Merry CHRISTmas Everyone!

We've had a good Christmas.  We got up and took care of some last minute chores and then opened our presents to each other.  Hightlights include: Jean knitted Lucas a scarf, Lucas bought Jean a star ring, and lots of movies and games!  Jud and Erica made it safely to our flat.  We had a quick lunch and then went to Vigelands Parken so they could see it and play in the snow.  Tried unsuccessfully to build a snowman, made snow Angels, and throw lots of snowballs.  We came home to warm up, play games, and go through everything they bought us from the States.  Lucas made a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner of pinnejkøtt (basically salty lamb ribs), mashed rutabaga, boiled potatoes, lefse, and rice pudding with strawberry sauce.  Everything was delicious!

Snowball fight at Vigelands Parken

Christmas dinner

Christmas Eve Fun

We had a great Christmas Eve!  Jean convinced Lucas to take her ice skating.  We decided to grab lunch out, not easy considering most stores were closed or closing at 1pm and we left our flat at 12:30pm.  The first ice skating rink was closed but the one by National Theater was open.  Our new skates were tight but we still had a great time.  After skating we came home and got ready for church.  The service was at 4pm.  It was a nice service and they sang some in Norwegian, which was hard and comical for us to sing.  Afterwards, there was a dinner at church which was nice and they had yummy turkey!  We came home and opened the bottle of champagne we bought back from Italy.  We watched the older Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Charlie Brown's Christmas.  It was a great night!

Pneumonia Again

Jean was walking pneumonia again!  She got it for the first time the day before we moved to Oslo.  Apparently, it has never gone away.  The hospital gave her the wrong medicine the first time, assuming it was a viral infection.  The Doctor now has her on much stronger medicine and after multiple test says that it is a bacterial infection.  Hopefully this will make it go away for good!

We're not that far north...

Today is the shortest day of the year.  Here in Oslo we got almost 6 full hours of glorious light between sunrise and sunset.  The sun doesn't get very high off the horizon but we appreciate the light.  Certainly there are parts of Norway that have complete darkness but it is over 800 miles from Oslo to the arctic circle. So its dark here and certainly cold, but it could be worse.

God Jul og et Godt Nytt år

God Jul og et Godt Nytt år

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

We’d like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our family and friends.  As most of you know we moved to Oslo, Norway this year so that Lucas can continue his work on a software project for ExxonMobil.  Getting prepared for the move and all of the logistics that followed was a fair amount of effort, but Lucas is enjoying his work and we are happy for the opportunity we have to experience another culture and travel.

We have a wonderful furnished apartment in Oslo and are currently renting out our home in Houston (all of our furniture is in storage).  The high prices in Norway continue to amaze us but with the language lessons we’ve been taking we at least have an idea about what we are purchasing in the grocery store.  Unfortunately, neither of us is a natural at Norwegian and we often struggle with pronunciation.  Fluency seems out of reach but this is okay as the vast majority of Norwegians speak perfect English.  In fact, much of the local TV is broadcast in English with Norwegian subtitles.

We’ve been able to take advantage of our proximity to the rest of Europe and have already traveled to Belgium for Jean’s birthday, Germany for Oktoberfest, Italy for Jean’s graduation this December, and next up is a trip to Spain with Lucas’s sister Erica and her husband Jud over New Year’s. We’ve also enjoyed exploring Oslo and through a random Florida Gator’s connection have met some other ExxonMobil expats in Houston with whom we have quickly become friends.  We’ve also enjoyed getting to know the members of our English speaking church here in Oslo.

As we hinted at above, Jean just graduated with honors from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.  She had to work very hard all year to take the necessary classes while we still lived in Houston so that she would only need 4 online classes this fall to finish her degree. She hasn’t yet decided whether or not to look for a job while we live in Norway. 

We certainly miss all our family and friends, but most of all we miss our dog Peanut.  We sadly left her in Florida with Lucas’s sister Heather where she is happily terrorized by our nephew Blake. If you’d like to see pictures or hear more about our time in Oslo you can go to our blog at: http://ljhilliard.blogspot.com/.  We are on Skype (search for us under Lucas and Jean Hilliard) often for free phone and video chats with family and friends.  Feel free to drop us a line. 

God’s Blessings and Merry Christmas!

Lucas and Jean Hilliard

MESSEPROMENADEN 7

Flat H0901

0279 Oslo, Norway

Jean's Graduation

After many years of pain, stress, and money, Jean is finally a college graduate!  She graduate cum laude (with honors) from University of Houston (UH) with a bachelors in marketing.  It feels good to be done.  She will try to find work here in Oslo, but it will be hard without knowing the language very well.  Her goal is to find something to do with photography.

Italy Graduation Trip

We went to Italy December 9 thru 14, 2010, to celebrate Jean's graduation from UH.  We had a great time exploring Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Almafia Coast, Naples, and Rome.  Jean FINALLY got to see the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel.  We discovered limoncello liquor that is made in Capri and then discovered that it is EVERYWHERE, even in Oslo! We came back on the 14th, woke up at 3:45am, and Lucas was able to work a half day.  To see more photos click HERE.

Sistine Chapel

Capri

Pompeii

Almalfi Coast

Eating pizza in Naples

Trevi fountain

Fog on the Fjord and Free Christmas Tree

On Tuesday December 7, 2010, Jean met up with Christine for some exploring.  There was fog on the fjord and it was beautiful.  We wondered around the fort and took some pictures.  Afterwards, we took the bus to the city center.  There was a lot of Christmas trees around.  Curious, we asked around and found out that if you decorate a tree, you can take it home free of charge.  I'm talking tree, stand, lights, ornaments, everything.  So we stood in the freezing cold and decorated a tree for Christine.  She rewarded Jean with hot chocolate, which was more like hot chocolate soup!  We went back to get the tree.  Christine picked it up and walked right on the bus with it.  Jean really liked the ornaments, so Christine split them with her.  We then met up with the boys and some of the people Tyler works with for some thai food.

View from the fortress

Fog on the fjord

With the free Christmas tree

Sipping hot chocolate soup

Our Christmas Decorations

Our Christmas Corner

Christmas Stockings

Charlie Brown Tree

Nativity hand carved in Bethlehem

Christmas Market at the Norsk Folk Museum

On Sunday (12/5/10) we went to the Christmas market at the Norsk Folk Museum.  It was cold but we still had a great time.  They had over 100 different vendors selling food, ornaments, and lots of other different things.  They had different Christmas dinners and scenes set up (hence the picture of the dead birds).  We also got to see the famous Stave Church.  We had some homemade lefse which was delicious and we bought our first manager scene.  It was hand carved in Bethlehem.  They also had a very realistic Santa there.

Coldest Day Yet

 Sunday (11/28/10) was the coldest day yet!  The high was 10 degrees F but had a horrible wind and was probably close to 0 or even negative degrees.  Scott & Katie were still in town so we braved it for the day.  We went to Vigeland park, Holmenkollbakken (the gigantic ski jump), Christmas market, and saw the lighting of a tree at Oslo University.  To see more pictures click here.

Christmas Market

Holmenkollbakken

Christmas Tree Lighting

Icebar

On Saturday (11/27/10) we had Katie Thompson and Scott Zeglin, friends from our church in Houston, come visit.  We decided to go to Icebar with our other friends Christine and Tyler Russell.  It was a lot of fun and not too expensive.  They had some "artwork" and sculptures inside so it wasn't just a block of ice.  When we were done with our drinks, we got to try and smash our ice glasses in a bucket.  To see more pictures click here.

$300 Turkey

On Thanksgiving Day, Jean and our new friend, Christine, checked out a grocery store, Centra, that we heard had American food.  We found some items but we're shocked when we found a turkey.  It was roughly $300 for a 20lb turkey!  Below are pictures of Jean being shocked and the price tag.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Thanksgiving which was a little weird because it's just like another day here in Oslo.  On Wednesday, we went to church.  The US ambassador spoke and afterward there was pie which was delicious!  Thursday we didn't celebrate but went out with some friends for pizza.

We are thankful for our friends and family and for skype that let's us keep in contact with them. 

Movie Theater

We saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 today.  The theater was huge and the tickets were a relative bargain at only $17 each. It was shown in English with Norwegian subtitles. Jean raged about the random name changes in the subtitles.  For example George became Frank in the subtitles.  We saw the movie with a couple that we meet, Christine and Tyler.  After the movie we ate a Gyro Pizza which was delicious and stopped inside a Christmas tepee that had lots of different Norwegian items.

Final Crate

Some of you may know that after our stuff was delivered we noticed that we were missing the box that contained all our Wii games, our Wii / TV / DVD remotes, and a few other electronics.  At first we were very concerned that it was stolen but after over a month of working with the shippers it was found and shipped to us in this huge crate.

This crate was serious business, when UPS delivered it Jean asked the delivery man how to open it.  He looked at it at said he didn't have a clue and suggested we find a crow bar.  We were so close but still so far away from getting to our stuff.  Finally Lucas spent 30 min pounding at it with a hammer and prying at it with a screw driver until there was a large enough gap to fit the hammer claw under the top board and slowly pry up the many, many nails holding it shut. It had everything we were missing and nothing was broken.

Since then we've heard horror stories from other ExxonMobil expats in Norway about the shipping process.  The moral of the story is take a careful and extensive inventory.  We must admit that we didn't and so we just hope that all of our goods in storage back in Houston are safe and secure.

More Pictures of our Flat

We've finally finished fully moving in to our apartment.  Our pictures are on the wall and Lucas's TV is hooked up and working great.  Here are some photos Jean took today:

You can see all the photos HERE.

Sandwich Toaster != Waffle Iron

We thought it'd be nice to make waffles today and bought all the needed items from the store. However once we got back home we realized we didn't have a waffle iron but rather a sandwich toaster.  Waffle pancakes on the stove top just aren't the same.

On a related note Jean informs me that not everyone knows that the programming syntax != is easy shorthand for the phrase "not equal"

1st Snow

It snowed for the first time last night.  It will probably melt in a few hours but it was still a shock to see snow in October!

Search of the Flea Market and Driving the Car

Yesterday, we went in search of the Oslo Flea Market, that is actually supposed to be pretty cool.  Unfortunately, we were unable to find it but we did find a popular section of the city.  We spend 2 hours wondering up and down streets and into stores.

Lucas also drove our car for the first time yesterday.  We didn't really have anywhere to go but after awhile we stopped that the neighborhood Esso station to fill up at the low price of $8.16 per gallon.

Beautiful Day

It's a beautiful day in Oslo!  It's been almost 2 weeks since we've seen sun in Norway and we've missed it!

Germany Trip

We had a great time in Germany, even though it rained 7 out of the 9 days we were there.  Highlights include seeing a Panda Bear, touching a Penguin, going to Oktoberfest, and seeing the castles.  The picture of the left is us in front of Neuschwanstein Castle (aka the Disney Castle).  To see more of the 994 pictures click HERE.

Our Car

We bought our car from Kelly Walker (the person I replaced) before we arrived in Norway.  It has sat in our parking spot since we got here pending registration with the government and insurance.  Today we finally got the registration for car so we plan to take it for a spin for the first time this weekend.  Though at over $7 per gallon we probably won't drive too far!

Germany

We leave for Germany tomorrow. We are spending 3 days in Berlin, 3 in Munich, and 3 in Bavaria.  We come home on October 3rd.  Jean is excited about going to the Berlin zoo and seeing Panda Bears.  Lucas is excited about Neuschwanstein Castle. We are both excited about going to the 200th Oktoberfest. 

Church

We went to church for the first time on Sunday September 19th.  It's called the American Lutheran Church.  It was nice to be at an English speaking church, surrounded by English speaking people for the first time in about a month.  We will probably make this our church home.  Everyone was really nice and they serve waffles every Sunday! 

Insurance

We meet with the insurance people on Monday September 20.  It turns out car insurance here is really, really expensive and a lot more of than we expected.  Thankfully once we prove that we have safe driving records, it will be cut if half.

Belgium

Belgium was amazing and a perfect way to spend Jean's 25th birthday.  We went to Brugge and Brussels, Brugge was our favorite.  To see pictures click HERE.  Our next trip is Germany!

Stuff

Our stuff is being delivered today!  Finally!  They moved it out on August 18th and we were told it could be up to 20 days before it was delivered.  4 weeks later, it is finally here.  It's going to be hard to focus on school and not rip open every box.  It's almost like a late birthday present/early Christmas!

Norwegian Lessons

We had our first Norwegian lesson today.  It went well.  Maria (our instructor) is very nice and patient.  The hardest thing about the language is that it kinda looks like English but it is pronounced completely different.

We will be doing the lessons every Tuesday and Thursday, until our 200 hours is up.

Belgium Birthday!

It's Jean's birthday today! We are celebrating by spending the weekend in Belgium. First in Brugges then in Brussels.  Hopefully the waffels, beer, and chocolate will make for a memorable 25th birthday.

Bronchitis

The day before we flew to Oslo, Jean started feeling really sick.  We thought it was just a cold and that it would go away, but a week later it wasn't getting any better, so we decided to go to the hospital.  It was an experience getting there.  We had to take a train and a bus there and then figure out where to be in the hospital.  About an hour later we were told that Jean has bronchitis.  We were able to get her medications filled right away at the hospital.  It's been a couple of days and she is starting to feel a little better and have more energy.  Our goal is that she feels completely better by next weekend when we go to Belgium!

Right to Work

We arrived on Tuesday and Lucas went right to work on Wednesday.  Everyone he works with is very nice and he looks forward to working them then for the next year and beyond.  The atmosphere is very different from ExxonMobil, especially the dress code.  The only problem is that the elevator is out of commission and Lucas has to walk up the stairs to the 8th floor everyday.

Oslo At Last

We got our luggage and to the hotel safely without any problems and then walked around to explorer the city.  We didn't get very far though as it was raining all day and Jean hadn't been feeling well since Sunday.  Our hotel room is nice and Jean will be uploading lots of photos of Oslo shortly.

Flying to Oslo

We left out of Gainesvile for Oslo and transferred through Atlanta and Newark.  The flight from Newark to Oslo didn't have working Movies on the personal entertainment system.  This was disappointing especially as it was Jean's first time in first class.  The flight did have the new completely flat seats which made up for it somewhat.

Weekend in Gainesville

We spent the weekend in Gainesville with Lucas's family. We stayed with Lucas's sister and brother-in-law Heather and Ralph and celebrated their son Blake's 2nd birthday.  Heather and Ralph are also watching Peanut for us while we are gone and we hope Peanut was able to acclimate somewhat before we left.  It made us sad to see her sleeping inside Jean's suitcase on top of the clothes one day when we came home.  After a great weekend with family we left for Oslo on Monday.

House Update

We've officially found renters!  They hope to move in on September 18th staying through fall of next year. We are told they have a small dog.  Hopefully, they take good care of our home.

Final Day

Today is our final day in Houston.  Can't believe it's here and time to go.  We said our final goodbyes to our friends last night.  The movers are moving our stuff out of the house today.  We will then start our drive to Gainesville, FL, stopping in Biloxi, MS, for the night.

Packers and Movers

The movers and packers come today.  They will be packing up ALL our stuff and then moving it out.  Nice to not have to do any packing but a pain to have them in the house all day.

Summer School

Jean took her last summer school final today.  That means that she has 4 classes left before finishing her degree.  It also means that she doesn't have to go back to UH's campus (hopefully) ever again!

Residency Permits

It is official.  Lucas's permit was granted on July 8th and Jean's permit was granted on August 5th.  So we now have all the documentation required for moving to Oslo. We've spent the day organizing and throwing stuff away and the move is starting to feel very real.  Hopefully the next 15 days will go by smoothly and we'll get on the plane for Norway without issue.

Skydiving

We went skydiving today!  It was amazing!  To see more pictures click here Skydiving Photos.

Happy Birthday!

Today Lucas celebrates his 27th birthday!!!!  We are going to the Dynamo vs Manchester United soccer game tonight, playing bingo for a friend's birthday tomorrow, dinner on Friday, skydiving Saturday at 9am, and then meeting friends at a bar to celebrate his birthday and us living. 

Last Tuition Bill

On Sunday, Jean paid for her last semester at school.  That thought made paying the bill a little better.

One Month

One month from yesterday we will be flying Gainesville to Atlanta to Newark to Oslo.  One month from today we will have landed in Oslo.  Getting very excited and ready to move.

Passport Panic

Last Tuesday Lucas went searching for our passports and couldn't find them. After two days of searching we were convinced that they must have gone out with the trash over the weekend.  Lucas was very worried that losing them would cause problems for the work permit process but all the embassy needed was new copies of the passports before we leave. We had everything ready and got to the post office on Monday afternoon to submit the new applications but they wouldn't let us. Evidently 6 weeks ago they started requiring appointments for passports and even though there was no one there they wouldn't let us apply at that time.  We went home annoyed with the state department for not updating all the appropriate websites to inform citizens of this change. 

And then Jean found them Monday night!  They were hidden in a place Lucas had already looked, but because we weren't able to apply on Monday, Jean saved us ~$500!

House Update

We have decided to rent our home out while we are in Oslo and have contracted with a local company to handle everything for us while we are away. Hopefully we'll find some great tenants!

One Month

One month from today we will be leaving Houston to drive to Gainesville, FL. It's getting close!

Moving Timeline

Aug 18th - Movers come and pack up the house and hopefully move it out
Aug 19th - Movers finish and we start driving to Florida
Aug 20th - Arrive in Florida to spend time with Lucas's family and drop off Peanut
Aug 23rd - Leave out of Gainesville for Oslo, Norway
Aug 24th - Arrive in Oslo, Norway
Aug 25th - Lucas's first day of work in Oslo

Oslo, Norway Address

It is not completely official yet, but our new address will be:

MESSEPROMENADEN 7, , Flat H0901 0279 Oslo, Norway

Skype

Lucas and I are on Skype.  We are able to do voice and video skyping.  Its free to use and talk to anyone else with a Skype account and really easy to setup. You can search use under Lucas and Jean Hilliard with the e-mail ljhilliard@gmail.com

Peanut

As much as it pains us, we have decided to leave Peanut in the USA.  She will be staying with Lucas's sister Heather, her husband Ralph, and son Blake.  They all love Peanut.  We will miss her very much but we know it's the best thing for her.

Visas

Lucas and I applied for our visas today.  It required a lot of paperwork and copies but Lucas got it all together.  We should hear in a couple of weeks hopefully.  Lucas should get his before I get mine but I will be able to go with him and stay there until my visa comes in.

Packing

We found out great news today.  Exxon will be paying someone to pack up our stuff and move it to the storage unit.  We are very, very, very happy about this.  Takes the stress of packing away which is great.

Jean's Last Day

Today is Jean's last day at work! She will be going up to Philadelphia tomorrow to spend time with her family before we both go to North Carolina for her cousin's wedding over Memorial Day.  When we get back she will be focusing on taking 5 summer classes, packing, and moving.

It's Actually Happening

Lucas is starting to get the expat paperwork from Exxon.  It looks like this is actually happening.  It still seems surreal to both of us. 

Why?

We are moving to Norway so that Lucas can help out with a project that he has been working on for the last two years. None of the details are know yet except that we plan to arrive in August of this year and stay until 4Q 2011.

Some people have been asking us exactly where Norway is. Here's a map to clarify. The A balloon is where Oslo is in Norway.

Jean's School

One of the things we had been most worried about is whether or not Jean will be able to finish school. Well, the answer is yes! She will be taking 5 classes in the summer and then 4 completely on-line classes in the fall from Norway. She will graduate in December with a bachelor's in marketing from University of Houston.

Starting Out

We thought it would be a good idea to start a blog type site so we care share information about moving to and being in Norway with everyone. We will try to keep it as update as possible.