Maren’s pre-departure reflections

This great “Visit Wisconsin” commercial with Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson is worth a watch!  A parody of the “Wizard of Oz”, Nelson finds himself in the perfect dreamland of Wisconsin. When he returns to Kansas (his actual home state) at the end of the commercial, he is both happy to see his wife, but wants to return to the mythical Wisconsin! (I seriously encourage you to watch this commercial! Great part is that there are no flying monkeys!)

This commercial has had special resonance for me as we prepare for our departure for Norway. Caught between the fabulousness of home and the wonderful land of Norway, missing family and friends while finding new friendships. As our departure draws nearer, I find myself caught in the tension of these emotions, but I do think excitement prevails as the dominant emotion these days!

In the next months, I hope that Elliott and I will use this blog to provide a window into our experience and provide a little reflection on our attempts to live the Norwegian dream.  I am excited to return to my work at the Ibsen Centre at the University of Oslo. This past spring was incredibly productive and I made great progress on my dissertation. I look forward to making continuing progress while also making connections with faculty, friends and others who will be lifelong contacts.

Learning, speaking Norwegian, cooking, researching, walking, hiking, skiing and traveling – all these activities will be great parts of our year ahead and we are excited to share them with each of you!

The 10 day countdown is on and armed with my ruby slippers (or ruby football cleats in Jordy’s case), I believe Elliott and I are ready for this adventure.