Books I have read and loved over the past year

Books are like food, a good friend once explained to me. Some books are heavy, rich, and elaborate like a Christmas dinner. Other books are fluffy, light, and insubstantial like cotton candy. You have to consume a balanced diet of books. Imagine if you were to only read dense, symbolic, complex literature all the time– it would be like repeatedly feasting on turkey dinners. Similarly, you can’t survive purely on cotton candy.

This food metaphor resonated very strongly with me and my reading habits. My taste in books is defined by diversity and curiosity; I love when a novel gives me something I have never seen before. My book choice also varies greatly depending on what my life looks like in that moment: where I am, what I am doing, the people I am surrounded by.

During my studies, there is a very specific type of book that my exhausted brain can enjoy. During my study breaks I like to read about real life, particularly lives that are completely different from my own. My ideal “Study Break Book” is well-written and literal, because my brain is incapable of analyzing symbolism after studying pathology. This past year, I was overjoyed to discover a number of autobiographies and memoirs which were more fascinating than I would have expected from the genre (until this year, I was falsely under the impression that biographies were boring and factual).

Without further ado, here are some of my favourite books I have read this year:

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey (Study Break Book)
This was the first book I read on my Kindle e-reader, as well as the first book I categorized in my Study Break genre. Tina Fey is not only a very talented writer, but is also hilarious in her recollection of how she became a famous comedic actor. Although her on-screen jokes are not always my type of humour, Tina Fey’s book consistently had me laughing out loud.

2. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (Study Break Book)
After watching his inspiring Ted Talk, I was curious to hear about what it was like to be in outer space. Not only is this driven individual Canadian (yay!), Chris Hadfield’s attitude is unfalteringly positive, and motivational. He chronologically describes his career path to becoming an astronaut, then the training and preparation before a launch, as well as his experiences at the International Space Station. I am absolutely fascinated by outer space and it was cool to learn about the life of an astronaut!

Here is a link Chris Hadfield’s awesome Ted Talk: Chris Hadfield: What I learned from going blind in space

3. What the Dog Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working Dogs by Cat Warren (Study Break Book)
I stumbled upon this title on Goodreads.com, a website which has become my virtual bookstore (I think of Goodreads as the IMDB of books). It is written by an English professor whose hyperactive dog is on the road to becoming a real troublemaker unless receives an outlet for his uncontrollable energy. Cat Warren describes the process of training a “cadaver dog” to assist the police in tracking human bodies. Although the task may sound somewhat disturbing, the book was not disturbing or graphic at all. If you can read the news, you can read this book. What made me love this book, though, was the meticulous and riveting research that Cat Warren integrates into each chapter. In addition to her personal experiences, she ties in scientific studies about the dog’s sense of smell, the history of dogs in ancient civilizations, attempts to replace the dog for drug detection and cadaver tracking, and other topics I didn’t even know existed! I have never read another book as unique as this one, and if you like dogs or even just like reading, I strongly recommend this book!

4. Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent (Study Break Book)
I was enraptured by this book from beginning to end. My interest stemmed from my perspective as a medical student (to understand the role of midwifery in healthcare and the logistics of a natural birth) as well as my perspective as a woman (because someday I might be pregnant, and I might want to consider a midwife as one of my options for delivery). Peggy Vincent started out as a nursing student in the 60s, a time when conservative medicine and the patriarchy reigned: all women were sedated and anesthetized during labour, by force if necessary. As her surroundings transitioned into an era of female empowerment, Peggy Vincent changed her career path to become a licensed midwife. As a result, her memoirs depict a vast number of fascinating real-life “characters” as well as a massive shift in the central dogma of birth. I found this book fascinating because I have always been intrigued by pregnancies and babies. If you are interested in reading a book about pregnancy, the miracle of childbirth, and empowered female personalities, then this is a book for you!

5. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (Study Break Book) 
Based on a true story, you may recognize this title from the recent movie starring Reese Witherspoon. I haven’t seen the movie yet, because I loved the book so much and I was told that the movie was not as good as the book. After losing a loved one and going through a rough patch in life, Cheryl Strayed embarks on a solo hike to reset her life. She tackles the Pacific Crest Trail, which stretches along the west coast from Mexico to Canada. Cheryl Strayed’s book inspired me to be “outdoorsy,” but I would never venture out alone as blatantly unprepared as she was! Her trail experiences are my favourite part of the book, and along the way she also strings together the story of her earlier life. Cheryl Strayed is a superb writer. She is authentic and brutally honest as she recounts her emotional and physical journey.

6. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer 
This was recommended to me as a “fluffy” summer read, and for that, it was perfect. For being a fluffy book, though, there was a high quality of writing. This book follows six teenagers from summer camp as their lives and relationships change into adulthood. I loved the characterization– the teenagers were irksome and self-centred, and they aged in complex, believable ways. This is not an action-packed novel, but I was so enthralled by the lives of these six characters that I didn’t need action!

7. Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel 
I finished this book in just a few days because I could not put it down! This is a passionate love story set in Mexico. A young woman named Tita is forbidden to marry according to tradition, so her soul mate Pedro desperately marries Tita’s sister in order to remain close to Tita. I was immediately enamoured with this book because I had never read anything like it before. This book falls into the genre of Latin American magical realism, where impossible events are accepted as reality. I loved this book challenged my imagination with its exaggerations and supernaturalism. What stood out to me most, though, was the way the author incorporated recipes throughout each chapter. Each monthly instalment (read continuously as chapters in the book) is tied together a mouth-watering traditional Mexican recipe; this book made me hungry and I was continuously snacking while reading. It is difficult to describe this very unique style of writing, but all I can say is that it was spectacularly done and I only have positive things to say about this book!

I am a bookworm and proud of it!

“If we bought every book that you read, we would be broke by now!” my parents said to me when I was young. “Thank goodness for the library!”

Ever since I learned how to read, books have been my sustenance. To me, books are not just for reading, they are for devouring. I inhale books like oxygen.

I was that kid who hid under the blanket with a flashlight so I could stay up past my bedtime to read just one more chapter (although for me, there is no such thing as “just one more chapter”). I would to read in the car, training myself not to become carsick. I mastered the technique of holding a book while brushing my teeth. My book followed me to the kitchen table during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In practically all my spare time during my childhood, I had my nose in a book. Sure, I watched Disney movies and a few TV shows as well, but turning pages was my greatest joy. I read so much that my parents worried I might be reading too much!

Usually, I was able to surround myself with friends who also enjoyed reading. There was, however, one disconcerting incident in the fifth grade where I was confronted by two of the “popular” boys. I was one of the last students in my class to leave the school library, and as the new girl I was timid and shy when they cornered me.

“Do you like reading?” demanded the taller, cooler boy. The question itself was an accusation. I nodded.

“Really?” sneered the sidekick, “Why?”

I gulped as I tried to think of a way to explain it. “Because it’s fun,” I said quietly.

“Reading and fun shouldn’t be in the same sentence!” scoffed the tall, cool boy.

The statement felt like a punch in the gut. I was stunned and tears burned my eyes; it was a personal insult. I was so upset that I didn’t even dare to point out the fallacy in his statement– he could certainly use the two words in the same sentence if he were to say that “reading is not fun.”

To this day, that short encounter still bothers me. I don’t even think those two boys realized how much their words upset me. It had a greater impact at the time because I was young, a new student and friendless, and I was still growing into my confidence. That day, though, I quickly deemed their opinions as stupid and went back to reading all the more fervently. I decided I didn’t care what they thought– reading was still fun! And those boys weren’t all that “cool” anyways. If they didn’t want to read, they were the ones who were missing out.

Sometime during my mid-teens, I had to put this pastime on a shelf. Reading became a task for textbooks, for novel studies and literary analysis. I adored my English teachers in high school and enjoyed their reading lists immensely, but selecting my own reading list became a summer activity. During my university studies in Vancouver and in Gdansk, my brain was so overwhelmed my reading textbooks that I switched to watching TV shows in the little free time I had.

It wasn’t until about a year or two ago that I began reading for pleasure again. I eased back into it by reading action-packed teen novels in Swedish, which was the perfect transition. Somehow, the part of my brain that read in Swedish was totally separate from the part of my brain that was exhausted from studying physiology and biochemistry.

Last Christmas, I received the perfect gift to nurture my inner bibliophile: the Kindle (a brand of e-book reader). At first I was skeptical. How could a touch screen ever replace the feeling of paper and the smell of ink? However, I gave the Kindle a fair chance because it is essentially impossible to buy English books in Gdansk. I didn’t want to be stuck paying excessive shipping fees for book orders from the UK, and I certainly couldn’t lug a year’s worth of books from Canada in my suitcase every summer!

I was surprised by how quickly I got used to the Kindle. Within minutes, I was engrossed in the story as always. Now, I can’t imagine my life without it! I could theoretically read eBooks on my iPad or computer, but I already spend all day staring at my computer screen while studying. My eyes deserve a break after straining through the glow of my laptop (the Kindle is designed to reduce backlight and appear like normal paper). I love that all I need is WiFi for less than two minutes to purchase and download practically any book I want! I’m not trying to sell the Kindle, I am just excited that technology has given me a chance to feed my craving for books!

This post is a segue for a list of titles I have read and loved over the past year. More to come!

From “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel

After a gray and rainy week, the sun made an appearance in Kabelvåg and the town sprang back to life

 

The flopping fish that freaked me out

One of the items on my bucket list is to learn how to catch and fillet a fish, then cook it and eat it for dinner. Being a carnivore, I feel like it would be a very relevant skill to learn to be self-sufficient this way.

At the moment it would be a bit out of my league to learn how to hunt or butcher a mammal, as I have a tendency to personify anything and everything. My strong sense of empathy is one of my greatest strengths, and can therefore also be one of my weaknesses at times. Fish are not cute and fluffy, though, so it seems like a reasonable way for me to start. My goal is to stop feeling sorry for the fish and instead think in terms of the natural events of the food chain.

As with most “outdoorsy” things, I have had little– if any– fishing experience. I seem to recall a day in my childhood, at a YMCA summer day camp, where we dangled bits of string off the dock baited with fragmented worms, something which bored and disgusted me quickly. Another summer when we were in Sweden, a family friend took us out in his rowboat and we went “fishing.” I didn’t really do much fishing myself. Someone gave me a fishing rod and I sat there holding it until a teeny tiny fish took the bait. My little sister was given the honours of feeding my teeny tiny fish to the neighbourhood cat that evening.

Based on these insufficient events, I suppose you could say that last week was the first time I went fishing. I was visiting my boyfriend in Stokmarknes where he works, about an hour and a half north of Svolvær.

After driving around in search of a good fishing spot, he patiently taught me how to use the fishing rod. I am unable to describe what I learned, as I am clueless about the terminology. It was the kind of fishing where you swing the fishing rod like a baseball bat and then reel it in. I was never good at baseball, nor was I naturally talented at the fishing rod technique. Either way, I thought fishing was a lot of fun! My boyfriend caught dozens of little fish (unfortunately too small to eat), and at one point he passed over the fishing rod so I could try reeling it in.

The thing that caught me by surprise about fishing is that it involves actual fish. Obviously I was aware that is the whole point of fishing, but I hadn’t expected the fish to be so… ALIVE. And so desperate! But you see, I have to stop myself here because when I use words like “desperate,” I start to give the fish feelings and think about how its day was ruined by getting its lip caught in a hook, and how thankful it must have been when we threw it back, and how he swam back to his fish family and when his fish-wife asked him, “How was your day, honey?” then Mr. Fish was like, “I had the worst day! You’ll never believe what happened!” And all his little fish children were so relieved their fish-daddy made it home alive.

That’s the part of my brain I need to shut off sometimes.

So as my boyfriend unhooked the fish, I blocked out these thoughts and tried to take the fish in my hand so I could throw it back. A strange sort of panic paralyzed me as I tried to touch the flopping fish. The fish held still for several seconds, and as I extended a tentative index finger to touch its scaly skin and see how it felt, it started flopping and flipping madly. Embarrassingly, this caused me to shriek and leap away, a reaction I had no control over and hope to eliminate as soon as possible.

With the next catch, I managed to put wrap my fingers around the fish while my boyfriend secured the head and tail with two hands. Then suddenly he let go and the fish began flip-flopping and I freaked out a little, feebly flinging the fish into the water. It was more like a reflex to get the flopping thing out of my hands, rather than a real throw.

At that point in time, it had taken me a solid minute to work up the courage to hold the fish, which is a pretty long time to be out of water if you have gills. Because of this prolonged out-of-water experience, the fish twitched and floated for about 30 seconds upon its return to the sea. During this time I was devastated that I had accidentally killed a fish. Somehow it would have been different if I had intentionally killed the fish and meant to eat it, to do something useful with it. But I thought for a moment that I had killed it by accident. That thought formed a lump in my throat as I stared at the lifeless, floating fish.

Luckily, the fish recovered from the shock and swam away. To say I was relieved is an understatement.

I am fully aware of how ridiculous this is. You don’t go fishing to find a pet, you go fishing to catch dinner. There is no reason to feel sorry for it. Fish eat other fish all the time. Even if I were to refrain from fishing or even buying fish in the store, another bigger fish would come along and eat that fish eventually. Considering how often I eat seafood or meat, it is ridiculous to be oblivious to the reality of how animals turn into food.

The most amusing part of all is that we didn’t even get to the real stuff, like killing or filleting a fish. I didn’t expect it to be so hard just to throw back a little fish into the ocean. Nonetheless, ridiculous or not, I’m sure I can get used to it with practice.

Despite a few melodramatic moments, I really enjoyed fishing and I hope to do so again soon. Will I be able to touch a fish without freaking out next time? We shall see. One step at a time!

We drove around for a while before finding a good place for fishing.

This area was beautiful, but too shallow for fishing.

We ended up fishing by the harbour in Melbu.

Around Svolvaer and Kabelvåg

Svolvær at 10 pm, it doesn’t get darker than this in the summertime here

Kabelvåg

My First Solo Hike: Tjeldbergtinden, 367 meters above sea level

Today the weather was gorgeous and sunny, and at 19˚ C it was the warmest day I’ve experienced in Lofoten thus far. Scandinavians are drawn to sunshine faster than moths are drawn to light. I have never seen the streets of Svolvær so busy– there were several cars and dozens of people in town! That’s quite a lot for a town with population less than 5000.

I, too, felt that this extraordinary weather was too good to miss out on. On the way home from work, I turned right at the Esso gas station instead of going straight, and biked to the Tjeldbergtind trail. Having had a couple of nice introductory hikes with my boyfriend in Stokmarknes (1.5h north from Svolvær), and after surviving the very exciting adventure of Svarttinden, I decided I was ready to venture out on my own.

I felt like Cheryl Strayed, the author of one of my favourite books called “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.” Admittedly, my solo outdoor adventure was a little more tame than wild, but it was an empowering, novel feeling to be out on my own. Usually I copy the person ahead of me and step directly in their footsteps, and I’ve received some encouraging pep talks about going downhill and trusting that I won’t fall down the mountain. This time, there was no external guidance or motivation; it was all me!

Tjelbergtinden was the perfect mountain for me to tackle by myself. At 367 meters above sea level, it was only about half the altitude of the intense and exciting mountain I hiked up last time. The trail was extremely clear at Tjelbergtinden, so it was impossible for even a clueless beginner like me to wander astray. This, I was thankful for, as I have zero sense of direction. It was a straightforward, idiot-proof hike. I like to step out of my comfort zone, but as a beginner I also need to set myself up for success (and be careful when I am alone)!

It felt good to find my own pace. I liked hearing the rhythm of my footsteps within the noisy silence of nature. I soon got lost in the hypnotic pattern of finding a foothold on the slope and pushing my next step forward. Hiking has a way of bringing you to focus on the present. You can look ahead, you can glance behind, but not for long. With each moment you have to refocus your attention on each deliberately placed step. I think that’s part of why hiking is equally as rejuvenating as it is exhaustion– it is like a form of meditation.

Before long I was surprised to emerge at the top of a ridge, and my jaw dropped as I scanned in the panorama. AMAZING. I don’t think I could ever get tired of this! Landscape photographs are never as good as the real thing, but I’ll post them below anyways.

At the summit, I perched myself on a rock next to my backpack and ate chocolate while enjoying the view. There were two peaks, and I enjoyed being the lone human on my chosen viewpoint. Dotting the other side of the ridge were tiny figures with neon-coloured tank tops and shorts scaling the other peak. I savoured my solitude.

After some quality alone-time, I headed back down to my bike. The trail was dry and sandy in some sections, which increased the risk for sliding. At the beginning of my descent, my unstable foot slid a few times due to my insecurity and hesitation. I had to have a logical conversation with myself to calm myself down. Had other hikers crossed my path on the trail at that moment, they would have found me literally talking to myself out loud. My self-talk worked, and the rest of my descent went smoothly.

My mantra from my last hike now evolved to inspire confidence in myself as well: “Trust, your-shoes. Trust, your-step. Trust, your-shoes. Trust, your-step.” Left, right, left, right.

Of course I did not fall down the mountain, and I biked home feeling great despite my mildly aching quadriceps.

Now, I am proud to say that I survived my first solo hike!

From the gravel road leading up to the trail, already beautiful!

Tjeldbergtinden, 367 m.o.h.

Svolvær

Svolvær. The view was so clear, I could see the building where I work!

Looking into the sun with a silhouette of Kabelvåg

With my shadow

The girl who finally proved she was spunky enough to deserve a giant “outdoorsy” backpack

I’ve always thought outdoorsy people are really cool, but I’m pretty sure that using the word “outdoorsy” automatically excludes me from being one of them.

When I accepted the summer job in this mountainous region of Norway, I also embraced opportunities to try new things–particularly “outdoorsy” things. I’m not even sure if outdoorsy is a real word, but it is one that I use as such:

OUTDOORSY – (adj.) describing a person with the knowledge and joy of pursuing various activities in nature, including but not limited to hiking, camping, fishing, climbing, skiing, living in an RV or camper, and maneuvering a boat of any sort.

Besides some patchy experience with kayaks and canoes, and some reluctant hikes I was dragged along for as a pre-teen in the Rocky Mountains, I had essentially zero experience in in the above listed examples prior to coming to Norway.

I am many things, but outdoorsy is not one of them (at least, not yet)! That is why I have felt self-conscious and a tad ridiculous wearing a giant hiking backpack that my boyfriend lent to me. It has been a very useful backpack, suitable for biking to work and going on my beginner-hikes. (Thank you for letting me borrow it!)

Yet, I felt rather bashful, carrying such a heavy-duty backpack. It felt like someone on the street was going to spot me and call my bluff, pointing and crying out, “Look at her! She is an impostor! Why does she need such a big backpack? She doesn’t have any camping gear to carry around! She doesn’t even know how to adjust the straps and buckles on that thing! That girl doesn’t deserve to wear such a giant outdoorsy backpack!”

Today, though, I feel like I’ve reached a major milestone. I haven’t become outdoorsy yet, because I’m quite certain that takes a lot of experience and knowledge which I lack. Today, I mustered up all my strength, determination, and sense of adventure to step outside of my comfort zone. In fact, I climbed far above my comfort zone– 736 meters above sea level, to be exact!

Some of the guys at work were going to “gå på tur” which is pretty much the most Norwegian thing a person can do up in the mountains (it means “go on a hike”). They assured me beforehand that the ascent wouldn’t be so hard and it wasn’t meant to be intense, just fun. Well, that sounded good to me!

Little did I know, I was agreeing to climb a mountain with six guys who were either very athletic, very experienced hikers, or both. Boy, were they fast! Within 45 seconds my thighs were burning and I could feel my carotid pulse slamming against the artery walls.

At about 400 meters above sea level, the group paused while I desperately ate an apple in hopes that it would power me up to twice my original strength and speed. It didn’t, and the world around me started to sway slightly. I closed my eyes and tried to determine whether I was feeling lightheaded, or if my eyes were playing tricks on me as the wind pushed the rolling fog around us.

There was a moment around that time where I started to contemplate whether I actually would make it all the way to the peak. I’m generally not the negative type of person who thinks, “I can’t.” But there comes a time when optimism must cooperate with realistic thinking, and I certainly didn’t want to pass out on the side of a mountain. Luckily, every time I thought I had reached my limit, the group took a break and soon enough we were climbing again, higher, higher.

When we got to the peak of Svarttind, the fog was so thick that we couldn’t see a thing. Oh well, we knew the view was supposed to be amazing, so we did our best with our imagination and started the descent.

Thankfully, someone decided to empty their bladder before following us down the slope. I say “thankfully” because at that precise moment the clouds began to part! We ran back up to the peak and suddenly we were above the clouds, with rocky snow-covered tips of mountains peeking out over the horizon. Then the wind gently carried the clouds away like curtains in a theatre parting to reveal the most spectacular scene I have ever laid eyes on.

I’m not really sure I can describe the scene with justice, nor did my camera capture the magnificence in its entirety. All I can say is that the turquoise waters, the massive mountains, and the way they reach into the horizon have an effect which must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

What goes up must come down, and the same was true for this exhausted and victorious hiker. I knew the battle was only half-won, because climbing down can be tricky. My brain likes to freak out from time to time, and for a moment I may be convinced that I am going to slip and fall down the whole mountain. I picture myself somersaulting downhill until I reach the flat ground or hit a tree. I know it’s illogical. Luckily, I had been given some helpful advice which I used to coax myself downwards.

“Trust your hiking shoes,” my boyfriend told me a few days ago, “They have really good grip, so you won’t slide if you put your weight on your whole foot.” We practiced standing on a slanted rock. He was right.

I turned it into my mantra today. “Trust, your-shoes, trust, your-shoes,” I chanted in my head as my feet stepped left, right, left, right.

When I tumbled back into the car, I was feeling happy, exhausted, yet somehow invigorated. Hiking up Svarttind was no easy feat for me, but I did it! It was immensely rewarding and so much fun! I definitely have some training to do before I work my way up to more difficult hikes, but I have four more weeks in Lofoten, Norway to keep on exploring.

I may not be outdoorsy, but when it comes to trying new things, this girl is spunky!

The fog blocked the view when we reached the peak

And the clouds parted…

Starting the descent

Re-entering civilization

Looking back at the peak of Svarttind, 736 meters above sea level!

Today I am proud of surviving my first real day of work, and resentful of the person who designed bicycle seats to be so uncomfortable

Having finished my training, today was my first day working independently! Everything went quite smoothly except for one slight misunderstanding in the morning, but it was an honest mistake and luckily it was fixed without any consequences. And you can bet I will never make that same mistake again! I’m very pleased about not getting lost, and happy with the improvements in my Swedish-Norwegian-Danish communication. Did I mention that one of my colleagues is from Denmark and I’m also working on understanding her Danish, in addition to working on Norwegian with everyone else?

Today the cloudy skies cleared into blue skies and sunshine, which gave me some great photo opportunities on my bike ride home. I have to admit, though, that taking pictures of the magnificent landscape was only part of my motivation to get off my bike. My other motivation was to get my butt off that stupid, uncomfortable bicycle saddle!

As of yesterday, I am one of those People Who Ride Bikes To Go Places. My body is in shock from using all the neglected bike-riding muscles. In the past five years, I rode a bike a grand total of one time. I love bicycles, it’s just that in Canada most places are too far for me to ride a bike, and in Gdansk the public transit is so convenient that I haven’t gotten around to buying a bicycle. Here in Norway, I finally get my chance to be one of those Bike People. It takes me about 40 minutes from Kabelvåg (where I live) into Svolvær (where I work), although I can probably cut that down by half as I get stronger. Part of my work takes me around town to help people in their own homes, so I ride my bike throughout the day as well.

The result is sore thighs, sore arms (evidence of my abysmal upper body strength), but most of all a very sore butt! My ischial tuberosities are aching so badly that I can hardly sit on the couch without it hurting! Who is the sadistic, impractical person who designed the bicycle seat to be so hard?? (Side note: Ischial tuberosity is the anatomical name for the “sit bones” that contact the bike seat/chair/couch/wherever you may be sitting).

Hoping to find a solution, I asked “Uncle Google,” as my pathomorphology teacher likes to say. Apparently it is called a bicycle “saddle” and not a “seat” because you’re not actually supposed to sit with your full weight on it. I’m supposed to be carrying part of my weight with my legs, and when I get stronger apparently it will get better. I always thought that I had quite good leg strength, but my burning quadriceps beg to differ.

Although my body and brain are exhausted, I had a great day and I love riding my bike through town. As I keep saying, the scenery is absolutely beautiful. Here are some pictures from my bike ride home from work today:

This is the view the residents get from the care home I work at– Not bad!

Biking home from Svolvaer to Kabelvåg

“Norwegian is easy to understand if you speak Swedish,” they lied, “It’s not so hard!”

And until I got here, I believed them.

When I was applying for summer jobs, I wanted to see a new country, get some relevant work experience, earn some extra cash for traveling, and challenge myself by trying something new. Well, working in Norway is certainly all of the above, with heavy emphasis on the “challenge” part!

My summer job is relatively straightforward and a lot of fun now that I’m starting to get the hang of it. I am working at a senior care home as well as visiting seniors in their own homes to help out in whatever way they may require. This includes any range of activities, such as giving medication and injecting insulin, getting dressed, bathing, and making sandwiches. I’m working with a lot of really friendly and helpful people, which makes for a very nice working environment.

The biggest challenge for me right now is understanding Norwegian. Before I came here, alll my Swedish friends assured me that I would be fine. They said that Norwegian is so similar to Swedish that it won’t be a problem to communicate. Lies! All lies! Norwegian is very different from Swedish! When I first arrived at work, my friendly colleagues can smiled and chatted away for several sentences, and at the end of their verbal paragraph sometimes I didn’t even understood a single word!

On my first day I was lucky, though, because my training was with a Swedish girl and I understood her just fine (I learned a few new Swedish medical words which I otherwise knew in English). On the second day a very nice Norwegian woman trained me and… let’s just say I smiled and nodded a lot. If it at one point it seemed like she was saying something particularly relevant to the task at hand, I asked her to repeat herself approximately four times. I must have looked like a blundering idiot with my eyebrows scrunched into a slight frown and my eyes mildly widened with confusion.

Reading is somewhat easier– if I read out loud and don’t listen too closely to what I’m saying, I understand the gist. After my four days of training, I feel like I’ve picked up the workplace vocabulary so I can understand my list of tasks in Norwegian.

There are three other Swedish students also working there for the summer. They’ve been there longer than I have and they are already replacing some key Swedish words with the Norwegian equivalents, which simplifies communication a lot. So far I’ve started saying “trenger” instead of “behöver,” and calling out “Hade!” when I leave. I can’t figure out if “hade” translates to goodbye, or if it is short for “ha det bra” which basically means “take care.” Either way, the Norwegians call out “Hade” back to me and we are all happy that I said something in Norwegian so it doesn’t really matter what it means.

I knew the language would be a challenge if I took a summer job in Norway. I’m working through the challenge and stretching my brain and ears to their maximum capacity, forcing myself to listen to every word even if it sounds like gibberish. I think it’s the only way I’m going to get used to the differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. After four days of listening to these familiar yet meaningless (to me) sounds, I found myself having a short conversation where I understood what was going on!

And of course, it’s not all as dramatic as I make it sound. I understood perhaps 15% of what was spoken to me in Norwegian on Day 1, and today on Day 4 I am already up to about 50%. It will get better, but it’s going to be a very steep learning curve with a good dose of determination! I’ve always liked languages anyways, and what’s life without a challenge?

Overall, so far I love being in Norway. The area I’m working in, Lofoten, has absolutely breathtaking landscapes. I’m looking forward to a summer filled with hiking and exploring!