whiskers on kittens

When I last had this much time dedicated to thinking I was missing both of my front teeth. Tea with friends, church, cooking at Zarepta; all occasions in which I do not have a lot to say, and where I only understand the bits of the conversation referring to numbers, days of the week, and the phrase, “How much?” Thus I spend my time making mental lists. “The Best Moments of my Life,” (broken down by type) and “How to get into University of Virginia Law,” may never make the blog. But I am pleased to share, “My Favorite Things About the Faroe Islands,” an ever-shifting and expanding list.

• It is very common as a houseguest to be served coffee in Stelton vacuum jugs. The Faroese have a delicate grasp on the balance of style + quality + usefulness + simplicity.
• “Overhead lighting” is a dirty word, and I rejoice to see that dim pendant lamps, track lighting and candlelight illuminate homes here. Fluorescents be damned.
• Most electric cables and phone lines are buried, freeing the gorgeous landscape from their spindly web.
• There are no satellite dishes on houses. All of the television programming is broadcast through Tórshavn to computer chips inside a small machine in each home. It turns out that there are places in the world that have decided technology does not have to be ugly.
• The Faroese national elections are expected to take place within the next two months, but no campaigning has begun yet. A cousin told me the slow pace is partially because political positions are not highly desired here. Lose the huge budgets, unrealistic expectations and desire for personal power plaguing America, and you are left with politics functioning at their best.
• Adult women wear flat shoes, well-cut slacks, lots of layers of clothing, tall boots, scarves, and have really great short hairstyles. I have come home.
• Everyone here is an artist, but formal training is rare. My aunt said, “We grow up but forget to quit drawing.” As a result homes are full of original art (watercolor, oil, pencil, multimedia, etc). They are not always beautiful, but they have immeasurably more depth than a poster of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” in a Hobby Lobby frame.
• The cost of car insurance is based on the weight of the vehicle. This encourages people to own light and efficient cars.
• Music is the soul of the Faroes. People whistle while they work, play instruments beautifully with no training, and the church congregation sings in four-part harmony.
• Any time you visit someone’s home, they drop what they are doing, produce cheese, biscuits, cake and tea and sit down to visit with you. This is sometimes done two or three times a day. This can be a little hard for me because I am not used to this flow of company in my home, but I believe it is a function of a healthy community. Relationships form the basis of entertainment and diversion.
• The towns are dotted with houses painted black, red, green, yellow, grey, white, blue and brown. Quick! someone tell the subdivision developers in Northern Colorado that houses can be painted more colors than just white, off-white, and light gray.

-a