(no subject)
The past few days have gone fast, because in addition to the normal school day I've been packing and cleaning and saying goodbye. My plane leaves from Tromso on Sunday, which means I have three more full days. How weird is that? I'm really looking forward to this summer and my job as a dogsled guide in Alaska (come visit me! I'll give you a tour!) and to next year at Colby, but at the same time I know that once I leave this place I won't really be able to come back. I can always visit, but how many of the fifty people I've spent the last year of my life with will I ever see again? Especially when I live so far away?
There are some things I've been meaning to work into this blog for ages and never actually have, little tidbits of information about Norway and history and my life that I think are interesting and that others might too. Like the fact that in traditional Sami culture, there's no word for "mine." Everything was shared within the "Siida" community completely evenly and even though everyone had exactly the same material possessions, the richest were those who could give away the most.
Another interesting fact about most Sami--they don't have the same concept of time as most others do. It would make perfect sense for a Sami to say to someone, hey, let's meet tomorrow morning after three cups of coffee. In fact, "three cups of coffee" seems to be a completely valid measure of time that I've seen used myself to measure between one and four hours.
Charlotte, who lived with the Sami for two weeks (and left with blood and heads), told me that one evening she and Ida were sitting in a car with Ole Mattis (a local reindeer herder) and another Sami. Ole Mattis turned and asked, "Where exactly are we going in this car?"
The other Sami said "Well, we're waiting for low tide tomorrow afternoon so the reindeer can cross over the tideflats from the islands. When the tide is low enough we'll drive out there and get them."
"Oh." said Ole Mattis.
Neither man showed any discomfort or intention to get out of the car until nearly fifteen minutes later, when they decided to go drink a cup of coffee and wait for tomorrow afternoon to come.
(Disclaimer: I am not trying to generalize and realize there are many Samis who do not use this more traditional philosophy of life. I still think it's pretty cool.)
There are some things I've been meaning to work into this blog for ages and never actually have, little tidbits of information about Norway and history and my life that I think are interesting and that others might too. Like the fact that in traditional Sami culture, there's no word for "mine." Everything was shared within the "Siida" community completely evenly and even though everyone had exactly the same material possessions, the richest were those who could give away the most.
Another interesting fact about most Sami--they don't have the same concept of time as most others do. It would make perfect sense for a Sami to say to someone, hey, let's meet tomorrow morning after three cups of coffee. In fact, "three cups of coffee" seems to be a completely valid measure of time that I've seen used myself to measure between one and four hours.
Charlotte, who lived with the Sami for two weeks (and left with blood and heads), told me that one evening she and Ida were sitting in a car with Ole Mattis (a local reindeer herder) and another Sami. Ole Mattis turned and asked, "Where exactly are we going in this car?"
The other Sami said "Well, we're waiting for low tide tomorrow afternoon so the reindeer can cross over the tideflats from the islands. When the tide is low enough we'll drive out there and get them."
"Oh." said Ole Mattis.
Neither man showed any discomfort or intention to get out of the car until nearly fifteen minutes later, when they decided to go drink a cup of coffee and wait for tomorrow afternoon to come.
(Disclaimer: I am not trying to generalize and realize there are many Samis who do not use this more traditional philosophy of life. I still think it's pretty cool.)