‘Jeg Elsker Deg’ Means ‘I Love You’
When Susan Klein-Holman, ’98, began taking Norwegian classes at UND in the fall of 1995, her goal was to connect with her heritage.
She never imagined it would lead to a new life in Norway, precisely where her great-grandfather was from.
Early in the semester, Susan was meeting a friend at Whitey’s. Her friend was late, and a classmate invited her to sit down with him and a group of Norwegians, including Carl Iver Holman, ’98, a Norwegian studying at UND through the American College of Norway study abroad program.
“Carl and I started talking about my family, my heritage, my Norwegian – all of these things I had never talked about with a guy at a bar before,” Susan said.
“You listened very closely and showed interest,” she said, turning to Carl. “The conversation was just very lovely.”
Susan immediately thought Carl was special. When the bar closed, he walked her to her car and asked if she would like his number. “I’m a feminist so I thought, ‘Wow, this is really nice!’” Susan said.
It took a few weeks for Susan to call Carl. When she did, she invited him over for dinner – boiled chicken and pasta. From there, things moved quickly.
A Norwegian Language classmate introduced Susan and Carl.
Susan, Carl and two of their three kids pictured during a trip to Grand Forks.
Both graduated from UND in 1998 and moved to Oregon, where Carl attended graduate school and Susan later earned her master’s degree. They married in 2000 in Susan’s hometown of Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
Carl’s work with the Norwegian Ministry of Education, first as a translator and then as a project manager, led to a job in Norway. The couple decided to relocate for two years.
That was 20 years ago; they have three kids, a house, and a dog.
But the transition wasn’t easy for Susan. She worked hard to learn Norwegian, often reading the newspaper aloud to Carl “so I could get my tongue rolling, and to embody the language in my mouth.”
Finding a job was challenging due to the network-based job market. Two years into Susan’s search, the couple rented their place out and purchased plane tickets back to the States.
“Then, we found out Susan was pregnant and at the same time, she got a job offer,” Carl said.
Susan’s job landed her at an architecture firm in Telemark, the very place her great-grandfather emigrated from – an unexpected journey that started with a beginner Norwegian class at UND.
