Out and About

This morning, much to my dismay, I found my camera needed to be charged - so no pictures today. 

Chanthavone and I went into Old Stavanger to look around and do some shopping.  In Egypt, she and I cut a long and wide swath through the market places (along with friends, Krista, Phyllis and Bonnie.)  There are most likely shop keepers who say "Remember the good old days when Miss Laurie and Miss Chanthavone shopped here?" Well today, I bought one thing, and she bought several.  She said to me that she liked shopping with me because I don't tell her "no."  I then had to remind her of all the shops I did have to pull her out of in Cairo.

We picked up her twins, who attend a Norwegian school, and get out at 12:45.  We spent the afternoon doing various things around the house. Then Chanthavone took her twins to soccer, and I stayed home with Jamiliah, their 4th grade daughter.  She is a budding rock hound, a girl after my heart.  We spent time online looking at websites to identify two of her rocks.  She is letting me take a few home to ask a nearby expert what the others are.

After the kids went to bed, we broke out the cookies and milk and chatted. Her husband, Jamal, is away overnight on business and will be back Wednesday.

Tomorrow, I am going back to Old Stavanger with my charged up camera.

Language - Norway has two official languages:   Bokmal, and Nynnorsk. This is Norwegian.  They are very similar to each other.  Bokmal, or Riksmal, as it is also known it the main language used my over 80% of the country.  Nynnorsk is used in a few counties. I believe these two languages are part of the Germanic family of languages that also includes English.

Way to the north is the home of the Sami people, they speak their own language, also called Sami.  This is part of the Finno-Ugric language family that includes Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian.

Scandanavia - Most Americans think that Scandanavia comprises of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.  According to Norwegian-American friends of mine in Utah, Finland is seen as the "ugly stepsister" by the other countries.  Their histories don't overlap and neither do their languages.

Airports that rock!

  I started my new journey in Salt Lake City.  I then flew to Minneapolis/St. Paul to change flights.  The Minneapolis airport is awesome.  The one problem with this airport is that flights from SLC arrive at one concourse, and the international flights are way on the other side.

  My flight from SLC was an hour late in starting.  This gave me only an hour in the MSP airport to do postcards for my students.  When I got off the plane, there was an electric cart, and he sped me to my next gate, which would have taking me 20 minutes to walk to.  We sped through the mall section of the airport, with stores and restaurants.  I could smell the food, and I was hungry!  Minnesota has great malls. Eleven miles away is the Mall of America with over 500 stores.  I got to my gate and found the postcards I needed, and got them mailed off.  I hope to explore this cool airport when I return.  I've been several times, but never got to really explore.

  Next stop is Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.  Another way cool airport, and my favorite outside the U.S.  People can get married here!  The shopping is amazing.  I was really hungry by this time and went looking for breakfast (6 am here).  Then I had to go through security again, and I went looking for my gate for my flight to    Norway.

  While waiting for my flight, I could hear the various PA announcements " John Doe on flight 123 to Madrid, you are holding up the flight.  Please check into gate C33 or we will proceed to remove your baggage from the aircraft."  There was a lot of this going on, and I don't doubt that the Dutch actually do it.  They are very efficient.

   Flying into Norway was like flying into Oz.  All green cultivated fields and quaint houses and churches all around.  I did not have to go through passport control.  Having been to the Middle East this year, I can no longer check in online, but must present myself to an airport person for check in.  At Schipol, once they saw the stamps in my passport, they started asking all kinds of questions, like what was I doing in Israel.  I played it cool.  When I said I was visiting friends in Noway, they asked their names.  I gave the name of Neilson. Didn't want any trouble for my hosts.  Their real last name is not Norwegian.

  I am now in Stavanger, Norway, staying with my friends Jamal and Chanthavone.  They will get a whole entry on my blog as they are quite unique.

 Norway is beautiful.

Southern Jordan and the Arava Crossing to Israel

You have to cross on foot from one country to the other. Southern Jordan is beautiful with a harsh beauty. We traveled through the Wadi Rum, and the Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses) areas.

Petra and Southern Jordan - I love Jordan!

Again - a picture/video is worth a thousand words.

The Garden Tomb and The Dome of the Rock

The Garden Tomb is the place believed to be burial spot of Christ by Protestants and Mormons. It is very peaceful there. The Dome of The Rock is the Muslim building that covers the rocky outcrop on Mount Moriah. It is believed by Muslims to be the place where the Prophet Mohammed went on his night ride to Paradise. I have been in the building in a previous visit. We were not allowed to go this time. Our Jewish guides did not want us to go, despite our protests. The Dome is visible in most of Jerusalem with its gold top.

Scenes of Bedouin Life

We visited the Bedouin in southern Israel in the Negev Desert. Their life is harsh, but it is the way they want it - except when the Israelis get involved.

Old City Jerusalem - I could live here!

The walled section of Jerusalem, known as the Old City, is the city the Christ knew and walked. Modern Jerusalem surrounds it. The walls are not 2000 years old, but they do date back some. 20,000 people live in the Old City in four areas known as the Jewish Quarter, Muslim Quarter, Armenian Quarter, and Christian Quarter. Most of the Old City is for tourists, and one can buy an amazing assortment of items.





Via Dolorsa - Way of Sorrows























The Cardo - Jewish Quarter