Shalom folks!

Ingrid calling. I journeyed home for Christmas today. Half asleep on the bus I suddenly panicked: I had forgotten all I should have brought with me! My Christmas gown, my curler, the red nail polish... I had left it all behind in the apartment in Bergen. How could I be so dumb?!

The panic woke me up from the daze. I recalled that I was not supposed to bring all the stuff home this time. I was in fact not going home for Christmas this year. It would only be a short visit before Christmas. My dress and everything else was packed in a big suitcase. The Magne Myrtveit family is headed for Hong Kong for Christmas. Hong-Crazy-Cong, that’s what I call it. ‘Cause it is rather peculiar: We are going to celebrate Christmas in the country we tried to dig down to from our sand box in our garden when we were kids.

Hong Kong! How Come? I have never even considered the possibility before to celebrate Christmas any place other than home at Radøy. But I guess we’ll be fine; after all my entire family will be together. That’s why we are going, you see. Magnar is an exchange student in Hong Kong this autumn. Now we look very much forward to seeing Magnar again. Up until a few weeks ago we also looked forward to getting Magnar back to Norway after Christmas, to stay together with Solbjørg and me in our apartment we share in Bergen. But things turned. Don’t misunderstand, I am a devoted fan of true love, but in this case I must admit that I am not entirely positive about the course of events. The thing is that Magnar has found a sweet Chinese lady, Lillian, and he has now made up his mind to stay another semester in Hong Kong. Wow! It is just like in the movies. And romantic movies we do like. Hopefully, the end will be good as well. But I must admit that it was unexpected. Strange. And strictly against dad’s instructions!

Speaking of love: JØRGEN! I too have got a sweetheart this year. In my case things are more convenient, he lives in Bergen and all. I’m very happy with him. He does somersaults and rules in mathematics. He allows me to eat as much chocolate as I want, especially during exam periods. He thinks I am cute, even if (or because?) I step off my bike for every curb. I understand that it must be annoying for him to wait for me all the time. But I guess I enjoy the benefits of love: unlimited patience. Good for me! Jørgen started medical school this fall, and my sister, Solbjørg, just finished her last semester and is now a medical doctor! Hurray! Imagine having completed such a long study. I had almost started to believe that Solbjørg would go on studying forever, she had been leaning over her books for so long that it seemed only natural that she would just keep on ad infinitum. However, in spite of untimely appendicitis and other complications, Solbjørg reached the finishing line. And now she grants herself a long holiday together with Christine, a fellow medical student. They will hike in the Nepal mountains for three weeks after Hong-Crazy-Kong, then they will head for Hawai’i, followed by a stay at mainland USA until they are back in Norway medio March.

We did a journey together earlier this year too, Solbjørg, Magnar and I. We visited our cousin, Heidi, in Cape Town, South Africa during Easter. We toured the country, driving to Cape Town along the coast together with Heidi and her boyfriend, Jean Pierre. Before that we went on a safari several days into the bush. Our camp was made out of straw “houses”. I honestly think the guides should have taken the liberty to tell a “white lie” when we asked if there were snakes in the camp. «Of course they live here», they answered. Alas, Solbjørg and I were doomed to check with our flashlights every square metre inside the small fence that was put up to protect us from rhinos, elephants, and so on. But, in spite our snake phobia, it was great fun to see all kinds of animals at a short distance. Running rhinos are funnier than you can imagine.

Concerning mum and dad, I can summarize my opinion: workaholics Well, maybe not entirely true: Daddy cycles and mommy roams the kitchen. I always get well fed when I come home. And I have learned that my parents sometime play games, such as Scrabble and Rummy’O in the evenings. And they both do their toll when it comes to maintaining the spark in their marriage – mommy makes all kinds of heavenly jam for daddy, and he massages her back while mum sorts leaves out from the berries she has been out picking in the forest. An excellent arrangement. The two of them also went on a romantic holiday to Croatia this fall. Daddy had to carry mommy across the street because of a big flooding. I’d love to watch that! But no doubt, their work take a lot of time. From what I can tell, things go well with daddy’s company, Dynaplan. At least we have got new coffee cups and glasses with company logo engraved. I take that as a good sign. For my part, the study is just a camouflage; the life as a housewife is the real target. By the way, I’ve switched subject since last Christmas letter. It turned out that Nordic Lector school most likely would not qualify me for a job in the Norwegian language council (norsk språkråd), so I figured that it was not much to gain from that education. So, now I study theology at NLA, and I’m very happy with that!

All in all we are doing fine, the five of us. But the year has also brought sorrows to our family. In February grandpa died. We miss him a lot. Our thoughts are with grandma most of all this Christmas. Good to know that grandpa is in Heaven. I have been told it is a good place to be. Grandpa loved Christmas and his family. We comfort ourselves that his wish is that the family must have a joyful holiday, even if he is no longer among us.

I am doing my best to inhale the mood of Christmas, sitting in front of the fire place with Christmas carols on the radio, snowflakes outside, hoping to take the holiday feeling with me all the way to Hong Kong. As an aside, I really like the new Norwegian translation of the Bible. Jørgen and I spent the night together with a bunch of other people outside the book store in order to buy the new Bible when it was released for sale. Here are some of the nicest verses from Psalm 100:

Rop med jubel for Herren, all jorda!
Ten Herren med glede,
kom fram for han med jubel!
Kjenn at Herren er Gud!
Han har skapt oss, vi er hans,
vi er hans folk og den flokken han gjeter.
Kom gjennom portane hans med takkesong,
inn i føregardane med lovsong!
Lov han, velsign hans namn!
Herren er god, evig er hans miskunn,
hans truskap varer frå slekt til slekt.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Greetings from Ingrid and the other Myrtveits.

PS: If you believe now that we used the opportunity to skip the annual bath in the ocean the day before Christmas (per mommy’s suggestion), I can inform you that we are not chickens. Last weekend we gathered our friends, and headed for the sea. And after that, we celebrated with hot chocolate and marzipan sculpture making. The ocean temperature three weeks before Christmas was disappointingly less cold than the usual Chistmas temperature (around 0C). Thus, it is my claim that this year’s swim is valid as a Christmas bath.