Learn five things that will help you make the most out of your travels in Norway
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| Jasmine: Hey everybody and welcome back to NorwegianClass101.com, where you get to learn about the real Norway. This is All About Lesson 6: Can You Answer These Questions about Norway? |
| Filip: In this lesson, we have something special. |
| Jasmine: A quiz! Which may have some of you thinking, "Oh no," but don't worry! This will be a fun one. |
| Filip: We're not going to test out your Norwegian skills or anything like that just yet. |
| Jasmine: Nope, these questions are all about Norway itself – society, geography, pop culture...so you can see how much you know about Norway. |
| Filip: Yes, because learning Norwegian is much more than just learning a language. |
| Jasmine: You learn about people, life, society - all that good stuff. |
| Filip: If you pass, you could always go on to the next lesson. |
| Jasmine: And if you don't pass, you can still go on to the next lesson! So, no pressure. So, everyone. Are you ready? |
| Filip: Umm, Jasmine, you'll be the one taking the test. |
| Jasmine: Oh, really? Okay then. Well, let's get going. |
| Filip: First question is on geography. |
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| Filip: In which part of Norway is Oslo located? |
| ---: A. the North |
| ---: B. the South West |
| ---: C. the South East |
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| Jasmine: Oh, I know this one. C, the South East. |
| Filip: That's right. Oslo is the largest city in Norway and also the capital city. |
| Jasmine: Yes, but despite that, Oslo doesn’t make it to any top charts, the city is very small and has only about six hundred thousand inhabitants. |
| Filip: Yeah, but that just helps on the cozy atmosphere and relaxed pace. |
| Jasmine: Yeah, Oslo really is a nice city. |
| Filip: The rest of Norway is pretty amazing too. |
| Jasmine: That's true. And it's cold. During the winter, temperatures can drop down to about -20°C and it snows heavily. |
| Filip: During summer however it soars up again to about +20-30 degrees and it can be pretty hot. |
| Jasmine: Okay. Next question. |
| Filip: Pop culture |
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| Filip: I'm going to name three people. One is a famous playwright, another is a politician, and the third is a sports star. Match the name with their profession. |
| Jens Stoltenberg |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjær |
| Henrik Ibsen |
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| Jasmine: Woah. I'm going to have to think about this one. Well, I know that Jens is the Prime Minister so he's the politician. The Champions League is coming and Ole Gunnar Solskjær is all over the news so he's certainly the athlete. That leaves Ibsen; he must be the playwright. |
| Filip: Nice job. |
| Jasmine: Ole Gunnar Solskjær was a famous Norwegian soccer player and is well-known throughout the world. He played for Manchester United but retired some years ago and became a football coach instead. |
| Jasmine: But who is Henrik Ibsen? |
| Filip: Henrik Ibsen is a Norwegian playwright. And I daresay an internationally acclaimed one. He has written plays like "A Doll's House," "Peer Gynt," and "An Enemy of the State." Of course you might probably have to be a bit interested in theater to know him. |
| Jasmine: Hmm, at least everybody knows Jens. |
| Filip: Right. Jens Stoltenberg is the current Prime Minister of Norway. |
| Jasmine: Yeah. He has been an active promoter of peace both in Norway and internationally. |
| Filip: And with his party, the Labor Party, he has arguably done a lot for the Norwegian citizens. |
| Jasmine: What's the next question? |
| Filip: Travel. |
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| Filip: Which are the most popular travel destinations in Norway? |
| A. Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen |
| B. Stavanger, Tromsø, Finnmark |
| C. Tønsberg, Lofoten, and Kristiansand |
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| Jasmine: I'm going to have to go with A. |
| Filip: And that's right. A. Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen. |
| Jasmine: Oslo is the most frequently visited city in Norway. |
| Filip: Not surprisingly since it's the capital. |
| Jasmine: Yeah, but I love landmarks like the Vigeland Park and all the museums. |
| Filip: Yes. There are quite a lot of them. |
| Jasmine: Second to Oslo we have Bergen. |
| Filip: Yeah, people congregate around Bergen for its famous dock areas. It is listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. |
| Jasmine: Without question a popular spot. Bergen has also invested in an aquarium to attract more tourists and also has a great restaurant life. |
| Filip: Trondheim is far up north but don't let that scare you. |
| Jasmine: During the winter the city is dark almost the whole day long, making it obvious that the city is also known to have a great night life. |
| Filip: You can also see the northern lights from the city and experience the midnight sun during summers. |
| Jasmine: What's the next question about? |
| Filip: Economics. |
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| Filip: Norway is the world’s largest exporter of… |
| A. iron ore |
| B. black metal, music |
| C. oil |
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| Jasmine: Umm. That's a hard one. I haven't heard about iron. I know Norway exports oil but I am going to go with B, black metal. |
| Filip: Tricky question! But it was correct, black metal. |
| Jasmine: Well, Norway is famous for their black metal but not everyone knows this. |
| Filip It's a sub-genre of metal and not so well known to those who aren´t into that type of music. |
| Jasmine: That´s right! |
| Filip: But amongst those who are interested in metal, Norway stands as a pillar, famous for the emergence of black metal and its great bands. |
| Jasmine: I used to listen to black metal back in the day, but I had no idea that it is Norway´s largest export. |
| Filip: Not quite, but its Norway’s largest cultural export. |
| Jasmine: For those interested in metal, be sure to check it out! |
| Perspective Check |
| Filip: Actually, many people don't know this but Norway's geographical size is smaller than the state of California. Its population is smaller than New York City but the GDP per user capita is the second largest in the world next to Luxemburg. |
| Jasmine: Whoa. That's very disproportionate numbers. |
| Filip: Yep. Norway is a small but powerful country. |
| Jasmine: Cool. Any more questions? |
| Filip: Nope. Just one last section about myths. |
| Jasmine: Myths? Like Odin and other Norse gods? |
| Filip: No. Myths about Norway. Things that people think about Norway that aren't true. |
| Jasmine: Well that's going to be one long section. |
| Filip: Don't worry! I've worked hard to get it as simple as possible. |
| Jasmine: Okay. |
| MYTH Buster! |
| Filip: So here is the first one. The biggest myth about Norway is that it is the capital of Sweden. |
| Jasmine: Well that sounds awfully wrong. I mean, it is its own country. |
| Filip: Very true. Next is Food. |
| Jasmine: Norwegians eat a lot of fish, but not only fish. They also like beef, pork, wild game, and other meat, some of the more archetypical Norwegian food being meatballs in brown sauce with potatoes and frozen pizza. |
| Filip: Yes, apart from that Norwegians also love kebab, Chinese, and sushi. Yes, sushi might be just about the most popular food in Norway right now, despite being Japanese. |
| Filip: Next is culture. |
| Jasmine: Norway is a mix pot of cultures. You can find a lot of different personalities wandering the streets. |
| Filip: Still, what Norwegians like to define themselves as is reserved and patient people with a slight national pride. |
| Filip: Next is society. |
| Jasmine: Norwegian society is a blend of African, Native American, Norwegian, German, Italian, Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and many other ethnicities. It kind of almost looks like the American "melting pot," just on a smaller scale. Filip, you know what? I kind of agree with that. |
| Filip: I told you I worked hard on this section. |
| Jasmine: Good job. |
| Filip: Next is natives. |
| Filip: Norway has a native people called Sami or Laps. They wandered over from Russia and Finland a long time ago. However, it is argued that other people came from the south at about the same time and so whether the Samis are natives or not is still disputed. Plus it was more than ten thousand years ago. |
| Jasmine: Wait a second! What about the Vikings? |
| Filip: Well, the last Viking died hundreds years ago. |
| Filip: Next is language. |
| Jasmine: And last, but not least, Norwegians speak Norwegian, not Swedish. Nice. |
| Filip: Yeah. I don't know who started that rumor about Norway being in Sweden. |
| Jasmine: Maybe it lies in the history. |
| Filip: All right! That's all for our quiz! |
| Jasmine: We hope you had fun and that this lesson format was interesting. |
| Filip: You should try asking your family and friends these questions and see how they do! |
| Jasmine: That sounds like a fun idea! You can teach other people what you've just learned about Norway. |
| Filip: And this is only the beginning of all the interesting things about Norway. |
| Jasmine: Definitely. |
| Filip: Everyone, come and share with us any interesting facts you know about Norway in the comments section on the web site! |
| Jasmine: At NorwegianClass101.com! See you there! |
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