Life in Norway continues...

Prarthna has been going to the kindergarten now for the last 4 weeks, and although things have not gone very well, they have certainly improved. She talks about it all the time at home, but then when you leave her there, she cries so much that your heart bleeds. My favorite is how well she says 'barnehage' which is a 4 syllable word meaning kindergarten. She has also picked up two norwegian children songs, one of which is the norwegian version of 'itsy bitsy spider' and other is a song they sing on the swing 'disse på lyse'

Last weekend was quite nice, and also unexpected. The weather was very nice on Saturday, and we decided to take the bus into the city center with a picnic lunch. On the way there, we called friends (Soni and Inderjit, who also have a son almost the same age as Prarthna) and asked them if they wanted to join us. They said that they have to get out later and they will call us. We were in the mall for a while, and then we went and sat by the lake and had our lunch. It was beautiful, with clear, blue skies, and a nice breeze. Perfect weather to be out! After we had finished lunch, and after Prarthna had run around a bit (and managed to greet many people with her characteristic hallooos and hiiis), we went back to finish our shopping. Then we spoke with Soni again, and he said that since they have left their son at home (he fell asleep while they were getting ready to leave), would we mind coming to their place? We said that it was no problem. Then they agreed to pick up us from the city center and we went back to their place. We had a very nice time there. First we had some very nice pakoras with tea, and then we started watching the first world cup quarter final (england-portugal). Then we went out for a walk, and spent some time by a lake close to their house. After we went back, we thought that it was time to go home, but they insisted that we must stay for dinner. We protested but they did not listen. Then it was almost time for the second match (Brazil - France). The girls made some pizzas, and we had them with some nice garlic bread for dinner. It was a very nice evening, with food, talking, football, and a pleasant walk. We finally got home close to midnight (Incidentally, I was joking with Prachi when it was decided that we would go to their place in the afternoon that they will kick me out if I say that I would like to stay and watch both the matches since we don't have a tv at home, but that is what happened).