Food and the World – Groceries, Grønland, and Great Responsibility in Norway – by Cassie Mahlberg. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
[Grønland Frukt og Grønt]
Tag Archives: Norway
Food and the World – Groceries, Grønland, and Great Responsibility in Norway – by Cassie Mahlberg. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Filed under Professor Hong-Ming Liang
Food and the World – Photo Essay from Norway – Without nourishment we cannot survive, neither in body nor in mind – by Cassie Mahlberg. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Food and the World – Photo Essay from Norway – Without nourishment we cannot survive, neither in body nor in mind – by Cassie Mahlberg. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Filed under Professor Hong-Ming Liang
Food and the World – A Concept of Home Constructed by Food – by Cassie Mahlberg. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Food and the World – A Concept of Home Constructed by Food – by Cassie Mahlberg. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
[Midnight noodle soup; Kässpatzen and fried onions]
Filed under Professor Hong-Ming Liang
Norway – More From Two: Observations of Politics – by Jonia Gordon. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Norway – More From Two: Observations of Politics – by Jonia Gordon. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Editor’s Note: this is a part of a special series from Jonia Gordon, a talented student who is studying in Oslo, Norway for the Fall 2015 semester. Jonia is a thoughtful writer, as well as a talented artist. The illustrations that accompany this article are also by Jonia.
During the period in which I studied abroad in Norway, I was fortunate enough to be there during local (city/county) elections. Throughout the program, we (as a class) were able to learn about how the political system began and has evolved throughout the years, the political parties, and how the voting system works. At the same time, we were able to observe the process of campaigning for the election that would take place.
In the process of learning, I couldn’t help but to draw comparisons between the United States and Norway. The U.S. is a system that I was more familiar with and yet, it wasn’t until I was confronted with the system of Norway that I was able to have a changed perception. In the U.S., there is a bi-partisan system (Democrats and Republicans) that has led to the citizens having to make a choice for one over the other. The easiest way I can describe this is that both parties come as a standard meal; each has food items that you like, dislike, and have no strong opinion towards your preference. Yet, you must make a decision between these two standard meals – no substitutions allowed. As a citizen you must make the choice of what meal (political party) suits your tastes the most.
(Picture 1: Visual representation of bipartisan standard meal described above.)
In comparison to the constitutional monarchy, which has a parliamentary system. that operates under a coalition of multiple parties. Some notable parties are: the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet), the Conservative Party (Høyre, literal translation: ‘Right), the Liberal Party (Venstre, literal translation: ‘Left’), and the Green Party (Miljøpariet De Grønne). This system still offers the standard meals; however, due to their being multiple parties available, the meals are more specific (focused political goals). This helps the citizens to decide on a party with less compromises to their opinions/political standings. This system still has drawbacks just as the U.S. does.
One fact about Norway’s system that I really appreciate is the voter registration process. The individual citizen is automatically registered to vote when they are born and the birth certificate has been verified. I believe that this system has a large impact on why the country has such a large voter turnout. It led me to wonder how much of a difference this would make in the U.S., if it became a commonplace system. Still, one must consider the population and geographical differences between the two countries and how that impacts the quality and rate of how it would operate on a larger scale. Another aspect of the Norwegian system that caught my attention is the youth wings of parties that are active within all of its municipalities. The use of the term ‘youth wing’ has some negative associations (e.g., WWII) that can lead to assumptions and misunderstandings as to what its purpose and function is. One major event is that when elections are occurring, high schools will hold mock elections (and youth wing members are active in presenting the parties views) a week or so prior to the official elections. These mock elections are followed closely throughout Norway and are considered to be major indicators of how the results will turn out.
(Picture 2: Visual representation of Norway’s voter registration)
Finally, I thought the campaigning process was fascinating. Due to parties being established and well-known for their views, there isn’t as long of a campaigning season. Although, I observed a local election (Oslo), the campaigning didn’t begin until a month before the election and (supposedly) national elections have only a slightly longer season. Then I look towards the United States and see a stark difference in length. In many ways, I’ve come back with a more negative view towards the system in the U.S. and that definitely led to me wanting to ignore the campaigning as long as I could.
At the same time. I decided to focus more intently in order to be a person for change and not fall into the category of an inactive or uninformed voter. I’ve taken a lot from this experience and believe that it has benefitted myself to delve more into politics than I have in the past.
(Picture 3: My response to the United States while the Norwegian municipalities elections were occurring.)
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Please contact Professor Liang if you wish to write for The North Star Reports — HLIANG (at) css.edu
See also, our Facebook page with curated news articles at http://www.facebook.com/NorthStarReports
–
The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy (http://NorthStarReports.org) is a student edited and student authored open access publication centered around the themes of global and historical connections. Our abiding philosophy is that those of us who are fortunate enough to receive an education and to travel our planet are ethically bound to share our knowledge with those who cannot afford to do so. Therefore, creating virtual and actual communities of learning between college and K-12 classes are integral to our mission. In five semesters we have published 200 articles covering all habitable continents and a variety of topics ranging from history and politics, food and popular culture, to global inequities to complex identities. These articles are read by K-12 and college students. Our student editors and writers come from all parts of the campus, from Nursing to Biology, Physical Therapy to Business, and remarkably, many of our student editors and writers have long graduated from college. We also have writers and editors from other colleges and universities. In addition to our main site, we also curate a Facebook page dedicated to annotated news articles selected by our student editors (http://www.facebook.com/NorthStarReports). This is done by an all volunteer staff. We have a frugal cash budget, and we donate much of our time and talent to this project. We are sponsored by St. Scholastica’s Department of History and Politics and by the scholarly Middle Ground Journal: World History and Global Studies (http://theMiddleGroundJournal.org).
For a brief summary, please see the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History, at: http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2013/1305/Opening-The-Middle-Ground-Journal.cfm
Hong-Ming Liang, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, The North Star Reports; Chief Editor, The Middle Ground Journal; Associate Professor of History and Politics, The College of St. Scholastica.
Kathryn Marquis Hirsch, Managing Editor, The North Star Reports.
(c) 2012-present The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy http://NorthStarReports.org ISSN: 2377-908X The NSR is sponsored and published by Professor Hong-Ming Liang, NSR Student Editors and Writers, The Department of History and Politics of The College of St. Scholastica, and the scholarly Middle Ground Journal. See Masthead for our not-for-profit educational open- access policy. K-12 teachers, if you are using these reports for your classes, please contact editor-in-chief Professor Liang at HLIANG (at) css.edu
Norway – The Bergen Trip – by Jonia Gordon. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Norway – The Bergen Trip – by Jonia Gordon. The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy, at NorthStarReports.org and facebook.com/NorthStarReports
Editor’s Note: this is a part of a special series from Jonia Gordon, a talented student who is studying in Oslo, Norway for the Fall 2015 semester. Jonia is a thoughtful writer, as well as a talented artist. The illustrations that accompany this article are also by Jonia.
After our train arrived, we disembarked and walked 2 or-so blocks to the hotel/hostel that we would be staying at for the duration of our visit. We checked into our rooms (I shared with one of my friends) and settled for a bit. It was a strange experience having a shared bathroom; however, our room itself was rather large with a bed, couch, desk, and closet space. Afterwards, we ventured out to buy a few foods to eat a short meal together and went back to our rooms for a night to relax. Due to the late night and the lack of sleep that I had the night before (plus a long day of travel) I went to bed that night at 21.00 (9) and slept until 08.00 the following morning. Refreshed, we got ready for the exciting day ahead of us.
That excitement was due to one of the main reasons for deciding on the destination of Bergen. It was chosen due to the fjord tours that are offered year-round. We had booked our tickets 2 months in advance to ensure that we would have a placement–though I don’t think it was necessary, as there were plenty of empty seats. Nevertheless, my mindset is that it is better to be prepared. Since we left an hour and half earlier, we were able to explore the area and look in little shops, down side streets, etc.
(Image 1: The front buildings are the oldest wooden buildings in Bergen. They currently serve as small shops and restaurants. The buildings behind serve the same purpose as well as hotels and local residents housing.)
When it got closer to the time that the fjord cruise boat would arrive, we headed towards where we saw it and waited. After a while of waiting, I got a bit worried as there were no other people around. On our tickets, it had stated that if there weren’t at least 15 people, the tour would not happen at that time. Suddenly. This ensued:
That’s right. The boat simply set off to the other side and we realized that, ‘Wow. We need to run to that side of the dock in order to get on.’, and so we did. We ran what is a 10/13 minute walk in about 4 minutes. We made it, with people still waiting in line and more people following our example in being late.
Finally, we boarded and spent 4 hours touring the fjords–sometimes from inside and other times from the top of the boat. It was consistently full of amazing sights: clear waters, a bright sun, isolated houses in the middle of green spaces, and snowy mountains in the distance. It’s an experience that I hope and strive to have again in my lifetime. For now, I rely on the pictures that I hadn’t taken at that time.
One particular experience on the tour that was exceptionally fantastic was when the boat operators, saw the goats that they typically stop and feed. Therefore, we were able to stand a few feet behind them as they chucked chunks of stale bread over to the goats. Unfortunately, one was accidentally hit in the head by eagerly jumping down to get to the bread. Fortunately, it ate the same piece it was hit by happily.
It was a moment that was adorable and humorous all at once; it reminded me, somewhat strangely, of my dog.
The rest of the day was spent wandering about, sharing a meal together, watching a Austrian psychological thriller, and chatting. It was a low-speed, not to spectacular day on the surface, but it serves as a great series of moments with friends that I will look back fondly on. We only had one more day and we would be taking the train back that night (23.30-06.45). We spent a majority of the day walking around Bergen and sitting in coffee shops (taking advantage of the warmth and wi-fi). Unfortunately, we couldn’t do too much as we had our luggage and so our last day was perhaps the slowest in movements. I look back at this trip and I feel so immensely happy that I decided to do something that was outside of my comfort zone. It was a time where I gladly experienced friendship and independence; mostly, it was a time where I was able to sit and reflect about myself, who I was and would be, and how–in a week’s time–I would be back in the United States.
(Image 2: After going up a very slanted hill and getting lost, we were able to see this wonderful view of Bergen in the early morning hours.)
(Image 3: Cats are known to randomly roam the streets of Bergen (and Oslo, to an extent) and this one in particular really enjoyed my luggage and claimed it for a short while. Many of the cats were friendly and this led to the internal struggle of wanting to simply take the cats and keeps them as my own because… cats.)
—
Please contact Professor Liang if you wish to write for The North Star Reports — HLIANG (at) css.edu
See also, our Facebook page with curated news articles at http://www.facebook.com/NorthStarReports
–
The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy (http://NorthStarReports.org) is a student edited and student authored open access publication centered around the themes of global and historical connections. Our abiding philosophy is that those of us who are fortunate enough to receive an education and to travel our planet are ethically bound to share our knowledge with those who cannot afford to do so. Therefore, creating virtual and actual communities of learning between college and K-12 classes are integral to our mission. In five semesters we have published 200 articles covering all habitable continents and a variety of topics ranging from history and politics, food and popular culture, to global inequities to complex identities. These articles are read by K-12 and college students. Our student editors and writers come from all parts of the campus, from Nursing to Biology, Physical Therapy to Business, and remarkably, many of our student editors and writers have long graduated from college. We also have writers and editors from other colleges and universities. In addition to our main site, we also curate a Facebook page dedicated to annotated news articles selected by our student editors (http://www.facebook.com/NorthStarReports). This is done by an all volunteer staff. We have a frugal cash budget, and we donate much of our time and talent to this project. We are sponsored by St. Scholastica’s Department of History and Politics and by the scholarly Middle Ground Journal: World History and Global Studies (http://theMiddleGroundJournal.org).
For a brief summary, please see the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History, at: http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2013/1305/Opening-The-Middle-Ground-Journal.cfm
Hong-Ming Liang, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, The North Star Reports; Chief Editor, The Middle Ground Journal; Associate Professor of History and Politics, The College of St. Scholastica.
Kathryn Marquis Hirsch, Managing Editor, The North Star Reports.
(c) 2012-present The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy http://NorthStarReports.org ISSN: 2377-908X The NSR is sponsored and published by Professor Hong-Ming Liang, NSR Student Editors and Writers, The Department of History and Politics of The College of St. Scholastica, and the scholarly Middle Ground Journal. See Masthead for our not-for-profit educational open- access policy. K-12 teachers, if you are using these reports for your classes, please contact editor-in-chief Professor Liang at HLIANG (at) css.edu
The North Star Reports: Global Citizenship and Digital Literacy 