People

Sky meets Earth.

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At 1222 metres above sea level, Finse in Norway lies at the highest point on the railway between the city of Bergen in the west and the Norwegian capital Oslo in the east. Finse is a favoured location for both winter and summer activities.

Finse is also a favoured location for learning how to build snow caves. The KFUK-KFUM Scouts in Bergen (pictured above) annually offer their youth members a course in building snow caves. Having the tools, knowledge and skills to build a snow cave may be what gets you out alive if you suddenly find yourself surprised by bad weather, lost or simply did not turn back in time.

On winter days when the sky is so white that is seemingly merges into the ground, when snow and fog envelop any landmarks around you, and when there is no sunshine or moonlight to contour your white surroundings, you are at extra high risk of getting lost.

Learning how to build a snow cave may then be what saves you from leaving Earth and entering Heaven a little too soon.

Articles available at:

http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article7292984.ece

http://www.ba.no/nyheter/article7292975.ece

Photo credit: Britt Embry

Colours of Buddhism.

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1v Tempel i kongens palass, thailand juli-august 2007 235    1v thailand juli-august 2007 210 (3)

Bangkok, Thailand.

Colours remain significant in the everday practice of Buddhism. The most common Buddhist flag is made of the colours blue, yellow, red, white and orange. In some variations of this flag, the colour orange is replaced with maroon, green or pink.

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BLUE symbolises UNIVERSAL COMPASSION for all beings.

YELLOW symbolises the MIDDLE WAY, which avoids extremes and brings balance and liberation.

RED symbolises the BLESSINGS that the practice of the Buddhas Teaching brings.

WHITE symbolises the PURITY of the Buddhas Teaching and the LIBERATION that it brings.

ORANGE symbolises the WISDOM of Buddhas Teaching.

Facts and flag credit: The Buddhist Council of Queensland

Photo credit: Britt Embry

Boys wanted.

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While railway modelling is a hobby that is mainly associated with boys and men, dancing, as both a hobby and a sport, experiences the opposite: Most dancers at Hildemors Dansesenter in Bergen are girls and women, because few boys and men choose to take up dancing.

The trend is said to be true across Norway, and the reason explained to me is that many boys and men feel shy and are sometimes teased if they admit they like to dance. Indeed, among the parents and grandparents present during my visit, the dads and granddads giggled a polite “no thank you” when asked to take part in my story for the newspaper. One dancing boy even told me that under no circumstances must he have his photo in the newspaper, because nobody at his school knows that he dances.

In jazz, street and hip-hop, being a solo girl is not a problem. However, if a girl wishes to do partner dances, she must often find a female partner. Meanwhile, a boy can pick and chose the dance partner that suits him best. This, the dance centre said, explains why the few boys and men that do dance tend to excel.

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Photo credit: Britt Embry

Not just about trains.

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Railway modelling is not just about building and driving model trains. Landscapes, buildings, people and all the other things that exist in the real world also need scaling down, in the instance in these photos, to the scale of 1:87.

The level of detail and dexterous skill involved in railway modelling may therefore seem a job well suited the female’s small and nimble fingers. Yet, railway modelling is still considered a strictly male pastime. Among the approximately 2500 members of the Norwegian Railway Club, a club which makes model railways, only a couple of its members are female.

The club’s division in Bergen annually organises a model railway exhibition. Here, the club has experienced that women simply are not that interested in the trains themselves or in the technical and electrical aspects of railway modelling. However, they do frequently ask questions about how the landscapes, houses and figurines have been made.

By emphasising the latter aspect of railway modelling, the Bergen division now hopes that more women will be encourraged to take part. After all, a man’s hands may sometimes become the bull in the china shop when attempting the interior decorations of a tiny house.

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Photo credit: Britt Embry

Snakes’ Ambassador.

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What does it take for many people to understand the value and importance of each species of mammal, bird, fish and reptile in nature, including the much demonised snake?

Animals in captivity may serve as ambassadors for their wild and threatened kin, provided they are properly taken care of with regards to living space, food and stimulance that will assure them a mentally and physically healthy life.

At the Oslo Reptile Park, many visitors learn for the first time that snakes are not slimy, that not all snakes can or wish to kill you, and that snakes ususally will not bite a human unless they are surprised or provoked. And did you know that snakes, like the ball python above, have individual personalities, just like humans do?

Snakes regulate the number of rodents, frogs, birds and other populous species that humans otherwise would have a very difficult time regulating without the snake – although introducing a non-indigenous species into a new environment may upset the existing balance and lead to mass-extinction among the native species.

Maintaining a snakes natural habitat and a healthy snake population is vital. And sometimes the only way we can understand the value and importance of something is if we can see, touch and feel it ourselves.

Photo credit: Britt Embry

The Vietnam veteran from Norway.

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In 1951, when Leif Marøy was 10 years old, his family moved from Arna in Bergen, Norway to Minneapolis in Minnesota, USA. 15 years later he found himself sitting on a plane bound for the Vietnam War, to serve his duty as a jet fighter mechanic in the American Air Force.

Marøy was a keen photographer, and through the lens he captured many impressions that have stayed with him throughout his life. He particularly remembers the time he and some fellow airmen built a school for Vietnamese children who lived close to the air base. But mostly, he remembers this: There is nothing glorious about war.

Marøy and his parents and brother returned to Norway not long after his return from the war, a war in which his cousin died.

Photo credit: Britt Embry