Page 54 of The Secret to Belonging

you have never been so aware of your feet

you like the rhythm of the week

morning hikes up the hill to school

then weaving, painting, art history

smoking breaks in the kafena

(you learn to roll cigarettes for your friends

but you never master their speed or skill)

you love the daily gossip from loom to loom

Wenche’s kids keep acting up

Vibeke has a new boyfriend

Margrethe has a shitty landlord, fy faen!

(swear words expand your vocabulary daily)

at lunch everyone knits and smokes and talks

you learn new colloquialisms

your classmates are happy to teach you

(fluency requires nuance

communication is a collaborative act)

afternoons are weaving theory and electives

woodworking, felting, ceramics

after school you’re tutored in Norwegian by Marit

who teaches English and lived in the States

you start to notice occasional grammar mistakes

among your classmates’ speech

you feel privately proud of your comprehension

you complete your first table runner

everyone celebrates when you cut it out of the loom

you contemplate sending it home

as a gift to your parents

nei

you give it to Elinor