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Author Topic: What seemed weird when I visited your country  (Read 95765 times)

UniqueNewYork

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #100 on: 05 Nov 2013, 16:30 »

In the USA:
...
Houston guys in business-suits wearing stetsons and cowboy boots and those leather-thong-tie-fastened-with-a-brooch things.
Gambling-machines built into the tables and bar-tops in a Las Vegas micro-brew pub. Actually, pretty much everything in Las Vegas.

The things you're talking about the Houstonites wearing are called bolo ties.

No other state is even close to being as laissez-faire about gambling as Nevada, so this leads to so-called "one arm bandits" being in just about every public space.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #101 on: 05 Nov 2013, 16:34 »

I saw forgeiners (well, other forgeiners) in Japan ordering silly things at bars too. The Sararīman liked my brother and I because we drank Japanese beer about as aggresively as they did... I miss Asahi.
Maybe it's a regional thing, but I have never been in a place that sold beer (apart from cheapo supermarkets) that didn't have at least one Japanese beer in it.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #102 on: 05 Nov 2013, 18:04 »

After all this talk about it I really want to eat a peanut butter sandwich.
I think one should say here that classic American peanut butter is awesome. I have tried a variety with less fat and sugar, but that wasn't the real thing.

Ugh no, peanut butter shouldn't contain ANYTHING except peanuts (and possibly salt, if you really want it - but I do not).

You need to add a little oil  to allow the ground peanuts to blend together better, either a nuetral flavored oil or peanut oil.
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Emperor Norton

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #103 on: 05 Nov 2013, 18:45 »

Not outside of the country, but still a culture shock during traveling, going North and not being able to get sweet iced tea makes me sad.
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indiespy

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #104 on: 05 Nov 2013, 18:47 »

Not outside of the country, but still a culture shock during traveling, going North and not being able to get sweet iced tea makes me sad.

I know your pain man.
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LookingIn

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #105 on: 05 Nov 2013, 19:14 »

Not outside of the country, but still a culture shock during traveling, going North and not being able to get sweet iced tea makes me sad.

Some of the fastfood places make some that isn't too bad, a little sweeter than normal but stilil not that bad.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #106 on: 05 Nov 2013, 19:31 »

Not outside of the country, but still a culture shock during traveling, going North and not being able to get sweet iced tea makes me sad.

When I moved from the north to the south, (Mass to North Carolina), I couldn't go anywhere without being bombarded with tea. I don't even like tea.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #107 on: 05 Nov 2013, 19:45 »

well, it's a cultural thing: as Southerners we're honor bound to offer libation.
and most people balk at Moonshine before 5 PM.
:D
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #108 on: 05 Nov 2013, 19:59 »

What is weird about school buses?

Iceland virtually never has warning signs or safety fences for anything. Their attitude seems to be that you should have enough common sense not to walk off cliffs or stick your hand in boiling mud. Which makes perfect sense but was disorienting to someone from the USA.
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Emperor Norton

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #109 on: 05 Nov 2013, 20:14 »

well, it's a cultural thing: as Southerners we're honor bound to offer libation.
and most people balk at Moonshine before 5 PM.
:D

I remember a quote from some Northern gentlemen during the early 1900s about why Pub culture never really took in the South was because it didn't matter if you were a stranger or not, Southerners would invite you in for food and drink, and INSIST you take it, so there was no reason for actual pubs.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #110 on: 05 Nov 2013, 20:42 »

When I went to Brazil, I found out that I was not supposed to flush toilet paper. Turns out that the sewer system in the city I was in can't handle toilet paper and if you try to flush it the toilet will back up. Luckily I was told in advance by one of the guys from the lab who had been there before. He found out the hard way.

I hesitate to ask, but how are you supposed to dispose of toilet paper if not by flushing?
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GarandMarine

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #111 on: 05 Nov 2013, 20:48 »

Shit they might not even invite you in but just deliver it to you. I was walking around Montgomery, Alabama with a couple of my Marine Corps buddies (we were stationed just over the state line in Pensacola, Florida. Some good ol'boys in a rusty old pick up truck pull up and look us over, we figure they're about to start shit because we're a mixed race company and they are white rednecks, but they look us over. "Y'all Army?" "Fuck no, we're Marines." "Fuckin' A. You boys gonna be walking along this road a bit longer?" "....Yeah?" "Good, we'll be back in a bit, punch it Bubba!" and off they drove. We were very confused and paranoid they were about to bring out the local klan or some shit (We were all West Coast and Far West types with little experience in The South) they come back about 15 minutes later with a couple thirty racks and a bottle of whiskey "I'da brought y'all some chicken and shine from up at the house, but I figure you wouldn't want to get busted with the shine, and I dunno if ma ol'lady made enough chicken for a dozen hearty fellers like y'all, so un's'll jess haf to settle for beer" We shook hands with him and Bubba, they revealed they had family in the Corps for 'Nam, and off they went into the sunset as we hoofed it back to the hotel room we were crashing in, 1/3 of our saturday night beer run comped via Southern Hospitality.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #112 on: 05 Nov 2013, 20:50 »

When I went to Brazil, I found out that I was not supposed to flush toilet paper. Turns out that the sewer system in the city I was in can't handle toilet paper and if you try to flush it the toilet will back up. Luckily I was told in advance by one of the guys from the lab who had been there before. He found out the hard way.

I hesitate to ask, but how are you supposed to dispose of toilet paper if not by flushing?
There was a little wastebasket next to the toilet, and you were supposed to fold up the paper (so the, ahem, material is on the inside), and put it in the wastebasket. In the bathroom in the physics department they even had a sign with instructions that said (in Portuguese) not to flush the toilet paper but to put it in the wastebasket and "do not forget to fold it well". I'm guessing with the number of foreigners that visited, they probably had problems with that in the past.  :psyduck:
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #113 on: 05 Nov 2013, 21:18 »

What is weird about school buses?
In Australia (with the exception of a few private schools that are located away from public transport) we don't have school buses at all. Many kids take the bus (or train or ferry) to school, but they just ride the normal public transport along with other passengers, at subsidised fares under the School Student Transport Scheme. Why buy fleets of buses, and then only use them for school-kids, rather than public transport?

Not outside of the country, but still a culture shock during traveling, going North and not being able to get sweet iced tea makes me sad.
I enjoyed the iced tea in Texas (and it is way better than the Coca Cola etc. usually offered as an alternative), but sweetening any kind of tea ruins it. We will not speak of those barbarians who add milk...
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #114 on: 05 Nov 2013, 21:52 »

Agreed. I have the same attitude towards coffee.
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LookingIn

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #115 on: 05 Nov 2013, 22:10 »

What is weird about school buses?
In Australia (with the exception of a few private schools that are located away from public transport) we don't have school buses at all. Many kids take the bus (or train or ferry) to school, but they just ride the normal public transport along with other passengers, at subsidised fares under the School Student Transport Scheme. Why buy fleets of buses, and then only use them for school-kids, rather than public transport?

They bus because there is a lack of public transporation outside of the metropolitan areas. Suburban and rural areas have little to no public transportation and to provide adequate education for students they have to either be dropped off directly by their parents or buses from their neighborhoods. Considering that the parents have to work, this is the best way to ensure they get to school safely.


Outside of the school year and after school hours they are used by the cities/towns/counties for public needs like bringing people to public gatherings, concerts, meetings etc.
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Emperor Norton

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #116 on: 05 Nov 2013, 22:22 »

Seriously, the area where I grew up (which is particularly rural), it took 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon for the buses to make all the different rounds and get people dropped off picked up for school.

And the buses are generally old and being worked on half the time. They just didn't have ENOUGH to do anything other than pick up school kids.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #117 on: 05 Nov 2013, 22:24 »

A Marine Corps uniform means a lot in the South. I know someone who asked for directions in a swamp. The person he asked pointed at the uniform in the back of the car and said "Is that yours?". Said person then personally led the Marine through dozens of mysterious twists and turns to get him where he was going.

It's not completely bizarre to think of the South as being a country of its own. I've known some experienced travelers who said they got the same feeling crossing the Mason-Dixon line as they did when crossing a national border.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #118 on: 05 Nov 2013, 22:49 »

Not outside of the country, but still a culture shock during traveling, going North and not being able to get sweet iced tea makes me sad.
I enjoyed the iced tea in Texas (and it is way better than the Coca Cola etc. usually offered as an alternative), but sweetening any kind of tea ruins it. We will not speak of those barbarians who add milk...
hey now, a nice cup of spiced chai is one of the great joys in life. you want odd, try your tea with salt & yak butter.
« Last Edit: 05 Nov 2013, 23:33 by J »
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Barmymoo

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #119 on: 06 Nov 2013, 01:33 »

Ugh no, peanut butter shouldn't contain ANYTHING except peanuts (and possibly salt, if you really want it - but I do not).

You need to add a little oil  to allow the ground peanuts to blend together better, either a nuetral flavored oil or peanut oil.

But peanut oil is made of peanuts! So it still doesn't contain anything other than peanuts.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #120 on: 06 Nov 2013, 02:09 »

hey now, a nice cup of spiced chai is one of the great joys in life.
Props for not employing the redundant "chai tea".
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GarandMarine

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #121 on: 06 Nov 2013, 04:07 »

A Marine Corps uniform means a lot in the South. I know someone who asked for directions in a swamp. The person he asked pointed at the uniform in the back of the car and said "Is that yours?". Said person then personally led the Marine through dozens of mysterious twists and turns to get him where he was going.

It's not completely bizarre to think of the South as being a country of its own. I've known some experienced travelers who said they got the same feeling crossing the Mason-Dixon line as they did when crossing a national border.

To paraphrase someone who wrote into the Richmond Dispatch many, many, many moons ago. "North, west and east are directions. The South is a place."
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #122 on: 06 Nov 2013, 04:50 »

Here in the US you can really do either.  Most cities/towns have ordinances saying that if you are on a bike to maintain the speed limit and are treated as a vehicle, but they can also bike on the side walk.  They are treated pretty much like both pedestrian and motor vehicle.

Most cities and towns I've lived in have ordinances against riding on the sidewalk, because of the pedestrians.  It's usually different in the suburbs. 

Of course, most places don't have bike lanes, either.  You're expected to share with the cars. 

They rarely share back.   :x
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #123 on: 06 Nov 2013, 05:12 »

Vegas: ugh.  Yes it's bizarre.
Alcohol in Canada: Ontario only I'm guessing.   Certainly Quebec is normal.
School buses: I went to grade school with kids who lived more than 60km down the Trans- Can.  Public transportation is not the answer


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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #124 on: 06 Nov 2013, 12:50 »

On my way to Vienna I passed through Amsterdam airport. I was deeply alarmed at police officers walking around with machine guns. I mean I'm still getting used to Australian cops carrying guns and I'm pretty sure they've had those for a while. I don't want this to turn into a gun debate but man, that was probably the oddest thing I've seen in my travels.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #125 on: 06 Nov 2013, 13:13 »

I would be alarmed too. When were you there? I've never seen any Dutch law enforcement officer carrying anything larger than a handgun.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #126 on: 06 Nov 2013, 13:15 »

Last week! I mean they might have been military police but they were the only form of security I saw around the airport not counting the people doing the actual scans and pat downs.

And I guess considering I've never seen anything larger than a pistol in real life and never out of a holster it was pretty weird for me.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #127 on: 06 Nov 2013, 13:17 »

If it was at the airport then I would vote military police or something similar.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #128 on: 06 Nov 2013, 13:44 »

I don't know, I once was walking through Manchester and there were police officers with machine guns standing near the train station. I believe there was a big football match on, and riots were anticipated. Because football is serious business and worth getting violent over  :roll:
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #129 on: 06 Nov 2013, 14:27 »

It is in England

Though by South American standards, they're tame.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #130 on: 06 Nov 2013, 14:34 »

On my way to Vienna I passed through Amsterdam airport. I was deeply alarmed at police officers walking around with machine guns. I mean I'm still getting used to Australian cops carrying guns and I'm pretty sure they've had those for a while. I don't want this to turn into a gun debate but man, that was probably the oddest thing I've seen in my travels.

I've seen police carrying machine pistols in the middle of the street in Germany once. It was a money transport from the federal bank (Bundesbank) to the state bank (Landeszentralbank).

I was just walking on the sidewalk across of the state bank, when I heard police sirens. One police car came around the corner, and opened gates in the middle of the road, separating the two lanes. Then 2 armored police cars came around the corner and blocked the road. Policemen carrying machine pistols (H&K MP5) stepped out and told everybody to stop walking and wait. They kept the machine pistols close to the body, but always had one hand on the grip. A giant truck with police sirens on arrived and stopped infront of the opened gates. 2 more armored police cars arrived, and blocked the rest of the road. More armed policemen stepped out of the vehicles, and the door of the state bank started opening. The truck went through the door, the door closed, and after another minute of waiting the policemen went back into their cars and drove off. And left behind a large group of bedazzled pedestrians.

That was one of the scariest experiences in my life. I had never before seen any firearm bigger than the typical Walther P99 the police carry around here.

The cars were 4 of these:



guarding one of these:

« Last Edit: 06 Nov 2013, 17:44 by ankhtahr »
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LookingIn

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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #131 on: 06 Nov 2013, 14:47 »

Ugh no, peanut butter shouldn't contain ANYTHING except peanuts (and possibly salt, if you really want it - but I do not).

You need to add a little oil  to allow the ground peanuts to blend together better, either a nuetral flavored oil or peanut oil.

But peanut oil is made of peanuts! So it still doesn't contain anything other than peanuts.

I was thining you meant only those two ingredients but true- you are only adding in something that is already there, but in a greater quantity  :-D
« Last Edit: 06 Nov 2013, 20:49 by LookingIn »
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #132 on: 06 Nov 2013, 16:34 »

It is in England

Though by South American standards, they're tame.

Unless you Euro types have recently had a Ref beheaded and his head posted on a pole by an angry mob, or see regular use of firearms and grenades...
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #133 on: 06 Nov 2013, 17:13 »

Sounds like Canada when a local team gets into the Stanley Cup finals (and loses)
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #134 on: 06 Nov 2013, 21:12 »

Quote
Oh yeah pancakes in America are totally different. What we call a pancake in Norway at least is a lot thinner, kind of like a crepe but not really. You have it for dinner, usually you put blueberry jam or just plain sugar on it, and roll it up. Before pancakes you have something else, pea soup is pretty common.
You mean lefse, or is this something completely different?
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #135 on: 06 Nov 2013, 22:20 »

To paraphrase someone who wrote into the Richmond Dispatch many, many, many moons ago. "North, west and east are directions. The South is a place."

Amen.
'tis also a Lost Cause, a State of Mind and a Lifestyle.
and like many other places, it has its shameful side and a wonderful side.
but for me... thanks to the US DoD, I've lived in many places...
but the South.
The South is HOME.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #136 on: 07 Nov 2013, 01:01 »

On my way to Vienna I passed through Amsterdam airport. I was deeply alarmed at police officers walking around with machine guns. I mean I'm still getting used to Australian cops carrying guns and I'm pretty sure they've had those for a while.
Australian police have been armed since before Federation, I think. I've seen police carrying submachine-guns and wearing body-armour in Sydney Airport; they keep a low profile, but they are there. The ordinary cops are all tooled-up with their Glocks and shotguns. And then there are the private security guards for big cash transfers etc., usually packing revolvers and sometimes shotties too. If you keep your eyes open, there are plenty of guns on display in Australia.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #137 on: 07 Nov 2013, 03:27 »

Some 2 years ago, there was a terror warning in Germany, around Christmas time. It was kinda scary to see even our small train station being guarded by police men armed with MP5s. Can't imagine what it had looked like in Berlin or another big city.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #138 on: 07 Nov 2013, 03:46 »

Quote
Oh yeah pancakes in America are totally different. What we call a pancake in Norway at least is a lot thinner, kind of like a crepe but not really. You have it for dinner, usually you put blueberry jam or just plain sugar on it, and roll it up. Before pancakes you have something else, pea soup is pretty common.
You mean lefse, or is this something completely different?

Completely different. Lefse is served cold, and isn't necessarily sweet.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #139 on: 07 Nov 2013, 03:58 »

Fun thing I noticed about Denmark; they like children. They are nice to them. No surprise there. But they're also honest with them. In the zoo in Copenhagen, next to a petting zoo, there is a wooden board with a pig and a horse and a cow on it. And you can lift flaps in their bodies and behind those flaps there are pictures showing what humans get from these animals: sausages, steak, shoes, belts ... Haven't seen that anywhere else.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #140 on: 07 Nov 2013, 10:37 »

That reminds me of something which I found weird whilst in my own country (I KNOW I'M CHEATING OK). I was at an animal centre and we were looking at the lynxes. A couple of women arrived with their children who were between about 5 and 10 years old. The women kept saying "look at the kitties! Do you like the kitties?" and I just didn't understand why they thought the word lynx was harder than the word kitty. Why not tell them the name of the animal?!
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #141 on: 07 Nov 2013, 11:51 »

Kitty is not inaccurate, it's just not specific.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #142 on: 07 Nov 2013, 11:54 »

It just seemed really weird not to at least say "Look at the kitty! It's called a lynx!".
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #143 on: 07 Nov 2013, 11:59 »

I love kitties, even giant murder kitties!
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #144 on: 07 Nov 2013, 12:33 »

Quote
Oh yeah pancakes in America are totally different. What we call a pancake in Norway at least is a lot thinner, kind of like a crepe but not really. You have it for dinner, usually you put blueberry jam or just plain sugar on it, and roll it up. Before pancakes you have something else, pea soup is pretty common.
You mean lefse, or is this something completely different?

Completely different. Lefse is served cold, and isn't necessarily sweet.

Stack of American pancakes:


Stack of Norwegian pancakes:
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #145 on: 07 Nov 2013, 12:47 »

The Police here, apart from special circumstances and the specialist AOS and ATS, are usually unarmed.  I think we have one of the few regularly unarmed Police Forces in the world.  There is debate on this, with even some officers on one side of the debate or the other.  I do know that there are certain Patrol Vehicles that carry handguns in secure boxes in them ready to be deployed should the situation require it, and nearly all our Patrol Cars carry lockboxed Tasers and carry Pepper Spray should the officers need them.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #146 on: 07 Nov 2013, 13:21 »

I would actually prefer that.
I always thought the Police are supposed to be Peace Keepers or Peace Officers.
I dislike the heavily armed thug in blue that the current mindset endorses.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #147 on: 07 Nov 2013, 14:26 »

It just seemed really weird not to at least say "Look at the kitty! It's called a lynx!".
Ahhh, yeah, that'd have been better.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #148 on: 07 Nov 2013, 14:32 »

Police are unarmed in Norway too.

Funny story about police in different countries: I'm a Norwegian who live in Glasgow, and I was dating this American who also lived in Glasgow at the time. We were walking home late one day and these women, all drunk off their asses came walking towards us, they could barely stand and walking seemed like the biggest challenge in the world. Two police officers walked past them and didn't even look twice at them, and both me and the guy were like 'why didn't they approach those women?'. Turned out I was weirded out about the police not helping them, and my ex was weirded out about them not reprimanding the women for improper behaviour or something like that.
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Re: What seemed weird when I visited your country
« Reply #149 on: 07 Nov 2013, 14:35 »

Quote from: Icelandic police officer Haraldur Sigurđsson in Alda Sigmundsóttir's ebook "Living Inside the Meltdown"
The traditional Icelandic term for police officer is lögre- gluţjónn, which literally means “law and order servant.” Many members of the Icelandic police still approach their work in that way. The police officer is there to serve the pub- lic. To serve and protect. The role of servant is a noble role. And it is good when the police is able to approach its work in that way. I prefer not to use the term lögreglumađur [“po- liceman”], although it is much more common today. There are attempts everywhere to water down the “servant’”term. I think this is unwise. I want to bring back the term lögre- gluţjónn.
On my desk I keep a pair of white gloves like the Icelan- dic police used to wear. I keep them there as a reminder. A police officer who approaches a scene wearing white gloves sends out a message that he is not about to engage in vio- lence. To me, those white gloves perfectly symbolise what a police officer should be.
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