How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?

Early on during the pandemic I realized that I’d lose friends & that the society would change as a whole. I’ve had COVID twice in a 6 month period but the first time was the worst. I felt literally ill for the first 24 hours & then it became gradually better.

COVID hit Norway but mask wearing wasn’t implemented until over a year & only on transit & in close proximity to others. When we made the mistake of going to the US last Spring I wish we hadn’t. People were either wearing masks or they were not.

I lost someone I considered myself close to last Fall. Now, that I’ve had time to reflect I realized that the friendship ending was inevitable. It made me sad but it was not my choice. I think Skype & Zoom took a toll on both of us. It doesn’t replace real conversations no matter how hard you may try.

I feel like life in Norway for the most part has gone back to normal. They’re occasionally someone with a mask on transit & or in a store. But they just get weird looks & then people ignore them.

People hug each other again & aren’t super paranoid to shake hands. Occasionally there are some tourists in town with masks on but most locals now find that funny. I guess I’ve adapted by letting go & focusing on my future. Sometimes that’s the best thing you can do.

What makes you laugh?

Let me start off by saying that I don’t have anything against other people except for when they do stupid things. We have a pretty dangerous highway & cross walk by our neighborhood. The best is the people that cross the highway on ramp to get to the bus. I’d not Risk my life for a bus.

The other thing that makes me laugh really hard is when I get stressed & I ask my husband to distract me from whatever is stressing me out. He made me laugh recently when we were walking on a sheet of ice downhill with spikes on our shoes but I was still slipping. Hence, I asked him to distract me & he started talking about all things ice. It was really funny. He had me in stitches the whole way down.

People who think that their double latte double grande coffee with their name on the cup is somehow superior to my simple, short cappuccino. I could tell them that they’re drinking hype but I just laugh instead. Another thing that makes me laugh are people who go out on Valentine’s Day without a reservation & wonder WHY they can’t find a seat at a table at a good restaurant. That’s called planning.

Or the people who park in the crowded, stuffy floor of the parking garage & wonder why there’s no space in the elevator up to the street. People that don’t know how to parallel park with a tiny car. Or who can’t do a proper 3 point turn because they don’t know where their car ends.

I also love traveling & was coming into an airport where they scanned your passport at the counter & this woman was fanning her passport over the scanner without putting it on the scanner. It was hard not to laugh.

Or where I live here in Norway & they check your bus ticket on your phone. I can count on 2 hands how people Freak when they get really high fine for not having a ticket. Just buy a ticket, it’s really basic common sense.

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

In high school I had a wonderful orchestra teacher that really inspired me to excel & to practice on my cello. I had one other teacher that inspired me was an English teacher. He told me that I was talented & was good at writing.

They both influenced me in different ways, but both had a positive impact. Since I was deemed “disabled” because I couldn’t do math they placed me in the “disability” room in high school. Where I was a cash cow for the community I lived in.

Although I was multilingual & always did my homework they placed me with a verbally abusive special education teacher. I dreaded going to school everyday because of her behavior.

Hence, when I had orchestra & English I excelled in the classroom probably because the teachers gave me respect & the ability to express myself without being condemned for it. I’m grateful to them to this day for showing me that I can do anything I put my mind to.