Life on a farm in southern Norway

2nd August to 11th September 2020 (Part 1)

It's been a few weeks now, it feels like just a short moment for me. I want to share some experiences that I have had here.

I have arrived on my island, surrounded by nature. Here in the fjord, you have to imagine the island as a large piece of land. It stretches for about two kilometers. There are woods, meadows, and rocks, some of which are covered with soft green moss. Up high, there are blueberries, which this year have a plentiful supply of fruits. My wooden house is simple, with a living kitchen and on the first floor a few beds with four to six sleeping places. The toilet is about 50 meters away outside in a small wooden house. I can't help but smile when I see two toilet seats side by side. The reader can imagine it themselves 😂 As I was told these days, this is typical for Norway. The shower is also outside my cabin on the back wall of the house. A consolation: there is pleasantly warm water 😇 In front of the house, I look out onto a green, densely overgrown meadow, surrounded by oaks and rocks. Sheep herds occasionally pass by and enjoy the juicy grass. The animals are initially very shy and skittish, but over time their curiosity wins and they come closer to the house.

From now on, I get to contribute here from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a half-hour to three-quarter-hour lunch break. The work consists of processing the mussels brought in by the mussel farm in the fjord. There are two varieties here: oysters and mussels. Oysters are divided and sorted into sizes from larger units as they have grown in the ocean. They are washed and packed depending on the customer's order. It is a true challenge to distinguish between the sizes 'small, small-medium, medium, medium-large, and large'. Mussels are washed with the help of a large machine and then sorted by hand on a conveyor belt. The mussels are packed in nets and prepared in boxes for the customer. I enjoy the work, but I also enjoy my free time here on my island in nature.

A few days after my arrival, another volunteer is supposed to come here. Tom, a young man from the Netherlands. I will be sharing the cabin on the island with him. On the evening of his arrival, the host family invites us to dinner. Tom is a likeable young man who is very motivated to gain new experiences here. The time together on the island is very relaxed. We both enjoy reading and can enjoy the peace and quiet here.

One late afternoon, our host spontaneously picks us up for a boat trip. Fishing and heading to Grimstad... that's the plan. All three children are on board and jump around the boat with joyful liveliness. We drive out to sea. A breathtaking landscape unfolds... I am speechless. The color of the water... the small rock islands covered with yellow moss lichens in the sunlight... such a beautiful experience! We stop at a yellow buoy, and the men pull the fishing net into the boat. Then the catch is pulled out: a large lobster with a length of about 40 cm... he has to go back into the water, as lobsters can only be caught from October onwards. Until then, they are not fully grown, and it is forbidden to catch them. Our host holds the lobster in front of me so that I can take a picture of it. Before anyone can react, the lobster pinches my thigh with its right claw🙈 and doesn't let go... Oh, that hurts😳😩 but I still laugh at the comical situation 😂😂😂 With a little help, the creature finally lets go again.

A few large crabs with body diameters of ten to twenty centimeters and two large fish are also pulled up from the net.

Late in the evening, around 11:00 p.m., we return to our island. The two girls, five years old, have fallen asleep on my lap in the meantime. I don't need to speak their language... and yet they have such trust. That makes me very happy.