Wednesday 9 June 2010

UNSPEAKABLY NORSK THING - DOORS

As one door closes, another one opens.

Our final day in Norway, so my last post from this side of the North Sea. There are heaps of subjects I have not yet tackled with regard to this great nation, but perhaps some of them might crop up once I start blogging from across the sea, in a ‘compare and contrast’ kind of a way.

On the other hand, I’m wondering what sort of topics might strike me as worth writing about over there in Scotland....what will astound, astonish, annoy, irritate, delight, or surprise me once I return home? Promise me, if I start going on ad nauseam about pot-holes in the road, litter, bad driving or people stuffing their faces with chips while in the street, you will let me know I’m boring the proverbials off you and tell me to put a sock in it. Readers at this here stopping place are way too precious to risk the onslaught of ennui with the minute frustrations of life.

However, I do know that returning to one’s own nation is not always all it is cracked up to be. One might assume that going home would be easy, that slipping back into one’s old life would be a doddle. I mean, you know where stuff is, you speak the lingo, you've driven there for years, you know what the food is, and you’ve got friends and family there....what could be simpler? But that’s the thing about living in another country....you have a very different perspective, you become frustrated with aspects of life that never occurred to you before, you can’t help feeling that they do certain things better abroad. Heated bathroom floors, for example.

I know many Scots who have returned home and found life surprising in both good and bad ways. Likewise, I know many Norwegians who say the same thing once they have returned to Norway from elsewhere. I suppose it all goes to show that we learn from each other and that, thankfully, ‘nobody is perfect’.

So, I’ll be doing some weeping at the airport later on today. Just ignore the snivelling wreck you may spot at check-in...it’s all part of the moving process. Once home, I may take some time to get things in order. The TA, amongst other things, is under full instruction to pay urgent attention to one’s electronic communication systems, but nobody can tell how long this may take. So if I don’t post a blog for a wee bit, it’s not because I’m not thinking about you. Seriously, you’re in my heart for keeps.

Of course I have to quote our national bard Robert Burns here, and the most ‘weel kent’ lines from his poem ‘To A Louse.’

‘O wad some Power the giftie gie us,
To see oursels as ithers see us.’

Thank you Norway, it’s been a blast.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Jane I am loving all your photos, and you will miss those heated floors, we have just had the bathroom floors done........Lovely! It may well be a bit up and down when you come back, but you will get there, the flights back to see friends and continuing the blog will help. Vicki

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  2. Way too often we, the Norwegians, complain about our health and school system, our (lack of) infrastructure, our politicians, our high prices, our climate, our national football team, our pot holes and so on and so on....... Your blog is not only entertaining and well written, it has also taught me to appreciate the diversity and all the good things of my country even more. Good luck to all you Returning Scots....

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  3. This made me cry.

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  4. A bit choked up here too... My Norwegian heart rejoyce over you saying that you have enjoyed your stay here, and my acquired Scottish soul, after 15 years there, is happy you are looking forward to going home. Believe me, I felt the same when I returned home to Norway, with all its faults it is still home: "Borte bra, men hjemme best"!
    Jane, your years here went by far too quickly and I haven't had the chance to see you as much as I would like. Good luck with settling down in Banchory again, we might pop by one day on our yearly trips to Scotland.
    Looking forward to reading more about your observations of life around you! And publish that book!
    all the best, Annie Lyon

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  5. Re-entry definitely has it's own challenged. I think it's in part because we don't expect them. As you say, we're returning to a familiar place, the place we grew up. But I think it's also because our time away changes us, so the "fit" is no longer perfect back home-- we have to grow back into things once again.

    Anyway, may you have an easy time of it. I'll miss your blog while it's on hiatus, and look forward to it's retune.

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  6. I too look forward to hearing more from you. Good luck with the trip home!

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