I'm really running out of creative things to title my posts this month, there's just so much Christmas stuff going on! The holiday seems to last months here, but hey, I'm not complaining!! This week was no exception to the Christmas-filled season, in fact, as Christmas gets closer, the holiday activities only ramp up! The excitement this week started just a few hours after the last post went out with a lutefisk dinner...
Lutefisk is a very Norwegian (or maybe all of Scandinavia, not really sure) dish that consists of a whitefish that has been treated with lye as a preservative. This was originally eaten in Scandinavian winters because it stayed edible so long, but has now become a traditional Christmas food. As with all Norwegian dishes, you can't
just eat the fish part, there's a whole list of sides and toppings that go along. Potatoes and a pea mush (doesn't sound very appetizing when I put it like that but I can't think of a better descriptor) go alongside or under the fish and golden syrup, mustard, brunost, and bacon go on top. I'm sure you're thinking that sounds like quite the range of flavors, and it is, but somehow it all works together. It was my first time trying lutefisk and I was a little nervous, but it really wasn't as bad as I expected. The texture is a little odd but it tastes pretty much just like fish and covered with all the toppings a lot of that fishiness gets covered up anyways. The whole meal was definitely an experience!
Monday was a pretty normal school day with, of course, band rehearsal. Our concert was the next day so we did the last run-throughs. Tuesday brought the concert which we had in Gamle Aker Kirke, the oldest church in Oslo. I didn't take any pictures since we were performing but I'll do my best to describe it. The walls are all gray stone with tall windows on them. It's a long church, much longer than it is wide, which makes for an interesting concert when there are so many people to fit into tight spaces. The ceilings are high, and combined with the stone, sound resonates really well and echoes a little. We played a bunch of songs, the choir sang a bunch of songs, and we played and sang together for a few songs. It really was a magical concert to be able to play in!
Wednesday was actually a holiday, even though there aren't many that celebrate it in the US. The 13th of December is St. Lucia, which celebrates a Christian martyr from the third and fourth centuries. At our school, and many others, the holiday is celebrated with a type of parade, buuuuut probably not the type you're thinking. The day began by being greeted by some of the teachers and administration with lussekatter, a type of saffron pastry in a double-ended swirl shape with raisins. At 9 o'clock, the real Lucia magic began. One person, traditionally a girl and often a blonde one, wears a white dress and a crown with candles on her head and represents Lucia. At Katta, this person is in the choir and the rest of the choir makes up the rest of the parade. All the lights in the hallway get turned off and the choir, lead by Lucia, begins from the fourth floor and walks down the halls and central staircase singing a traditional Lucia song while the students and teachers watch from the sides. The only light is that from Lucia's candles and the individual candle each other choir member holds. Our school is in an old building where the sound travels magically down from the upper levels and with our old staircase, you're transported back to a simpler time. When the choir reaches the first floor, they walk through the halls and regather under an angel we have hanging near the main entrance and sing a few more Christmas songs to end the ceremony. It was by far the most magical experience I've had in Norway so far, and maybe in my life. I was so entranced by the magic of it all that I didn't get any pictures, but I might be able to steal a few from the school website or Facebook page.
The rest of Wednesday and Thursday as a whole were pretty normal, aside from a geography test, the last big assignment before Christmas break begins on Thursday this coming week. Friday morning, we (the orchestra) started our morning-Christmas-song playing. We met up early, put on our Santa hats, and played some fun Christmas music by the main entrance for the students and staff as they came in. It was such a fun, spirited way to start the day, even though it meant I had to get up half an hour earlier than I usually do. The rest of the day went on as usual, but for dinner that night we went to Anne's cousin's house and had tacos! We had some very interesting and funny scientific debates, including whether taco shells and humans are magnetic. Clearly the important scientific questions of our time:)
Saturday morning I woke up feeling pretty gross with another cold, so I mostly hung low except for a little trip out to finish my Christmas shopping. That night we had some neighbors and good friends over to eat ribbe (rib), one of the traditional Norwegian Christmas Eve meals. I know it wasn't Christmas Eve, but neither family gets to eat it on the actual day, so we had our own a few days early:) This version of rib has a cross-hatched layer of fat on top that crisps up in the oven and is DANGEROUSLY good. I could have eaten so much, but it definitely is not the healthiest meal in the world. That dinner brought some more scientific discussions, but this time I got quite interested. It turns out that when my host dad wiggles his fingers on one hand, some muscles in the other hand replicate the motion. One of the neighbors is a chiropractor and had some theories that I found really intriguing, so that night I began my research. I spent many hours last night and today researching the neuroscience and biology behind finger motions and am currently trying to find the reason behind the uncontrolled motions. I'll let you know if I figure it out:) And yes, I'm aware that I'm a nerd. This type of thing brings me so much joy so please don't ruin my excitement:;))
This afternoon we took advantage of the sun and clear skies to go sledding at a hill just a short walk away. There's enough snow now to sled and it was so fun to get out and play in it! There were quite a few people there and avoiding running over small children was a bit difficult, but no children (or adults) were hurt in the process :) During our fun, I saw yet another thing there that could only happen in Norway. Two huskies were attached by leashes to the front of an electric bike with really fat wheels and a man on it, and a sled with two kids on it was attached by a string behind the bike. The dogs would run and with a little help from the man on the bike, the whole group would fly down the road. At one point they even went up the pretty steep sledding hill, and then raced down it! Only in Norway...
Next Sunday will be Christmas Eve, which is the biggest Christmas day in Norway, so you'll get to hear some more Christmas adventures, but maybe on Monday, as the celebrations are mostly in the evening.
Word of the Post:
å ake = to sled
Pictures (a bunch of which aren't actually mineeeee)
 |
| Santa's Orchestra (picture by Mathea:)) |
 |
| Also Mathea's (thank you!!) I love the mix of our director's medieval-ish cape and Santa hat:) |
 |
| Ribbe post-cutting |
 |
| YUP |
 |
| Sledding! |
 |
| Traditional lutefisk with all the sides! |
 |
| Lucia parade (from Katta's FB page) |
Comments
Post a Comment