Archive for March, 2011
Wenche Foss-one of Norway´s pioneering actresses Posted by kari on Mar 31, 2011
Just 2 days ago, one of Norway´s leading actresses, Eva Wenche Steenfeldt-Foss, more commonly known as Wenche Foss, passed away. Foss was born in 1917 in Kristiania (the old name for Oslo), Norway to her mother, Alfhild and father, Christian (an engineer). Foss made her debut on the stage in her early 20s in an…
Max Manus-a Norwegian WWII Resistance Fighter Posted by kari on Mar 28, 2011
Born in 1914 Maximo Guillermo Manus, he is more commonly known as Max Manus, one of the most recognized Norwegian Resistance fighters in WWII. Manus´father, known as Juan Manus, was a Danish-Norwegian with the born name of Johna Magnussen. After having lived for several years in Spanish-speaking countries, he changed his name to Juan…
Norway and aid in Libya, Japan Posted by kari on Mar 20, 2011
Norway is one of the most generous countries in the world when it concerns humanitarian aid in global crises. The situation in Libya is no exception. Norway sent NOK 50 million in aid for the crisis in Libya even before the battles began. Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, made the following statement over…
Norwegian Country Group Hellbillies Posted by kari on Mar 20, 2011
The Hellbillies are my favorite Norwegian country music. In fact, they are my favorite country music band (which isn’t exactly too big of a feat because country is probably my least favorite musical genre…). I first heard them as a sophomore in college thanks to my good friend who was half Norwegian. His family comes…
Norwegian words that are the same as English words! Posted by kari on Mar 16, 2011
There are more words than you may think that are exactly the same in Norwegian as they are in English. They are of course pronounced differently, but are indeed written the same way and have the same meaning. Even better than cognates, right? 🙂 And some of these include: problem (pro-bleh-em) finger (fing-err) flip the…
Betyr vs. Mene-Norwegian verbs “to mean” Posted by kari on Mar 14, 2011
Betyr vs. Mener In English, we use the word “mean” in several different ways as a verb. In Norwegian, there are 2 separate verbs-“å bety” and “å mene” (in their infinitive forms). In English, we can say “to tidy means to clean up.” In Norwegian, one would say “å rydde betyr å vaske opp,” but…
Cantus Choral Ensemble at Mindekirken in Minneapolis Posted by kari on Mar 8, 2011
I attended a superb concert yesterday at ‘den norske lutherske‘ (the Norwegian Lutheran) Mindekirken Church in Minneapolis yesterday. It was a nice blast from the past as I taught an adult Norwegian class there several years ago. Although it isn’t in the greatest location, the Church is beautiful. It was built in 1922 an…