Happy New Year’s, everybody – it’s technically New Year’s Day back home, but 12.45PM on New Year’s Eve here. Which means that while I prepare for my host family’s New Year’s dinner, you guys are preparing for the Warkworth Rodeo. And I do believe that this is the first year of my life I HAVEN’T been, excluding, obviously, the first couple of years when I was simply too young. Weird, isn’t it.
It’s a little worrying that my class still haven’t found a venue for their New Year’s party that isn’t Sandoy (another island, bit difficult to walk into town from there) or Streymnes (only slightly better. May as well be on another island). I do hope they find one because this is the land of partying and I need to bring in the NewYear in style. I’m sure they will ... this is, after all, also the land of the last minute and anyone who has been here or known Faroese people will most probably agree.
I live in hope.

Yeah so anyway, what has gone on this week? CHRISTMAS!
We were in Klaksvík for Christmas, late as I think I mentioned in my last post because of a huge storm that prevented us from driving there. We made it though, the next day, which was fine as Faroese Christmas doesn’t begin officially until 6PM on Christmas Eve. So we had dinner first at my host aunt’s place – duck and New Zealand lamb with reyðkal (red cabbage with vinegar and sugar – best thing EVER) and potatoes and other stuff I seriously can’t remember but there was a lot of it. And then we opened the gifts. My host family got me the most beautiful brooch – pure Faroese silver, big and intricately designed. It’s one of those they use on the national costumes, and as it turns out they all have names – mine is called Vár, or Spring.
And my host aunt Sára knitted me a Faroese scarf with the Faroese knitting pattern and Faroese wool. It’s beautiful. I had been considering buying one so now I’m rather glad I didn’t.
On Christmas Day we went back to my host grandad’s for ræstkjøt (rotted boiled meat with salt). That was nice as the entire Klaksvík family came.
On Boxing Day we had a kind of family reunion with my host dad’s family which was extremely cool as I got to meet all of my host cousins from Suðuroy and those I hadn’t met in Klaksvík. It was rather fun. We ate smoked Greenlandic fish and pork and duck and lots of other delicious things. Everyone left at about 8PM after a massive dessert and Jóhanna and I headed out to visit some people at about 10. You see, it’s a tradition here that on boxing day you have to stay out until the sun comes up. Which, quite frankly, is ridiculous as this is the middle of Faroese winter and the sun doesn’t come up until 10.30AM. Makes for a fun night, though.
On the 27th, we were invited to tour the biggest trawler in the North Atlantic, and also the newest – the Skálaberg. Beautiful boat – they had a gym and a sauna and all sorts of lounges and things on board. It’s only 2 years old – the 5th generation of Skálabergs. And then we went back to my host cousin Jóhan’s place where we met his wife and baby (very cute – was sleeping outside when we arrived. They do that here, bundle them up warm and put them in a sheltered place and they don’t get disturbed). And then we had ris a la mange, the dessert most Faroese people have for Christmas, and this other thing that Jóhan’s wife brought out which was more or less pavlova! But super pavlova. With icecream on top and chocolate and almonds in. It was delicious. And I have the recipe.

Yeah, so that was my Christmas – we came back to Havn that night and on the 29th I went to my friend Ronja’s 18th ... epic night, got home at 6AM but that included time spent in town, somehow we wound up in the clubs. Enjoyable night.

Anyway, I think that’s it for this week – hope Christmas in NZ was equally enjoyable, sure it was! And enjoy New Year’s – I bet you’re all partying in 2008 as I write this.