Yesterday I got an e-mail from Sarah Buchkosky in Constanta, Romania. It reminded me of getting cinci mare pâine every day at the bakery that made the whole street fragrant with baking bread and learning to say “pâine” and hearing Turkish weddings from the rooftop and gathering sea glass and that time we had a long nighttime train ride through those enchanting Transylvanian mountains and it began to snow and we stuck our heads out the window to catch the air and the flakes.

Just one dollar (two for both of us) bought an afternoon of summertime, canaries and orange trees.

(thanks for the suggestion, Bri)

It’s my last night here in Norway. I leave this flat (you know, the one above the H&M underwear store) early EARLY tomorrow morning. I feel like I’ve learned a lot here- I didn’t expect to; I thought I was just going to have a really good time. But I did learn a lot. I learned a lot about what home is. What friends are. I learned a lot about what I want- I’ve never been any good at knowing what I want. And I’ve learned a lot about what is valuable.

Such good stuff, all of it.

So, with that, I bid farewell to Norway: it’s toe trees, obscene prices, and my dear friends here. It’s been a treasure. And I can think of nothing sweeter than being home again. Not one single thing.

Karl Johans Gata- The big shopping/walking street in Oslo. It’s like State Street, but it’s much bigger, has a three story H&M and not many crazies. I miss the crazies.

Yesterday, I took some time to go shopping for gifts for my family and Adam. Naturally, I went to Karl Johan’s Gata because I know how to get there and it’s pretty and I know that there is a three story H&M. And of course I went to that three story H&M. And, let me tell you, it beats the pants off of any H&M I’ve been to in the States (particularly the two I’ve been to in WI). And that’s not just because Norway is ahead of us in fasion, because to tell you the truth, I’m not to thrilled with the styles that are coming our way- particularly the tight jeans. I just got new jeans. I like the little flarey things we wear. And all the way down tight jeans? Just not very flattering on me. If I have to buy new jeans sometime soon, why couldn’t the funky baggy girl jeans come back in? Those were kind of cool. I hope that this tight jean business doesn’t hit the States as hard as it did here, because I may have to sit this one out.

On the way back, one cappuccino, one kanelboller, and zero gift purchases later, I decided to take the scenic route. The light was too beautiful to miss. And I found myself accidentally at the dear antique bookstore I stumbled upon several days ago the night it was snowing (I can’t believe I’ve been in Oslo for several days, it’s gone so quickly). It’s the best bookstore I’ve ever been in; it’s a tiny little place tucked away on the corner of a quiet little street and has the mustiest, dustiest, bookiest smell ever. The little man who owns it has white hair and glasses. He tries to keep it tidy, but there are just too many books and they spill over the maze of crowded shelves into stacks on the floor and the windowsills and you find yourself always having to step over them. It’s wonderful.

I took the scenic route home from there- wandering all about. And I found wonderful wonderful graffiti:

When I got home, I made brownies and we ate them warm with ice cream on top in the apartment above the H&M underwear store. I love the way Norwegian ice cream melts. Very different from the melting of American ice cream. It was a wonderful day.

Oslo is a city full of streets with rows of five-story yellow houses with steep metal roofs and large white windows. I’m staying with my dear friend Tåran in the apartment she shares with three other guys. It’s on top of an H&M underwear store and they stay up late talking about life and belief and watching Family Guy.

Pictures and stories to come.

I finally arrived here in Alvdal Friday night after accidentally not paying for a train and missing my bus in Oslo. I had to go train back to Bøler with all of my bags and try the whole ordeal again five hours later. But the second time it went flawlessly (and it feels so terrific when things go flawlessly when traveling alone in a foreign country). And to top it off, it was the bus company’s 10th birthday, so when I eventually got on the bus, I got free coffee and delicious cake (bløttkake, a white cake with layers of whipped cream, pudding, and strawberry jam covered in marzipan…mmm…) and candy. It was all very Polar Express. The bus driver even had a brown moustache that made him look charming and not skeezy at all. In my mind, it takes quite a man to pull off a non-greying moustache without looking a little bit skeezy. The whole thing was terrific.

And now I’m back in Alvdal- the little town I spent some 5 months in three years ago. My host family’s house still has the same house smells and I love that. They also still have tons of delicious food. I’ve eaten lefse, risengrynsgrøt, bown cheese, and tons of brødskirve. Being here feels very cozy and very much at home. We watched old home videos from when I was an exchange student here. My haircut was very awkward. I was very awkward. It was great. And it’s just been nice to spend time with Ingvild, Bård, and Karine here. Very nice.

I’m here.

I spent my first night here in Bøler on the outskirts of Oslo with the wonderful Ragnhild, her great husband Torbjørn, and the rosiest baby ever, Simon. They were kind enough to let me stay with them a few nights despite their hectic schedules, and it’s been great (though I’ve spent most of my time catching up on sleep).

There has been good conversation and I had a lovely walk in the woods today. It isn’t snowy here, but it is mossy, and I daresay I like moss better.

On my long flight over, I sat next to a man named Leo who was very kind and believed that your physical state entirely determines your emotional state, and to change who you are inside, you should change your outside. I don’t know that I believe that entirely (what do you think? comment away!). But we both think that people get trapped in this life pattern that they think is their only choice and end up living mundane lives day to day when there is more out there for them. Leo’s a motivational speaker that wants to show people that and travel’s around the world doing so. I think that’s pretty terrific. I wish I got Leo’s autograph (I love having people I meet while traveling scribble something down for me to remember them by).
three things I love about Norway:

-the moss
-after dinner coffee (or tea) and sweets
- the toilets with all their wonderful suction power (american toilets are so wimpy)

three things I love about the US:

-the vast amount of cereal american’s consume
- that we females have cool pj’s and wear them around the house
-peanut butter.