Next week’s Easter! Maundy Thursday, Long Friday and Easter Monday are all holidays in Norway. I’ll be in the States, writing and thinking and reading and spending time with my boyfriend, and I am so happy that Norwegians take Easter seriously.

Oh, very few Norwegians celebrate Easter in any Christian manner. No, the cultural importance of Easter in Norway is that it’s the perfect time to go to the mountains and ski! There’s still plenty of snow, and it’s light enough for those long days you can’t do at Christmas, and often the sun’s strong enough that you can ski in your bikinis.

You’re supposed to come back to work after Easter with a tan. I probably won’t get one on Brigantine, and I’ll be round people who don’t get time off for Easter and need to work a lot. I think it’ll be very refreshing anyway.