Archive for 'Culture'
What’s Norwegian for Twerking? Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 11, 2013
It’s no secret that people in Norway and other western countries are fascinated by USA [oo es AH] (they might be complaining about American politics but still watch the soaps). Miley Cyrus makes some daring bevegelser (moves), and the next moment people from Oslo to Australia are talking about twerking. Or are they? It depends…
The new Gangnam style is Norwegian Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Sep 27, 2013
I first heard about Ylvis-brødrene (the Ylvis brothers) during my study years in Bergen. Vegard (born 1979) and Bård Ylvisåker (1982) had some shows, both onstage and on television. The local media were praising the very young, very talented comedians. I thought it was funny that their name sounded like a Norwegian ”Elvis” – with…
Norwegian Oops! moments Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 31, 2013
When I was a kid, I once went with my mother into a public library in Norway to look for cartoons and children’s books. The old lady at the counter seemed really friendly, so I said out aloud, so everyone in the library could hear it: “She looks rar!” In my native language, Danish, that’s…
Your holiday in a suitcase Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 21, 2013
It’s ferietid (holiday time), and many nordmenn (Norwegians) are going abroad – or spending time in Norway, which is usually a treat in sommersola (the summer sun). (In case you wondered – most Norwegians have 5 weeks of holiday a year. As it’s normal to dedicate chunks of that period to things like the Easter…
Land of trolls Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jun 29, 2013
”Where can we see the trolls?” The two turister (tourists) from Asia looked surprised when I explained them that trolls were rather hard to find in the Norwegian natur [naTOOR]. I was working in a museum souvenir shop where the shelves were full of miniature reindeer, elks and … trolls. No wonder that they thought…
Hooray, it’s bunad time! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on May 17, 2013
Hipp hurra for 17. mai! It’s May 17th, the day when all Norwegians går mann av huse (go to the streets, literally ’go man off house’) to celebrate their beautiful country. In every Norwegian by (town) and bygd (little town, hamlet) there are 17. mai-tog (May 17th parades) with people waving norske flagg (Norwegian flags)…
Eat Chocolate, Learn Norwegian Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Apr 11, 2013
The next time you’re in a Norwegian kiosk shopping snop (sweets, candies), look out for the melkesjokolade (milk chocolate) called ”Et lite eventyr” (a little fairy-tale). There is only a single piece of chocolate inside the little yellow plastic wrapping. But then you don’t buy this product for the sjokolade – on the back side…