Posts in December 2008

Rømmegrøt

Posted by Kari
Dec
30
2008

Last night I returned from a weekend jul getaway to Florida where the sun shone every day and the mercury well surpassed freezing.  There were just a couple things I missed about jul this year.  You might think that as a born and bred Minnesotan, I would have missed having a white jul.  Nei nei!  Slett ikke (not in the least).  I did not miss the snow, nor the julelys (Christmas lights) twinkling on the pine trees nestled in the corner of a cozy warm house with the scent of burning wood coming from the fireplace. 

When we left MN it was -10 degrees and when we arrived in Florida it was 80.  That is a 90 degree temperature difference.  In fact, one afternoon I went for a run on the beach and got overheated because my body was not used to the heat.  Needless to say, I did not miss the familiar, jul at home in Minnesota. 

Honestly, I could easily give up the tradition of giving gaver, as well as julepynt, julemusikk, og snø.  What I missed were a few tasty norsk treats, including lefse, rømmegrøt, og akevitt.  Many people do not know that there are several different types of lefse.  My family, as I would imagine most Norwegian-American families do, eat the kind of lefse that is flat, brown spotted potato bread.  It might be filled with smør (butter), or smør og sukker (sugar), or just sukker.  The sukker could be brun (brown) or hvit (white).  In my family, this tasty treat acts as both part of the meal and as dessert.  It is a staple.

Rømmegrøt is a thick, creamy, rich porridge that can either be easily made by adding a few ingredients to a bag, or by spending hours stirring the concoction to perfection.  The dish consists of mel (flour), melk (milk), smør (butter), sukker (sugar), krem (cream, half and half), og kanel (cinnamon).  Different recipes call for slightly different ingredients, such as seterømme (sour cream).  Whatever the recipe, this dish can also be eaten as a meal (in an average sized bowl) or as dessert (in a very small bowl).  I know that my family has made the mistake of eating it as a sort of appetizer and then immediately lost our appetites for the main course, much less dessert.  Rømmegrøt is best with a bit of smør, sukker, og kanel on top, similar to adding butter, salt, and pepper to mashed potatoes. 

Last but not least, akevitt has become one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  I do not usually enjoy hard alcohol at all.  I do not like the taste, nor do I approve of my behavior when I over-indulge.  However, for some odd reason (because of my norsk blood of course!), I enjoy the taste of akevitt.  It consists of caraway seeds, anise, fennel, coriander, and dill.  Strong ingredients.  To me it tastes a lot like black licorice and pine trees (both of which do not appeal to me on their own at all….).  A shot of akevitt after a large Christmas dinner really tops it off for me.  You can feel the alcohol warm your throat and all the way down to your tummy.  It also kind of acts as a breath freshener because of the strength of the alcohol and the taste. 

These are the three features of a traditional jul in my family that I missed when I was in Florida.  If you have not enjoyed these tasty treats, I highly recommend you do so.

 
Posted under Culture, Food, Holidays, Traditional, Traditions 2 Comments | Post a Comment

God jul!

Posted by Kari
Dec
24
2008

Once again the Christmas season is upon us.  Doesn’t it seem like it comes faster and faster every year?  “Christmas” in Norwegian is jul.  Merry Christmas-god jul.  We give gaver (gifts) at Christmastime, which sit under juletreet (the Christmas tree).  Vi pynter juletreet (We decorate the Christmas tree).  There is ofte a stjerne at the top of treet.  We eat loads yummy dessert.  Now that you have a few terms down, I’ll tell you a little about jul in Norway.

Norway did not adopt Christianity as a national religion until the end of the first millennium.   Olaf Trygvasson (the man for whom St. Olaf College is named after), king of Norway from 995 to 1000AD, converted the Vikings to Christianity.  Previously, like all early developed countries, Norwegians had practiced what are now considered to be heathen traditions. 

In fact, many traditions that Christians practice today come from heathen customs.  Many of us today decorate our homes inside and out with evergreen trees, wreaths, balsam firs, mistletoe, etc.  Hundreds of years ago these items were believed to keep witches, evil spirits, and sickness away.  Another belief was that darkness and winter were a result of the sun god growing weak and so the winter solstice was a time to celebrate the sun getting stronger and the coming of life again.  Large feasts were eaten in celebration of the coming farming season.�

Isn’t it amazing that Christians and many non-Christians alike still practice generally the same traditions that were considered to be pagan hundreds of years ago?  Most of the traditions that Americans celebrate are similar to those that Norwegians celebrate.  The Norwegian santa is called nisse, a mythical Norwegian creature who was thought to protect farmers from misfortune.  Nisse is a small elderly man-like creature, unlike the large American Santa.  Instead of milk and cookies, Norwegians leave out porridge with perhaps raisins and nuts for the nisse. 

God jul alle sammen!  Make sure to leave treats out for nisse or Santa!  Enjoy all of the yummy mat and all the gaver you give and receive!

 
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Concordia Language Villages

Posted by Kari
Dec
22
2008

If you or someone you know is interested in learning a foreign language, check out Concordia Language Villages.  I have not yet experienced the language programs that await eager learners in northern Minnesota.  However, I have supported CLV by teaching young children Norwegian.  Between the winter of 2006 and the spring of 2008, I was a teacher for the CLV pre-K Norwegian language program.  After seeing the incredible learning peak and impressive potential in young childrens’ language learning abilities, I encourage parents to enroll their children in this program beginning at a young age.  Research shows that young children have a much larger capacity for learning a foreign language and require much less time and effort than adults.  The older you are, the harder it is to learn a foreign language.

A little history about CLV as an organization:  the program was started in 1961 after Gerhard Haukebo, a Ph.D professor at Concordia College urged the college to support and teach foreign languages using the immersion philosophy.  The language camp idea began with the German camp, “Waldsee” which had 72 attendees in 1961.  Throughout the years, the following 14 languages have come to be taught at the language camps:  French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Japanese, Swedish, Danish, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, Korean, and English. 

There are youth programs, 2 family programs, 5 adult programs, seminars and other educational opportunities for language educators, in addition to many jobs for counselors.  Nearly 70 years later, the summer programs and the year-round programs combined attract almost 10,000 visitors annually.  Many ambassadors and several US governors have visited the language villages.  Our previous president Bill Clinton visited the north woods and sent his daughter to language camp! 

I live just five hours south of Bemidji and I did not hear about the Concordia Language Villages until I started taking Norwegian at St. Olaf College.  I could have attended adult programs (and still can) at that point, but I was too old to be a camper.  I loved camp as a kid!  So that’s why I want to spread the word about this great program, because I wish someone had mentioned it to me or my parents when I was younger.  I would have loved going to language camp, especially in the north woods of Minnesota. 

Through my four years at St. Olaf, I met a lot of people that attended the villages or were counselors.  One of my friends from St. Olaf who had been a camper for many years was volunteering for the pilot Norwegian pre-K program, and asked me if I’d like become an assistant.  The next fall after graduation I was both a lead teacher and an assistant for two classes of 3-5 year olds.  I had a blast!  While teaching kids has it’s frustrating moments, I truly enjoyed seeing those young children learn a language, something that very few adults attempt to do, nor could they with such ease.

The greatest thing about young children learning a language is that they don’t even think about it.  They don’t even really understand what the word language means.  They know that “home” sounds different from hjemme, but they don’t really comprehend the concept of language.  So to see and hear them soak up these unfamiliar sounds and reproduce them with confidence and accuracy is stunning.  Every child learns at a different pace in different ways and with different results, but rarely does a child fail to absorb another language over time, except for those with learning disabilities.

At some point in my life I would like to at least visit the language camps, if not become involved with the program again somehow.  Check out the website, www.concordialanguagevillages.com and learn more about these fantastic programs!

 

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Nei til EU!

Posted by Kari
Dec
15
2008

No to the European Union!  This is quite a popular expression in Norway, so popular that someone spray painted it onto a rock far off the northwestern coast of Norway.  I saw it from the Hurtigruten.  Although graffiti in Norway is not as prevalent as it is in Germany, “Nei til EU” has certainly made it’s presence on structures all over the country.

Why do Norwegians not want to be part of the EU?  It’s complicated.  Norway is a member of the EEA (European Economic Area).  In 1963, Norway and the United Kingdom applied for membership to the EEC (European Economic Community) and were approved in 1972.  However, after a popular referendum, the majority of Norwegians voted against it.  In 1992 Norway became a memeber of the EEA.  Upon learning what Norway puts into the EU and the little it gets out, many foreigners wonder why in the world Norway doesn’t want to be a part of the EU.  Norway pays around 240 million Euros annually to the EU budget, but receives nothing in return. 

The first obvious answer is that Norway simply has the money.  Norway has the money to buy into this kind of membership without receiving any sort of monetary benefit.  Because of the annual dues that Norway pays, it is able to be a part of EU agreements.  For example, Norway is part of the Schengen Agreement, which essentially makes it easier for Europeans to travel freely within Europe’s borders.  The agreement allows Europeans to simply drive slowly through border controls, assuming the car is marked with a green disk, the sign that the people in the car come from a country in Europe that is part of the Schengen Agreement. 

Norway is also part of Europol, a European criminal intelligence agency, in addition to Eurojust, a European system designed to enhance cross-border judicial cooperation concerning organized crime.  Several other arrangements that Norway belongs to include the EMCDDA (European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Additction, Frontex, a European border control agency, the European Defense Agency, and others.

As for the reason Norway has not chosen to be a full member of the EU.  Four reasons:  popular power, solidarity, environment, and free commerce.  I believe that deep down it is national pride the keeps Norway out of the EU.  Norway did not become an independent, sovereign nation until 1905.  Since the sixteenth centuryy, Norway was ruled by neighboring countries.  It is still a relatively new country in terms of independence.  After the great oil reserves discovered off the coast, which made the creation of the welfare state possible, Norwegians are simply not ready to give up this sort of wealth and freedom.  They do not want the rest of Europe to determine the political, cultural, and economic fate of their country.  Understandably so in my opinion.  What do you all think??

 
Posted under Culture, History, Politics 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Hurtigruten-the best way to travel Norway

Posted by Kari
Dec
14
2008

Hurtigruten is a passenger & freight line that takes travelers up nearly the entire western and northern coasts of Norway.  Hurtigruten literally means “express route” and although there are much faster modes of transportation today, at it’s beginning, it was the fastest way to transport cargo.  Hurtigruten was established in 1893 by government contract to speed up communications and deliveries.  Hurtigruten ships that sail almost the whole lenth of the country can make it in 11 days.  The ship also does several round-trips.  For example, the round-trip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen takes 11 days. 

Today the Hurtigruten is a popular travel vessel for Norwegians and foreigners alike.  I traveled from Bergen to Ålesund on the Hurtigruten with my dad a few years ago.  Since we had already spent so much money on our other endeavors, we decided to take the overnight trip up the coast and NOT to pay to stay in a cabin onboard.  Therefore, we did not have beds.  Luckily I was young (18 years old) and just excited about the fact that I was on a cruiseship with my dad in Norway, so I didn’t mind sleeping on the floor.  We literally slept on the floor of the ship towards the front and felt every wave that we passed over.  This really didn’t bother me, even still, because it was just so beautiful.  Being that it was the middle of the summer and we were pretty far north, the sun was out until very late at night and came up very early in the morning. This made it possible for us to see the scenery almost all night long, so we really didn’t sleep much at all.  There was too much to look at, even though half the time all we could see were little islands.

The most interesting part of the voyage for me I think was the political graffiti that was on large rocks hundreds of yards out from shore.  I still have no idea who would have taken the time and expended the energy to do such a thing, but it entertained me nonetheless.  The statement that stuck out to me the most was “Nei til EU” (no to the EU-European Union).  Norway is still not part of the European Union completely.  I could spend a whole lot of time talking about this, but I’ll save it for another post.  Either way, it was very interesting to see physical evidence of the Norwegian will to remain it’s own individual entity.

I highly recommend a journey on the Hurtigruten to absolutely everyone.  I know that my grandparents enjoyed the 11-day journey when they were a good 75 years old.  And in fact, you can travel with the Hurtigruten outside of Norway!  There are 34 ports of call along the Norwegian coast from Bergen to Kirkenes, many ports from the Canary Islands to Germany and you can travel all the way to Antarctica on the ships as well.  Book your trip on the Hurtigruten!

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