Oslo. September 15, 2022 at 12:46 pm
I leaned over to my brother and pointed out the window as the plane smoothly lowered through the sky back towards ground. “Looks like Wisconsin.” He laughed and nodded. It really did.
I pointed the same thing out to my Dad, who laughed and nodded. “Sure does.”
No wonder our great grandparents felt Wisconsin was a good place to come home, and a lot of Scandinavian people settled in the Minnesota / Wisconsin area.
Let’s go find my family’s history.
I don’t know how to be as present as I want to be. Look with my eyes, listen with my ears, watch my family, hug my family.
Bout to take my first step on Norway. Tearing up a bit thinking of it.
God, please help me be present.
If you know anything about me, you know I’m really passionate about immigration. I love the opportunity to move to different places and believe a human’s rights shouldn’t be defined by the rules of the country they live in.
My current boyfriend is an immigrant from Venezuela to the US.
This is my chance to meet my extended family, my family from Norway.
You see, so much of the US actually immigrated there.
This is my chance to be curious. To explore. To learn. To be open.
My great grandfather Sven loaded up a wooden trunk and crossed the Atlantic on a boat.
He was the grandfather of my Dad, and met my great grandmother who was also Norwegian.
What is my home like? Why did they immigrate? Where did my lovely family come from?
I am tired. Very tired from yesterday and today.
But I am so here.
In Norway.
I am so excited
This. Is a trip that will never be repeated in life.
Take the pressure off.
My great-grandfather Sven immigrated from Norway to the United States. My cousin Alli still has the trunk that he packed up his belongings in and crossed the ocean.
Three generations later, and we are retracing our steps.
I don’t know why it feels so exciting.
It is being connected to something bigger than you.
Honoring the trip he made. The choices he made that led to our life today.