Living in Whoville II

I have time for two posts today since there's no class here this afternoon; all the students are all out collecting money for Kirkens Bymisjon, the state church's urban outreach program to Norway's poor or drug- or alcohol-addicted populace.
This is a very Norwegian thing to do. We had a day off earlier this year when the kids were out with cups collecting for schools in Nepal. Norway leads the world in foreign aid budget per capita by a factor of two and also comes in first in private charitable donations to developing countries. The public aid budget here is eight times the US foreign aid budget, and Norwegians give five times as much as Americans privately to help third world nations. It's part of a longstanding and honored cultural tradition to help one's "poor brothers."
Our health club is also raising money for Kirkens Bymisjon as Christmas approaches and will be charging a 100 kroner ($15) donation for each of the spinning and aerobics classes scheduled for Saturday. I don't know about this. Inki will be in London this weekend shopping with girlfriends, so I'm on my own and will have plenty of time to use the gym Saturday. It's just that the flyers tell us that Kirkens Bymisjon is dedicated to working to make sure everyone is treated with respect and dignity, and I don't think that's something I can support.