Eastertime in a Foreign Land

I hate to harp on this, but we are living in a foreign land. Yes, we communicate in English a great deal. Yes, Easter is celebrated as a national holiday here. And, yet, there are a few things that seem just a wee bit different than in the States. The whole egg thing. I don’t think I’ve seen a small plastic egg anywhere. What I do see are colorful cardboard egg-shaped containers in differing sizes filled with candy and chocolates given to people of all ages. Then there is the proliferation of anything and everything yellow. Yellow candles, yellow ribbons, yellow paper napkins, yellow mini-chicks, etc. You may remember our writing about ‘Red Days’; the days surrounding Easter starting with the Wednesday before and continuing through the Monday following when most businesses are closed. Something akin to Spring Break, only not just for the schools. I would guess that for us retired folk, this should not pose a big problem, except if one was counting on the grocery stores being open whenever one needed something. Basically we need to plan our menu ahead a bit.

I was really hoping to lose a few pounds during these three months of walking, bike-riding, and eating more healthy foods. However, if this week is typical of our time here, that may not be happening. These past five days have been a carousel of meals bookended by tasty offerings. And, obviously, one simply cannot refuse such delights being offered. The first invitation was to join our friends, Astrid and Asbjørn, and their family for Good Friday lamb dinner. They only requested I bring a carrot cake, the same type I brought two years ago for their same dinner. Paul and I don’t get the opportunity to a) eat a meal with these friends very often when we are not here, and b) eat lamb. They commented more than once that we were ‘like family’ to them, so it was a very special time.

The second dinner invitation was from our friends here from Poland. I first met Anna in 2002 when she heard me calling to Ryan in English as I dropped him off at a friend’s house for a birthday party. She quickly walked to catch up with me and introduced herself. Since then, we have shared meals in each other’s homes several times. Funny story (although it didn’t seem funny at the time): last time we were here, I accidentally brought our American guests to a dinner at their home on the wrong night. Anna and Leszek did not seem phased one bit–even though Anna was at work when we arrived. Anyway, this week our dinner at their home was, as always, a Michelin-starred experience. And a very special treat after dinner was the opportunity to view the video of their son’s wedding to his bride–in a traditional Japanese ceremony. Our five-hour evening was not finished until we had our third dessert of the evening. You heard that right.

Finally, we arrive at today. Easter Sunday. As it happens, our home church here does not hold Easter Sunday services, they have a Monday morning service the day following Easter. So, our Sunday was free to attend the service (and breakfast!) offered by the Salvation Army body of believers on the island of Jeløy. Our good friend, Liv, as well as several other people we know, attend there, and we were pleased to join them. What a sweet, sweet time of fellowship and worship this morning celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. God is glorified in all languages. It was funny; as I was trying to describe a typical Easter breakfast that we might have in the States, it seemed quite different than the one here. I described scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes…and she described what was typical here…breads with lots of little things to go on top. What would you have described as typical?

Thanks for tuning in!