God Bless the Norwegian Gangsters

A couple years ago, I was browsing Netflix, aka my boyfriend, looking for something interesting to occupy my time and I stumbled across this show.

No, it was more than a show. It was an experience.

Lilyhammer was it's name.

It's a Netflix original show about a gangster who provides information to the authorities in exchange for being put into the witness protection program. The catch? He wants them to send him to Lillehammer, Norway, a town with which he's been a little obsessed since the Olympics took place there in 1994.

I am a great lover of the quirky and unusual. There was this guy on campus back in college who wore these glasses with enormously thick lenses and drove this adult sized tricycle everywhere. I loved him. Whenever my non-friend Logan and I would eat lunch at the Union, we'd sit by the windows and people watch whilst ironing out the details of our future world domination. And Trike man was one of my faves.

Then there's my kitchen chairs. I was in a second-hand/antique shop (my favorite kind of shop) in Odessa, NE one day when I spotted them. They were rounded in all the best places and upholstered with this insane bright turquoise vinyl-type stuff. So I got them, because I need that kind of thing in my life. Like a fish needs water, I need weird stuff. It makes my world go round.

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So natch, Lilyhammer and I were a perfect fit. Frank Tagliano/Johnny Henriksen earned a spot in my heart. But the best part of this show, is the fact that it's bi-lingual. Frank/Johnny understands Norwegian, but doesn't often speak it. The Norwegians all understand English, but rarely speak it. So this rag-tag band of Norwegian gangsters (because you didn't actually think Frank would change his proverbial spots, did you?) engage in banter while I read the subtitles and laugh.

Why?

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Because, as it turns out, and exactly like you would probably suspect, the juxtaposition of Norwegian "Lovey dovey touchy feely" culture and the badass "we run this town/laws are for chumps" attitude makes for great entertainment.

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Also as a bonus, I can now speak Norwenglish. Sort of.

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