tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750259.post4067821484630526748..comments2023-04-06T16:50:44.293+02:00Comments on A Roll in the Universe: V and WKeera Ann Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466103379725251225noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750259.post-37869637428975466482007-02-05T18:55:00.000+01:002007-02-05T18:55:00.000+01:00I'd say your experience with hospital care was not...I'd say your experience with hospital care was not the norm, but neither was it entirely uncommon, unfortunately.<br /><br />I no longer avoid Americans. I'm pretty sure about what's what and why I'm here and why I like Norway (and even love it), and with Dubya in power, I don't get as homesick as usual. ;-)Keera Ann Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07466103379725251225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750259.post-15039524622583574212007-02-05T11:24:00.000+01:002007-02-05T11:24:00.000+01:00The only thing I myself have ever had to "complain...The only thing I myself have ever had to "complain" about, as it were, is the inefficiency of the health system. But I suppose Pooks and I have had an uncommon experience rather than the norm - one cannot say. <br /><br />Other than my terrible American accent while speaking Norwegian, I feel just as if I belong here as everyone else does. I avoid some Americans myself, but only the ones that are the loud and "misinformed" tourists or business folk.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750259.post-53756060730354091662007-02-04T18:22:00.000+01:002007-02-04T18:22:00.000+01:00In that case, I can definitely say I have never he...In that case, I can definitely say I have never heard the Norwegian alphabet song.<br /><br />You are very brave to make such a shift in your life. I didn't have to start from scratch like you. Still, I discovered that it took me years to adjust to Norway as an adult, even though I had spent 7 years here as a child. Other Americans would inevitably complain about Norway (I won't say unjustifiably), but it kept breaking something in me. Years later I realized what it was: Like pulling a young sprout up to see how far the roots have come. I needed to just focus on living in Norway, and not compare it to America.<br /><br />So I avoided other Americans, and focused on being Norwegian with the Norwegians (having some public school and language in common helped). Now I can see more clearly what's just different and what truly deserves a bit of complaining. :-)<br /><br />Feel free to e-mail me if you want to "talk in private".Keera Ann Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07466103379725251225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750259.post-12547536775176143592007-02-04T15:25:00.000+01:002007-02-04T15:25:00.000+01:00Hi Keera, the alphabet song we learned wasn't to t...Hi Keera, the alphabet song we learned wasn't to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (although when I learned French it was that same melody). It was not a familiar tune to me.<br /><br />As for my immigrant experience, I try to keep my blog entries upbeat and light because my mom reads my blog and I don't want her to worry about me. The experience has been wonderful but also the hardest thing I have ever done. The first few months were the worst, the losses were incredible. Moving so far from friends, family and a job I loved was heartbreaking. I think it was also hard to give up "status"--I felt intelligent and capable and as if I was contributing to society in the U.S.--now I feel like a child all over again. I can barely read or talk, and until I can do those things, there is not much I can do that feels useful. I have had to rethink my definition of success--I am not out there making money or building my career, but I am seeing new and incredible sites, meeting interesting new people and learning all sorts of new things, and I am beginning to understand that that is every bit as valid as the path I was on before this adventure began. <br /><br />Thanks for your comments on my blog, I have found them really helpful! EmilyEmilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14184802964721825706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750259.post-42830236330941415422007-02-03T13:57:00.000+01:002007-02-03T13:57:00.000+01:00WC: Not so much a reference as facts gone astray i...WC: Not so much a reference as facts gone astray in humorous minds. ;-)<br /><br />I have never heard the alphabet song in Norwegian, either, and the idea is so un-Norwegian, I don't think I want to hear it. To tell the truth, I don't want to hear it in English, either. I prefer the "Twinkle twinkle little star" lyrics to that melody.Keera Ann Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07466103379725251225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5750259.post-82264052472661009412007-02-03T12:34:00.000+01:002007-02-03T12:34:00.000+01:00I never heard about the Churchill reference, but i...I never heard about the Churchill reference, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me.<br /><br />I remember the same experience as Emily is having now with the "W". I thought it was odd, too, but then again, the strangeness of singing an alphabet song overtook my surprise at "W's" absence.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07702450314264683565noreply@blogger.com