We are staying in the Grand Hotel! My roomie is Tara and we get to spread out in our large lovely room. We have been told to leave our rooms unlocked and to expect a surprise in the morning. We hope it will be bunads!! A camera crew wakes us and follow as we get up to find bunads hanging in our room with notes. Yes!!! We ooh and aahh; this is so much fun - even barely dressed.
Our major-domo mama, Brita, is from the same region as Tara and about the same size, so has lent her own bunad. It is lovely with lots of embroidery and a cute hat and - a waist. Mine is a rental from the region of Hollingsdal (?) and is a bit of a tent. The plus side is that I will not have to suck it in, the con side is that it is not very flattering. If I was 6 months pregnant, no one would notice! But it does have gorgeous embroidery , pockets and velcro (the front panel attaches with velcro - I am tempted to do a strip tease just to hear the sound). But then there is another layer, and then the shirt and then the woolen tights..... Another plus is the amount of bling; I have more jewelry than anyone else. The outfit reminds me of old Norse aprons with chains and keys hanging from the buckles and echoes my research on the Norse in Greenland. Fitting!
We gather in the lobby and wait, then finally go outside and see... bunads! Everywhere. Norwegians actually wear bunads! Coming from a culture that has shallow roots and being a daughter of a wandering orphan, this identification of place is both attractive and very strange. I have always felt like an outsider and, though often envious of those that "belong", I am suspicious of the boundaries that we mark between us. It is too easy, I think, for regionalism to lead to nationalism and nationalism to lead to conflict.
But Norwegians have reason to be proud. They have a beautiful country, a forward Constitution, a history of open-mindedness and courage, and now, stability and oil. Who could ask for more? I raise my Norwegian flag and walk towards the palace. I am 1/4 Norwegian!
TV Norge has a place set aside for us near the Palace. We wait as a crowd gathers and then hear the sound of bands. As we wait, it strikes me how small this country is, on this national celebration the crowd seems barely as large as one in Portland for a jazz festival or a gay pride celebration. But the enthusiasm is palpable. The bands pass by, dancers stop and perform and then the King and family come out on the balcony. I grew up in Washington, DC the USA capitol, and I think I have a sense of power and politics, but seeing a King waving to his people - was something new. I felt like I was in a fairy tale and was terribly aware of how much I am an American.
Before the parade is over, we have to leave, weaving through the crowd to a waiting bus and then to lunch. I do not envy the other team. They each had to pack their things this morning in anticipation that they might lose the elimination challenge and have to leave. We raise our glasses and skol : Gratulerer Med Dagen! We all made it to the 17th of May.
From lunch, we walk to a park and the other team is spirited away to be told - on camera - what their challenge will be. We are told also - they will have to give speeches about the 17th of May. I feel for them, as I know most people hate to give public speeches, but I am also jealous, as, for some warped reason, I love to speak in public. I am sure I would rock at this challenge. Instead, our team joins a school picnic, standing in line for potato races, and bean bag throws, buying sweets at the baked goods stand. It is obvious that Todd misses his girls as he interacts with the children around us.
Finally, it is time for the speeches. Dana goes first and I'm impressed- he is fiery and proud. Johnathan is a sincerely enthused professor, Alf's speech is heartfelt and mirrors his grounded integrity, Amy dares to speak of tolerance and the current shootings and trial. They are all good, but I am not the judge, it will be two members of the Sorting -or Parliment - who will send someone home.
We wait and take pictures. Then it happens, so quickly it almost comes as a surprise - the judges have opinions and Dana will go home. This one hurts, somehow more than the others. Dana has been the bad boy in the back of the class - throwing spit balls and annoying our keepers. We need him to remind us that the Emperor has no clothes. Tara - who has bonded with him- is in tears. It is hard to see him go. We will all miss him.
The 18th of May is Jessica's birthday and she has wanted to be here to celebrate and she is! We all go out to a club, to drink and dance, then go back to the hotel. I don't know what it is - maybe the music, but I am feeling old again - with the sense that I am watching my children or the ghosts of my younger self. I need to go to bed, read a bit and drink my whiskey alone. Most of them go out again and have a memorable time. Jessica has her birthday bash! Alf has a great tale of a woman dancing with him and putting his beards in her mouth! C.J., for some reason, ends up sleeping in a hallway of the Grand Hotel. He looks awful the next day.
Before we give up our bunads, we go to the roof of the Grand Hotel. The night before Todd had introduced a song idea - a Bunad rap and we had all feverishly, drunkenly, written lyrics, laughing and cheering as we worked the beat. Seems he had talked the director into filming us, so we scramble, writing down what we remember and then perform it - doing only two takes. Its a winner!!!
http://youtu.be/T2sDHSbIds4
Now that we are done shooting scenes, it is time to leave the Grand Hotel. We pack and move to another hotel, then have a day off in Oslo. I like Oslo. Its an easy town to explore. I walk in the morning to the waterfront and the castle and then Johnathan and I take the bus to the Folkmuseum and wander among houses from various centuries.A lovely afternoon. I always hoped I would get to Norway and here I am!
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