{"id":4362,"date":"2017-12-12T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-09-12T15:03:24","modified_gmt":"2020-09-12T19:03:24","slug":"so-your-character-is-from-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victoriagracehowell.com\/staging\/6258\/so-your-character-is-from-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"So Your Character is From Norway … Featuring Tuva @ Tuva Tovslid"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nIt’s time for this week’s So Your Character is … Post! This is a weekly segment where I interview lovely volunteers from around the world to give you a firsthand account of being a citizen of their respective country or having a disability. I’m hoping to encourage international diversity, break stereotypes, and give writers a crash course on how to write a character from these different places on our planet. If you haven’t checked out last week’s  So Your Character is from Austria … be sure to hop on over there and give it a read!<\/span>
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<\/span>Disclaimer: The content below may be culturally shocking to some. Each of these posts are as uncensored as possible to preserve the authenticity of the cultures of each of the interviewees.<\/span>
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My name is Tuva Tovslid (29). I recently moved back to the south of Norway after nine years in a city farther north (I miss the northern lights). I have a master\u2019s degree in social and cultural psychology. I have not found a steady job yet, but I am working at a school. <\/span>
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\nMy two main hobbies are writing and bouldering. I have gotten my first book accepted by a publisher and are working on making it ready for publishing. Besides that, my husband and I (among others) are building a bouldering center for the local climbing club. <\/span>
\nBlog<\/a>\/\/Instagram<\/a><\/span>
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<\/b><\/span> What do you feel is unique to your country? Landmarks? Celebrations?<\/b><\/span>
\nWhat feels most special to me about Norway is the wild nature: the mountains and the coastline. That, and the long and bright summer nights. <\/span>
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<\/span> We celebrate our national day The Norwegian Constitution Day on the 17th of May. It is a day where family and friends eat breakfast or dinner together. There is a Children\u2019s parade, singing, and a lot of waving of flags. When I was a child, I got to eat as much ice cream as I wanted on that day. Definitively a day for celebrations.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nTell me about your country’s environment. What are some of your favorite places?<\/b>
\nIt is normal for Norwegians to have a small family cabin, to take refuge in during long weekends and holidays, to unwind and live close to nature. More than a specific place in Norway, some of these cabins are my favorite places.<\/span>
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\nI love that so much of the Norwegian nature is still wild. I love the first green spring days in the forest, the mountains in the clear autumn, swimming in the sea during warm summer days and skiing under heavy snow laden trees during the winter. However, the winters have been greyer and with less snow lately.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nTell me about your country’s food. What are some of your favorite dishes?<\/b>
\nTraditionally, Norwegians ate a lot of fish and sheep and potatoes. My favorite traditional dish has to be salted and dried lamb meat. It is later cooked and served with potatoes and other root vegetables. We use to have it for Christmas. <\/span>
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\nFor breakfast and lunch, Norwegians eat a lot of whole grain bread with spread. The traditional and popular spread is brown cheese from goat milk (caramel-like but with a tang), salted sausages, and jam from strawberries and raspberries. Many Norwegians also pick blueberries in the autumn and make jam from that. <\/span><\/p>\n

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\nTell me about any different speech patterns in your country. Slang? Idioms? Words for things such as \u201cbiscuits\u201d instead of \u201ccookies\u201d?<\/b>
\nI think one of the more special Norwegian words are \u201ckoselig\u201d. This blog<\/a> describes it best: It defines something\/someone \/an atmosphere that makes you feel a sense of warmth very deep inside in a way that all things should be: simple and comforting.<\/span>
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<\/span> With so many communities isolated by water and mountains, Norway has many strongly developed dialects that sometimes make us misunderstand each other. I have heard that our dialects make it a real challenge to talk to Norwegians even though you have learned to write it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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