Mar 5: Catching my breath

Wow! My last post was March 1. A lot has happened in the past few days, so here’s the news.

Monday, March 2: Elenn started me on antibiotics, as she was concerned about bronchitis. The cough began to decrease (I’m almost 100% now). I felt well enough to take Elenn to the petroleum museum in Stavanger. I learned a lot! Elenn said it was “boring” (note the drill bit in the photo). You may also benefit by knowing that Elenn loves puns. I call it punishment!

On the way back to the bus, we stopped at my favorite tourist store in Stavanger, and Elenn picked up gifts for her family. I helped her find–and talk her into–a beautiful Norwegian sweater on the sale rack! It was a good deal. We finished watching The Hundred-Foot Journey and really enjoyed it (though I recognized the cultural dimensions were simplified, i.e. no clear religious references.)

Tuesday, March 3: Elenn and I went to visit a family friend, Miriam. She is still in her home on an island just north of Stavanger. It is connected by a bridge and the bus goes close to her home. Miriam brought out her wedding photo album, where my mom was maid of honor, my dad to the photos, and we saw a picture of cute Elenn in 1969 (and the back of my head). Miriam was Elenn’s favorite “auntie.” In the evening, I took Anya to the mall to do some grocery shopping, and she found an amazing price (even for Norway) on some black jeans that fit her. Elenn didn’t go as she wasn’t quite well.

Wednesday, March 4: My first night of sleep with more than 4 hours in a row! I actually slept 9 hours and felt like a new person! I went off to a supervision with Knut. He critiqued my chapter 3. He is so gracious in his critique, but he is very constructive and descriptive as to how to strengthen the argumentation. I feel so blessed, especially after an afternoon of a PhD seminar. At the seminar were 22 people, and 10 were from outside of Norway (Ethiopia, Madagascar, Brazil, Tanzania, Romania, Germany, USA, etc.) The keynote speaker was Harald Hegestad from Oslo, who has been working with empirical research in theological studies. I have read a short book on this, but I learned more on the rationale, benefits, and limitations during his presentation than the book. There was some good conversation too, which helped see the application for various students and their research.

Then two students presented some of their research, which was then critiqued. The first one had a bit of a harsh critique. That’s when I was so grateful to have Knut, as Knut helps guide his students with more than what some of these students are getting. So, they are not focused (4 research questions is unwieldy, Knut honed me down to one in my first month) or using the right approach for the research question. It was nice to interact with many PhD students, and Tina brought me home at about 9:00 pm to collapse into bed.

Thursday, March 5: The seminar started again at 8:15 am, but I couldn’t help get Anya ready for school and be there on time. I joined at 10:00 and heard 2 paper presentations with critique. One woman is doing a PhD project on the confirmation programs in the  Makane Jesu Church in Ethiopia, where she is from. One church she interviewed had the smallest class of 50 and the largest class of 700! Can you imagine a confirmation class of 700! Yes, Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing Lutheran churches in the world! Currently one out of every five Christians is in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2050, it is estimated that this will be one of every four!

After the seminar, the Maasai research project met for 1 hour of Hebrew Bible reading from 1 Samuel 1. Then my sister, Elenn, arrived to join us for the discussion of a book on the history of development in Maasailand. (Yes, Elenn made it on her own by bus!) After this Maasai discussion, Knut opened up the missionary museum and showed us some interesting things, but more importantly, gave us a bit of narrative of the history of the Norwegian Mission Society. At one time, the NMS ran the postal service in part of Madagascar as a service to the people. Knut is showing Elenn the NMS postage stamps.

We bused home, talking with the head archivist, who knew of my father’s work with the Lutheran Literature Society for the Chinese by name and newsletter! What an amazing mind. The MHS has one of 2 private archives which are supported by the government of Norway for the cultural and historical value. They ave 400,000 photos from these remote former “mission fields” going back to the late 1800s, so some researchers come to look at the photos. Knut said even those studying climate change compare the environmental changes from these photos.

Then we ended up meeting the head archivist at the bus stop and riding with him about 10 minutes. He stated that many of these photos are being archived in a joint project with Yale and a few others, which are stored at UCLA. Crazy! This little school in an impressive network!

Elenn then offered to treat us to dinner. Anya walked downtown to meet us at the mall close to the bus stand. There is the Big Horn Steak House in the mall which had a lunch menu that served late (dinner menu in another area). The food was reasonable for Norway at $18-22 an entree, and they all were very well prepared. My steak sandwich was beyond my expectations, so I was quite pleased. This was my favorite tasting meal I had since arriving, though other meals with friends have been cherished for their camaraderie.