Conference turris::scandia

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                           -< All about Scandinavia >-
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Note 16.6                      Swedish Government                         6 of 6
DIEHRD::MAHLER "Don't touch me. I'm all slimy!"      13 lines  25-SEP-1987 16:54
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    Hilsen Fra Concord!

    My name is Michael Mahler and my interest in Scandia stems
    from having a friend during college from Stockholm, a very
    close friend from here who is first generation from Bergen,
    Norway, and most recently a friend from Odense, DENMARK who
    I am going to visit during Xmas this year...

    Skol!

    Michael

    Neil Savage, Layered Products writer, SCANDIA conference moderator.
    ZKO2-3/O04     DTN:381-2149
    
    Experiment in International Living - outbound program to Sweden/Norway,
    Summer 1962. Returned to visit homestay families in 1965 and 1969.
    
    Married: Lucia Chamberlain (Olsson) in 1966. Three sons, Eric,
    Christopher, and Andrew. One daughter, Lucia, sixth in matrilinial
    decent.
    
    Collector of anything and everything to do with Sweden. Co-inventor
    of "Swedish meatloaf."
    
    Can't recall any other accomplishments - at least none that are related
    to Scandinavian topics.

    The Finnish noters do have a topic all their own (Note 24). Sirkku
    describes herself in Note 14.6

      Dave Royer ex USN, and Presently F.S. Engineer...transfering
    to training as Instructor of Hardware at Bedford.  Dec employee
    since October 1980.  
    
      I boarded my first ship (a survey ship) in Bergen, Norway in
    December of 1960.  We had ports of call every 30 or so days,
    the Ports were Trondheim, Stavanger, and Bergen.  I fell in love
    with the people and the customs.  I will never forget the first
    Norweigan Independence day I observed.  May 17, 1961 the weather
    was beautiful and the streets were littered with the droppings
    of the celebrants, I remarked to my companion (female) that 
    the streets would be littered for some time to come.  She said
    no that on the contrary they would be clean by morning,  doubting
    this I was astounded to see the normally clean streets spic and
    span in the morning.  
      Of course the Hansa Pilsner could have some part in the
    love that I feel for this My adopted (in Heart) land..
    I applied for A District Support Position in 1983 and was 
    accepted in Oslo, but as a native with restrictions.  You
    as a non Norske cannot purchase land and the housing market
    is not as easy if you can not buy the lot to build. Yes, you
    can lease for your natural life but with no provisions for
    your heirs.  I did not accept the Position.  If an international
    relocation could have been worked out I would be working
    there now.
    
    Dave R.

    
    
    My name is George Spatoulas, Solutions Architect Consultant in
    Farmington Hills, Michigan (Detroit Office). I am new with DEC and
    just discovered VAXnotes.  What a suprise to see things about SWEDEN
    great job.  I work for the Engineering Resource Center (ERC) which
    is part of the SIC at the detroit ACT.                                      
    
    My backround: born in Greece and then went to Austria to Innsbruck
    University 1972-1977.  In the summers (and few Christmas) went to
    SWEDEN for summer jobs. I learned (to speak more than write) the
    language just by myself.  I loved it so much over there that I was
    going to finish my school in Stockholm, but the parents in the USA won
    over SWEDEN.  
    
    As somebody in the replies said when I'm rich I will move overthere
    for good (assuming I convice my american wife).
    
    If anybody from DEC in any scandinavian office needs any Engineering
    consulting you will not have to twist my arm to come for help !!!   
    
    ...gss...

    
    Hej!
    
    My name is Raf Van den Eede. I joined Digital about mid June, and I've 
    been following this conference ever since I found out about its existence.
    Only I never had the time to introduce myself.
    
    Well, here I am. 
    
    How do I come to be interested in Scandinavia? Don't know, I think
    I was born with it. I just always felt attracted to that mysterious,
    beautiful, and unknown North. Perhaps it's because most people down
    here go south for the holidays. If you say you go north, some people
    think you have bats (and clearly more than one) in the belfry!
    
    Anyway, I studied Germanic languages at university, more specifically
    English, Swedish, a bit of Danish (got a sore throath in the process),
    and an even smaller bit of Norwegian. (It seems bats multiply rapidly!)
    It's a pity you hear so little of these languages around here. 
    (They call them "exotic" down here!) You seem to lose contact the day
    you leave university... (Anyone there want to start some Swedish
    conversation? Might allow polishing it up a bit...)
    
    I've been on holiday in Scandinavia twice, stopping by Denmark and
    the Swedish west coast, but mainly touring southern Norway. And
    like most of you, I DEFINITELY want to go back. I'm dreaming already...
    
    Raf.                           
    
    
    
      
    

    Go'daw do !
    
    My name is Martin , and I am working in/relocated to, Valbonne France.
    I have worked as field service engineer in dec-DK since '80, and now
    I work in the Remote center in south france.
    Actually there is quite a lot of scandinavians down here, most of
    them on relocation for three years.
    
    Why do I reply ?
    
    Well, being a Dane, coming from the nr 2 city of Danmark, Aarhus,
    I thought it would be possible to join the network 'scandinavian'
    community.
    I like to get inputs on other parts of our world, so if I can answer
    somebody's questions, feel free to ask...
    
    Curiosoty as well has made me enter here, it's astonnishing to me
    that there is so many "non" scandinavian names in the replies.
    
    Can anybody tell me why ??? (well, I know that peoples mothers get
    new names from time to time when thy marry).
    
    With curiosity and GODT NYTAAR     ><>Martin

    TO .9
    MARTIN, I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD YEAR, I AM AT THE
    
    TRAINING CENTER IN BEDFORD MASSACHUSETTS NOW READ .6
    
    FOR MY REASON,  I ALSO ENJOYED SOME TIME IN KOBENHAVN
    
    AS WELL.  BEING TRUE TO THE SEA, I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT
    
    THAT OFFLINE SOME TIME.. DAVE R.
    

    Hi,
    
    I'm Ken Larson,
    
    I'm writing from the ACT outside Chicago, where I've been working
    for DEC since Thanksgiving, 1987. I've recently discovered the Notes
    and this excellent topic and appreciate the opportunity to read
    about the "old country" as my grandparents called it.  
    
    I am a second generation Norweigian immigrant to the U.S.  My
    grandparents on both my father's side and my mother's side came
    to the U.S. around the turn of the century and settled in Wisconsin.
    My mother's family originated in Flekkafjord (SP?), Norway and moved
    around Madison, Wisconsin in the U.S. (There are a lot of Nulands
    and Gylands in that lineage). My father's family moved to Door County
    in Wisconsin. But they all can be traced to Norway.
    
    I guess I'd better answer a question before it is asked. Why the
    Swedish spelling on the Norweigian name? The story given to me blames
    my grandfather, Thomas Larson.  He lived on the same farm in southern
    Door county (NE of Green Bay) with my great-grandfather, Thorsten
    Larsen.  Both of them had T. Larsen on the Mailbox and got mail
    addressed to T.Larsen at the same address.  My grandfather changed
    the spelling to avoid the confusion. (In my mind, it would have
    been easier to write Thomas Larsen on the mailbox).
    
    My parents met and married in Chicago, where I was raised with my
    brother. I am currently living in Downers Grove, Illinois. One of
    my goals is to visit the "old country" (which I think is a misnomer
    since Norway is obviously a growing, dynamic, new country).  I am
    involved in the Sons of Norway here, particularly the Torsk Klub.
    
    The Torsk Klub meets on the second Saturday of the Month in Arlington
    Heights, Illinois (this is my second plug for this).  If you are
    in the area, stop in for a meal of fresh codfish (flown in from
    Boston), potatoes, flatbread, carrots and excellent desserts and
    last but not least, Linne Aquavit. 
    
    I do get to see a little of Norway on the second Saturday of the
    Month.
    
    
    Ken
    

I've been interested in this notes file all along but not until my recent flirt
with the idea of taking a quick and low cost winter trip to Stockholm have I
gotten back into here.  

My connections are real tenuous: my great grandfather (is the Swedish word
farfarfar legit?) came from Sweden, hence the name Peterson.  I don't know
where he came from.

I want to learn more of Sweden; from what I have encountered in my U.S.-only
living I am intrigued.  I started learning Swedish via a taped course recently,
for my now cancelled trip.  But, as I like to think the trip as merely being
postponed, I am continuing the lessons.  I  haven't checked the rest of the
file thoroughly, but I hope to find notes in Swedish for practice reading.

I am intrigued as well that more Scandinavian writers aren't showing up in this
note.  Perhaps it has something to do with the instant popularity they'd
experience, and they are feeling modest.  :-)

\bob
/\peterson

re .12
	Bob,
		The Norwegian name for great grandfather is oldefar,
		great great grandfather = tippoldefar,
		I'm not quite shure if the names are the same in
		Swedish....

		hilsen fra Norge
	
		Svein Nordrum

re: .12:

In Swedish, I've heard "farfarsfar," which translates directly as
grandfather's father (the 's' is the possessive morpheme).

Swedish is interesting in that the lineage is preserved:

farfar		father's father
morfar		mother's father
farmor		father's mother
mormor		mother's mother

Also, "uncle" (farbror/morbror), "aunt" (faster/moster) 
encode the "path" of the relationship.

Martin.

    My name is Dottie Dyer and work for DEC in Hudson, MA as a Telecom
    Analyst/Supervisor.  My daughter married "A Great Dane" named Nielsen
    and is living in Kobenhavn at present. She works for The Geological
    Institute.  We spent a good deal of time with them last summer and
    fell in love with the islands and Jutland.  It is a beautiful clean,
    friendly country and would love to retire there by the sea.
    Cannot wait to visit again.  Am in the process of learning the language
    but find the grammar difficult...........

       
    
    

    My name is Charlotta Olsen and work in Marlboro Ma. A Swedo-Finn
    which means a real minority since only ca.6 % in Finland are swedish
    speaking.Lived in Stockholm for almost 10 years,where I also went
    to college.Belong to a couple of 
    Scandinavian organisations like Scandia,Finlandia,Svea so,,
    my next point was= if you are interested in SCandinavian events.
    There is a "shrimp party" on 2 April at "the country club" in 
    Burlington Ma.Call Torill Knutrud at 481-5277.
    This one is organized by Scandia. An other interesting event coming
    up is true Svea,having a speaker Anna Edey [ solar greenhouse owner
    on Marthas Vineyard ] coming to Boston area I think sometime soon.
    Have not been to Scandinavia since 1986 and this year I have several
    cousins coming here [ with the dollar being so low and very cheap
    trips] Pan Am is flying from Finland for ca.1900 mk round trip
    cheaper than staying home.My sister and husband is coming in May.
    So,tell all your relatives to come visit this year.
    
    Halsningar,Charlotta
    ]
    
    

    Wanted to join this notes file to help get back in touch with my
    "roots"!  My mom is 100% Norwegian.  Her parents came to the U.S.
    in the 20's from Lillehammer (sp?).  Her maiden name is Gude...Hans
    Gude, the painter, is my great, great grandfather!  I grew up with
    roomfuls of antique Norwegian furniture and old portraits, but have
    never been to Norway (sigh!).  My father is Colombian and French,
    thus the non-Scandinavian last name.  Always have a Norwegian
    Christmas, however, with a huge smorgasbord, julekake, gjetost,
    etc., with mom in her traditional costume.  Any relations out there?
    
    My name is Karin (pronounced "Car-in").  I've been with DEC for
    about 7 months.  Have been out here in Palo Alto, CA for 4 years.
    Family is all in Mass.  Good to meet everyone!
    

    Yikes!  That's why I need to get BACK in touch!  Just talked with
    my mom to find out that her parents came over from OSLO, not
    Lillehammer as I thought.  Her father was from Bygdoy and mother
    from Sandefjord.  I'm going to keep digging for more info.  Gotta
    get the facts straight!
    
    thanks,
    
    karin
    

My name is Geoff Rummel and I work in the Business Finance Dept. 
at the Copenhagen office. I'm an American citizen now in my
sixth year abroad.

I came to Denmark as an AIESEC trainee after finishing my
degree. My interest in Scandinavia stemmed originally from an
interest in the women, specifically the one I married. Now my
interest in Scandinavia has broadened to include Scandinavian
children, of which I have two. Named Svend Olav and Henrik Georg,
for those looking for good Scandinavian names that are easy to
spell and not to hard to pronounce in American. 

I will share a few few of my impressions of this place after 
having lived here for the past six years:

- Friendly people once you get to know them. Getting to know 
  them ain't easy. Northern Europeans are not exactly known for 
  their openness.

- Pretty countryside, theoretically not as flat as Holland's.
  Alas, I miss the Rocky Mountains. There are mountains in
  Norway, but that's a day's drive away.

- One of the world's worst climates. Cool, cloudy, and rainy in
  the summer and cool, cloudy, and rainy in the winter. The air
  is permanently moist due to the proximity of the sea
  (Copenhagen is on an island). A wonderful climate for keeping
  children permanently sick with colds...

- Long days in the summer balanced by fairly short winter days.
  Winter darkness nowhere near as bad as the rest of
  Scandinavia. If only we had more sun and warmth to go with the
  long days and some snow to go with the long nights...

- Some of the world's highest taxes. Cars are taxed 180%. A 
  Saab 9000 Turbo will set you back about $85,000. You can
  pick up a used 15 year old Corvette Stingray for around
  $30,000. A cheap (Korean) VCR costs around $700. Clothing and
  shoes cost 2 to 3 times what they cost in the U.S.

- The world's best daycare. Best health care. Very generous
  unemployment benefits. One of the world's best welfare
  systems. Cheap housing (by American Northeast standards) - 
  both public and private. Free (oops! paid for by taxes) 
  university education in a school system that is very
  good. A grade- and high-school system that is also very
  good.

- The world's highest per capita foreign debt, about $9,000 per
  person. Only Ireland, Israel, and Brazil run close behind.

- Lousy politics. Unending procession of weak minority governments
  which helps keep the country in a semi-permanent state of 
  crisis. It is said that if the Danes don't have a political 
  crisis then they'll invent one.

- Over-regulated society. Too many laws regulating every aspect 
  of life. The Danes console themselves by claiming it is worse
  in the other Scandinavian countries... 

- Tivoli gardens. One of the world's oldest amusement parks and 
  still the most charming. Bakken - the world's oldest amusement
  park (started as a medieval marketplace). 



P.S. I recently read "Scandinavian Humor and Other Myths" and 
     was amazed to see how much of it applies to real 
     Scandinavians! Especially since it was written with
     2nd or 3rd generation Scandinavian-Americans in mind.


P.P.S. Any visitors to Copenhagen are welcome to drop by...

  My name is Chad Leigh.  All of my great grandparents on my mom's side
  were from Norway.  Names were Paulsen and Ogadahl (sp? -- they changed it
  to Thompson when they got to the US to Thompson).  We have many traditions
  in our family that are Norwegian in flavor.  For some reason, Sweden also
  tugs at me so I have interest in both.  I taught myself a bit of Swedish
  (reading and writing) from 2 books ( "Schwedisch in 30 Stunden" and
  "Schwedisches Lehrbuch", both by Langenscheidt and both to be recommended
  for those German speakers)  Germany is another one of my favored places
  and the only place I have been in Europe, including a 2 year stint for my
  Church.  I have unfortunately not been to Scandinavia myself though my mom has
  and had wonderful stories and slides to show.  Luckily there are still
  relatives that we know there in Norway that are willing to put us up and
  have us visit.  My goal is to end up perhaps permanently in either Sweden
  or Norway, though my next goal is a job with DEC in Germany/Munich in perhaps
  3 or so years.

CHad

NORGE::CHAD   :-)

	re: .19


>>	  Saab 9000 Turbo will set you back about $85,000. 

	The price is, from ~180,000 Skr, up to ~250,000 Skr, depending on
	model.            (~$28,000)          (~$40,000).

				Anders.

    hello all,

    my name is Herbert Roettenbacher , i am working as VIA/OLTP 
    consultant in the Stuttgart office (W-Germany).

    i joined DEC about 8 years ago.

    My interest for this notesfile originates from an event that occured
    13 years ago, when i met a nice girl from ICELAND.
    2 years later we were married, having two nice girls in the meantime.

    i have been to Iceland several times, but only for vacation, so my 
    icelandic is even  worse than my english.

    my major other interest is cycling and the ultimate goal is 
    combining cycling and Iceland, which means a bicycle tour thru
    the inner highlands of iceland, which are normally only reachable
    by 4wheel-drive jeeps.

    currently i am on an OLTP training program in reading (UK)
    (that's why i have to use this account), my regular mail
    address is

	SUOSW3::ROETTEN

    you are welcome to contact me if you think i can be of any help.

    regards

	herbert

	My name is David Wilmer Nelson. I joined DEC about a month
	ago and have been reading this notes file avidly.  My 
	great grandfather came from Sweden and settled in the
	northwestern area of Pennsylvania.  When I was a boy of
	14 I travelled to Scandanavia with my family.  Supposedly
	The orignal last name was something like Nellson or Nellsson
	but was changed when my great grandfather arrived in America.

	ACESMK::NELSON

    Hi, my name is Jeff Greiman.  I'm half German and half Norwegian.  My
    mother's maiden name is Prestholt.  I was fortunate enough to travel
    with my family to Norway in August, 1986.  We spent two memorable weeks
    travelling from Oslo > Telemark area (Bo) > Mandal > Stavanger > Bergen
    > Oslo.  We visited relatives in the Telemark area....so beautiful.
    The car drive from Bergen to Oslo was outstanding!!!  I'd go back in
    a minute.  Would like to join a Sons of Norway group in Massachusetts
    in the near future and also try to learn Norwegian.
    
    I'm originally from northern Iowa and now live in Worcester, MA.  Work
    as a Sr. Hardware Engineer in Shrewsbury, MA.  

    Hejsan,
    
    My name is Thomas Nieburg; born and have  lived in  Stockholm
    until 19-MAY-1990. I have  just relocated to the Boston-area for a 
    period of 3 years.
    I'm located in Shrewsbury. 
    
    Cheers,
    
    Thomas

    Just  found this conference.  My mother is originally Norsk but is
    now a (US) citizen, but she is living part time over there.  She
    comes from Larvik and some of the family come from Sandefjord.
    
    I spent many summers/Christmases in Norway and even for a short time
    went to school there.  (Now that was an experience!)  My language
    skills are dreadful, but.... I get by.
              
    Actually, I am going to Copenhagen in November and then on to Norway
    for a visit, with husband in tow.  He's never been and so I can
    show him the sights - if I remember them! 
    
    I'm writing this to see if I can touch bases with anyone over there
    if there is time.
      
    Linda

    
    Hej og farvel fra danmark!
    
    Saying farewell after almost 8 years is not an easy thing to do. I 
    am leaving Digital at the end of April. I start a new job May 1st
    with Coca Cola Denmark. 

    Digital has been a great company to work for these past 8 years.
    Until the recovery comes - keep the faith!
    
    This has been a great conference. I wish you all nothing but
    the best in the future. Take care.
    
    
    Cheers, 
    
    Geoff