Midnight Sun?

Midnight Sun - Scandinavia is the land of the midnight sun. In Summer, you can expect 20 hours of daylight each day. It is amazing. For me, with a jet-lagged baby, it has been midnight crying more than midnight sun. Charlotte is still adjusting and has been awake from 11:30 to 1:00 in the morning the past two nights, crying and moaning until she settles herself back to sleep. It is not all bad. I use the time to read magazines and write emails. Reminds me of the first days after she was born, when I emailed at 3 in the morning while she slept in my arms!

Immigration - I have officially immigrated to Norway this morning! People are nice here. Workers in the government offices are kinder than I am used to. They are more helpful and not so rigid. Nils and Charlotte registered with the local office too, stating that they have officially moved here. Now I am free to get a job. Another thank you to Jack for passing on contact information for two Norwegian women who might be able to help.

Beach - Charlotte dipped her toes into Norwegian water for the first time yesterday! We walked down to a little beach just 10 minutes from where we are staying. The sand was warm and soft, and the water was a surprisingly comfortable temperature. She and I rolled up our pants and waded in the water and enjoyed the sunshine. The sun is very strong here as we are closer to it. There were two little girls fishing for crabs, standing on the rocks nearby. The were talking, talking, talking and I was pretending to understand them. It is too strange for kids to see adults who don't speak a language as well as they do. Perplexing. I learned the word for splash so I could at least say "Plask, plask!" when they jumped into the water near us. Why is it so cute when little kids speak in another language? I loved hearing them talk in Norwegian.

Elk - It is delicious. We ate elk carbonader (sort of like a burger, sans bun) for dinner with my in-laws and it was sensational.