Brunost

Do you remember this horrible medicine with the exceptionally fake strawberry taste that as a child, who respected yourself, made your mum's life difficult to take down this poor spoon of it, waiting patiently in front of your mouth for ages, but after a while you got so addicted that you were going in secret to find out where she had stored it in order to get another sip?

That's pretty much my story with brunost! First time I tried it I completely and ultimately hated it, only to make my Norwegian friends, who so proudly offered it to me, feel disappointed and now there is always  in my fridge...

Funnily enough the people who actually convinced me to try again were a German colleague in a Friday waffle session at work (a post will come soon about this fantastic habit) and a Turkish friend making a Norwegian recipe! So afterwards I experimented with the different types and found which one I liked...
Well, I have to admit that I widen a bit my definition of cheese so that it could fit. You see, feta and brunost are REALLY different but it ended up to be a success story!

My suggestion to anyone who wants to offer it is to present it properly. One of the reason that people dislike it is that they experience a completely different thing than what they expect ( yes, yes once again...)!

So my advice consists of a few rules:

1. Avoid by all means any reference to the word 'cheese', not at the beginning at least. The most common concept of cheese involves a very milky and often salty taste.
2. Please describe in advance the sticky properties of it (code word: teeth)
3. Inform for the sweet taste as well
4. Do the trick with the waffle!!! It works as a charm! : )
5. Offer more than one type. With the second trial people are already starting to get used to it!

Good luck from a former brunost sceptical and a current brunost lover!!

Concerts report

Here is my little comment on the concerts I enjoyed lately. 

Razika

Teenage (not really) girls who know what rhythm is. They will definitely dominate norwegian scene when they become a bit more confident. I surely enjoyed their concert even though I felt I was the oldest among the rest. Favourite member the very little one playing the bass! So sweet!!! 

Kaizers orchestra

Oh they are simply fantastic!! They are performers! What I experienced in their concert was absolutely satisfying! Great music, extreme energy! Theater and concert in one! However, I have to admit that when I listen to their songs at home I get a headache after an hour. But in their concert everything makes absolutely sense! I can easily say: I'm a groupie!  

Susanne Sundfør

A new album full of gems! She is a very very talented artist with a wonderful voice! BUT why on earth she decided to change her performing style from introvert girl to the (so common to my opinion) sexy type of woman? And I have to clarify one thing here. Yes her style last year needed some improvement, being hidden behind the synthesizer for the whole of the concert wasn't the best for sure, and I had concluded that you actually didn't need to look at the scene because the eagles hugging around didn't offer much of excitement... The scene director did excellent work, especially with the lights and taken her out of her shell. This time I was actually looking at her but I couldn't help myself of not wondering why a musician needs to prove that she is sexy too!? Anyways, I have faith that she will balance it. I'm sure that if it was so apparent to me, it must have been to many others, too. I just believe that this sexy style doesn't fit with her lyrics. 

Harrys Gym

I went to their concert just yesterday and I'm listening their songs right now. Great great powerful music! Favourite member the drummer! Ok, true, I always have this thing with the drummers, but in some songs his performance was so intense that it was impossible to look to anywhere else! I also like how relaxed were before and after their performance. Standing among the rest of us while the support band was playing in the scene, drinking beers and chatting afterwards. I don't know why but artists who play it cool and distant from the audience lose some of my respect. I suppose that is general thing with me, I dislike divas and people who brag for who they are. 

Bernhoft: I love the guy but seriously I'm so frustrated that his concerts are sold out so fast! So no I haven't been in his performance. He is going to play in Jazzfest in May, and I seriously consider to get the festival ticket because of course his concert is sold out -written as sold out even in the brochure!!! For god sake you can have a second performance, we love you man!!! 

Confidence at work

Today it's raining and it fits perfectly with my melancholic mood. Lately I have troubles at work. I feel as if either I am into something very difficult or I'm horribly bad. Most probably the truth is in the middle; I'm bad in something relatively difficult. I have to fix this. I will but nevertheless it upsets me. One should not bother for work related issues in his free time and here this is a general principle. Free time is devoted in well-being and family and this is sacred. I try to adapt but I have found easier to go out jogging even though I hate running than not being concerned with what I have to do the next day.

Another thing I noticed very early was that every single norwegian colleague or acquaintance I had /have was super confident relative to work and in a great extent relaxed at least comparing with my greek ones. How can these people be like this? Don't they have difficult tasks that puzzle them?

I tend to believe that it must have something to do with the way they are trained, the way their studies are structured or the way they are raised. Maybe the later, I feel that this super confidence is widespread in many other aspects of life as well. 

I definitely want to have this quality at least at work and being relaxed wouldn't hurt either. But I still haven't found the key to adapt on this.