Your Heart Knows When It's Home

February 19, 2018 by Torrie Hazelwood in USA

We met across the ocean and over copious amounts of cheese and chocolate. When you find kindred spirits, you hold them close, no matter the distance or time between visits. While we spent four months together in Switzerland, traveling around Europe, and living in a sort of "Grand Budapest Hotel" situation in Croatia, our time between seeing one another steadily grew - a few months, a year, and then a couple of years. But we kept in touch. Mutually invested and following the action in each others' lives from a distance. After all, we had been together through bold fashion choices, breakups, hands getting stuck in Nutella jars, new jobs, loss, graduate school, and exciting new adventures. I hadn't seen them in four !FOUR! years and that changed this weekend. I think of home in various ways, though often not as a physical place. Rather, home is a feeling, and it's what I feel when I'm with these two. They are my heart home. Full of empathy, wit, integrity, determination, and intelligence. I feel at ease with these two gems - they make a rough time feel like it will pass and they make celebrating life's small moments feel like major accomplishments.

When friends are your heart home, it doesn't matter where you are in the world, as long as you're with them. And as for this trio, we found each other in Switzerland and haven't let go of each other since.

Maywood Pancake House, Maywood, New Jersey, USA

Ashbury Park Beach, Ashbury Park, New Jersey, USA (photo by M. Butler). (We've been asked multiple times if we are twins. We don't get it, but we're leaning in.)

Ashbury Park, New Jersey, USA (Photo by K. Marsh)

For further explorations into the dynamic world of female friendships (this is just an off-the-top-of-my-head list - there are so many more!) : Broad City (TV), Call Your Girlfriend (podcast), Another Round (podcast), Parks and Recreation (TV), Text Me When You Get Home (book), 2 Dope Queens (podcast), Ghostbusters (film), A League of Their Own (film), Summer Sisters (book), The Joy Luck Club (book), Ghost World (film), Frances Ha (film), The Secret Life of Bees (book), Grace and Frankie (Netflix), Girls Trip (film), Bridesmaids (film), Clueless (film), Waiting to Exhale (book/film), Swing Time (book), Before Everything (book), Mean Girls (film), Mystic Pizza (film), A Thousand Splendid Suns (book), Girls of Riyadh (book), Fried Green Tomatoes (book/film), The Heat (film), Beaches (book/film), Chimney Corners Camp for Girls (...a camp).

All the Fjells in Norway

June 10, 2017 by Torrie Hazelwood in Norway

It’s possible to hear the low, rhythmic rumble permeating the city at any point during the day and not unusual to see a young drummer and their mentor as they stand tucked in amongst the old white houses of Bergen. Called Buekorps, these neighborhood youth organizations are particular to Norway’s western city of Bergen and started in the 1850’s by the youth themselves. Most active during the spring and summer, and especially on 17 May, Norwegian Constitution Day, they can be heard practicing. Up until recently, the bataljoner was reserved for boys. Norway, much like other parts of Scandinavia, has the well-deserved reputation of cultivating the most gender equal societies in the world. But even Norway isn’t entirely free of a history steeped in beautiful, yet unequal, traditions. From what relatives have told me, in addition to the boys' groups, there are now drumming clubs for girls who wish to be a part of something that Bergen holds so special. The first girl buekorps formed in 1991, causing a bit of controversy, though the girl and mixed gender battalions now appear to be widely accepted. I spent a few weeks in Bergen this year, including 17 May. My Aunt, who lives nestled in one of the hills surrounding the city, pointed out the buekorps whenever we saw or heard them. She is a life-long resident of the city and is fiercely proud of this Berganese tradition - and quick to point out the girl buekorps during the 17 May parade.

Flag-bearer for a buekorps on 17 May, Bergen, Norway

My time in Bergen was also spent hiking all seven fjells (mountains) surrounding the city with friends where we experienced breathtaking sunsets on the fjord and quad burning uphills. I also popped up north to see the midnight sun in the Lofoten Islands and was stunned by the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done in my life (see Horseid Beach Hike). Friends from the USA joined me throughout my time in Norway and as I spent time with my family. From learning how to operate my Uncle’s farm equipment (spot the woman with the wild smile in the scooper thing -getting technical here-), to playing soccer with my cousin's women's league team, to slowing down each day with multiple cups of coffee, I find it hard to articulate how much my family's welcoming, loving and relaxed approach to life means to me. Until next time, Norway, jeg elsker deg.

*Trading Russ cards on 17 May, Bergen, Norway*

Midnight sun, Lofoten, Norway — *Midnight sun, Lofoten, Norway*

Roots

June 12, 2016 by Torrie Hazelwood in Travel, Norway

I've been thinking a lot about the concept of "home" recently so much so that I decided to launch a new photo/interview project for myself to explore how others conceptualize home. My curiosities around how people think about home largely stem from leading a bit of a nomadic life and yet finding myself feeling "at home" on many occasions. One of my earliest memories of this was in Norway. For those of you who know me this will come as no surprise. I am part Norwegian and have been brought up to be fiercely proud of this. My childhood home is smattered with bits of Norway - rosemaling (Norwegian folk art), hand crafted wooden goblets, fine cheese slicers, little trolls and elf creature figurines from folklore and mini viking ships. Norway felt like home even before I arrived for the first time years ago - I was familiar with food, language and customs - plus I have family there who make me feel so comfortable and welcome.

This May I traveled back to Norway with my family to see the May 17 celebrations in Oslo (Norwegian Constitution Day) - a day in which, among other things, Norwegians dress in their traditional bunad and eat copious amounts of ice cream - and to spend some quality time with family and the fjords. From bike rides to trail running to kayaking in the fjords, my love for the outdoors is undoubtedly rooted in my Norwegian blood. I draw my energy and inspiration from being outside and find that the steep cliffs shooting into the waters of the fjords and the subtle appreciation for outdoor life in Norway sits well with my soul and makes me feel, simply put, at home.

Meeting the Fam

December 20, 2015 by Torrie Hazelwood in Travel, Vietnam

I was met in Vietnam by the most friendly face. A little over a year ago I led a youth travel trip to Vietnam and worked with Yen, who is arguably one of the loveliest human beings ever. On this visit, Yen brought me back to her home town, Bien Hoa, to meet her family. Unsurprisingly, her family was warm and welcoming, despite the language barrier. That evening, I went to dinner with Yen, her twin sister, and several of their friends, stopped by a coffee shop to hear some live music (Yen had the group sing some Adele songs #hello) and hung out with her cat and kittens. The next morning we got up bright and early to play badminton and eat some pho (sidebar: I have been here for a week and have eaten pho 9 times #noregrets). Later we had lunch with her family, which was a huge treat as her family is incredibly busy getting ready for her brother's wedding that's two weeks away, before heading to the airport to go to Phu Quoc!

*Yen's family outside their home, Bien Hoa, Vietnam*