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Yesterday my friend Line reminded me about Jante Law and I realised that I hadn’t written anything about it on the blog.  To be honest I didn’t know much detail about it until I researched it this morning!  Anyone who visits Norway will almost certainly get a good feel about the Norwegian people – they are good-natured, humble and very friendly towards the English – makes such a nice change given the frosty reception we get in some countries :-)

This attitude may have something to do with Jante Law (or Janteloven in Norwegian).  This term is used to describe a pattern of behaviour that’s often associated with Scandinavians – humility.  Underlying it is the desire to see all people as being on an equal footing – that you shouldn’t ‘think big’, criticize others nor flaunt wealth/financial achievements as it can be portrayed as inappropriate. 

The poet Aksel Sandemose put these rules into words in 1933 and they go something like this…

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

 Apparently there’s and 11th rule…

• Don’t think there’s anything we don’t know about you.

I need to find out more about what Norwegians think about Jante Law.  I personally think some of them are a bit harsh but I like the humbling mind-set that Norwegians have – seems to keep harmony among communities.  However, in countries like the UK, when it comes to job interviews you really have to be good at selling your skills and achievements in order to stand out from several candidates.  I did wonder whether I could start a little ‘personal brand coaching’ business in Norway but not sure it would be appropriate now.  Fascinating insight into the culture.

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Sunday is typically går på tur day when people across the country will be out walking so not wanting to miss out on this tradition, Eliot and I joined the crowd last Sunday.  Target = a hytte.  These are little huts dotted in the mountains that provide food, drink and sometimes a place to sleep if you’re taking an extra long hike.  This particular hytte prided itself on fresh bread and cakes…yum!  Shame it was closed when we got there.

 The thing is, Norwegians seem to be born with a natural sense of direction that enables them hike through the woods and forests without a getting lost.  It’s very hard to find “trails for beginners” on the web so for someone like me who “could get lost in a paper bag” (quote Dad), wandering in the great wilderness can be a worrying experience.   

…That was until I discovered a fantastic little App for my iPhone called EveryTrail which plotted our trail as we walked so no matter where we ended up, I still knew where the car was.  Perfect!  Not only that, every time I took a photo it plotted it onto the trail.  For the more advanced hikers a Satmap is a great choice.   

You can take a look our walk below…

Vodpod videos no longer available.

2.5 Hour Hike From Frognerseteren, posted with vodpod

 

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It’s so nice to get comments from readers.  Last week I received one froma lady called Donna in response to my 6 Things That Frustrate Me About Norway post where “Fit People” featured as #5.  Donna reminded me that whilst the Norwegians are ultra fit, there are many that smoke and I figured that it was about time I introduced readers to a vice that is popular in Scandinavia – Snus. 

I guess I’m quite naive because I had never heard or seen of this stuff before moving to Norway.  Snus is an oral tobacco product – it’s like a miniature teabag containing moist tobacco that you place under your top lip for extensive periods of time.  You see it for sale in most supermarkets and newspaper shops – it’s generally stored in a fridge behind the counter with “SNUS” in black letters.   It comes packaged in a little round tin with two sections – one for fresh snus and one to place used snus bags. 

It’s grown and consumed primarily in Sweden with but usage is on the decline from 22% of men using the product in 2004 to 12% in 2010. However, according to research, snus consumption in Norway has been greatly on the rise over the past few years:  11% of men use moist snus daily – compared to less than 1% of women.  It’s so popular in fact that Swedish Match (the company which manufactures the product) has seen a 164% growth in sales in their “Nick and Johnny Strong White” – a specially adapted brand of snus for Norwegians where the tobacco is moistened before being sealed into the bag.   It has a mild, pure tobacco taste with a hint of liquorice. 

Using snus has been a highly effective way for Swedes to quit smoking.  When the Government introduced a ban on smoking in public places in 2005, many turned to snus as an alternative and because it’s not intended for inhalation, it does not affect the lungs as cigarettes do.  However snus contains more nicotine than cigarettes and little is known about the long-term effects of usage over time given its application to a localised area in the mouth.

Eliot and I aren’t smokers so we won’t be trying the ‘tobacco teabags’ anytime soon.  I don’t have any idea how much these little tubs cost but I’m guessing it’s not cheap given the tax here in Norway.

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Last year I wrote a post about “The National Dish Of Norway” which is called Fårikål – or “Sheep In Cabbage”.  Anyway, yesterday was Fårikålfest day again in Norway so  I decided to go one step further this year and actually cook the dish and video it at the same time.  Yes, my first ever video blog post! 

Although I’ve tasted Fårikål once at work I have never cooked it myself so having done so, here are some tips:

• Add plenty of salt and pepper – gives it flavour
• Don’t forget to keep topping up the water during the 2-3 hours of stewing
• Buy plenty of meat and cabbage, cook up the whole lot and save it.  It keeps for a few days in the fridge and tastes great the day after!

 Thanks to NordicNibber.com for the reminder that it was indeed Fårikål day yesterday.  Enjoy!

The Cooking Process:

The Result:

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Yesterday I took part in my first half marathon.  I’m not much of a runner – about 6 months ago I could barely jog to the end of the road without stopping but one day I decided that the London marathon looked fun…partly because it would be a great sightseeing trip around London and partly because my business idol Sir Richard Branson (who I met in May) is now running the show. 

And so the training began…

My first target was the Bupa 10km race in London which I completed earlier this year.  In order to keep up the training doubling the distance seemed to be the next logical step so I signed up to the Oslo half marathon.  After months of training and last-minute encouragement from family and friends I decided (at the 11th hour) to give it ago. 

In my last post I wrote about our frustrations with Norway- #5 being “Fit People”.  I was expecting a few more “fun runners” to take part in the Oslo race, just so that my slow pace would blend into the background but oh no…almost 90% of those running were in it to beat the clock.  Needless to say, out of the 1800 runners that started in my group, about 1780 passed me by in the first 3 kilometers and I ended up running with six dogs and goat near the back (yes, a pet goat – apparently he did the 10km in Oslo just recently). 

I can split the journey into 4 memorable segments. 

1. Sweden:  The first leg took us past the new Oslo opera house which was lovely…for a while…but we just kept going and going.  I honestly thought that we were about to hit the Swedish border and I would be getting my duty-free allowance for the return journey.  It felt like eternity and that was just the start!
2. Oh No…Cobbles:  After eventually turning around we went back into Oslo where Eliot was waiting with the camera.  It was so nice to see him and he started running alongside me for a short while.  The crowd seemed very  impressed that this chap dressed for the cold carrying a rucksack had just managed to run the first 9km without breaking a sweat.  Then I hit the cobbles.  Oslo is an old city and cobbles just didn’t appear in my training plan as a surface that I needed to practice on.  It hurt. 
3. Sticky Skøyen:   After running through Oslo and out the other side up endless hills, I made my way to Skøyen…slowly.  I arrived at the drinking station where we were given some weird, blue, sugary drink of which many folks had just taken one sip and threw the rest on the floor.  At this point my trainers became stuck to the floor…like I needed anything else holding me back!  Luckily Eliot took the train out to Skøyen to offer support and had the camera ready for a quick photo.
4. Is This A Joke?   At kilometer #20 I had already lost my sense of humour.   Just when I thought I was on the home run, we ended up running around some dockyard car park with yet another sticky drink station but now I knew that I was just 1 kilometer away from finishing a half marathon.  I then turned the corner to face the steepest, cobbled hill ever.  I can’t believe the race organisers thought this might be a great way to finish the race.  Very annoying.

If you’re interested in my results you can find them here (race number 27911).  I don’t think I’ll ever be the sort of person to get addicted to running.  I find the training hard work and the motivation to continue even harder but I just want to prove to myself that it’s possible to achieve anything if you set your mind to it.   

EDIT:  Just want to add a couple of Thank You messages to this post.  Thanks to Eliot, Mum and Dad for their endless support throughout my training – we have a little further to go!  To Cathrine for the SMS that persuaded me to go for it at the 11th hour and finally to Line for turning up at the 10km mark to give me a cheer…just when I needed it!

So, to quote my Dad minutes after finishing the half marathon, “Next stop…London”