The Other Side, Dat Vitamin D, and a Recommendation

I'm back in Edinburgh and on the other side!

The other side of a two hour train ride spent not sleeping, despite only three hours of sleep the night before. Instead I tried to forget my anxiety by watching The Impossible. Perhaps not my best decision: my own anxiety over returning to school replaced by anxiety over Ewan McGregor's left eye and Naomi Watts' right leg. But that just means it was a good movie, so I guess my plan succeeded.

The other side of a two hour plane ride spent trying to sleep but unable to due to the rather large man in the seat in front of me, whose snores quite literally nearly drowned out the sound of the jet's engines. At least one of us got some sleep. I wouldn't have been able to sleep much anyway because--lucky me--I was in the very back row in a seat that didn't lean back.

The other side of a 30 minute bus ride spent snickering at tourists taking pictures of ordinary--and, honestly, rather dull--back gardens. I was far more interested in the sunshine Edinburgh welcomed me with. Thank heavens, too! A boy needs his Vitamin D!! Without the beautiful day I came back to, I imagine I would have found it very difficult to get as much done as I did that first day back: getting groceries, sorting through mail and everything I'd acquired during my travels, and, of course, laundry.

The other side of my anxiety... not yet, unfortunately, but it's a work in progress. The main problem is that I'm finding it very difficult to get out of bed in the mornings, to face the course revision and literature review I know I have to do. I could be flippant and say my desire to stay in bed is due to warm blankets and freshly laundered bedding, but that would be discounting the thoughts and feelings of doubt and apathy and the mornings spent saying to myself, "You need to get out of bed. You can do it. 1. 2. 3.," but my body won't budge. So I celebrate the small victories. On Friday I made it out of bed. Saturday I made it out of bed and to the library for about four hours where I did some revision and looked at what I still needed to do for my literature review. Yesterday I made it out of bed, watched two video lectures on Markov Chain Monte Carlo, and revised coursework for three hours. Today I made it out of bed, revised for three hours, and went for a mostly sunny but very windy hike up Arthur's Seat. I've also been cooking quite a bit since I got back. Friday and Saturday I made salmon with a side of green beans and a store-bought split roll. Yesterday I made pork chops with a cranberry, thyme, white wine sauce and a side of baked sweet potato slices. Small victories win battles in the war against your own mind. The forces of anxiety and depression may have had the upper hand coming down from nearly a month of amazing travels, out-flanking me and pushing me into a corner. But I've fought back with positive thoughts, good food, and a departure from my usual self-imposed military strictness.

Keeping the positive thoughts flowing, it's time to recount my Christmas in Norway. I really can't say enough how grateful I am of my family in Norway, starting with my cousin who picked us up from the airport and whose room I borrowed, and then, of course, his parents, who were the most marvelous hosts. Not only did they let me eat their food, they even brought me along to their friend's December 23rd party so I could eat their food, too: barbeque ribs, slaw, potatoes, and the most amazing dessert, karamellpudding. I'm definitely going to have to try making it next Christmas back home.

My family also took me to the Christmas Eve Service at Nidaros Cathedral, where I did my best to sing hymns in Norwegian but much preferred it when just the Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir was singing. From there we went home for a short while before going to the grandparents' house for Christmas Eve dinner and celebrations. Pork belly, pork sausages, mashed potatoes, gravy, sauerkraut, red cabbage, carrots, and cloud berries on ice cream for dessert. It was all delicious! But there's one thing I missed--lefse. Lefse has become a Norwegian-American Christmas staple. But in Norway there wasn't a buttered, sugared, potato roll to be found. The true irony, though, goes far beyond lefse. Growing up, all those Christmas Eves at my grandparents' house in Minnesota, I thought that was about as Norwegian a Christmas as you'd find anywhere. Now, having spent Christmas in Norway and New Year's in Sweden, I've come to learn that what I've always thought of as a traditional Norwegian Christmas Eve dinner--some form of cod, meatballs, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, lefse, cranberry-marshmallow salad--is not only almost entirely different from what Norwegians in Norway eat on Christmas Eve, but is actually very similar to a Swedish Christmas Eve dinner. I missed torsk and meatballs all the more.

Apart from having my entire concept of a Norwegian Christmas flipped upside down, other highlights of Christmas Eve include getting a pair of knit wool socks and matching mittens, being on the other side of the customary Skype call between Norway and Minnesota, and spending time with the family that has become such a large part of my identity.

A walk along the Nidelva

Most of the rest of my time in Norway was spent reading, eating more food, and watching my new absolute favourite Netflix show of all time--an Australian television series, Please Like Me. I watched all three seasons (10 half-hour episodes per season) in two days, mostly because it was just soooo good, but also partly because I wasn't sure if it would be on Swedish Netflix. (It was, but now I'm going through withdrawal because it's not on UK Netflix.) It's not for everyone, but if you're looking for a new show that's funny, clever, heartfelt, and doesn't shy away from, but gets real (and perhaps relatable) with issues like depression, anxiety, relationships, coming out, and coming of age, I would highly recommend it!

So that's about it for this post, I think. I can only say again how thankful I am for my family in Norway, for all the amazing food and wonderful memories; for driving me places (including all the way to Oslo!) and letting me stay a night or several. Thank you!

My next post should cover all of my time in Sweden and wrap up my holiday travels. It also, I hope, will herald the end of my anxiety. I feel good at the moment and hopefully I'll be able to keep that up. We'll see.

Stay informed. -NLD