The Icing

For a long time, I've wanted to include a photo reference guide to the people I mention in my blog. I especially wanted to do this last year since so many of my friends back home didn't know my friends in Norway. Better late than never, I say.

Lixian and Jeff:

Lixian was the person I hung out with most frequently. She's always fun to talk with and I love how committed she is to making the world a better place. My 10 months in Norway would have been so much more lonely without her. I hope from some of my other posts, it's clear how much Lixian has meant to me this year. Jeff has so much energy and curiosity about the world. He was great fun to talk politics with. I love that this picture shows what close friends these two are. I enjoyed hanging out with them both separately and together. And I'm so excited to see Lixian next week in San Francisco!!!!! I promise to take a better picture of Lixian to post as a follow up.

LaReesa:

I don't know what I would have done without my occasional get togethers with LaReesa. She reminded me of my friends back home and was great to talk shop with. We joked about how nice it was to spend time with someone our own age. I also really enjoyed LaReesa's family and wish that I had a picture of all three. John is a great cook and person, and Zach is one of the most intelligent and fun kids I know. I miss you guys.

Tove (and Jeff again):

Tove and I became friends far too late in the year. She worked at the Fulbright office, so I always assumed that the last thing she'd want to do on the weekends was see more Fulbrighters. When she got a new job, I decided to ask her if she'd like to have dinner--and that began our far too brief friendship. Tove is a great conversationalist and I love how independent and together she is. Tove, I wish we'd had more time to get to know each other.

Ben, Susie, Cathrine, Stine:

These four came to my New Year's Eve Party (in addition to a few other folks). I love Ben and Susie's yummy cooking (Ben, I still need the chicken tikka masala recipe!). They are both so talented, and I admire how well they seem to forge strong relationships. I met Cathrine through Stine--she is funny and smart . . . and I hope that she really will come to grad school in the U.S., preferably in California. :) Stine was a teacher who invited me to her class last fall. She was so fun to hang out with then that I decided she *had* to be my friend. She's off to Spain on her own great adventure in August.

Hilde and Renate:

Hilde and Renate are teachers that I met at the first Fulbright reception. They have both done the Fulbright summer program for teachers in the U.S. They each were great friends to me and the other Roving Scholar. They have always been supportive and kind to me. Hilde, I hope you love your new house. Renate, love your posts to my Facebook page!

Ann:

Ann is an amazing teacher and avid learner of all things technological. Although she suffers from a devotion to Microsoft ;), I can't believe everything she can do with the computer. Ann and her husband Henning have been so generous and willing to teach me about Norwegian culture. I only wish we'd been able to spend more time together!

I look at these pictures and think about my fears when I moved to Norway. I worried that because I traveled so much, I wouldn't make friends and that I would have a very lonely year. I'm sometimes amazed at how quickly we can feel connected to other people. It isn't always clear at first meeting who will become a part of our lives, nor is it clear how long friendship will last. I'm so glad for the time I was able to spend with each of these people. Thank you.

My last week in Norway was filled with socializing, goodbyes, packing, and cleaning. It went by quickly.

I was able to explore more of Oslo with my friends--I enjoyed seeing new parts of the city and experienced some melancholy as I said goodbye to places that had meant so much to me over the last 10 months.

Blå, "the coolest bar in Europe," was one of the places I visited with Lixian and Jeff. We hung out on the patio by the river and enjoyed the band. After awhile, we walked through the city streets into Gronland and Jeff told us a little bit about the history of this neighborhood currently occupied predominantly by Oslo's immigrant population.

I also met Stine and Cathrine for dinner one evening--and then we saw "The Comedy of Errors" performed at Akershus Festning, the courtyard in a medieval fort. The production was funny and we all had such a good time. It was incredible to go look at the fjord during the intermission and to look up at the walls in the courtyard during the performance.

Another night I revisited Rust with Hilde and Renate. We enjoyed sitting on the patio, chatting, and eating yummy tapas. Rust has been a great Sunday afternoon destination for reading and relaxing.

I drank one last cortado at Le Rustique with Abbey, a former Roving Scholar who has moved back to Oslo. I love this cafe's owners who are from South American (Argentina, I think). They are always so friendly--and fun to chat with. Another neighborhood haunt was Apent Bakeri, not the big one by Literaturhuset, but the small one nearer to my apartment. Lixian and I met there to eat one last kanelboller together.

Friday night was dinner in Majorstuen at Curry and Ketchup. I had envied Tom his pea dish last time I was there, so this time I ordered this scrumptious combination of peas and paneer. Divine. After dinner, LaReesa, Susie and I walked in Frognerparken in the light rain. It was a relaxing way to say goodbye to this beautiful park.

I also really enjoyed parties at Tove's and Ann's, although I didn't take pictures.

Two last pictures. First, scenery by the fjord at Aker Brygge. After my last (amazing meal) at Ann and Henning's, I took the long way home and said goodbye to this bustling area.

I also took some photos of a quiet street that was part of my morning walk. I'm not really even sure what the name of the street is, but I always loved when I arrived at this part:

These are places in Oslo that I will miss--and people that I will miss, too.

Now that I'm back in Fresno, my 10 months seem so mystical. It feels so normal to be home that it's hard to believe that I was away so long. I find myself wanting to revisit these places--and I have yet to find such pleasant and inviting spaces in the Fresno heat.

I moved around a lot as a child. It seemed like every 3 years, my family would pack up yet again and move to a new place. In some ways, I got the worst of it, I think. My brother Ted managed to go to part of junior high and all of high school in Ogden, Utah (and he settled there permanently). My brothers Jim and Matt mostly lived in Logan, Utah growing up. My brother David was the closest to me in age, yet somehow he was able to adopt Logan as his hometown, as well. Me? I always felt displaced and ready to move somewhere new.

One of the results of this impermanence is that I make friends pretty easily, but sometimes keeping friends has been more difficult for me. Probably the person I've been closest to the longest is my friend Tom.

Tom and I met in 1991 when he was my student in a freshman comp class (he was a returning student). We've been friends ever since. He is both one of my favorite roommates ever and one of my favorite people to visit (only in part because he lived in New York City for a long time).

Together, Tom and I developed the Godfrey-Perica school of economics (ask me about that sometime). We are masters of the museum technique of shopping (look, don't buy). Our newest joke is the aggressive photographer pose. Tom makes me laugh.

Another great thing about my friendship with Tom is that it has brought his wonderful partner Andre into my life. Andre is so warm and easy going--he, too, is so fun to be around. Right before I left for Norway, Andre came to Fresno to buy my car. He was a great support to me as I prepared to leave home--in fact, as he drove away the day before I left, I cried both because I loved that car and because I was so sad to see Andre leave.

Over the last 10 months, we've skyped on a regular basis and they were just here on a 10 day visit. Together, we were tourists in Oslo--and we traveled to Copenhagen as well. We've started talking about retiring together in Spain. We plan to create a commune of sorts, where we have our own space but share a common kitchen, patio, "family room." There will be "auditions" for who else can join us. They have to be good conversationalists, good cooks, and easy to get along with.

I love these guys.

As I walked around town yesterday enjoying the Oslo music festival (different bands playing all over the city), I thought about how fun it has been to live in this city. Although Oslo and Fresno are similar in size, Oslo has more things to do: museums, concerts, outdoor life. It's been fun to live here. In my head, I started a list of things I'll miss about Norway. Here are some of the things in no particular order.

1. My friends (of course!)
2. Heated bathroom floors (what a wonderful invention)
3. Public transportation, especially the tram (trikk)
4. Living in a place where almost everyone is bilingual
5. My walk beside the fjord in the morning
6. Living by water
7. The pharmacy's herb garden at the Norsk Folk Museum
8. Freia Walter Mandler chocolate
9. Hanging out at Literaturhuset, Asylet, Mecaniske Verksted, and other cozy cafes/bars with friends
10. Walking home at dusk, you know, after 11:00 at night

That's only the first 10, but I'll stop there . . . because I want to do a list of things I'm excited to go home to, as well.

1. My friends and family (of course!)
2. My house
3. My backyard orchard, vineyard, and herb garden
4. My summer wardrobe, especially the sandals and twirly skirts
5. The Fresno Farmers Market
6. Good Mexican food
7. Trips to San Francisco (Burma Superstar, here I come!)
8. The Writing Project's Summer Institute
9. Familiarity
10. The opportunity to explore Fresno and California anew

So . . . yes, I have mixed feelings about going home. I've had a good year and feel so lucky to have had this experience. And there are so many people here that I'm fond of. Still, it will be nice to be home where I have more history with both people and place.

I've just completed my last presentations of the year at Byåsen VGS in Trondheim. Maria, a teacher who is originally from California, organized my trip. The teachers asked me to do five of my eight presentations--so this visit allowed me to revisit many of the presentations I've done this year.

The U.S. Teens Speak has been by far the most enjoyable presentation for both me and the students, I think. The students always get a kick out of my sarcastic question at the beginning, "Has anyone in the room ever seen an American T.V. show?" Of course, every one of them has. The long version of the presentation includes videos about fashion, transportation, cultural diversity, facing challenges, and everyday experiences. Most of the students really feel a connection with the Fresno High students, I think because their videos illustrate what they do every day: go to school, hang out with friends, get distracted from doing their homework. My favorite of the Fresno High videos was created by Axel Fipps and Matthew Mungia, who use humor in their depiction. Every time I show these videos, I think about the students who created them--who probably have forgotten doing so and who would be amazed at the large number of Norwegian students who have watched and discussed their creations. Their teacher Delaine Zody is going to invite me to talk to her students (the ones who made these videos) next year when I return. I can't wait!

I have also really enjoyed my literature presentations. Thanks to the help of Gry Engeseth at Framnes Kristne Vidergående, I found the perfect texts to use in my literature of immigration presentation. Throughout the year, I started with a Stop and React activity using Sandra Cisneros' "Geraldo No Last Name." The students almost always actively participate in talking about this story. Then, I divide the students into groups to talk about three poems: Janice Mirikitani's "Recipe," and the two poems that Gry found for me: "Immigrants" by Pat Mora and "Education" by Serafin Syquia. All three of these poems work really well; the students find them easy to understand, but still quite meaningful. Each group shares their poem with the class, and then we enjoy listening to Tato Laviera recite his poem "AmeRican." I like ending with this poem because it's so positive about ethnic diversity.

The second literature presentation I do is on American Indian Literature. When I presented in Karasjok, the teacher warned me that the students' English skills weren't very strong, so I created a presentation using a lot of visual elements. I enjoyed this version of the presentation so much, that I've stuck to it ever since. In this presentation, we talk about 2-3 written texts: a Dine trickster story, a poem by Luci Tapahanso, and a poem by Sherman Alexie. I also try to help students visualize contemporary Indian life by showing them videos of fancy dancing, hip hop powwow, and two clips from the movie Smoke Signals. I've incorporated controversial pieces of art like Edward Curtis's "Chief Garfield, Jicarilla," Fritz Scholder's "Indian with Beer Can" and Wayne Eagleboy's "We the People." All in all, students seem to enjoy this presentation.

During this trip, I also gave the Food in the U.S. presentation to a group of students who are studying catering and the restaurant business. Usually the vocational students have weak English skills which results in quiet presentations. Every once in awhile, there's an exception to this, though, and the students at Byåsen were definitely among the exceptions. In fact, these kids were so fun. In this presentation, we start by talking about fast food, which is basically what most Norwegians think of as being "American food." We also look at what was eaten at different time periods by different groups of people. I have a section where I show video related to regional cuisine: a song about southern barbecue which still makes me laugh, a documentary about taco trucks, and a commercial about food in California that ends with a testimonial by Arnold Schwarzenegger which always surprises (and amuses) the students. The presentation ends with the students creating "recipe poems" about American food. Almost always their poems focus on fast food, even though I've tried to give them a picture of other types of American cuisine. Still, the poems are funny, and the kids love sharing them.

The last of the five presentations I did at Byåsen this week is on California Immigration and Diversity. This is a more lecture based and my least favorite presentation, so I'll spare you the details. I revised it recently because I'd gotten bored of it . . . but I've still mostly had success with it. This time around, I had some technical difficulties with the sound that translated to a rough start which I never really moved beyond. Ah, well. Most of the presentations went well, and I was able to salvage that presentation during the second half of the class which was devoted to the literature of immigration.

At the end of the day, I had Maria take a picture of me with my last group of students. They were such a good group of kids and I feel lucky to have ended on such a positive note.

I also feel incredibly lucky to have had this year in Norway. It's been such a year of growth for me, both professionally and personally. I'm glad to have experienced both success and failure this year, to have had the opportunity to revise and perfect presentations, and to have figured out how to use humor in my presentations. I've become much more comfortable presenting to large groups of students, though I still prefer talking with just one class.

As I move on to the next big thing in my life (I wonder what that will be?), I think I'll be stronger, more flexible, wiser.

Wow, I'm done.