Crossed Paths

My little brother has traveled to Stavanger many times. He made his living as a private consultant expert on the control of sand in oil wells. He did all right. During the years when we were both trekking across the globe our paths crossed only once and only by coincidence in Singapore. Stavanger is at the center of the Norwegian oil business. They export their oil to the UK.

The Norwegians specialize in open face sandwiches. They slather great gobs of butter or cream cheese on bread. How do they keep from getting fat? By drinking lots of beer, of course.

Going to the movies in Stavanger. Top Gun with Tom Cruise. Every seat in the house was filled with mostly youths in their mocedades. English subtitles were shown across the bottom of the screen. When one of the actors would say something funny, the audience would roar immediately. They had no need for English subtitles. They all learned their English in school from the first grade on. And they were saturated with American culture for good or for bad.