Norsk Engelsk

Something wrong with this Norwegian-English sign at the Ljabru Tram stop? The Norwegian is not the best...but I know for sure that their English is wrong...maybe they got tired translating after the 3rd word...perhaps they need someone to translate to English...I'm still looking for a job...always available.

Here are links to some letters/articles I have written in the Times of Malta :-)

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110822/local/Maltese-analyst-in-Oslo-recalls-July-22-atrocity.381257

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110728/letters/Reducing-tragedy-to-a-political-debate.377628

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120201/letters/Not-only-in-Malta-.404769

Jeg leter etter job

I am looking for jobs now – or actually trying to see what possibilities are around – so I have turned to the trustworthy source of Aftenposten for some pointers, hints, hopes, encouragement..... So far I have learned these four points:

1. Drikk et glass og få høyere lønn

- the most important one I think is that to earn more money I need to drink alcohol (small amount of course) - yes this is the headline with further explanation “De som drikker litt alkohol tjener mer”.

2. Du blir stemplet på 30 sekunder

- I only have 30 seconds to impress the interviewer and possible employer. Then why do interviews take 30 minutes – and then that’s only the first interview!!! Do you think it would work if I tell the interviewer after 30 seconds that since he/she has already decided, “Can I leave now?”!!

3. Flere vil jobbe lenger

- Great news!!! I probably will have to work longer then 70 – something to look forward too. I guess retirement will come with death :-)

4. Mer skatt, men færre goder

- And even better news – more tax and less benefits. Maybe being a bum is the best then – seeing it comparatively, if I pay less tax because I am a bum, then I would still have basic benefits.

So as you can see folks – its good news out in the market. Oh, did anyone mention a financial crisis??? But hey, at least drinking a glass of wine will get me higher pay!!! That is good news! I'll keep you posted!

Financial Crisis in Norway

Yes - the financial crisis is hitting Norway really hard - so hard that Aftenposten - one of Oslo's most popular newspapers decided to do an article in it's economy section that hits right to the core of the financial crisis (9 October 2009 - http://www.aftenposten.no/pengenedine/article3310712.ece) . You guessed it - it is about Fårikal - yes, the economy in Norway is bleeding and the prices differences of Fårikal needed to be investigated! The headline in the newspaper is given below with their image as well. Ladies and gentleman, economists, investors......Norwegians have hit upon the problem of the present crises. The solution - shop Fårikal at Kiwi - the cheapest option - and all your financial woes will be over. Thank you Aftenposten for revealing this important information

Priskamp i fårikålgryte

NSB is Norway’s national rail company – this is supposed to stand for Norges Statsbaner – but I have just found out what it really means – Norges signalfeilbaner. This is another revelation the knight from Malta has been able to discover in the short time here. Finally the truth is revealed... Yes, NSB, is Norway’s official signal failure rail experts. They specialise in making signals fails and therefore delaying trains. Yet, they always seem to announce ‘unfortunately there has been an unexpected signal fail at…”. What is strange is that it seems to be only unexpected for NSB – while all passengers are just waiting for it to happen. I really wonder why these signal fails occur so often – surely, they can be fixed. Oh, and soon NSB will be surprised by the snow that will come. which will cause more delays...you see, because it rarely snows here! Though again, the only ones that seem to be surprised are NSB. Well, some like to keep life exciting and therefore want to get surprised by usual happenings!

Autumn

Well, like it or not Autumn is here. It is a season that is not always clear in Southern Europe since the change from summer to winter is more sudden. Here, in Oslo, Autumn is really beautiful. Autum is allowed to play its full script - changing from the bright green to orange and some trees to dark bloody red. The leaves begin to droop, weeping that summer is over and preparing to bare the tree from unnecessary burden for the harsh winter soon arriving.

Fårikål feast day and Potato picking holiday week

The last Thursday of September is ‘celebrated’ as Fårikål feast day. Fårikål is a traditional Norwegian dish made from interlaying layers of lamb with bones, cabbage, and whole black pepper thrown in a casserole and cooked till end of time. Don’t take me wrong, I like this dish – but if we have Fårikål day – shouldn’t we have pølse day…wait, I forgot, that is called søttende/syttende mai (National day). Fårikål is served with potatoes – which leads to another interesting fact – potato picking holiday week. Yes, the picture you see, although black and white is very recent taken in downtown Oslo – it is why children have a week holiday…ooops, I meant break… from school – to go and help their parents pick potatoes. Well, today, this potato week is actually called ‘høst ferie’. This change of name was due to the fact that potatoes made a civil claim against the government for using the copyrighted name ‘potatoes’ unlawfully. Anyway, it is a nice week holiday – but you only get it at school – unfortunately not at university. By the time we reach university age, we are expected to try and get ourselves properly educated without the distractions of potatoes, so as to make some money to keep growing potatoes.