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Mike Morris
John Hobday
Margit Karkela
Lynn Keillor
Alanna Simone Tyler
THE TRIP
April 22-23 - Days 1-2
April 24 - Day 3
April 25 - Day 4
April 26 - Day 5
April 27 - Day 6
April 28 - Day 7
April 29 - Day 8
April 30 - Day 9
May 1 - Day 10
May 2 - Day 11
May 3 - Day 12
May 4 - Day 13
May 5 - Day 14
May 6 - Day 15
May 7 - Day 16
May 8 - Day 17
May 9 - Day 18
May 10 - Day 19
May 11 - Day 20
May 12 - Day 21
May 13 - Day 22
May 14 - Day 23
May 15 - Day 24
May 16 - Day 25
May 17 - Day 26
May 18 - Day 27
May 19 - Day 28
May 20 - Day 29
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Tuesday, April 22
Drammen, Norway
 After
a long - but thankfully uneventful - trip to Norway, we arrived in Drammen,
our first host town. Drammen is a port city, a ½ hour southwest of Oslo.
Drammen looks remarkably similar to Duluth, with steep hills and constant
views of the water. Looking over Drammen at night reminds me of coming
into Duluth: a valley of lights.
(Photo Left:Lynn, John and Margit ready to have bags searched at theairport.)
We met with out host families at the local Ladies Aid Society. The Drammen
Vest Rotary maintains the building in exchange for a meeting room. We
were served sherry as a welcome drink, and chose from a variety of open-faced
sandwiches, with coffee and pastry for dessert.
We then went with home with our families for a bit of rest. Alanna Tyler
is staying with Kjell Gundersen, a retired dietician who developed menus
that are used in hospitals throughout Europe. We also found out later
that the 73-year-old can out-pace anyone when walking.
 In
the evening, we had a very heartfelt reception at a local art museum.
All host families were there, a coordinator for our Oslo stay, a district
representative, and Hildegunn Krogh-Hansen, the GSE leader for district
2310. Also there were three members of the 2002 Norwegian team to South
Africa. They offered us good advice about trying everything, making sure
our needs are met and how to make the most out of our experience. We ate
traditional Norwegian fare: rommegrøt (sour cream porridge), flatbrod
(flat bread, almost like matzos) and spekkemat (dried salted meats, such
as lamb, ham and moose). -Lynn Keillor
(Photos: above right: Hildegunn Krogh-Hansen, the district coordinator
for D 2310. Left: Welcome reception in Drammen - introductions, overview
of GSE, and first opportunity to try our Norwegian introduction speeches.
Right: Hildegunn baked a typical Norwegian bløtkake, a layer cake with
fruit inside and marsipan topping.)
Wednesday, April 23
Drammen, Norway
Our hosts were kind: our first obligation was not until 11, when we met
for an insiders tour of the Drammen Theatre. The original theatre was
completed in 1870, but it was destroyed by arson in 1993. It was restored
to near-original condition in a three-year project. The original building
was completed in three months. Liv Ottesen, a Rotarian and the theatre
administrator, gave us the tour. The government subsidizes tickets and
performances in the theatre (up to several million dollars) annually,
so it's able to keep prices for most performances in the $30 range.
 We
then walked to the Bragernes church, a central focal point in town. The
daffodils outside the church were in full bloom, creating a beautiful
contrast against the stone. We arrived just in time for the organ practice,
so we had a lovely concert while peeking in the church.
(Photo right: Arne Fuglum, GSE coordinator for Drammen Vest Rotary
club, explaining local history of Drammen, a city known since Viking times
as an important harbor in southern Norway.)
 We
made our first official presentation to the Drammen Vest club this evening.
The club has approximately 40 members, and it seemed like they had extra-good
attendance tonight. They started the meeting with some announcements from
Inger-Berit Andersen, the club president. We then drank some coffee, ate
a pastry and then it was on with the show! We decided last week to begin
our presentation with "America The Beautiful" and after one practice (a
few hours prior to the meeting) we attempted our best four-part harmony.
We were hoping to be booked at the Drammen Theatre, and are still waiting
for the offer.
(Photo above: Norwegians often record important events with a formal
picture. Here is the GSE team following our first program April 23 in
Drammen.)
 Each
group member gave a personal introduction in Norwegian. Two group members
(Mike and myself) speak Norwegian already, but Margit, John and Alanna
bowled the group over with their speeches. They got a rousing round of
applause when the club found out they'd spoken no more Norwegian than
"lutefisk" just three months ago. All three worked very hard at perfecting
the speeches, and it was well-received. We also exchanged gifts and banners.
On Thursday, we'll spend time shadowing people in our respective professions.
Mike will be with a local family practice doctor; Alanna will be with
a Buskerud County Administrator; Margit will be at the brokerage firm
Aon; John will visit with municipal health administrators; and Lynn will
go to the sports departments of the local newspaper and of the national
radio broadcasting service. We're all looking forward to this!
Highlight of the day:
Mike: Talking with his host, Dr. Sven Christian Enger, about recent changes
in Norwegian health care. Ten years ago, Mike spent a summer as a doctor
in Norway and was interested to learn of differences since then.
Alanna: Earlier in the day, Alanna would have ranked her time in downtown
Drammen as the highlight, but later it was trumped by her time with hosts
Kjell and Uni Gundersen. Following the Rotary meeting, the three shared
pictures and talking about differences in various customs, such as weddings
and holidays.
Margit: She spent the morning exploring downtown Drammen with Alanna,
and ranked that as her highlight. She especially enjoyed going into shops
to see what Norwegians sell and what they like to buy. Margit may have
been the first to spend some money: she bought a card.
John: While on an early-morning run, he came near a school where kids
were studying outside. He asked if something special was going on, thinking
they were studying something specifically outdoors. The student replied,
"No, this is normal." John's been impressed by the value he's seen placed
on the outdoors. Yes, he took a picture.
Lynn: I've really enjoyed seeing Norway through the fresh perspectives
of John, Alanna and Margit. Having lived in Norway (though many years
ago), it's easy to overlook the unique "everyday" aspects of Norwegian
life. John's observation is a good example. Oh, and I really enjoyed eating
a mountain of shrimp for lunch and salmon for dinner!
-Lynn Keillor
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