My first official post for this intense month will be about Norway.Some of the posts I get the most hits on are my posts about my beautiful but strange home. You can read all of the posts if you follow this link but I wanted to point out the popular ones - the ones that show the real weird stuff!
Here is a post I wrote for Girasoli but that gets the most hits on my blog: Proper Dish Washing Rules. I have even had a teacher email me and ask if I had a Power Point presentation on the topic! Another funny thing is that right now I am watching a show on TV called Whatever, Martha! Martha Stewart's daughter and her friend sit on a couch and watch her mom's shows, while commenting. It's pretty awesome - and the best thing is that as I was writing this, the show they were watching had a guest who showed Martha Stewart the proper way to wash dishes!
(The woman's name was Cheryl Mendelson and she was there to promote her book "Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House." Too funny! The daughter kept saying that this woman made Martha Stewart seem like a slob.)
Another favorite is Fresh Air Is Always Good, about how Norwegians leave their kids outside to sleep. Yeah. You could read it along with this interesting article from the New York Times: Toddler, Left Outside Restaurant, Is Returned to Her Mother, which shows how a Danish woman gets in trouble for leaving her kid outside a NYC restaurant.
And to finish it off: Fresh Air Is Always Good: Part Two. This one is about how Norwegian kids are outside ALL the time, no matter what.
A couple of more fun facts for you:
You could spend a whole summer in Norway without sweating. You can also be lucky and have nice weather. I seem to have perfected the art of coming home whenever the good weather is over. Last year I got there in mid-August and summer was over - I had to buy a jacket (I'd call it a summer jacket but that is just sad!) and I remember freezing so much every night. Three years ago I got there after a six week spell of nice, hot weather had just finished. Yeah.
We do swim in the sea. Thanks to the wonderful Gulf Stream, the water is warmer than what the latitude would dictate. Oslo, for instance, which is in the south of the country, is at 60 degrees north, but the water is warmer that you might think thanks to the Gulf Stream. It often reaches around 20 C or 67F, sometimes even a few degrees more if we are lucky.
No, I don't like the cold even though I grew up in the cold. I hate being cold and I love sun, summer, and beaches. (I get this question about every day at work.)
We technically have polar bears, but not in mainland Norway. They are on the island of Svalbard, off the northern coast. (Like, way off.)
We are not all blond! I, for instance, have that wonderful boring shade of brown that we in Norway call something like "Bureaucracy Brown."
Norway has the lowest population density of the European countries, and most people live along the coast.
Hasta mañana amigos!
Comments (10)
"Bureaucracy Brown" --ouch! That's too close to home, as it describes my hair colour all too well.
Now, I have to go and read about proper dish washing techniques ( and I hate Power Points, so thanks so much for not providing that!)
Posted by sandrac | February 1, 2009 7:15 PM
Posted on February 1, 2009 19:15
Chiocciola,
We spent 6 days in Bergen in August of 04, visiting a former exchange student and her family. We loved everything about it - the people, the scenery, and even the weather since it was in the mid 80"s everyday.
Sheri
Posted by sheri | February 1, 2009 9:22 PM
Posted on February 1, 2009 21:22
Chiocciola, I guess if I keep reading your posts about Norway, I'll feel right at home when we go--someday. Question: Do you wash your dishes as described?
Posted by Jane | February 2, 2009 12:58 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 00:58
The question is...did they wash the dishes correctly on Whatever, Martha!?? I still remember that post and can't believe you wrote it for me! And I remember the post on how Norwegians leave their kids outside to sleep. too...brrrr!!!
I don't think I will ever visit Norway. I would be freezing on the hottest day of the year. I always choose sweating over being cold.
I am a big cold wimp. Today I was sooo cold while I was shopping in the grocery store. I was shivering. I won't even swim here in Hawaii unless it is August when the water is the warmest. I get the same thing..."Didn't you grow up where it was cold?" That doesn't make you like the cold though :)
Posted by girasoli | February 2, 2009 1:56 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 01:56
Thanks for sharing this Chiocciola. I would love to visit Norway one day, so I guess I better learn the rules for washing dishes so I don't stand out:)
Posted by Candi | February 2, 2009 4:41 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 04:41
Sandra, I agree - Power Point is the worst! Here is a video for you: http://www.davidairey.com/how-not-to-use-powerpoint/
Sheri, you were so lucky - Bergen is one of the rainiest places in Europe so awesome for you that you had such great weather!
Jane, I use the general rules and order, but since leaving Norway I have never had a sink with two basins to do it completely.
Girasoli, the annoying woman on Martha did it all very correctly, I have to report. And yes, it is so annoying that people always think we must love the cold!
Candi, thanks for stopping by - you can stay at my house in Norway so that you don't have to do any dishes!
Posted by Chiocciola | February 2, 2009 8:17 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 08:17
I remember the dishwashing post, LOL. Too funny that someone emailed you about it. I'm the opposite of Girasoli (I can't stand to be hot but don't mind cold) so I think I'd love to visit Norway someday.
(My hair is Bureaucracy Brown too).
Posted by Annie | February 2, 2009 9:16 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 09:16
I have a friend that threw the dishes in the trash when she got home to see that her husband had not washed them AGAIN for an entire week. Then got divorced after that.
Bureaucracy Brown... me too.
Posted by angie | February 2, 2009 12:26 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 12:26
Bureaucracy Brunettes of the world unite!! Let's all go on a trip to Norway together!
Posted by Chiocciola | February 2, 2009 8:22 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 20:22
I remember most of those posts, loved the fresh air one, and the dishes one, and...oh heck, they were all good (and this one too!)
Posted by Anne | February 3, 2009 6:57 PM
Posted on February 3, 2009 18:57