I´m from Denmark but I have my own norwegian/american story. I met a guy in a bar in New York. He asked me where I´m from and I answered "Denmark". His answer: Oh, that´s the capital of Oslo, right? ..... ...... eehhh ya, yep, absolutely. Very impressed he kept it in Scandinavia.
Well, sort of understand thats its difficult for them. I wouldnt do well either, if you asked me about American states and their capitals. Whats funny is that they are often SO SURE that they know the answer.
I have a brother who spent a year in an American high school in the early '90s. People asked him if he arrived in the United States by train from France, questioned if France were in Africa, and inquired about our infrastructure and running water. After a year, I asked him about this lack of cultural awareness and these seemingly ignorant questions. He explained that the American education system, like the country itself, is very self-centered.He mentioned that in subjects like history, the focus is on their country's role in global events, such as the United States' involvement in World War I and World War II. The education is not comprehensive; it's heavily centered on the United States. In general, there's limited interest in other countries unless their own has been directly involved. From a very young age, they are told that the United States is the greatest, most important, and best country in the world. Their self-centeredness leads to a lack of understanding about the rest of the world.. This leads to foolish and ignorant thoughts about anything outside the United States. There's a lot of brainwashing within their country that discourages questioning and a lack of overall interest in the rest of the world.
If you look at it closer it is more akin to a cult than real education. There are some places where education is better but it feels more like they are the exception than the norm.
@@Spikebhaal They have a level of indoctrination and brainwashing about the importance of their own country that makes them ignore everything else... except when their country goes to war there. It wouldn't occur to me to compare the United States to a dictatorship, at least not yet 😁😬, but overall, they have a level of indoctrination about their country that is not what you'd find in another democracy in general..
I was walking on one of the bigger streets close to the heart of Copenhagen. On the other side of the street was a Burger King. Three young American women were walking behind me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the point to Burger King and loudly exclaim: “That is the first place in Europe where I’ve gotten something decent to eat.” European chefs all over Europe are fainting in horror. 🤣
Ah yes the culinary wonders of meat you can leave out in the sun for 2 years and come back to and see no difference I bet they hadn't tasted fish once in their life 😂
Almost first. From Wikipedia: "Larry Roberts saw the ARPANET and NPL projects as complementary and sought in 1970 to connect them via a satellite link. Peter Kirstein's research group at University College London (UCL) was subsequently chosen in 1971 in place of NPL for the UK connection. In June 1973, a transatlantic satellite link connected ARPANET to the Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR),[68] via the Tanum Earth Station in Sweden, and onward via a terrestrial circuit to a TIP at UCL. UCL provided a gateway for interconnection of the ARPANET with British academic networks, the first international resource sharing network, and carried out some of the earliest experimental research work ..."
Errr, you’re wrong Britain invented the internet not the US and the first page posted on the internet were instructions on how to create internet pages! 😊
Sadly, with Americans sometimes the foreigner does know more (which is more mind boggling). This is an argument I walked in on between 2 Americans and a Canadian; CANADIAN: You're wrong. The US has 50 states. AMERICAN: No. You're wrong. There's 30. CANADIAN: It's 50! AMERICAN: (asks friend) It's 30 right? (friend nods in agreement) AMERICAN: It's 30, and I'M AN AMERICAN, dammit. I should know better than you! CANADIAN: Yeah, you should.
No nation combines colossal ignorance with unbelievable arrogance like the USA. They actually argue with you about your own country when they've never left their town.
many americans dosen't even know that washington D.C,is the capital,and the D.C part stands for District of Columbia,but me the "russian" norwegian knows it.
I live in one of the fjord popular to cruise tourist and my dad drives a sightseeing bus from the cruise up too see the glacier. And the amount of Americans getting angry or demanding their money back because the glacier doesn't look like the pictures from decades ago, or the fact that they can't touch the glacier. I get that people gets disappointed when they have seen an old picture of a sunny day with a massive glacier covering the whole valley, and they come to rain, fog and global warming. But why it's mostly the Americans complaining and getting load and angry, while other tourist mostly smile, say thank you and understand we can't control the weather🙄 I'm not saying this goes to all, but it's unfortunately a fact that if there is a tourist complaining and getting mad it usually is an American...
As german comedian Vince Ebert said, in english they just say "We go to school.", so basically somewhere around the school. While in german we say "We go into school."😉 I guess, that's the first step. Just going into school!!!😎
Nono don't do that unless they're contentiously being so. If someone is genuinely just stupid don't just be mean back. Even better (and devious): You can "teach" them some "fun facts" and let your imagination run free 😇😇
The Viking thing also happens down here in Denmark 😂 Elderly American woman to her astonished Danish tourist guide: "So does your native Viking population also iive on (in?) reservations, like our Indians do back home in America?" 🙄 ( this was decades ago, I might add ) I would have replied: "Yes, they do - and behind tall electrical fences for our protection of course, since the Viking males tend to be very aggressive, especially during the mating season in the fall ... " 😂
You should just have gone with it. Yes, it was a treacherous journey, many perished. After loading my car up with food and water I hid under a blanket for days so I could be loaded on a shipping container. Then it was just to endure 6 weeks of darkness while waiting for the ship to finally arrive in the land of the free.
@@norboost Technically, there are amphibious cars. They only get a max speed of 6km/h to 8km/h on smooth water. I'd hate to imagine trying to drive one across the ocean, especially in a storm.
A story I heard, probably over 30 years ago. An American woman travelled to Norway to see the midnight sun. She was upset when she discovered it was the same sun.
Acutally Scandinavia, Norway included was verry early with digital double line switched (ISDN-standard introduced for regular coustomars in 1994) ) for regular private coustomars) comparing to US. In the US thes types of lines often were only available for big business. We also converted over to broadband quit early. I had my first broadband connection in 2001 The first time I tryed internet in Norway actually was in 1993 :-) Just saying. Norway has allways been early in telecommunications :-)
Norway is a museum of technology. in electrical engineering and the Internet. there are even 0.3mb internet connections (at least 2 years ago) and 1000mb connections happily mixed up. as well as connectors in electrical devices that have already been abandoned in Finland in the early 80s mixed with new connectors.😂
True that. Norwegians invented much of the GSM standard that came before 4G and 5G. In that respect Nokia and Ericsson who were the leaders of cell phone sales in the 90s and early 2000's should have been Norwegian. Instead we were defeated by Sweden (Ericsson) and Finland (Nokia) on the making money part of it.
@@hemmper as I understand it, the Norwegian invention won some kind of superiority comparison and it was introduced in Europe, besides the Swedes bought a Norwegian gsm phone manufacturer, so there was no company in Norway that could have competed against Nokia and Ericsson. however, a fun fact is that the Android operating system of almost all phones is based on Linux, which was invented by the Finnish Linus Torvadls.
Me: I'm from Sweden American: Oh, It must have been tough living in Africa. Me: No, It's in Scandinavia American: Oh, I meant Russia Me: No, it's in Europe. American: Is Russia in Africa? Me: No, I'm in northern Europe, Sweden you know. American: Now you're just making things up Me: huh? American: Sweden doesn't exist Me: what? American: It's where we say that Santa is from Me: Santa? Isn't that the North pole? American: Yes, Sweden is on the North Pole. Me: I see, Well cool to finally meed someone from Russia.
American: are you Russian? me: no, I'm Swedish American: You look Spanish. me: Ok? But I'm still Swedish though. American looked at me with a mixture of concern and discust before shaking his head and walking away. It's like I claimed I was an alien or something.
I do feel sorry for Americans. It’s not just their fault for not knowing. It’s their education system and their upbringing that kinda holds them back from learning about the world the way we do
Now you see why college isn't free in the USA. It would be a waste of time and tax dollars. Many Americans will not travel out of the USA or their home state because they feel they have everything they need and there is nothing outside the USA. As you can see geography wasn't a main subject in the USA school system.
You are right, but it baffles me why so many Americans are not curious enough to educate themselves. It's so mindlessly easy to do these days, it doesn't require any effort. I'm not particularly attentive or smart, but I still retained a lot of knowledge in 46 years. I mean, what do you do your whole life to avoid learning the most basic knowledge? Are there any interviews of stupid Americans where they try to find that out, because I'd like to know, so we can go to war against this shit?
According to Americans, Canadians use dogsleds and live in igloos. And even though it is right next to the US, they couldn't tell you the capital of Canada.
I sing in a choir in our local church. It was built in the 11th century. I live near Sigtuna, Sweden's first city, founded in year 980. The landscape around here is riddled with runestones.
@@Daffob1nt Very nice. An oldest Swedish town? I feel little ashamed because I've never heard about the town Sigtuna. I'm afraid that most Czechs as me know only the biggest cities - Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö. And Uppsala, because of the famous university (and because of the pleasure to say "our Charles univesity is older" 🙂). Well, we learn something new every single day. Greetings to Sweden.
I once studied abroad for a semester in Norway. There were also US students in my dorm. My strangest experience was that one guy had his parents send him canned salmon and blueberry syrup from the US. I would have understood canned burgers, peanut butter and corn syrup, but salmon and blueberry...
@@runeingebretsen8378 I have tasted wild Norwegian blueberries and can confirm they are top-notch. Norway is also famous for salmon so I can't understand why anyone should need to be sent the canned variety from the US.
@@hannalee5756 Especially regarding internet, germany had the world largest internet exchange points "DE-CIX" which was surpassed by brazils "IX.br" in therms of throughput. Pretty much the whole of europe is routed through Frankfurt since it sits pretty much in the center. But I guess germany is also in russia?
Well I'm not going to argue with you on this but I think this goes back to WWI and WWII when we had to bail Europe out of two conflicts and basically rebuilt a lot of Europe and were the major players in NATO protecting "Free" Europe from their good European/Asian neighbor the USSR. Other than Winston Churchill I can't see any other European Prime Minister or any of the many European Royal families being the Leader of the "Free" world. You're welcome for us saving Europe.....twice❤❤
@@timothygoldman13 Actually the Russians played a very large part in defeating the Nazis in WW2. Their country was invaded, they lost about 20 million men and fought all the way to Berlin. The Americans, like the Russians, came late to the Allies side. The USA was neutral until attacked by Japan and did not declare war on Germany. It was Germany that declared war on America, on Dec 11th, four days after Pearl Harbour. Just because America went to war with Germany twice does not mean that people in Congo, Uruguay, Iceland, Switzerland, Madagascar or Ireland should think they owe their freedom to America. You can take the "World" part out of it. Do you think the American president should be called the "Leader of the Free Western Europe" ( not even of Central Europe ) and the "Leader of the Free parts of Asia". India had to get its freedom its own way. As did nearly all of Africa. Americans sound so silly when they repeat such nonsense. Can you imagine how the Vietnamese must laugh at the silly, empty phrase? Can you imagine the people of South and Central America must laugh, considering how America put in place and supported numerous Dictatorships in their countries? Those people are free despite America, not because of it. Even during WW2 black Americans were not free. They were not free to sit where they wished on the bus like everyone else. They were not free to sit in the same waiting rooms as everyone else. They were not free to drink water from the same fountain as everyone else. Remember too that there are still Reservations in America for the native population. Think of it, America has a "Bureau of Indian Affairs". Can you imagine if there were Reservations for Jews or Roma and a Bureau of Jewish or Roma Affairs in Germany? So, even after WW2 America itself was not free. So much for "The Free World" let alone "The Leader of the Free World".
@@timothygoldman13When you joined the war, the European countries had already been fighting for years. You came in with fresh troops but was not alone. Together with you Usians there were Canadians, Australians, New Zealenders, South Africans and soldiers from other countries. And there was soldiers from USSR. So don't use the stupid frase: "We saved Europe". You didn't. You were part of the force that turned the nazi tide. And about the Marshall help... it was probably selfish. USA needed trade partners and Europe was not able to do much trade after the war. They also had to pay back the loans... with interest. Sometimes your president plays the role of leader, and sometimes he plays the role of the clown, like the orange guy.
@@timothygoldman13 Plus you learn stuff. The US made a financial killing out of WW2 whilst the UK for example kept its rationing of food up to the 50's not because it didn't have enough but damaged as it still was it donated food to a starving Europe for many years leaving its own people somewhat short (as did other Commonwealth and South American countries). The US on the other hand 'lent' it's help with the expectation of being repaid. "Bailed Europe out of two conflicts" is the biggest furphy the US tells its people. The US would also have had it harder and longer in the Japanese theatre if Australia and NZ weren't so handy. Called a world war for a reason.
My teacher told me a story when I was a kid, her husband had a visitor from USA for his company. And he asked them. "How do I get to your office from the airport? Do I need to get a dog sled? and what about polar bears? Do I need to worry about those? I heard they roam the streets. They replied "No.. No Polar bears here, and I think Taxi will work better than a dog sled"
I'm English and my kids' step-father is Norwegian. He grew up in a rural part of Norway and told me how they would sometimes ski to school. His work often takes him to the United States and he's told me that if he's told Americans this , they just don't believe him 😅
@@shaunw9270 totally believable. was done in rural Estonia as well, snow conditions permitting. more fun than walking or waiting in bus stop. kids who lived around 5 km from school. edit: and this was at my schooltime, 1970s-80s, not some ancient history. oh, am i ancient? 🤔👵 (gen X)
Norway even got 5G internet, so yes, we even got internet on our GSM Phones sinse 2020. By the way, our pensionfund own approxamatly 1,5% of the worlds Company's. We are also a net exporter of Oil, gas and renuable electrisaty. Regardig being a sosialist country. More correctly, we are a sosialistic capitalistic parlamentary democracy, where the people own all the natural resorces.
I grew up in Lillehammer. Not uncommon with American tourists. My personal experience is that everyone have been polite and friendly, and shown appreciation for help. The only abit weird thing is that I more than once have been asked about the nearest McDonalds, even though the city centre is full of other great places to eat. Some just wanted to test the Norwegian McDonalds for comparison, as a fun thing to do. And thats fair enough and makes sense. But other than that, it makes no sense. We have alot of great food in the town, and I wished they asked me for advices as I had good knowledge about the different places and price ranges.
Back in the 80s I was walking to catch a bus to college in the morning when an American fellow approached me and asked about restaurants in the town. He was visiting distant relatives. This in a town in North Hertfordshire, UK. I told him [paraphrase] "the only places open at 8am on a Wednesday(back then most places were closed on Wednesdays) was a couple of greasy spoon cafes in the industrial area, but, before you eat there make sure your travel insurance has medical cover".
Yeah. That one is weird. Some years back we had an ex US marine with us as a hired instructor on a reserve excercise. He kept harping on about Norwegian healthcare not being free. Which of course is absolutely correct. It's paid for through taxes. However, his point was the money we pay when going to the doctor. Not sure what word you would use for this, but the current rate is about 15$ for a consultation within offfice hours, limited to about 290$ a year after which the rest is covered by tax money. Admission to a hospital is no charge at all. I've been admitted with a concussion twice, had surgery on a broken wrist , and an appendectomy, even eye surgery as a kid, and was obviously born at a hospital. And we're arguing over a 15$ fee (deductable?) for a visit to the doctor?. Prescribed medications are usually heavily subsidised, usually fully covered when it gets really expensive. We don't travel to Canada for medical reasons. You guys really ought to reevaluate what McCarthyism has left you with.
Americans love handing over their last pennies to multibillion dollar corporations because it's "freedom". Anything less, like state funded health care is Communism. Or should I say Kaaaaaahhmmuunism.
@@noadlor I don't know whether you'll find it comforting or just plain scary. You're not as different from people elsewhere as you might think, when it comes to lies and truth. Though you have a particular relationship to words like socialism, socialized and so on. Seen from th e outside, you seem deathly scared of it, but without knowing what it is. And as indicated, I think we're looking at historical causes, McCarthyism, and not really realizing that the autocratic elements were by far the main danger of the USSR system. Look at Russia now, by the way. Nobody could reasonably call Russia left in any way, and it's still a nightmare for its own population as well as it's neighbours. That's what you need to be protective of, your democracy. That's what you need to be scared of, "strong men" with the audacity to think they are suited to make all political decisions on behalf of the entire population.
@@thomaslutro5560 I'm Canadian. So we have socialized healthcare. And I wholeheartedly agree with you. America is so brainwashed to fear that word that they are risking their democracy over it to vote in someone who wants to be a Putin or an Orban. The sad fact is that the ones voting for him don't have a clue what that means. Not a clue.
She thinks Russia isn't in Europe? 90% of Russia's economy and 80% of its population is IN EUROPE. About 15% of all Europeans are Russian and 40% of Europe's landmass is in Russia. The biggest city in Europe is Moscow (which is much bigger than any city in the USA). Only 23% of Russia's landmass is in Europe, of course, the other 77% being in Asia, but that 77% is very sparsely populated, much of it not inhabited at all, comprising primeval forest and Arctic tundra. What I learned at school, about 65 years ago, is that Europe stretches "from the Atlantic to the Urals". That was a bit East-Westish, but still accurate. What about Svalbard to Cyprus? That's equally accurate. In Ireland, people from the USA claiming to be "Irish" are called "plastic Paddies". So Obama was a great relief. At last there was one not going to go there claiming to be "Irish".
I didn't read anyone writing that Russia isn't in Europe. But there was a few writing that Norway isn't in Russia. Just because all macaroni is pasta, it doesn't mean all pasta is macaroni.
Maybe she was referring to the time when it was USSR. I think I recall in my very early school days way back when that we were taught that USSR was something else.
@@noadlor OF COURSE the USSR was something else. What used to be the USSR is now 15 different countries, and Russia is just one of them. Russia no more "used to be the USSR" than did Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan or Ukraine. For 39 of the 74 years it existed, the top bod in the USSR wasn't Russian. Stalin was Georgian and his spoken Russian was so bad that Russians often couldn't understand him. Khrushchev was Ukrainian.
@@MartinJames389 Yes, I know that part. But I think on the map the section of USSR along with Asia was considered it's own continent. This is back in the 60s. I may be remembering it wrong.
@@noadlor Russia has always been a transcontinental country, with most of its landmass in Asia, but its population (and hence economy) overwhelmingly in European. Its language, culture and history is equally, indeed very strongly, European.
I met an american couple in Norway. It was a sunny night and they were so dissepointed there only was one sun. They came all the way to see the «Norwegian sun»and could not belive it was the same as the «regular sun» 🫣
Rember that half-term governor and failed VP candidate from Wasilia, Alaska, who said she could see Russia from her kitchen window, and had dealings with Russia as governor? How much of a shock will it be for people in the US to learn that Alaska was a part of Russia until 1867?
The dumbest thing I heard an American say was D. Triumph saying to the Norwegian people that they/we are welcome to move to USA, which is best country in the world. I bealeave all people of Norway was laughing about that and it was a lot about it in news and internet for a while.
He also only wanted the highly educated ones, the smart and valuable ones, even Norway has "undesirables", apparently! I'd hope that any intelligent Norwegains would shy away from that sort of offer, unless there was a very specific interesting research opportunity that required them to come over or similar. There are cool things in the US, events I'd like to see etc, but I can't really see any benefits at all of moving there?
I worked both in hotels, restaurants and Tourist information as a student. So I've heard, and seen, lots of weird things from american tourists. But also lots of nice things. But the saddest, and most bewildering thing, was a young 30ish woman. She came to the Tourist information, and said she'd beentravellingfor days. Flight to Frankfurt, Gernany and then train through Europe all the way to Bergen, Norway. And could I give her directions to how to visit Bergen-Belsen? This was a concentration camp during WW2. Located in Germany ... I just don't understand how one can plan a trip like that - it was clear she was on a kind of "pilgrimage", and not check where her destination was located? Look at any map - it would take her at least two days to get back to Germany. It’s like the US have plenty of towns and cities with the same names as european towns and cities. I for a fact you had one, and may even still have it, called Moscow. But who would mistanke the two?
I’m American born and raised. I dated a Norwegian exchange student my entire senior year of high school. When he went home, I went and visited him in Norway a couple months later. I lived there with him and his family for about 2 months. It was such a good experience and the main takeaway I had from it was that everyone I met there were exactly the same as all my friends at home except for the language. People are people, regardless of where they’re from.
People are people everywhere. That's self evident. I don't think however that in any country are there people so unaware of anything existing beyond their own borders as Americans.
I had the same experience when i explained that i live in the Netherlands One insited that it is part of Denmark, another that it belonged to Germany and a third who thought a was a neighborhood in Parish. They all are between 3 and 7 ours away by car. How more i was going against it how more arrogant they became in their ignorance Like i don't know where i live. It mind boggling and infuriating. Also in the US everyone thinks you should speak English but when they are in another country they expext to be addressed in English and not in the native language of the country. Like they are superior. Lots also think that US laws are the laws of the world that theymhave the same rights as in the US. They go on vacation and expect home including the food. US expats are totally different They learn fast and are eager to fit in and learn about the culture.
Had when I was working as a mountainguide a older german who was angry because Norway was a modern country. He tought Norway was stuck in the 1800`s and angry with me and the other norwegians present that it was not.
Du skulle ha sakt til han at nazi Tyskland klarte ikke å brenne ned hele Norge i løpet av 5 år 1940 - 1945, det ble bare Finmark og nord Troms som ble sendt bak til steinalderen.
Many people in Europe believe that the Nordic countries have among the highest standards of education in the world. Americans who have travelled extensively would probably agree. For various reasons (low pay, lack of holiday time, lack of curiosity?), many Americans have not travelled much, even in their own country. This is why they ask questions which strike us as dumb, but they arise out of simple ignorance (which, by the way, can be cured without travelling).
Exactly, I also hasn't travelled that much, but I don't need to be there, to know that Paris is in France, that Rio de Janeiro don't belong to the USA or that australians doesn't ride on kangaroos, or something stupid like that. Unbelievable 🤯
I have talked to many American tourists in several countries in the world. They are always polite, friendly and open. I have not a single negative word to utter. Stupid people are all around the world, and please believe me: We have our fair share of "stupidos" in Norway.
@@timothygoldman13 You are most welcome, Sir. American culture are an important part of Norwegian culture, and Norwegian culture are a not insignificant part of american culture. 🇧🇻🇺🇲
Americans who travel abroad are a self selected bunch. They have to be wealthy enough and / or interested enough. They are clearly a small minority. I read that 90% of Americans don't have passports.
@@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw I had to look that up and I'm astounded that the percentage of Americans with passports is not greater than 22%. That's absurd. 78% of Americans are homers.
@@hansmarheim7620 Very true, the current (and likely final form) English culture is Nor[man]. It was the Normans that introduced Magna Carta and Jury Trials, for example.
Moscow is also in Europe, east- Europe, in fact Moscow is Europes biggest City with its 13 million cityzens. Ukraine is Europes next biggest country after Russia. Even despite a big part of Russia is in Asia. Most russians live in the European part of Russia. I think the Ural Mountains seperates Europe and Asia.
@@jarls5890The border is the ural mountains and ural river...By geography about twenty-five percent of the surface is in Europe and seventy-five percent in Asia...By population about 110 million of the 144 million people or 80 % live in the Europaen part....As a norwegian who have met many russian, belive me, they feel like they are Europeans....Have a wonderfull day 🙃
I've always wondered that as well and it's so ironic and frustrating that they are usually the most arrogant and obnoxious people as well despite being the most ignorant and clueless smh
I worked at a hotel in Norway and we once saw visits from guests from America. Typically American are pensioners with beige clothes and a camera on their chest. I was always called because they couldn't get the tv on and pressed the remote and it didn't work. In Norway you turn off the TV directly on the TV set due to the risk of fire and not just with the remote control. Americans were not used to bed covers that are thicker than blankets. In Norway it is cold and that is why we have what is called a cover. This is many years ago now. Americans are always nice
What? Must be some strange hotel. I have never seen any modern TV in Norway with a switch that actualy cuts the power. Some old CRT's does, but a modern LCD/LED? In fact the TV i got now i have to unplug if i want to power it down if the OS on it hangs, the switch just turn makes it enter standby. It is not like we have a big TV-building industry here and get our own models.
Considering Americans overseas beyond the shores of America. I am actually from England and when I took a trip to France once I went to Bayeux Museum to see the famous tapestry that depicts the Battle of Hastings. This was in 1066 and was the last time England was invaded. The tapestry is old, but it is not known how old but at least 550 years and probably a good deal older than that. It is around 70 meters long. After I saw this medieval masterpiece I went the Bayeux Cathedral and inside there was another tapestry hanging on the wall. Beautiful, yes, but not anything like as impressive as the Bayeux Tapestry. But there were two Americans looking at it and they were agreeing that this was so much better than the tatty tapestry in the museum.... And then there was the time when I was enjoying a pint in our local pub, drinking with a couple of Americans from a local air base. There was nothing offensive about these people. They did an excellent job in integrating with the locals and were very popular. One of them was praising English history and culture. He even commented on the pub and was in some awe about the building. "Gee, it must be at least 100 years old." I agreed that it was more than 100 years old. His face was an absolute picture when I told him it was probably getting on for 500 years old! It felt as if this had become the experience of a lifetime for him. The only pity is that I could not take him to buildings that were considerably older than that.
1066 wasn't the last time England was invaded, it was the last time England was successfully invaded and conquered. The last invasion was by the Spanish Inquisition who invaded a small town on the south coast. The funny thing is nobody could be arsed to expel them so there is still an operating Inquisition office in that town to this day.
I'm Danish but I tell my story anyway. Some years ago one of my trips to USA me and my wife was on a guided walking tour in New Orleans' Garden District. At one time the guide told us about a house that a wealthy metchant had built for his daughter. An American couple who was on the tour with us told that were buying an appartement for their son, and my ife said that were doing the same for our daughter. This was overheard by an American woman in her late 30s and she commented that she didn't understand why that was necessary, as: "in Europe three or four generations of a family all shared one room." Nothing we or the American couple said, would make believe it was not the case.
I like your reaction.The fact that u probably 'close ur mouth' when u dont know something its actually the most respectfull thing to do, not only as American ofc.I live in Greece and have met ppl from other countrys and i was asking question about their culture and stuff but always in a good way and never told some1 he was wrong about their country which i dont know a thing.For exaple we have a priest (Greek Orthodox) who came to the fast food i work.He talk in english so i ask him if he was here from some exchange progmar but he said that was actually from Uganda (refugee) who came around the year 2012-2013 and he was so impress by the kindnes of our priests that decide to study and become a priest him self.We talk every time i see him about the life and culture of him country and he is actually very happy to share his experience.
That's actually not as stupid a question as it might seem. Many mountains, national parks, hiking areas etc. in the US are only open to the public during specific hours.
"Do you have internet in Norway?" is a reccuring question I've heard many friends be asked over the last 20 or so years. Now a days I dazzle them by telling them what my cellphone internet speed is, which is usually a lot faster than their main line...
I worked as a young girl at hotel Union in Geiranger as a room maid. Most tourist were from Usa. Many times I were approached by Americans asking for different request as extra towels etc. They spoke slowly and loud to me as they thougth they had to to make me understand. Shocked that I spoke fluntenly english they asked were in Usa I came from. 😅 I had to explain that in Norway we learn English at school at a early age. Most were shocked that I understood anything and with some I got extra money left at the table as they left. Like they have had a special service. Mind you, most were nice and pleasant tourist🥰
I'm assuming that Americans over 50 learned at school that the nordic countries had socialistic governments which for Americans is the same as communism and therefore the misconception of them being the same thing as the soviet union and... "Russian".
It may be hard to believe but the USA is more socialist than people think. Socialism is more fair to the people than Capitalism, Communism and Imperialism.
Me and my girlfriend was in Venice, Italy when we met a American couple, which was on a holiday trip in Europe. They were planning to do Europe in 5 days!
The SUPERIORITY COMPLEX is strong in the USA. I experienced these kind of questions as a kid by other kids in Norway from mainlanders, when they found out I lived on an island by the coast. Do we have power; do we have the internet, did we live in actual houses, did we have toilets indoors...
The funny thing is, internet in Norway is lightyears ahead of america. One example is everyone have unlimited bandwidth, we also have some of the fastest internet in the world. I believe Netherlands, Sweden and Norway is probably in the top 5 list when it comes to internet. I know Amsterdam got free wifi everywhere.
Don't have too many of these, but my friend did an exchange and has PLENTY! I had a 3 week vacation in NY, Seattle and San Francisco, but mostly hung out with the people I was visiting, or kept to my self. I was shocked the few times I talked to Americans, and they asked me what I thought of the US, they defended the 2nd amendment.. There had been a university shooting in Seattle the day before I went there (to stay with my friend at her university) and was a second university shooting while I was there. I also learned from my American friend that's there were roughly 4 school shootings per week (this is years ago, so sadly that number is likely much higher today). I figured since I was pretty much in the bluest of blue states, and all my friends from the US wanted stricter gun laws, they would agree.. I was sorely mistaken!! I also met a nice bus driver, who helped me out when I got lost on long Island. I stood up front with him, so he could tell me where to get off, and I engaged in some small talk. He suddenly said "I have some friends in England" to which I responded "cool. Me too, from studying" he than said "I don't know anyone down under". I responded that neither did I, but I hoped to visit Australia one day. He finally asked me where I was from, and when I said Norway he responded "I didn't know they spoke English in Norway".. 😅
I'm sorry to say it, but Americans have the same reputation all over Europe.. I have met a few stereo types while travelling in Ireland, but thankfully most of them are really nice!
I had a american male say it must be so nice to live so close to the alps when I met him in sweden midwinter Stockholm. He had not her time to go yet due to working alot when here
18:51 - It's kinda ironic to ask if Norway has internet, considering Norway was _the first_ country in Europe to be "connected to the internet". That old network that connected schools together ARPANET, had it's first non-us node in Norway :) And since ARPANET is widely considered the "internets birth", the first "link" was made to Norway.
I live in Hong Kong & visited the US in 2017, when asked where I was visiting from I heard, 'oh, I've never been to Japan before', or 'I'd love to visit Japan' about 5 times on the trip 😅🤦♀️
To be fair. Norway is just 1 country away from North Korea. Its just a 140 hour, 10 000km drive🚙. About a quarter of the circumference of planet Earth, if traffic isnt to bad, and roadworks are at a minimum...
I worked in the hospitality industry one day as I was passing through the Hotel cafe I heard a gentleman in a very fiery Hawaiian shirt saying why is the butter yellow one of the lovely Cooks girls who worked the floor there explained that that is the way it comes from the cow we do not bleach our butter. From New Zealand.
“Why doesn’t everyone speak English there instead of your weird language” 😂😂😂 As a native speaker of American English, Danish and Swedish and fully able to understand Norwegian, I find that question hilarious. Actually, English is the first foreign language spoken in the Scandinavian countries and a lot of predominantly young people have an excellent command of English. I worked in tourism for nearly 30 years and there is a true story from Norway of an American couple who sued the Norwegian Tourist Board claiming they had been led to believe that the midnight sun was a different sun than the one they could see in the US. They felt cheated when arriving in Norway, they discovered that this was not the case. 😂🙄
I played Online games like Ultima online, on the Norwegian internet back in 1997, had ISDN 128kb/s digital dialup while living the dream in my parent's basement. I hear some states and rural areas still use dial-up in the USA.
I really enjoy your posts, open minded and keen to broaden your personal horizons. I think most countries suffer from this arrogant ignorance. I am married to a Vietnamese and on one of our visits to her home another branch of her family was visiting from the US where they now live. One of the cousins was at university and was showing off his knowledge by informing everyone (in my hearing) that New Zealand, where we live, was part of Australia. I politely corrected him and, as is not uncommon, he doubled down, we were only one country under then, Queen Elizabeth, not even independent. It took ages to start to get some recognition that we were not Australian, which was strongly supported by my in laws who had, after a decade or more, a good grasp of our situation. The US contingent were firm in their view and tootled off offended that their well educated son was not being respected (my wife has three degrees as well as teacher specific qualifications). The thing that terrified me was that this young man was planning on a career in politics. Certainly explains a lot!
I am from Norway and once in Minnesota USA a strange, who knew we were from Norway, came up to me and asked. "Is it true what they say about Swedish women?" I didnt bother to ask what the claims were and just said YES! :D
I was once in a fast food cafe in Norway, a American couple came in burst through the cue straight to the counter ordered two veggie burger and two coke, they almost yel their order acting like they own the place, everyone in the cue look shocked at each other wonder what is this? After they got theyr order they start yelling again and scare the shit out of the cashier, they demand to get two new burgers cause it was no meat in it, the cashier try to tell it is no meat in a veggie burger. But she gave up and made two normal burgers for them.
Technically you're not wrong. 1/3 of the USA was inherited from Great Britain, 1/3 we purchased from France and the other 1/3 we inherited from Spain which was part of Mexico. My sister would get upset with me when I told her we were born in Mexico because California was once Mexico which I told her is the reason for all the cities with Spanish names.
I should have mentioned that but I should have explained that I was talking about the 48 contiguous states. Also many Americans would have a hard time telling you were Alaska is. Some maybe with Hawaii.
Well now I want to find some random stereotype from a different country in the americas, maybe Chile, or Jamaica, and if I get a strangely insistent remark about Norway, I'll ask them how their English is so good, and follow up with how I thought America was mostly Portuguese speaking. "Isn't Chicago a town in Brazil?" It feels really mean though. I probably wouldn't be able to pull it off in the moment anyway, being both too dumbfounded and too nice to do something like that.
An American stopped us and asked where the nearest Mac Donald where. My friend reacted and say: We dont eat that shit here in Norway. Now the are Mac on every corner in Oslo.
I once drove an American couple from the airport to the city. And we passed by a McDonalds. The couple noticed it, and said in a disappointing tone "America's gift to the world". Upon which I responded "We'd like to return that gift".
I was on a cruise, and shared a table at dinner with an American couple. The man was very interested when he heard we were from Norway. Is Norway communist? Do you have elections? Really free elections, or the communist kind? We tried to explain and he kind of believed us. The next day at dinner he was very upset with us. He thought that we had lied to him! He had done some research on the internet and found out that Norway was NOT a democracy. We could not understand what he thought he had found out. Turned out in the end that he had seen a photo of the Norwegian king. To him this was proof that Norway was communist and not democratic. The rest of the cruise he was kind of upset with us because we had tried to fool him.
I'd be more pissed off he chose not to believe you to the point of researching online. Once he found there was a king he chose to let the fact of it, once again being ignorant of what that means, to confirm his bias over taking your word. Do they all think King Charles runs the UK?
@@cerdicw9998 a republic is not a monarchy... or stalin was the leader of a republic, the union of soviet socialist republics. the fact that a tyrant was called a tsar does not make him a monarch
@@carmenpop Well, of course. I was being sarcastic! Read the bit in hildenesvik’s post about the American having seen a photo of the King of Norway and believed that proved it was a communist country. The logic is baffling…
I was sitting at an outdoor restaurant with a friend in Stockholm near a museum when a bus with American pensioners from the south arrived. A large woman approaches us with a camera and recorder and begins to interview us and take photographs. She asked where we were from, Britain and Finland, whereupon she asked if these places were nearby. The situation was so bizarre it was comical.
Information about the world has never been more available....yet there seems to be more stupid people .....if you want to learn,you can just look it up...
After having been in the US several times and of course had a lot of conversations both while staying there and talked to Americans here in Norway, not to mention the politicians in US and to experience those winning and become presidents(!!!). I have come to the conclusion that …maybe?…. In 150 to 200 years US will have the knowledge and intelligence of Europeans at the level we in Norway and Europe in general have NOW, but of course then we have moved on, so maybe US citizens forever will be ignorant and naive compared to us. And I’m actually serious while thinking this way. Sorry, I really don’t want to look down on you, it is all said from different sad and mindblowing experiences. I follow your educational (to Americans) stories about Norway, hope you have a lot of US followers. Come over for a visit, or actually take a year off, going to the University! It is actually free, but you’ll have to pay for a place to live, that’s expensive!! Visit both the northern part of our beautiful country and the southern. I was born about 2-3 norw. miles from North Cape, with the two suns and the Aurora switch!!, but moved to Oslo due to more education. Take contact if you want to. Lots of hugs from Eva 🥰
I am German, living in Norway. About 9 years ago at work we got an American guy at work. Because of restricted parking and since we lived only a couple of 100 meter apart and I am not sure he had a car yet I picked him up in the morning and he could ride with me to work. One of those days on our way home he asked me if I believed we come from monkeys. Might not be a stupid question for Americans. For me i was.
Well the first humans came 200.000 years age from Africa and spread to the rest of the world, and the more north they went the whiter they got due to lack of sunlight.
If I am not mistaken, creationism is quite normal in the USA and he might just trying to find out if you are a creationist or accept evolution without offending you. I have met Norwegians who got a very literal belief in the bible but that is not something I experience every year.
Before I moved to Norway, I was looking for a book at my college library to start learning the language. When I asked, "Do you have any books to learn Norwegian?" She replied, "Is that even a language?" I just left. Then later, I told someone else that I was moving to Norway, and they said "Why would you want to live in a third-world country?".
I played Online games like Ultima online, on the Norwegian internet back in 1997, had ISDN 128kb/s digital dialup while living the dream in my parent's basement. I hear some states and rural areas still use dial-up in the USA. Lets Joe biden can upgrade those remote places with fiber trough the infrastructure bill :) Keep up the fun Tyler!
Well in American defend if people actually belive Norway are same as North-Korea that wouldn't be strange question about do we have internett? North-Korea are known too be extremly isolated country. But in fact Norway are one of the leader with internet and having really fast speed. 9 by 10 are using it everyday (that's included children and eldery people), but eldery and the children are normally using tablet since it's easier too use. Average speed are 177 MB/S and was at number 4 in the world when we are thinking about the average speed in the world. We have also extremly high cover of 5G so no matter where we are. If we are camping or what so ever we have almost always internet. - From Norway
One american asked me one time if it was safe to go outside because of all the polarbears. I asked are youfor real, and he said yes. I just anwsered yeah its safe I just grab the first one I see and ride it to work 😂😂😂😂
I have a little stupid story I was just walking around bored an american asked me ”where is the polar bears?” I looked at them like i was done with life and i just ran as fast as i chould
It used to be the case that every village had an idiot. Unfortunately, with the US being so populous, they have so many. In order to be able to progress, the US gives their idiots money and sends them away for a while just to get a break from them. Rather like sending children to a summer camp. Sadly, the rest of the world is the summer camp.
I heard a couple form the USA ask when the sun went down and the midnightsun rose up. They got very disappointed when they were told it was the same sun. And it didn't go down
When i was 14 and Americans had an exercise here in Northern Norway 2 soldiers asked me and my friend if we could find them some marhujana , they would pay whatever ,even give us a gun or what ever we wanted . a gun!!!!!!! yes we write it lost in action while boarded the beach . i wanted a gun but finding that marhujana was impossible here . well we got them some moonshine and got a lot of cartons with cigarettes' and a lot of MRE and some bowie knifes and a dagger
Yeah, years ago I saw Senator Trent Lott going off in anger about how in his words "TINY NORWAY!" dared to take a position different from the US in world affairs. I'm like "Trent, if it weren't for countries like Norway and their Viking neighbours who founded England, France, Ireland and then some, there wouldn't be any US today or most of their principal allies."
I worked at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, 30 years ago, one American man from Texas asked me the following question standing next to one of the viking ships" Is it real or is it plastic?"
totally reasonable question. it's not like you are allowed to touch them, is it? and looking at them, well preserved, it is totally possible to think they are plastic copies. and only way to learn, is to ask questions. even stupid ones, like: do you have internet/cars/bears/dollars. other thing is not accepting answer and claiming to know better, of course.
I remember i was in a conversation with a recently retired teacher. She swore on that Australia was a continent and Oceania a country. She told me I was wrong many times for saving that Austalia is a country and not the other way around. We ended up googling it and wow. she first said it has to be wrong, then told me very surely they just switched names at some point. So she wasn't really wrong. This old teacher was Norweigan btw.
The big issue Americans seem to have is that they think that they are the only people with technology in the world.... well... and the school system that don´t teach anything other than that America is the best country in the world.... 20 years ago, I did try to help American Tourists when I saw them in Stockholm.... quite in vain honestly, since to many thought they knew better than anyone else... So everytime I see one of them nowadays, I just try to mess with them as much as I can.... Even tho they honestly don´t need getting messed with to much since they are honestly shocked seeing a country that has technology Better than America....
Actually, US got their own state with Auroras and the Midnight Sun back in 1959. It's called Alaska. They even got their own Fjords, with salmons and GREAT NATURE, so why don't yall go there, leave Norway alone...?
To be fair, when I was working as a guide in our local church, the most stupid comment we got was from a Norwegian guy. He went absolutely bananas when he figured out people had to pay to enter the church when there weren't service. He then proceeded to exit the church and start yelling at tourists that were on their way over to the church. Sorry, but I'm not waking up at 8 just to take the bus for half an hour, clean the church, make things ready for funerals and weddings, then guide tourists around the church for the rest of the day for free! Other tourists thought the same, but they just turned around and left.
People complain when beautiful old churches get closed down but they cost money to upkeep and repair. Church goers once filled churches offering enough donations to keep them ticking over and even then they needed fund raisers or the local rich types to donate to repair them. Dwindling numbers (especially outside the US) mean If people want them open, want to visit and want guides for information, they must accept that costs money. It's common sense.
remember when I went to a boarding school in France and an American rich girl from Texas went in my clas and she was funny ,LOL, she was a little angry I wanted to go to a school in a nother country cuz "we ride polarbears to schoolevery day and how can you turn that down for France". haha she was a comidic break in a hard shool, she did not finish and she once asked how to spell orange, soooo hahaha
we have a cottage in orlando and here it came from a neighbor who had just found out we were from norway: we have some friends in germany, maybe you know them. Then we have to explain the history of Norway and Germany after WWII, and that Norway is a separate country quite a distance from Germany. We are also told that Norway is not in Scandinavia. So from time to time we wonder what they learn about other parts of the world :-) . But we love the people and the places, can never get enough.
Not to speak about the amount of people who live in norway and germany (and between), which makes it clearly impossible that they all know each other 🤔😂
Hearing stuff like this makes me sad on the behalf of Americans. There is really no excuse for your insanely bad school system. Ignorance is not a bliss.
According to reddit, Americans have a reputation in America,the funniest one I remember was ,a family who turned up in Disneyland and after two days they asked one of the help desks when their luggage will turn up,as they thought Disney staff collected your luggage from the doorstep.
And that Earth is only 6000 years old, and that people were around when dinosaurs roamed, some don't believe in dinosaurs. Sadly, these people work in government.
that first one was a WOWSA, Norway and Russia have had a special relationship (like UK and US) for quite some time. So much so that even after Ukraine war, Norway and Russia cooperate on fishing, to maintain sustainable fishing and quotas. The thing about the sun is not as uncommon as you'd think, quite a few tourists ask where the midnight sun is during the winter XD
13:32 I'm sorry to tell you but that's kind of the reputation US citizens as a whole have in most countries. 😅 Dane here with US family, the majority of which sadly fit right into that image. 🤦♀️
You have no idea what questions we had to answer when we were visiting the US. "How do you cool things?" "What does a normal day with the cows look like?" "Have you ever been in a city before?" And this was standard, some were so dumb I can't even repeat them because I didn't understand.
Doctors Without Borders helps around the world in places where doctors are scarce. Someone please send Teachers Without Borders to the US! That said, there are some misconceptions about the US in Norway as well. For instance, some of us thinks that if we know some part of the US we think that's how it is in the whole country. Small populations like Norway has much more cultural "sameness" across the country than larger countries.
About Norway being Russian. Not really, but there used to be a widespread Western European saying about Norway being the last Soviet state. I'm Swedish (Sweden is the country next to Norway), and in the 90's and 00's, A LOT of Swedes used to work in Norway, this led to the widespread ironic saying, in Sweden and some other countries, that Norway was the last remaining Soviet state [the Soviet Union, consisted of many soviet states, that consisted of many soviets: a soviet is a similar type of organisation as a kibbutz in Israel]. Soviets and the Soviet Union, was infamous for their insane bureaucracy. Lots of paperwork, long delays, high costs, and insanely rigid, and very politicised, bureucrats and regulations (but unlike Norway, which has almost nul corruption, the Soviet Union also had only insanely corrupt bureaucrats and politicians). At least in the 90's and 00's, Norway was, by all measurement, the worst bureaucracy in Western Europe, with the most (mostly state employed) bureaucrats per capita in the region, and an insane amount of time being spent on waiting for the bureaucracats to finish, before doing anything. Not close to the insane level of bureaucracy of e.g. most parts of USA (with an insane number of BOTH private and government bureaucrats), but really bad compared to the rest of Western Europe. Sweden, during the same period, after state reforms in the late 1980' and early 90's, had the most streamlined, cheapest, fastest, and easiest to deal with, bureaucracy and regulations in The World [this has since changed, there was a wave of privatisation of the Swedish society, created by right wing Swedish political parties (in the name of creating more free choice and making things cheaper (in reality, the privatisation wave made most things more expensive)), which has led to a need of more, and more complicated, regulations and a much more complex Swedish bureaucracy, and the complexity of the privatised society, led to the need for ten times more state employed Swedish bureacrats, and a lot more private bureacrats, and also to the creation of mostly substandard, much more expensive, private schools, private hospitals, et c. now the same Swedish right wing parties, and many of the same politicians, that led the privatisation movement, now lead the movement to undo the privatisation, because the privitisation led to a lot of Muslim owned private schools, hospitals, et c., and Swedish right wingers hate Muslims more than anything (the foremost spearguard for the Swedish privatisations in the 90's, was a Christian right wing, slightly fascistiod, party, that wanted to create more Christian schools, hospitals et c. but that backfired from their POW)]. So all the Swedes (and other Western Europeans) working in Norway (at some point in time, 20% of the workforcevin Norway consisted of foreign workers on a visa), had to deal with the culture schock of Norwegian bureaucracy. Hence the saying that Norway was the last existing Soviet state was popularised.
It's spread to finland also. While working at the airport, an American started to yell at me because our little shop didn't accept their dollars in cash.
ni problem. just get the usual exchange rate - deduct the bank exchange fee - and deduct 20%. tgatwill be X usd, and we only take banknotes!! return in local currency!!
16:10 i mean there is only one country between Norway and North Korea, that country of course being Russia so they arent close in proximity though, but still there is only one country between North Korea and Norway
![American reacts to the Dumbest things American's have ever said [1]](/img/1.gif)
I´m from Denmark but I have my own norwegian/american story.
I met a guy in a bar in New York. He asked me where I´m from and I answered "Denmark".
His answer: Oh, that´s the capital of Oslo, right?
..... ...... eehhh ya, yep, absolutely. Very impressed he kept it in Scandinavia.
Lol :P i have heard Norway is the capital of sweden. but not that denmark is capital of oslo.
@@kilte90 It was a new one to me too LOL.
Well, sort of understand thats its difficult for them. I wouldnt do well either, if you asked me about American states and their capitals. Whats funny is that they are often SO SURE that they know the answer.
It must have been the same guy I met in a bar in NJ.
He asked me where I was from?
I replied:" Im from Norway ".
And than he said:" Which way?"😂😂
@@janneteresegausel70943 No way!!???!?? LOL
I have a brother who spent a year in an American high school in the early '90s. People asked him if he arrived in the United States by train from France, questioned if France were in Africa, and inquired about our infrastructure and running water. After a year, I asked him about this lack of cultural awareness and these seemingly ignorant questions. He explained that the American education system, like the country itself, is very self-centered.He mentioned that in subjects like history, the focus is on their country's role in global events, such as the United States' involvement in World War I and World War II. The education is not comprehensive; it's heavily centered on the United States. In general, there's limited interest in other countries unless their own has been directly involved.
From a very young age, they are told that the United States is the greatest, most important, and best country in the world. Their self-centeredness leads to a lack of understanding about the rest of the world.. This leads to foolish and ignorant thoughts about anything outside the United States. There's a lot of brainwashing within their country that discourages questioning and a lack of overall interest in the rest of the world.
They have done a huge disservice to their population. Now, because of lack of history knowledge, they risk losing everything in the next election.
👍
If you look at it closer it is more akin to a cult than real education. There are some places where education is better but it feels more like they are the exception than the norm.
@@Spikebhaal They have a level of indoctrination and brainwashing about the importance of their own country that makes them ignore everything else... except when their country goes to war there. It wouldn't occur to me to compare the United States to a dictatorship, at least not yet 😁😬, but overall, they have a level of indoctrination about their country that is not what you'd find in another democracy in general..
only thing most of the Ameicans care about when it comes to Norway that they have no direct involvement in, it's our INSANE Oil Riches.
I was walking on one of the bigger streets close to the heart of Copenhagen. On the other side of the street was a Burger King. Three young American women were walking behind me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the point to Burger King and loudly exclaim: “That is the first place in Europe where I’ve gotten something decent to eat.”
European chefs all over Europe are fainting in horror. 🤣
American tourists in Bruges: You have such great food, and that chocolate and then.....but how come you are all so skinny (wich we are absolutly not 🤣
Ah yes the culinary wonders of meat you can leave out in the sun for 2 years and come back to and see no difference
I bet they hadn't tasted fish once in their life 😂
@@annemieverbeke5965Compared to Americans you are. When I got here I had never seen so many fat people. Now, of course, I am as fat as them. 😅
Norway was the first country to get internet after the US. The first connection was made on ARPANET in 1973.
Almost first.
From Wikipedia: "Larry Roberts saw the ARPANET and NPL projects as complementary and sought in 1970 to connect them via a satellite link. Peter Kirstein's research group at University College London (UCL) was subsequently chosen in 1971 in place of NPL for the UK connection. In June 1973, a transatlantic satellite link connected ARPANET to the Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR),[68] via the Tanum Earth Station in Sweden, and onward via a terrestrial circuit to a TIP at UCL. UCL provided a gateway for interconnection of the ARPANET with British academic networks, the first international resource sharing network, and carried out some of the earliest experimental research work ..."
🤣
@@Styrestian Stian, hva er det du ler av?
I laugh because the question "do you have internet in Norway?" is even more funnier with this fact in mind 😅
Errr, you’re wrong Britain invented the internet not the US and the first page posted on the internet were instructions on how to create internet pages! 😊
The switch for the Aurora is located in Olso, but due to high electrisity prices it mostly shut off :p
😂
@@sigrunwestrus68 I've heard they're moving the switch to Tromsø soon since the electricity is much cheaper in northern Norway than in the south.
@@steinarbergstl5799 Heard it will arrive in 3months as they are using PostNord xD
@dn3087 The flat earthers loves that joke
At least the person asking about Norwegia is correct, Norwegia is the latin name of Norway and I think Italians use the same name.
Mind-boggling that some foreign people belive they know more than a person who actually are native to Norway (or other countries as well).
Sadly, with Americans sometimes the foreigner does know more (which is more mind boggling). This is an argument I walked in on between 2 Americans and a Canadian;
CANADIAN: You're wrong. The US has 50 states.
AMERICAN: No. You're wrong. There's 30.
CANADIAN: It's 50!
AMERICAN: (asks friend) It's 30 right? (friend nods in agreement)
AMERICAN: It's 30, and I'M AN AMERICAN, dammit. I should know better than you!
CANADIAN: Yeah, you should.
No nation combines colossal ignorance with unbelievable arrogance like the USA. They actually argue with you about your own country when they've never left their town.
@@johnp5990 Oh no
many americans dosen't even know that washington D.C,is the capital,and the D.C part stands for District of Columbia,but me the "russian" norwegian knows it.
Those who know pretty much nothing believe they know everything. Those who know much know how little they really kmow.
I live in one of the fjord popular to cruise tourist and my dad drives a sightseeing bus from the cruise up too see the glacier. And the amount of Americans getting angry or demanding their money back because the glacier doesn't look like the pictures from decades ago, or the fact that they can't touch the glacier. I get that people gets disappointed when they have seen an old picture of a sunny day with a massive glacier covering the whole valley, and they come to rain, fog and global warming. But why it's mostly the Americans complaining and getting load and angry, while other tourist mostly smile, say thank you and understand we can't control the weather🙄 I'm not saying this goes to all, but it's unfortunately a fact that if there is a tourist complaining and getting mad it usually is an American...
Old orange man Trump and his minions believe man can control the weather, believe me or not.
As a Norwegian, I like Americans because they make us Norwegians seem like geniuses in comparison to americans.
🇦🇺🇦🇺Now that,s Funny 😄 thank you 🇦🇺🇦🇺🦘
Trust me, they make EVERYONE feel like geniuses.
@@fransthefox9682😅😅😅
In comparison to Trump there are about 7,5 billion geniouses in the world
My answer to stupid questions like this is: Don't you have schools in the USA? If they answer Yes, I just ask - so why don't you learn anything?
Is it perhaps because they're not TAUGHT anything ?
As german comedian Vince Ebert said, in english they just say "We go to school.", so basically somewhere around the school. While in german we say "We go into school."😉
I guess, that's the first step. Just going into school!!!😎
Nono don't do that unless they're contentiously being so.
If someone is genuinely just stupid don't just be mean back.
Even better (and devious): You can "teach" them some "fun facts" and let your imagination run free 😇😇
In USA the school children are too busy learning how to shoot to survive.
The Viking thing also happens down here in Denmark 😂
Elderly American woman to her astonished Danish tourist guide:
"So does your native Viking population also iive on (in?) reservations, like our Indians do back home in America?" 🙄
( this was decades ago, I might add )
I would have replied:
"Yes, they do - and behind tall electrical fences for our protection of course, since the Viking males tend to be very aggressive, especially during the mating season in the fall ... " 😂
It’s a joke! Americans have humor!
If anybody is analogous to native americans it would be the Sami, right?
When visiting California a man asked me if I came there by car... From Norway........
You should just have gone with it. Yes, it was a treacherous journey, many perished. After loading my car up with food and water I hid under a blanket for days so I could be loaded on a shipping container. Then it was just to endure 6 weeks of darkness while waiting for the ship to finally arrive in the land of the free.
My expat great uncle came from Wisconsin to Norway by car. Both he and the car took the boat across the Atlantic and then drove 😊
Geography is a strange thing 🤔🤣🤣
You have a car?
@@norboost Technically, there are amphibious cars. They only get a max speed of 6km/h to 8km/h on smooth water. I'd hate to imagine trying to drive one across the ocean, especially in a storm.
A story I heard, probably over 30 years ago. An American woman travelled to Norway to see the midnight sun. She was upset when she discovered it was the same sun.
My mom worked in a tourist office when she was young. Apparently this was a common question even among southern Europeans
Acutally Scandinavia, Norway included was verry early with digital double line switched (ISDN-standard introduced for regular coustomars in 1994) ) for regular private coustomars) comparing to US. In the US thes types of lines often were only available for big business. We also converted over to broadband quit early. I had my first broadband connection in 2001 The first time I tryed internet in Norway actually was in 1993 :-) Just saying. Norway has allways been early in telecommunications :-)
Norway was the first country outside USA to connnect to ARPANET(internet predecessor)
Norway is a museum of technology. in electrical engineering and the Internet. there are even 0.3mb internet connections (at least 2 years ago) and 1000mb connections happily mixed up. as well as connectors in electrical devices that have already been abandoned in Finland in the early 80s mixed with new connectors.😂
True that. Norwegians invented much of the GSM standard that came before 4G and 5G. In that respect Nokia and Ericsson who were the leaders of cell phone sales in the 90s and early 2000's should have been Norwegian. Instead we were defeated by Sweden (Ericsson) and Finland (Nokia) on the making money part of it.
@@hemmper as I understand it, the Norwegian invention won some kind of superiority comparison and it was introduced in Europe, besides the Swedes bought a Norwegian gsm phone manufacturer, so there was no company in Norway that could have competed against Nokia and Ericsson. however, a fun fact is that the Android operating system of almost all phones is based on Linux, which was invented by the Finnish Linus Torvadls.
Me: I'm from Sweden
American: Oh, It must have been tough living in Africa.
Me: No, It's in Scandinavia
American: Oh, I meant Russia
Me: No, it's in Europe.
American: Is Russia in Africa?
Me: No, I'm in northern Europe, Sweden you know.
American: Now you're just making things up
Me: huh?
American: Sweden doesn't exist
Me: what?
American: It's where we say that Santa is from
Me: Santa? Isn't that the North pole?
American: Yes, Sweden is on the North Pole.
Me: I see, Well cool to finally meed someone from Russia.
Santa is from Norway!! and his brother lives in Finland, ...Finland the country Trump thought was bordering Spain
No no no Santa is from Canada!
@@lucieudem nope . that's his long lost uncle
no@@lucieudem
American: are you Russian?
me: no, I'm Swedish
American: You look Spanish.
me: Ok? But I'm still Swedish though.
American looked at me with a mixture of concern and discust before shaking his head and walking away. It's like I claimed I was an alien or something.
I do feel sorry for Americans. It’s not just their fault for not knowing. It’s their education system and their upbringing that kinda holds them back from learning about the world the way we do
it is, we all have google, youtube and skillshare 😅😇
You cant blame lack of education of asking if a person has internet while talking to him on internet. Thats just stupidity.
Now you see why college isn't free in the USA. It would be a waste of time and tax dollars. Many Americans will not travel out of the USA or their home state because they feel they have everything they need and there is nothing outside the USA. As you can see geography wasn't a main subject in the USA school system.
And Tyler not realising that in the story.@@bente1881
You are right, but it baffles me why so many Americans are not curious enough to educate themselves. It's so mindlessly easy to do these days, it doesn't require any effort.
I'm not particularly attentive or smart, but I still retained a lot of knowledge in 46 years.
I mean, what do you do your whole life to avoid learning the most basic knowledge? Are there any interviews of stupid Americans where they try to find that out, because I'd like to know, so we can go to war against this shit?
funny that the americans think that everything outside the US is primitiv. We had large cities in europe and Asia before the US existed
According to Americans, Canadians use dogsleds and live in igloos. And even though it is right next to the US, they couldn't tell you the capital of Canada.
An American hired an appartement in a historical house in Prague's Old Town. Wooden beams in his living room were probably older than USA.
@@vitezslavnovak2077 Prague's old town is amazing.
I sing in a choir in our local church. It was built in the 11th century. I live near Sigtuna, Sweden's first city, founded in year 980. The landscape around here is riddled with runestones.
@@Daffob1nt Very nice. An oldest Swedish town? I feel little ashamed because I've never heard about the town Sigtuna. I'm afraid that most Czechs as me know only the biggest cities - Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö. And Uppsala, because of the famous university (and because of the pleasure to say "our Charles univesity is older" 🙂). Well, we learn something new every single day. Greetings to Sweden.
I once studied abroad for a semester in Norway. There were also US students in my dorm. My strangest experience was that one guy had his parents send him canned salmon and blueberry syrup from the US. I would have understood canned burgers, peanut butter and corn syrup, but salmon and blueberry...
you should have told him blue berries grow wild in the forrest,and you can pick all day long and still not pick it all,mind blown
@@runeingebretsen8378 I have tasted wild Norwegian blueberries and can confirm they are top-notch. Norway is also famous for salmon so I can't understand why anyone should need to be sent the canned variety from the US.
'
"Europe has five countries: England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Spain." As a Brit, I'm feeling insulted for Wales.
You'd think Germany would have rung a bell...
Or Italy, since so many americans say they are "italian"
@@hannalee5756 Especially regarding internet, germany had the world largest internet exchange points "DE-CIX" which was surpassed by brazils "IX.br" in therms of throughput. Pretty much the whole of europe is routed through Frankfurt since it sits pretty much in the center. But I guess germany is also in russia?
Don't worry. As a Welshman , I've given up being offended by Americans. 😂
Brussels may be a hellhole but.. Belgium is a beautiful city cfr Donald Trump, Also not the sharpest pencil in the drawer 😀@@timohara5691
Americans, even well educated Americans, still call their president, "The Leader of the Free World".
Imagine that.
Well I'm not going to argue with you on this but I think this goes back to WWI and WWII when we had to bail Europe out of two conflicts and basically rebuilt a lot of Europe and were the major players in NATO protecting "Free" Europe from their good European/Asian neighbor the USSR. Other than Winston Churchill I can't see any other European Prime Minister or any of the many European Royal families being the Leader of the "Free" world. You're welcome for us saving Europe.....twice❤❤
@@timothygoldman13 Actually the Russians played a very large part in defeating the Nazis in WW2. Their country was invaded, they lost about 20 million men and fought all the way to Berlin. The Americans, like the Russians, came late to the Allies side. The USA was neutral until attacked by Japan and did not declare war on Germany. It was Germany that declared war on America, on Dec 11th, four days after Pearl Harbour.
Just because America went to war with Germany twice does not mean that people in Congo, Uruguay, Iceland, Switzerland, Madagascar or Ireland should think they owe their freedom to America. You can take the "World" part out of it.
Do you think the American president should be called the "Leader of the Free Western Europe" ( not even of Central Europe ) and the "Leader of the Free parts of Asia". India had to get its freedom its own way. As did nearly all of Africa.
Americans sound so silly when they repeat such nonsense.
Can you imagine how the Vietnamese must laugh at the silly, empty phrase? Can you imagine the people of South and Central America must laugh, considering how America put in place and supported numerous Dictatorships in their countries?
Those people are free despite America, not because of it.
Even during WW2 black Americans were not free. They were not free to sit where they wished on the bus like everyone else. They were not free to sit in the same waiting rooms as everyone else. They were not free to drink water from the same fountain as everyone else.
Remember too that there are still Reservations in America for the native population. Think of it, America has a "Bureau of Indian Affairs".
Can you imagine if there were Reservations for Jews or Roma and a Bureau of Jewish or Roma Affairs in Germany?
So, even after WW2 America itself was not free.
So much for "The Free World" let alone "The Leader of the Free World".
@@timothygoldman13When you joined the war, the European countries had already been fighting for years. You came in with fresh troops but was not alone. Together with you Usians there were Canadians, Australians, New Zealenders, South Africans and soldiers from other countries. And there was soldiers from USSR. So don't use the stupid frase: "We saved Europe". You didn't. You were part of the force that turned the nazi tide. And about the Marshall help... it was probably selfish. USA needed trade partners and Europe was not able to do much trade after the war. They also had to pay back the loans... with interest.
Sometimes your president plays the role of leader, and sometimes he plays the role of the clown, like the orange guy.
I love a great debate. It's nice to freely express our opinions.
@@timothygoldman13 Plus you learn stuff. The US made a financial killing out of WW2 whilst the UK for example kept its rationing of food up to the 50's not because it didn't have enough but damaged as it still was it donated food to a starving Europe for many years leaving its own people somewhat short (as did other Commonwealth and South American countries). The US on the other hand 'lent' it's help with the expectation of being repaid. "Bailed Europe out of two conflicts" is the biggest furphy the US tells its people. The US would also have had it harder and longer in the Japanese theatre if Australia and NZ weren't so handy. Called a world war for a reason.
My teacher told me a story when I was a kid, her husband had a visitor from USA for his company. And he asked them. "How do I get to your office from the airport? Do I need to get a dog sled? and what about polar bears? Do I need to worry about those? I heard they roam the streets.
They replied "No.. No Polar bears here, and I think Taxi will work better than a dog sled"
I'm English and my kids' step-father is Norwegian. He grew up in a rural part of Norway and told me how they would sometimes ski to school. His work often takes him to the United States and he's told me that if he's told Americans this , they just don't believe him 😅
@@shaunw9270 ski to school? only on ski days
@@k.a.stensson No idea to be honest, but he's shown his old photos relating to it to my son and didn't mention it was only one specific day 🤷
@@shaunw9270 totally believable. was done in rural Estonia as well, snow conditions permitting. more fun than walking or waiting in bus stop. kids who lived around 5 km from school. edit: and this was at my schooltime, 1970s-80s, not some ancient history. oh, am i ancient? 🤔👵 (gen X)
Norway even got 5G internet, so yes, we even got internet on our GSM Phones sinse 2020. By the way, our pensionfund own approxamatly 1,5% of the worlds Company's. We are also a net exporter of Oil, gas and renuable electrisaty. Regardig being a sosialist country. More correctly, we are a sosialistic capitalistic parlamentary democracy, where the people own all the natural resorces.
I grew up in Lillehammer. Not uncommon with American tourists. My personal experience is that everyone have been polite and friendly, and shown appreciation for help. The only abit weird thing is that I more than once have been asked about the nearest McDonalds, even though the city centre is full of other great places to eat. Some just wanted to test the Norwegian McDonalds for comparison, as a fun thing to do. And thats fair enough and makes sense. But other than that, it makes no sense. We have alot of great food in the town, and I wished they asked me for advices as I had good knowledge about the different places and price ranges.
Back in the 80s I was walking to catch a bus to college in the morning when an American fellow approached me and asked about restaurants in the town. He was visiting distant relatives. This in a town in North Hertfordshire, UK. I told him [paraphrase] "the only places open at 8am on a Wednesday(back then most places were closed on Wednesdays) was a couple of greasy spoon cafes in the industrial area, but, before you eat there make sure your travel insurance has medical cover".
If you live in lillehammer then i wonder if you have heard of m neko sushi, its a very fine dining place in Lillehamme
I love how Americans hear the words "socialized healthcare" and their brain goes straight to "gorky park" mode. 🤣
Yeah. That one is weird. Some years back we had an ex US marine with us as a hired instructor on a reserve excercise. He kept harping on about Norwegian healthcare not being free. Which of course is absolutely correct. It's paid for through taxes. However, his point was the money we pay when going to the doctor. Not sure what word you would use for this, but the current rate is about 15$ for a consultation within offfice hours, limited to about 290$ a year after which the rest is covered by tax money. Admission to a hospital is no charge at all. I've been admitted with a concussion twice, had surgery on a broken wrist , and an appendectomy, even eye surgery as a kid, and was obviously born at a hospital. And we're arguing over a 15$ fee (deductable?) for a visit to the doctor?. Prescribed medications are usually heavily subsidised, usually fully covered when it gets really expensive. We don't travel to Canada for medical reasons.
You guys really ought to reevaluate what McCarthyism has left you with.
Americans love handing over their last pennies to multibillion dollar corporations because it's "freedom". Anything less, like state funded health care is Communism. Or should I say Kaaaaaahhmmuunism.
@@thomaslutro5560 If the past eight years have taught the world anything, is that Americans believe lies more than the truth.
@@noadlor I don't know whether you'll find it comforting or just plain scary. You're not as different from people elsewhere as you might think, when it comes to lies and truth. Though you have a particular relationship to words like socialism, socialized and so on. Seen from th e outside, you seem deathly scared of it, but without knowing what it is. And as indicated, I think we're looking at historical causes, McCarthyism, and not really realizing that the autocratic elements were by far the main danger of the USSR system. Look at Russia now, by the way. Nobody could reasonably call Russia left in any way, and it's still a nightmare for its own population as well as it's neighbours. That's what you need to be protective of, your democracy. That's what you need to be scared of, "strong men" with the audacity to think they are suited to make all political decisions on behalf of the entire population.
@@thomaslutro5560 I'm Canadian. So we have socialized healthcare. And I wholeheartedly agree with you. America is so brainwashed to fear that word that they are risking their democracy over it to vote in someone who wants to be a Putin or an Orban. The sad fact is that the ones voting for him don't have a clue what that means. Not a clue.
Not mentioning asking if we have internet *while* chatting *on the internet* ?
Many in the US think the internet is US only and think the rest of us on "their" sites are immigrants in the states.
She thinks Russia isn't in Europe? 90% of Russia's economy and 80% of its population is IN EUROPE. About 15% of all Europeans are Russian and 40% of Europe's landmass is in Russia. The biggest city in Europe is Moscow (which is much bigger than any city in the USA). Only 23% of Russia's landmass is in Europe, of course, the other 77% being in Asia, but that 77% is very sparsely populated, much of it not inhabited at all, comprising primeval forest and Arctic tundra.
What I learned at school, about 65 years ago, is that Europe stretches "from the Atlantic to the Urals". That was a bit East-Westish, but still accurate. What about Svalbard to Cyprus? That's equally accurate.
In Ireland, people from the USA claiming to be "Irish" are called "plastic Paddies". So Obama was a great relief. At last there was one not going to go there claiming to be "Irish".
I didn't read anyone writing that Russia isn't in Europe. But there was a few writing that Norway isn't in Russia. Just because all macaroni is pasta, it doesn't mean all pasta is macaroni.
Maybe she was referring to the time when it was USSR. I think I recall in my very early school days way back when that we were taught that USSR was something else.
@@noadlor OF COURSE the USSR was something else. What used to be the USSR is now 15 different countries, and Russia is just one of them. Russia no more "used to be the USSR" than did Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan or Ukraine. For 39 of the 74 years it existed, the top bod in the USSR wasn't Russian. Stalin was Georgian and his spoken Russian was so bad that Russians often couldn't understand him. Khrushchev was Ukrainian.
@@MartinJames389 Yes, I know that part. But I think on the map the section of USSR along with Asia was considered it's own continent. This is back in the 60s. I may be remembering it wrong.
@@noadlor Russia has always been a transcontinental country, with most of its landmass in Asia, but its population (and hence economy) overwhelmingly in European. Its language, culture and history is equally, indeed very strongly, European.
Sometimes I wonder if Google is available in US...
Maybe, we should ask THEM if they have internet, cause they obviously don't use it 🤣🤣🤣
Just because it's available, doesn't mean they choose to use it.
A bit like their brains.
I met an american couple in Norway. It was a sunny night and they were so dissepointed there only was one sun. They came all the way to see the «Norwegian sun»and could not belive it was the same as the «regular sun» 🫣
Rember that half-term governor and failed VP candidate from Wasilia, Alaska, who said she could see Russia from her kitchen window, and had dealings with Russia as governor?
How much of a shock will it be for people in the US to learn that Alaska was a part of Russia until 1867?
Russia flogged it off to thwart the British Empire who they thought were planning to seize it, they were probably right as it happens.
The dumbest thing I heard an American say was D. Triumph saying to the Norwegian people that they/we are welcome to move to USA, which is best country in the world. I bealeave all people of Norway was laughing about that and it was a lot about it in news and internet for a while.
Not laughing. Horrified
He also only wanted the highly educated ones, the smart and valuable ones, even Norway has "undesirables", apparently! I'd hope that any intelligent Norwegains would shy away from that sort of offer, unless there was a very specific interesting research opportunity that required them to come over or similar. There are cool things in the US, events I'd like to see etc, but I can't really see any benefits at all of moving there?
I worked both in hotels, restaurants and Tourist information as a student. So I've heard, and seen, lots of weird things from american tourists. But also lots of nice things. But the saddest, and most bewildering thing, was a young 30ish woman. She came to the Tourist information, and said she'd beentravellingfor days. Flight to Frankfurt, Gernany and then train through Europe all the way to Bergen, Norway. And could I give her directions to how to visit Bergen-Belsen? This was a concentration camp during WW2. Located in Germany ... I just don't understand how one can plan a trip like that - it was clear she was on a kind of "pilgrimage", and not check where her destination was located? Look at any map - it would take her at least two days to get back to Germany. It’s like the US have plenty of towns and cities with the same names as european towns and cities. I for a fact you had one, and may even still have it, called Moscow. But who would mistanke the two?
You should have directed her to Grini outside Oslo if there is anything left of it.
I wonder what her reaction was.
wikipedia page Moscow (disambiguation) lists 22 townships named Moscow in USA. 2 of them in Ohio, Licking County, ghost town, and a village.
I’m American born and raised. I dated a Norwegian exchange student my entire senior year of high school. When he went home, I went and visited him in Norway a couple months later. I lived there with him and his family for about 2 months. It was such a good experience and the main takeaway I had from it was that everyone I met there were exactly the same as all my friends at home except for the language. People are people, regardless of where they’re from.
People are people everywhere. That's self evident. I don't think however that in any country are there people so unaware of anything existing beyond their own borders as Americans.
At last, a sensible American!
You sound so surprised!!???
I had the same experience when i explained that i live in the Netherlands
One insited that it is part of Denmark, another that it belonged to Germany and a third who thought a was a neighborhood in Parish.
They all are between 3 and 7 ours away by car. How more i was going against it how more arrogant they became in their ignorance
Like i don't know where i live. It mind boggling and infuriating.
Also in the US everyone thinks you should speak English but when they are in another country they expext to be addressed in English and not in the native language of the country. Like they are superior. Lots also think that US laws are the laws of the world that theymhave the same rights as in the US. They go on vacation and expect home including the food. US expats are totally different They learn fast and are eager to fit in and learn about the culture.
Many americans cant find their own city on a map.... Many cant even find USA on a global map..
Had when I was working as a mountainguide a older german who was angry because Norway was a modern country. He tought Norway was stuck in the 1800`s and angry with me and the other norwegians present that it was not.
Du skulle ha sakt til han at nazi Tyskland klarte ikke å brenne ned hele Norge i løpet av 5 år 1940 - 1945, det ble bare Finmark og nord Troms som ble sendt bak til steinalderen.
you should have told him, that Norway had had enuf visitors from Germany and that he was free to leave!! GIT!!
Yes we have two suns so we can get enough solarpower to light up the aurora, thats also why we use 220-240v over here, aurora takes alot of power...
😂
They were watching that Star Wars movie where Luke Skywalker was standing and there were two moons or suns in the background.😂😂😂
Many people in Europe believe that the Nordic countries have among the highest standards of education in the world. Americans who have travelled extensively would probably agree. For various reasons (low pay, lack of holiday time, lack of curiosity?), many Americans have not travelled much, even in their own country. This is why they ask questions which strike us as dumb, but they arise out of simple ignorance (which, by the way, can be cured without travelling).
Exactly, I also hasn't travelled that much, but I don't need to be there, to know that Paris is in France, that Rio de Janeiro don't belong to the USA or that australians doesn't ride on kangaroos, or something stupid like that.
Unbelievable 🤯
@@juwen7908👏👏
The vikings still do go on raids. We call them vactaions these days...😜
Yes, sydentur and charterferie 😂
😅
👍
Or harrytur
🇦🇺🇦🇺Now that’s Funny 😄 thanks 🙏🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
I have talked to many American tourists in several countries in the world. They are always polite, friendly and open. I have not a single negative word to utter. Stupid people are all around the world, and please believe me: We have our fair share of "stupidos" in Norway.
I'm an American who loves to travel and I'm in Tromsø next month. It's been 30 years since I last visited Norway. I'm so excited to return.
@@timothygoldman13 You are most welcome, Sir. American culture are an important part of Norwegian culture, and Norwegian culture are a not insignificant part of american culture. 🇧🇻🇺🇲
Americans who travel abroad are a self selected bunch. They have to be wealthy enough and / or interested enough. They are clearly a small minority. I read that 90% of Americans don't have passports.
@@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw I had to look that up and I'm astounded that the percentage of Americans with passports is not greater than 22%. That's absurd. 78% of Americans are homers.
@@hansmarheim7620
Very true, the current (and likely final form) English culture is Nor[man]. It was the Normans that introduced Magna Carta and Jury Trials, for example.
Moscow is also in Europe, east- Europe, in fact Moscow is Europes biggest City with its 13 million cityzens. Ukraine is Europes next biggest country after Russia. Even despite a big part of Russia is in Asia. Most russians live in the European part of Russia. I think the Ural Mountains seperates Europe and Asia.
it is but when asking most Russians they are not Europeans nor westerners
Moscow may geographically be in Europe - but it has never been "IN" Europe...or part of Europe for that matter.
@@jarls5890 Yepp...True fact indeed
@@jarls5890The border is the ural mountains and ural river...By geography about twenty-five percent of the surface is in Europe and seventy-five percent in Asia...By population about 110 million of the 144 million people or 80 % live in the Europaen part....As a norwegian who have met many russian, belive me, they feel like they are Europeans....Have a wonderfull day 🙃
Just some days ago I found out that Istabul is almost 16M. Moscow "proper" is 13M. On the other hand a part of istanbul is in Asia so...
How can the USA still exists with people like that
Probably need helmets when going outside too.
I've always wondered that as well and it's so ironic and frustrating that they are usually the most arrogant and obnoxious people as well despite being the most ignorant and clueless smh
@@KalakeikoArroance is the best friend of ignorance. They cheer each other on.
I worked at a hotel in Norway and we once saw visits from guests from America. Typically American are pensioners with beige clothes and a camera on their chest. I was always called because they couldn't get the tv on and pressed the remote and it didn't work. In Norway you turn off the TV directly on the TV set due to the risk of fire and not just with the remote control. Americans were not used to bed covers that are thicker than blankets. In Norway it is cold and that is why we have what is called a cover. This is many years ago now. Americans are always nice
What?
Must be some strange hotel. I have never seen any modern TV in Norway with a switch that actualy cuts the power. Some old CRT's does, but a modern LCD/LED?
In fact the TV i got now i have to unplug if i want to power it down if the OS on it hangs, the switch just turn makes it enter standby.
It is not like we have a big TV-building industry here and get our own models.
@@runargraneng4237 This was many 30 years ago and does not apply now
Considering Americans overseas beyond the shores of America. I am actually from England and when I took a trip to France once I went to Bayeux Museum to see the famous tapestry that depicts the Battle of Hastings. This was in 1066 and was the last time England was invaded. The tapestry is old, but it is not known how old but at least 550 years and probably a good deal older than that. It is around 70 meters long. After I saw this medieval masterpiece I went the Bayeux Cathedral and inside there was another tapestry hanging on the wall. Beautiful, yes, but not anything like as impressive as the Bayeux Tapestry. But there were two Americans looking at it and they were agreeing that this was so much better than the tatty tapestry in the museum.... And then there was the time when I was enjoying a pint in our local pub, drinking with a couple of Americans from a local air base. There was nothing offensive about these people. They did an excellent job in integrating with the locals and were very popular. One of them was praising English history and culture. He even commented on the pub and was in some awe about the building. "Gee, it must be at least 100 years old." I agreed that it was more than 100 years old. His face was an absolute picture when I told him it was probably getting on for 500 years old! It felt as if this had become the experience of a lifetime for him. The only pity is that I could not take him to buildings that were considerably older than that.
1066 wasn't the last time England was invaded, it was the last time England was successfully invaded and conquered. The last invasion was by the Spanish Inquisition who invaded a small town on the south coast. The funny thing is nobody could be arsed to expel them so there is still an operating Inquisition office in that town to this day.
Is arse a noun? I'm completely arsed. It doesn't sound very pleasant. I've never heard it used as one.
I'm Danish but I tell my story anyway. Some years ago one of my trips to USA me and my wife was on a guided walking tour in New Orleans' Garden District. At one time the guide told us about a house that a wealthy metchant had built for his daughter. An American couple who was on the tour with us told that were buying an appartement for their son, and my ife said that were doing the same for our daughter. This was overheard by an American woman in her late 30s and she commented that she didn't understand why that was necessary, as: "in Europe three or four generations of a family all shared one room." Nothing we or the American couple said, would make believe it was not the case.
Grrrrrr!!!😡😡😡
I can hardly imagine the affluence of families that get a whole room to themselves. Is the lavatory separate?
@@severianmonk7394 Lavatory???
I like your reaction.The fact that u probably 'close ur mouth' when u dont know something its actually the most respectfull thing to do, not only as American ofc.I live in Greece and have met ppl from other countrys and i was asking question about their culture and stuff but always in a good way and never told some1 he was wrong about their country which i dont know a thing.For exaple we have a priest (Greek Orthodox) who came to the fast food i work.He talk in english so i ask him if he was here from some exchange progmar but he said that was actually from Uganda (refugee) who came around the year 2012-2013 and he was so impress by the kindnes of our priests that decide to study and become a priest him self.We talk every time i see him about the life and culture of him country and he is actually very happy to share his experience.
Heard in tourist office: When does the mountain close?
That's actually not as stupid a question as it might seem. Many mountains, national parks, hiking areas etc. in the US are only open to the public during specific hours.
@@Llandari I thought the same, which means the "allemannsrett" or Right/Freedom to Roam must be a considerable and hopefully pleasant surprise.
When it's bad weather obviously😂
@@Khintara Nope. It is still open. But it is smart to take the right precautions and show respect for the mountain. 🙂
When the Mountain King is tired of all the tourist
"Do you have internet in Norway?" is a reccuring question I've heard many friends be asked over the last 20 or so years. Now a days I dazzle them by telling them what my cellphone internet speed is, which is usually a lot faster than their main line...
Norway were the first country in the world outside USA that got ARPANET (Pre-Internet), in 1970.
I worked as a young girl at hotel Union in Geiranger as a room maid. Most tourist were from Usa. Many times I were approached by Americans asking for different request as extra towels etc. They spoke slowly and loud to me as they thougth they had to to make me understand. Shocked that I spoke fluntenly english they asked were in Usa I came from. 😅 I had to explain that in Norway we learn English at school at a early age. Most were shocked that I understood anything and with some I got extra money left at the table as they left. Like they have had a special service. Mind you, most were nice and pleasant tourist🥰
@ingridskogseth9385 when I was younger I used to play a game "which state am I from?" when i was conversing with americans in online gaming xD
@@MurdocBack That's funny😅
I'm assuming that Americans over 50 learned at school that the nordic countries had socialistic governments which for Americans is the same as communism and therefore the misconception of them being the same thing as the soviet union and... "Russian".
It may be hard to believe but the USA is more socialist than people think. Socialism is more fair to the people than Capitalism, Communism and Imperialism.
Some of them call Canadians communists but can distinguish them from Russians so I don't know how likely that is.
Me and my girlfriend was in Venice, Italy when we met a American couple, which was on a holiday trip in Europe. They were planning to do Europe in 5 days!
The SUPERIORITY COMPLEX is strong in the USA. I experienced these kind of questions as a kid by other kids in Norway from mainlanders, when they found out I lived on an island by the coast. Do we have power; do we have the internet, did we live in actual houses, did we have toilets indoors...
The funny thing is, internet in Norway is lightyears ahead of america.
One example is everyone have unlimited bandwidth, we also have some of the fastest internet in the world.
I believe Netherlands, Sweden and Norway is probably in the top 5 list when it comes to internet.
I know Amsterdam got free wifi everywhere.
Think Singapore has the fastest, but there are a lot of lists on the internet with different outcomes.
@@JacobBax Maybe I wouldn't know, there was another country on the top of the list I can't remember, maybe Monaco.
From Canada, where we have the most expensive plans in the world.... I am envious.
Don't have too many of these, but my friend did an exchange and has PLENTY! I had a 3 week vacation in NY, Seattle and San Francisco, but mostly hung out with the people I was visiting, or kept to my self. I was shocked the few times I talked to Americans, and they asked me what I thought of the US, they defended the 2nd amendment.. There had been a university shooting in Seattle the day before I went there (to stay with my friend at her university) and was a second university shooting while I was there. I also learned from my American friend that's there were roughly 4 school shootings per week (this is years ago, so sadly that number is likely much higher today). I figured since I was pretty much in the bluest of blue states, and all my friends from the US wanted stricter gun laws, they would agree.. I was sorely mistaken!!
I also met a nice bus driver, who helped me out when I got lost on long Island. I stood up front with him, so he could tell me where to get off, and I engaged in some small talk. He suddenly said "I have some friends in England" to which I responded "cool. Me too, from studying" he than said "I don't know anyone down under". I responded that neither did I, but I hoped to visit Australia one day. He finally asked me where I was from, and when I said Norway he responded "I didn't know they spoke English in Norway".. 😅
I'm sorry to say it, but Americans have the same reputation all over Europe.. I have met a few stereo types while travelling in Ireland, but thankfully most of them are really nice!
"Im from Sweden"
"Oooh I love Sweden chocolate"
Yep totally not meaning switzerland rite?
Whilst I suspect you are totally correct, I have to say.. Marabou. Find any chocolate in the US that's better.
I had a american male say it must be so nice to live so close to the alps when I met him in sweden midwinter Stockholm. He had not her time to go yet due to working alot when here
18:51 - It's kinda ironic to ask if Norway has internet, considering Norway was _the first_ country in Europe to be "connected to the internet". That old network that connected schools together ARPANET, had it's first non-us node in Norway :) And since ARPANET is widely considered the "internets birth", the first "link" was made to Norway.
I live in Hong Kong & visited the US in 2017, when asked where I was visiting from I heard, 'oh, I've never been to Japan before', or 'I'd love to visit Japan' about 5 times on the trip 😅🤦♀️
Maybe the only channel left that gives me a few good laughs. Every time. Thank you.
To be fair. Norway is just 1 country away from North Korea. Its just a 140 hour, 10 000km drive🚙. About a quarter of the circumference of planet Earth, if traffic isnt to bad, and roadworks are at a minimum...
I worked in the hospitality industry one day as I was passing through the Hotel cafe I heard a gentleman in a very fiery Hawaiian shirt saying why is the butter yellow one of the lovely Cooks girls who worked the floor there explained that that is the way it comes from the cow we do not bleach our butter. From New Zealand.
There ARE two suns in Norway. That's where they shot those scenes in Star Wars where Luke looks at the two suns.
“Why doesn’t everyone speak English there instead of your weird language” 😂😂😂
As a native speaker of American English, Danish and Swedish and fully able to understand Norwegian, I find that question hilarious.
Actually, English is the first foreign language spoken in the Scandinavian countries and a lot of predominantly young people have an excellent command of English.
I worked in tourism for nearly 30 years and there is a true story from Norway of an American couple who sued the Norwegian Tourist Board claiming they had been led to believe that the midnight sun was a different sun than the one they could see in the US. They felt cheated when arriving in Norway, they discovered that this was not the case. 😂🙄
I played Online games like Ultima online, on the Norwegian internet back in 1997, had ISDN 128kb/s digital dialup while living the dream in my parent's basement. I hear some states and rural areas still use dial-up in the USA.
I really enjoy your posts, open minded and keen to broaden your personal horizons.
I think most countries suffer from this arrogant ignorance. I am married to a Vietnamese and on one of our visits to her home another branch of her family was visiting from the US where they now live. One of the cousins was at university and was showing off his knowledge by informing everyone (in my hearing) that New Zealand, where we live, was part of Australia. I politely corrected him and, as is not uncommon, he doubled down, we were only one country under then, Queen Elizabeth, not even independent. It took ages to start to get some recognition that we were not Australian, which was strongly supported by my in laws who had, after a decade or more, a good grasp of our situation. The US contingent were firm in their view and tootled off offended that their well educated son was not being respected (my wife has three degrees as well as teacher specific qualifications).
The thing that terrified me was that this young man was planning on a career in politics. Certainly explains a lot!
I am from Norway and once in Minnesota USA a strange, who knew we were from Norway, came up to me and asked. "Is it true what they say about Swedish women?" I didnt bother to ask what the claims were and just said YES! :D
I was once in a fast food cafe in Norway, a American couple came in burst through the cue straight to the counter ordered two veggie burger and two coke, they almost yel their order acting like they own the place, everyone in the cue look shocked at each other wonder what is this?
After they got theyr order they start yelling again and scare the shit out of the cashier, they demand to get two new burgers cause it was no meat in it, the cashier try to tell it is no meat in a veggie burger. But she gave up and made two normal burgers for them.
My head hurts 🤣
If I meet an American, I'm gonna say for fun: Oh wow. I hear it's pretty warm in Mexico.
Technically it's not wrong in many ways 😂
Technically you're not wrong. 1/3 of the USA was inherited from Great Britain, 1/3 we purchased from France and the other 1/3 we inherited from Spain which was part of Mexico. My sister would get upset with me when I told her we were born in Mexico because California was once Mexico which I told her is the reason for all the cities with Spanish names.
@@timothygoldman13 what about the part bought from the Russians? 😉
I should have mentioned that but I should have explained that I was talking about the 48 contiguous states. Also many Americans would have a hard time telling you were Alaska is. Some maybe with Hawaii.
Does a person from Peru know US states, (s)he might or might not.. America is a big continent...
Well now I want to find some random stereotype from a different country in the americas, maybe Chile, or Jamaica, and if I get a strangely insistent remark about Norway, I'll ask them how their English is so good, and follow up with how I thought America was mostly Portuguese speaking. "Isn't Chicago a town in Brazil?" It feels really mean though. I probably wouldn't be able to pull it off in the moment anyway, being both too dumbfounded and too nice to do something like that.
An American stopped us and asked where the nearest Mac Donald where. My friend reacted and say: We dont eat that shit here in Norway. Now the are Mac on every corner in Oslo.
I once drove an American couple from the airport to the city. And we passed by a McDonalds.
The couple noticed it, and said in a disappointing tone "America's gift to the world".
Upon which I responded "We'd like to return that gift".
I was on a cruise, and shared a table at dinner with an American couple. The man was very interested when he heard we were from Norway. Is Norway communist? Do you have elections? Really free elections, or the communist kind? We tried to explain and he kind of believed us. The next day at dinner he was very upset with us. He thought that we had lied to him! He had done some research on the internet and found out that Norway was NOT a democracy. We could not understand what he thought he had found out. Turned out in the end that he had seen a photo of the Norwegian king. To him this was proof that Norway was communist and not democratic. The rest of the cruise he was kind of upset with us because we had tried to fool him.
I'd be more pissed off he chose not to believe you to the point of researching online. Once he found there was a king he chose to let the fact of it, once again being ignorant of what that means, to confirm his bias over taking your word. Do they all think King Charles runs the UK?
communist country having a king??? 😄
Well, as we all know, monarchy and communism go hand in hand! King Stalin wasn’t it…
@@cerdicw9998 a republic is not a monarchy... or stalin was the leader of a republic, the union of soviet socialist republics. the fact that a tyrant was called a tsar does not make him a monarch
@@carmenpop Well, of course. I was being sarcastic! Read the bit in hildenesvik’s post about the American having seen a photo of the King of Norway and believed that proved it was a communist country. The logic is baffling…
I was sitting at an outdoor restaurant with a friend in Stockholm near a museum when a bus with American pensioners from the south arrived. A large woman approaches us with a camera and recorder and begins to interview us and take photographs. She asked where we were from, Britain and Finland, whereupon she asked if these places were nearby. The situation was so bizarre it was comical.
Information about the world has never been more available....yet there seems to be more stupid people .....if you want to learn,you can just look it up...
After having been in the US several times and of course had a lot of conversations both while staying there and talked to Americans here in Norway, not to mention the politicians in US and to experience those winning and become presidents(!!!). I have come to the conclusion that …maybe?…. In 150 to 200 years US will have the knowledge and intelligence of Europeans at the level we in Norway and Europe in general have NOW, but of course then we have moved on, so maybe US citizens forever will be ignorant and naive compared to us. And I’m actually serious while thinking this way. Sorry, I really don’t want to look down on you, it is all said from different sad and mindblowing experiences. I follow your educational (to Americans) stories about Norway, hope you have a lot of US followers. Come over for a visit, or actually take a year off, going to the University! It is actually free, but you’ll have to pay for a place to live, that’s expensive!! Visit both the northern part of our beautiful country and the southern. I was born about 2-3 norw. miles from North Cape, with the two suns and the Aurora switch!!, but moved to Oslo due to more education. Take contact if you want to. Lots of hugs from Eva 🥰
Eva that is the sweetest I have read. Greetings from Denmark. I used to go to bluegrass festival in Gulsrud. Bare hyggelig.
I agree . America is so new they don't understand history
I am German, living in Norway. About 9 years ago at work we got an American guy at work. Because of restricted parking and since we lived only a couple of 100 meter apart and I am not sure he had a car yet I picked him up in the morning and he could ride with me to work.
One of those days on our way home he asked me if I believed we come from monkeys.
Might not be a stupid question for Americans. For me i was.
Well the first humans came 200.000 years age from Africa and spread to the rest of the world, and the more north they went the whiter they got due to lack of sunlight.
If I am not mistaken, creationism is quite normal in the USA and he might just trying to find out if you are a creationist or accept evolution without offending you.
I have met Norwegians who got a very literal belief in the bible but that is not something I experience every year.
That's hardly a bad experience or question
@@More_Row I wasn't a bad experience no. He is a nice guy. But it was a stupid question.
Before I moved to Norway, I was looking for a book at my college library to start learning the language. When I asked, "Do you have any books to learn Norwegian?" She replied, "Is that even a language?" I just left. Then later, I told someone else that I was moving to Norway, and they said "Why would you want to live in a third-world country?".
I played Online games like Ultima online, on the Norwegian internet back in 1997, had ISDN 128kb/s digital dialup while living the dream in my parent's basement. I hear some states and rural areas still use dial-up in the USA. Lets Joe biden can upgrade those remote places with fiber trough the infrastructure bill :)
Keep up the fun Tyler!
Well in American defend if people actually belive Norway are same as North-Korea that wouldn't be strange question about do we have internett?
North-Korea are known too be extremly isolated country.
But in fact Norway are one of the leader with internet and having really fast speed. 9 by 10 are using it everyday (that's included children and eldery people), but eldery and the children are normally using tablet since it's easier too use. Average speed are 177 MB/S and was at number 4 in the world when we are thinking about the average speed in the world. We have also extremly high cover of 5G so no matter where we are. If we are camping or what so ever we have almost always internet.
- From Norway
One american asked me one time if it was safe to go outside because of all the polarbears. I asked are youfor real, and he said yes. I just anwsered yeah its safe I just grab the first one I see and ride it to work 😂😂😂😂
You should have instead countered it with “aren’t you afraid to leave your home, since Americans love to shot each others on the streets?”
I have a little stupid story
I was just walking around bored an american asked me ”where is the polar bears?” I looked at them like i was done with life and i just ran as fast as i chould
As a Norwegian I find it difficult to believe these stories are true.
I was thinking the same. I'm English and know a Norwegian guy and I think our countries share a similar sarcastic humour !
They are true.
It used to be the case that every village had an idiot. Unfortunately, with the US being so populous, they have so many. In order to be able to progress, the US gives their idiots money and sends them away for a while just to get a break from them. Rather like sending children to a summer camp. Sadly, the rest of the world is the summer camp.
I have been asked a lot of stupid questions by Americans so I assure you those stories are true.
I heard a couple form the USA ask when the sun went down and the midnightsun rose up. They got very disappointed when they were told it was the same sun. And it didn't go down
When i was 14 and Americans had an exercise here in Northern Norway 2 soldiers asked me and my friend if we could find them some marhujana , they would pay whatever ,even give us a gun or what ever we wanted . a gun!!!!!!! yes we write it lost in action while boarded the beach . i wanted a gun but finding that marhujana was impossible here . well we got them some moonshine and got a lot of cartons with cigarettes' and a lot of MRE and some bowie knifes and a dagger
moonshine or seksogniti (96=the alcohol strength) is a nice substitute for marihuana
@@zymelin21 Guess it was.. lol .and yes we took 3 of them to a moonshiner . they got so drunk and surely forgot all about the marhujana
" So you are from Nowegia?" - This one is really funny because Norwegia is a cheese.
"Do you have internet in Norway?"
All I'm gonna say is ARPANET...
I thought about the same thing
Yea, I looked into it, and NORSAR (Norway Seismic Array Research) became the first non-US node on ARPANET, apparently.
the very question was asked WHILE chatting on Internet. well.....
Yeah, years ago I saw Senator Trent Lott going off in anger about how in his words "TINY NORWAY!" dared to take a position different from the US in world affairs. I'm like "Trent, if it weren't for countries like Norway and their Viking neighbours who founded England, France, Ireland and then some, there wouldn't be any US today or most of their principal allies."
I worked at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, 30 years ago, one American man from Texas asked me the following question standing next to one of the viking ships" Is it real or is it plastic?"
totally reasonable question. it's not like you are allowed to touch them, is it? and looking at them, well preserved, it is totally possible to think they are plastic copies. and only way to learn, is to ask questions. even stupid ones, like: do you have internet/cars/bears/dollars. other thing is not accepting answer and claiming to know better, of course.
He was basically asking if it was a replica.
So not a stupid question.
I remember i was in a conversation with a recently retired teacher. She swore on that Australia was a continent and Oceania a country. She told me I was wrong many times for saving that Austalia is a country and not the other way around. We ended up googling it and wow. she first said it has to be wrong, then told me very surely they just switched names at some point. So she wasn't really wrong.
This old teacher was Norweigan btw.
The big issue Americans seem to have is that they think that they are the only people with technology in the world.... well... and the school system that don´t teach anything other than that America is the best country in the world.... 20 years ago, I did try to help American Tourists when I saw them in Stockholm.... quite in vain honestly, since to many thought they knew better than anyone else... So everytime I see one of them nowadays, I just try to mess with them as much as I can.... Even tho they honestly don´t need getting messed with to much since they are honestly shocked seeing a country that has technology Better than America....
Actually, US got their own state with Auroras and the Midnight Sun back in 1959. It's called Alaska. They even got their own Fjords, with salmons and GREAT NATURE, so why don't yall go there, leave Norway alone...?
Because some of can....and I've been to Alaska. Norway is much better.❤
To be fair, when I was working as a guide in our local church, the most stupid comment we got was from a Norwegian guy. He went absolutely bananas when he figured out people had to pay to enter the church when there weren't service. He then proceeded to exit the church and start yelling at tourists that were on their way over to the church.
Sorry, but I'm not waking up at 8 just to take the bus for half an hour, clean the church, make things ready for funerals and weddings, then guide tourists around the church for the rest of the day for free!
Other tourists thought the same, but they just turned around and left.
People complain when beautiful old churches get closed down but they cost money to upkeep and repair. Church goers once filled churches offering enough donations to keep them ticking over and even then they needed fund raisers or the local rich types to donate to repair them. Dwindling numbers (especially outside the US) mean If people want them open, want to visit and want guides for information, they must accept that costs money. It's common sense.
Norway was the first country outside the US that was connected to Arpanet, the precursor to what we now know as the Internet. This happened in 1973.
remember when I went to a boarding school in France and an American rich girl from Texas went in my clas and she was funny ,LOL, she was a little angry I wanted to go to a school in a nother country cuz "we ride polarbears to schoolevery day and how can you turn that down for France". haha she was a comidic break in a hard shool, she did not finish and she once asked how to spell orange, soooo hahaha
õu-aar-ei-enn-džii-ii, right? (roughly like pronounciation according to IPA (international phonetic alphabet)) 😂🟠
we have a cottage in orlando and here it came from a neighbor who had just found out we were from norway: we have some friends in germany, maybe you know them. Then we have to explain the history of Norway and Germany after WWII, and that Norway is a separate country quite a distance from Germany.
We are also told that Norway is not in Scandinavia. So from time to time we wonder what they learn about other parts of the world :-) . But we love the people and the places, can never get enough.
Not to speak about the amount of people who live in norway and germany (and between), which makes it clearly impossible that they all know each other 🤔😂
Hearing stuff like this makes me sad on the behalf of Americans. There is really no excuse for your insanely bad school system. Ignorance is not a bliss.
Unfortunately many Americans don't apply themselves to advance in the educational system. Many want the fast life and fast money.😢
British education is pretty **** too these days
According to reddit, Americans have a reputation in America,the funniest one I remember was ,a family who turned up in Disneyland and after two days they asked one of the help desks when their luggage will turn up,as they thought Disney staff collected your luggage from the doorstep.
😮
Still a lot of Americans that think the Earth is flat to 😁
And that Earth is only 6000 years old, and that people were around when dinosaurs roamed, some don't believe in dinosaurs. Sadly, these people work in government.
If you doubt Americans are dumb look at who they have elected president recently
that first one was a WOWSA, Norway and Russia have had a special relationship (like UK and US) for quite some time. So much so that even after Ukraine war, Norway and Russia cooperate on fishing, to maintain sustainable fishing and quotas.
The thing about the sun is not as uncommon as you'd think, quite a few tourists ask where the midnight sun is during the winter XD
13:32 I'm sorry to tell you but that's kind of the reputation US citizens as a whole have in most countries. 😅 Dane here with US family, the majority of which sadly fit right into that image. 🤦♀️
You have no idea what questions we had to answer when we were visiting the US.
"How do you cool things?"
"What does a normal day with the cows look like?"
"Have you ever been in a city before?"
And this was standard, some were so dumb I can't even repeat them because I didn't understand.
Doctors Without Borders helps around the world in places where doctors are scarce. Someone please send Teachers Without Borders to the US! That said, there are some misconceptions about the US in Norway as well. For instance, some of us thinks that if we know some part of the US we think that's how it is in the whole country. Small populations like Norway has much more cultural "sameness" across the country than larger countries.
About Norway being Russian. Not really, but there used to be a widespread Western European saying about Norway being the last Soviet state.
I'm Swedish (Sweden is the country next to Norway), and in the 90's and 00's, A LOT of Swedes used to work in Norway, this led to the widespread ironic saying, in Sweden and some other countries, that Norway was the last remaining Soviet state [the Soviet Union, consisted of many soviet states, that consisted of many soviets: a soviet is a similar type of organisation as a kibbutz in Israel].
Soviets and the Soviet Union, was infamous for their insane bureaucracy. Lots of paperwork, long delays, high costs, and insanely rigid, and very politicised, bureucrats and regulations (but unlike Norway, which has almost nul corruption, the Soviet Union also had only insanely corrupt bureaucrats and politicians).
At least in the 90's and 00's, Norway was, by all measurement, the worst bureaucracy in Western Europe, with the most (mostly state employed) bureaucrats per capita in the region, and an insane amount of time being spent on waiting for the bureaucracats to finish, before doing anything. Not close to the insane level of bureaucracy of e.g. most parts of USA (with an insane number of BOTH private and government bureaucrats), but really bad compared to the rest of Western Europe. Sweden, during the same period, after state reforms in the late 1980' and early 90's, had the most streamlined, cheapest, fastest, and easiest to deal with, bureaucracy and regulations in The World [this has since changed, there was a wave of privatisation of the Swedish society, created by right wing Swedish political parties (in the name of creating more free choice and making things cheaper (in reality, the privatisation wave made most things more expensive)), which has led to a need of more, and more complicated, regulations and a much more complex Swedish bureaucracy, and the complexity of the privatised society, led to the need for ten times more state employed Swedish bureacrats, and a lot more private bureacrats, and also to the creation of mostly substandard, much more expensive, private schools, private hospitals, et c. now the same Swedish right wing parties, and many of the same politicians, that led the privatisation movement, now lead the movement to undo the privatisation, because the privitisation led to a lot of Muslim owned private schools, hospitals, et c., and Swedish right wingers hate Muslims more than anything (the foremost spearguard for the Swedish privatisations in the 90's, was a Christian right wing, slightly fascistiod, party, that wanted to create more Christian schools, hospitals et c. but that backfired from their POW)].
So all the Swedes (and other Western Europeans) working in Norway (at some point in time, 20% of the workforcevin Norway consisted of foreign workers on a visa), had to deal with the culture schock of Norwegian bureaucracy. Hence the saying that Norway was the last existing Soviet state was popularised.
I visited Norway. I really loved the two suns. But the three moons were even more spectacular 🤣
Yea, but seems to be pretty unhealthy. Whenever I see three moons, I have a terrible headache the next day.
It's spread to finland also.
While working at the airport, an American started to yell at me because our little shop didn't accept their dollars in cash.
ni problem. just get the usual exchange rate - deduct the bank exchange fee - and deduct 20%. tgatwill be X usd, and we only take banknotes!! return in local currency!!
I can forgive ignorance but don't ever compare us to russia.. There's a limit.
16:10 i mean there is only one country between Norway and North Korea, that country of course being Russia so they arent close in proximity though, but still there is only one country between North Korea and Norway