Thanksgiving in Norway

In previous blog entries, I have noted that there are some Fall holidays here in Norway, but nothing remotely close to the American celebration of Thanksgiving.  The lack of the holiday may be a good thing as there was no systematic genocide of an indigenous people to commemorate... but hey, why focus on the negative?  Turkey is delicious!

Who needs a baster?  We get it in with a ladle, son! 

So... What did your American-in-Norway do to commemorate the day?  Well... I moved a mattress.  

I guess that requires some background.  You see, our mattress here has been the source of much consternation (i.e. griping in the morning when awaking with sore backs) for some time and, buoyed by the holiday spirit, it was time to purchase a new bed.  

For anyone whoever said that "vacations" and "bathroom habits" are the tests of a relationship has never had different bed preferences than their significant other (alert: First World Problems!!!).  After an hour in Norway's Bed Center (really, that's the name... Norges SengSenter.  It really might be one of a few, non-IKEA bed options in the Eastern part of the country), we were deadlocked between the Memory Foam Mattress (my pick largely based on the commercials I use to see in the States all the time... I have no shame admitting that) and the HR Foam.  After countless trials on each (don't worry, I'm almost done), my inability to differentiate gave the deciding vote to the HR Foam (in hindsight, it was the right choice... better support).  Awesome.  The bed was delivered on Thanksgiving Eve and, to my chagrin, the removal of the old one was going to be almost 100 dollars (550 nok).  Not having it.

So.  The following day, me and a good friend took the leftover mattress down to my storage unit to await an unsuspecting dugnad dumpster.  Progress!

So, uh yeah, where do we put the unwanted beds?

For the actual celebration, we had to wait until that Saturday.  Friends came over and the lady cooked her tail off (Squash Casserole, Candied Yams, Mashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Green Beans, Stuffing, Pumpkin pie, Apple Cake, and a stupendous turkey)

friends brought goodies (wine, beer, aquavit, and scallop potatoes with bacon)

So yeah... It was a great celebration.  We went around the table and said what we were thankful for over the past year, we laughed and shared stories about each other, and we played a board game.  Most importantly, we enjoyed, and were thankful, for each other's company.  Which, regardless of where you are or come from, is the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Alt for Norge

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You can get with this... or you can get with that

Norway isn't Sweden.

Norway, also, isn't America.


I don't know if I've made that fact clear over the eight or so months of this blog (save the summer vacation break).

The two countries are different, not radically different (yeah, the whole "different language" thing jumps out at you...), but different (but, Norway and America are WAY similar than Belgium and the good ol' USA).

It's not a bad thing (something I had to remind myself early on...), but it can lead to a lot of "Wait.  What?" moments.


For Example:

Numerous items in supermarkets are sold based on weight (i.e. Carrots cost 51 kroner a kilogram), not that much different than in the states (well, carrots wouldn't run like $4 a pound unless you were in Alaska, but I digress).  However, in Norwegian supermarkets, there are no scales to ascertain how much one has procured of said product.  I didn't realize this the first time I went to a Norwegian supermarket and proceeded to walk around the store for like twenty minutes searching for a scale.  I ended up almost sending six apples through the bread slicer (if you're scoring at home, yes... there's a fancy, bread slicer, but no scale).  It wasn't like I wanted to only buy 60 kroner worth of apples, I was curious how many grams equaled six apples (approx. 720 grams).  A buddy of mine just chalked it up to the "Norwegian way", but I have definitely seen people sneaking scales into the supermarket.

Whatever.  I've adapted by guessing the weight and, when I'm right, I break out the Anne Hathaway...

Fine, something non-food related...

Alcohol cost more in Norway.

Though, its not to say that all the differences are bad or annoying.

Here is an Oslo, city bus

It is cleaner and runs on a vastly more efficient system than virtually every major city bus I've rode in the states (NYC, Baltimore, DC, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia).  A lot of the bus lines (particularly the one I frequently ride) run 24-hours a day.

Additionally, there is a flat rate for Bus, Subway, and Light Rail (all vastly cleaner and efficient) so there's no figuring out if you have enough on your travel card (I think NYC is also the same and I know the bus and subway in Baltimore are the same, but who takes those?).

Anyway, the longer I live here, the more I appreciate what makes Norway unique and cool (speaking of cool, it snowed twice in the past week... Fall doesn't linger here).  It's a special place with a lot of interesting food and culture.  Writing this blog has been my way to share with you all how fortunate I feel to be having this experience...

Instead of sharing more sweet and corny sentiments, I'm just going to post another funny, norway related .gif

ALT FOR NORGE

Follow me on Twitter @boomeroslo
Like me on Facebook:  /OSLOST
Buy my non-Norwegian based book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-New-Normal-ebook/dp/B008M0GPW2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351871121&sr=8-1