catching up

Well, it’s been a really long time since I posted anything… well not that long, but it feels like it’s been a long time. A little over a week. I guess this post’s timing is about on par for me. Since I haven’t really been keeping up with news or current events or anything like that there’s nothing really for me to rage about, so I guess I’ll use this post to describe some of my adventures, which will undoubtedly bore nearly all readers.

I’ve certainly had some adventures and met a lot of interesting people, and I will talk about all of that, but I think I should start off by commenting that I have officially fallen in love with Norway. It’s the most beautiful, kind-hearted country I have ever visited (which isn’t that many, but who’s counting?). For continuity’s as well as coherence’s sake I’ll explain why. I’m currently residing in Bergen, which is on the western coast of Norway. It’s the second largest city in Norway, but you’d never know it because it has a population of around 250 thousand people. Probably less, but I’m too lazy to look up the statistics. Now this small population size not only makes you feel like you have an actual, personal location in the world, but it also makes the people kinder and more interested in their surroundings, town, fellow man. This isn’t even mentioning that, on the whole, Norwegian people are some of the nicest people I’ve met. I know I’m probably painting an overly rosy picture of this, but I really do enjoy them.

Perhaps a little story will explain this better. While in Oslo, I thought I had lost my check card, which would have been disastrous and probably the end of my trip, as I was about to pay for some coffee and a pastry at a cafe. Not realizing that the man in front of me had already set down his money to pay for his own coffee I allowed the cashier to use his money to pay for my things. Of course he realized, and I apologized profusely like an idiot, but both he and the cashier spoke fluent English and as I fumbled around like a fool the cashier said that I could take my coffee and pastry and come back when I found my card. The man whose money I stole even wished me luck as he left. Another: I was checking it at my hostel here in Bergen and had no means to pay because Bank of America in their infinite, fraud-killing wisdom decided to freeze my account and wanted me to call them to clear it up while I had no way of calling an international number (my phone’s sim card only works in the UK for some strange reason). Luckily the receptionist let me use HIS phone to call the US. I’m rambling now, but you get the picture.

Also, if you haven’t seen pictures of the Norwegian landscape, you should look up some pictures. The landscape has never ceased to amaze me here. The train ride from Oslo to Bergen was an experience I’ll never forget. I don’t need to go on about this because you can just look it up. I’m boring myself now, so I’ll just run through a list of cool stuff/people, that have happened/I have met.

In Stockholm I met two pairs of Germans, one pair were what you would call “Stereotypical.” I only saw them when they were drunk or hungover, and they were miserably either/or both times I saw them. They dragged me out to a club the night I arrived, but I went home before a cover charge was going to be involved.

The second pair were much more interesting. One girl and one guy, but they were both musicians from the black forest. We talked about music, politics, language and life in general over beers in a tapas bar. They mentioned that they were more excited to speak English than German and laughed at a few of my pronunciations when I tried to speak German to them. They were very interesting. Very rooted in reality and it seemed like they had a firm grasp on what I can only describe as the fleshy meaning of life. I feel like I float around above reality at times making vague, metaphysical connections to things I only hear whispered through wires and trees. See? There I go. Everything they spoke of was fleshy and pink and vibrant, and I wish I had gotten their information before they left. Bummer.

In Oslo: I met a Turk and another American. The Turk was very quiet and timid and asked me strangely personal questions for how shy he was. He wanted to know what it was like to be able to speak my mother tongue wherever I went (his words not mine). I was taken aback because I’ve often thought about that. I told him I felt bad, but there was nothing I could really do because I couldn’t learn all the languages in the world. I guess I could just not travel… He also asked me about the elections coming up and showed me pictures of his home and of Estonia, where he had been traveling before Oslo. The American was looking for work as an architect. He showed me some of his work, and if any of his designs are ever turned into an actual building whoever the owner of the property is should look into property insurance. He could make a killing because none of them will stand, let alone attract tenants. It was funny actually. It looked like he took a bunch of acid, smoked a lot of pot and the went crazy with a 3d modeling program. He was from California, so who knows.

In Bergen up to this point I’ve met a Nigerian fisherman who is looking for work in Norway. He’s pissed because his brother, who is a doctor in Maryland, won’t go to Alabama and talk to a ship building company so that he, the fisherman, can get his own boat to go back and fish for prawns (“prongs”) in Nigeria. I hope he gets his boat. He’s a nice guy. I also met a British couple who offered me a place at their house in Edinburgh if I’ve ever in town. They’ve traveled all over the place, climbed Mount Kenya, took a ski trip through the Norwegian Plateau etc etc. I was fascinated and a little bit jealous. They showed me pictures. I’m planning a trip to Edinburgh to see them later in the school year, maybe before I go home for summer.

I’m a little concerned with how I’ve depicted/written about these people. I talk about them as if they’re some museum exhibit. I’m missing that crucial attachment to the blood and flesh of the people. I can examine them from a distance, but I can’t get inside them to understand like the Germans seemed able to do. I guess that sounds sort of creepy, but it might explain something that has been bothering me for years. I can enjoy people and like them, but I have a real difficulty LOVING them. It might be my problem as well. I’m just not comfortable enough to sever that final barrier that would plug me into that strange life stream some people are so attuned to. I guess it would mean losing myself in a small way, but at the same time I desire it. It’s a terrible paradox and I’m starting to frighten myself talking about it. I’ll work on it and see what happens.

I’m starting to formulate an idea I’d like to write about more. It has something to do with the above as well as technology and humanity’s role in it and with it. Blah blah blah.

Climbed a mountain today. The sun came out. I went to the top and had a great view of the fjord and Bergen. Clouds were rolling past and the sunlight washed over the town making it sparkle if you stood in exactly the right spot. Fantastic. Catch a ferry in a couple of days. Hoping to see the aurora Borealis. Not holding my breath though.

Till next time.