Written by Asher Wertheimer
There is peace in a dog yard. It’s paradoxical, but it is there. You feel it while chopping raw meat, the rickety table covered in ice and deep gouges from persistent swings of cleavers and axes. You hear it in the drowning noise of 29 dogs barking, whining, and running circles around their houses. And you see it in your breath as it instantly crystallizes, reflecting the beam of your headlamp, a necessary tool in the Arctic winter where the sun doesn’t rise.
I had always wanted to learn dog mushing–the ancient North American Inuit skill adopted by Norwegians during the 19th century age of polar exploration. And as a student at Pasvik Folk High School in Norway, chaotic, peaceful days and nights were the norm. Folk high schools (Norwegian: folkehøgskoler) offer students of all ages the chance to study unconventional subjects. There are over 80 in Norway, and they offer topics ranging from dance to Arctic survival. I chose Pasvik, one of the northernmost folk high schools, because of its location. The school is an island amidst nature, with pine forests and hiking trails available right outside my door.
In dog mushing, we were responsible for caring for our 29 huskies: feeding them twice a day, cleaning up after them, and maintaining their health. The dog yard made for interesting first Norwegian lessons. I learned the word “paw” before “foot,”; “harness” before “pants,” and “good dog” before “pleasure to meet you.” The students and teachers were very helpful, and I ended the year fluent.
As mushers, we drove a vehicle with eight sentient engines. Those engines are so full of joy, and I was honored to be able to share in this joy, even if it wasn’t always easy. In my time, I faced mud, rain, sub-zero temperatures, and winter darkness alongside students and canines. More than once, I had to run through knee-deep snow to catch a dog team and physically guide them back to the trail. I chipped a tooth after an overzealous husky launched into my jaw. And I howled alongside my 29 friends under curtains of the Aurora Borealis, so bold and green they look like the sails of some ghost ship, just above my head–just out of reach.
Pasvik brought innumerable challenges, and each one deepened my love for life there. The year changed my understanding of the world and my place in it. No matter what I do next, where I go, or who I meet, I will manifest the peace I found at Pasvik. The peace of a campfire casting shadows of humans and canines into a deep forest. The peace of setting up camp in the dark, voices of your friends drifting over from their headlamps. The peace of sleds gliding along fresh snow.
The peace of the dog yard.
Asher Wertheimer is a 2022 Warne-Eng Scholarship recipient. Asher is grateful for his year at Pasvik Folk High School, an experience made possible by the Sons of Norway Foundation. “That is the power of these scholarships” says Wertheimer, member of Sonja Henie Lodge, 5-490. To learn more about the Sons of Norway Foundation, visit https://www.sofn.com/foundation/