One of things I often do on this journey (aside from eating melted chocolate products for breakfast) is attempt to read the Norwegian newspapers. There's a very handy app which has norwegian radio stations and papers all for free.
Partaking in this on the train has 2 benefits;
1. You can concentrate because it's quiet (mostly, with the exception of the early morning enthusiastic talkers, who are sat right next to each other ! YOU DO NOT NEED TO SHOUT TO EACH OTHER or the yes it's Caroline and I'm on the train.... Well get this if you're on the train and on your phone, it works by radio wave type things And isn't connected to the person you are talking to by a piece of string and a yogurt pot. Caroline in the seat behind take note ....I will hand her the link to the blog when I get out)
2. It makes the person sat next to you think you are foreign or intellectual or both....(I am neither) but it does take the heat of the fact you have just woken up, have a creased face and are eating chocolate for breakfast.
Anyway, the point is ....as usual there is a point ....is ....that it's a good time to try and learn a bit of norwegian. Now, papers are good because they come with pictures. So like Ned, who is currently learning the life of Biff, Kipper and Chip and their adventures of flipping pancakes or going to the zoo by simple words and then looking at the pictures, I am currently doing the same; only the part of Kipper is played by Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton is rocking Biff and I think the Norwegians are as scathing of him as the Brits and sensible Americans ( or the sake of alienating the American reader I'll resist the temptation to ask the question - can those 2 words be put together ....) . ( oh did I? ....well I didn't mean to ;) )
So I'm getting the gist of the story. Kipper is basically doing well despite being a bigoted racist nut job and Biff is holding the centre ground and challenging the fact that Kipper knows what the hell he is talking about. As far as I can work out no one has yet been to the zoo and the pancakes aren't good....
So I read a post blog yesterday by a Canadian expat called Jill which hit the nail on the head regarding our Norwegian communication skills which referred to having the vocabulary and communication skills of a toddler when speaking in Norwegian....and to be honest despite almost 4 years of on off learning it's not progressed well (refer back to the bag / sausage incident last summer).
In true toddler form I'm currently reading the kids Rødhette og Ulven, which of course is the tale of Red Riding Hood.
Whilst I have failed endlessly to try and communicate with the builders, plumber, and electricians in Norwegian because their English is always so good (despite them saying otherwise!) I did manage to at least make reference to døren as in banker på døren (knock on the door) as the guys have done a beautiful job being able to reuse some of the original old doors I found in the barn for the new openings into the bedrooms and ensuite. They have been set into new door frames and reworked into new doorsets by a local factory in the village who undertake bespoke joinery work.
Now if you'll excuse me about read and see if Super Tuesday is similar to shrove Tuesday and what type of pancake Kipper has rustled up.
