Can it really only be 7 days!?! It seems longer, but perhaps that is the struggling with jet lag speaking. Though, this was our most “normal” day of being awake. Anya even made it to 7 PM. Perhaps the fresh air and long walk helped.
Our housemate, 19-year-old Torbjørn, spent his first night at the house last night. He had 3 friends crashing at the house. While they were not crazy, it was nice to have plenty of quiet and a run of the place. The friends are here again tonight.
Just after lunch, we went for a walk into Sandnes, which is about 1 km (or .6 miles). I showed the promenade, where a street has been blocked off for walking down a cobblestone area lined with shops. We went up a block to see the old Lutheran church, built in 1882. We went on to the bus stop, seeking to buy a “flexi pass” but their customer service is closed on the weekend. Good thing that the website says that I should be able to buy one on board tomorrow, as we’ll head to the International Church of Stavanger worship service which meets at my school. While the tourist information office was closed (though the door sign indicated that it should be open), we found the local mall, where we sought out the apotek–or drug store. Anya stated, “It sure isn’t Bartells!” which is one of her favorite stores, as it has a bit of everything. This place was tiny, but I was scoping out what over-the-counter meds are available (that I can understand) for when I need to replenish the meager stock I brought. (They do have ibuprophen cream, which we can’t get in the USA.)
Our trip home brought us past the grocery store to stock up for the weekend, as grocery stores are closed on Sunday. We are limited to what we can comfortably carry for 1 km home in my back pack and lighter things in the shopping bag Anya carried.
One little detour on the way home brought us to a yarn store I discovered earlier in the week. It was filled with beautiful yarn and not-so-beautiful prices. I miss the 40% off coupons for Michael’s and Joanne’s! Anya has an online English course to keep up with her Washington state graduation requirements. She can’t stand it! She says that it is so slow and so boring and so easy–things she has studied before. So, I invested in the yarn to have some crocheting (in Norsk “hekling”) when she’s listening to the “slow and boring” teachers. This activity runs in the family! When my dad was studying Mandarin at Yale and had to listen to hours and hours of audio tapes, his farm boy hands needed something to do. So, he knit my mom a dress–one of her most prized possessions that she recently passed on to me.
The last bit of news is that my gracious PhD supervisor drove about 12 miles to pick me up and take me to the “big” mall. Because I don’t have my Norwegian ID number yet (which may take 2-8 weeks), I needed help to get SIM cards for the phones that I brought for Anya and me. I knew that phones would be expensive here, but I needed unlocked GSM phones for Europe, so I bought and brought two iPhone 5cs. I figured that I can sell them when I leave, as they would be 25% less as ALL purchases of goods have a 25% tax. (Food is only—15%!) Knut let me buy SIM cards for a pay-as-you-go plan under his name. While it will be less expensive to call or text me with a Norwegian phone, we’ve mostly been communicating through email, so not a significant expense. This again is just the blessing of Knut as a full-service PhD supervisor. Airport runs, schleping bags, being hosted for a meal by he and his dear wife, taking me to get SIM cards under his name, what a blessing!