Often when I question things here in Norway I do not get a proper answer. More often than not the answer is, "Sånn er det" which means "thats the way it is"
So when I ask "why is everything closed on Sunday?", "Why is everything so expensive?" "Why don't norwegians use their indicators or car horns?" "Why do norwegians all eat taco's on Friday?" "Why is there a crap choice of food in the supermarkets here?" the usual answer is "Sånn er det" which really gets on my nerves, so when I'm asked a question I always try to avoid saying those three little words and give an answer explaining why something is the way it is. That is until Friday at work when a 5 year old asked me, "Hvorfor er dine pupper så store?" (why are your boobs so big?) and the only reply I could give was...... "Sånn er det!"
HAAA! You hear the truth from drunks and small children. But you know the real reason why Norwegians answer with "sånn er det"? It's because they don't really know the answer and never considered taco eating on a friday night to be an abnormality. Is there anything else a person could possible eat on a friday night? BTW- it looks FAR more wintery in østlandet than vestlandet. Get me out of here!
ReplyDeleteVery good post! Made us laugh ( my husband asked if there was a picture of you to prove it!) Men! X
ReplyDeleteoh so funny! (your questions as well as the 5 year old's!)
ReplyDeletejust found your blog via siri and i love it. i'm trying to psych myself up about returning to norway in three week's time. i'm hoping there won't be quite as much ice down in halden...
Although I live in Norway nearly 3 years I never heard this expression! Thanks to you I have learnt new thing!
ReplyDeleteAnd I also have similar set of questions! :)))
Stoooor kos fra Sylwia :)))
Let me see if I can shed some light on your questions... Norwegians (in general) is like a flock of sheep. We do what the others do. (Standing out and having your own opinion can be scary, don't you know?) So when someone thought taco on a Friday was a great idea, it quickly caught on. We don't use our indicators or car horns because we see that so many others don't bother. And the shops are closed on Sundays because we're also old-fashioned and like some things to be the way they've always been (old Christian values die hard - keep God's day of rest holy). As for the supermarkets - we probably wouldn't know what to do if there was too much choice suddenly - it takes a long time to get a big herd shifting after all.
ReplyDeleteOh, and having a 5 year old son I know only too well about the fascination with big boobs... Sånn er det bare :-)
Janne! You crack me up! Thank you for not taking offense! (but being married to a brit yourself I'm sure you have been asked some of these questions yourself!)
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