Tiddeli Bom

I've just been for a late night jog and found when I went outside that it had been snowing. As I jogged around the block, I refound my footprints in the snow, not quite fresh as they began to be buried in the still falling snow.

These fresh footprints, my own, made only minutes before, slowly fading are like a slow-motion reality. They put me in touch with the passing moment in a way no other repetition can. And the more times I run around the block, the denser the footprints become, until it seems a small army has passed.

It is a concept made famous by a bear who is known as Ole Brumm in Norwegian, and Winnie-the-Pooh in English. 'Pooh' is the noise that Winnie makes when he blows bees or snow off his nose, and 'Brumm', according to my Norwegian teacher, is the noise Norwegian bears make. Ole is a popular Norwegian name.

I know this because we were studying an Ole Brumm song today in Norwegian class. It goes like this:

Det snør, det snør, tiddeli bom.
Det er det det gjør, tiddeli bom.
Nå snor det mye mer enn før,
Tiddeli bom og huttemegtul!

Så kaldt det er, tiddeli bom.
Jeg kjenner det her, tiddeli bom.
Jeg kjenner det på mine knær,
Tiddeli bom og huttemegtul!

I'll translate:

It's snowing, it's snowing, tiddeli bom.
That's what it does, tiddeli boom.
Now it's snowing a lot more than before,
Tiddeli bom and it's so cold!

So cold it is, tiddeli bom.
I know it here, tiddeli bom.
I know it through my knees,
Tiddeli bom and it's so cold!

Pursuing the winter theme, we also learnt about the seasons today in language class. Here is what the books says about winter in Norway:

"Noen sier: Vi har bare to årstider i Norge - en hvit vinter og en grønn vinter!"

Which translated means:

"Some say: We have only two seasons in Norway - a white winter and a green winter!"