Paper Day!! December 21, 2012

Wow! What a whirlwind these past two days have been! Yesterday was our "Paper Day:" the day Svein Arild and I were legally wed! We had selected December 21, 2012 because it was supposed to be the "end of the world" but we are viewing it as the beginning of our world together.

We started out our day with a hearty egg breakfast and left the house at 10am in order to make the 10:30am ferry across the fjord. I, of course, fell asleep for most of the drive but during the times I was awake I was in awe at the beauty of this country.

A mystical sunrise was peeking through the mountains.

Driving around a bend and, VOILA! A gorgeous Norwegian sunrise (10:45am).

The mountain, called Skjorta, also glowed in the sunshine.

We arrived in Førde in plenty of time - so early, in fact, that they placed us in a conference room so we could test out the internet connections for video chatting. My mom, dad and grandmother were in Branson, Missouri and my sister and her fiance were in Colorado all waiting to watch the ceremony via Google Hangouts. We were so thrilled they were willing to wake up early just to join us! The connections worked and I was chatting with them when Svein Arild's parents and sisters arrived! Gunnhild and Kari were our witnesses for the civil ceremony. We were so honored they made the two and a half hour drive with his parents to join us as well!

Mom, Dad and Grams calling in from Branson, MO!

Pete and Lauren calling in from Colorado Springs, CO!

The ceremony was short and sweet and we all got very emotional. Here are some pictures with captions describing what the ceremony entailed.

Waiting in gorgeous carved wood chairs for the judge to enter.

She seemed nervous to perform the ceremony in English but she did a great job! Short and sweet and too the point!

Svein Arild signing the marriage certificate.

Me signing the marriage certificate.

Svein Arild giving his mom, Agnete, a bamseklem! (bear hug)

The newlyweds posing with Svein Arild's parents, Alv and Agnete!

We said goodbye to my family and packed everything up. His parents invited us to have a light lunch at a restaurant around the corner because it was going to be another two and half hour drive back. We knew we were going to be having dinner at Gunnhild's house but we all needed some nourishment. So we went to Pikant for some delicious fiskesuppe (fish soup) and they surprised us with a sparkler while we had some coffee and cookies!

Pikant, Førde

Kari, Agnete, Alv, Gunnhild, and Svein Arild awaiting some fiskesuppe!

Mmmm delicious fiskesuppe!

The whole party!

The waitress brought us a huge sparkler to celebrate!

Coffee and cookies: best way to end a meal!

Of course, I fell asleep on the way back home but we stopped to take a couple pictures of the sunset around 4:30pm.

We loved the mist in the back of the picture.

We stopped in Stryn on the way to Gunnhild's to pick up some orange juice and Mozell (my favorite sparkling apple juice) for the party. I also grabbed some white roses for the hosts to thank them for throwing us a dinner. Well, I had no idea just what they had in store for us!

As I will be referring to GOBU a lot from now on I'll explain what it means. GOBU stands for Gunnhild Ottar B U because Gunnhild B. and Ottar U. are married. The B's name most of their homes. For example: Svein Arild and my home is called Nylendene which means "the new land." 

Okay, so when we walked into GOBU I, first, saw a lovely table setting and when I looked up I saw an entire room full of Bergsets! I knew some people were going to be there but I had no idea just how many! Immediately I was overcome with emotion and *then* dear Miriam came from the kitchen playing a traditional wedding song on her violin! Yep, here come the waterworks! I was crying and smiling and just overwhelmed with the love in the room! Part of me was crying because I wished my own family could be there as well. I knew they were there in spirit.

The lovely table setting!

Gunnhild and Agnete bought us this beautiful moss heart with two red roses! It will dry to be a nice memento of our day!

The dinner of roasted deer meat, kjøtkaker (meatballs), hjortekaker (deer meatballs), carrots, brussels sprouts, selleristapper (mashed celery root), and two gravies was delicious!! All of the dinner was prepared by various family members and, I must say, Ane's selleristapper is to die for! Not that the rest wasn't amazing too!

GOBU always looks beautiful for family gatherings! And they make it seem so effortless!

My wonderful in-laws relaxing before enjoying some cake and coffee.

Sister-in-laws Gunnhild and Åse chat.

After dinner but before dessert, I pulled out my computer again to call my dad and sister because they wanted to participate in the dinner as well. Unfortunately Mom was at work. But we were able to talk to them shortly and they got to see us open our first wedding gifts! Once again, I cried upon opening the first gift: a "kjøkkenmaskin" (kitchen machine)! It is a mixer and WOAH IS IT A MIXER!

They don't lie when they call it a major machine! And the hurricane glows so beautifully on our breakfast table!

Not only is it a traditional mixer but it has attachments for a meat grinder and a tempered glass blender! What an amazing gift from Gunnhild, Ottar, Kari, and Jørgen!! You have no idea how excited I was to see that we had received such an amazing gift! 

Svein Arild sporting some flare!

Oddvar and Åse surprised us with a beautiful hurricane candle holder (which we used at breakfast this morning!

And his parents gave us some summer cotton duvet covers for the bed! Everyone is just so welcoming and warm. My face hurt at the end of the night from smiling so much! 

Olai (in Ane's lap) wanted to join in the fun of opening gifts!

We were surprised, yet again, by two lovely cakes in the kitchen! One was Svein Arild's favorite "bestemor" cake which is made by his mother and the other was a marzipan covered cake with gorgeous decorations! The family requested that we cut the cake together and feed each other a bite so we obliged!

A delicious layered cake surrounded by the traditional marzipan "icing." (The only way I have ever enjoyed marzipan has been on Norwegian cakes!)

Cutting the cake! The bestemor cake is in the left of the picture.

Alv and Agnete watch on as we exchange bites of cake!

A sweet kiss for the newlyweds!

At the end, only the bit along the bottom of the decoration was eaten so they saved the cake for today (which will be the next post).

Svein Arild and I graciously said goodnight to everyone around 11pm and came home to start a fire and open the mixer to explore all its gadgets!

Trust me, I'm much happier than I look in this picture. I was exhausted but was, according to Svein Arild, "like a child on Christmas morning opening her new toys!"

It was an exhausting but exciting and wonderful day surrounded by a loving and warm family. We cannot thank the Bergset family enough for all they did for us yesterday. It was an amazing surprise and made me feel so welcomed! I missed my family a lot but I know they were there with me at heart and I can't wait to celebrate with them in April when they come to Maryland!

I hope you enjoyed reading about our day. If you have questions about the traditions or any other part of the day please feel free to ask them in the comments section below! We will answer them as best we can!

Hadet bra!

Over the ocean and around the fjords - to Christmas in Norway I go!

I'm in Norway for Christmas and New Years! 

I started my journey at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington DC for a 7 hour flight. After a two hour layover in London, I had just another 3 hour flight from London. Then long lines at the passport check followed by waiting and waiting for my luggage...and finally......


Svein Arild picked me up at the airport yesterday in Oslo. It was soooo good to see him! We hadn't gone this long without seeing in each other (six months) since we met. It was toooo long! We piled my two suitcases, carry-on and purse into the car and began the drive back to Stryn. I was a bit loopy at that point from lack of sleep, my sciatica flaring up because of sitting too long and lack of nourishment (not thrilled with British Airways in-flight menu). I tried so hard to keep my eyes open because I knew that we had a long 7 hour drive ahead of us...but I failed...miserably.

I slept off and on and, according to Svein Arild, mumbled incoherently a lot. After a nap, though, I awoke, plugged in my iPod, cranked up the Christmas playlist and sang Christmas songs...for hours....in the car. It's clearly a testament to Svein Arild's chivalry/patience/nerves/ignoring skills! We made only necessary stops for gas, restroom and food but we did stop and pick up some julenek which is a bail of oats you put out for the birds around Christmastime. 

The handsome Svein Arild modeling a lovely alpaca sweater and some julenek.

 OH AND ONE MORE STOP!!!!

WE SAW A MOOSE CROSS THE ROAD IN FRONT OF US!! It just slowly walked in front of the car and up the embankment on my side of the car. I tried taking pictures with my tiny little camera but all you can see is two glowing eyes. 

Spooky glowing moose eyes!

So we took some pictures with Svein Arild's camera and then I proceeded to yell at him to start driving because I was afraid we were spooking it with all the flashes. But it really could have cared less about us. Svein Arild just laughed at me being a silly American. :)

Moose! It's clearly sighing, "Oh, silly foreigner, just take your pictures and move on."

We got home late Tuesday night at around 11:30pm...and I slept until 10:30am! I got so much sleep!! But I still felt very groggy from the jetlag. Eventually, I showered, unpacked some stuff and we headed to the store to get some food. It was nice to see Stryn again and we ran into some neighbors of Svein Arild's parents. 

Most of the time I can understand Norwegian and know what people are saying but the small mall we were in offered too much background noise for me to pick out what they were saying so I just smiled and nodded. Svein Arild later told me they were congratulating us on Paper Day :) 

We had a relatively slow afternoon. I made Eggs Degas for lunch as well as soft boiled eggs and ost og skinke. (If you've watched our "Svanndi's Guide to Norway: Food" episode, you know what that is!)

Alv and Agnete, Svein Arild's parents invited us over for a chat this evening so we obliged. Like I said, I can understand Norwegian most of the time I just have a hard time (see: slower time) constructing sentences. So most of the time there I listened to them and then Svein Arild translated my responses. Alv speaks English very well (though he will tell you otherwise). We came home with some homemade bread and then....

This evening we had crafty-fun-time!! We sat in the living room in front of a beautiful glowing wood burning stove (it heats the house) making gifts for his family. Now, I can't show you pictures of what we made because that would spoil the surprise on Christmas but I will tell you that glitter was involved...and now the house is very sparkly! It looks like a unicorn sneezed in here! We had so much fun being crafty together and we will definitely do more projects in the future!

Tomorrow we don't have any plans other than go to Stryn and Svein Arild has a little bit of work to do before shutting down business for the holidays. So I'm anticipating a lazy day of movie watching and napping. And it's vacation so I am working on forcing myself to be lazy...Svein Arild will tell you I'm making little progress in that category but I promise I will try very hard tomorrow. Is that an oxymoron? To try very hard to be lazy? Hmmm, well we'll see how that works out!

Hadet bra!

Norway - Doing it Right

A friend of mine posted the following picture on Facebook stating,

‎Anndi, you don't really want to go to this godforsaken land.

(She was joking!)

I, personally, found it funny because, as an American who grew up in a liberal environment, I was told separation of church and state was important. I agree with that wholeheartedly. The matters of state (school, jobs, etc) shouldn't be held captive to one religion. I don't mean to say that Catholic schools, for example, are an abomination because of that feeling. Not at all. But see, that's the beauty of this country...the freedom to choose where you wish to worship, learn and work. Those out there saying that the secularization of America is the downfall of the country are severely misinformed and tread upon those sacred freedoms. (see what I did there? ;) )

Yes, our founding fathers were Christian and our money, pledge of allegiance, inaugural pledge etc all make mention of God. But why does it have to be one God? 

So if one person is staunchly Catholic and devoted to his God attending church every Sunday and feeling the presence of his God in a true and fulfilling way, how is that different from someone devoted to God who religiously attends Temple and feels the presence of their God in a true and fulfilling way. Same for Buddhists, Hindis, Muslims, and all other religious believers. 

In my opinion all believe in the same god by different names. What is wrong with that? Isn't God a connecting factor through all our cultures?

NO ONE IS RIGHT AND NO ONE IS WRONG.

So this comic got me to thinking about religion in Norway. I had casually considered the topic while visiting the beautiful stave churches throughout the country and when looking for a church for our wedding ceremony. I've learned a little bit about the Church of Norway and I had heard somewhere that the atheism rate was high but I never really considered the topic especially when related to the GDP, unemployment rate etc. 

I am not a religious person but consider myself a spiritual person. Because of my "no one is right and no one is wrong" statement I feel that I can appreciate aspects of many religions and incorporate them into my life. 

Just to be clear - I was raised in a Presbyterian family and really do appreciate all the time I spent in church, youth group, choir and bell choir. The experiences all taught me how to relate to people and I learned about ethics. I learned a lot and I cherish those lessons. We chose to have a church ceremony because we both do value what we learned growing up and want to show our appreciation to our parents for all they have done for us religiously and spiritually.

When I am in Norway, I feel a spiritual connection with the land there. As corny as that may sound, the country really has touched me and I am glad I am moving to a place that is so open to everyone no matter their race, religion or Justin Beiber fan. It is a peaceful country. I'm not sure if the atheism rate is really associated with all the high points listed in the comic or not. (I'll never pretend to understand politics.)

But I think the comic makes a great point. Why do religion and politics have to be connected? What does one have to do with the other? God isn't going to smite you for voting a certain party. (S)He isn't running for president. (S)He doesn't make the laws. We tiny little people do that and, clearly, we're screwing up somewhere along the way because no matter what, the Golden Rule always stands true.

Treat others as you would like to be treated.

It's that simple, people. Norway is doing it right. Leave politics out of it, let me believe in what matters to me and I'll let you do the same. Then, we'll all go out for brunch.

For more information on religion and politics in Norway, I refer you to this article.

Certificate of Non-Impediment of Marriage...wait...what?!

Yes, you read that correctly "Certificate of Non-Impediment of Marriage." Not only is it a mouthful but, for a few weeks, it was also a mystery!

For now, it will remain a mystery as I think I should start at the beginning...

We had spent a day in Oslo prior to my leaving Norway to visit the immigration office (UDI) to ask what we should do about visas, work permits etc. It was incredibly daunting. Here were my options:

A) Find an employer to sponsor me and give me a job. Easy, right? Well, the job HAD to be in my field of study. Finding theatrical design jobs near the town I'll be living was very difficult.

B) Move over there on my passport visa and get married within three months. You can be in Norway for up to three months on just the stamp in your passport. This is also the amount of time a work permit supposedly takes to receive.

I'm not in a financial situation (with student loans, medical bills etc) to not work for the three month hiatus which both options presented me. Trying to figure out the best way to approach this was getting depressing!


When I returned home from Norway this summer I was really sick. Surrounded by tissues, cough drops, gallons of water and Thera-flu, I laid in bed for an entire week with not even enough energy to watch TV. Between naps I would lay there staring at the ceiling trying to figure out what to do.

BAM!

It hit me!

What if we just got married when I visited in December for Christmas and I would come back to the states and wait for the immigration to go through!? Once we are married I can get a job in any field. I could work at the grocery store until I find something more permanent for heaven's sake!

I presented this idea to Svein Arild. (It honestly almost felt like I was proposing to him!) I was worried what he would say because it's not traditionally done and we had just spend so much time finding the ceremony and reception locations while I was there. But he quickly agreed and we decided we would get married December 21, 2012 and then have the church ceremony as planned on August 17, 2013.

SURPRISE!!

Many of our friends and family will just now be hearing about this. It's not that it was a big secret, we just didn't advertise it. I think we were worried that people would think the magic of the church ceremony would be cheapened somehow by getting legally married 8 months before. Well, we have been calling December 21st "Paper Day" as in that's the day the paperwork is going to be filled out. Yes, we will be legally husband and wife but we won't be considering ourselves as such until we "put a ring on it" so-to-speak.

Now, it was very important to me that we get the approval of our parents for this...and they all approved enthusiastically!

Okay, so now to the whole "Mystery of the Non-Impediment" situation.

A friend of mine has contacts at the Norwegian Embassy here in Washington DC so I was given a phone number to call to see what documents would be needed in order to get married in a civil ceremony. There was also information online and Svein Arild was calling various agencies to ask them. All of the answers we received were either very different from one another or conflicting. Finally, we got confirmation on one called the "Certificate of Non-Impediment of Marriage."

Yay! Just print, fill out and send, right?!

Oh so very wrong...

The federal government of the United States does not regulate marriage so they do not have such a certificate. Most other countries do. So the hunt began to find this mysterious document. And we were on a deadline, mind you. We knew the paperwork would take at least a month to process and it had to be done before I left for Christmas vacation. I'll spare you exactly the trials and tribulations this hunt caused and will just provide the outcome...trust me, it's less painful for you this way!

Anndi's Marriage Packet Contents:

* Copy of passport.

* Statement from Matron of Honor that I am not married nor related to Svein Arild.
      - This document was provided us by the agency in Norway.

* Copies of my state and federal tax returns from 2011 (because I filed as single)
      - This wasn't requested but I figured it couldn't hurt.

* Certificate of Non-Impediment of Marriage
      - I found one online somewhere that contained very poor grammar so I re-worded it to suit my needs. Basically, I wrote out a statement saying I am single, place of birth, etc etc etc. Giving way more information than they really needed.

Here is an internet-safe version (personal info removed) copy of the Certificate I wrote:

Okay, now, put your moon shoes on because you're going to jump through some hoops with me! Ready?

Hoop 1: Get packet notarized at the bank. 
It's free at your own banking institution. I signed the Certificate, he signed it, he stamped it and I was on my way. He didn't even read it.

The bottom half of the Certificate of Non-Impediment

Hoop 2: Get in line at the License Bureau to get the notary's signature authenticated.
Basically it's someone saying, "Yeah, that notary dude is a real notary. Here's a gold sticker." She didn't even read it.

A half-sheet of paper  with a gold seal stapled to the front of the certificate.

Hoop 3: Drive up to Annapolis to the Secretary of State's Office.
This is to authenticate the authentication of the notary you got at the license bureau. Basically it's someone saying, "Yeah, that license lady that authenticated the notary is a real license lady. Here's a gold sticker." (Honestly, I was in and out of there in 3 minutes. Signed in at 3:15pm signed out at 3:18pm) The clerk didn't even read it.

Please note the second sentence, "This Apostille does not certify the content of the document for which it is issued."

Hoop 4: Go to the shipping store around the corner from the Secretary of State's Office.
This is to pay out the wazoo ($70) to ship it to Norway. I could have sent it via USPS but I really wanted to be able to track this special hoopdy-loop package in case it got lost.

Whew!

Okay, I'm not complaining about the process because I do appreciate the measures Norway takes to make sure everything is done right. I just wish the documents were a little easier to come by. My friend, John said it well, "It's like you're innocent until proven guilty - married until proven single."

So the paperwork arrived at Svein Arild's house safe and sound, he appended the packet with his own packet and took it to the tax office. They, in turn, sent it off to the next agency and within a week (not the three we were told) our paperwork was approved!! One step closer to being together!

This is where we stand now: We will be driving to Førde on the 21st to be legally married. Standing with us will be Svein Arild's sisters and his parents. It is going to be a simple civil ceremony and we are going to try to use their WiFi to do a Google Hangout with my family in the states so they can watch. Don't worry, I'll post pictures!

As for the next step in the immigration process I have started to collect the appropriate documents - birth certificate, passport etc. - and we'll be back to wearing the moon shoes again, I'm sure. But this time we'll be jumping as a legally married couple.

"Norway?! Why are you moving to *Norway*?"

I have been asked this question on a regular basis for the past year since I decided to move to Norway. The simple answer is always, "To be with my fiance." Yet, still, people are amazed that I am moving to such a cold, dark country. What most people don't know is just how wonderful and beautiful the country and its people are!

The question that inevitably follows is, "How did you meet him if he lives in Norway?"

Svein Arild and I met online in 2005 when he messaged me randomly on Yahoo! asking to just chat and practice his English. From there we grew as friends and, eventually, after his many requests, I allowed him to come visit me in person in April 2011. We took a trip through the Shenandoah Valley and fell head over heels for each other.

He visited again in August 2011 when we took a trip to Pennsylvania for a long weekend. (You'll notice we have an affinity for road trips!) Finally, in October of 2011 I visited Norway for the first time and fell in love with the country as well!

Svein Arild and I in front of the Royal Palace in Oslo!

When I returned home from that trip I knew I was going to move there. We spent the next few months trying to figure out the best way for me to accomplish that but there are so many financial reasons I had to stay here. It seemed impossible.

He came to visit me for Christmas and we drove from Maryland out to Missouri and back for him to visit my parents and meet my family. They all approved of him and were so supportive of our relationship!

The Family at Silver Dollar City

Another road trip in May 2012 up the Northeast found us engaged at sunrise in Acadia National Park atop Cadillac Mountain!

He proposed at sunrise on top of a mountain! So romantic!

 Finally, in July 2012, I took another trip over to Norway where we road-tripped through Norway, Sweden, Poland, Germany and Denmark. It was yet another amazing trip filled with family, geocaching and adventures!

So, that is the very brief version of our beginnings together to establish a context for the posts to follow. Sharing this new adventure - the process, the happiness, the sadness, the ups and downs - is meant to help our family follow the process as well as those out there going through the same situation whether it be Norway or another country. I will try to post as regularly as possible not only about the immigration process but acclimating to life in a new country. Any tips, tricks, words of encouragement are most welcomed!

Feel free to take a gander at the videos we have posted of our travels together as well as our "Svanndi's Guide to Norway" on YouTube! (Links below)

Thanks for joining me on this adventure! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!

"Nylendene" Our home in Norway!

P.S. The name "Svanndi" was given us by my college roommate, Stephanie, as a celebrity name when she made a mixed CD for a road trip we took. We loved the name so now use it all the time!