these days four

4 monday

On How the Vikings Did It

It was our last day of work before our two days of break. We were freed from work at 15:30. Kelsey, Selina and I grabbed pisco sours from Peru, a few steps away from the United States. A pisco sour is some sort of Peruvian alcohol (pisco) mixed with egg whites into sort of a frothy mess with some suspect looking red powder sprinkled on top. It tasted like vitamins. Hank, Kelsey and I wandered into Norway, a glorious, beautiful structure that looks like stretched tarp, angled awnings, a ship. It is the only pavilion constructed entirely of wood. An affable boy, born in China but raised in Norway, ambled over to us. He proffered Snus, a sort of chewing tobacco in a little packet that my Norwegian friends all indulged in while I was abroad. I decided to authenticate my Norwegian experience by trying the infamous snus, sticking the packet under my upper lip in a very unattractive fashion. This resulted in my general inability to speak while in the Norwegian Pavilion, since attempting to do so would cause the snus to slip out and become potentially projectile. The more seasoned Norwegian snusers obviously have learned to somehow clutch onto the packet with their upper lips. I opted to just stay quiet for the most part. The juices made my mouth numb and my head dizzy. It all felt really Norwegian.

The Norway Pavilion is wonderfully serene inside - all windows and streaming with natural light and the smell of roasting Norwegian fish from the restaurant, which is supposed to be one of the best eats at Expo. I felt at ease and welcome to wander and read the displays. You can drink water from a water filtration system on display; it will be donated to India post-expo. Whereas many pavilions focus on modernization, the Norway Pavilion is based on the concept of nature in Norway, and how it provides a better life. There were binoculars with small 3-D movies inside and some pictures of polar bears. On my way out, I de-snused.

Afterwards we convened outside of Belgium for waffles and beer. The waffles were expensive - 40 kuai ($5.99) for a few bites - but it was so incredibly delicious (at least 40% butter) that I predict further waffling in my future. Hoegaarden (35 kuai, $5.24) washed down the waffle in a very indulgent affair (almost a delicious half of my daily income).