Winter is Serious Business

 When we were getting ready to come to Norway we weren't too concerned about winter. We figured we knew what we were doing. Madeline had been born in Milwaukee when it was 10 below zero and we had also lived in Maine and Utah. The first thought that Norway was not going to be the same as the States was when we contacted Madeline's school about school supplies. They said not to worry about school supplies but instead provided extensive guidance on dressing kids for recess. None of this wimpy, we don't go outside when it drops below 40 degrees in Virginia.

It has been a process getting geared to withstand the winter in Norway. Below is the family portrait without the family.

 Being warm and dry is not the only consideration, traction is also important. Yaktracs are like crampons for walking and came highly recommended so we picked a pair for everyone but Lucy.

After getting a note from the school telling us that Madeline's second hand snow suit was not adequate, I went out and got Madeline and James honest to goodness Norwegian snow suits. Needless to say they were not cheap, a couple hundred a pop. Add the wool socks, thermals, and gloves and it wasn't a cheap shopping trip. There is something nice about knowing they have the right clothes and that they are reflective.

Janet and I have had the benefit of collecting gear over the last few years, but both of us got some Gore-tex jackets and some serious boots before coming.

The only one left in cheap consignment store snow gear is Lucy. She won't spend too much time outside so she won't get cold enough to need a Norwegian snow suit this year.

Here are the two older kids right after they got their new snow suits. They can't wait for a 10 degree day tomorrow to see how they really work.

Staying warm and dry hasn't come cheap for our family, but it is nice to get out like the Norwegians in all weather including rain, snow, sleet, or freezing temperature without being slowed down.

An Outside Observer

 When I first entered the Foreign Service, a trainer talked about why he loved the Foreign Service. He explained that as a diplomat you are a close outside observer to the happenings in any particular country. You are able to get to know and become friends with the people in the country you serve but are insulated from many of the challenges unique to each country. When he was talking to us he was primarily referring to third world countries or places with major problems. Over the last few days I have really begun to appreciate the unique challenges we are insulated from because of our position as diplomats.

Oslo is consistently on the list of most expensive cities in the world. Depending on the report you look at, it ranks anywhere from one to twenty. Taxes and a booming economy are the largest contributors to the cost.

Taxes

A treaty called the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1861 applies to all countries where we have diplomatic relations. It establishes diplomatic relations, diplomatic immunity, and also exempts diplomats from taxes levied by a host country. Without those financial protections in Norway all I can say is ouch.

Norway has a national sales tax called a value added tax.  Goods and services have a 25% VAT and food is 15%.  So the Ipad I so desperately want to buy is going to cost $625 instead $500. It also means that our $100 grocery bill really costs $115. I pay the VAT upfront and then quarterly submit a spreadsheet and with receipts to the Norwegian foreign ministry for reimbursement.

Even through Norway is flush wish petroleum resources that make it both wealthy and a huge exporter, gasoline costs about $10 per gallon because of the taxes. We have a special charge card that we use at Statoil, the state owned gas company. At the end of each month we get a gas bill that is only for the price of gas and has no tax. On average I will pay $4.50 per gallon.

Car prices are many times what they are in the US because of taxes. You get taxed for the number of seats, engine size, and base price. Here is one example, A Jeep Grand Cherokee. In the US the price ranges from $27,000 to $60,000 for the fire breathing SRT-8 model. I just pulled this price list from www.jeep.no with a price range of 799,900 NOK to 1,790,000 NOK. Doing the conversion of 5.76 kroner to the USD the range is $138,715 – $310,763.

The State Department ships one vehicle for us. If we wanted to purchase the car here I would have to buy new through Volvo, BMW, or Mercedes using the manufacturer’s diplomatic sales program. It would be far cheaper buying a new BMW than a used compact Toyota on the local market. Not only would I get the Volvo SUV for 30% off US prices I would also get a factory tour. Too bad I already have the swagger wagon.

A Booming Economy

Besides taxes, the cost of goods and services are expensive here because wages are high, unemployment is low, the strong currency, and many items are locally sourced.

Milk, eggs and meat are usually locally sourced. Milk comes in at $10 per gallon, eggs around $6 for a dozen eggs, and $20 or more per pound for beef depending on where you find it. A mans haircut will cost $50 and a ladies will cost $250. A cleaner will charge $30-50 per hour and I would hate to think what a skilled electrician or plumber would cost. If you're curious, check out this circular and divide everything by 5. These are the best prices in town, Smart Club is like Costco.  http://kundeavis.smartclub.no/aviser/smartclub/hoved/index2.htm

We receive an allowance called a cost of living allowance. The State Department does periodic surveys of what goods and services cost in each location around the world. At some point Janet will get a survey and be asked to go to the local grocery store, hair salon, and a few other places to find write down the cost of certain benchmarked goods and services. Adjusted against Washington DC as a baseline, the post is assigned a COLA %. Oslo is tied with Tokyo at an 80% COLA rate. The cost is a percentage of usable income and adjusted for family size. Ultimately it is just enough money to cover the more expensive costs in Oslo if we are really careful.

Another big help is our ability to order from the Air Force commissary in Ramstein Germany and buy American goods at mostly American prices. It is a fully self-funded program and is a huge benefit for the military and State Department personnel overseas.

Last, real estate is really expensive. We were talking to a Norwegian/American couple at thanksgiving that was thrilled to be moving into a small fixer upper near where we live. The wife said that their small little detached home cost $1 million. She also said the 1800 SF duplex we are in would cost about $2 million. Yes that is dollars not kroner. The State Department leases the home for us and pays the cost of the lease and utilities. It would be an otherwise impossible thing to afford staying in Oslo. Additionally until we own a home back in the states we are able to save the money we would otherwise spend on a mortgage.

It’s No Life or Death Struggle

Apart from the painfully short days right now, Norway is a wonderful place to live and if I had the right job with the right pay I might consider staying. I am grateful to be here with the financial protections that being a diplomat provides. More importantly I am grateful that as an outside observer I don’t have to witness the Norwegians in a life and death struggle that our diplomats in so many other parts of the world are so close to.

An Unexpected Visit From the Tooth Fairy

As some of you have heard by now, James is short one front tooth. Apparently, tile floors + wet toes + arms wrapped in a snuggly, fluffy towel = a face plant onto said tile floor. That’s what James learned the hard way Saturday. I was upstairs when I heard crying and Cameron yelling for my help. I ran downstairs to find him holding James who had a bloody nose and one of his front teeth badly chipped. Maddie was helpfully running around in the background crying “What are we gonna do? What are we gonna DO?!” We comforted both of them with news that, yes, Norway has dentists.

As luck would have it, Norway not only has dentists, but they are free for children, although we were told getting an appointment might be tricky. The nurse at the embassy made a few calls and we were in business. Yesterday, In the middle of a morning outing to IKEA with another embassy wife, she got a call on her cell from Cameron saying that the dentist could see him that day at 12:30. And so after a walk around the store, this dear girl – who I was meeting for the first time – gamely drove us to the dentist office and entertained Lucy and her own 18mo with Cheerios and Shaun the Sheep in her car while I took James into his appointment. Seriously.

They had a look at the dangling tooth and decided that it had to come off. It was the same tooth that he injured over the summer and it had been repaired. They were shocked, almost horrified that such a procedure had been performed on a young child. But the dentist said she’d have a go at reattaching it, with the understanding that she’d take it off if that didn’t work. It didn’t work. James was  basking in all the attention and enjoying his status as the most well-behaved little patient they'd ever seen when all of a sudden YANK. He was so offended, he was speechless for a good 2 or 3 minutes but revived when he saw a little plastic treasure chest holding one tiny tooth.

All afternoon, he begged me to put his "treasure tooth" back on. By the end of the day, Maddie had pumped him up for a visit from the tooth fairy. We put it under his pillow and both kids were excited to go to sleep and see what all this business is about. In the morning, Maddie ran into his room and they yanked back the pillow. All they saw was the little treasure chest and Maddie said, dejectedly, "It didn't WORK." I prompted them to open the box and sure enough there was a shiny 20 kroner piece ($4) waiting for him. Maddie was as pleased as James and fully expects to be given a little taste of whatever he picks out with his money, which shouldn't be a problem. She's waited a long time for this.

The Expedition Begins

Self Moving

Since Janet and I got married 6 and ½ years ago we have lived in Hawaii, Utah, Milwaukee, Maine, New Mexico, Arizona and Virginia. Admittedly a couple of these locations were more rest stops, but they all involved moving our stuff. Each time we moved, the moving team consisted of either just me or me and one other person. I’ve always had an aversion to asking the Elder’s quorum to help.

For those of you not Mormon, an Elder’s quorum is a group of men in our church who are over 18 and haven’t served as a bishop or other in another senior role. A big part of what the Elder’s quorum does is to serve other people and moves are the most popular way of serving.

Moving to Hawaii for an internship and later back to BYU only included a couple of suitcases. When we went from Utah to Milwaukee I was solely responsible for clearing out our little apartment and packing it into the back of our Chevy Blazer. I purged some stuff that later I wished I had been able to keep.

While in Milwaukee for three months waiting for Madeline to be born and for my job to begin we gathered enough stuff to properly fill and apartment. So I had a trailer hitch installed, got a U Haul Trailer and with my Dad loaded the trailer and drove through icy roads in 4-wheel drive and with a stop in PA enroute to Maine further filled the trailer with stuff from my parents home.

Moving from Maine to New Mexico I got serious and rented a 14 foot U Haul truck. With some help from friends for a couple hours and a lot of help from my brother-in-law Brian we got the truck loaded. Brian and I embarked on an epic road trip that filled my long standing dream or putting one of my sister’s fiancés or spouses through some sort of slogathon. Brian passed with flying colors. Brian and I worked like dogs to get the house set for Janet and kids before they arrived.

When my job was cut short in New Mexico I packed up the house with the help of Janet’s Mom and Janet. That trip was in a 24-foot underpowered Budget truck that might hit 50 on a long down hill but struggled to go 30 mph through the mountains of New Mexico and Texas.

Because our stuff was packed neatly in my parents garage in Arizona while I searched for a new job it was easy to pack the ABF U-Pack trailer when it was time to move to Virginia. When the trailer got to Virginia, the unpack was really tough. My pride prevented me from asking the Elder’s quorum for help. So I killed myself and my Dad moving things into the second floor apartment.

Professional Moving

I can’t express how nice it was to have professional movers pack and move us.  As hurricane Sandy was rolling through a crew of 4 movers showed up on time and set to work packing the house. They packed everything and I mean everything. Our couch, bed, shovels, tools…. everything was in a box or in a heavy packing material that that is super stout. I just sat in the apartment and wondered around acting like I was supervising, but mostly getting in the way.

While this was happening two more guys showed up to pick up 800 pounds of stuff that was going to be air freighted so that we wouldn’t be limited to what we could carry in a few duffle bags for a month or two. I kept adding stuff until I reached 753 pounds and called it good.

After Sandy passed the crew came back to finish the job on Wednesday. Watching these guys pack these boxes that go on the boat to Norway was amazing. They had bingo sheet to make sure they accounted for everything. I wish I had a picture of these guys moving boxes downstairs. They carried three or four box I would guess nearly equal their own weight using a strap they tied around their chest.

Moving a Vehicle Overseas

While it wasn’t hard it wasn’t exactly easy. Paperwork and bureaucracy were the name of the game. I needed a copy of the vehicle title, a letter from the lein holder saying they were ok with letting me take the vehicle overseas, insurance, and scheduling a pickup when no one was working because of Sandy.

When the guy drove away with the vehicle on the back of truck was an amazing. The sense of relief of having finished my business so I could get on the plane was incredible.

One Last Thing to Do

We have been in a hotel for 10 days and need to repack our luggage and somehow fit in all the extra stuff we purchased since packing out. I had to keep getting on scale to check the weight of each bag.

Yesterday afternoon we got on the plane at Regan and were promptly parked for an hour when Newark told the pilots they needed to wait because of traffic and they were later put into a 20 minute holding pattern going around in nauseating circles. Although annoying I think it helped because the kids didn’t have enough time to break down in the airport. They still managed to have plenty of fun.

Our 7.5 hour flight to Oslo has been amazing. I am writing this posting on the plane. We are more the 5.5 hours into the flight and the kids have all been asleep since about 15 minutes into the flight. Even Janet has slept most of the flight, which is amazing considering she says she doesn’t sleep on planes. I think I am going to be only one who gets hit hard by the hammer of jet lag.

Our New Home (Written Later) Saturday

We made it and love it.

We are getting settled in with what little we have so far. Today our sponsor took us to the city and we had a fun day. Unfortunately we forgot the memory card so no pictures today. All I can say about the day was our pizza was $50 and we are grateful for Gore-tex and the raincoats we got for the kids.