American Again

July 01, 2018

American Again

It's hard to believe that a week ago I was still in Norway, still wondering how the next forty-eight or so hours would play out. I say that it's hard to believe because upon returning to the US, what surprised me the most was how little everything else here had changed. Within the first minutes of seeing my family again, I felt as if I had never left; in fact, everything the happened in Norway sort of feels like a dream from a parallel universe. All I have for proof that it all happened are the things I brought back. In an attempt to avoid having expectations for how things would be coming back, I assumed and prepared myself to feel as though a lot had changed. I thought this would save me from being frustrated when things didn't feel as natural as they used to, and keep me from being disappointed if friendships weren't the same as they were before. That counter-expectation, if you will, was actually what threw me for the biggest loop, though. Because as soon as I stepped off that plane, everything fell back into place. Friendships with people I hadn't seen since August picked right back up where they left off, my room looked the exact same (minus the Norwegian flag that apparently had hung on my window since the day I left), and my role in the family seemed to let me, with all my new changes included, right back in. So, in short, it's been really easy to come back. That being said, I feel like it hasn't quite hit me that I won't be back at Katta at the end of the summer, won't be living with my host family for as long again, won't be with my friends getting half-priced frozen yogurt on the first Friday of the month. I'll let you know when that kicks in, and how much I regret writing that it's been easy here when it does.

I spent basically all of Monday traveling, at least in Norway time. When my alarm went off at 2:45 am, it was more reminding that it was time to get up than actually waking me up; I didn't sleep much that night as you can imagine. I packed the last of my things into the various bags, threw on way more coats than necessary for the late June weather, and said goodbye to Espen before packing the car and driving off with Anne. We got to the airport, met the YFU volunteer that would make sure I got where I needed to be, and I said the very last goodbye to Anne. From that point on, my day of travel was pretty smooth sailing (or should I say, flying), and I made it to Boston after two flights and lots of waiting in Frankfurt. The lines at customs were long, as always, but I made it through eventually and was very thankful to see my luggage already on the baggage claim (I have a history of my luggage getting lost). From there it was out to the international arrivals waiting area where I was greeted by my family with Ja, vi elsker (the Norwegian national anthem), signs in Norwegian, a Norwegian flag, and my brother (who is much bigger than he was when I left) in a viking helmet. We made our way out of the airport (after getting Dunkin Donuts of course), and drove to my best friend's house to surprise her.

I had been planning to surprise her for a while and with the help of her sister, had managed to get her out of the house for a while so I could sneak in. A few kinks in the plan put us a little behind schedule, but when she finally came, her reaction was priceless. She had known I was coming back on Monday but thought it would be late and that family plans on Tuesday meant she wouldn't get to see me until Wednesday. I'm really not sure I've seen anyone that surprised ever. We headed back to my house after a few minutes as I hadn't even been home yet, and it was surprisingly normal to go into the house, which had been decorated by neighbors with a huge "Velkommen hjem" sign and balloons.Walking up the stairs that first time I noticed how steep they were, and it seemed I had lost my special touch that used to swing me around those corners with ease. Despite feeling like I'd never left, those small details proved that I had been gone long enough. We ate my favorite dinner that I had requested, my mom's chicken pot pie, some friends came over and welcomed me back, and around 9:30 I finally crashed. At that point I had been awake for about 25 hours straight, and I was ready to sleep. In my "own" bed.

I spent most of Tuesday with my mom who had taken the day off to be with me. We got some stuff that I needed, I drove for the first time in forever, got ice cream at my favorite place, and I got to see a few other friends as well. That evening we went to see Ocean's 8, which I would recommend if you like the other Ocean's movies or just funny movies in general. Wednesday morning I went over to see my grandparents that live in town and then spent the rest of the day with my best friend doing a bunch of our favorite NH things. Thursday midday I hung out with yet another friend and drove to the beach, although it was super foggy and there wasn't much to see. I spent quite a bit of time Thursday in the car as well, driving my brother and mom around because apparently I was trusted enough to drive alone already. It's a little weird spending so much time in the car and being so dependent on it, but in a lot of cases it's the best or only option. Thursday evening I went with my mom to the grocery store, just because it had been so long since I had been to an American one, and the selection was huge. There is literally a whole wall with canned tomatoes in different forms. Friday morning I saw even more friends and had a waffle breakfast with them (yes, we eat waffles for breakfast here) before going to the beach since it was so hot. Ohhhh, how I missed the Seacoast's beaches. Sand to lie on, rocks to climb on, and refreshingly cold salt water to make my hair all curly. After we were sufficiently cooled and my frisbee had gathered enough sand to make its own beach, we went back for mac and cheese, one of the foods I'd craved the most while I was in Norway. Let me just tell you, it was as good as I had remembered.

Later that afternoon I went up to the school to pick up my schedule then back home to get the house ready for the little welcome home party we were having for my neighborhood and close family friends. It was nice to see everyone and get to say hi, especially because it really doesn't feel like I've been gone that long, so now that the first hellos are done, I can move on and pretend everything's normal again :) Saturday was brutally hot, and my mom and grandma went to a craft fair thing which was a little too hot for my liking. Afterwards I took a nap (much needed after days of waking up way too early due to jet lag) and then got ready for a small family birthday party to celebrate the birthday they had missed while I was gone. We ate lobster, a yearly tradition, which tasted so good. Lobster from these parts is just better than other lobster. Today I had my first day back at work which should keep me cool this summer as it's in a very air conditioned basement selling salt. Sounds weird, but I promise it isn't.

Wrapping up this blog post is a little strange, knowing that I won't be doing another weekly post again. A little less than a year ago I started posting regularly, back when I didn't speak Norwegian and had no idea what was going to unfold the next year. Now my English has a slight accent and my grammar's all off, but I lived through what used to be so unknown, and those early August days feel strangely distant. Thank you one last time for all the support on these posts, I'll be back with a few more in the future, but who knows when they'll be. I guess I'll keep it a mystery, to myself as well :)

Word of the Post:
å reise = to travel

A few last pictures