Tag Archives: Sandefjord

cross-cultural living

Ticket to Drive

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I’ve posted about what it’s like to drive here in Norway (see post here). What I didn’t address was a driver’s license.The idea of having to take a driving test scared me. Sure, I’ve been driving since I was 15, but being tested on rules in a European country? Whoa. And in another language? Even more frightening! And trying to learn road rules and take a theory test in a second language? No thanks.

There are different requirements based on the license you already hold. Lucky for us, the requirements for someone with a US driver’s license weren’t so bad. As long as we began the licnse exchange process within the first year of arriving, we could exchange our license by completing a one-hour lesson and passing the road test. No theory/written test required. But only if we passed the first time (had we not passed, the requirements were significant.)

Zack began his process last fall, and it went smoothly. After his ‘lesson’ and test, he was the proud owner of a Norwegian drivers license. He was also happy to report that both the school instructor and the driving test examiner did everything in English.

The one-hour lesson does two things 1) it allows you use of the driving school’s car to take the test (we were not allowed to use our own car). And 2) it involves driving with the instructor from Sandefjord to Larvik (where the testing facility is). You get instruction along the way, tips on things to improve, and reminders about rules that are a bit different from what we know from America.

So in late January (about four days shy of one year here – yes, I’m a procrastinator) I began all the paperwork to exchange my license. A few weeks ago, just after Zack returned from the states, I took my test. Same instructor and same examiner. And same result: success!

While we probably could have managed fine taking the test in Norwegian, it was nice to have one less stress factor involved.It feels good to have one more thing in place to make life a little easier here in our new home!

 

cross-cultural living, Norway

Architectural Digest: follow up (where we live)

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I probably should have included it in the original architecture post (HERE). But for those who might be curious about what our house looks like, here’s a picture of it taken last year.As I mentioned before, we have been told that it was built around 1897.

The house is divided into two separate homes/apartment, and we live in the second floor apartment.
Just today I ran across a website with a few photos of our city (here). The fourth picture down was taken on our street, just a little south of our house.
And for those of you who are history buffs, we’ve also discovered something on YouTube. It is a chronological slideshow of Sandefjord, dating from 1870 – 2012. It is about 15 minutes long, so if you aren’t familiar with our city, it might be a little boring. But I found it quite interesting to see the city grow and change over the years!

cross-cultural living, What's it like

Architectural Digest: Sandefjord Edition

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We’ve had a number of people ask us what houses look like here in Norway. So on Sunday, we went for a walking tour of our neighborhood to show you a little of what we see around us.Architectural style can vary from fylke (county) to fylke. And of course, styles and methods change with time as well.

We live in Vestfold fylke, and while most of the homes around us have a similar style (more akin to the home where we live, a 2-story built around 1897), it is not hard to find some variety as well. And it doesn’t take more than a stroll to the next street north of us to see what we’re talking about. Go up the hill and take a left, and you just might feel like you’re walking through a very random issue of an architecture magazine.

This is the first we come to as we begin to turn off our street. An interesting house – very large – and a mix of stone and mortar. It looks impressive at night!

This style of home is fairly ordinary here: particularly the white with black roof combo. It must be nice to have that garage in the back!

When my mom and step-dad visited last year, they couldn’t get over the fact that much of Norway is rock. And what do you do when you want to build and there are rocks in the way? Just work around them, as was the case with this home.

Here is another angle of the house built on the rock. Reminds me of a parable in the Bible (you can read it HERE),

While most areas remain consistent in architectural style, this particular street really does exhibit a wide range of eras and materials. This structure appears to be at least two apartments (not at all uncommon: many homes here are multi-family homes), and was obviously built more recently than many of their neighbors.

Every time Zack and I walk past this house, it reminds us of Doc Brown’s house in Back to the Future. Great Scott!

It’s hard to see here, but I really like this modern home built on the hill.

Here, you can see how the houses are built regardless of elevation. They keep going up!

In another month or two, you won’t be able to see this one for all of the trees.

Zack and I like this one a lot. It has a bit of a German/alpine feel to me.

And the green roof here is fun.

You can occasionally spots a house with a grass roof. We don’t see them often in our area, but did see a little playhouse with one.

Finally, this one is on a different street. But we think the dragons are interesting – definitely has an Asian feel to it!

Do you see anything similar to homes where you live? Which one is your favorite?

friends

Happy One Year Friend-iversary!

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One year ago today, we sat down to Norwegian waffles with a couple I (Jenn) had met just a few days earlier. They invited us into their home to share a bit of their culture with us that day. Little did we know, they would quickly become some of our best friends here. Kai & Synnøve are always quick to share important cultural events, introduce us to traditional food, help us with language questions, and make sure we are doing well in our new setting. Synnøve has also been the one who’s taught me all about Norwegian baking!We are so thankful for the way God blessed us with such great friends!

So, happy “anniversary” Kai & Synnøve! We are grateful for your friendship and look forward to many more adventures together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day-to-Day

Wednesdays Off: thankful for little things

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Terrible photo – but who cares!
So thankful for time outdoors.

We are happy to be back in language school. It is good to have that routine back, to reconnect with friends there, and to make a few more steps towards language proficiency.

That said, we are also happy that unlike our last class which was five days a week, we now have Wednesdays free. It is a great time to catch up on work, run errands, and relax a little together.

Yesterday, we finished our errands a little early and had some time before picking the boys up from school. So we went to the park and enjoyed a brisk 2.5 mile walk. So good to get fresh air and sunshine!

What's it like

What’s it Like: Grocery Shopping

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Grocery shopping here is not all that different here. Not greatly, different, anyway. Here’s a rundown on similarities and differences…
What’s the same as what we were used to in the states?
  • The food is pretty much the same. We can get most anything at grocery stores here. Imports will cost you. For instance, a small box of PopTarts is around $6-7 USD.
  • Several big chains hold the majority of the market. Our choices include Kiwi, Rimi, Rema 1000, ICA and Meny. We can also drive a little further to Coop, EuroSpar or Joker. (There are other chains in the country as well.)
  • Lots of choices when you’re shopping for coffee, cheese, meat or fish.

 

What’s different from our former ‘normal’?
  • At many stores, you need a coin to get a grocery cart. You get it back when you return the cart. Baskets are no charge.
  • Bring your own bags. Or pay for plastic bags, usually around 1 krone (@17 cents USD).
  • Almost everything is a local (local meaning from Norway) product. Produce is probably the biggest exception (you can only grow so many things in this climate).
  • Most juice comes in a paper carton, not a plastic or glass bottle.
  • Same for veggies: many are packed in boxes instead of cans.
  • In most cases, stores are small. Typically, there are only a few choices for each item. For example. the picture below shows Daniel on the vegetable aisle. Actually, only the right side is canned vegetables, and what you’re seeing is pretty much the entire aisle. And the last part is the Mexican food section.
  • Few grocery stores are open on Sunday. Like most stores and shops. Most cities have one or two small shops that you can visit on a Sunday. But be ready for narrow aisles, VERY limited selection, and standing in line a while.

 

Daniel loves the stores that have kid-sized carts!

 

Kiwi is one of the grocery store chains in our city. It tends to
have the lowest prices, but not as much variety.
Day-to-Day

A Day in the Life

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We received a suggestion to write a post about what a typical day looks like for Zack and me.So what does our typical day look like? Honestly, our schedule varies every day. Some days we find ourselves buried in language learning activities, others meeting friends and local partners in the city, and others doing practical office type work. But most days include a blend of a lot of different things.

So here is a glimpse at what a typical weekday might look like while we are not taking language classes (maybe I’ll do another post once we’re back in language school)…

6:25: Jenn wakes up, packs the boys’ lunches, gets breakfast going
7:00: Zack and the boys get up, get dressed
7:20: breakfast, devotions, prayer
8:00: boys walk to the bus station
8:00: watch the news (great language practice!)
9:00: work out
9:30: emails, office work
10:30: clean up, language learning time
12:00: this can vary: lunch, time in the city, appointments, errands, work stuff
2:50: leave to pick up the boys from school
3:15: back home, snacks, homework

From here, it can go a lot of different directions. Sometimes we have to eat dinner at 4:00 or 4:30 because of football practice, appointments in the city, or house church. Sometimes we relax a little, eat dinner later, and then do something as a family (play cards, read a chapter from a book, play Wii, watch a TV show, etc). The boys typically go to bed at 8:00 (Daniel) and 9:00 (William).

Day-to-Day

Tønsberg Tønne

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The Tønsberg Tønne (translated Tønsberg Barrel) is a an old beacon at the tip of Tønsberg Fjord in Sandefjord. We went there Sunday morning for a hike with friends. The weather was overcast and around 6 C (43 F): good hiking weather! It really is a great hiking spot and the weather cooperated well… until we got to the very top where the beacon (?) is. The wind was whipping so hard! It would almost knock us over. On our way back, we stopped on the beach and grilled our lunch.By the way, do you notice anything in the pictures? Yeah, our snow is almost completely gone and it’s still February!