful, nature all around you, everyday. Water, trees, animals, doesn’t get nicer than here. God's country for sure.
-Our house, and its view of Hafrsfjord is just beautiful. The size of this house really helps me to organize and to simplify...we got rid of a lot of stuff both before and after the move. So much easier to find things. Kids can roll on their push cars across the floor, run around, skip...they love the space.
-New friends...we have some great friends, who like to laugh loudly, who do not get embarrassed easily and who are just a hoot to be around. Our kind of people!! The social events are fun, I am getting out with the girls a lot more, which is good for my sanity!
-Avery’s school is really unbelieveable. I volunteered to be a room mom (had no idea how much work that is....rookie) and the parent involvement is amazing. She is in Kindergarten without being in Kindergarten yet and to Avery....that is a great thing...she was made for a program like this.
-Very low crime rate, little kids walk to school alone! You can leave more than a 4 foot radius from your child, kids are taught to be very independent here because they CAN BE. Nothing really happens around here. The walking & bike trails are so extensive, you can literally walk EVERYWHERE if you really wanted to. School buses all have seatbelts and are the huge touring buses. The drivers are always dressed up in ties and all blue collar workers here actually take their jobs very seriously. I have yet to really see any deadbeats, or druggies, or homeless or shady people. They are NOT here and if they are, they are NOT where you can see them, even downtown.
-Close to the beach, Tahoe is happy. So am I. We can see the North Sea from our house, past the fjord. What a view!
-Being in Europe, need I say more?
-Excellent quality of food, meat, dairy, bakery, produce. Food shopping variety is less than the USA but the quality and laws made to protect the consumer are incredible. Gorgeous meats, fruits, veggies WOW. I love to go food shopping but I leave a LOT of money there. That is ok because I will invest in quality food and my family's health any day.
-Excellent medical care & access to care. They use alternative & traditional medicine. They care a lot about nutrition and exercise. They try to solve your problems naturally or alternatively first, rather than just writing out a Rx. They practice functional medicine...they don't try to put a label on everything....I LOVE THAT! Plus their vaccine schedule is completely different than ours. Norway gives only HALF of the shots the USA gives before the age of 5, yet their kids are healthier....and as a whole has decreased infant/child mortality rates. Norway is #5 in the world with the healthiest kids. USA is #35. We need to take note...Norway has a lot to teach us.
-Excellent job benefits. I am in the process of getting my dental license and it won’t take a lot of paperwork to do it. Plus after 6 months of working, I become “Norwegian” in a sense and start benefitting from their socialized work benefits. More to come on that, as I learn more.
-Excellent outdoor sports, activities. Norwegians go out in any weather and have the most excellent cold weather gear ($$$$ but it's worth it). These kids are conditioned from birth to withstand the cold & rain. Their preschools get them OUT every single day for 1-2 hours EACH DAY regardless of the weather. Heavy downpour in winter or snowstorm....these kids are OUTSIDE. Except in lightning storms, they are OUT. Avery’s school they go out 3 times a day. The opportunites to get in shape and be athletic are endless.
-Our Norwegian neighbors are great, fun, kind. Surprisingly we lucked out. Our street is awesome and we have already been invited to parties.
-Norway could really care less about the USA and their “stuff”. They have no desire to be Americanized and do not think the USA has all the answers (unlike most Americans & other countries in Europe & beyond). This is a good thing....Norwegians have their own identity and are VERY proud of it.

Things we don't necessarily LOVE about living in Norway (better than the word CONS):

-Cost of living is very high, very expensive. If you knew what we paid in rent you would spit out your coffee. Hopefully our COLA (cost of living allowance) is increased soon. There are rumors that it will be.
-25% VAT is killing us. With one full-time income, shopping is NO FUN. Things are so expensive, then the 25% tax on top of that. We get reimbursed for the VAT because we are NATO (the oil company people do not) but only on non-consumable products. If you can't ship it home, you can't get your VAT back. I hope to be working by January (part-time).
-Not a lot of variety for shopping. If you need something there is probably only 1 or 2 stores in the area that MAY carry it. I have become pretty internet savvy and purchase lots online (always free shipping, and the American PO Box is key here, I'm so good at that)...and it takes up to 2 weeks to get here using the US Postal Service and the Military Postal Service. In general, I love shopping for discounts (Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, factory outlets, garage sales) and “thrill of the hunt” shopping makes me gleeful. Nothing like that here. Except for that one day I went with my landlady. Very few USA businesses are allowed here. We have no Walmart, Costco, Starbucks, Target or anything like that at all. If you need to go shopping you have to travel to a few stores to find everything you need or do without because Norway just doesn't have it. Shopping = no fun.
-Not connected to mainland Europe, makes traveling south difficult and expensive.
-Very slow speed limit, speeding tickets are called SHOCK tickets because only a 5 mph over and you get upwards of a $300 ticket. They are serious about driving safely and have a zero tolerance for drinking & driving. (that is why you don’t see any bars).
-Norwegians can be very reserved and seem “cold”. They just are. Not very animated, not talkative.....I think it’s because they are so literally cold all the time ha ha. They are not showy or into the bling. They all drive expensive cars though and all are very wealthy (cars, multiple homes, land, quality beautiful clothes). This region especially because of all the oil here. They do all of their work on their houses, cars, landscaping themselves because to hire it out is too expensive and the Norwegians really can do it all. Nice people once you get to know them, and when they drink alcohol....watch out!! So fun!
-The language is difficult to discern & learn. It is not the prettiest of languages and I don't really have a desire to learn it. I try to pick out the words when someone is speaking with me but it just sounds very jumbled and harsh sounding with sounds that I don't think my mouth can even make! EVERYONE speaks perfect English here and there really is no need to speak Norsk. No one gets mad either that you are not speaking their language. I'd rather continue my Italian studies and get the kids in Italian lessons at school. Hopefully Logan will be accepted in the Norwegian school system, he probably will be the only one who can speak it after 3 years here.
-No bars, piazzas for social gatherings. No coffee bars. Norwegians don’t eat out very much because of the prices. The only meeting place is the mall and there are only 2 restaurants there and a McDonalds. THAT’S IT.
-No good chinese food or other types of restaurants. We love to eat out and it’s just not happening here. Expect to spend $100 minimum per person for a pretty good restaurant with wine. Not an EXCELLENT restaurant, a pretty good one. They have McD's, Subway and a few 7-11s but are set up differently. I saw one Burger King. There aren't a lot of restaurants here in general.
-Obsessive recycling program. Norwegians are out to save the world. They are amazing, they recycle everything...but it is a pain in the ass.
-The time difference with friends & family in the US makes SKYPING difficult. The distance from the US is far. I liked being a short drive away from our friends...we are a bit far to make birthday parties and weddings.
-Norway is a relatively new country. No real antiquity here. Architecture, both residential & commercial is modern & industrial looking. Nothing really is OLD OLD OLD and I like that about mainland Europe especially Italy. Yes, the vikings were from here but everyone built in wood since then and all have been replaced with modernity. A few stone houses exist but not many.
-The weather. I am doing fine so far but Jan & Feb are my worst months. Hoping we all do well with our new gear and our beautiful view. Our house really has made this assignment what it is! :-)
-TROLLS...they are everywhere...are they good or bad trolls? Nice, or mischevious? We caught one once, but then he got away.

We love the USA, but we love Norway too and we are surprised how much we like it here. Neither of us are Norwegian so we had no idea what to expect when we got this assignment. All is good!

We are always open for visitors and are excited that we will be spending Thanksgiving with our good friends Mica, Sarah & Scott Ashmore who will be visiting from their new assignment in TURKEY! I ordered my holiday meats and can't wait to start celebrating!

Lysefjord and the move

Again, NATO sponsored an excellent day trip to tour the most beautiful Lysefjord by boat. The weather did NOT cooperate but our family had a great time on the boat chartered just for the NATO families. The kids had a blast playing with all of the other kids that they see EVERYWHERE (at school, on base, at events) and everyone just had a great family day. Lysefjord is home to the famous Pretekolien or Pulpit Rock. The fjord walls are sheer cliffs and the expanse of green is truly amazing. Norway really is a natural wonder. We splashed in natural water falls, fed mountain sheep right from the boat and traveled 2 hours into the fjord that day. We took a bus ride back home after the tour and stopped at a candle factory in a resort town and had a quick snack before heading home.

The move is going a little slowly. Aaron returned from Germany to find the house completely full with boxes. I am trying so hard to organize our things. Our house has plenty of room to have everything in place. I am getting rid of a lot of items that we just don't need here or have out grown. The base has a thrift shop that I am definitely keeping in business.

This week the American wives club "Northern Lights" is sponsoring a Luau at the Jatta International Women's Club meeting that I joined and attend monthly. Right now I am thawing 30 lbs of pork shoulder to make my famous "luau pork" we had at Logan's Luau a few years ago. Our committee is decorating and cooking and dressing up it really should be a hoot!

Avery continues to excel in school. She really loves it but is really tired when she gets home. She is in no extracurricular activites right now (the school already has a ton of enrichment programs weaved in the day. It really is the best school I have seen). She is happy and gets excellent reports on her progress and her behavior. We are getting ready to go to a pumpkin patch, march in a United Nations Day parade and search for autumn signs and trolls at Troll Woods. So proud of her!

Logan is loving his gymnastics class and is talking up a storm. He and I go everywhere together and I definitely wear him out every day! He is still napping and still working on the potty training...ha ha he is a BLAST! We are on a waiting list for him to attend a Norwegian preschool that is just down the street. Every time we drive past he yells..."Hello Logan's School!". I hope we can get him in there soon. Although I am not ready to drop him off...he really is ready. It's obvious now.

Otherwise, nothing is truly new here the past few weeks. The weather is starting to turn wet and dark. I am looking to buy a happy light to help me through the winter. We are excited to have visitors coming for Thanksgiving! And we are setting up a holiday vacation during Christmas week. Can't wait to take pictures of the house when it is finished. Almost there! xoxo