I had my first Norwegian class today. It was long. Useful, though. I'm the only American in it. The rest are Polish, German, Yugoslavian, Australian, and Filipino. The language is taught in English, which is good for me. Despite that advantage, though, the others are all better than me at it.
Norwegian is a messy language, incidentally. Pronunciation, grammar, and spelling can vary not only in different parts of the country, but in different parts of a given city. There are no hard rules for pronunciation -- many words simply have to be heard to be learned. And, a lot of words have strings of just consonants or vowels. On the plus side, it's a very sing-song language, sounding much like the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show.
The Scandinavians are apparently aware of the Swedish Chef, by the way; they accept him.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
pics
Here are pics from the Vienna trip. I'm in there a few times somewhere in the first 2-3 pages.
http://flickr.com/photos/citizenmedia/
Next week is a symposium in Bled, Slovenia.
http://flickr.com/photos/citizenmedia/
Next week is a symposium in Bled, Slovenia.
fleas and rabbits
I got to meet other ex-pats last night -- one Brit and one American. It was good being able to hang out with people socially again.
One tidbit I learned is that flea markets in Norway are apparently called "rabbit markets". Freaks. Also, the Brit experienced the recent winter here, and she described how it's light only from 10:00-2:00, meaning you may well have lunch when it's starting to get dark outside, and it's always dark going to and leaving work. It's apparently depressing. She described how the Norwegians seem to wilt during that time, holing up at home and generally exhibiting low energy. As winter recedes, though, they start to pick up, almost like flowers blooming in Spring. They're very tied to their environment, I think.
One tidbit I learned is that flea markets in Norway are apparently called "rabbit markets". Freaks. Also, the Brit experienced the recent winter here, and she described how it's light only from 10:00-2:00, meaning you may well have lunch when it's starting to get dark outside, and it's always dark going to and leaving work. It's apparently depressing. She described how the Norwegians seem to wilt during that time, holing up at home and generally exhibiting low energy. As winter recedes, though, they start to pick up, almost like flowers blooming in Spring. They're very tied to their environment, I think.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
public transit and honor
The public transit system here seems to run on the honor system. I've never seen anyone asked to show a ticket, yet I see people buying passes or stamping their tickets all the time. And there are no gates around the train entrances that require a ticket to get through. Rather, people are free to walk right past the ticket stamp machines, into the boarding area, and onto the train. Same for trams and buses.
That system would be horribly abused in the States.
That system would be horribly abused in the States.
my town
I think my area of the city might be Little Pakistan. Many Muslims and East Indians seem to be here, as well as little pizza/kabob corner diners.
Speaking of diners, the food here is quite expensive, so I haven't yet gone out to eat. The most I do is get a panini or some other quick food from 7-11 or Narvesen (the Norwegian 7-11). The food still ends up costing maybe $12 or so.
Rather than eat out, then, I've had to make to with groceries and cooking. I can't find all the stuff I'm used to eating, but I seem to be making do.
Speaking of diners, the food here is quite expensive, so I haven't yet gone out to eat. The most I do is get a panini or some other quick food from 7-11 or Narvesen (the Norwegian 7-11). The food still ends up costing maybe $12 or so.
Rather than eat out, then, I've had to make to with groceries and cooking. I can't find all the stuff I'm used to eating, but I seem to be making do.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
fish with a face
I've met a good many Europeans the past couple of days, all very inquisitive. Politics does come up a lot, but they aren't expressing views so much as looking for information.
I was surprised to find that Scientology is not uncommon in Europe. Amusingly, the people I talked with about it first heard about Scientology through the South Park episode. They love South Park.
It's interesting how traveling between countries in Europe is nothing to them -- it's just a weekend trip to Tahoe or something. Because of the European train layout, traveling across Europe is psychologically less of a big deal than Americans traveling to a different state for a weekend.
I had trout for dinner tonight. Apparently, it's common in Europe to serve the whole fish (head and tail), rather than just the meat. My companions were amused at my surprise, and they had to tell me how to eat it. Interestingly, on the way out, the fish in the tank by the door resembled the fish I had, and I wondered if they just yanked it out of there for dinner.
I was surprised to find that Scientology is not uncommon in Europe. Amusingly, the people I talked with about it first heard about Scientology through the South Park episode. They love South Park.
It's interesting how traveling between countries in Europe is nothing to them -- it's just a weekend trip to Tahoe or something. Because of the European train layout, traveling across Europe is psychologically less of a big deal than Americans traveling to a different state for a weekend.
I had trout for dinner tonight. Apparently, it's common in Europe to serve the whole fish (head and tail), rather than just the meat. My companions were amused at my surprise, and they had to tell me how to eat it. Interestingly, on the way out, the fish in the tank by the door resembled the fish I had, and I wondered if they just yanked it out of there for dinner.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
vienna
Arrived in Vienna today for a symposium for a work project. The city didn't seem that different from any other city.
Went to dinner with a group consisting of a few co-workers and several other members of the project. They were Belgians, Austrians, and Scandinavians, but they all spoke English. My conversations with all of them eventually brought in politics. They were all very curious to get news of the election campaigns and who I though was going to win. Europe seems to be following the presidential race very closely, and Obama, in particular, seems very popular out here; I was told that many of the younger people watch his videos on YouTube, and he's a symbol of hope to the younger set in Italy.
During dinner, I had veal for the first time. It tasted just like any other good steak, but it was damn tender, and I understand why people rave about it.
Went to dinner with a group consisting of a few co-workers and several other members of the project. They were Belgians, Austrians, and Scandinavians, but they all spoke English. My conversations with all of them eventually brought in politics. They were all very curious to get news of the election campaigns and who I though was going to win. Europe seems to be following the presidential race very closely, and Obama, in particular, seems very popular out here; I was told that many of the younger people watch his videos on YouTube, and he's a symbol of hope to the younger set in Italy.
During dinner, I had veal for the first time. It tasted just like any other good steak, but it was damn tender, and I understand why people rave about it.
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