Viking Magazine - October 2010 - 22

All the contestants encountered
stereotypical Norwegian reserve. Tauring
soon became aware that she and
the other Americans were much louder
than the Norwegians around them.
Yet, one-on-one, Harriday discovered a
different side of her hosts. " They have a
very warm and generous spirit of wanting
to share about their experiences and
hear about someone else's, " she says.
The participants were overwhelmed
by Norway's breathtaking mountains,
waterfalls and
fjords. Upon arriving in
Oslo, they were flown
to Stavanger and then
to Prekestolen (Pulpit
Rock) by helicopter. The
Americans' awe was part
of the show's appeal for
Norwegian viewers. " Alt
for Norge " fan Knut
Høyer, who works with
Oslo's T-bane (metro
transit), observes, " It was special that
people who had never been in our
magnificent land should also experience
our beautiful nature. "
For Aaseng, an avid outdoorsman, it
was exhilarating to run up a mountain
and herd cows down, rappel a waterfall,
bushwhack cross-country, river-raft
and even stand polar-bear watch while
camping-all in the course of competition.
Several Norwegians told him they
envied the participants' opportunity to
ski and orienteer in Svalbard.
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During the first challenge, Tauring
wanted to dash down the mountain
from Prekestolen. Instead, she stayed
with a participant struggling to make
it down safely. Tauring did not win the
race, but she did receive the show's first
Norwegian Spirit Award for exemplifying
Norwegian sportsmanship, which
exempted her from being eliminated in
the next contest.
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in teaching them the national anthem.
Then each sang it, solo and backed by a
band, for the crowd.
In Episode 2, the contestants participated
in Norway's russefeiring: high
school students' traditional, largely
drunken, prelude to graduation. Technically,
the blue russ team won. Tauring
and her teammates earned the privilege
of wearing bunader, national dress
from their ancestral regions, during
the 2009 Syttende Mai parade in Oslo.
When Tauring saw her bunad from
Sogn og Fjordane, she wept, " I feel like
I belong in it. "
But for Aaseng and Harriday, on the
losing team, the elimination challenge
itself became a prize. During a community
celebration at a school, the
participants had to enlist Norwegians
Overcome, Aaseng choked up on
camera while talking about his Syttende
Mai performance of " Ja, Vi Elsker " and
how much he regrets never joining in
with his late father-in-law, who dearly
loved singing it.
For Harriday, Syttende Mai was the
most memorable, authentic day. " We
got to just sit and talk with whole families,
from babies to great-grandparents,
and understand why the seventeenth of
May is important. " That day she also
learned about the influx of immigrants
who have changed Norway " in a way
it's never seen in its history. " Harriday
recalls, " There were people at this event
who were clearly from different backgrounds,
but they were literally on the
perimeter of the event. "
continued on page 24...
Viking Magazine - October 2010

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