Why Norwegian?

Maybe I should clarify why I want to learn Norwegian instead of some other widely-used language.

My grandmother came to America from Norway when she was four years old. So it's my heritage.

It also rolls into two of my other wants - wanting to write a book and wanting to go to Norway. I've had an idea for a book for a long time but haven't really developed it very far. I enjoy reading about WWII and have been fascinated with how my not-so-distant-ancestors dealt with the German invasion of Norway. I want to spend up to a year in Oslo doing research on WWII in Norway for my book but to do this, I must speak Norwegian. There are many, many personal journals from the occupation that would be essential for my story. (Keeping a journal of any kind, even unrelated to the occupation, was punishable by death instantly. Brave people these Norwegians; defiant too!)

So in a nutshell, that's why Norwegian instead of something more useful in the greater world stage.