Valentinsdag

Posted by Kari
Feb
7
2010

Although Vanlentinsdag is not widely recognized in Norway as an important Hallmark holiday as it is here in the United States, there is certainly nothing wrong with planning a fun day with your lover or exchanging gaver, norsk eller ikke (Norwegian or not).  I have always thought that Valentinsdag was a pretty ridiculous helligdag (holiday) that most people take way too far.  You know those girls that expect roser, sjokolade, og diamanter (roses, chocolate, and diamonds)…I specifically request not to receive any of these things. 

I would much rather plan noe morsomt å gjøre sammen (something fun to do together) than receive stereotypical gifts.  The following is a list of aktiviteter that I would love to do with my kjære (honey, dear) on Valentinsdag:

-Lag middag sammen.  Make dinner together.

-Spis på en spesiell restaurant.  Eat at a special restaurant.

-Gå på tur i skogen.  Go on a walk in the woods.

-Bli hjemme og se på filmer.  Stay home and watch movies.

-Drikk vin og spis dessert.  Drink wine and eat dessert.

-Bak noe søt.  Bake something sweet.

-Dra på museum.  Go to a museum.

-Gå på kino.  Go to the movies.

There are certainly many more aktiviteter that would be enjoyable to do with your lover på Valentinsdag, but I thought I would share a few ideas in case you couldn’t think of any.

Kjæresten min og jeg, vi skal ut på en brasiliensk restaurant på Valentinsdag.  My boyfriend and I, we are going out to a Brazilian restaurant on Valentine’s Day.

Hva skal dere gjøre?  What will you do?

Hvis jeg var singel, skulle jeg være med venner!  If I was single, I’d be with my friends! 

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Flink med båter

Posted by Kari
Feb
5
2010

Clever with boats.  Before Columbus’ time, Norwegians bygde og seilte (built and sailed) the fastest, most maneuverable boats of the Viking and Early Middle Ages.  It is no surprise, really, when one considers the sparce arable land and great åpent hav (open sea) that the Norwegians would become sophisticated seafarers-they simply had to make do with the resources provided to them.  With an abundance of tømmer (lumber), it was no problem to find materials to build these incredible båter.  Offshore fishing soon turned into distant voyages that required excellent håndverk (craftsmanship). 

Vikingskipene (the Viking ships) were lange (long), trange (narrow), bygd av tre (wooden), og hadde to forstavner (and had two prows), en på baugen (one at the bow) og en på akerstavn (and one at the stern).  Forstavnene were often carved into shapes such as et drakehode (a dragon head) eller hodet til et annet dyr (or the head of another animal).  Accordingly, skipene had names that reflected the shape of forstavnene, such as ”Snake of the Sea” or ”Dragon Fire.” 

The body of the boats were of course made of ved, but more importantly they were clinker-built, meaning plankene (the planks) overlapped each other.  Not only did this provide exceptional holdbarhet (durability) and styrke (strength), but sauull (sheep’s wool) dipped in tjære (tar) was used to fill in the gaps mellom plankene (between the planks) to make the boats regnfrakk (waterproof)-flink igjen.  Several other features that made these boats magnificent included kjølen (the keel) that allowed the boats to cut through the water quickly and provided stabilitet (stability) in rough weather.  In clear weather with ingen vind (no wind), årene (the oars) were used to move the boats. 

Nordmenn var veldig flinke med båter, ikke sant?

 
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norske skikker

Posted by Kari
Feb
3
2010

Norwegian customs.  You may wonder if nordmenn have specific skikker with regards to å møte og hilse folk (meeting and greeting people), å gi gaver (to give gifts), og å spise (and to eat).  Når man treffer noen (When one meets someone), it is customary å stå (stand), håndhilse (shake hands) og presentere seg selv (present one’s self).  Av og til (From time to time) bruker man formelle titler (one uses formal titles) som Herr eller Fru (Mr. or Mrs.), men for det meste (but for the most part), bruker man bare fornavn (one just uses first name).  Det er også viktig å smile og ha direkte øyekontakt (It is also important to smile and have direct eye contact).  I must be Norwegian because I am very bothered by lack of øyekontakt.  Det er vanlig å håndhilse enten man kommer eller drar (It is common to shake hands whether one comes or goes).

Although I have often seen gjester (guests) ta med en gave til verten\vertinnen (bring a gift for the host\hostess), det er nesten forventet (it is almost expected) å gjøre sånn (to do such) i Norge.  Det er vanlig å gi blomstrer, sjokolade, vin, ost, eller sprit (It is common to bring flowers, chocolate, wine, cheese, or spirits) for å vise takknemlighet (appreciation) for verten\vertinnen.  Det er også fint å sende blomstrer til huset tidlig på morgenen før festen begynner (It is also nice to send flowers to the house early on the morning before the party begins).  Husk på (Remember to) stay away from nelliker (carnations), liljer (lillies) eller hvite blomstrer (or white flowers)-disse er til begravelser (these are for funerals).  En husplante er en fin gave (A house plant is a nice gift), spesielt om vinteren (especially in the winter). 

And now, what you’ve all been waiting for, dining etiquette!  One generally får en muntlig invitasjon (receives an oral invitation) til en middagsfest (dinner party).  One should confirm the dress code with verten\vertinnen.  Unlike latinske kulturer (Latin cultures), nordmenn er punktlig (punctual).  Gjester burde tilby hjelp før og etter måltidet spises (Guests should offer help before and after the meal is eaten).  Nordmenn snakker ikke mye om arbeid på personlige eller familie samlinger (Norwegians don’t talk a lot about work at personal or family gatherings-de liker å holde de to atskilte (they like to hold the two separate).Ikke begynn å spise før verten\vertinnen (Don’t begin to eat before the host\hostess.  Hold gaffelen i venstre hånden og kniven i høyre hånden (Hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right hand).  Det er vanlig for verten\vertinnen å gi en skål (It is common for the host\hostess to give a toast)-man skåler med alkohol, men ikke øl (one toasts with alcohol, but not beer).

Last but not least, gjengjeld invitasjonen (return the invitation)!

 
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Dialog

Posted by Kari
Jan
31
2010

I haven’t written a dialog in a while and they are always hjelpsom (helpful) when one is learning et annet språk (another language).  I’m going to use a simple dialog that I actually just had with my boyfriend after we both woke up.

God morgen.  Hvordan har du det?  Good morning.  How are you?

God morgen.  Det går bra, men jeg sov ikke så godt.  Hva med deg?  Good morning.  I’m fine, but I didn’t sleep very well.

Hvorfor det?  Er det noe som bryr deg?  Why so?  Is there something that’s bothering you?

Nei, jeg tror kroppen har bare blitt vant til å stå opp tidlig hver dag.  No, I think my body has just become used to waking up early every day.

Ja, det stemmer.  Vil du ha kaffe?  Yeah, that makes sense.  Would you like coffee?

Ja, takk.  Har vi fått avisen ennå?  Yes, please.  Have we gotten the paper yet?

Ja, vær så god.  Det er en artikkel om banken som du jobber på i avisen.  Yes, here you go.  There is an article about the bank you work at in the paper. 

Ok.  Hva syntes du om filmen i går kveld?  Ok.  What did you think of the movie last night?

Ja, jeg syntes det var en god film, men den religiøse stemningen var litt for sterk.  Yeah, I thought is was a good movie, but the religious tone was a little too strong.

Ja, det er jeg enig i.  Men stort sett, likte jeg det.  Yes, I agree with that.  But overall, I liked it.

Hva vil du gjøre i dag?  Det er for kaldt for å være ute.  What do you want to do today?  It’s too cold to be outside.

Ja, ikke sant.  Jeg vil til byen for å se om jeg kan finne en gave til pappa sin bursdag.  Yeah, no kidding.  I want to go to town to see if I can find a gift for dad’s birthday.

Jeg nesten glemte at det er snart.  Hvor skal vi feire den?  I almost forgot that was soon.  Where are we going to celebrate?

Jeg tror vi skal ut på restaurant.  Jeg skal kjøpe noe som han kan bruke til sykkelturer.  I think we are going out to eat.  I’m going to buy something he can use for bike rides. 

Perfekt.  Skal vi dra nå da?  Perfect.  Should we go now, then?

Ja, etter jeg blir ferdig med kaffe.  Yes, after I am done with coffee.

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I hope these are hjelpsom.  I always liked å lese og høre på (to read and hear) dialogs when I was learning norsk.

 
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en drosje i Norge

Posted by Kari
Jan
26
2010

a taxi in Norway.  I have taken en drosje several times in Norway and I can only say good things.  Every drosje I rode in was clean and comfortable, and driven by very friendly immigrants.  Not that every drosjesjåfør (taxi driver) in Norway is an immigrant, but certainly the majority are.  I enjoyed talking with them and asking them about their historier (stories) about how they came to Norway and where they came from.  Again, I will say that although det er veldig dyrt (it is very expensive) å ta en drosje (to take a taxi) in Norway, I had great experiences with drosjer.

Either I was lucky with the drosjer I took or the drosje environment has changed since I lived in Norway 4 years ago.  I say this because of an article in Aftenposten online today:  Oslo får taxipoliti (Oslo gets taxi police).  My first thought was, hva (what)??  Ja, there is going to be an organization that monitors drosjer og drosjesjåfører.  Hvorfor (why), you might ask?  Based on the new regler (rules) that are about to be enforced, passasjerer (passengers) have had complaints in several different areas.  The following is the list of expectations for drosjer (taken directly from the Aftenposten website):

* Sjåførkurs som avsluttes med skriftlig eksamen i regi av kommunen.  Chauffeur course that concludes with a written exam produced by the municipality.

* Forbud mot å snakke i mobilen når man har passasjer i bilen.  It is forbidden to talk on the phone when one has a passenger in the car. 

* Røykfri og ren bil.  Smoke free and clean car.

* Prisinformasjon på holde- plassene, og i taxien.  Price information at the stop and in the taxi.

* Klagebehandling innen 14 dager.  Complaints handled within 14 days.

* Kunden skal få beskjed hvis bilen er forsinket.  The customer will receive a message if the car is late\behind schedule.

* Sjåføren skal ha godkjent uniform.  The chauffeur should have an approved uniform. 

The idea is å kontrollere drosjene (to control the taxis) so that they all provide basically the same tjeneste (service) for roughly samme prisen (the same price).  Målet er fornøyde passasjerer (The goal is satisfied passengers). 

If you have ever been i en drosje i New York, for eksempel, you would know that it would be nearly umulig (impossible) to monitor them.

 
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