Party All the Time! (Norwergian Adventure, Part II)

Hello and happy summer to you! I am sitting here in the aftermath of another big family party--this one was at our cabin! We, as the resident Americans, hosted a 4th of July party for the whole family (the guest list was of about 70 people--crazy!). It was a total success! We had a barbecue with--of course--hot dogs and hamburgers. My mom commissioned me to draw a diagram of how to eat/make an American-style hamburger. However, many of the Norwegians ignored it and ate their hamburgers as open-faced sandwiches none the less. Oh well! After dinner (we had tables and chairs everywhere and lots of decorations that my Grandma has been accumulating for years, hoping to one day throw this party), my brother Johnny, sister (Cecily), our friend Maddie, and I provided some entertainment. We sang several songs--some solos, some duets, and one as a sing-along (the national anthem, of course!). Looking out at all our family assembled was wonderful. Have you ever looked out at a big group of faces whom you love and who love you in return? Even a small group would do, if love was there. It's beautiful.

After eating and singing we moved on to...dancing! Johnny and Cecily taught swing dancing lessons and we also had some free-style dancing and partying including some very adorable break-dancing by my 3 little cousins: Hans, Tord, and Matthias. Hurray for great parties!

Now I'm back in the U.S. and thinking about what mattered most to me from our trip. The best thing, of course, was being with family. The second best may have been the chocolate and the butter/salami sandwiches ;) But truly, it was family! There was one day when Johnny, Cecily, Maddie, and I were sitting around thinking of what to do and then we decided to truly make something of the day. We walked down the road to the next little beach where some of our other family was staying. We ended up swimming with some of our small cousins who were so excited to see us, drawing pictures with them, and having yummy hot cocoa. After that, we went next door to Tante Randi's home--one of the oldest homes in the family. She gave us a tour of all of the amazing things in her house--it's just like a museum!--and we had a lovely time with her. The day felt so full because we had spent it in forming new/stronger connections with family.

I think one thing that really helped Johnny and I connect to Norway and our family this year was knowing the language (at least somewhat!). We had spent the year taking Norwegian courses together and were able to connect with our family in a deeper way than ever before. Johnny commented that just the fact that we had tried to get in touch with our heritage seemed to bring us closer to our family there. So many of them were thrilled to see our efforts :) I found that I was very good at speaking to 5 year olds! I also managed with adults fairly well (though, luckily, the adults also speak English!). However, language wasn't everything and a smile can go a long way. My sister Cecily showed that very well and won some younger cousins' hearts through her cheerfulness teehee.

Here is a picture of a crab race we had on the beach--crab catching is a favorite past-time on beach days! On another  beach day we got together and decided to clean the beach. My mom was the leader--she is great at organization! Much of the beach was covered in sharp, dry seaweed. As we began cleaning, many other people on the beach joined in and it became a great community endeavor/bonding time. Service really helps you appreciate things (like the beach) and people more. It made me so happy to see everyone working together! The beach turned out beautifully and was much nicer for everyone afterward. Isn't it wonderful what one person with a good idea can do? Good can spread like a joyful flame often if we just set the example--my mother showed that on the beach to all of us.

What else? We had many family parties including going out to Hove and also celebrating Onkel Terje's birthday (which entails several traditions such as a huge badminton tournament--in which the Wilson's did very poorly! haha-- and a family run into the sea along with a king of the rock battle in the ocean). I made lots of new and closer friends. I also enjoyed attending church in Norway (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and feeling the Holy Spirit there and how true the gospel is in every part of the world. Speaking of the gospel, one night I went down to the beach with my adorable little cousin Benjamin, and found Onkel Tom sitting at a bonfire with many of the other cousins. I thought he was telling ghost stories but then found that he held all the children's attention with stories from the Bible. Even though he spoke in Norwegian, I understood a lot and felt so happy to see the children learning about Christ. At one point Onkel Tom asked how Moses was able to part the Red Sea or some other similar question and little Benjamin replied, "Because God did it--God helped him." or something to that effect. When he said that it really touched my heart and reminded me of how we do need to become like little children again to have perfect faith. That doesn't mean being ignorant but it does mean being able to hope and trust completely in God.

Well, I'd better be off to sleep but I want to thank my wonderful family for their love and hospitality! Tante Jeanne let us all sleep in her apartment in Oslo, Tante Signe helped me with Norwegian and fed us a wonderful lunch, Onkel Trygve took us on a tour of the river, our Canadian-Norwegian cousins had us for dinner and provided so much entertainment, all of the children filled me with joy and laughter, Elinor and Hilde prepared a wonderful lunch, Hans and Vibeke made the 4th of July party possible, Grandma and Willem kept us in their great cabin, and so much more! Thank you, thank you! And thank you, Norway, for being such a beautiful land and thank you to Him who created it. I hope to go back to visit soon! So far we've only gone every 7 years or so but I hope we can narrow that gap in the near future :) I think it'd be fun to go there for Christmas one year and see the land of the north in wintertime. Norwegians have wonderful holiday traditions for Christmas and I think the cold and dark just brings people closer together to enjoy each other's loving warmth. Well, sorry if this was too long! It was fun for me, at least, to write it! Good night and sweet dreams! Love, Sierra