Posts under Norway and the world

Hvor mye vet du om Norge?

Posted by Kari
Sep
21
2009

How much do you know about Norway?

I thought it would be fun to learn some interesting facts that you may not have known about Norway.

Visste du at (Did you know that) Norway’s kystlinje (coastline) is about 25,000km/15,500 miles long?

Visste du at Norway has more than 45,000 øyer (islands) within it’s domain?

Visste du at Norway’s vestkyst (west coast) is home to an 8km/4.97 miles road called Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic sea road)?  It zigzags over 12 bridges in the sea that connect islands from the mainland towns of Molde and Kristiansund.  The workers endured 12 orkaner (hurricanes) during the 6 år that the prosjekt (project) was in process. 

Visste du at Norway is home to more than 150,000 innsjøer (lakes)? 

Visste du at Norway’s biggest byer (cities) are Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø, and Stavanger?

Visste du at the name of Norway’s største fjell (biggest mountain) is Galdhøpiggen (pronounced Gald-huh-piggen)?  It is 2469 meters/8100 feet tall.

Visste du at Sognefjorden is Norway’s største fjord (biggest fjord)? 

Visste du at Norway’s nasjonalsang (national song) heter (is named) “Ja vi elsker dette landet” (Yes we love this country)?

Visste du at Norway is slightly larger than Tyskland (Germany) in square-footage?

Visste du at there are 19 fylker (counties) in Norway?

Visste du at the krone (crown) is one of the sterkeste (strongest) currencies i verden (in the world) right now?

Visste du at only about 20% of ethnic nordmenn (Norwegians) consider religion to be an important part of their lives?  This makes Norway one of the most secular countries i verden.

Forhåpentligvis (hopefully–one of my favorite Norwegian words) vet du mer om Norge en du visste før du leste dette (you know more about Norway than you knew before you read this)!

 
Posted under Culture, Geography, Norway and the world 2 Comments | Post a Comment

EXIT-program

Posted by Kari
Sep
14
2009

Following the global trend, menneskehandel (human trafficking) and sexkjøp (purchase of sex) are increasing in volume in Norway.  Several years ago, the Norwegian government created a plan of action called ‘Stop Human Trafficking’ aimed to combat all forms of human trafficking, domestically and internationally.  The measures included granting victims 6-month residence permits, allowing free legal counsel to victims, and assisting in the effort to return victims to their home countries safely. 

This year the focus is on menneskehandel in Bergen and politiet (the police) are getting creative.  The title of the article in Aftenposten online says it clearly:  Politiet på høye hæler (The police in high heels).  In addition to continuing to try to obtain information from citizens in general, as well as kunder (customers) of halliker (pimps), politiet are sending some of their own out dressed as prostituerte (prostitutes).  The sub-headline reads ‘Politet i Bergen vurderer å kle ut sine egne som prostituerte i jakten på halliker i Bergen.’  The police in Bergen consider dressing their own as prostitutes in the hunt for pimps in Bergen.

According to the UN, 2.5 million people are victims of menneskehandel every year, 40% of whom are children.  There is speculation that Norway is a good transit country for human traffickers because it is relatively easy to smuggle people into the country and the asylum centers are very open.  In fact, just last week, four Chinese children were stolen from an asylum reception center and brought to Stockholm, where they were found in a Chinese couple’s apartment.  The couple is being charged with human trafficking. 

Even in a small and relatvely (geographically) isolated country like Norway, menneskehandelen is still a very real and growing trend.  It’s nice to hear about different methods the Norwegian regjering (government) and politiet are employing to combat this appalling activity.

 
Posted under Norway and the world 0 Comments | Post a Comment

arbeid

Posted by Kari
Sep
10
2009

work.  I must say,for those of us who have it, arbeid is something we should be very grateful for today.�  There are so many people who are arbeidsløse (unemployed).  In Norway, the rate of arbeidsløse people is going ned (down) and is much lower than most countries, but it is still en bekymring (a concern).  In Norway, the høyeste (highest) prosent of arbeidsløse is in Oslo (4.0 prosent), followed by Finnmark (3.8 prosent).  The laveste (lowest) arbeidsløshet is in Sogn and Fjordane county with 2.1 prosent and Rogaland with 2.2 prosent.  Arbeidsløshet is høyest in the industri sector of the økonomi and lavest in utdanning (education), helsetjenester (health services), and sosialetjenester (social services). 

Økonomer (Economists) speculate that Norway’s low rate of arbeidsløshet can be explained by high oil revenues and successful governmental aid in the form of stimulus packages.   Økonomer also speculate that Norway has bottomed out in terms of unemployment.  The forutsigelse (forecast) looks better in the months to come according to Forbes and Reuters. 

And now, occupations:

en lærer is a teacher

en snekker is a carpenter

en sosiolog is a sociologist

en lege is a doctor

en bibliotekar is a librarian

en kelner is a server and en serveringsdame is a waitress

en tannlege is a dentist

en bonde is a farmer

en historiker is a historian

en kunstner is an artist

Selvfølgelig (of course) there are many other occupations, but it would be quite a bit to learn all occupations.  Be thankful if you have arbeid!  And for those of you who don’t and are looking for it, lykke til (good luck)!!!

 
Posted under Norway and the world 0 Comments | Post a Comment

Regjering

Posted by Kari
Sep
2
2009

Goverment.  I suppose it’s time that you learn about government in Norway.  I think I found the longest description ever of the norsk regjering:  parliamentaristisk representativ demokratisk inskrenket monarki (parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy).  What does that mean, you might ask?  It means that executive power rests with the King (Kong Harald) and his council, the cabinet, which is led by the Prime Minister (statsministeren), Jens Stoltenberg.  Legislative power is held by both regjeringen and Stortinget (the parliament), which is elected within a multi-party system.  The Judiciary branch is separate from the legislative and the executive branches. 

As I have mentioned in previous posts, den norske grunnloven (the Norwegian Constitution) was signed at Eidsvoll in 1814.  This document transformed the government from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy.  Although the signing of grunnloven in 1814 granted the people of Norway more frihet (freedom), Norway was in a union with Sverige (Sweden) until 1905, at which point Norway became completely sovereign. 

Norway was one of the first countries in the world to allow women å stemme (to vote).  Universal suffrage became a law in 1913.  In 1956, religious freedom was enacted, which abolished prohibition of Jesuits.  In general, Norway has been extremely progressive in terms of enacting socially liberal laws.  Last year, Norway enacted a lov to allow homosexuals to marry, adopt, and exercise artificial insemination. 

In Norway, the king (Kong Harald V, who has reigned since 1991) is for the most part simply a symbol of power.  He does not hold the same power that Barack Obama does, for instance.  Although grunnloven granted the king important power, the Council of State actually exercises this power.  The reigning monarch convenes the Council of the State, which consists of the prime minister and his or her council.  Stortinget (the parliament) must support the Council.  Typically, the king asks the parliamentary party that has a majority to form the regjering.  Since WWII, with the exception of non-Socialist regjeringer, most have been a coaltion. 

I often think to myself how well Norway seems to work.  Universal health care, high average salary, healthy population, etc.  Sometimes I forget how small of a country Norway really is and how much money Norway really has.  There are some qualities that a country so large and diverse as the United States will experience great difficulty achieving.  I certainly welcome any thoughts on this!

 
Posted under Norway and the world, Politics 5 Comments | Post a Comment

Å kjøre i Norge

Posted by Kari
Sep
1
2009

Å kjøre i Norge (to drive in Norway).  Driving rules and regulations in Norway are not significantly different than anywhere else, but there are a few to note.  First, a few words to learn about driving:

å kjøre means to drive

en bil means a car

en lastebil means a truck

en motorsykkel is a motorcycle

en vei is a road, en motorvei is a highway

en rundkjøring is a roundabout

å parkere is to park

en parkeringsplass means parking spot

et ratt is a steering wheel

å bremse means to brake

frontlys means headlights

Probaby the most important thing to know about kjøring in Norway is that like most of the rest of the world, you drive på høyre siden av veien (on the right side of the road).�
Det er påbudt at man må ha frontlys på hele tiden (It is the law to have your headlights on all the time-not directly translated).  Veiskilt (road signs) use standard international symbols, but may have norsk words on them.  If you have a lead foot, you better be careful driving in Norway because the speed limits are lower than in most places.  Fartsgrensen (the speed limit) is 90 km per hour (56 mph) på motorveien (on the highway), for example.  I guess I am unsure if all of the states in the U.S. have implemented the requirement of setebelter (seatbelts), but I do know that MN has.  Det er påbudt å bruke setebelter hele tiden i Norge (It is the law to use seatbelts all the time in Norway).

I think I’ve mentioned in a previous post that Norway has extremely strict laws regarding the use of alcohol and driving.  Nesten ingenting er for mye (almost nothing is too much).  Your blood alcohol level must not be over 0.1 promille (which is basically a small weak drink), so it’s best not to test it! 

You must be 18 years old to drive, with the exception of mopeds and tractors.  After you pass the required kurs (class), you will get your sertifikat or førerkort (driving license).

I read an article in Aftenposten online titled Svenske og norske parkeringsregler (Swedish and Norwegian parking rules) which sparked quite a bit of discussion (more than you would expect on a seemingly boring topic).  The article compares Swedish parking rules and Norwegian parking rules.  Of course rules aren’t always followed or enforced, so that is another thing the article examines.  The article might have been a stretch, but I will definitely agree that the Swedes park and drive in a more orderly fashion than nordmenn.  Examples the article gives about parking kaos (chaos) in Norway include taxi drivers parking on the other side of the road, facing the direction of oncoming trafikk and then pulling out and creating a farlig (dangerous) situation.  Here is the link to the article in case you are curious about what others have to say about these comparisons: http://blogg.aftenposten.no/lyn/2009/08/27/svenske-og-norske-parkeringsregler/.  A lot of people have responded to the article.  I recommend looking at it for vocabulary practice if nothing else; you will certainly recognize a lot of the vocab. 

Obey the rules while driving in Norway.  Don’t drink and drive and don’t go too fast.  And…park properly on the right side of the road.

�

 
Posted under Norway and the world 1 Comment | Post a Comment