klem fra meg!

Christmas day marks five months in Norway for me. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. Five months here has felt like a week, yet five months away from home feels like a year. Christmas means many different things for me this year though. Kelly and I have been invited by Elisabeth to go with her family to Levanger, about two hours north of Trondheim for Christmas. It is so great to be able to spend Christmas with a family. I am also excited to experience a traditional Norwegian Christmas. It will be my first Christmas without my entire family, well any of my family for that matter, I will be spending it with a family whose primary language, I understand little of, and it is the half way mark of my time here in Norway. Approaching the halfway point really makes me think about my time here. It is really neat to be able to stand back and see all that has happened in these first five months, see the plans we have for next semester, and continue to seek after God's plans for my life.

Kelly and me in front of Nidaros Domen

This week is my last week of Norwegian class, at least for this semester. I am trying to get in at NTNU, the university in Trondheim, for next semester, but it is really hard to do so if you aren't a full-time student. Overall I would say it is going pretty well. I think I have learned more about the english language since trying to learn Norwegian. It is really pathetic though when the teacher has a question about English grammar and looks to me and I have less of a clue than he does. He is from France, teaching Norsk to students from all over the world in English. Oh well, language just isn't really my thing. Jeg kan leser og skrive mye norsk, snakker litt norsk, og forstår bare litt norsk. Å lære et nyt språk er veldig vanskelig. Vennene mine er så flink på norsk! Mange ganger jeg synes <<Å! Jeg er så dum!>> Vi arbeider på Dragvoll og Gløshaugen. I said that last sentence just so I could use 'ø'. That one is my favorite. I am considering replacing the 'o' in 'Tonder' with it. Actually, I just found out that Tønder is a small town in Denmark. I hear they decorate a lot for Christmas there. That is very fitting. I like Christmas decorations.

For all of the norskies reading this, go ahead and laugh at all my mistakes in that last paragraph. And yes, your English is probably better than mine too.

Kelly and I mean business when we make gingerbread cookies.

Now I am just adding pictures so you don't get bored.

For those of you who have seen the movie "Bandits" with Billy Bob Thorton and Bruce Willis, there is something that Billy Bob's character says that I have thought of numerous times. He is sitting there, taking in a foolish idea of Willis', and says "You want to know what the worst part about being smart is? You pretty much always know what is going to happen next." Disclaimer: I am not trying to say that I am smart enough to tell the future, but almost :) This was one of those times. Last summer before I left for Norway, I remember having several conversations with people saying "Wow, I am already not looking forward to those first few weeks in December. I will have just had my 21st birthday, missed out on Thanksgiving with my family, will be coming up on the half way point of being gone, approaching Christmas with the knowledge that I won't be going home for it, Whitni will be getting married and I won't be at it, and to top it all off, the sun will be coming up around 10:30 and setting by 2:00 in the afternoon." It looks like I was smart enough to see this one coming. Maybe it was simply a self-fulfilling prophecy though. If that is the case...I am really wishing I had never even thought it.

All that said, deep down (I just have to dig a little deeper than normal) I am still loving it here. My cousin is coming to visit in 22 days and the days start getting longer in 10 days. The next few months are going to be filled with traveling (Nuremberg, Germany; Krakow, Poland; Aberdeen, Scotland; and the south of Norway). I am very excited for all that is coming and I am eagerly awaiting to see God's plan for the spring semester.

I miss you. Seriously. I would love to hear from you!

klem!

jtonder@hotmail.com