I decided to pick the country Norway, because my mother’s side of the family is full blooded Norwegian. Since it is such a big part of my heritage and I don’t know much about it, I wanted to learn more about Norway’s history, culture, school system, traditions, and religion. Once I started doing some research, I became aware of how little I actually knew about the country.
            Here is a little overview of some basic facts about Norway: All facts come from kwintessential.co.uk, 2010.

Population: 4,574,560
Capital: Olso
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 86%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, other 1%, none and unknown 10%.
Language:  99% of Norwegians speak the official language, Norwegian. Norwegian has two written forms, “Bokmal” (Book Norwegian) and “Nynorsk” (New Norwegian).
Currency: The currency of Norway is the Krone.

Longships

The country’s name means “the northward route,” which in Old Norse is nor veg or *norð vegr. Human settlement in Norway dates back “at least 11,000 years to the late Paleolithic.” (Wikipedia, 2010) These people “gained their livelihood by hunting and fishing.” (Lampe, Pg. 7) Norway is located in Northern Europe on the western and northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway shares a border with Sweden, Finland and Russia. Norway has numerous resources including: oil, natural gas, hydroelectric power, fish and forestry.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Petroglyphs which are “a drawing or carving on rock, made by a member of prehistoric people,” (Dictionary, 2010) dating from the Neolithic Age show some scenes of hunter and gatherers. During the Bronze Age and Iron Age, more permanent communities were developed. Norway as a country had a significant expansion from 800-1066, and it is known has the Viking Age. Norwegians during this time along with other cultures like; Swedes and Danes would travel “on longships, as raiders, explorers, settlers and traders.” (Wikipedia, 2010) During the middle of the 11^th century, Norway was firmly established as a kingdom. Norway and also many other countries in Europe experienced in the 1300’s the Black Death, killing around half of the population. This caused Norway to enter a time of decline until the “advent of Christina the Magnificent, also known as the good lady of Strandgaten.” (Wikiepdia, 2010)



Lefse



The Scream by Edvard Munch

The culture of Norway is very fascinating and is known to be a “farm culture.” This resulted from scarce resources and a harsh climate but also from ancient property laws. During the 18^th century, there was a strong romantic nationalistic movement. This resulted in numerous areas of literature, art and music. One very well-known painter, Edvard Munch was born in Norway, a painter of the famous painting “The Scream.” Norway has very many culinary traditions which “show the influence of long seafaring and farming traditions.” Some dishes that are popular are: Salmon, herring, trout, codfish, lefse, lutefisk, smalahove, pinnekjøtt, Krotekaker, and fårikål. Lefse is a common Norwegian potato flat bread, common around Christmas. 

Architecture in Norway has a tradition of building with wood materials. Most of the more interesting new buildings are made of wood which tends to reflect that it is a good material for Norwegian designers and builders. Norwegian builders also use stonework after the conversion to Christianity, one of the buildings constructed is the “Nidaros Cathedral” in Trondheim. One of the most famous wooden architecture is the “Bryggen Wharf” in Bergen which has a row of narrow wooden structures. The “National Day” of Norway is on May 17^th. This day marks the Constitution of Norway; Norwegians celebrate this day by wearing “Bunad,” which is a traditional costume and by watching the Constitution Day parade. There are also Christian holidays like Christmas, “which is called “Jul” in Norway after the pagan and early Viking winter solstice, and Easter.” (Wikipedia, 2010) 

“The Jante Law is a pattern of group behavior towards individuals within Scandinavian communities, which negatively portrays and criticizes success and achievements as unworthy and inappropriate.” (Wikipedia, 2010) The Jante Law is typed below.

1. Don't think you're anything special.
2. Don't think you're as much as us.
3. Don't think you're wiser than us.
4. Don't convince yourself that you're better than us.
5. Don't think you know more than us.
6. Don't think you are more than us.
7. Don't think you are good at anything.
8. Don't laugh at us.
9. Don't think anyone cares about you.
10. Don't think you can teach us anything.

“The term can be used by individuals who feel they are not allowed to take credit for their achievements, or to point out their beliefs that another person is being overly critical.” (Wikipedia, 2010) “The Law of Jante expresses a widespread cultural belief in egalitarianism.” (Caulkins, 2010)

Harald V of Norway

Norway political system consists of the Courts of Justice, where they have a Supreme Court and Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister of Norway is Jens Stoltenberg. Norway also has a King who has the right in the council of state to pardon criminals after sentence has been passed. The current King of Norway is Harald V. His processor is his father Olav V. Harald V of Norway is the “nominal head of the Church of Norway.”

Children in Norway are required to attend school from the ages of 6-16. In Norway, the school year runs from mid August to late June of the following year. They also get a Christmas Holiday from mid December to end of January. There are three parts of the Education system; Elementary School which is called “Barneskole,” lower secondary school which is called “Ungdomsskole,” and upper secondary school which is called “Videregående skole.” Both elementary school and lower secondary school are mandatory for all children between the ages of 6-16.

In elementary school, students are introduced to maths, English, Norwegian, science, religion, esthetics's and gymnastics, geography, history and social studies. They do not receive official grades but are given a written comment by the teacher. When students start to attend lower secondary school which is around the age of 12, they do begin getting grades for their work. These grades determine if they get accepted into the high school of their choice. Then students have the optional schooling of upper secondary school, but because there are few jobs available for students who choose not to attend upper secondary school it has made the option of not attending unavoidable. Before 1994, there were three branches of upper secondary schooling: General, which is language, history, etc., mercantile, which is accounting, and vocational, which is electronics and carpentry studies. Currently they have merged all three branches into one branch.

Wedding traditions in Norway are very special. The groom typically wears a Bundas, which is a handmade woolen suit and it is very colorful. The bride wears a traditional white or silver wedding gown. One of the special traditions for the bride is that she will wear silver or gold crown that has small spoon shaped bangles dangling from it. The tradition is that the music of the crown will ward off the evil spirits. Another tradition is that the bridesmaid will dress similarly as the bride to confuse the evil spirit and in doing so, protects the bride from evil influences. The bride and groom will exchange gold or silver wedding rings which represent no beginning and end. After the wedding, there is usually a big reception where friends and family dance to traditional music. At the end, “two small fir trees are planted on either side of the door as a symbol of children to come.” (Sutton, 2010) 

Woman's Bunad

As I mentioned earlier, a traditional dress of Norway is called the “Bunad.” They tend to be elaborate with embroidery, scarves, shawls, and handmade silver or gold jewelry. Norwegians wear the Bunad at many celebrations like: folk dances, weddings, holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays. There are about 200 different designs of Bunads, and most of them are based on the old customs. Currently, Bunads are viewed as a status symbol and they tend to range in price from $2,000-10,000. The price of Bunads depends on the design, material, embroidery, and accessories. Bunads usually take up to a year to make, and it has become a tradition for parents to give their child a Bunad for confirmation.

Norway first believed in “Norse Mythology.” Norse mythology had more to do with actions over faith. Norwegians worshipped the gods through ceremonies and offerings. Norway then converted to Christianity around the year 1000. It is said that the battle of Stiklestad in 1030 was the turning point, Olav Haraldson fell, and he then became the most important saint in Norway. Currently, Norway does have religious freedom, but Evangelical Lutheran is the official religion. 

In researching Norway, I learned a lot about their history, culture, school system, traditions and religion. Learning all of this information makes me proud to call myself half Norwegian. I look forward to visiting Norway someday and learning even more about their culture.

Sources Cited:

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/norway-country-profile.html 12-3-10
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Petroglyphs 12-3-10
http://www.travour.com/weddings/world-wedding-traditions/norwegian-wedding-traditions.html 12-3-10
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Norway.html 12-3-10

http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Articles/Theme/About-Norway/History/Religion-in-Norway/ 12-3-10
Lampe, "Norway," Published by the National Travel Association of Norway. 1945. Printed in Norway by Grondahl & Sons Boktrykkeri, Olso.
History of Norway. (2010, December 6). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:25, December 14, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Norway&oldid=400782711
Culture of Norway. (2010, December 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:26, December 14, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Culture_of_Norway&oldid=402231434
Geography of Norway. (2010, December 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:27, December 14, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geography_of_Norway&oldid=401518225
Innes, Hammond, "Life World Library Scandinavia" 1963. Time Inc. Library of Congress 63-12344, School and library distribution by Silber Burdett Company

Outline for final project

Topic: To learn more about Norway's history, culture, school system, traditions and religion.
Introduction: (Something on my heritage and why I want to learn about Norway.)

Body:

History-
   History on Norway
     Culture-
   Culture on Norway
      Schooling-
   Schooling in Norway
   
   Traditions:
   Traditions in Norway
 Religion:
   Religions in Norway
  
Conclusion- (basically what I learned  about Norway.)

Final Project

For my final projet, I plan on doing one very extensive country report on Norway. My main focus is to learn more about their culture and history. My mother's side of the family comes from Norway, and this is why I am really interested in learning more about it.

Results for 3rd Interview

3rd Interview Winner: Qian Wang

Scorecard:

I chose Qian Wang as the winner for the third interview for multiple reasons. When she described her preparations of the interview it was very descriptive and clear. When she wrote about her preparations, she did everything that was asked and it looked like she really took time on her interviews. I loved Qian's country report. It was so descriptive and I learned so much from it. She had very interesting facts and I loved reading it. Reading her interview was very fun. Her interview flowed and you could tell that both people had fun doing it. Overall her blog looks really nice and is up to date.

Results for 2nd Interview

Winner: Hequi Liu

Scorecard:

I chose Hequi Liu as the winner for the second interview for multiple reasons. When he described his preparations or the interview it was very thoughtful and clear. I liked that he showed his interviewee the country report that he had written. It was a very thoughtful idea. It was nice that he was knowledgeable about Somalia and that they could share information back and forth. I would like to say that his country report is clearly amazing. I learned quite a deal by reading it. He made it informative yet also interesting. He made it more personal by adding pictures to catch people's eye and included things like Somalia's general history, informative facts about their government, population, food, and many other topics. I loved how he even showed where Somalia was on the globe, because being geographically challenged myself, it was nice to see where it was located. When reading his transcript, I thought it flowed very nicely and was really interesting to read. Hequi had very good questions and you could tell he wanted to learn more about Somalia's culture and customs. Overall his blog looks very appealing and easy to read.

Interview #3

Laci: Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Michael: Okay, um originally I come from the middle of Germany, about an hour away from Berlin. I lived there with my parents and a brother, he is younger me. I moved out and attended University. At the moment I am at the University.

Laci: How is your education in Germany compared to your semester here?

Michael: We just have two semesters a year, winter and summer semester, I think also they are a little bit longer, yeah we don’t have to do that many stuff during the semester we just have the final exam at the end of the semester and it’s the only grade to pass the class.

Laci: Do you like the one final grade?

Michael: I’m a lazy person so I don’t mind not having to do anything during the semester, but um if you fail the final exam or have a bad day you just have the one grade which can be bad but it can be good too

Laci: What are some wedding traditions?

Michael: Weddings are very similar, Bride has to wear something old something new something borrowed something blue; you have to get married in the state institution, or go to the church and have a religious ceremony. At the state institution they get official married and then have a party afterwards, throw the bouquet and cut the cake together. My parents had to saw a stem of a tree together. I think it’s pretty similar.

Laci: What are some religious aspects of Germany or cultural aspects?

Michael: It’s mainly Christian but I think the main religion is atheists. The church fights with losing of members, some cultural things, Bavaria Oktoberfest, that’s not the culture of Germany it’s the culture of Bavaria, and you guys generalize. We have other folk fests in my state, we light lamps and flow them in the river, and plastic ducks that you take for bathing and set it in the river to race. Different culture then in the south. In the north they have another culture.

Laci: Do you have different rules of eye contact or body language?

Michael: The distance of people when they are talking are about the same as here, in south Europe it’s a little bit closer, but in Germany it’s about the same here.

Laci: What’s your diet?

Michael: White sausages, barvarian specialty, I eat cereals, on weekends we have, you guys have rolls when translated it, it would be called little bread, we eat it with jelly. We are not into the peanut butter and jelly stuff; I don’t know many people who like peanut butter in Germany. I eat at the café at the University and there are only two choices. It’s more healthy, the cafeteria for example they reorganized their meal, more potatoes, no French fries, no hamburgers, no pizza.

Laci: Can you tell me a little about East/West Germany and the Berlin wall?

Michael: Okay after WWII um Germany, you had the Americans and English people coming from the one side of Germany and the Russians from the east, after the war they wanted to make one big zone but then they had an argument so then they divided Germany into two zones, East belonged to Russia and the West belonged to the Americans. Americans lead them into independence, and the Russians kept their control over East Germany. They bleeded it out and there is an economical difference between the east and west zone. West zone were leading in economically, East zone was under communism and were under total control under the Russians. In the 1960s they built the wall, you couldn’t pass between east and west, there were not few people who realized that it wasn’t good to be under the Russians, the Russians were scared that it would be empty soon so they built a wall. The Russian soldiers had the right to shoot people who tried to pass there; some of these cases went to court later. You couldn’t pass through and all of your relatives in the west you couldn’t see them, this went on, and they developed different and some politicians engaged for the reunion, Russia, Stalin said no. In 1989 they started to try the reunion, and it’s a little more known picture of the wall being torn down. I was born in the USSR, the communism went down, I think it was a big shock for the people in the East; all of their things were worth nothing. All of the people in the west had a lot of money; the state owned all of the factories.

Laci: Now days, how is it between the east and west?

Michael: There are some jokes and the hats, there is a difference and it’s still there, not that much in my generation and some people still think that way because of their parents, but I think when the older people die and the younger people won’t think about it as much, you could probably compare it to the civil war.

Laci: What is Germanys view on Global warming and their use of resources?

Michael: We don’t need big trucks for agriculture, no need for them, most of Germans live in towns, and they are older and most American towns are built for cars, but German cities just grew and so we don’t have that place for parking and things like that, and the gas is much more expensive for a gallon of gas its $10.

Laci: What is your favorite sport to play?

Michael: I think volleyball and table tennis, I started in soccer. I did basketball and volleyball it was fun.  Soccer is the biggest sport. Every boy plays at least ten times in soccer, everyone loves to play. It is getting more diverse when you’re older; in my neighborhood basketball is getting bigger.

Laci: What is your daily routine on a school day?

Michael: In high school, my school started at 7:30 in the morning, I got up at 6 everyday, and I rode the public bus and stuff like that the railroad?

Laci: Like a train?

Michael: Yeah its pretty good to travel through the town, took ten minutes. Class on good days from 7:30 to 1pm and on bad days 7:30 to 6pm, I never did homework, I never learned because I just didn’t want to, the rest of the day was yours to make friends and hang out.

Laci: Can you further explain the three different middle schools?

Michael: Yup, everyone goes to elementary school and then you have three different ways to go, the baddest school, you learn the least in this school you have the lowest uh the word is missing, they expect the least from you. After that you have the lowest degree. Then you have “real” school, you learn more things and your degree is higher, with this degree you’re able to get the highest degree, which is 12 years, and you learn more than here. Like with physics and math I could study here like to 300 courses no problem passing them without studying.

Laci: Can you tell me more about University?

Michael: You have to do more stuff on your own, read more books on there the professors or on the campus for research and writing their papers, teaching is just a little thing next to their work.

Laci: Is there anything you would like me to know?

Michael: Like I said, people think um the whole Germany looks like Bavaria but it’s literally diverse and it’s very typically, like the famous clocks its western of Germany. In my region there was much mining, and in the north there are fishing and boat. We have to do a lot more math and science, so I had 12 years of math just in school 6 years of biology 8 years of physics 8 years of chemistry, in the science things Germany is more advance than here. You just didn’t learn it in school, we find it that not hard.

Laci: What kind of animals do you have in Germany? You know like how we have squirrels

Michael: Rat’s maybe? We have rats everywhere.

Laci: I’ve never seen a rat before

Michael: No? Really? Yeah they are everywhere in the cities. I had a turtle once and snakes are getting bigger for a pet. Some girls have horses. We don’t have very many big animals, some wild pigs; wolves are nearly dead in Germany. It’s not dangerous in Germany.

Laci: Do you have any questions for me?

Michael: I don’t think so.

Laci: Is there anything that you would like to add?

Michael: Big inventions from Germany, the pen, or computers, game consoles the car, books most Americans don’t know like rockets and atomic bomb was invented by a German, most Americans don’t know that after the war Americans stole a lot of documents from the Germans, 1,000 tons of paper about inventions and things like that and took it from us. It’s just Germany never had the money to do basic research as America has it and all the German scientists go to America to research.

Laci: Why did you decide to study in America for a semester?

Michael: I was always interested in America, it’s cool but you don’t have to worry about getting along with new things the countries are similar, the courses are easier here than Germany so when I get 5 A’s here I get 10 A’s in Germany. I like it except Garvey, its gross.

My computer then died, but we continued to talk about what he didn't like about Garvey, and then the interview ended.  

Preparations for the interview: 
First, I thought of twelve questions that I wanted to ask my interviewees. As a class we decided on eight more questions and I added those to my final list of questions to ask the interviewees. I decided that I wanted to interview foreign exchange students from Germany, since we had a total of 22 students and most of them lived in my dorm; Benton. I decided to use my computer to record the interview, before this decision, I did a test interview with my roommate to see if the sound quality would be suffice for the interview, so that I could write a transcript. 

How did you approach people? 

I walked over to Carol Hall and asked them if it was possible to get a list of e-mails or room numbers of the German exchange students. They were very helpful and got my information, and they actually sent an e-mail to a couple of German exchange students explaining the project with my contact information. The same day, I got two e-mails from two very willing German exchange students. We sent e-mails back and forth figuring out when to conduct the interview. I got Michael's information from my first Interviewee David. I was then able to send e-mails back and forth with Michael to come up with a spot to interview and set a time.  

When, Where, and How did you conduct the interview?

I conducted the interview with Michael in the basement of Carol Hall. I figured this spot would be comforable because there are rarely any students in the basement during the day, and its a spot that most residents of Benton are very familiar with. My first interview went well in the basement of Carol Hall, and my second interview, didn't go as well because of noise. I decided that I would hope that it was like the first time, and it was. We were the only ones down there, so there wasn't very much noise at all. I arrived ten minutes early and set up my computer. When Michael arrived, we introduced ourselves, I explained the assignment a little more clearly and gave him the list of questions, so that he knew a little bit more what to expect.

Whom did you interview? 

I interviewed Michael, he is from Middle Germany, about an hour away from Berlin. Michael has a younger brother and lives with his mom and dad. After high school, he started University, and decided to attend SCSU because he had always wanted to come to the United States. 

Describe the interview 

I thought the interview went okay. We were both comfortable in the beginning and it made it easier to have a conversation. It got a little more difficult because he seemed to not be very fond of the United States. I wasn't really sure how to respond to a couple of the things he said, so I basically just asked another question, and decided to not respond. 

Country Report
Germany is a country located in Europe. In Europe, Germany has the largest economy. "It is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states." (Wikipedia, 2010) Germany's flag consists of "three horizontal stripes of equal width, black at the top, red in the middle and gold at the bottom." (Country Reports, 2010) This country is about the size of Minnesota. Germany has a population of around 81,000,000 and it's ranked "15th overall for population." (CIA, 2010) Germany's main religion is Christian and there are two main types of Christianity, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Germany has a climate very similar to Minnesota, and this type of weather is called temperate seasonal climate. The current president of Germany is; Christian Wulff, and he will be in office for a five year term. "Germany maintains a network of 229 diplomatic missions abroad and holds relations with more than 190 countries." (Wikipedia, 2010) In Germany, they have a life expectancy of about 79 years of age. Germany is actually known for producing many poets and thinkers. Sport wise, soccer would be one of Germany's favorite, but some other sports on the rise are handball, volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, and tennis. Once people reach the age of 16, they are allowed to drink wine and beer. When they are 18, they are allowed to drink any alcoholic beverage of their choice. Germany after WWI, was a very poor country. People felt helpless at the time. "Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg in 1933." (Country Reports, 2010) Germany is known for having the most holidays for a country. They have around twelve holidays that they get off of work from. 

Works Cited. 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany 10-27-10

http://www.countryreports.org/history/timeline.aspx?countryid=91 10-27-10

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gm.html 10-27-10

Score Card for first Interviews

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AiPNBbklDC4ZdFBkcTFCVF9adDI5MWozOVlnOF81ZFE&hl=en