First two weeks

Saturday, the 15^th of May. I’ve just finished my second week here. May is a very peculiar month for holidays: Labor Day (May 1); Ascension (this year May 13); Independence Day (May 17); and Pentecost Monday (May 24) are all legal holidays. Two weeks ago I applied for a Norwegian ID number and was told it would be assigned in 14 days. Yesterday I went back to that office (Folkeregister) to ask for it. They said it hasn’t been assigned yet. So I’ll go back on Tuesday to see if I get it then. It’s frustrating when deadlines aren’t met, especially in a country like Norway which is known for its punctuality. I suppose a month or two from now I’ll look back and say, what’s the rush?

Thursday, Ascension Day, the 13^th of May. Kristi Himmelfarts Dag. There is a service at 11 am with two baptisms and communion. This service is more difficult than the first two confirmation services I played. During the communion section many of the responses are sung, including the Lord’s Prayer. It is a lot of work getting familiar with a new liturgy, and it will get easier. In any case everything went fine. I met a woman who is active in the parish who said a minister from Red Wing, Minnesota lived here in Sandnessjøen for a year in the late 1990’s. (Red Wing isn't far from where I grew up).

Friday morning I played for a funeral. Another is scheduled for next Tuesday. I will have played for nearly as many funerals in Norway in the past 3 weeks as compared to the number of funerals/memorial services I played for Harvard-Epworth Methodist Church in Cambridge in the past 20 plus years. I guess Methodists don’t die.

Friday afternoon four of us from the church office took the ferry to Dønna Island, just north of Sandnessjøen, to a confirmation party for the son of one of my co-workers. The Seven Sisters Mountain Range is beautiful from the sea. Some of the trees on Dønna Island are budding out. The weather is predicted to be warmer the next few days. By next week it should be spring.

Saturday afternoon I took a long bike ride to Alstahaug. I got some great pictures. The headwinds were really strong on the way back. Today it really felt as if spring has arrived. It’s amazing how quickly the trees turn green here. It’s such a short growing season.

I’m looking forward to Monday, the Norwegian Independence Day. There will be a church service at 10 am, parades from 11:30 to 1, speeches, and a couple movies at the end of the day.

Sunrise today is at 3:30 am, sunset at 10:41 pm. Total daylight: 19 + hours. The views from my kitchen window are awe-inspiring.