Cyhoeddwyd: 24.11.2016
Sooo… slowly I can claim to have arrived. And I must say, I already feel incredibly comfortable here! I live here with Ola (32) and Einy (26) as well as their children Ilja (4) and Håkon (2, pronounced Hoakon). Ola and Einy are very, very nice, have a wide range of interests, explain and show a lot, and treat me like a friend of the family. Black Metal, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones are very present, but we also have a lot to chat and laugh about outside of these things. Both are passionate hunters, but since hunting and agriculture are mandatory subjects in school here, it's part of the normal "lifestyle". For example, on Monday they shot a moose calf, which we skinned together yesterday. Communication is mostly in English, and since Ola has learned some German in school and his father speaks German very well, he can help me with most speech disorders. Besides, I want to learn a bit Norwegian as well, especially since German and Norwegian often resemble each other. And if necessary, hands, feet, and a smile can also express what you want to say. There is also no shortage of animal roommates! We have Luna, the incredibly affectionate Border Collie dog, who hardly leaves my side; Varda, a 5-month-old Jämthund girl (a very old Swedish hunting dog breed); the crazy cat Satan (she has a different Norwegian name, but I can't pronounce it and everyone usually just calls her Satan because of her black fur and extremely long fangs). Satan is very trusting towards humans, but besides the usual mice and birds, she has also killed several chickens. And besides about 80 sheep (only 3 of them have names: Blacky, Bonus, and Sturmpanzerwagen), there are also Atilla and Lilja, two beautiful horses, called Dolahest, an old Norwegian draft horse breed. So, do we have everyone? Oh no, I forgot about the two nameless but loud roosters... thanks to Satan, there are no more chickens :D I mainly take care of the sheep and help Einy a bit with the training of the horses, entertaining the children, and housekeeping. There is also plenty of work to do in and on the buildings here. Ola grew up here and runs the farm in the 7th generation. The facility includes a total of 21 buildings/cabins/barns, etc., and 3 additional hunting cabins in the forest. The two are gradually trying to renovate some buildings for tourists, but there is a lot to renovate and bring up to a modern standard. Of course, I help diligently with that! I myself live in my own little cabin a bit away from the main house. It's quite rustic, but after doing a thorough cleaning, I was able to make it cozy. I don't have internet there, so instead of Facebook, I fall asleep to the crackling of the fire - something I could definitely get used to! I don't know exactly how long I will stay here, but I am definitely glad to have come here at all :)