Discopants and Haircuts

I have been sitting here thinking about this summer, here in Norway, and how I dealt with it.

The summer started off as a promise of fun days out in the wildernes. It turned out to be a constant reminder that Mother Nature is in charge. It rained everyday. Some days we had sun, we ran out and embraced it. We grabbed the kids and held them in the air. “Look! Sun! Enjoy!”  No sooner did we find clouds again.

It was so promising when it started. I really believed that we were going to have a beautiful summer. You know, the kind of summer that makes you forget about long winters with little sun. I bought a pool and set up the tent. We were ready.  Then it happened.

Endless days of rain. Endless days of rain. (Let me clarify) It didn’t stop raining for weeks.

My attitude was forced to reconsider what life was. What, if this summer was gone, would I do to make it through the Winter? My brain hurts thinking about a full winter of darkness. Will I make it through still sane?

I still haven’t figured it out…

This happened just 2 days ago.

(Conversation translated to English)

Me(on the phone): Hi! I am calling about the dog you have for sale. He looks like a good dog and we are very interested.

Lady on phone: I’m sorry. The dog has been sold. Good-bye.

Now, the ad was posted online at 8am. I was calling at around 2 pm. It was a 2 year-old dog and they needed to find a home for it because one of their children is allergic. They also wanted 2,000 kroner (roughly $300) for the dog .

I think to myself, “That’s odd. Maybe Debby should call on her phone.”

Debby( on the phone): Hi. We are interested in the dog you have for sale. Is he still available?

Lady: Why yes! When would you like to come and see her?

I had a hunch something was wrong given all the variables mentioned above. Plus, it has happened before. When we were looking for an apartment I was regularly told, quite abruptly, that the place was rented and then hung up on. Deb would then call and she would get a positive response.

One time I called and the guy said the place wasn’t available, but I couldn’t understand his dialect. I asked if he spoke English and that I was American and suddenly he was really nice. He then proceeded to tell me how many people from the Middle East called about the place and he didn’t want any of that.

Interesting enough, though, it isn’t against the law here to refuse people because of their race, color, religion, marital status or if they have children. I’ll leave it up to you to tell me what you think.