Cortina, Sandefjord, Norway
Girl from the suburbs of Chicago, USA… living in Norway! This lovely, wild and open-minded woman has had a super-interesting road to Europe. She has hitchhiked the whole Europe and worked in a fish factory before she met her ”own Viking” and settled down.
Now an important part of her life is being the parent to a child with special needs. This story you just can´t miss!
Meet Cortina, 44, born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, in the USA, but today her family and she have made Norway their permanent home. They live in Sandefjord in Southern Norway.
Cortina was an exchange student in Hauho, Finland after high school. But how on earth she ever came from Chicago to Finland? Finland was the only option or else she’d have to wait another year! She had to get the world map out because she didn’t even know where Finland was!
She returned home to begin college but went back to Finland the following summer. She had met a friend, Sylvia, and they had plans. They wanted to save money to travel and start a language school in Mexico. Sylvia suggested working in the fish factories in Norway. The wages were really good! So, they hitchhiked up to Northern Norway and ended up in the town where her husband is from. They met in Båtsfjord, Norway.
Cortina has been married to the same wonderful guy for 24 years. A fun fact about them is that they only knew each other for 3 weeks before they got married! Literally a love at first sight. They have lovely 3 sons aged 15 (Phoenix), 13 (Rio), and 11 (Tiago).
For living Cortina teaches 3rd grade at their local international school. She remembers how Sylvia and she tried to start their own school in Mexico 20+ years ago. Sometimes when she arrives at school in the morning, she just chuckles to herself; life has come full circle.
”I have met Mirka numerous times on my trips to Pori, Finland, with our mutual friend, Sylvia. Mirka and Sylvia have been friends since primary school. They were part of a solid group of friends that Sylvia always met up with when she was home in Pori. I joined them too! The girls were always warm and friendly towards me. And we always dressed up and went out on the town.
Though Sylvia and I live in neighboring countries, we don’t keep in touch or visit as much as one might think. Still, she is the reason I ended up in Norway, the reason I met my husband. Sylvia and I were both students at an international school in Finland. At the end of the semester we were supposed to go to a city on the west coast to paint a sailboat that was going on a peace mission. We didn’t have money for the bus, so we decided we’d hitchhike there. We were having so much fun that at one point while we were in the backseat of a car one of us said out loud, “We should hitchhike around Europe!” A few weeks, after school was out, we found ourselves hitchhiking around central Europe. We of course have a million memories from our travels. There were many moments of being with strange people in strange cars in strange lands. Those experiences bound us together. We used to even say we shared a brain. We knew what each other was thinking whether we were in the same room or across the ocean from each other. Whenever we meet, no matter how long it has been, we easily pick up where we left off last time. We laugh, we look at old pictures, we talk for hours, we indulge in delicious food and drink. I think we’ll travel again someday. We always said we wanted to experience Spain together, but Mexico will always have our hearts.”
Mirka continues: “I remember when I first met Cortina. She was so cool and funny, refreshing breeze to the small town. Always full of life and laughter. We had such a good time, partying in Pori´s nightlife. There are also several photos of those party nights as evidence. 😉 And what was funny, she loved Hesburger´s (i.e. Finnish fast food chain) garlic mayonnaise and she could order and eat just only that!!”.
EVERYDAY LIFE
Cortina’s normal Tuesday starts with morning rush. Everyone must get out of the house on time and the whole day is full of work. At dinner time she catches up what has the rest of the family done during the day and she probably takes a walk around the pond. At the end of the day she hopefully has a story time with the kids (even if they´re big now) and then some work to prep for the next day.
Best thing in everyday life is that Cortina feels she´s best when she wakes up early and gets in her top 2: some quiet time reading Bible and workout. Worst would be if there are not enough sleep or stay up late eating junk food and working. Stressful thing for her is staying on top of social media!
Reading the Bible calms her and helps her to re-focus on what´s important and being with people and being out in the nature gives her energy! What comes to treating herself, Cortina says:” Treating myself is cuddling up with a good book and not feeling guilty about it!”
DREAMS & FEARS, PAST & FUTURE
What are your dreams?
“I dream about my son with Down Syndrome having a real friend.”
What is your worst fear?
“My biggest fear is that I would die before my child with Down Syndrome does. I would worry about whether or not someone could care for him as well as me!”
Where would you donate your time/money to?
“I grew up in a Christian culture that values serving others, as Jesus modeled. That means I have packed seeds that were sent to poor farmers in Africa, fed homeless people on the streets of Chicago, raised money for and spent time with victims of sex trafficking, and donated many hours to teach immigrants English- to name a few. It’s really hard to choose just one cause! Especially when there is so much need in the world. And helping others is complicated- like when you help pay for someone to get an education and then they drop out! Still, those organizations that DO NOT give up on that person, the one who dropped out, are worth supporting- the ones that are committed to long-term assistance despite the complexities and trials that come along with it. “
Has the position of girls/women changed during your lifetime?
“When I look around, it seems that the position of women in world has improved. Women can be anything and do anything- even lead a country! There are currently 21 female heads of state. And the data concurs, female leaders have handled the COVID crisis better than their male counterparts. However, a recent UN report estimates that 29 million women and girls are still enslaved- victims of sexual exploitation, forced marriages and forced labor. The number is appalling. So, while in my part of the world women experience more and more equality and opportunity, it seems that globally things have not changed.”
If you could, what advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
“Seek first the kingdom of God!”
Where will you be in 10 years?
“Being financially sound, having good relationships with my adult children, having the financial freedom to help others.”
What would you say to a woman of your age who lives across the world?
“Go to school! Stay in school!”
And what about Christmas traditions? ”My husband does not believe in celebrating Christmas so we don’t have any traditions. Still, I cannot help but be swept up in the spirit of the season - the spirit of giving and the music. I always bake and decorate sugar cookies to give away, I buy gifts for my friends and family, I have my favorite songs and hymns playing in my headphones, and I take the time to appreciate the Light in the darkness.”*
**
As originally from Chicago, Cortina wants to share a poem which means a lot to her. She also appreciates its themes of grit, pride, and hope despite the hardship.
Chicago
By Carl Sandburg
Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
They tell me you are wicked, and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked, and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal, and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
STORY
”An important part of my life is being the parent to a child with special needs. Our oldest child was born with Down Syndrome. We did not know until he was born, but our hospital did such a good job handling the situation. They did not tell us that they suspected DS until we had spent a number of hours with him. They wanted us to fall in love with him as our child first, not a diagnosis. Everyone around was so positive and that helped us handle the situation better. Now, as we look back on those days, we would take back all the fear and disappointment we felt. Our son enriches our lives and our family daily. Individuals with DS have an extra chromosome and there is a cliché that the extra chromosome is a love chromosome, because they are so loving. I have to admit, in our case, the cliché proves to be true. Our son wakes up happy and smiling every morning. He gives us tons of hugs and kisses and he is quick to forgive. Life is sometimes more work because of his diagnosis, but life without it would be much worse. It would mean less laughter and less joy.”
QUICK ONES
Drink: water
Favorite food: sweet potatoes
Delicacy: Mexican street tacos
Restaurant/Café: El Molino’s
Spice: saffron
Feeling: content
Music: anything with thought-provoking lyrics
Scent: citrus
Travel destination: Mexico
Book: Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
Movie: Cinema Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore
Favorite public holiday: 4th of July
Artist/band: John Mark McMillian
Plant: orchids
Evening routine: sex
Favorite piece of clothing: a hoodie
Animal: a cozy cat
Scenery: the ocean
Sport: tennis
Motto: Be kind. Work hard.