Norway

     Since I was not selected, I can now make it public that I was a finalist for the Great Norway Adventure, a reality TV show in Norway. Yes, I'm not making this up.  The show brings a group of Americans with Norwegian roots to Norway and has them experience typical and adventurous Norwegian activites. Check out Alt for Norge on Youtube.  The first season had huge ratings in Norway.
      I found out about the show on Craigslist and thought, at first, that it was a joke. But it wasn't; it even sounded like fun, and I got excited about the prospect of really exploring Norway.  I had been thinking of traveling to Greenland for research on The Novel and then thought I should also go to Norway to look for my ancestors. This seemed to be the answer!
     My grandmother was full Norwegian and left Norway when she was in her 20's. I never got to meet her, as she died when my mother was only 10, but I have a few stories and pictures and lots of questions. It occurred to me that, as a child of an orphan of an immigrant, I am also an orphan of a culture. I have no roots and I'm curious and a bit hungry. Working on this Norse novel, I've been obsessed with the land and climate, people and culture of Scandinavia.  I was ready to go, though my family thought I was a bit crazy.
      So, I applied and they liked me, an old hippie librarian. (I sent in a video showing the front yard garden, the wood burning hot tub in the driveway and the papermache Alice in Wonderland I made in highschool.)   I even got to go to Chicago for a casting call.  But, I didn't get it and, in retropect, I think I would have missed my family too much. (They wanted an 8 week commitment). 
      But now I really want to go to Norway.  And Greenland.  And the Faroe Islands.......