Posts from February 2010

Norwegians in Chile

Posted by kari No Comments
Feb 27 2010

As most of you have probably already heard, a massive jordskjelv (earthquake) has just hit Chile-8.8 magnitude, det femte sterkeste skjelvet (the 5th strongest quake) since jordskjelver were measured på Richters skala (Richter’s scale) in 1900. 

I thought it would be appropriate to write a post about this tragic event because there are many nordmenn in Chile.  Back in 2008, kronprins Haakon traveled to Chile to visit the home of famous poet Pablo Neruda (Norwegian Kjartan Fløgstad has recreated Neruda’s poems på norsk) and to attend a reception for nordmenn living in Chile.  Although I can’t find a more recent population count, there were nearly 300 nordmenn living in Chile at that time.  Many are former refugees who have returned to Chile to live and about one third are Norwegian business people.  There are alo many Chileans of Norwegian descent; more than a century ago many Norwegian sjømenn (sailors), hvalfangere (whalers), ingeniører (engineers), and employees of the skipsfartindustri (shipping industry) emigrated to Chile. 

Additionally, there are many Norwegian tourists in Chile right now-it is summertime there and we know that Norwegians typically love to head south during the winter.  There is a large international music festival in Viña del Mar right now, which has been cancelled. 

On the flip side, there are approximately 7000 Chileans currently living in Norway.  According to an Aftenposten online article, Patricia Barrientos, a Chilean woman in Norway, is trying desperately to organize a samling (gathering) of Chileans in Norway.  Unfortunately, it is proving to be extremely difficult to reach anyone in Chile by phone due to the damage the jordskjelv did to kommunikaskjoner (communications).  Barrientos explains that most Chileans in Norway are alone and have no one to share this grief with.

Chile is the 2nd Latin American country, following Brazil, with the most norske firmaer (Norwegian companies).  According to nortrade.com (The Official Norwegian Trade Portal), Norwegians feel secure in Chile because Chile has good resources and the political arena supports utenriks investeringer (foreign investments).  There are over 50 norske firmaer in Chile right now, aquaculture being the biggest industry, followed by mining, energy, and banking.  In fact, DnB Nor (Norway’s largest financial services group) has opened a branch in Chile to assist in financing business endeavors there.  When a finansinstitusjon (financial institution) has a prescence i utlandet (abroad), this is a sign of a good relationship and healthy development.

I hope that families in both countries can at least communicate with one another soon.  Let’s hope for a quick recovery.

training

Posted by kari No Comments
Feb 26 2010

å trene.

I would like to stay with the Olympic theme since the 2010 Vancouver winter games are on most peoples’ minds and they are nearly over :(   .  I have been thinking a lot about how intense it must be to be an Olympic atlet.  Think about the kind of disiplin one would have to prove-både fysisk (physical) og mentalsk (mentally).  I can imagine it’s very similar to a full time job, but you can’t necessarily come home and have a couple drinks to ease whatever kind of day you might have had.  Of course each trener (coach) operates in his or her own fashion, but there are definitely certain fraser (phrases) og forventninger (expectations) that trenere (coaches) tilbyr (offer) eller (or) roper (yell) to the athletes that you may hear on the TV og ikke forstå (and not understand).  So what might yourself or an Olympic atlet (athlete) hear from a trener før, under, eller etter (before, during, or after) en konkurranse (a competition).

La oss begynne med før konkurransen (Let’s start with before the competition):

Lykke til-good luck

Ta et friskt vindpust -take a breath of fresh air

tenk på hva du skal gjøre-think about what you are going to do

bli sterk-be strong

ikke gi opp uansett hva som skjer (don’t give up no matter what happens)

tenk på hvordan du representerer landet ditt (think about how you represent your country)

ikke glem hvor hardt du har arbeidet for dette (don’t forget how hard you have worked for this)

under konkurransen (during the competition):

-kom igjen! (come on/let’s go…!) 

-fortere (faster)

-høyere (higher) 

-du kan gjøre det (you can do it)

-du må fokusere (you need to focus)

-slapp av (loosen up/relax)

etter konkurransen (after the competition)

-bra gjort (well done)

-gratulerer (congratulations)

-du ble veldig rolig (you remained very calm)

-du vant (you won)!

-dette var en god presentasjon/et godt program (that was a good presentation/program)

Ok, so these were pretty much positive comments, but that’s how I’m feeling right now after watching the short program kunstløp!  I just saw South Korean Kim Yu-Na skate out of her mind and get 150 points. 

Jeg elsker OL!

 

Norwegian athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Posted by kari 1 Comment
Feb 24 2010

There are currently over 100 athletes representing Norway in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  In case you are curious about the events that Norwegians have excelled in so far during these winter games, the following is information including navn, alder, hjemby, idrett, og medalje(r) (name, age, hometown, sport, and medal(s)).

There are 15 sports in these winter games, all of which Norway competes in except for bob (bobsleigh), kunstløp (figure skating), aking (luge), skeleton, and kortbane (short track).  It’s interesting that Norway does not compete in figure skating, but the sport faded out of popularity.  According to Norges Skøyterforbund (Norwegian Skating Association), kunstløp was very popular in Norway back in the early part of the 20th century when kunstløp was in the developing stages.  Sonja Henie from Norway was one of the greatest kunstløpere of her era.  Norway has yet to make it back to the level it was at during it’s heyday.  There are 15 klubber (clubs) with a total of 300 kunstløpere.

Norway currently has 18 medaljer, 6 gullmedaljer, 5 sølvmedaljer, og 6 bronsemedaljer.

Alpint

-Aksel Lund Svindal, fra Lørenskog, 27 år gammel vant en gullmedalje, en sølvmedalje, og en bronsemedalje.

-Kjetil Jansrud, fra Stavanger, 24 år gammel vant en sølvmedalje.

Skiskytting (Biathalon)

-Emil Hegle Svendsen, fra Trondheim, 24 år gammel, vant en sølvmedalje og en gullmedalje.

-Ole Einar Bjørndalen, fra Drammen, 36 år gammel, vant en sølvmedalje.

-Tora Berger, fra Lesja, 28 år gammel, vant en gullmedalje.

Langrenn (Cross-country)

-Petter Northug Jr., fra Mosvik, 24 år gammel, vant en bronsemedalje og en gullmedalje.

-Øystein Pettersen, fra Oslo, 27 år gammel, vant en gullmedalje.

-Marit Bjørgen, fra Trondheim, 29 år gammel, vant 2 gullmedaljer og en bronsemedalje.

Freestyle(both of these athletes won their medals in Ski Cross, a category of freestyle skiing new to the Olympics this year).

-Audun Groenvold, fra Hamar, 35 år gammel, vant en bronsemedalje.

-Hedda Berntsen, fra Oslo, 35 år gammel, vant en sølvmedalje.

Hopp

-Tom Hilde, fra Bærum, 22 år gammel, vant en bronsemedalje.

-Anders Bardal, fra Levanger, 27 år gammel, vant en bronsemedalje.

-Johan Remen Evensen, fra Hadsel, 24 år gammel, vant en bronsemedalje.

-Anders Jacbsen, fra Ringerike, 25 år gammel, vant en bronsemedalje.

Hurtigløp

-Håvard Bøkko, fra Hønefoss, 23 år gammel, vant en bronsemedalje.

Quite the range of ages and places of birth!  Every single medal is in some form of skiing except for the one speed skating medal.  One more reason people buy into the stereotype that ‘Nordmenn er født med ski på beina.’

Hurra Norge!

View Image           View Image

                 Aksel Svindal                              Hedda Berntsen

Norway in 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

Posted by kari No Comments
Feb 21 2010

For those of you who have been watching as much of the Olympics as I have, you may have noticed that Norway has gradually made her way up the ranks to 3rd in the overall medal count, behind Germany and the United States.  Norway has 12 medals, while Germany has 16, and the United States has a whopping 24.  Norway has 5 gullmedaljer, 3 sølvmedaljer, og 4 bronsemedaljer (5 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 4 bronze medals). 

As I’m writing this post, I am watching Audun Groenvold of Norway lead the round in Ski Cross.  He took the bronsemedalje.  As most of you have probably gathered, nordmenn excel especially in skiing events.  Husker du?  Do you remember?  Nordmenn fødes på ski på beina (Norwegians are born with skis on their feet).   People love to joke about that.  But for real, I think I’ve said before, that I was passed by both old and young, male and female (and I consider myself an athletic person) when I gikk på ski (went skiing) in Norway.  So I understand the humor behind the joke because the statement might as well be true. 

Ok, as I’m sitting here recovering from a cold few days sailing in Tampa Bay (attempting to return to reality), I’m watching the Olympcs and surfing the internet for interesting stories about Norway in the Vancouver Olympics.  Check out the antrekk (attire) worn by the Norwegian men’s curling team.

             

In a sport where uniformer are typically mørke og kjedelige (dark and boring), these uniformer are quite flashy.  I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say they are fasjonable (fashionable), but certainly iøynefallende (eye-catching)!  If you want a pair too, it seems you can purchase them from a company called Loudmouth Golf for $89.95. 

In case that doesn’t interest you, perhaps imagining the 2018 Winter Olympics in Tromsø does?  The Norwegians are ecstatic that Sochi, Russia was chosen as the host for the 2014 Winter Olympics, because Sochi surely would have been a candidate for the 2018 winter games otherwise.  The Norwegians were also pleased that Sochi was chosen over Salzburg, Austria because had Salzburg been chosen, it would be unlikely that Norway would be a contender for the 2018 Winter Olympics due to the International Olympic Committee’s desire to spread the hosting cities out geographically. 

More to come on Norway in the Olympics this week!

1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer

Posted by kari No Comments
Feb 17 2010

1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. 

Da jeg besøkte Norge en gang, (when I visited Norway one time), reiste jeg med tog (I traveled by train) til Lillehammer.  I was shocked that this small town hosted the Olympics!  In 2009, the population census counted just over 26,000 people.  The Olympics must have generated enough tourist revenue for decades!  Lillehammer’s winning bid was made public at the 1988 summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.  Lillehammer was selected over Anchorage, Alaska; Östersund, Austria; and Sofia, Bulgaria. 

One thing that was particularly significant about the 1994 Olympics was the lack of summer Olympics.  This was the first time that the two (summer and winter) were not held together.  Another thing you may remember about the 1994 Olympics are two names: Tonya and Nancy.  That is, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.  Both kunstløpere (figure skaters), Tonya’s ex-husband and a cohort attacked Kerrigan during practice one day.  In Oslo, drama ensued when tyver stjal (thieves stole) Edvard Munch’s The Scream from the National Museum.  Some stats:  1.2 million billetter (tickets) were sold and an additional 500,000 spectators viewed the games along the courses.  With a total of 26 medaljer, Norway placed second in the overall competition, behind Russia.  President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), Juan Antonio Savaranch, stated that ”the 1994 Olympics were the best winter games ever”-this statement has not been made since then.

Also of significant importance  was Norway’s environmentally friendly approach to hosting the olympics.  The planners of the event worked with environmentalist groups to focus on four things-

1) use of natural materials as much as possible

2) energy conservation in heating and cooling systems

3) recycling system for the entire area hosted by the Olympics

4) arenas to blend in and work with their surrounding natural environment

The 1994 Vinter-OL in Lillehammer were the first winter games to be recognized for being ”green.”  In fact, the IOC was so impressed that it revised it’s procedures for choosing cities to host the games. 

Gå grønn!  Go green!

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