Norway - Erin Hillis

Erin and Elin with sleds in Norge

I spend my Christmas holidays in Norway, just about every year.  It started in 1998, when my best friend (a Norwegian student who lived in my dorm) invited me home with her for the winter break.  I’d met her family before, so I knew it would be a really neat and fun experience.  But it would be the first time I’d ever missed Christmas with my Mom and brother and it was a tough decision.  Looking back now, I’m glad I decided to leave home that Christmas.

My friend and I met as freshman in college.  We both had adventurous spirits, so we decided to backpack and camp around the southern part of Norway one summer – it was my first time out of the country and it planted in me very profound respect for the “other” and the “different than” which I had never experienced before.  

Over the years, our two families connected through their mutual appreciation that both families were taking care of both daughters, whichever side of the world they were on.  We began alternating Christmas breaks between Memphis and Stavanger.  My friend’s family became my family, and vice versa.  For me, “Going to Norway” became “Going home to Norway” and felt almost the same as “Going home to Memphis.”

Those years of relationships has made Norway a part of my identity

Our families have supported each other now for almost 20 years through weddings, losses, new babies, milestone birthdays, and lots of vacations together.  Those years and relationships have made Norway an inseparable part of my identity.  I’m profoundly the better for the Norway in my heart.