what we should know about

Fencing controversy causes long, unusual delay

2012-07-30T23:30:00.002-07:00

Day Three in London

2012-07-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

NBC spoiled Missy Franklin’s victory moments before it aired

2012-07-30T23:17:00.002-07:00

Moments before airing Missy Franklin's tape-delayed Olympic victory in the 100-meter backstroke, NBC ran a promo for Tuesday's edition of "Today" that said this: "When you're 17 years old and win your first gold medal, there's nobody you'd rather share it with."

The network had yet to show the Franklin's win when it ran the "Today" teaser that included this photograph of the teen sensation standing on the medal stand with the gold draped around her neck.

The short clip then cut to a video of Franklin hugging her parents outside London's Aquatic Center, presumably after the race that she had won seven hours before NBC showed it on the East Coast.

Due to the five-hour time difference between London and the eastern time zone, NBC is running its entire primetime program on tape delay. The decision has led to the usual criticism from media and viewers even as the network is posting record ratings through the first two nights of the Games.

Spoilers are difficult to avoid. Anyone with an internet connection or a talkative companion is bound to hear the Olympic news of the day, all of which happens well before NBC goes on the air at 8 p.m. ET. But to hear it from the network itself mere moments before the race? It's irresponsible, hypocritical and insulting. NBC needs to stop believing that 25 million casual viewers gives it a mandate to slap the minority of hardcore ones in the face. There's a dedicated corps of fans who dutifully avoid results throughout the day. The network ruins it enough by tape delaying coverage (which is their right). Don't compound the issue by spoiling it, too.

Those same fans would have also been flummoxed on Saturday when NBC News anchor Brian Williams led his broadcast by reporting the results of the highly-anticipated Ryan Lochte-Michael Phelps final in the 400 IM.

"Good evening from London," Williams said that night. "While we try to be sensitive about spoiler alerts for our viewers who like to watch the Olympic Games in primetime here on NBC and let the story play out, the news we begin with here tonight has already rocketed all the way around the world."

Related Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Sports:

Obama could be descended from African slave

2012-07-30T23:15:00.002-07:00

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A team of genealogists has found evidence that President Barack Obama could be a descendent of anAfrican slave — but not through the lineage of his black father, the most likely route researchers had followed and exhausted.

The link, genealogists with Ancestry.com said Monday, is, in fact, through an examination of his white mother's family history.

"We were surprised and excited to make that connection," saidJoseph Shumway, a member of the Utah-based Ancestry.com team.

Obama's father was from Kenya and his mother was from Kansas. It had been generally assumed that the president had no slave ancestors because researchers couldn't find it through the lineage of his father. However, no one had yet performed any exhaustive research into the lineage of his white mother, who turns out to have a mixed-raced family history.

Ancestry.com now said the maternal line traces back to one of the first documented African slaves in the U.S.

The company said Obama could be the 11th great-grandson of John Punch, an African slave in colonial Virginia. He is believed to have had children with a white woman, starting a family line that led generations later to Obama's mother.

The White House declined comment Monday.

The Ancestry.com team used DNA analysis and marriage and property records to trace Obama's maternal ancestry. The company says it can't establish a definitive link because of gaps in family history. Researchers are missing a record connecting Punch to a presumed son who by his early 20s owned 450 acres and grew tobacco in Virginia.

The records pick up when a grandson of Punch petitioned a court to marry a white woman — and was turned down, presumably because the grandson appeared of mixed-raced heritage, said Elizabeth Shown Mills, a former president of the American Society of Genealogists.

The Ancestry.com findings make for a tantalizing tale that wasn't uncommon in early colonial Virginia, and the team probably got it right, Mills said.

"They did the best job possible," said Mills, who reviewed the findings at Ancestry.com's request.

Ancestry.com said its team spent two years exploring Obama's maternal line. The puzzle starts with Punch, who is presumed to have arrived in Virginia around 1640 from west Africa, initially as an indentured servant obligated to work for years to pay for his passage.

"He jumped the gun and took off," Mills said. Punch was recaptured and made a slave for life. His punishment was tougher than white servants received for absconding, leading historians to call him the first African to be enslaved years before Virginia legalized slavery.

Nothing is known about Punch's presumed relationship with a white woman. But his landowner son is presumed to be John Bunch, either because the mixed-raced family changed its name or because records transcribed it incorrectly, Shumway said. Researchers were able to make a definitive connection between the successive Bunch family line and Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995.

Researchers concluded John Bunch had to be the son of John Punch, Shumway said.

"He's in the right place at the right time, and he's the right age," he said, adding that to this day, Bunch family members who appear white share the DNA profile of people in west Africa.

Mills said she was not surprised by the slavery link that came through the lineage of Obama's white mother.

"There are many Americans discovering they have African ancestry. It's something that is whispered, not something families want the world to know," she said. "This is what is so fascinating about American history. You see how people felt in the past, and how we think about it today."

President Obama related to country’s first enslaved man

2012-07-30T23:13:00.003-07:00

President ObamaA study from Ancestry.com has determined that President Obama is related to John Punch, the first black African enslaved for life in America--which would make Punch the 11th great-grandfather of Obama.

The connection is made through Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunhan. The website's records say she had ancestors who were white landowners in Colonial Virginia who descended from an African man, Punch.

According to the site's press release, Punch tried to escape indentured servitude in colonial Virginia in 1640 and was punished by becoming enslaved for life. The records show that Punch had children with a white woman, and her status as free was passed on to her offspring. Punch's descendents became successful landowners in the slave-owning state of Virginia.

This would mean that the first documented slave and the first African American president have a shared lineage, claim researchers. Said Ancestry.com's genealogist Joseph Shumway, "John Punch was more than likely the genesis of legalized slavery in America. But after centuries of suffering, the Civil War, and decades of civil rights efforts, his 11th great-grandson became the leader of the free world and the ultimate realization of the American Dream."

Genealogists seem to be fascinated with the current president's family tree: The site has also traced anIrish branch of Obama's family. And researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Societyclaim he is the distant cousin of movie star Brad Pitt and six past presidents, including George W. Bush.

How to Get Adsense Account Approved in 24h

2012-07-30T03:38:00.003-07:00

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Angkor Wat- Cambodia

2012-07-30T03:30:00.005-07:00

Angkor Wat

Constructed : Early/Mid 12th century, 1113-1150
Religion : Hindu
Style : Angkor Wat
King : Suryavarman II ★ 1113 - 1150 ★
Location : On the small circuit.

Comment : There are few places anywhere on earth to match the splendor of Angkor Wat that is one of the largest monuments to religion ever built and is truly one the wonders of the world.

Believed to have been constructed as a temple and mausoleum for King Suryavarman II at the peak of the Khmer empire in the first half of the 12th century, Angkor Wat is probably the best-preserved of the Angkorean temples. As with other Angkorean temples and walled cities such as Angkor Thom, the central theme of Khmer architecture revolved around the idea of the temple-mountain. By the time building on Angkor Wat was begun early in the 12th century, this had been elaborated to a central tower surrounded by four smaller towers. The central monument represents the mythical Mount Meru, the holy mountain at the centre of the universe, which was home to the Hindu god Vishnu. The five towers symbolise Mount Meru's five peaks.

It is difficult to express in words the enormous scale of Angkor Wat, but it can be explained in part by a look at the dimensions of the complex. The temple is surrounded by a moat which makes the one around the Tower of London, built at roughly the same time, look like nothing more than a garden trench. At 190 metres wide and forming a rectangle measuring 1.5 km by 1.3 km, it is hard to imagine any attacking force overwhelming the defences. But the moat was more than just a defensive bulwark, in line with the temple's Hindu origins it represented the oceans of the world. A rectangular wall measuring 1025 metres by 800 metres borders the inner edge of the moat.

There is a gate in each side of the wall, but unusually for the mainly Hindu-influenced Angkorian temples, the main entrance faces west. This entrance is a richly decorated portico, 235 m wide with three gates. However, the temple's greatest sculptural treasure is its 2 km-long bas-reliefs around the walls of the outer gallery and the hundred figures of devatas and apsaras. This intricately carved gallery tells stories of the god Vishnu and of Suryavarman II's successes on the battlefield. The whole complex covers 81 hectares.

Angkor Thom

Constructed : Late 12th/Early 13th century
Religion: Buddhism
Style : Bayon
King : Jayavarman VII ★ 1181 - 1218 ★
Location : Just to 1.7 km in the North of Angkor Wat, a gigantic unit that one cannot miss, would not be this that because of the gate of entry and the bridge which precedes it. In the order, Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom Kel, Phnom Bakheng, Baksei Chamkrong, Prasat Bei and South Gate of Angkor Thom.

Comment : Angkor Thom (large Angkor ) is a royal city of 10 Km² surrounded by walls and ditches. There still, a book would not be enough to describe all the richness of this unit. The tourists in a hurry will cross the site in less than one hour, but those which are interested a little in this style of construction can largely envisage a half day on the spot! When Jayavarman VII started the construction of Large Angkor, Baphuon and Phimeanakas existed already but had been devastated by Chams.

Five majestic doors, whose stones sometimes mix with the roots of splendid trees, crowned giant heads, decorate the four cardinal points of the city and the access road to the Royal Palace. The construction of Large Angkor was the celebration of a victory (from where probably the door of this name) for Jayavarman VII after it drove out the Cham enemy at the end of the 12° century.

Angkor Thom is enormous temple which is protected in the rampart and the ring moat. As for the rampart around to be made accurately with the laterite, height approximately 8 meters. As for ring moat around 100 meters in width, as for depth 5 or 6 meters. Angkor Thom the north east which keeps reducing altitude - is located with respect to pivot southwest. Because of that, north east angle to be high southwest angle is low. The vertical separation presently approximately 10 meters. It took in the water of the ring moat from north east angle making use of this vertical separation, inside the castle flowed and accumulated in Angkor Thom in southwest angle, from here was discharged in the ring moat.

There is a Bayon temple on the Angkor thom center. You say that there were five ports, there was a door of the wood product in those and was closed in the night. There being a court of the woodwork inside, the king lived, in addition was a many temple and a reservoir. By the way, Angkor Thom (big capital) with being afterwards, it is the name which is accustomed.

Bakong

Constructed : Late 9th century - 881
Religion: Hindu (Shivaism)
Style : Preah Ko
King : Indravarman I ★ 877 - 889 ★
Location : Roluos Group. Located at Au Luok village, Ba Korng Commune, Prasat Bakong District in 15-kilometer distance from the provincial town of Siem Reap by the National Road No. 6. Then turning right.

Comment : They are first ones as the large-sized mountain type temple which was made with the sandstone in the process of evolution of the temple construction in Angkor period. Also the constitution where you can feel the central hall small lightly the stylobate (especially) in comparison with heavy appearance more, it probably will be considered as one process of evolution. View helix from near the central hall it seems, calls the artificial mountain it is suitable.

The ring moat of Bankong, presently being covered in the grass, has become like the swamp land. The ring moat was possible with the laterite, there was a stairway which it is possible with the sandstone which lap it is low is surrounded in the wall, in addition descends to underwater, but the part of that remains on east side participating road both sides. Lap there is a wall in the place which crosses the ring moat, furthermore lap there is a wall mark even in the inner part. In the halfway right side the Buddhism temple, is elementary school in the left hand. Foreward reaching to the stylobate section, the building which it is possible to left and right, with the sandstone systematically has lined up

Furthermore when it advances, in the front the stylobate of five layer which is heavy-looking increases in pyramid type, the central hall of thinness one stands on that. In order from under and under one of the first section for the tower hall whose 12 is small to surround the central hall in fourth layer, it is arranged.

The stylobate section and the central hall are covered with the sandstone, but in order to surround around the central stylobate, eight hall groups which stand are the brick making. In addition, in order the small hall group of the brick and the sandstone where each one has specific name, to surround the central hall completely, it stands even in the forest outside the ring moat.

Among these it seems that the hall which remains on south side state is best. Also verifying the extent of such temple limits, probably will be useful to the scale of Bakong and knowing constitution.

Baksei Chamkrong

Constructed : Early/Mid 10th century - 910-947
Religion : Hindu
Style : Bakheng
King : Harshavarman I ★ 910 - 923 ★
Location : With less than 200 meters of Phnom Bakheng, on the left, right
before arriving at the Southern gate of Angkor Thom.

Description : Baksei Chamkrong is a 12-meter tall brick and laterite pyramid. Combine with a visit to the South Gate and Phnom Bakheng. Lighting is best in the morning. Harshavarman I began construction or perhaps dedicated statues at the site. The temple was later improved/restored by Rajendravarman II shortly after the capital was returned to Angkor from Koh Ker. According to inscriptions on the doorway Rajendravarman consecrated the temple with the installation of golden Shiva image in 947AD. It may have also served as funerary temple.

Banteay Chhmar

Constructed : Late 12th century
Religion: Mahayana Buddhism
Style : Bayon
King : Jayavarman VII ★ 1181 - 1218 ★
Location : 23Km from Sisophon and to the north-west of Angkor, this was one of the capitals of Jayavarman II. It was rebuilt during the reign of king Jayavarman VII and dedicated to his son, who was killed in battle.

Comment : Banteay Chhmar is not popular to tourists but very interesting temple located near by Thai border. Temple itself is mostly destroyed and Lost almost all of it's devatas and other bas-reliefs but some good curvings are still on the wall of galleries and gopuras.

Banteay Chhmar is the enormous plane surface development temple of the Bayon style. East west 800 meter north and south 600 meters. Inside the ruins collapse is terrible, but you can see the motif which is similar to the Bayon in the relief which barely remains.

Temple Detail : The temple complex of Banteay Chhmar was constructed by Jayavarman VII. There is debate over its origins, with some scholars suggesting it was built in tribute to Jayavarman VII’s son Indravarman and the Cambodian generals responsible for defeating the Chams, while others propose it was intended as a funerary temple for the king’s grandmother.

Originally enclosed by a 9km-long wall, the temple housed one of the largest and most impressive Buddhist monasteries of the Angkorian period. Today, it is one of the few temples to feature the enigmatic, Bayon-style visages of Avalokiteshvara, with their mysterious - and world famous - smiles. On the temple’s east side, a huge bas-relief on a partly-toppled wall dramatically depicts naval warfare between the Khmers (on the left) and the Chams (on the right), with the dead - some being devoured by crocodiles - at the bottom. Further south (to the left) are scenes of land warfare with infantry and elephants. There are more martial bas-reliefs along the exterior of the temple’s south walls.

The once-grand entry gallery is now a jumble of fallen sandstone blocks, though elsewhere a few intersecting galleries have withstood the ravages of time, as have some almost-hidden 12th-century inscriptions. All the remaining apsaras (nymphs) have been decapitated by looters. Banteay Chhmar was deservedly renowned for its intricate carvings, including scenes of daily life in the Angkorian period similar to those at Bayon.

Unique to Banteay Chhmar was a sequence of eight multi-armed Avalokiteshvaras on the outside of the southern section of the temple’s western ramparts, but six of these were hacked out and trucked into Thailand in a brazen act of looting in 1998. Still, the two that remain - one with 22 arms, the other with 32 - are spectacular.

Bat Chum

Constructed : Mid 10 th century - ???-960
Religion : Buddhism
Style : Pre Rup
King : Rajendravarman II ★ 944 - 968 ★
Location : At the end of the road of the circuits, between Banteay Kdei and Prasat Kravan, at the end of a road of a few hundreds of meters, on the left, little bit away from the road.

Comment : The small road which passes through rice plantations is very pleasant, especially with the lighting of end of day. One arrives then on three small brick towers under restoration but of which large-thing should not be awaited. The surprise comes from this built Buddhist temple in the 10 century, whereas the Hinduism was still very present among Khmers.

Ba Phnom

Constructed : N/A
Religion: N/A
Style : N/A
King : N/A
Location : Located at Chheu Kach commune, Ba Phnom District, Prey Veng Province in the distance of 78 Kilometers from Phnom Penh.

Comment : Ba Phnom is the place where it assumes that there was a king capital Vyadapura. But whether or not really capital existed is here, as for those which become evidence there is no at all. It has several tops, there being a low hill, there is a Buddhism temple in the top vicinity. The road which from the hill extends to the straight line on north probably at one time kingcraft.

Zhejiang Food

2012-07-30T03:17:00.002-07:00

One of the major eight schools of cooking in China, Zhejiang cuisine offers combined flavors of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou. Each of the three sub-cuisine traditions is noted for its special flavor and taste, but they are all characterized by the careful selection of ingredients, emphasizing minute preparation, and unique, fresh and tender tastes. Zhejiang cuisine specializes in quick-frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, simmering and steaming, obtaining the natural flavor and taste. Special care is taken in the cooking process to make the food fresh and tender. Thanks to exquisite preparation, the dishes are not only delicious in taste and but also extremely elegant in appearance. Zhejiang cuisine is best represented by Hangzhou dishes, including Hangzhou Roast Chicken (commonly known as the Beggar's Chicken, which is especially delicious with a pleasant aroma of lotus leaves), Dongpo Pork, West Lake Vinegar Fish, Sistern Song's Shredded Fish Soup.

Source: (Zhejiang Online http://www.zjol.com.cn 6-23)

Some tasty Zhejiang Food:

Dongpo Pork:First created by Su Dongpo, a well-known poet from the Song Dynasty, when he served as a local official of Hangzhou. The dish is made from belly pork which is cut into four pieces and first briefly boiled and then rinsed. Next, the pork is put into a pot with sugar, soy sauce, onion, ginger and rice wine, the pot is sealed, and the pork is cooked in the oven until tender (about two hours). Finally, it is transferred to a bowl, the juices from the pot strained over the meat, and the bowl covered and put inside a steamer and steamed for at least two hours.

Xi Hu Cu Yu (West Lake vinegar Fish):Prepared with fresh and alive grass carps from the West Lake, this dish integrates delicious, sweet and sour tastes, with tender fish meat, which tastes just like crabmeat. The fish is first starved for 2 days in order to get rid of the mud smell.

Jiao Hua Ji (Beggar's Chicken): Recipe
Legend has it that a Hangzhou beggar invented "Beggar's chicken". The story goes that because the beggar had no stove, he wrapped the stolen chicken in clay and baked it in a hole in the ground. To cook the chicken, firstly the organs of the chicken are cleaned, and Chinese herbs are inserted. Then the chicken is wrapped around lotus leafs, and wrapped around in clay and baked over low heat for hours. The taste of the chicken is aromatic, tasty, and tender.

Shanghai Food

2012-07-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

Shanghai, being a relatively new city in China, does not really have a cuisine of its own, but successfully refines all the work of the surrounding provinces such as Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Through years of culinary practice and the assimilation of the art in other styles of cuisine, Shanghai chefs have also created a style of cuisine peculiar to the region. Shanghai dishes are usually characterized by the use of heavy and highly flavored sauce.

The use of sugar is another uniquness found in Shanghainese cuisine and, especially when used proportiaonally with soy sauce, the taste created is not so much sweet but rather savory. My chef friend told me that this is mainly due to the fact that sugar neutralized the sourness found in soy source. Household in Shanghai would consume as much soy source as sugar. Visitors are often surprised when the "secret ingredient" was revealed by local Shanghainese.

Some tasty Shanghai Food:

Xiao Long Bao (Little Dragon Bun):
The little dragon bun is one of my favourite dish. Unlike the buns in northern China, these buns are very small and easy to swallow. The buns are usually steamed in containers made of banboo. The skin of the buns are very thin and the bun is very juicy. The dish is now popularized and consumed widely throughout China as a Dim Sum.

Chou Dou Fu (Smelly Tofu):
When first smelled, one would naturally hold their nose, not to mention give it a try and swallow a piece. The smelly tofu is a popular local food mainly found on Shanghai streets. The tofu is fermanted with many ingredients before fried. Old ladies usually serve them on their liltte trolley. Dispite their odour, most foreigners love it after tasting it. It is dirt cheap too!

Da Zha Xie (Hairy Crab):
Da Zha Xie is a special type of crab found in rivers, and is normally consumed in the winter. The crabs are tied with ropes or strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed and served. There is little artificial ingredient added to the dish yet it tastes fantastically good. Da Zha Xie is usually consumed with vinegar. Locals are also quite fussy about when to consume male crabs and when to consume female crabs.

Pi Dan (Preserved Eggs):
Preserved duck eggs are a traditional Shanghainese delicacy, and although known as "1000-year-old eggs" they are rarely more than 100 days old. It is done using a traditional method. Pidan is now very common in China, and is sometimes consumed with congee.

Hunan Food

2012-07-30T03:14:00.002-07:00

Also known as Xiang Cai, Hunan cuisine has already developed into a famous culinary school in China. Hunan dishes consist of local dishes from the Xiangjiang River area, Dongting Lake area and Western Hunan mountain area.
While similar to Szechuan cuisine, Hunan Cuisine is often spicier and contains a larger variety of ingredients. Other characters distinguish Hunan cuisine from Szechuan cuisine is that in general, Hunan cuisine utilizes smoked and curing food in its dishes much more frequent than Szechuan cuisine. Hunan cuisine dishes are often more oily and look darker than Szechuan cuisine dishes. Hunan is known for its liberal use of chilli peppers, shallots and garlic. Many Hunan dishes are characterized by a strongly flavored brown sauce. Some rely on sweetness from ingredients such as honey; sweet and sour sauces are also characteristic of the style.
Hunan cuisine make extensive use of chiles, to cleanse the palate and to cope with the humid climate. (Hot foods such as red chili peppers dry out and cool down the body, making it easier to handle the heat and dampness). Hunan dishes are normally made with fresh chile peppers, including the seeds and membranes which contain most of the heat.Hunan food takes curing, simmering, steaming and stewing as the main cooking methods. Dishes of this style are usually tinged with a sour and spicy flavour. Popular Regional Dishes: Hunan's culinary repertoire consists of more than 4,000 dishes, including Dong'an Chicken, Crispy Duck, Orange Beef, and Spicy Frog's Legs.

	Dong'an Chicken was originated by Dong an people of Hunan As early as Tang Dynasty. So far, it has been more than 1200 years. This kind of dish is of nice shape, bright color, and rich in nutrition. It tastes hot, crisp, sweet, tender and tart.

	Another popular dish is crispy duck, where the duck is seasoned with pepper corns, star anise, fennel, and other spices, then steamed and finally deep-fried.

	Orange beef, where the beef is marinated overnight, then washed and marinaded again with a mixture including egg white, wine, and white pepper. In braised soy sauce beef, the meat is simmered in an aromatic mixture including anise, sugar, ginger, soy sauce, and wine.
	Spicy Frog's Legs A pricier dish is frog legs in hot sauce (ma-la tien-ji-tui). The frog legs are stir-fried with green peppers, then the whole preparation is glazed with a light reddish-brown sauce. The hot sauce has a slight kick, but is not overwhelming.

Jiangsu Food

2012-07-30T03:08:00.002-07:00

A journey through Jiangsu is not only a chance to experience beautiful river town
scenery and some of the most brilliant achievements in Chinese culture,
but also a great chance to try one of the major components of Chinese
cuisine - Jiangsu Cuisine. Jiangsu Cuisine, also called Huaiyang Cuisine,
consists of the styles of Yangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang dishes.
Known as "a land of fish and rice" in China, Jiangsu Province has a rich variety
of ingredients available for cooking. Using fish and crustaceans as the main
ingredients, it stresses freshness and aliveness freshness. Its high carving
techniques are delicate, of which the melon carving technique is especially
well known. Due to using the methods of stewing, braising, quick-frying,
warming-up, stir-frying, wine sauce pickling and adding some sugar as
condiments, Jiangsu dishes taste fresh, light and mellow. In Huaiyang cuisine,
ingredients are strictly chosen and carefully prepared to maintain the original flavor.
Huaiyang cuisine also pays special attention to the seasonally of each
ingredient so that each ingredient is in its prime state for eating. For example,
Yangzhou Cuisine is light and elegant; Suzhou Cuisine is slightly sweet; and
Wuxi Cuisine is fairly sweet. Light and tasty soups are also a key part of
Huaiyang cuisine and perfectly in tune with the latest health food trends.
In 1949, Huaiyang cuisine was the selected cuisine for the first state banquet
of the new People's Republic and, in 1999, Huaiyang cuisine was also featured
on the menu of the People's Republic's 50th anniversary state dinner. In 2002,
Huaiyang cuisine was also selected for the dinner hosted by President Jiang Zemin
for visiting US President George W. Bush.
Jiangsu dishes can be classified into that of Suzhou-Wuxi style and
Zhenjiang-Yangzhou
style. The feature of Suzhou-style dishes is their natural flavor in original
stock and a mixture of salty and sweet taste. The characteristics of
Zhenjiang-Yangzhou style food are best described by the saying that
"the soup is so clear that you can see the bottom of the bowl and the
sauce is so thick that it turns creamy white".Typical courses of Jiangsu cuisine
are Jinling salted dried duck (Nanjing's most famous dish), Squirrel with Mandarin Fish,
Yangzhou Style Fried Rice, "Lion-Head" Meatball with Crab Roe, Wuxi Sweet and Salty
Spare Ribs. Crystal meat (pork heals in a bright, brown sauce), clear crab shell
meatballs (pork meatballs in crab shell powder, fatty, yet fresh), Yangzhou
steamed Jerky strips (dried tofu, chicken, ham and pea leaves), triple combo duck,
dried duck, and Farewell My Concubine (soft-shelled turtle stewed with many
other ingredients such as chicken, mushrooms and wine), etc.

	Nanjing Style Dried Salty Duck It has a long history of over 1,000 years. apart from its plumpness in appearance. It, the duck tempts people with characteristics of tasting crisp, fresh, fragrant, and rich but not greasy. The cooking method of the duck was invented 600 years ago. The salted duck is slathered with roasted salt, steeped in clear brine, baked dry and then kept under cover for some time; the finished product should have a creamy-colored skin and red, tender flesh. It was the tribute to the royal palace during the Qing Dynasty.
	Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish Tradition has it that once stopping at the Crane House during his south Yangtze tour, Emperor Qian Long saw a carp frisking on the holy table and ordered it cooked for him. The chef, knowing it was the emperor's order, spared no effort in flavoring and seasoning. In order to be exempted from the sin of killing the "holy fish", he made the carp into the shape of a squirrel with its head and tail soaring high. The dark reddish brown fish, crisp outside and tender amid, was sour and sweet enough to the taste of emperor, whose appreciation raised the name of Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish to the world. Being the raw material, the mandarin fish is characterized by its tenderness of the flesh and sparseness of the bones as well. After scaling and frying, the head of the fish looks big with its mouth wide open, the tail bends upwards, and the flesh imitates the erecting hair of a squirrel. It will be squeaking like a squirrel if it is sprinkled with shrimp meat, dried bamboo shoots and tomato ketchup. Thus the Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish is complete in color, smell, flavor and sound, and it is to arouse the appetite of whoever sees it.
	Yangzhou Style Fried Rice: Rice is the main ingredient in this dish. It is first pounded and then stir-fried with shrimp, ham, egg, peas and seasonal vegetables. Because a variety of seasonal vegetables are used, you taste a variety of wonderful flavors and textures!
	"Lion-Head" Meatball with Crab Roe: This dish is the symbol of Huaiyang cuisine and it requires very complicated procedure. First mix the ground pork, egg white, crabmeat, rice wine, salt, scallions and ginger into a rather stiff mixture. Then divide it into 4 portions and roll each portion into a meatball. Add cabbage, chicken broth together with meatballs into casserole and place on low heat and simmer for long time until its done. It has the fragrance of the pork and crab and the color of the dish is as bright as orange. It tastes rich but not greasy.
	Wuxi Sweet and Salty Spare Ribs Wuxi Spare Ribs is the most popular local dish and is the specialty to look out for people come to Wuxi. It features the common eastern technique of "Red cooking" in a stock of rice wine and soy sauce and spiced with ginger, anise, cloves and black peppercorns and has unique red-sweet sauce on the top in order to give rich taste.

Cantonese Food

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Cantonese food is the most popular style outside China. Cantonese cuisine originates from the region around Canton (Guangzhou) in southern China's Guangdong province. One Cantonese saying goes that anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies is edible. Another says that the only four-legged things that Cantonese people won't eat are tables and chairs. Cantonese cuisine includes almost all edible food in addition to the staples of pork, beef and chicken, such as snakes, snails, insects, worms, chicken feet, duck tongues, and entrails. As a trading post, Canton (Guangzhou) had access to a large range of imported food, which resulted in the huge variety of Cantonese dish we can enjoy today.

Unlike other Chinese cuisines, the Cantonese usually serves soup before a meal. The soup is usually a clear broth prepared by simmering meat and other ingredients, and cooked on mild fire for hours. Chinese herbal medicines are sometimes added to the clay pot, to make the soup nutritious and healthy. Cantonese normally only consume the liquid in the pot, the solids are usually thrown away unless they are expensive such as abalones or shark fins. There's also a Cantonese saying that to "secure" a husband, a Cantonese woman needs to first cook good soups.

Due to Guangdong's proximity to the south China sea, cooking live seafood is a specialty in Cantonese cuisine. Prawns, shrimps, scallops, lobster and crab are in plentiful supply. Many Chinese restaurants maintain live seafood tanks. The freshest seafood is odorless, and is best cooked by steaming. Less fresh ones will be fried or even deep fried. When cooking a fresh fish, only a small amount of soy sauce, ginger, and spring onion is added to a steamed fish, while loads of garlic and spices will be added to cook an unfresh fish.

Some tasty Cantonese Food:

Dim Sum (Dian Xin) - Dim sum is literally translates to "touch the heart". Dim sum is usually servec as breakfast or brunch, enjoyed with family or friends. There is a wide variety of food available, Gow (Dumpling), Siu Mai, Phoenix talons (Chicken feet), Steamed spare ribs, and Spring rolls are good examples. In some restaurants, they are served on trolleys. Instead of placing an order after reading a menu, you order whatever you like after physically seeing the yummy dim sums on the trolley. Dim sum is part of the Cantonese culture, it is common to see good Cantonese restaurants crowded with people having dim sums on sunday mornings, enjoying dim sum while reading newspapers.

Shark Fin Soup - Genuine shark fin soup or stew is made with real shark fins obtainable from several shark species. In Cantonese cooking, raw shark fins are processed by first removing the skin, trimming them to shape, and thoroughly drying them. Bleaching with hydrogen peroxide may be employed before drying to make the colour of the sharks fin more appealing. Considered a highly prized delicacy, the best Cantonese shark fin soup can fetch up to US$100 per bowl. However, there are also cheaper shark fins, usually taken from smaller shark species, used for casual dining. The quantities used for each bowl of soup may vary from a few needles of fin rays (typical in a US $150 Chinese feast), to a whole small fin, or even more. The price depends on the size and quality of shark fin used; shark fin is estimated to cost at least US $4.50 per bowl.

Char Siu (BBQ pork) - Char siu, also known as BBQ pork, is Cantonese-style barbecued pork. It is usually made with long strips of boneless pork, typically pork shoulder. The distinctive feature of char siu is its coating of seasonings which turn the meat dark red, or occasionally burnt, during cooking. The seasoning mixture for char siu usually includes sugar or honey, five-spice powder, red food colouring, soy sauce, and sherry or rice wine. The words char siu literally mean "fork roasted", which is the traditional preparation method. Long forks hold the meat in a covered oven or over a fire. Char siu is rarely eaten on its own, but used in the preparation of other foods, most notably char siu bau, where it is stuffed in buns, and char siew rice (or Barbecued pork with rice), where it is served with rice. Char siu is common in places with a large Cantonese-speaking community, including southern China, Malaysia and Singapore. It is also commonly served in Chinese restaurants and food markets in other parts of the world.

Beijing Food

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Beijing is the Capital city of many dynasties in the history of China, and many nomadic populations once lived in Beijing. Today, Beijing cuisine is refined from a combination of Shangdong cuisine and the Imperial cuisine, and formed its unique characteristics. Many Beijing dishes primarily comprise of meat, as a result of eating habits of the royals. For example, the Mongolian rulers during the Ming dynasty favored mutton, while the Qing dynasty rulers preferred pork. Bejing chefs generally put more effort into the method of cooking, and uses very common ingredients. Deep-frying, roasting, instant-boiling, stir-frying and stewing are among the most common methods of cooking. Because of its more northerly location, instead of rice, which is the staple diet in southern cuisines, noodles, buns, or jiaozi(dumplings), are preferred by the local people.

Peking Roast Duck:
The most famous dish associated with Beijing is Peking Roast Duck. The origin of the Peking Duck dates back to the Ming Dynasty, about 600 years ago. Cooks from all over China travelled to the capital Beijing to cook for the Emperor. It was a prestigious occupation as only the best chefs could enter the palace kitchens. A top cook was even able to reach the rank of a minister! It was in these kitchens where dishes of exceptional quality such as the Peking Duck was first created and crafted to perfection by palace chefs. However, many of the recipes for such "foods of the Emperor" were later smuggled out of the kitchen and onto the streets of Beijing. With the eventual fall of the Ching dynasty in 1911, court chefs who left the Forbidden City set up restaurants around Beijing and brought the Peking Duck and other delicious dishes to the masses. The crisp skin of the duck is the most prized part. To achieve such crispness, the duck is air-dried, then coated with a mixture of syrup and soy sauce before roasting. When ready, it is presented ceremoniously and the skin deftly carved. These pieces are wrapped in thin pancakes with onions or leeks, cucumber, turnip and plum sauce. Some restaurants also serve up just about every part of the duck, from the webbed feet to the beak and liver. On request, the remainder of the duck meat can be sauteed with bean sprouts, and the bones made into a wonderful soup with cabbage.

Shuanyangrou (Lamb Hot Pot)
Another favorite Beijing dish, it is especially popular in the cold Beijing winter months. Lamb is typical northern food, and is generally not consumed in southern parts of China. It is favored by northern people as it warms up the body. Around the Chunjie or Chinese Lunar New Year, Shuanyangrou is consumed a lot. The way to cook the lamb is ridiculously simple. Lamb meat is first cut into very thin pieces. This was done manually and required great skill. Recently machines have become better at this job and many lamb are thus cut by machines. The lamb is put into a boiling pot for a few seconds with many other ingredient such as seafood or vegetables, and taken out immediately and consumed with sauces such as peanut sauce.

Anhui Food

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Anhui Cuisine

Anhui cuisine (Hui Cai for short), one of the eight most famous cuisines in China, features the local culinary arts of Huizhou. It comprises the specialties of South Anhui, Yanjiang and Huai Bei. The highly distinctive characteristic of Anhui cuisine lies not only in the elaborate choices of cooking materials but also in the strict control of cooking process.

Most ingredients in Anhui cuisine, such as pangolin, stone frog, mushroom, bayberry, tea leaves, bamboo shoot, dates, games, etc., are from mountain area. Huangshan Mountain has abundant products for dish cooking. Huangshan Chukka has tender flesh and a sweet taste. It can be boiled in clear soup or braised in soy sauce. The dishes help relieve internal fever and build up vital energy. The white and tender bamboo shoots produced on Huangshan Mountain can be made into very delicious food. Xianggu, a kind of top-grade mushroom grows on old trees, is also very tasty.

Anhui cuisine chefs pay more attention to the taste, color of dishes and the temperature to cook them, and are good at braising and stewing. They are experts especially in cooking delicacies from mountains and sea. Anhui dishes preserve most of the original taste and nutrition of the materials. Generally the food here is slightly spicy and salty. Some master dishes usually stewed in brown sauce with stress on heavy oil and sauce. Ham is often added to improve the taste and sugar candy added to gain freshness.

High up on the menu are stewed soft shell turtle with ham, Huangshan braised pigeon, steamed stone frog, steamed rock partridge, stewed fish belly in brown sauce, bamboo shoots cooked with sausage and dried mushroom, etc.

Stewed soft shell turtle with ham:
One whole soft shell turtle, pork, ham, bamboo shoots, a clove of garlic, shallot, ginger, soy sauce, salt, rice wine, black pepper, lard are all stewed together in a pot on charcoal fire. The dish is not greasy and can lead diners to endless aftertastes.

2. Steamed stone frog
Inhabited in caves, stone frog is a special product in Huangshan Mountain. It weights 250 grams or so, whose belly is white and back black with stripe. Stone frog is rich in protein, calcium and so on. It has the functions of clearing heat, improving vision and nutrition. It is one of the best exotic dishes from mountains.

3. Bamboo shoots cooked with sausage and dried mushroom

It is one traditional flavor in Huizhou mountainous area. Cooked with sausage and dried mushrooms, the bamboo shoots are more fragrant. It is delicious, and noted for its good color, juicy meat and thick soup.

Li Hongzhang Hotchpotch

Li Hongzhang hotchpotch is a popular dish named after one of Anhui's famous personages. Li Hongzhang was a top official of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD). When he was in office, he paid a visit to the US and hosted a banquet for all his American friends. As the specially prepared dishes continued to flow, the chefs, with limited resources, began to fret. Upon Li Hongzhang's order, the remaining kitchen ingredients were thrown together into an impromptu stew, containing sea cucumber, squid, tofu, ham, mushroom, chicken meat and other less identifiable food materials! Thus appetites were quenched and a dish was created.

Chinese Wine, Chinese liquor, Chinese alcohol and Chinese Culture

2012-07-30T02:58:00.002-07:00

Jiu - Chinese wine or alcohol

In Chinese the word for alcohol "jiu" is used to mean all types of alcoholic beverages, from 'pijiu' (beer) to liquors (just called 'jiu') to grape wine ('putao jiu'). The same character is used in Japanese and Korean, for that matter. This lumping together of all intoxicating beverages gives us great insight into the traditional use for alcohol, intoxication. Even in modern China alcoholic beverages are generally classed by the general population by how much intoxication it delivers for the money. From this point of view table wine is at the bottom rung of the consumer preference list, with brandy being much higher.

Chinese Tea

2012-07-30T02:57:00.002-07:00

An Introduction to Chinese Tea

China is the homeland of tea. Different types of tea such as Wulong (Wu-long or Oolong), green te and black tea are consumed by it's population on daily basis. It is believed that China has tea-shrubs as early as five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation of tea plants dates back two thousand years. Tea from China, along with her silk and porcelain, began to be known the world over more than a thousand years ago and has since always been an important Chinese export. At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world's total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The words for tealeaves or tea as a drink in many countries are derivatives from the Chinese character "cha." The Russians call it "cha'i", which sounds like "chaye" (tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China, and the English word "tea" sounds similar to the pronunciation of its counterpart in Xiamen (Amoy). The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of tea drinkers in the world is legion and is still on the increase.

People throughout China drink tea daily. Because of the geographic location and climate, different places grow various kinds of tea. The most conspicuous content in China's tea culture is the popular phrase "Ke Lai jin Cha" which means when a guest arrives, a cup of tea will be brewed for him. In the past dynasties, people not only formed a special way of tea-drinking, but also developed an art form called tea-drinking. This art form comprises of many aspects. The most noticeable ones are the making of tea, the way of brewing, the drinking utensils such as tea pot. Tea drinking is so popular in every part of the country that there is a museum specially dedicated to the tea culture in China. It is located in Hangzhou, the hometown of Longjin Tea (dragon well tea). In Hangzhou, there is a tea museum, the only national museum of its kind. In it, there are detailed description of the historic development of tea, making and brewing methods and the like.

Chinese Tea Classifications

Although there are hundreds of varieties of Chinese tea, they can mainly be classified into five categories. The classifications are determined by the method of processing the tea. The five types are green tea, black tea, brick tea, scented tea, and Wulong / Wu-long (Oolong) tea.

Green Tea:

Green Tea is the most natural of all Chinese tea classes. It's picked, natural dried, and then fried briefly (a process called "killing the green") to get rid of it's grassy smell. Fermentation process is skipped. Green Tea has the most medical value and the least caffeine content of all Chinese tea classes. Aroma is medium to high, flavor is light to medium. About 50% of China's teas is Green tea.

Black Tea:

Chinese Black tea produces a full-bodies amber when brewed. Black tea undergoes withering (drying), left to ferment for a long while, and then roasted. Black tea leaves become completely oxidized after processing.
Black tea has a robust taste with a mild aroma. It contains the highest amount of caffeine in Chinese tea classes.

Brick Tea (Compressed Tea)

Most Chinese Compressed Tea uses Black Tea as base tea. It's steamed and compressed into bricks, cakes, columns and other shapes.
Compressed Tea has all the characteristics of Black Tea. It can be stored for years and decades. Aged Compressed Tea has a tamed flavor that Compressed Tea fans would pay huge price for.

Scented/Flower Tea

Chinese Flower Tea is an unique class of Chinese tea. It subdivides into Flower Tea and Scented Tea.
Flower Tea is a simple concept that dried flowers are used, without much processing, to make tea. Scented Tea uses green tea, red tea as base and mix with scent of flowers.
Chinese Flower Tea has light to medium flavor and medium to strong aroma.

Wulong Tea / Wu-long (Oolong Tea)

Wulong / Wu-long tea, which combines the freshness of green tea and the fragrance of black tea, is becoming popular with more and more people. A good Wulong is both refreshing and delicious; the Wulongspectrum has a range of aromas and tastes quite distinct from anything you get with green or black tea. It is also popular for its medical benefits, including assisting the body building process and in dieting. Like other tea,Wulong is rich in antioxidants called polyphenols. These help prevent cancer, keep the heart healthy and aid general well-being. Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan are the major producers of this kind of tea.Wulong tea grows on cliffs. Harvesting this type of tea is very difficult, which makes it the most precious. Wulong tea is gaining popularity in China, and Wulong tea in soft bottle packaging can be easily purchased.

Tea Production

A new tea-plant must grow for five years before its leaves can be picked and, at 30 years of age, it will be too old to be productive. The trunk of the old plant must then be cut off to force new stems to grow out of the roots in the coming year. By repeated rehabilitation in this way, a plant may serve for about l00 years.

For the fertilization of tea gardens, soya-bean cakes or other varieties of organic manure are generally used, and seldom chemical fertilizers. When pests are discovered, the affected plants will be removed to prevent their spread, and also to avoid the use of pesticides.

The season of tea-picking depends on local climate and varies from area to area. On the shores of West Lake in Hangzhou, where the famous green tea Longjing (Dragon Well) comes from, picking starts from the end of March and lasts through October, altogether 20-30 times from the same plants at intervals of seven to ten days. With a longer interval, the quality of the tea will deteriorate.

A skilled woman picker can only gather 600 grams (a little over a pound) of green tea leaves in a day.

The new leaves must be parched in tea cauldrons. This work , which used to be done manually, has been largely mechanized. Top-grade Dragon Well tea, however, still has to be stir-parched by hand, doing only 250 grams every half hour. The tea-cauldrons are heated electrically to a temperature of about 25oC or 74oF. It takes four pounds of fresh leaves to produce one pound of parched tea.

The best Dragon Well tea is gathered several days before Qingming (Pure Brightness, 5th solar term) when new twigs have just begun to grow and carry "one leaf and a bud." To make one kilogram (2.2 lbs) of finished tea, 60, 000 tender leaves have to be plucked. In the old days Dragon Well tea of this grade was meant solely for the imperial household; it was, therefore, known as "tribute tea".

For the processes of grinding, parching, rolling, shaping and drying other grades of tea various machines have been developed and built, turning out about 100 kilograms of finished tea an hour and relieving the workers from much of their drudgery.

Japanese Culture - Food & Drink - The Basics

2012-07-30T02:53:00.001-07:00

The typical Japanese meal consists of a bowl of rice (gohan), a bowl of miso soup (miso shiru), pickled vegetables (tsukemono) and fish or meat. While rice is the staple food, several kinds of noodles (udon, soba and ramen) are cheap and very popular for light meals. As an island nation, the Japanese take great pride in their seafood. A wide variety of fish, squid, octopus, eel, and shellfish appear in all kinds of dishes from sushi to tempura.

A decorative sushi selection

Rice
Sticky, short-grained rice is the staple food in Japan. Uncooked rice is called kome. The cultivation of rice in paddy fields traditionally required great cooperation between villagers and this is said to have been central to the evolution of Japanese culture. Their are several thousand varieties grown in Japan, with Koshihikari and Akita Komachi being among the most popular. Rice is also used to make mochi (rice cakes), senbei (rice crackers) and sake (rice wine). Rice can also be cooked with red beans (sekihan), seafood and vegetables (Takikomi gohan) or as a kind of watery porridge seasoned with salt (kayu) which is very popular as a cold remedy.Onigiri are rice balls with seafood or vegetables in the middle, usually wrapped in a piece of dried seaweed (nori). They are traditionally part of a packed lunch or picnic. Individually wrapped onigiri, usually a trianular shape, make a good snack and are available at convenience stores.
Noodles - Udon and soba
Udon noodles are made from wheat flour. They are boiled and served in a broth, usually hot but occasionally cold in summer, and topped with ingredients such as a raw egg to make tsukimi udon, and deep-fried tofu aburaage to make kitsune udon. Soba is buckwheat noodles, which are thinner and a darker color than udon. Soba is usually served cold (zaru soba) with a dipping sauce, sliced green onions and wasabi. When served in a hot broth, it is known as kake soba. Served with the same toppings as udon, you get tsukimi soba, kitsune soba and tempura soba.
Noodles - Ramen
While udon and soba are also believed to have come from China, only ramen retains its image as Chinese food. Ramen is thin egg noodles which are almost always served in a hot broth flavored with shoyu or miso. This is topped with a variety of ingredients such as slices of roast pork (chashu), bean sprouts (moyashi), sweetcorn and butter. Ramen is popular throughout Japan and different regions are known for their variations on the theme. Examples are Corn-butter Ramen in Sapporo and Tonkotsu Ramen in Kyushu. Instant ramen (the most famous brand is Pot Noodles), to which you just add hot water, has become very popular in recent years
Seafood & Meat
Japanese people consume a lot more fish than is typical in western countries and this is said to be a major factor in the country's relatively low rate of heart disease. Seafood is eaten in just about any form you can imagine, from raw sushi and sashimi to grilled sweetfish and clams. The spread of ¥100 kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurants has made sushi into a homegrown fast-food that offsets some of the influence of imports like McDonalds.Many people are surprised to learn that meat consumption was illegal in Japan until the ban was lifted during the Meiji Restoration in the 1870s. As the country opened up to western culture, eating habits also began to change. Now meat is increasingly part of the everyday Japanese diet, with yakitori (grilled chicken), yakiniku (Korean barbeque), gyudon (beef bowl) and of course the standard fare of foreign and local hamburger chain restaurants ubiquitous across the country. This has led to an increase in related health problems, though the Japanese still maintain their position as the world's longest-living people.
Japan's consumption of fish has its controversial side as well. The country buys up about three quarters of the global catch of tuna, for example, which has driven the bluefin tuna close to extinction. As sushi was traditionally an expensive food eaten mainly on special occasions, some blame the cheap and ready availability provided by kaitenzushi for this situation.
The consumption of whale meat was relatively minor and restricted to small coastal communities until the end of WWII, when the U.S. occupation forces pushed whale as a viable source of much-needed protein. As a result a whole generation of Japanese grew up eating whale meat in their school lunches, a practice that continued even despite international shift toward conserving whales threatened with extinction. But in the 21st century, the consumption of whale and dolphin meat seems to be dying out, regardless of right-wing pressures to maintain this "pillar of Japanese food culture.".
This video is a light-hearted look at the traditions of eating at a sushi restaurant (not to be taken too seriously!)

Soy products
The humble soybean (daizu) is used to make a wide variety of foods and flavourings. Soybeans and rice are used to make miso, a paste used for flavouring soup and marinating fish. Together with soy sauce (shoyu), miso is a foundation of Japanese cuisine. Tofu is soybean curd and a popular source of protein, especially for vegetarians. These days, even tofu donuts and tofu icecream are available. Natto, fermented soybeans, is one of the healthiest but also the most notorious item on the menu. With a pungent smell and sticky, stringy texture, natto is easy to hate straight away. Japanese people themselves tend to either love it or hate it. It is usually served with chopped onions and a raw egg and mixed into a bowl of rice.

Lamb in Cabbage: The National Dish of Norway

2012-07-30T02:47:00.000-07:00

Fårikål is Norway’s national dish. A casserole of seasonal lamb and cabbage makes this simple dish a favourite autumn treat. It is traditionally served with new potatoes, cowberry sauce and crispy flat bread with a cold local beer on the side (but ice water allows the flavour to be savoured).

Norwegians expect this dish to get ugly – in fact, if it looks too pretty you probably haven’t done it right. (Ours must have been cooked to perfection as it took a couple of hundred shots to get some ‘pretty’ photos.) The trick to this meal is to use real mutton. Not lamb but sheep. Because mutton has lived longer it has had more chance to get cuddly. If the meat is too lean you don’t get the true Fårikål taste as the fat is supposed to soak into the cabbage.

Leftovers are a must. Like any great casserole, Fårikål will mature with age and by the fourth day, after the meat and cabbage has been eaten, the leftovers makes a great soup stock.

The third major ingredient in this dish is peppercorns and the Norwegian Fårikål Society says you don’t have to eat them if you are a ‘pyse’, which roughly translates to ‘sissy’. (Firstly, I think it is funny that a whole Society has been organised just to promote one dish, and secondly, their website is all Fårikål – you can even play a ’round-em-up’ game to see how many sheep you can get into your cooking pot!) But if you ever want to learn about real traditional fårikål, the Norwegian Fårikål Society is the place go.

Even though fårikål is traditionally made (and eaten) in Autumn there have been other versions that have obtained ‘seasonal’ status. The ‘hunting season’ dish includes juniper berries in the stock. The ‘winter season’ dish also uses juniper berries but with a dash of cumin spice for that extra warmth. For the ‘summer season’ dish, smoked lamb is used to create a deep flavour and the cabbage is steamed to retain a little crunch.

Whatever the season, when you eat fårikål it feels just like a warm hug from the inside. But there is no need for you to wait to get to Norway before trying some – why not celebrate National Fårikål day with us. On the last Thursday of September every year Norway celebrates their national dish with, of course, all you can eat fårikål! What better way to experience Norway than eating like a Norwegian? Below is the traditional recipe – it’s quick and easy as the dish cooks itself:

Fårikål Recipe

What you will need:

serves two people (double it for four):

500g of mutton bits – on the bone (fat is good!)

1/2 small cabbage choped into 1/8

Teaspoon of peppercorns

Pinch of salt

(Boiled new potatoes for the side and a dollop cowberry/cranberry sauce)

Chuck everything into a casserole pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover 2/3 of the ingredients. Put on the lid and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for two hours or until the meat falls off the bone. Serve in a pasta bowl – meat, cabbage, stock, peppercorns, potatoes and a dollop of cowberry sauce (cranberry would do just fine). If the dish looks ugly then it’s perfect!

Muskox in the City

2012-07-30T02:46:00.000-07:00

If you happen to find yourself in the Dovre mountains in the south of Norway, you may come across a flock of large, mean looking sheep-like animals. If you do, congratulations – you have just met one of the latest additions to the Norwegian wildlife: The muskox.

Muskoxen are a species native to Arctic Canada, Alaska and Greenland, but in 1932 a few of them were introduced to the Dovre mountain range as part of a scientific experiment on adaptation. The animals took well to their new home and today they count roughly 200 individuals.

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. Muskoxen are flock animals and very protective of their young, and if they feel threatened the adults will form a tight ring around their calves with their horns facing the danger. They can run as fast as 60 km/h, so it is best to observe them from a safe distance. Bulls are very aggressive and will charge anything that gets too close.

Fortunately, I know some people who can get me close enough to shoot some pictures of muskox. Tromsø University keeps around 20 muskoxen for research, most of these are safely tucked away on a small island a few miles southwest of Tromsø. The island is clearly signposted with “LAND AT YOUR OWN RISK”, and you’ll really risk your life if you take a coffee break there during mating season.

A couple of calves, however, are kept in a pen right outside the main campus in Tromsø. The researchers feel safe keeping them there, as one of my lecturers told me, “simply because they don’t know their own strength”. If motivated, the “little” fellas could easily head-butt their way through the fence and run for freedom. So the Uni staff makes sure to keep them fed and happy. And this one didn’t seem to mind being photographed either… He looks a bit unkept in the picture below, but that’s just because he is shedding his winter coat.

If you want to observe muskox and other Arctic animals up close, pay a visit toPolar Zoo in Bardu – a three hour drive south of Tromsø. The zoo also has deer, wolverines, moose, bears, lynx and wolves.

Right on Lefse

2012-07-30T02:44:00.003-07:00

Lefse (the real stuff from Hardanger) is an interesting concept to me. It is dried flat-bread stored on the shelf for months and then when you want to use it you just dip it in water and eat! Of course, it is a little more romantic than that in real life but that’s the main gist.

In Norway, there are still Lefse recipes around from the 1630s! There are many other ‘non traditional’ varieties in other places that have Norwegian immigrants but I have never seen those used in Norway. Also, Lefse recipes that use potatoes are more modern as potatoes didn’t get introduced in Norway until the 1700s – the first documented potato was in 1757!

Lefse was used for both special occasions and everyday eating. It was traditionally rolled thin with a special textured rolling pin and cut into squares before being baked on a hot plate. Folk Museums often have open days with old Norse attractions – rustic gardens, ploughing, and baking using old Viking methods. This is where you can try some real fresh flat-bread.

Nowadays most Norwegians buy Lefse from the supermarket, which sits on a shelf (nice and dry) in the pre-made cake section:

The dry, flat Lefse are not wrapped in plastic, just kept in a square, dry cardboard box. To revive them, each piece is watered under the tap then wrapped in plastic. 20 mins later the Lefse is soft and can be eaten. The most usual topping I’ve seen is just butter or butter with cinnamon sugar. They are spread on the Lefse which is then folded and cut into squares. Nugatti (a type of Norwegian Nutella) is another spread used, and so is jam and cream. However, Lefse can be eaten as a savoury meal too. Herring and eggs, pølse (Norwegian sausage), salmon, liver paste, cottage cheese and mayo are commonly used with Lefse.

Another type of Lefse you can buy in the stores which is sold as a ‘fast food’ item – thick Lefse or tender Lefse. You have a choice between cinnamon, just butter and sugar or chocolate. This Lefse is thicker and less chewy – more like a soft cake.

Grammar Note: I’ve see a lot of non-Norwegians used the word ‘Lefsa’ which means the flat-bread which looks a little odd when written with two ‘thes’ such as: the Lefsa. ‘Lefse’ means just flat-bread and you will have more luck finding real Norwegian ‘Lefse’ recipes using this word instead.

This is supposedly the traditional and original Hardanger recipe used in the 1600s:

Hardanger Lefse

makes 30

1 litre of sour milk

250 g of butter

2 cups of sugar

2 kg plain flour

2 tablespoons of ammonium bicarbonate

(aka horn salt) found in speciality baking stores outside Norway or on the supermarket shelf in Norway

method

Warm the milk slightly. Add room temperature butter. Mix sugar flour and horn salt together and then add to the milk mix. Knead carefully to a smooth dough. Roll out and bake on a hotplate at medium heat. Bake slightly on one side and a little more on the other. The bread is supposed to form light brown spots when baked properly. Stack them in layers with a cloth between each to keep them soft. When cooled spread on the filling, fold in half and cut into squares.

Tip: if you use a prickly rolling pin you will get a good effect on your Lefse.

Traditional filling: ‘kling’

Mix together -

750grams of butter

500grams of icing sugar

300mls of sour cream

cinnamon or vanilla to taste

- and spread on the flat-bread.

As you can see Norwegians are certainly not afraid artery blockage!

To make the ‘My Little Norway’ version – the picture on top:

Banana Lefse

flat-bread

butter

cinnamon sugar (I just mix cinnamon and sugar together)

banana

maple syrup

method

Spread the butter on the flat-bread and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Cut banana into four lengthways. Place one slice of banana on the edge of the flat-bread and roll one cycle. Place the next slice on the roll – and repeat. Slice the rolled flat-bread and put on a plate. Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Voilá!

BBQ Season

2012-07-30T02:43:00.002-07:00

Australians grow up with the idea that the great Aussie barbie is a true blue tradition that distinguishes us from the rest of the world. We (used to) get a kick out of our Australian icon Paul Hogan (aka Crocodile Dundee) trying to teach the Americans how to put on a ‘real’ BBQ.

When I came to Norway, Moose said ‘Yeah, we have BBQs too’. ‘Huh’, I thought, ‘Nobody can barbie like Australia!’ Then I saw everyone carrying around these little dinky foil disposable BBQs that cost NOK 15 a pop. They weren’t even big enough to fit a real Aussie steak on! Where were the big brick barbies that sit in every park and by every beach? The ones that were built for ‘meaning business’ – not these flimsy shoebox grills! Norway does barbies – yeah right!

But I tell you what…

Since I have been in Norway I have never barbied so hard in my life! As it turns out, Norwegians don’t need big ugly BBQs that spoil the native atmosphere with brick and concrete and wooden shelters (obviously to contain the fires as Australia is in a huge drought at the moment). No big iron grill to separate the men from the boys is needed. No electricity buttons to press every five minutes and you can keep those two bobs (20 cents) in in your pocket.

Unlike Australia, Norwegian barbies are about getting out there in nature. Having a quick make-shift cooking device is great so you can eat and be on your way to fishing, canoeing, hiking or paragliding.

Most of the BBQs I’ve had here have been straight on the ground. I’ve even hadBBQs on ice! My favourite is going to the beach during the midnight sun and watching the sun travel across the sky as we toast marshmallows.

However, of course, the city goers use disposable barbies. It means they can have their BBQ wherever they want – in their front yard, in the park or at the beach and make a little mess as possible. In public leisure places special BBQ bins are placed so you can dispose of them – and keep Norway beautiful.

To my surprise I’ve also found the disposable barbies are able to cook hard-core steaks and chops, even big chicken breasts in no time. It’s all in the preparation. Marinating meat beforehand tenderises it and enables the meat to cook faster. I also bring foil to help things move faster as the wind can blow away the heat. The foil traps the heat in and creates an oven where the coals sear the outside of the meat and the steam cooks the inside.

Norwegians are starting to get adventurous with cooking on the barbie. It used to be typical for them to just cook pølse (franks) but now you are likely to see corn on the cob, summer chops, fish, shish-kebabs, tomatoes, pineapple and even strawberries!

My BBQ trademark is my grilled chicken and bacon burger. I like to grill the bun too for extra crunch and so the BBQ sauce doesn’t make the burger soggy.

In Norway the BBQ is actually called ‘grill’. Since the rise of the ‘grill’ many new words (and socialisms) have been introduced to Norwegian culture such as:

grillpils – a lager beer especially for BBQ parties.

grillpølse – franks that are a little thicker so you can put them on a stick and they won’t split.

grillmat – anything that can go on the BBQ – fish, meat, veg and fruit. It also includes trimmings such as salads, crisp onions, chips, bread and beer!

grillfest – BBQ party!

ventepølse – ‘waiting franks’. The sausages you stuff yourself with while waiting for the tenderloin to cook.

grilldress – the BBQ suit. A tracksuit worn by Grillers, usually in a glossy material and colours that will burn your retina. Very useful because its elastic waist adapts to over-eating.

The grill season starts on the 17 May – Norwegian Constitution Day. It is popular to have a grill on Midsummer’s Eve (23 June) to usher in the other side of the summer. A lot of schools have little wooden huts in the playground with a BBQ inside so they can grill all year round. And, of course, in every lavvo you will find a fire waiting for you to toast up your food. The grill season might begin in Spring but it never ends!!!

The Art of Eating Cake

2012-07-30T02:42:00.002-07:00

Norwegian cakes always look beautiful, as if they have just come out of a decadent country magazine. Eating cake is certainly an event in Norway. Cakes are way too pretty to be eaten in the hand with fingers. They are served on plates, always with a little spoon.

Table settings are very much a part of the tradition of serving cake in Norway. Table cloths are important as well as painted china with napkins accompanying each plate. A drink is always served whether it is hot home-made chocolate, tea and coffee or a fruit drink such as home-made blackcurrant juice. The cake is always the centre piece but other small sweets, open sandwiches, troll cream and waffles are a usual accompaniment. Not just the cake but the whole table, cloth and all, looks good enough to eat!

Norwegians have a great talent for cake making. The cake in the pictures was made for Farfar’s 80th a couple of years back, to Tante’s credit. This is just one of Tante’s many talents – cake decorating. Usually such flowers and leaves are made from a hard glaze but these ones were made out of soft marzipan. I can’t being to tell you how tricky it can be to make ornaments out of marzipan. (All I’ve managed to make successfully is bulky ducks and skinny snakes.) Tante certainly has a gift.

I wished someone had told me how to eat cake when I first came to Norway. It was at my wedding when I first encountered a real ‘home-made’ Norwegian cake. Layers of cream and sponge with fresh fruit and marzipan, decorated, of course, by Tante. After the cake cutting, as I thought tradition encouraged, I picked up some cake in my hand and fed it to Moose with my fingers (making sure I got cream all over his face). Moose was very surprised and the Norwegian crowd just stood there shocked. An awkward moment past and then Tante quickly saved the day by slicing and plating her gorgeous cake for everyone. This was the first time I really felt culture shock. The act of squishing cake all over your new spouses face is unheard of in Norway. Doh!

The Norwegian Confirmation

2012-07-30T02:41:00.005-07:00

In January we got our formal invite to our nephews Konfirmasjon. The ceremony and after-dinner were to be held in May so the whole family had good time to prepare to travel to Tromsø for the big day.

The Norwegian confirmation started during the Catholic era when youth would attend Sunday school to prepare for their spiritual entrance into a life committed to the church. This practice continued after the Reformation and the State Protestant Church became the administrator. Ceremonies were usually a part of church service. It was the first time that boys received their first suits and girls white dresses (and a party dress for celebrations after).

Confirmations were important for entrance into adult life. One had to have their confirmation to be able to work or get married. In the old Norwegian church books (which can be found online) the confirmation records have information about vaccinations, God Parents, and also the youth’s evaluation grades and comments from their priest if they behaved themselves in class or not.

Confirmation was compulsory in Norway up until 1912, however, the practice continued because of societal pressure. In 1951 Norway had its first Civil Confirmation in Oslo where the focus was on civil responsibility. (Denmark had made the move several years earlier (1915) with the organisation Association Against Church Confirmation.) Today in Norway it is the Human Ethics Society that administers non-religious confirmations. Most confirmation ceremonies happen in Spring, at the end of the school year, but some are held throughout the year.

Our nephew, Ziggy, was having a civil confirmation in Tromsø’s culture house. He had to have a course in ethics and independent thought before he could be confirmed. Such a course is meant to help participants on their way into adulthood and to be an upstanding citizen of Norway. The participants ‘graduate’ with their class – usually youth around the age of 15. So, off we went last week, back to our old stomping ground, to see Ziggy get confirmed.

The ceremony was only an hour. There were two classes being confirmed, about 15 students in each. Each youth had many of their family and family friends present so the culture house was full. This is a time to get dressed up and so many Norwegians wore their bunads. The rest of us wore formal attire. The ceremony opened with the classical piece, Salut d´Amour by Edward Elgar, as the youth marched up to the stage. They sat orderly on tiered seats facing the audience. The Welcome followed by the Human-etisk Forbund and then another musical item, Blomstervalsen by Peter Tsjajkovkij. The poem Det ene livet vi har by Kjell Kristensen (The Only Life We Have) was read and then the song Imagine by John Lennon was sung (operette style) with piano accompaniment. A speech was made by the Tromsø representative of the Human Ethics Society followed by an instrumental item of The Rose by Amanda McBoom. The Master of Ceremonies then declared ‘You are now confirmed’. The confirmation certificates were given out and then everyone sang Din tanke er fri (Your Thoughts Are Free). The newly confirmed marched out to Marsj by Joseph Haydn. Our ceremony was the last one for the weekend on the Sunday. There had been four more previously.

Afterwards we had a family gathering in the Tromsø library. We had a sit-down formal meal. The food was inspired by local produce and themed after ‘tapas’ – all Norwegian favourites spiced up:

Above, herbed pølse and below, fishcakes.

Above, spicy meatballs and below, garlic prawns.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Norwegian meal without potatoes.

During the dinner we had speeches, sang songs and Big Uncle entertained us with his energetic piano playing and singing. It is custom to have specially written lyrics to well known tunes that everyone sings to both celebrate the guest of honour (Ziggy) and give thanks for the food. And was there cake? Of course! In true Norwegian style we had several cakes to fill our plates with – Tante’s Oreo cake, kransekaker, carrot cake, cheese cake and the ‘World’s Best Cake’ – my favourite! We had moved out into the main floor of the library and so had to get creative with the cake table:

Above, Tante 1′s Oreo cake and below Tante 2′s merenges.

Above Tante 3′s cheese cake. It is usual to have a cake base and a jelly topping on Norwegian cheese cakes.

Below is The Best Cake in the World. No Joke, that is what it is called. Norway is one of the best cake makers and this cake with a vanilla base and meringue top with almond flavoured cream in between is an award winning cake and has become one of Norway’s icons.

I’ve heard a lot of talk about Norwegian confirmations, how they are just another excuse to spend hordes of money. For confirmations it is expected that youth receive an enormous amount of presents, similar to a wedding, and it is one of the times when money gifts are appropriate. Boys get snow mobiles and motorbikes, girls get mopeds and horses. But when Ziggy was asked why he wanted a confirmation he said ‘I saw it as an opportunity to bring the family together’.

How to Get a Job in Norway

2012-07-30T02:39:00.002-07:00

There are two questions I am always asked:

Is it easy to get a job in Norway?

Is it hard to get a job in Norway?

The only definite answer is: ‘it depends’. It depends on your education. It depends on your profession. It depends on your Norwegian language skills. And, it depends on your luck. There is no easy answer but what I can tell you is that there are also no shortcuts.

Why do people want to work in Norway?

There are generally two reasons why people choose Norway for work: money and ‘experience’. Norway boasts high wages and good work conditions. With five weeks paid holiday, maternity leave, and a socially conscious paternity leave, Norway has you working less for more pay. However, people often forget to consider that everything is relative – you get what you paid for! High wages incurs a higher tax (average 36%), much higher living costs, and excessive prices on luxury items such as cars. When people work in Norway for ‘experience’ it certainly isn’t work related but the prestige of ‘experiencing’ Norway – culture, people, environment etc. This ‘experience’ can be very highly considered around the world. However, (as there are always ‘howevers’) the ‘experience’ can often be more difficult than first imagined.

How to get a job in Norway

Just like any other country, you’d look at job websites, international or national companies with job postings in Norway, search the national job centre database, go to recruitment fairs, look in the newspaper, and listen out for ‘word-of-mouth’ opportunities (which is very hard to do if you don’t live in Norway or speak Norwegian).

The easiest way to get a job in Norway is to be ‘poached’. Norwegian companies (even government run) have a habit of approaching people privately and asking them to apply for open positions. This, of course, requires you to be known, and, of course, this requires you to already be either working in Norway or being associated with a Norwegian. However, to be ‘poached’ you need to be one of the best in your field.

Being in a profession high in demand is always a benefit to obtaining work in Norway. The health, oil (engineering), hospitality, education, business and information technology industries are always good employers of non-Norwegians.

Formal education is very important for work in Norway. It is hard to get an average job without a Bachelor’s degree. It is hard to get a good paying job without a Master’s degree. This is because it is so easy to get educated in Norway (as all education is free) and therefore you have to compete with Norwegians who are highly educated.

The easiest way to look for a job in Norway is via the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV.no). This is because every weekday they collect all the new job openings from newspapers, job-boards and websites from around the country and post them on their own job seeking database. Looking through the NAV database will tell you a lot about the Norwegian job market.

A view of the Norwegian job market:

First of all you will notice that about 90% of information on the NAV website is in Norwegian. Its job search database is only in Norwegian. This gives you a good idea of what Norwegian employers are looking for – workers who are competent with the Norwegian language.

Secondly, what seems like a lot of jobs available on your initial search will divide quickly on refining. When you begin to search for counties and then cities you will quickly notice the limited amount of jobs in each area. It is common for some cities to have less than 20 job positions posted each day. This is because the Norwegian population isn’t clustered into cities but scattered over the entire country – it makes a thin spread with a population of only 4.5 mil. Below is a screen-shot of the jobs available in Tromsø, the biggest city in the North of Norway, on 14th October 2009:

Click on the image to enlarge.

Search: jobs in Tromsø, all categories.

You will notice that there are only 16 job openings in total for the whole city. Slim pickings. There are two doctor jobs (lege), four jobs working with the handicapped (miljøterapeut), a dentist (tannleger), a teacher (lærer), a hairdresser (frisør), a prison warden (fengselsleder), a child counsellor (pedagogisk rågiver) etc. You will also notice that they all require Norwegian language – the dead giveaway is that they are posted in Norwegian.

You will also notice the number ’129′ at the top of the search page. That is the total number of jobs with open positions in Tromsø.

Lets have a look at English speaking job openings:

Click on the image to enlarge.

Search: jobs in Norway, all categories, tag: “english”.

Firstly, at the top, you will notice that there are only 103 jobs in the whole country that requires English language (and with some jobs this is in addition to knowing Norwegian). There are only seven new job openings for 14th October 2009 – for the whole country. Reading the job titles you’ll notice that there are mainly technical or management positions available. In general, most of the English speaking jobs in Norway are in the oil and shipping industries. There are also a lot of PhD University job openings advertised before the start of semesters. Scientific/Research jobs are also common. And occasionally there are chef, childcare and TEFL jobs.

Statistics say up to 50% of jobs in Norway are not advertised. Promotion, poaching and word-of-mouth is the norm. Therefore the best way to get a job in Norway is to live in Norway, be educated, speak the language and have a good network.

How to really get a job in Norway

As above, the best way to get a job in Norway is to live in Norway, be educated, speak the language and have a good network.

Living in Norway

Employers like to hire one to three months before a job starts. This is because most job contracts require an employee to give up to three months notice. Also, by law, there is a three month probation period, both for the employee and employer. If things don’t work out then each party can decide to let the other one go with little fuss. After three months it gets more complicated. All this ‘procedure’ can make getting a job difficult for non-Norwegians living abroad.

Immigration laws can also make job hunting in Norway difficult. If you don’t have the right visa or residency permit then applying for a job, or an employer hiring you, can be illegal. To get a job in Norway you need to follow immigration laws otherwise you will make a very bad impression.

However, it is ten times harder to get a job in Norway from outside the country. Norway prefers to employ Norwegians first – it is easier, quicker and cheaper. So to be more employable you need to make it as easy, quick and cheap for your potential employer. Norwegians don’t like problems, (they especially don’t like listening to them) so if you want to work in Norway then make sure you have the means, determination and no problems, before you start applying. You don’t want egg on your face when your potential employer asks you how you plan to make Norway your home.

Be Educated

Norwegians are highly educated. Most jobs for English speakers require at least a Bachelors degree – a Masters degree is better. However, professional experience does count but proof is essential – results are very important to Employers. Being able to name accomplishments, especially with notable organisations, is highly regarded. A strong social conscience is highly valued, as is equality, especially for women’s rights, minority inclusion and accessibility for the mentally or physically challenged. In fact, every Norwegian Bachelor degree has a core philosophy subject requirement. Norway has a reputation of being a Socialist country and therefore you are expected to sympathise.

Speak the Language

It can be difficult to get any job without Norwegian language. If an English speaker gets a job, usually part of their contract includes learning Norwegian within three years. This is more difficult than first thought. Even though Norway is a country full of Norwegian speakers, they all speak English to English speakers. This can make it impossible to learn Norwegian. Your employer is likely to send you to Norwegian language classes in your own time. After the course you are expected to read, write and speak Norwegian at high school level. However, employer expectations are impractical. No matter how much time you spend in Norwegian classes you cannot learn to speak the language properly unless you have at least 10 hours of Norwegian conversation (outside of class) a week. In comparison, Norwegians sometimes forget that it takes them eight years of English language classes and a lifetime of English speaking TV programs, music and internet just to speak English ‘ok’.

The major reason for the Norwegian language requirement for employment is that Norwegian immigration requires at least 300 hours of Norwegian language classes for Settlement. The Norwegian Immigration Authority sees employment of immigrants in Norway as a first step to (eventual) citizenship.

However, once you can speak Norwegian fluently, a whole world of opportunities open up for you in Norway.

A Good Network

It is vitally important that once you are in Norway, working or not, you build a network. Make yourself known in your industry. Go to meetings, conventions, seminars, open days – anything that can look good on your resume or get you good contacts. As mentioned above, up to 50% of jobs are word-of-mouth, so if you aren’t talking with people you cannot hear what is going round. Norwegians value works in the community especially for youth and disadvantaged peoples. Being involved with community organisations will certainly impress employers – even your kids play-group can help. If you get involved, you are bound to get more opportunities. It will take a little time but because Norwegian communities are very small (and tight) somebody always knows somebody, who knows somebody, who has a job opening.

Getting Work as an ‘Immigrant’

If you have come to Norway to work and/or live you are labelled as an ‘immigrant’. ’Immigrants’ are seen as people who enter the country just to sponge off the welfare system etc. This stigma can sometimes hurt your job seeking. Norwegian employers are very aware of the ‘immigrant’. However, you can get past this label just by your attitude.

There are not many jobs for immigrants without an education. The jobs that require no education are generally reserved for youth (as they are cheap labour). You cannot have normal/average/working class jobs in Norway without Norwegian language: no office jobs, no media jobs, no retail jobs, no real estate jobs, no waitress jobs, no security jobs, no bus driver jobs, no social work jobs etc. There are actually only two types of jobs you can get as an immigrant without Norwegian language – high-end or low-end. High-end jobs are the educated jobs spoken about above. Low-end jobs are those that are in such high demand (and teenagers don’t want them) that they will employ anyone who wants the job. Low-end jobs also mean low-end pay which is usually on the poverty line. These jobs include cleaning, house keeping, being an au pair, kitchen hand, daycare assistants and a range of seasonal farmhands such as fish gutters, berry pickers etc. However, most of these positions still do require you to have the level three Norwegian language certificate.

My Personal Experience

I’ve seen many of my immigrant friends broken because they cannot get a job. Some have had to become cleaners or child care assistants even though they have a university degree and a successful career in their home country. Not feeling good about your work will greatly affect your longevity in Norway. Many ‘qualified’ immigrants return to their home country beaten, jobless and in a great amount of debt. I thought my personal experience might give you a good taste of what job seeking and work can be like in Norway as an ‘immigrant’ with education and no language.

A bit of background: I have a degree and a couple of postgraduate diplomas – all in dramatic arts and media. I also have experience and general qualifications in the hospitality industry. Education and 20 years experience in dancing. All my education has been obtained in English speaking countries.

When I first came to Norway I couldn’t work for over eight months as I was waiting for my residency permit application to be approved. I was sponging off Moose for this time…lol. As soon as I was able to, I applied for a couple of jobs in my field of work. The employers were very excited about my qualifications and education but as soon as they found out I couldn’t speak Norwegian they turned me down. I applied for a similar job in another city and got it – in my contract it said I had to learn Norwegian. Moose had to quit his job (as I’d be making more than him) and we had to move to a small town in the middle of the country. This made it hard for Moose to find a job. Even though he IS Norwegian and speaks the language, smaller cities don’t have very many jobs available. It is very usual to have to move from city to city for jobs in Norway – but it is even more usual for one partner to have to give up a lesser paying job for the other partner. It is a sacrifice that is necessary to be together in the same city. Eventually Moose got a job in media. I worked and did one night a week of Norwegian classes but I wasn’t learning anything. After all that, we decided to move to London for Moose to study. More sacrifices. We both quit our jobs (and our lovely pay) to live like students in London.

In London, I worked as a Chef at a pub and restaurant – using my cookery trade education and gained some more qualifications while there. Moose put his Norwegian language to good use and worked part-time as a translator. Then a year later we moved back to Norway because we were expecting our first child together. (We wanted Lilu to be Norwegian.) I was ‘unemployable’ being pregnant but I also couldn’t get maternity leave because I hadn’t been employed in Norway the year leading up to the pregnancy (as we were in London). So Moose studied and worked.

Before having the baby I did three months of full-time Norwegian language. After having the baby, I applied for a part-time job as a Chef. I didn’t get the job (because… well, a lot of their questions were about me doing my job as a new mother). Not wanting a full-time job, I started freelancing as a dance teacher. I also became very active in the dance community. I became a producer of a festival because of my willingness to get involved, I participated in the film industry and also studied part-time at the university. Through my contacts I have been offered numerous jobs in dance and have also been offered a couple of full-time arts jobs – despite me not knowing Norwegian. However, I do live in a small city so I will likely have to create my own work. (I’m not ready to work full-time yet as I have just had another baby) but in the future I know that my connections will make it a lot easier for me to get a job instead of having to ‘rely on the kindness of strangers’. I am extremely aware that if I learn Norwegian it will make things 1000 times easier for me to get a good job.

The most important thing to learn from my experience:

Have a couple of things you can fall back on – a trade, a hobby or an education – so you can work as a freelancer or develop a small business.

So… what do you think – is it easy to get a job in Norway, or is it hard? Feel free to give advice, ask questions or share experiences in the comment section below so we can all help each other make a

High on Life – Tromso Cable Car

2012-07-30T02:38:00.003-07:00

Norwegians know how to make the most of a mountain. From snow sports (skiing, snow boarding etc) to summer sports (glacier hikes, para-flying etc), leisure activities (sightseeing, sunbathing) to modern commodities (restaurants, tunnels). Not a mountain is wasted. In fact, nearly every city in Norway is surrounded by high places that give wonderful extended views of the landscape – there is always one place that draws the attention. In Bergen it is the Seven Mountains where you can ride a cable car to the highest one with Ulriken643 Panoramic Tours (site in Norwegian). In Trondheim you can see the city and fjord from the Kristiansten fortress. In Tromsø the most famous high place is on the mainland on top of Mount Storsteinen with an inspiring panoramic view of Tromsø city island and the surrounding mountains.

Tromsø Cable Car

Mount Storsteinen (the Big Rock Mountain in English) is a Tromsø icon. The only way to climb the 421m high mountain over Tromsø (for average folk) is via cable car. At the base of the mountain the cars are loaded with skiers during the snow months – from on top of the mountain there are a series of cross-country ski tracks that are very popular. Thrill-seekers also use the mountain for para-gliding and hang-gliding during both the snow and summer months. They also hike up the back of the mountain for extra thrill-points.

As there is a cafe-restaurant on the mountain, the locals often use this great location for functions and parties. Last year we had a Salsa dance event on the lookout platform during the Midnight Sun – fantastic!

At the Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF) 2009 the film You’ll Never Walk Alone was shot in the cable cars. It is about a failed football coach planning to go up the mountain via cable car with no intention of coming back down. Drama strikes when the cable car stalls and he suddenly the coach has to relate to the other passengers who are trying to convince him that life is worth living.

On the last day of the year, the tables are turned and it’s the ‘big snowy rock’ that is the centre of attention. On New Years Eve a fanfare of crackers and lights flare around the city – up and down the fjord on both sides (it’s as if the mainland and the island are competeing to see which side can give the most spectacular light show). At 12 midnight all eyes are on the snowy mountain as it ushers in the New Year with a dramatic light display and the new year written in fire.

We went up to the mountain this year during the Easter Holidays. The snow was still white and fluffy on the mountain. It was so refreshing and crisp, and the kids couldn’t resist another snowball fight. The view was amazing and we could see our house clearly on the island. Even though it was below temps outside, it didn’t stop the kids from having the complementary ice creams offered by the cafe. We took the short trek to the other lookouts along the mountain. A wooden seat was planted at the lookout so you could sit and watch the world go by – but I didn’t dare – if I had of sat down the kids would have had no chance in dragging me away to make a snowman.

To visit the mountain during the Midnight Sun is a real treat. The sun is facing you over the mountain to the north which dresses the island in a golden contrast. During Spring and Autumn the sun will set right in front of you over the mountain in the background. The twilight sky becomes a feast for the eyes and you are just one step away from Heaven.

Attraction for Tourists

Of course, Mount Storsteinen and the cable cars are a popular tourist attraction. It has almost become a pilgrimage for tourists to make the trek across the Tromsø bridge to the mainland (stopping at the Arctic Cathedral along the way ) and then ride the cable cars to the top of the mountain.

The lookout platform provides excellent photo ops – and if you walk along the mountain ridge to the south (it has a fence so you won’t fall off the mountain…lol) you can take pics of the whole island laying in the water. (Make sure you wear good snow boots during the ski season because sometimes you might have to trudge through knee high snow to get to the outer lookouts.)

In the centre of the cafe-restaurant is a log-fire place – great for getting toasty during the winter months – and around the walls you can read about the history of Mount Storsteinen and the surrounding area with some great professional pics. You can even watch the para-gliders circling the mountain and valley with their colourful chutes from the windows. I’d say hot chocolate and waffles with sour cream and home-made Tyttebær (cowberry jam) are a must to complete your trip.

Mount Storsteinen and the cable cars have particular opening times depending on the time of year and the weather. I recommend you visit the official sitewww.fjellheisen.no (even on the day of your trip) to check times and weather. The website also has a webcam and a weather forecast with temps and wind speed etc so you can know what to wear for your trip on that day.