Tag Archives: Sandefjord

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George Clooney and our street

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A few months ago, some of our local friends mentioned an older commercial from a Norwegian bank, that starred George Clooney. In it, Clooney references a house in Lillestrøm, but it is actually in our city, Sandefjord. Not only is the house in our city, but on our street. And not just on our street, but right across from us. And on top of all of that, the commercial was voted the best commercial of 2011!We finally remembered to look it up last night. And I have to say, the commercial is pretty cute. And cool to see our neighbor’s house, too!

friends, Travel

Paris: an added bonus

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We were excited about our trip: because we had never been to Paris, and because we were in need of a bit of down time. But a couple of weeks before we traveled, Zack and I found out that there was going to be something else to look forward to…A family that we’ve become very close with here in Sandefjord was also vacationing in Paris at the same time. It was their Christmas gift to their two daughters, whom our boys adore. We waited until just before traveling to let the boys know (mainly so they didn’t accidentally spoil the surprise for the girls).

We hoped we would have the chance to grab a coffee or share a meal together. What a wonderful treat that we got to spend all day Monday and several hours on Tuesday with each other. It was fun to explore new places together – and to get to practice Norwegian at the same time! What a great way to get to know our friends better.

We will not soon forget our time with our sweet friends: lots of laughs, checking out cool cars on Champs, exploring a Christmas market, crowded trains, pastries, Notre Dame, the tour of coffee shops, and what M&M probably thought was the worst meal of their trip (sorry about the spices – but we love Chipotle!).

We are so thankful for sweet friends!

Arc de Triomphe
Car shop on Champs Elysees
Christmas Market… and a moose?!?!
Notre Dame
This shop sells some interesting things…
look in the back of the window!
Friends
Waiting on hot chocolate

 

She is so good with Daniel
Best Buddies
Sharing dessert on their 19th wedding anniversary
Good friends, good coffee… and always silly
celebrate, cross-cultural living

365 Days Later

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A year ago, we woke early at a hotel by the airport, boarded a shuttle bus, and then made our way onto an airplane. We said good-bye to our home country and anxiously prepared for our first field assignment.Two flights later, we we arrived in what would be our home for the next 3.5 months: the beautiful and big city of Vancouver.

I remember that first day in Vancouver. We were exhausted, nervous, a little sad, and very much overwhelmed. We boarded the (wrong) SkyTrain towards our apartment in Surrey, and finally made it there. We were excited about the cool views from a very hip high-rise apartment. We were hungry. We needed to go grocery shopping. We didn’t know where anything was. We wandered aimlessly, searching for what would become our routine: grocery stores, shops, restaurants, coffee, etc. While it wasn’t always easy, we really enjoyed our short time in Canada.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we left our normal. And yet in some ways, it seems like even longer than that!

A few photos from our journey out of the US a year ago…

 

 

 

 

 

Norway, What's it like

Norwegian Summer

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Not much I want to write today – just want to share a bit of the beauty that we get to enjoy on a daily basis. Each day we wake up, look out our windows, and say to God, “do we really get to live here?!?!” 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cross-cultural living, Day-to-Day

Unpacking

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About nine months ago, the movers pulled into our driveway in Georgia. They boxed kitchen items and toys. They carefully wrapped beds and other furniture. And most of our personal belongings (what remained after several yard sales and countless trips to drop donations at thrift stores) were placed in some faraway storage facility, awaiting our arrival in Norway.

Nine months later, I sit in our home on another continent. Awaiting the arrival of another team of movers. This team will come today with all of those boxes and furniture. And after almost three months here, we will finally get to unpack and really settle.

I don’t know exactly what to expect today. I imagine there will be surprise as we see things that we’d forgotten were around anymore (many things were packed when we sold our house back in September 2011). There will be excitement as the boys unwrap beloved toys. Maybe some disbelief as we wonder why in the world we thought it necessary to pack some of the items for the move. And probably a little anxiety and frustration as we try to find a place for everything!

One thing is for sure: this weekend promises to be a busy one!

cross-cultural living, Language

Spisebord

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We sat at a table as we ate lunch today. The first time we’ve sat as a family at home around the table for a meal since we left Oslo in mid-February. We are thankful for a great deal we found on Norway’s version of Craigslist. We are now the proud owners of a lovely table and 6 chairs! Can’t wait to see who might end up around this table over time 🙂

And while we’re talking dining tables, I’ll share a bit of humor with you…

A dining table is called spisebord [SPEEH-seh-bord] in Norwegian. It is a combination of the words for eat (spise) and table (bord). You see, in Norwegian, when you describe something it becomes one word. So you put SPISE and BORD together: spisebord. Take a look at the funny picture one of our Norwegian friends posted on Facebook. It shows you how we can really mess up the language with just the incorrect use of a space. Dining table? Or eating a table? 😉

 

 

cross-cultural living, Day-to-Day, Norway

Sandefjord Photo Shoot

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Last Saturday we went walking around the city, doing some filming for a video. The boys needed to answer some questions that they received from a kindergarten class in Georgia, and we thought it would be fun to do it in video format!While we were out, we snapped some more pictures of our city (… and of course our boys!). This place really is beautiful – and it still looks very much like winter. Can’t wait to see it when everything is in bloom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cross-cultural living, Day-to-Day

Home

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After several weeks, we are starting to feel more at home here. The boys are in the third week of school and doing great. An we (Z&J) started language classes today.

I’m attaching several pictures. I never know in what order this crazy app will post the pictures! But here’s what I’m including:
-We take victories anyway we can get them. I got a haircut using my limited Norwegian and the hairdresser’s limited English (she did a lot better than I did!)
-We spent Saturday at a conference in a nearby town. It was a beautiful place. And bonus: they had English interpretation via headsets!
-Friday William was invited to a birthday party for a school friend. So while he was gone, we treated Daniel to McDonalds.
-Being from the southern US, we were unfamiliar with these big metal electric blocks that thaw the ground in order to dig a grave.
-Daniel was excited to help us grocery shop today, with a kid-sized shopping cart!