Norway Invades WV

WV Sawmiller · August 29, 2023, 06:53:16 PM

My daughter said she was coming up with our youngest (4 y/o) granddaughter for a quick trip. She is planning a big, secret get together next weekend and needed to do some shopping and reserve space at a local state park for a get-together. It was also her 43rd birthday so we were excited to see her come in. She put our 6 y/o grandson in school (1st day in 1st grade) then left Charlotte for here and got here about 4:00 pm.

As they got out of the car and our GD ran up to greet us we noticed an additional passenger getting out of the car. It turned out it was our Norwegian daughter for an unannounced visit. Ruth was our second foreign exchange student here in WV (We had 2 in NC before we moved here and 3 more after her year with us) the second year we were here (1991-1992). Ruth has been back many times to visit and we visited her several times in Norway especially when I did a tour in Kristiansand Norway from 2007-2009. It has been 10 years since she was last here and we have a lot of catching up to do but she will be here another week or so. Our daughter left this morning but will be back next weekend. She said she could not call us last week for fear the kids would let the cat out of the bag. They did a good job and it was a complete surprise - the kind we like to get.

Old Greenhorn · August 29, 2023, 09:47:15 PM

That is flippin' super! Have a great visit. We won't expect a lot of posts from you in the next few days, you have a bunch of catching up to do! Kristiansand was one of my favorite towns in Norway, everything is so clean and pretty. Lovely people those squareheads (if I do say so myself). :D

Nebraska · August 29, 2023, 10:10:01 PM

That's a pretty awesome suprise!

WV Sawmiller · August 29, 2023, 11:08:15 PM

Yeah, Kristiansand was nice but Ruth was from out near Aurlund at the head of the world's longest Fjiord that starts in Bergen. That is a very remote areas. We're having a blast catching up on the last 32 years since she first got here.

WV Sawmiller · August 30, 2023, 01:43:02 PM

Ruth arrived in Charlotte and was greeted in the airport by our 4 y/o GD holding a big sign saying "Aunt Ruth from Arendelle" (Disney's village/kingdom in the frozen series of cartoons). She had never met either of our daughter's kids as they are 6 & 4 and it has been 11 years since she was last here. Our GD is very bubbly and out-going so everyone knew she would take to Ruth right away but her brother is normally a little on the shy side but by the time they got to the car in the parking lot he had taken to her and proceeded to tell her in great detail all about Donatello and the other teenage mutant ninja turtles which is his current major interest. Over the next several hours she learned way more than she ever wanted to know about TAMNT's. By now she knows about all of them and which weapons each is expert in using and whether they are wearing purple or orange or whatever colors.

The next day on the 4 hour trip up from Charlotte our GD who normally naps most of the trip stayed awake and told Ruth all about everything a 4 y/o can imagine.

We're still having a blast catching up and will have dinner up at our son's house tonight. He did not know she was coming or here till our daughter sent a picture from breakfast yesterday. Almost immediately he called and Ruth answered "Hello Little Brother". They were very close during her year here with us as an exchange student and our daughter has gotten much closer over the years as the 7 year age gap has becoming increasingly meaningless to both of them.

We have a retired teacher luncheon to attend tomorrow and she will get to see several of her old teachers and principals. While I was working in Norway in 2008 my dad died and we came home for the funeral and a day or so before they left to go back my wife went to one such luncheon and as she was leaving she jokingly told all of them "Why don't you just pack up and come back to Norway with us?" One lady, Jamie M said "I believe I will" and a few weeks later she did come and stayed about 2 weeks with us and she and my wife drove up and spent time with Ruth as their tour guide. Jamie still talks about that trip and going out on the glacier and other interesting events. The odd thing was - my wife and Jamie were never more than casual co-workers before that trip. Be careful what you suggest. Someone may take you up on it. We did have a real nice visit with her.

barbender · August 30, 2023, 05:47:30 PM

WV, you recounting your grandkids talking Ruth's ear off reminded me of when I was younger. Being the oldest in my family, I had a passle of little sisters in the house. If I would manage to being a girl home to meet my family, one of my sisters would invariably latch on to her and from what I could tell, relay the whole script of their favorite Disney movie to her. I think they scared more than one off😂

SawyerTed · August 30, 2023, 07:25:46 PM

Howard, it sounds like a great time! Hope the visit continues to be wonderful! Making more great memories!

WV Sawmiller · August 30, 2023, 07:38:44 PM

We went up to my son's house 10 miles away for dinner and on the way back there is a thick bushy area along Pinch Creek. Laurel bushes are real thick there. I spotted an animal ahead and warned the wife to slow down and when we got up there a black bear cub ran across in front of us. I don't know if it was the second cub or if the mother was the one I had seen first. There could easily have been several more that had passed and we saw the last one. Ruth was very excited as all the time she was here before she never saw a bear before. I wish she had been able to get a picture of it but there was a car behind us and we had to pull over and let it pass and when we backed up it was gone. We saw several turkeys and a lot of deer on the way home including 5 in the yard when we got to our house. We see the same 5 several times a day around here but it is fun to share them with others so she has more tales to tell when she gets home.

Southside · August 30, 2023, 10:35:13 PM

If the grand kids are still there might be a great time of year for a follow up Sasquatch hunting trip. Oh, speaking of Sasquatch - is that the free Dodge hat there Barbender? :D

barbender · August 31, 2023, 01:03:56 AM

Oh you like the hat, do you Southside?😂😂

WV Sawmiller · August 31, 2023, 07:40:44 AM

The grandkids will be back Friday night and want to camp out in the backyard. I already have a "Do not Feed the Sasquatch" sign up in the bedroom downstairs. Our oldest GD is the Drum Major for her HS band this year so we have to go watch their football game and half time show Friday night. Yesterday was the 4 y/o first day of Pre-K and we got the picture of the 6 y/o walking her to school (across the road) both with their oversized backpack and water bottle and such. She had to do a video call last night and get Ruth on the line to tell her all about it.

Our daughter has a baby shower and a surprise get together of of the HS band kids where my wife taught for 20+ years that my wife does not know about on Sunday and the weather for the next week shows clear skies here all week so that should be good. Local grandkids and son's family will be here all day Saturday so we should have a great time with all them. I may have to take the 4 y/o fishing as she brought her life jacket up last weekend and left it so she could go.

It is Ruth's birthday the day before she leaves so we will likely have to do a big birthday party in Charlotte the day before she flies back to the North Pole.

WV Sawmiller · September 01, 2023, 08:56:32 AM

A really good day yesterday with Ruth getting to see several of her old teachers at our monthly luncheon. This included Jamie M who came over and visited and has kept in contact with her for 25 years or so.

We talked way into the night and she shared how she came to be and exchange student and her ambition to leave a small farm in Norway to see the world and eventually become involved int he travel industry. She said she was surprised the the fact she put on her resume she played in a band got her the posting with us surprised us as band is not a school thing in Norway and was just a community thing. Since my wife was the HS band director and had to spend so much time with after school practices and half time shows at the ball games and such and I was working overseas she had to have a kid in the band to ever see her and that tidbit caught her attention and got her selected. Ruth told us again how excited she was to get our letter inviting her to come stay with us and we remembered and talked about the funny events as kids including the time our son's bathroom downstairs was out of commission and she and our then 11 y/o daughter ganged up on him and were not going to let him use "their" bathroom. My wife said she was mad enough at the time to have shot them all but it is funny now to discuss it.

She was here for a visit when the billy goat attacked my wife and dislocated her shoulder (She still has screws in it to this day) and they finally wrestled the goat down and tied him to a tree until our son came home and went up and released it and led it home and eventually had to put him down as a danger to the community. (I still think it was largely my wife wanting revenge but that is another tale_.

I learned that Ruth was a local celebrity for a while as she was the first woman to ever kill a moose (2 in fact) in her area as moose are pretty rare and it took many years before the DNR equivalent issued permits to hunt them and she was one of the lucky early hunters to draw such a tag and fill it/them so the local papers had to make a big deal reporting it.

We are considering a boat photo trip up the lake today. I'm afraid if we wait till next week the flood waters from down south (Our New River is one of the few that flows north) from the storms may make it less appealing. Ruth did not know our river was the second oldest in the world till last night.

Ruth was back for a visit when our son caught a skunk and brought it to show her then it got loose and bit him and he had to take the rabies shots. It is seldom dull around here for very long.

WV Sawmiller · September 01, 2023, 05:13:03 PM

The boat trip lasted several hours with warm sunny weather and other than a few dead camera batteries went real well. On our trip we saw 8-10 deer in and around the water, herons (Green, white and Blue), anhingas, Canada Geese, Assorted ducks, ospreys, a couple of different eagles including one very photogenic/cooperative one on a limb 10' above the lake and 20 yards away. He never flew from his perch. To top it off we saw a family of 4 otters.

Now we are off to watch our oldest GD as the new drum major for her HS band. Our daughter and her family on on their way from Charlotte and hope to be there by the half time show.

WV Sawmiller · September 02, 2023, 07:59:04 AM

Our daughter and her family got here and the kids had to tell Aunt Ruth all about their first week of school. The 4 y/o is already taking charge and correcting the teacher's aid about where the water bottles go and wearing slippers outside the classroom is not allowed.

We got to the local ball game and the 4 y/o had to help her 17 y/o cousin, the drum major, direct the band. The ball game was very good with the other team getting ahead by 6 point with 1:54 left in the game and our team coming back and scoring another TD and winning with the extra point with 10 seconds left. Final score was 28-27.

Now we have a busy day planned with a big breakfast then putting out traps for chipmunks (Use peanut butter for bait) then go feed the horse and search for Sasquatch. My son will bring his wife and 3 girls down for the day so it will be mass confusion. He and our daughter are always remembering the year Ruth lived with us and subsequent visits and there is a whole lot of laughing going on.

I might even have to get the kids to help me build another sawhorse (I repaired one adding new legs 2 days ago) and I might saw a few 2X4s for my shed improvement bins and such. Somewhere in the mix we might even have to put up a big 8X10 tent for the to camp out and look for Bigfoot or such.

WV Sawmiller · September 04, 2023, 09:54:00 AM

Yesterday was a great day. My daughter and several of her friends put together a surprise tribute to my wife with past members of her high school band classes from the 20 years she was there getting together to pay tribute and visit friends and former classmates. Ruth saw several old friends from her time in school in the band here and parents and chaperones who went on trips with us.

We had told my wife it was a baby shower which was true and one of the former students is pregnant. She kept asking why I was going to a baby shower. I told her I was just dropping her off and going in to say hi and congrats as the lady was a family friend and dear friend of our daughter. When we arrived my wife saw all the cars and said "This is a lot of people for a baby shower" and our 4 y/o gd went in and saw the decorations, food and crowd and said "This is the best baby shower ever!"

We will take Ruth back to Charlotte Wednesday for her birthday and return flight to Norway on Thursday. It has been a blast every day she has been here.

WV Sawmiller · September 06, 2023, 05:14:35 PM

Well, our visit is nearly over. We are in Charlotte and take her to the airport about noon tomorrow. We'll celebrate her birthday tonight with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory which is a favorite of hers. She and our GD are over at the nail salon getting their nails done right now.

It has been a real treat skipping down memory lane with her time in school and school trips with the band and her trips back here and our trips to see her including when I had a 2+ year assignment in Norway.

We have talked about everything from hunting (A friend sent her a picture of a 140 kg, 12 pt buck he shot this week back at her home), the deer we see in the yard or pasture every day, fishing (including use of nets there in the lakes in Norway), taxes and VAT vs income tax, politics/presidential candidates and elections (nobody seemed pleased with this topic), flights, vacation venues and pros and cons, and many more.

We had to fix her old favorite foods including taco salad last night, cheese dip and chips, various fresh fruits and veggies she has trouble getting or had never tried (Muscadines/scuppernongs), fresh watermelon, etc. etc.

It has been fun discussing our grandkids who range from 4-17 y/o and the youngest had never see met her or were a baby when they last saw her. Our youngest GD asked her mom if she had any other "Aunts" she had not been informed about.

Mostly the topic is when she is coming back or we are coming over.

TimW · September 06, 2023, 10:53:42 PM

Awesome visit recount Howard. Now you can saw, I mean snooze. ;D
hugs, Brandi

WV Sawmiller · September 07, 2023, 06:49:43 PM

Okay, Ruth should be sitting on a plane for a flight to Munich then Oslo then Bergen after her 3:00 pm flight to Newark boarded then deboard and got cancelled. I guess you just can't fly to Arendelle from New Jersey. :

The bad thing is she had been upgraded to business class on the flight from Newark to Oslo and I don't know if she got that on the alternate flight.

We met our daughter at Skyland, a great little family restaurant there in Charlotte for breakfast after she got the kids off to school this morning. Ruth ordered the special and had to take a picture of it to show off when she gets back home. Our daughter ended up taking half of it back home with her. as Ruth could not come close to eating it all Europeans are normally surprised at the portions here in the USA. I remember ordering the biggest item on the menu in Paris and feeling like ordering a pizza after I finished.

After breakfast they decided to go to the South Park Mall to shop for some clothes for my wife who has lost a lot of weight over the last couple of years and can't find decent clothes here. After a couple of shops we ended at The Loft and a real nice lady there helped her find what she wanted and she bought several outfits although we had to order some to get the sizes she wanted. The girls had a good time shopping with/for my wife. After shopping our daughter took Ruth to the airport and we headed back to WV.

I have concluded our daughter's main goal in life is to make other people happy and this week has been a great one for her as Ruth had a great trip, we did visiting with her, her kids were blown away meeting and spending time with their previously unknown "aunt Ruth", my wife was totally thrilled wit her surprise visit with 20 years worth of past band members getting together and paying tribute to her. It is a hard act to follow and I have an article and pictures sent to the local weekly paper which should be a feature article in next weeks paper.

WV Sawmiller · September 09, 2023, 09:17:45 AM

Well, reports confirm Ruth made it home. Instead of a direct flight from Newark to Oslo she had to go to Munich then Amsterdam then Oslo and finally to Bergen then several hours drive from there. She texted this morning that she slept for 12 hours when she finally got home. I know that feeling from all my overseas assignments and travels!

Now we just have to get ahold of "Aunt Kati" from Finland. She and Ruth have met and become friends and visit each other over the years. Kati was here the as an exchange student year before Ruth came over. Kati wanted to come this time but had already booked a big trip to Nepal and is hiking in the mountains there. Her last trip here was March 2013 and we spent a week or so in the Everglades. She wanted to go some place warm after her long winter and that turned out to be the dry season there with all the gators and birds along the canals beside the cross Fla roadway. Other than almost stepping out of the car onto a 10' gator she had a real good time and even that was "memorable" to say the least.