unscathed

I am happy to report I did nothing to embarrass myself on the boat ride yesterday. (Well, nothing beyond justbeing myself, which is usually embarrassing enough just on its own.)

We wedged six of us (Rich and I, and our friends Will and Mary and their two adorable daughters) onto a rather small boat and had a jaunt around the Oslofjord and the island of Nesoya (jeez, THOSE are some posh houses!). The guys even got some fishing in. Sum total of the fishing was one very nice cod and four impatient women going "Are you DONE yet? Have you had ENOUGH fishing?" (I honestly did not mind sitting out there and hanging out, though I can see it being even better on a sunny day and me with a good book and a beer (or four) in hand. There is no way in hell anyone is going to get me to touch fish or bait....no WAY. Sorry, I call "girly girl" on that one.) It was not very sunny nor very warm. But still very lovely. Afterwards we all went out for some damn good pizza. Got back around midnight.

At about 1:30 am a night club appeared in our flat. At least, as I was waking up, my confused brain thought that somehow a night club came into our flat. In fact, it was a Russ bus, pumping techno music at a startling level, that stopped in the road outside our building, on an apparent urgent pee break. The doors of the bus opened and out came about 6 girls who then pissed in the bushes surrounding the plaza outside our building. We could see more people in the bus dancing, it really was a rolling night club. It's fairly entertaining to watch really REALLY drunk girls try to get out of their overalls (the traditional Russ uniform) and squat down to pee while also trying not to fall over or scratch their asses on the pointy bushes that surround the plaza. The music that came out of that bus was SO loud it made all the glasses rattle in the cabinets. The girls finally finished pissing and stumbled their way back to the bus, laughing and screaming, and then hopped on and started dancing again as the doors closed and the bus moved on. Remind me not to sit on the benches at the far end of the plaza.

At 7 am the sharp crack of cannon fire tore us from our addled slumber. (How many people can say that who have NOT been in a war?) Today is 17th May and I feel so sorry for everyone who has been waiting and planning so hard for this day. It's done nothing but rain. All day. Almost three weeks of continual sun...and today it rained. Oy. On 17 May it is tradition to wear your best clothes (women and men wear traditional bunader if they have them, other wise you wear a suit and tie or a nice dress). Everyone, then, was walking around outside to watch the parades and festivities in pissing down cold rain. Doesn't seem fair, does it? It was still fun to watch. It looked like the 19th century out there, with the men in breeches and the women in the corseted full skirted bunads. The kids all march in the parade and there is much flag waving and marching band music. Lovely. Beautiful tradition.

As for the other tradition, the Russ? I'm also thinking there are some pretty hung over Russ girls out there today, wondering why they have scratches on their asses and piss on their pant legs.....