Norway Presentation

Tomorrow I get to present the culture of Norway in class. It's a group presentation. We got to choose the culture and Norway, being one of my favorites, was my suggestion. Although my part is actually on Norwegian folklore, I have really enjoyed the research and have not limited it to just my topic. It was a great excuse to buy more books about Norway! My favorite of the new books is Tastes & Tales of Norway by Siri Lise Daub. Although I don't usually sit down and read a cook book, this one is an exception. Besides recipes, it has lots of information about Norway, including some mythology and folklore, so it really isn't entirely off of my assigned topic afterall.

When we think of Norwegian food, there are a few items that come to mind that seem to be more Norwegian-American than they are truly Norwegian. Yes, they do have these items in Norway, but we make a bigger deal about them here. These things include lefsa (potato pancakes, which are good), lutefisk (which is infamous, but is actually eaten), and gammalost (old cheese - often a subject of jokes, but it is a real food item). Here's an account of an American trying lutefisk that I thought was pretty good. Make Love, Not Lutefisk

Of course there is so much more information than we have any chance of covering in class. Here are some of the links I liked the best: (I mostly bookmarked the Norwegian versions, but some of these are in English, and you will be able to find a link to the English version of the others.)

• Det Norske Kongehus About the monarchy. Belated congratulations, by the way, are due for the birth of Ingrid Alexandra, on January 21. I did read about the royal birth on the new princess's birthday, but didn't think to write about it here. I'm a blogger, not a news reporter.
• You can find current news at Aftenposten. I'll leave it to them to keep up with all that is going on. The link to the English side (Okay - you can tell that I have been studying my norsk - that is a typo but I will leave it. Side is the Norwegian word for page) is on the right side of the page, a ways down. There is a small English flag. Yes, I could have posted the link just as easily as typing the directions to it, but I feel like being contrary and making you work for it.
• Odin is the official government information site, and has a little bit of everything.
• Sons of Norway has a great, comprehensive website about Norway. My favorite part is under the "Norwegian Culture" menu. That is where you will find the recipes, language lessons, etc.
• The University of Minnesota's Language Center has links to dictionaries, travel resources, literature, history, and lots of other good stuff - just go look at it.
• If you would like to see Norway, live, but can't go there right now, you are in luck. Webcams in Norway offers the opportunity to see the country by means of over 400 webcams.
• If you haven't had enough yet, there are even more links at InfoNorway

I also need to thank Torunn and Terese from the Norskklassen e-mail list for telling us about Norway from their perspectives as Norwegians. All the information they shared, particularly about the schools, was very interesting. I love the website that Terese sent in about folk high schools. I wish I could have done that.