Stavanger -Episode 3

     A day in Oslo getting used to the idea that every week the group will get smaller.  It seems that we have been together forever.  So far, Tara, Austin and Amy have been given special information and taken somewhere special.  We share more about what we know of our ancestors and how much we want to meet our families.  Its funny how being so close makes it mean so much more.  We make wild guesses about where we are going next -but are given no information...
     Finally, we are told that we are taking an airplane in the morning.  Even after arriving at the Oslo airport we still do not know our destination and make guesses based on departing flights.
     Stavanger!
      Stavanger is a real city and we are staying in the center of town.  We can actually wander and shop, explore, buy a beer and talk to strangers!  It feels so good after being sequestered outside Oslo.  We are told that the next day we will be visiting an oil rig.  The TV crew is very excited -seems they have tried to get permission for years.

     We have to wear survival suits - in case the helicopter crashes.  The suits are watertight and will keep you alive - for awhile - in the North sea.  They are big and orange with boots, hoodies and gloves. Did I say big?  Trust me, these things were not designed for women or short people.  I feel like a large fashion challenged troll. They are VERY hot to wear.
    The helicopter we take is a large one - so large it doesn't really feel the way I always imagined a helicopter ride to feel.  It is loud and we wear headsets so the Captain can speak to us.  The rest of the time there is music - everyone else seems to love the music - but I'm getting very tired of music all the time - I turn it off and look out the window.  We fly for almost 45 minutes out into the North Sea.  Its a beautiful day with blue sky and nothing but sea... Finally we see oil rigs like dots in the sea.  We are going to the biggest oil rig in the world!  Definitely not something I was expecting to do on this trip!
    The rig itself is sort of anti-climatic.  It is big enough that inside you forget you are not on land.  But today the weather is very calm, so maybe that helps.  The place has a military feel - with lots of warning sounds and locked doors.  Maybe the fact that most of the workers are men adds to that feeling.  We eat in the cafeteria, get suited up in overalls, hat and gloves and get a tour - then wait, and wait some more.
     The competition is, again, not something I would have guessed.  There is a large vat of goo filled with coins (supposed to be mud - but is more like brown snot- find out later its a food product -I'm guessing seaweed or something).  Then there is a barrel of oil (again fake as it does not smell or feel greasy, though it is black and has a similar consistency. I'm guessing real oil would be a health problem.)  The competition: One team must pump the oil into buckets while the other team collects the $ from the mud.  Then teams switch - when all the buckets are full - the other team has to stop collecting $.  The team that gets the most $ wins.
     Who thought this up?  I do wonder what else we could have done on the rig - this area is about as safe as it gets here - we could almost be in a parking lot.  Its messy and almost fun, though a bit cold.  We are quickly up to our armpits in fake mud!  When the first round is done, we clean up and do interviews while the crew counts the coins.  Then we switch.  It takes most of the afternoon.  When the challenge is done our team has lost by 12 kroner!! So close!!!  We fly home as the sun sets -Even though we lost, it has been a great day.
      Second competition:
     We are told to dress warmly for tomorrow's competition and it turns out most of us still get cold.  It is raining and we go to an island - the island of Bru.  It is beautiful, even in the rain. The challenge is at a fishery.   We have to catch/kill/gut and pack salmon.  It will be a timed race.  We are outfitted in white suits and shown how to do this properly.  Then interviews: How do you feel?  Jessica is having a hard time with killing the fish and becomes a focus. This is TV.
      The fish are hard to catch - I've caught them before slowly, but with so many hands grabbing, they are panicked.  There is lots of water and running.  Alf and I are from the NW and have some experience with fish, so we hope to be able to do this quickly.  We whack and bleed, then wait the required 3 minutes. Alf and I gut like crazy and pass them to Amy to wash and get inspected. Its pretty crazy!!! We have an extra fish somehow..which I go ahead and gut.  I am a gutting machine! The other team yells that they won, then our team yells NO, Austin was at the truck first.  Lots of confusion, but it seems we did win. Up and down emotions for everyone. Felt very strange, but my team is safe from elimination for another week.  I am not ready to go home yet.
     Another great meal in Stavanger.  I have coined this experience Luxury Bootcamp.  The food is wonderful, great beef and salmon, though I don't understand the lack of green vegetables.  Potatoes are not a vegetable and a few slices of cucumber do not count.  I crave a big salad. And one glass of alcohol a day is a diet for me, but that is probably for the best.  The hotel rooms are very nice, but small and most of us are not used to sleeping in a bed with someone else. Since we are rarely anywhere for more than a few nights, we are literally living out of our suitcases.
      The next day is overcast.  The winning team was supposed to go to a famous rock - Pulpit Rock overlooking a fjord, but the helicopter is broken and the weather is bad, so it is cancelled.  I'm pretty disappointed.  I really love beautiful places with a view and was excited about another helicopter ride.  But really, I'd rather hike there, so will have to do that some other time!
     Instead we have a day of interviews - another beautiful place near the water.  The day has turned nice -cold and windy with blue sky.  We have to stay in the bus, but when I am finally allowed out, I sit on a rock and stay until we have to go.  The area is so beautiful with farms and hills full of sheep!  This is Alf country... he has been whisked away to see a farm.  I am sure he will cry as this obviously means a lot to him.
     That afternoon we get to try lutefisk. With all the hype, I was really expecting something bad - like the blue cheese of fish, but this is more like fish flavored erasers.  I had a harder time with the pea puree that came with it, but some folks could barely eat it.  The Akavit helped!  After watching us beat and bleed fish, yesterday, Jessica had decided she could not eat fish anymore. She is very principled, made more difficult by the fact that we each got a beautiful lusekofte (sweater) if we ate it all.  She held her ground!
       That evening, I go out with the others.  We are looking for Karaoke, which I have never done.  I don't really go out much. Theater, movies, concerts, but not bars.  I'm up for trying it!  Alf has a great voice, Todd does a wonderful theatrical Madonna song - such stage presence!  I don't quite pay attention to the others as I look for a song I might actually know.  I end up singing Papa Don't Preach with something stuffed under my shirt.  I'm bad, so bad some local guy tries to interrupt me.  But I don't really care- this is fun! 
      The next day is a free morning for our team while the other team prepares for their elimination challenge.  I wander all around and end up going into the local church which has a gorgeous old tapestry with a Viking ship.  I sit and think of being here for another week and staying open to new adventures. I realize that one of the hardest parts of this experience is the lack of privacy.  I am used to spending a lot of time alone!
       I don't want to think of home, but I do need to bring gifts - so shopping is in order.  Everything is so expensive here, I am not sure what I can afford.  I discover a second hand store with sweaters out front - lovely Norwegian sweaters for $300 kroner and under ( $20 US).  Wow!  And then double wow, when I notice the 50% off sign.  My family members are getting Lusekofte!!!  (I'm guessing many Norwegians are tired of looking so Norwegian!!)  Since I buy most of my clothes second hand, they will get a kick out of me finding a second hand store in Norway.

     We have been told what the elimination challenge is:  Black Metal -Norway's musical export.  (Since I was a school teacher, I  know something about Black Metal.  My own kids like classical music!)  The challenge will be to write lyrics, translate them into Norsk, then perform in front of an audience with well known Black Metal musicians.  I am glad that I don't have to do this, but I am sure that Jessica and C.J. are pumped.  We are taken to a warehouse and wait.  We can hear the band practicing, even through the earplugs we have been given.  A small crowd gathers - some with children.  Finally, we are allowed in and the Red team comes out one by one to perform.  It is so much fun to watch, I almost wish I could do it. Yelling and screaming, shaking my head!!!  But some of them are really good and one will go home.
      The audience voted and Mary Carol will go home.  I really feel for her as the challenge was skewed to youth, I know how much a stretch it is to be one of the older contestants.  She did a great job!  We are all subdued as she leaves, another gone.  Jessica gets the troll and is safe for another week.  A good trade for a lusekofte!
      As we leave, I give every cast member an Alf beard  I made  (needing something to do with my hands).  I love this picture:  

Just like Alf - silly and serious - strong and heartfelt - at the same time!