Looking back to my early years, some of the most vivid memories I have are the ones when I was doing something with my Norwegian roots.  I remember learning how to move my mouth in weird ways in Mindekirken’s busserull choir, I remember being on stage with Lillebjørn Nilsen and Steinar Oftsdal and swaying back and forth to the beat, I remember enjoying every moment  at Skogfjorden, Norwegian Camp.  One of the highlights of my involvement in the Norwegian community was when our choir sang for then Crown Prince Harald and Crown Princess Sonja of Norway.  

Eventually this involvement in the Norwegian-American community became my vocation as a Norwegian professor at St. Olaf College.  As a professor of a heritage language, many assume that I acquired Norwegian at home as a native language.  Nope.  My parents are second generation English-only speakers, but both have always been very interested in their heritage, encouraging us to be involved in heritage communities and organizations.  So, I twirled around in a Danish dance group, attempted Deutsch in college, attended Slovak camp and dinners for many years.

Anyway, after many years I became a professor of Norwegian at St. Olaf College, a college that prides itself on being founded by Norwegian immigrants.  And sometime in late spring 2011, I was told that I would not only be meeting the King and Queen for the second time, they would be visiting my Norwegian class.  I immediately called my mom with tears of joy and excitement.  And then the planning began…

 

As the event neared, I received more updates and worked on my lesson plan some more.  I couldn’t quite decide how my students were feeling until the first visit with a very large camera in class about a week before the event.  My poor students were freaking out nervous.  My nervousness only intensified every time someone asked how nervous we were and if I had everything planned.  I knew that there would be lots of media at the event itself, but I totally underestimated how much pre-event interest and coverage there would be.  Totally overwhelming but enjoyable in way, too.  Here are articles from the Star Tribune, The New York Times, and a video clip from KSTP news.

And then after much anticipation, Friday, October 14, 2012 finally arrived.  And I thought the pre-event coverage was overwhelming… from the moment the royal couple set foot on campus they were greeted with huge Norwegian-American smiles and sweaters. Hundreds of Norwegian flags waved in excitement.

I asked my students to arrive very early that day and shortly after we got the room in order, a few more press people arrived to film our preparations.  There were a few last minute changes to the room and protocol from the palace was reviewed and our plans were changed.  About 5 minutes before the royal couple arrived, I walked outside my classroom to see hundreds of people gathered from every floor of Tomson Hall; I was overwhelmed by the number of colleagues and students who had come catch a glimpse of the King and Queen.  They were calling our names waving their flags to wish me and my students well.  This is a moment i will never forget, I felt so honored to represent St. Olaf and Norwegian-America together with my students.  And it was also this moment I realized a bubble bath and a drink would be needed later that evening.

I had a minute to catch my breath before the press literally stormed in the room. The only sound I remember from the first two minutes of the visit was the click of the camera button, of which there were hundreds.  There were more press than students, also in attendance was Ambassador Strommen (Norwegian Ambassador to the US), St. Olaf’s President Anderson, secret service and a few other assistants.

The King and Queen each greeted me, took their seats and the visit began.

 

The press was only allowed to be in the room for a few minutes of the visit.  Can I tell you how much more enjoyable it is to hang out with their majesties without the press?  It was just so overwhelming to have so many bodies in the classroom and so many flashes in your face.  Here is an example of what I mean.

While the press was there, there was a few key pictures taken, this one being my favorite.  What a great photo which truly captures the fun we had.

When the press left, I gave an introduction to Norwegian at St. Olaf, telling their majesties a bit about the St. Olaf Norwegian Studies program and the number of students in each level, etc.  Then, each of the students went around and introduced themselves på norsk.  Here I should interject that each of these students are beginners and they had only had 14 hours (total) of instruction.  And they rocked!  At that point, we just finished learning the key phrases for why they are studying Norwegian, so the timing of the royal visit couldn’t have been better.  After that, we talked in English for awhile about the introductions.  They seemed so genuinely interested in the students and so thankful for their interest in Norway.  It was very touching.  And talking about touching, quite possibly my most memorable moment  was when the student sitting next to the queen said he was a wrestler, she felt his arm muscles and gave him an approving grin.  Too funny!  Things like this made the class realize that their majesties are real people, with a good sense of humor and genuine smiles.

After their visit to my classroom, I rushed off for a reception with about 40 others.  Here again I got to talk with the King and Queen. And yet again everyone was full of smiles, happy to a part of this event.  Later that day there was a short service in the chapel called a sammenkomst. It was a hot ticket item and I was thankfully able to get a ticket with my mom so she could be a part of the big day as she fostered much of my involvement in my heritage.  Here the choir and band performed, the King and two students spoke about the ties between St. Olaf College and Norway.  It was a very memorable event!

Written documentation of the event includes stories from the Post-Bulletin, Patch, and the Northfield News.  Video news stories included NBC affiliate KARE 11, ABC affiliate KSTP 5, and FOX 9.  We were also featured in Norwegian press:NRK (my personal favorite because they show Sett i gang, the text I co-authored), TV2 (here the royal couple is asked how they liked the classroom visit and the queen responds that she would have liked to stay longer!), ABC Nyheter (including this classroom visit video), Klikk, and VG Nett.

And if you thought the excitement was over after all this, you thought wrong.  Just as I finished up the events at St. Olaf, I rushed up to the Minneapolis to attend Norway Seminar.  This is a seminar is where everyone who teaches Norwegian at the University level gathers to further our knowledge of Norwegian and Norway.  And it is where I would be greeted by many familiar faces who could truly appreciate today’s events.  Although it was lovely to be surrounded by and catch up with everyone, I was too exhausted to concentrate and fully enjoy it.  I skipped one of the receptions so I could instead have some downtime with my Ben, a beer and a bubble bath.

Eventually Sunday evening rolled around and the last of the royal events was to dine with their majesties at the Hilton downtown… and 1,063 of their other bffs were there too.  The King gave a good speech reflecting on his time in the Midwest and the ties between Norway and Norwegian-America, we ate an excellent dinner, and we conversed about the one thing that bound our table together- our Norwegian heritage.

Yes, it’s pretty cool when you get all dolled up to have dinner with the King and Queen of Norway.  Being able to enjoy it with your favorite person is just icing on the kransekake.