Norskkurs

Vi har sluttet med norskjurs till høsten. Vi hadde vår siste klase i går hvor vi spilte "scrabble", men på norsk (ikke på engelsk). Det var veldig vanskelig!! Vi fikk testen tilbake også, og det var bra. Etter klase, mange mennesker (og Marit, læreren) gikk til "Dubliner" å se på fotball kamp (England - Sverige) men jeg kom hjem...

Vi kjøpte en bil i gar!! Opel Vectra, svart farge...Mer om bilen i annen post.

Who thought so?

Who thought that getting your undershirt soaked in sweat would feel good in a way? But it did when it happened today for the first time in this land of midnight sun on 61 degrees north latitude!! The weather was balmy, and when I was returning after picking Prarthna up from the kindergarten, I really felt I needed a shower.

I came in early to work this morning and managed to catch a phone conversation with Bhuvan! It was kind of funny that he still hadn't slept and I was in the office for the next day. We also managed to play a game of scrabble last night which is always fun! It is good that he is able to relax some this week, although I really hope that things work out quickly at Microsoft. It is not very nice to be in limbo, as he has been!

I finally managed to send out our UK visa applications today. Lets hope they come back quickly! This visa business is a lot of work and it would be nice when it is not required anymore.

I and Prarthna also went up to Roy's for a bit in the evening. We played for some time in the sand, and then met Roy's mom who is visiting from good old Kolkata! But Kolkata people may be shocked to hear that Roy absolutely loathes football! That is a first for me, but then I have not met so many people from there.

I guess I will put my mind to another Sudoku now. I also tried Kakuro the other day, but it is not as much fun as Sudoku (at least it did not seem so).

The nice days continue....

Thankfully, our luck has still not run out with the good weather, and we try to use it as much as we can! Another week for Prarthna in the kindergarten, and she is still not very happy! But we are hoping that she gets better soon!

Another cute thing about Prarthna is that when we were at the lake last Friday, she started running after the pigeon, and the ducks and she was adamant that she wants them! It was so much fun to see that! Here are a couple pictures:





























She also loves to be on the swing now! One positive news from the kindergarten is that she has become very confident on the slide! A picture on the swing:















I had my second-last Norwegian class today where I had my second exam of the week! But the good part is that I was back home by 7:30!

We have some people (may be around 10) coming over this Saturday! So lot of cooking will be done in this household soon...

Endelig!

Endelig! Finally! We had a really nice week in terms of the weather. It made working really difficult. The temperature got past the 20 C mark yesterday, and I celebrated it by going out in shorts for the first time. We went to the city and had a nice relaxed day there, with some shopping (of course...all Prarthna's things). Today was also very nice, and tomorrow promises to be better. Sadly, normal course of affairs will resume on Tuesday and Wednesday, but oh well! We have enjoyed it!

Prarthna had an almost full week in the kindergarten. It has been quite challenging, but it may be getting better. She has not liked it too much, and Prachi has had a tough team leaving her there. She cries a lot when Prachi leaves, and Prachi stayed for some time with her Thursday and Friday. I think her biggest problem is language, and that no one understands her. She likes to speak the whole day, and she is very very communicative. She has started saying some really difficult words now, including 3 syllable words. The other thing she surprised us yesterday was when Prachi woke up after a nap yesterday, she went to her and said "Give me five" We had no idea how she learnt that, and she claims that Anya at the kindergarten taught her. This is her first time outside home without us as well. But hopefully, when she starts playing with the other kids, it will get better! We will see!!

Tomorrow we have a test for placement in Norwegian course in the university. Lets hope for the best for that! So tomorrow we will have a somewhat not normal day as regards to work! I also want to lift up our search for a car and a house. Let it get accelerated and fruitful, because now it is high time. We have enjoyed our stay in this great apartment, but it may be time to go now!

A nice day!

I don't want to start again by saying that I haven't written for ever, and I think of writing always, and hope this does not happen again, and what not, but that is how it is! I can only rue so many nice things that have happened in the past (especially with Prarthna) which I have forgotten and would not be relegated to the blur that the past becomes, save a few highlights which you always remember.

Today was a beautiful day, which certainly did enough to lift up my spirits and get me in the mood to write. Finally it felt good to be here after so many days of almost awful weather. It probably got around 16-17 C with clear, blue skies, and plenty of sunshine. We woke up late today, as it was a late night yesterday, and by then the day was already in full bloom (I must add that however bad the weather has been, it has been amazing to see that it never gets dark here now). We had a lazy start and then went out for a walk to the lake. It felt great to be outside, and it was so pretty around the lake, with lots of people around. We got back in around 2 hours, and then Priya, Diler, and their daughter Ria came by. We ate Pao Bhaji and drank tea, and chatted, and then when they had to leave, we started talking about how we had never been to their place, and how they wanted to take Prarthna along, and finally, we decided to accompany them back to their home. We walked out again, and it was a very nice walk (not too long also). Their flat is great (the living room was one of the most beautiful I have seen, with lots of ethnic Indian things). The other good part was that their is a big playground right in front. Prarthna had a great time on the swing there (we finally found one that she could sit comfortable in). We had another round of tea, and Prachi and Priya skipped a rope. We finally came back home around seven.

Prarthna is now so cute, and she is really full of words, praise God! I really hope she continues to develop at the same pace. She also ate reasonably with a spoon today, but her cutest thing of today was when Prachi was asking her 'A for apple, B for boy, and so on' she said P for 'Piankul papa' which is so special! She can now tell her name, her papa and mamma's name, her chachu's name (now it is Bhuvan after many days of wumwu), her dadi's name (Pem Midda), her nani's name (Uma Chhaba), and dadu's name (KLM).

And now for some pictures from the day...


Prachi and Prarthna by the lake  


Another shot at the lake 


At the swing 


Skipping the rope :) 


On the way home