Episode 2 -Travel

      We are traveling into the center of Norway!!!  We had been told to dress warmly, so we are all hoping for snow.  We have stowed our bags full of Helly Hansen gear -we are ready for weather.  The day before, I searched the nearby mini-mall for a good map of Norway - with roads and towns and kommunes - a bit shocked when the one I found was more than $20 -American, but I bought it anyway.  I love maps and like to know where I am.  I pull it out and follow where we are going - up E-6 north. At one point one of the directors asks me to put it away, but I sneak it out and follow where we are.
      The energy is palpable, lots of singing and laughter, we are on the road - in Norway!  The group is starting to feel comfortable - we all have a sense of each other and are past the getting-to-know-you stage. It reminds me of the dynamics of summer camp - a diverse group of people thrown together for a short term experience.  You bond in a way that doesn't happen in many other situations in our "regular" lives.  Spending 24 hours together, in a strange place with a strange language, participating in a crazy adventure,  how could we not bond?
      This group is funny and media saavy - slamming out dialog from a favorite movie: Jessica - belting out a song for every occassion: Amy.  Dropping names of the coolest films and comedians: C.J.  Dropping names in general: Austin. Todd seems to know it all - which amazes me as he is older than most of them. Jonathan is AMAZED at everything and constantly snapping photos.(Thank you!)  Mary Carol seems a bit in her own world -reminding me of a teenager with her headphones, but then jumps in with comments and Alf - Alf is just even keeled and good humored - wisdom of age?
        Speaking of age - I'm fighting off the feeling that I am a chaperone on a high school field trip. I feel old. There is a cultural divide. I don't know the songs, I find much of the music grating and I haven't seen most of the movies they talk about.  Damm.....  But they are all funny and nice and I want to forget that I'm 30+ years older.  I can dance, I can sing,  just you wait! In fact, this first long bus ride falls on my birthday!  I am 58 today.  The crew gives me a gift of books and chocolate and sings me what I presume is happy birthday in Norwegian.  It is very sweet of them. The books are by Norwegian writers, but thankfully are in English!!
        Counting pit stops, the ride takes all day. But I love being in a new place.  I'm asking questions like crazy - what is the main crop here?  How do people living in the countryside make a living?  Do they commute?  Is the forest public or private? What kind of bird is that?  After many, "I don't know"s, Mama Christine -laughs and admits that she is a city girl - I need to stop asking her.  So I do.

      I see signs for Lillehammer and check the map again. We have been following a large body of water for miles - Christine says it is a lake, not a fjord. She knows that!  Finally, we begin to go west!!!  We leave the main highway and take a smaller road. It begins to wind up along a river; there are mountains in the distance - very beautiful mountains. We come into the town of Lom.  There is a Stave church at the far end. I'm somewhat obsessed with medieval Scandinavia and have always wanted to visit a Stave church.  The bus pulls into a parking lot at a hotel nearby.  We all practically run over to the church, but it is late evening and it has closed. We wander the graveyard, looking at names and dates, searching for our names. It was interesting to see many locals with shovels and rakes - they had been tidying the graves.  This is Norway!