To paradise - but Norway is best
           

Aggi Svindland tells us about her stay in America

Silje Svindland from Kvinesdal Junior High School interviewed Aggi Svindland, her grandmother:

Aggi went to America in April 1954. She left with the boat Stavangerfjord from Stavanger bound for Manhattan in New York, a voyage of ten days. When they arrived in New York they drove to Brooklyn. She spent a few days there staying with her aunt and uncle until she got a job as a housemaid with a Jewish family in Brooklyn.


Aggi photographed in the home of the family where she worked as a housemaid


When Aggi arrived in America she felt she had come to paradise compared with Norway. At that time America was a more developed country: they had tunnels, TV, and a wider choice of items such as food, candy, etc. And they didn’t have to work for such a long time as in Norway to be able to afford various things.

Aggi returned to Norway in August 1956. Her uncle in Chicago said she should go back to her mother in Norway instead of finding a new job (she was out of work at the time). She could always come back to them in Chicago to find work later – but things turned out differently. In Norway she met Kåre Svindland, who she is now married to, and they have lived together since then.

Aggi came home on the Oslofjord from New York to Kristiansand. She brought lots of clothes home with her and also some small items such as tablecloths and sheets. Aggi looks back on her stay in America as positive, but feels that it was also very good to come back home to her family and friends. One of the things she is most pleased about today is that she learned English (English was not taught in school at that time). Aggi says that her stay in America was a very good period for her, but she is happiest in Norway. 

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