Oslo! Episode 4

      For most of us May 17th has been a short term goal - we wanted to make it to this celebration of the Constitution. We want to wear Bunads - we hope we get to Russe. Jessica wants to be here for her birthday. Johnathan is almost vibrating.  It is almost time.
     Back in the Oslo suburbs we try not to think about how close we are to downtown Oslo.  We have a day off.  Jessica and I watch women's handball on TV - Denmark vs. Hungary- wow!  (It seems like a neat sport - why don't we have this in the USA?)  We go to a Mall and get to go shopping and bowling.  Everything is very expensive!!  Poor C.J. has been losing clothes in the laundry and is appalled that he is paying $40 US for basic underwear.
     We discover a store devoted to Bunads and Jonathan is terribly excited.  Its there that I realize that the silver pin I brought , which I thought was middle-eastern, is actually Norwegian!  Wow!  Sort of gives me chills - I have tons of pins and chose this one to bring - the pin wanted to come back to Norway.
     We have been away almost a month now. I am beginning to miss home, my husband, my son, my dog.  Its funny what I miss.  I miss classical music and quiet.  I miss being in charge of my time and walking the dog.  I miss privacy and working in my garden.  I miss vegetables!  Lord, I crave a good salad!  But I am here and want to stay as long as I can, so push those thoughts away.
     We get to take a train for our entrance into Oslo - thank goodness they take our luggage so we don't have to lug it around.  I feel very conspicuous on the train as we are so loud, while the Norwegians are terribly quiet. Cameras are waiting, of course, and follow us through the streets as we enter the city.  Oslo is smaller than I had expected, but definitely a vibrant city -classic European mix of old and new.  Very clean and full of sculptures and flowers!
       We head towards the Palace and are told the first challenge will be a scavenger hunt.  We are given clues, a camera, a map and transit passes. We get to explore the city! I feel like I am doing one of my own elementary school activities.

     This is the first time I am on a team with Todd, Tara and Austin - who are the most obviously competitive of our group. I am hopeful of success!  Sure enough, they start to strategise ASAP.  These guys play to win and it is clear my job will just be to keep up. Turns out I am right.  They "power walk" everywhere and I'm glad that I am in somewhat decent shape and don't embarrass myself.  CJ and the crew are smokers and are left huffing and puffing.  We have asked people on the street and mapped out the clues - everyone is pumped and confident - we speed between clues and make great time. When we get to the last clue, at the Grand Hotel, I'm very tired.

       Then we wait...  sequestered in a back room.
We presume we are first, but have no idea.  Finally, we get to join with the other team for results.  We have made one error - which will cost us a lot of time.  We did not pay close enough attention to the clues! We are sure we have lost. But we did take the subway instead of the tram and it turns out we were much faster and win.  We are surprised, but happy. We are closer to staying another week.

     The next day, we are all still hoping for a Russ challenge - some folks have even "practiced" drinking w/o hands, etc..  So when we are brought to a table in the middle of a main thoroughfare and see it is covered with musical instruments, I can feel the disappointment.  We will be street musicians!!!  I can honestly say that this was my least favorite challenge.  Now, as anyone who watches the show can tell, I do not mind making a fool of myself, but this was demoralizing.
     We quickly learned that Norwegians do not like loud or obnoxious or TV cameras - so we are left with making spectacles of ourselves and begging.  It is not pretty and does not feel good. We do not have much "musical" talent, so are desperate.  Austin has taken his shirt off, Tara is giving kisses - we are almost wandering into the crowd, pushing the boundaries of where we have been told to stay.  But we actually make money - I think people are curious and maybe, hopefully entertained. Either that or they pity us!
     After lots of waiting, we are told the results - one team made much more than the other and it is us!  It seems the other team depended on Amy who danced and Dana who played music - they actually were street artists and got much less than we did.  Amy becomes very upset and it turns out that someone on the street insulted her for dancing in public. She shared something she loves and is proud of and gets called names. It feels very yucky and we are all glad this challenge is over!  With experiences like this, it is hard to remember why I am here.  But tomorrow is the 17th of May - that is something special to look forward to.