Hump Day!

We are on a roll - it was another beautiful day here in Stavanger!

The kids and I started the morning with a trip to the shopping center across the street to pick up a few things at the grocery store. We went a little before 10 this morning and most of the stores weren't open yet since it is basically equivalent to an American mall. We were wanting to go to the grocery upstairs and the escalator was blocked off, so we thought we would just take the elevator...right until a woman ran over speaking Norwegian, the gist being, "...you can't do that..." I quickly apologized and she then explained that we would have to go outside and around to get to the upstairs store! Oh...got it...now... At any rate, we made our purchases with our new debit card and off we went to look for rain boots for the kids. We scored for Kyla and found a cute pair for only 49 NOK! What a deal! No such luck for Brendan - didn't have his size. We then headed home to drop off the groceries before we took off to meet Spencer at the office.

We intended to have lunch with Spencer in the office cafeteria, but it did not open for visitors/guests until 12:30 and we were in a time crunch since we were meeting our relocation guy, Per at 1:00 to look at apartments. So, we drove into Tanager and found a delicious bakery and ate sandwiches and fresh baked cookies. Then, it was off to look at our housing options...

Option 1: Tanager Harbor (see picture of the view!) - amazing apartment, great view, lots of space and storage, close to office...but, no place for the kids to play and it was being shown without furniture despite the ad saying it was furnished...hmmm...

Option 2: Madla area (where we are now, but different building) rooftop apartment - awesome view, great amenities, great location, more space...but, over our budget allowance for rent...and owner won't negotiate.

Option 3: A few kilometers from where we are now, older apartment (mid-80's) and really nothing we just loved about it. 3 floors, funky smell, pretty worn out furniture...but, cheap!

Option 4: Stay in our temporary apartment - small, but functional, great amenities, great location, plus, kids are fairly settled in and like it here. Plus, there are many places to play and ride bikes, etc., close to school and work too.

So, we did a pros/cons with the kids for each place and pretty much came to the conclusion...stay put! So, that is what we are going to request!

After all the apartment shopping, we headed over to a store called Obs. It is kind of a combo of a Walmart, Sams, and Target. The store was recommended for its variety and has stuff like rain gear the kids need for school. We loved it! It had a full grocery store (with lots of meats, so you-know-who was in heaven!), toys, clothes, outdoor gear, bedding and bath stuff, etc. We found rain boots for Brendan and rain gear for both kids for school! We also purchased some of their school supplies!

Ahhh, things are going without a hitch, until, we get home and I suddenly realize...hmmm, I wonder if the wire transfer of funds went through...? I know they were taken out of the bank in Katy, but we don't know for sure if it was deposited in our Norway account...oops...we have, by this point, used the debit card for numerous things and rain gear isn't cheap...huh...guess we better find out, but of course, it is too late tonight to check until our neighbor mentions the ATM! So, off we go to try it out. It is, of course, in Norwegian and Spencer is frantically trying to translate. We finally take out 200 NOK and next screen...a question...hmmm...another transaction, perhaps? I click "nei" which means no, but wouldn't you know, the question apparently was asking if we wanted a receipt - too late to change our mind now...so we left with 200 NOK and no receipt and still don't know our balance...ahh, the life of living in a foreign country!

By the way, sun is finally setting and it is 9:50 pm, but it will stay light until 11:45 or so.