milestone

I will have mastered Norwegian when I pass the 4th milestone. But today is a celebration of the 2nd milestone. I can read and understand the Norwegian newspaper! I celebrated the milestone by investing in a 14-week subscription to Norway's premier newspaper Aftenposten. I no longer have to rely on New York Times, though it must be consulted to get a pulse on America now and then. Milestone #1? Eating lunch with colleagues and actually following what they are saying, not just nodding and laughing and then saying "huh?" when the conversational abruptly charges in my direction. Milestone #3 and #4 are a ways a way. #3 - dreaming in Norwegian. #4 - having a sense of humor and making jokes in Norwegian. It will be years before I can really have my own personality in the language. And it may be an eternity before I can make jokes, because I never mastered that in English to begin with!