Maybe now is the time to learn Norwegian rosemaling? (Photo courtesy of Barbara Olson at Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0 license.)

Hvordan går det? (How are you doing?) A lot of people in Norway are currently suffering from brakkesyke (cabin fever, literally ’hut sickness’). Of course, this is caused by the worldwide pandemic, which makes people stay hjemme [yemmeh] (at home). Let’s get our heads out of that cabin! 🙂

No matter if you’re a latsabb (slacker) or a sportsfrik (sports freak), just staying innenfor husets fire vegger (within the four walls of the house) 24/7 may gjøre deg sprø (drive you nuts, literally ”make you crunchy”)! Maybe you kjeder deg (feel bored), føler deg frustrert (feel frustrated) or savner familie og venner (miss family and friends)…

You’re probably just as knowledgeable about this as me, but as I’ve got to understand, one of the best tricks to combat isolasjon [eesohlaSHOHN] is creating rutiner (routines) for yourself – and of course to talk as much as possible with andre folk (other people) online and through the window. Here’s a routine for you: Every morning at 10 AM, study Norwegian for 1 hour! 🙂 And then, every evening, revise what you’ve learnt.

Here are a few other aktiviteter to stop life from being too ensformig (monotonous) i denne koronatid (in this corona period):

• gå en tur i skog og mark (go for a walk in ”forest and field” = the wilderness). In Norway, the lockdown doesn’t mean that you can’t go hiking. In a country full of øde fjell (desolate mountains), maintaining sosial avstand (social distancing) is a breeze. 🙂

• få deg en hobby (get yourself a hobby). Now is the time to learn rosemaling (traditional Norwegian flower painting), order a huge puslespill (puzzle) of your family and pets, write your exciting cosmic memoirs or test all oppskriftene (the recipes) you’ve got in your kitchen…

• se norsk TV [teh-veh] (watch Norwegian television). Streaming services have become so popular in the country that the English word was Norwegianised – strømmetjenester. Lots of popular serier (series) are being made in Norway these days, for example the short Førstegangstjenesten (First-Time [Military] Service), available here. (I’m not sure if NRK programs can be seen in every country, though. Otherwise, here’s the 2017 hit Skam with English subtitles.)

What do you do to stay healthy during lockdown? Share with the other readers in the comments section! 🙂