Calendar Giveaway!
We have been sampling the quality of some printing services and have an extra Sample Calendar. What better way than to celebrate Christmas and the New Year than by having a giveaway for our readers. However, you are going to have to work for it ;D! So, we are holding a little competition over the next two weeks for one lucky reader to win the Sample Calendar plus postage and handling.
About the Sample Calendar
The calendar is a 12 picture flip calendar for the wall for the year 2010. It is 11″ by 8.5″ and features original coloured pictures from My Little Norway. The calendar also has marked Norwegian events, holidays and special celebrations (in Norwegian) such as 17 May – National Constitution Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Fårikål Day, etc. The postage and handling (a specialised cardboard box) will be included in the prize – a regular post service will be used so once we have posted the Sample Calendar we will have no control on delivery. This Sample Calendar is one-of-a-kind and won’t be replaced.
Click on the image to enlarge (images not in order):
About the Competition
There will be two stages of the competition.
Stage 1:
Tell us in the comments field under this article a funny story or experience that you have had about Norway. It doesn’t have to be when you were in Norway (some readers haven’t had the luxury of visiting… yet) but anything ABOUT Norway – such as a reindeer experience, meeting a Norwegian, your Norwegian husband ;D, eating luteifisk, etc. If you live in Norway – great too! – share your funny experiences. There are no limits to how many experiences or stories you can add – just make sure each addition is in a separate comment, as each comment will be considered as a whole.
By Sunday 13th December, midnight, Norwegian standard time, comments will be closed.
Stage 2:
Moose and L-Jay will read all the stories and experiences and will pick five (5) of their favourite. They will post these five in a new article on Monday 14th December, 1am standard Norwegian time. Then readers will have a chance to read the picks and vote for their favourite to win the Sample Calendar. The way to vote is by commenting on this new article ‘My Little Norway’s Top Five‘ stating which story or experience you like the best. Only one vote per reader. You are welcome to express why you like the story you are voting for the best. However, only number of votes counts towards a winner. There will be three days for voting. On Wednesday 16th December midnight, standard Norwegian time, voting will be closed. Votes will be added and an article will be posted the next day announcing the winner. The Sample Calendar will also be posted on Thursday 17th December.
Rules of the Competition
1. Close family and friends of Moose and L-Jay cannot enter a story or experience. (Sorry guys – it’s just to keep things fair for everyone else as we won’t be influenced by you ;D. But you are welcome to vote!
2. Readers can submit as many funny stories as they like, however, each one must be in a separate comment (this means you will get more chances to win ;D). Stories written by Trolls will not be published – please keep all stories ‘PG’ rated as children do read this blog regularly. My Little Norway will delete any comment that is distasteful or disrespectful. Please, no swearing – we know you can be more creative!
3. The judges decision is final. Of course, the judging will be influenced by Mooses and L-Jay’s taste, but if you have been reading My Little Norway you will likely pick up on their sense of humour. The quality of the story, not the writing such as grammar or spelling, will be judged – but keep in mind that the storytelling (the way the story is told) is what can make or break a story.
4. Reader voting – readers vote on the article My Little Norway’s Top Five via the comment field section under the article. Readers can only vote once. It is hard to stop double voting but My Little Norway will do its best to ignore double votes from people. Spammers will not be published.
5. The prize includes the Sample Calendar and postage and handling. Once posted, delivery is out of My Little Norway’s hands. The Calendar will not be replaced if damaged or lost – this item is a one-of-a-kind. Delivery is likely not to reach the winner by Christmas, but hopefully it will be delivered before the New Year.
6. When the winner is published on Thursday 17th December, My Little Norway will contact them via email for a postal address. A quick response will ensure the Sample Calendar will be posted on that day.
Purchasing My Little Norway Calendar 2010
If you would like to purchase the calendar you can visit the My Little Norway Online Lulu store.
Happy writing!
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Even though the males are called bulls and the females cows, the muskoxen are more closely related to sheep than cattle. Make no mistake, though – this is not your average cuddly ba-ba-blacksheep! A grown animal can be 2,5 m long and weigh up to 400 kgs, and their long curved horns mean business.
Today herding reindeer is synonymous with the Sami culture. It is recently thought that the Vikings were the first people to herd reindeer.
A popular Summer activity in Norway is kayaking. The coast of Norway is dotted with thousands of little islands making the perfect conditions for a smooth paddle.
Runes were the written language of the Vikings.
Pølse is THE fast food of Norway. When the grilled pølse was first introduced to Norway in the 50s it was eaten naked – without bread.
Years ago I fell in love with a Norwegian seaman, Gunnar Nygård from TØnsberg, Norway. My first trip to Norway was Christmas 1973. Gunnar and I had gotten engaged and I was going to meet his mother, brother and sister for the first time.
When we arrived early morning in Oslo, it was extremely cold, snow everywhere, and the sky was a pinkish orange, for the sun had not risen yet. Gunnar’s brother Odd picked us up at the airport. Gunnar, the oldest brother, drove back to TØnsberg. I sat in the front of the car between Gunnar and Odd. The roads were completely covered in packed snow with snow banks of about 5 feet on both sides of the road. I felt like I was in a slalom race. Gunnar drove so fast it scared the life out of me. He never did slow down. Odd never said a word. He just smiled at me and spoke Norwegian to his brother.
The funniest memory that Christmas was when I went downstairs to use the toilet. We were all having a grand time, celebrating Christmas. The toilet was in a small closet. When I opened the door and turned on the light there was this black snake behind the toilet bowl. I screamed out loud, and jumped back and slammed the door. When I heard all the laughter upstairs I realized Gunnar played a joke on me. It was just a rubber snake. Gunnar knew that I was very fearful of snakes. When I came back upstairs, I felt a little embarrassed and then I started to laugh too. Those Norwegians! They love to have fun!!!
How could I not enter this fabulous competition???
Now, I have to confess that my Norwegian language skills are rather rusty as I don’t get much chance to speak the language (my husband speaks English, and we now live in the UK).
My story takes place back in 2000 – we were in Norway for the first time since 1988, and we had our son with us. We arrived in the village where most of my extended family live, and as my aunt wasn’t home when we arrived, we went down to the village to have a look around. During our exploration we found the graveyard where my ‘Bessefar’ (Farfar) is buried, and I decided I wanted to place some flowers on his grave. We headed off to find the local florist, and after choosing what I wanted, I was chatting to the cashier in my rather rusty Norwegian. During the course of the conversation she asked me if I had any links to the village, at which point I replied that my aunt, uncle and cousins lived in the village, and as a matter of fact, one of my cousins ran a well-known local business. At least, that’s what I thought I was saying. I remember her giving me a strange look, but I was so happy about being able to place flowers at my Besse’s grave, as he was very special to me.
We went back to the grave, and placed the flowers, and then we headed back to my aunt’s house. After lots of hugs and greetings and “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” at meeting her new great-nephew, we sat down at the table to have cake. I told my aunt about our visit to the florist and the grave, and as I was relating my story, I was hit by a rather embarrassing realisation…
In the shop, I had told the cashier that my “kvinne” ran the local business – I had meant to say “kusine”!! I have this habit of remembering words/facts/names, etc. by mentally making note of the first letter, and the rest of the word takes second place… with some rather embarrassing results, I’m sure you’ll agree!
Three years ago my grandparents took me with them on a tour through Southern Norway, it was in incredible experience! And, as usual, my older sister teased me and told me not to bring home any boys. I immediately planned to have my picture taken with a Norwegian boy or two just to scare her a little bit.
During my second day I had my picture taken with two Swedish boys, not Norwegian, and I wasn’t satisfied with that, I had to get my picture taken with Norwegian boys.
Several days later while I was in Røros there were two young boys that I thought were Norwegian, I thought that they had a strange accent, but I figured it must be a different dialect or something. I had my picture taken with them and didn’t find out until after the fact that they were actually FRENCH!
It was my last day in Norway and I knew I had to find a Norwegian. Suddenly I spotted him, a three year old boy was lugging his suitcase around after his momma. He had white blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and I knew he was the one! After getting permission from his mother I took a picture with him.
My sister received three different photos from me and she promptly gave me a little piece of her mind.
Several years ago we were traveling with a group to Norway. The week-end brought us to the Lofotens and though a fishing trip was scheduled, several of us wanted to worship in the stave church that Sunday. We were able to hire a small bus to take us there and since the group knew that I spoke a little Norwegian, they asked that I let them know the things they should be doing during worship….standing, sitting, how to receive communion etc.) The whole service, of course was in Norse, but we recognized the common service elements and felt we had worshiped and communed. The Pastor then got up and talked for several minutes at which point the congregation stood up. I did not, but my group did. Afterwards they asked my why I had not. “Well, you just helped elect the church council for next year,” I said.
During the 1982-83 school year, my family hosted a Norwegian exchange student. He spent the whole school year with us and became part of the family. He very much enjoyed the Florida sunshine and would go swimming in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico all the time.
Arne’s English was very good and he had very little trouble communicating. However, one day while he was at the local beach, swimming in the deeper water near the end of the pier he spotted some sharks. He quickly headed towards shore to warn the families and young children splashing in the surf. As he swam by he kept yelling to everyone “Hai! Hai!” And he couldn’t understand why everyone just smiled and waved to him responding with “Hi!” No one seemed to be worried to get out of the water.
It wasn’t until he returned home and was telling the story that he realized he was not saying “Shark!” in English, but rather “Hai!” in Norwegian.
Not long after I arrived in Norway, I started with a Norwegian language course. Before that, I would constantly ask people to speak English. Armed with my new knowledge, I went to buy some flowers in a shop, determined not to switch to English. It all went well, I understood their questions and was able to answer them (the very simple ones, like “would you like a bag”?
). When I was about to leave the guy said something I completely didn’t understand. I looked rather confused so he repeated it, but I still had no idea what he was trying to say. So I threw in my “unnskyld, jeg snakker bare litt norsk, snakker du engelsk?” – which he didn’t! He went to ask his colleague for a translation, but she didn’t know either. I was feeling quite embarrassed by now, but I thought he was trying to tell me something important (perhaps how to care for the plant?) so I patiently waited. The guy decided to go to the back of the shop to find someone who spoke English. When he came back with an English speaker, I finally found out what he had been trying to tell me – “God helg” – Have a good weekend!!!
The day had arrived when I would finally meet my Norwegian partner’s mother for the first time. Understandably, I was nervous and eager to make a good impression.
We got her home from the airport and I was busy making polite conversation about the weather and her flight over when, after rummaging through her suitcase, she produced a small bottle of pale brown liquid. “Aquavit”, she said, “a Norwegian tradition”.
Carefully she portioned the liquid into small glasses and handed them around. “Skål”, she said, smiling and raising her glass. I followed suit, but as I stood there blinking back my tears and desperately trying not to cough, I was surprised to see my partner’s mother give me a strange look before taking a tiny sip from her glass. Only then did it dawn on me – skål is NOT the same thing as skull!*
(* In New Zealand and Australian slang skull means ‘to drink the entire contents of something without pausing’.)
Apologies for the length of this one, but it’s a complex story…
Earlier this year, my partner Paul, and I, spent a couple of nights in Tromsø on our way to Svalbard. I had found a lovely-looking Bed & Breakfast on the internet, and traveller reviews were excellent. I was thrilled with my find, but more than a little puzzled when the confirmation email arrived. It contained the most detailed and peculiar check-in instructions and I joked to Paul: “I think I accidently booked us into a spy hotel!”
Let me quote directly from this priceless email:
“This is your code for late arrival: ask after New Year. Remember to bring this code with you for the stay. If your arrival is after 15.00 you check in as followed: By the front door you push the code mentioned above and open the door. On the inside you will find the key box no.1, where you push the same code, followed with B (confirm) and open by turn the wheel. In the key box you will find an envelope with your name and room number. Inside the envelope there is a key card with a key chip attached to it. The key card is for your room door and key chip for the front door. “
We were not due to arrive until around 10pm, so I dutifully printed out the email as I knew we would never memorise such detailed instructions. I also knew that we would be arriving in lovely Tromsø after a 30 hour flight marathon (Brisbane, Australia – Hong Kong – Helsinki – Oslo – Tromsø). I joked to Paul that we may be so jet lagged, we’d never manage to complete all the instructions and might end up having to sleep on the doorstep. I joked too quickly, it turned out!
We’d made the booking in December so four months passed before we finally took off on our Scandinavian adventure.
Weary and jet lagged, we arrived on the doorstep of the quaint B & B on a freezing March evening. And yes, as the email had warned, there was a key pad by the front door. Luckily, another guest was leaving as we arrived and she held the door open for us, so we made it into the lobby without having to enter the secret code. Once inside, we spotted another keypad. Clearly, this is where we were also to enter the code. But how, I asked Paul? The key pad only had numbers. How on earth were we meant to enter the words “Ask-after-New-Year”?
As Paul videoed my feeble attempts to solve this puzzle, I was becoming increasingly frustrated. Then it suddenly occurred to me. A light bulb moment! “I know” I announced “…I bet we have to enter the letters like you do on a mobile text message.” (You know: press 2 for A B and C, 3 for D E and F and so on.) “Oh it can’t possibly be that hard, can it?” Paul asked. But I was on a roll. Ingenious Norwegian trickery! I thought, as I pulled out my mobile phone and started entering the numbers that corresponded to the letters “Ask-after-New-Year”.
Clearly, I was a little demented from the jet lag. Or my frustrated ambition to be a spy. Either way, I persisted. It took a while. Then the moment came. With great anticipation, I pressed the letter B on the keypad and went to turn the wheel which would open the secret safe to reveal the envelope with our key card and key chip. Nothing. The door on the little safe would not budge.
By now, totally frustrated and seriously needing to get into our room for an overdue lie down, I desperately scanned the lobby looking for a phone to call the owners. At that moment, two guests walked by, and I showed them the emailed instructions.
“How on earth are we meant to key in the words Ask-after-New-Year?” I asked them.
They just about fell over laughing.
“No,” they informed us “that’s not your code. You must have made the booking last year, and you were meant to email them back after the New Year and they would send you the new code.”
With an embarrassed smile, I gratefully accepted the numeric code they kindly shared with us. Aha..at last…our room key was in my hands!
That was, to say the least, one of the most bizarre holiday experiences. And every painful minute of it caught on video. What an introduction to Tromsø!!
(PS: Despite the ‘challenging’ check-in process, The Ami Hotel was a great find.)
A big THANK YOU to all our participants. The top five will be posted shortly.