The foreign minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre spoke...
Sopran Cathrine Sørbøe Villesvik sang
and artists such as Sondre Lerche and Ola Gjeilo performed.. 
As I sat there, surrounded by my fellow citizens and friends of Norway and it's culture, I felt as lonely and out of place as I've ever been.... Like I was the outsider looking in, or a fish in the desert... it was the strangest thing.... then going home, as I sat among total strangers on the subway, I felt more at ease and at home than I did among "my own" people. I feel very much more like an amerikan sometimes, than a Norwegian. That is not to say I am not proud of my heritage and fond of my roots... I think it's just about fitting in.
The party in and of itself was great though, the entertainment was spectacular. And I might go to other events there. It's a nice place, and the point of the church is great.
2 comments:
How neat that you got to go and be amongst your own. Interesting, but understandable that you felt out of place. I bet that feeling will fade as you attend more events like that.
Well, it's a new group of people that you're not used to yet. I think that them being Norwegian is irrelevant to your feelings. It's probably mostly because of your group anxiety issues. :) If you continue to go and become closer to the friends you meet there, you'll feel more and more comfortable. Hey, maybe you'll even start feeling Norwegian again. But the whole-not feeling Norwegian-thing came from your strong desire not to be Norwegian when you moved here. You tried so hard to fit in in America. So, do the same with them and I bet it will work out the same way. I do thing you could have a balance, though. :)
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