So, my apologies...I took the night off last night! I will fill you all in on Sunday first though!
We decided to do some more sightseeing in the area on Sunday and because of the absolutely perfect weather, we decided the Solastranden Beach, along with a couple other places near Sola would be our destinations for the day. We first stopped at a place called Domsteinene which is a reconstructed stone circle from the Iron Age - long considered an archaeological enigma - that is a very powerful symbol. Although numerous theories exist, it is uncertain what it was actually used for. It is 24 stones arranged in a circle with smaller stones creating sections that lead to the center (like a wagonwheel.) Rituals, sacrifice, councils, seasonal and sun cycles...it is anyone's guess.
Next stop was the beach...yes, the beach! Only about 15-20 minutes away, right near the airport - we, along with many others, enjoyed the beautiful weather and wandered down the beach, watched the wind surfers in the distance, climbed around the dunes...under a perfect and cloudless blue sky! The only drawback...well two really, very cold water of the North Sea and jellyfish! The water is quite clear, but you really have to watch out for the jellyfish! Some are really big and some pretty small and you certainly would not want to step or swim into one of those! One funny thing to note...we saw several people with smaller children who didn't feel the need for them to wear swimsuits or even a diaper - huh, interesting...There were a lot of people out soaking up the sun and the people here don't seem to mind the cold water much!
After our walk up and down the beach, we went on the hunt for the stone crosses at Tjora. We found them...literally between two homes and backing up to a large farm! They date back to about 1150 AD and are believed to be a place where people gathered for religious services. Quite stunning really!
After all that, we met up with Dan, Sheila, and Ella to take a walk to feed the ducks at the lake and then on a whim, decided to head over to Dolly Dimple's for pizza. One thing to note about restaurants here...service is not so great and generally very slow (except at the "fast food" type places.) We were there for over an hour and a half...just for pizza! No incentive, I guess...tips aren't the norm here and some places/people won't accept them at all anyway...feels very odd not to tip in restaurants and barber shops, for example.
Well, on to today! Today was "meet the teacher" day at ISS. We were assigned at time to meet each of the kids' teachers and had a chance to see the school again and get a little better acquainted with it all. Kyla has Ms. Janiak - cute, young, personable...liked her right away and Kyla did as well! After chatting and hearing a bit about the "routine," we found her class will be run much like classes at Katy Elementary and won't be that different than what she is accustomed to! YEA!!! This is her 4th year teaching at ISS and I think Kyla will have a great year with her!
Brendan was lucky enough to get Mrs. Jones, whom we met initially when we went for our tour soon after arriving here. He was very excited to be in her class. I think things will go well for him, although, it is going to require a bit more independence than he is probably accustomed to. She seems very organized and I think it will be a great class for him. It appears at this point, there are only about 14 kids in his class which will also be a plus for him!
The kids will both go to music, art, computer lab, PE (twice a week,) 3 recesses each day, and Norsk class where they will learn Norwegian! All that in addition to math, science, language arts, social studies...I am amazed at how they fit it all in!
After meet the teacher, we hung around the apartment (weather rainy today) until Spencer got home. We then made a quick trip over to the mall to grab some last minute supplies, another pair of shoes for each kid...(more on that in a minute,) and finally, yes...a Norwegian cell phone for me. I got the absolute cheapest phone they had (and I do mean total crap phone,) paid for a number, and will just buy minutes to add as needed. It is mainly for the school to be able to contact me and for calls when I am away from the apartment. Truly an emergency-type phone!
Okay, the shoes...the kids are not allowed to wear their outside shoes in the classroom...so, they need an outside pair (plus rain boots,) an inside pair, and a pair for PE, which could double as your inside pair...but you have to basically leave them at school, which means you have to have shoes for home and weekends separate from that. Geez...I have a feeling shoes are going to be the bane of my existence this year...!
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