Thanks to all who voted for the top five stories in our calendar giveaway. The votes have now been counted and the winner, with 8 out of 16 votes, is:Kari Sheppard! Congratulations! For the victory lap, here is Kari’s story again:

During the 1982-83 school year, my family hosted a Norwegian exchange student. He spent the whole school year with us and became part of the family. He very much enjoyed the Florida sunshine and would go swimming in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico all the time.

Arne’s English was very good and he had very little trouble communicating. However, one day while he was at the local beach, swimming in the deeper water near the end of the pier he spotted some sharks. He quickly headed towards shore to warn the families and young children splashing in the surf. As he swam by he kept yelling to everyone “Hai! Hai!” And he couldn’t understand why everyone just smiled and waved to him responding with “Hi!” No one seemed to be worried to get out of the water.
It wasn’t until he returned home and was telling the story that he realized he was not saying “Shark!” in English, but rather “Hai!” in Norwegian.

In second place, with 7 votes, was Andy with his ‘Aquavit anecdote’, and in third with one vote is Terri Sheahan with her ‘Code crackup’. Thanks to everyone for sharing your funny stories.

We hope you enjoy your calendar, Kari!