Blog

Norway has been trending again lately.

World politics have a funny way of doing that. When global headlines turn loud, people start looking north, for calm, clarity, and countries that quietly get things right. Enter Norway. And if you follow that compass just a little further north than Oslo or Bergen, you’ll find Trondheim — a city that doesn’t shout for attention, but absolutely deserves it.

Welcome to Trondheim. Set in the heart of Trøndelag, a central Norwegian region shaped by Viking...

I’ve started collecting moments.

Not the grand, cinematic ones not the fireworks, not the life-changing epiphanies people like to quote at dinner parties. No. I’m talking about the quiet revolutions. The soft, nearly invisible threads that hold a day together when everything feels like it’s falling apart. Like the morning I woke already tired, already aching, already unsure how to be a person in this world without breaking in half. And then out of nowhere a stranger reached me an umbrella....

You may have thought my voyage into the wild, mysterious, linguistic landscape of Trøndelag was finsihed? That I had collected the last odd expression and documented the final "Hæh", and neatly bottled the essense of Trøndersk philosophy for eternity. Sorry...

Think again!

After The Trønders came out, something rather wonderful happened. The Trønders themselves started writing to me. With more words, more expressions and more stories. "Du glømt jo han"....."Å ka med ho da?"

Apparently I managed...

Ideen til dette kurset har vokst frem gjennom egne erfaringer, faglig praksis og mange år med dyp lytting. Jeg har bodd i flere land og jobbet tett med mennesker som har flyttet mellom kulturer og må finne fotfeste i nye systemer og samfunn. Som tolk har jeg lært å lytte ikke bare etter språk, men etter mening, etter identitet, tilhørighet og det som ofte forblir usagt.

Parallelt med dette har jeg utviklet prosjekter og undervist i kurs innen psykisk helse, samt kunst- og designbaserte...

I am a self-proclaimed linguist.

By which I mean. No one officially proclaimed me anything, and linguistics itself may wish to file a formal complaint.

I did, at one point, very seriously consider continuing my studies with a Master’s degree in linguistics. I imagined myself surrounded by heavy books on syntax, nodding thoughtfully at sentences like “Well, of course the morphosyntactic alignment…” and feeling intellectually superior at dinner parties. The dream was alive. Briefly.

Then the...

Today, I’m celebrating myself.
Patting my own shoulder with a glass of champagne, because yes, I absolutely deserve it.

I did it.

Over the past two and a half years, I have restructured three different businesses. (You question why? Yes, well, that is a longer story for another time.) I changed financial systems, switched accounting programs, rebuilt the entire financial frameworks from the ground up. After countless advisor meetings, and working day and night, I actually did it.

I should be...

I am tired of Presumptuous People. So this year, I say no.

With a new year comes reflection. Not the glossy, perfect kind, but the honest, sometimes uncomfortable kind. The kind that makes you look at patterns you’ve repeated and mistakes you’re no longer willing to make.

Last year, once again, I did something I have done too many times before: I was too kind, too giving, too ready to help. I offered support, guidance, and care, and in return, I was fed to the wolves, so to speak. I am tired of...

Every creative project has its own tide, its own pull, its own rhythm. Oceans of Hope began as a small idea of how to bring awareness. An artistic and poetic response to a global crisis that affects us all. What started as an art and poetry collaboration about marine litter slowly grew into something larger, deeper, and far more urgent.

Oceans of Hope is my sincere attempt to capture the wonder, melancholy, devastation, and, yes - hope that surround the issue of ocean pollution. Through both...

Altså… for en reise det har vært å gi ut min aller første sakprosabok!

Ja, jeg har skrevet mye opp gjennom årene. For magasiner, aviser, poesiantologier, litterære magasiner, men jeg hadde faktisk aldri gitt ut en faktisk bok før nå. Kun poesi tidligere. Så dette har vært en bratt (og ganske brutal) læringskurve, men også utrolig moro.

Spesielt når så mange av dere faktisk har kjøpt boken, lest den, ledd av den, humret av den, og delt den. Tusen, tusen millioner takk. Jeg mener det.

Boken ble...

What a ride it has been writing about Trønderisms!

Discovering the words, expressions, and wonderfully curious language and attitudes of the Trønders — and sharing it all with you has been such a joy.

Since finishing the book, I’ve discovered even more phrases and expressions (believe it or not!). It seems there’s truly no end to the charm of Trønderland and to the creativity of its people.

This year, I’ve searched Norway high and low and stumbled upon so many new dialect books. Treasures that...

In a world that demands clarity and specialization, I have always resisted definition. Between science and art, language and design, I have learned that curiosity is not confusion. It’s connection.

I have never been able to settle for just one thing. From a very young age, I was endlessly inquisitive. Thirsting for knowledge, fascinated by ideas, languages, cultures, and the mysteries of both science and art. Perhaps that explains why I have studied so widely and worked in so many different...

Yes friends, this is me and my peculiar accomplishments!

I have spent years observing, laughing with, and (let’s be honest) sometimes scratching my head at the people of Mid-Norway: The Trønders.

Their accent is as charming as it is impossible to fully decipher, their traditions delightfully odd, and their everyday quirks endlessly fascinating. And me? I’ve been writing about them in various forms and versions: essays, little books, even a blog (because really, there can never be enough info...

(Photo taken from Adresseavisen, August 28.)

Move over, students. Trondheim has a new scholar in town. Meet Kent Ranum, the mayor who decided that running a city wasn’t quite enough mental stimulation. So, he’s taking a three-month leave to join a prestigious study program.

Do not worry though. We can afford it.

Here’s the fun part: the program is completely free. Norway’s public higher education doesn’t charge a thing. The only cost? His own board and room. And for a man who earns way more...

(Apologies in advance – this post is in Norwegian and relates to the upcoming election.)

Velkommen til Trøndelag. Ett fylke, mange meninger og enda flere dialekter. Selv om Nord- og Sør-Trøndelag ble slått sammen i 2018, er det fortsatt like stor forskjell på nordtrønderen og sørtrønderen som det er mellom sodd og fårikål. (For ordens skyld: sodd er trøndernes stolthet, fårikål får bare være hele Norges nasjonalrett.) Trønderriket er altså langt fra ensartet. Men nå er det valg, og plutselig...

Let’s be honest. When you live in Trøndelag, you don’t pack for summer with the same blind optimism as your southern counterparts. You know better. You've learned to keep a raincoat in the same drawer as your bathing suit, just in case. Because here, summer is often a fleeting whisper, a two-day miracle sandwiched between sleet and mild despair.

But this year?

This year, the summer gods gave us a plot twist.

2025 delivered a Trønder summer so hot it made history, and possibly a few people faint....

Ja, det er smittsomt. Nei, det finnes ingen vaksine. Og ja, jeg fant opp ordet selv.

Trønderisme: substantiv (uttales: Trøhn-der-isme)

En mystisk tilstand kjennetegnet av en urokkelig kjærlighet for ullsokker, en dialekt tykkere enn en god sodd, og en merkelig evne til å si “æ e klar” mens man på ingen måte, overhodet, er klar.

La oss bryte det ned.

Du vet at du har med Trønderisme å gjøre når du går inn i et rom og noen grynter “mhm”, “mmmm” eller “hmmmm” i fem forskjellige tonefall som på...

Workshops & Talks

Exploring Identity & Cultural Belonging

Do you want to understand the layered experience of being from everywhere and nowhere at once?

Welcome! I offer workshops and talks that explore the complexities of Norwegian culture, cultural diversity, and third culture identity, all through a personal, poetic, and often humorous lens.

Topics I cover:

Norway with Nuance

A deep-dive into the quirks, contradictions, and quiet beauty of Norwegian culture from "dugnad" and dialects to...

Trønderen - En løssluppen guide om Trondhiem, Trønderland og trøndere.

"Æ e klar," sier trønderen. Men betyr det egentlig det?
Dette er ikke bare ei bok – det er et kjærlighetsbrev og en skråblikk-guide til et folk og et språk som har forvirra meg hele livet… og som jeg likevel kalle hjem.

Å skrive The Trønders, ei bok, et eventyr og et skråblikk tilbake til røttene mine.

Noen bøker skriver man fordi man må. Ikke fordi man nødvendigvis vet hvordan, men fordi man går rundt med ei uro, en latter...

Yes, it’s contagious. No, there’s no vaccine. And yes, I invented the word.

Trønderism: noun (Trøhn-der-izm)

A mysterious condition marked by an unshakable love for wool socks, an accent thicker than a ‘sodd’ stew, and the uncanny ability to say “æ e klar” while being absolutely, 100%, not ready.

Let’s break it down.

You know you’re dealing with Trønderism when you enter a room and someone grunts “mhm” or “mmmm” or “hmmmm” in five different intonations, all of which somehow mean “hello,” “how are...

It’s a strange thing, to belong to a place and still feel like a guest in your own language. I’ve given it time. Given it space. Given it wool, windproof layers, and cautiously optimistic smiles. And still, the recognition, the resonance, the yes we see you!—it always seems to arrive from somewhere else.

Abroad, they get me. They always have. The doors open. The ideas flow. The conversations spark and crackle with curiosity. It’s where my work is seen, heard, and held. It’s where I feel most...