A foreigner's perspective on RUSSEN
by Jason Doshi
The RUSS is possibly one of the most incredible things I've encountered in my life. I had the opportunity to go to Norway this summer, just around the time when the RUSS were getting riled up for the annual Constitution Day celebration. You see it's all very strange at first, especially if you're from anywhere besides Norway. The RUSS are basically high school seniors, who have this outstanding sense of camaraderie. To expose their sense of togetherness, the RUSS wear red, blue, or black pants depending on their high school. They also buy old vans (which have been passed down from RUSS to RUSS, about seven or eight RUSS per van), and paint them the color of their high school, and decorate it at their will. Then they drive around aimlessly, techno music blaring at earth shattering decibel levels.
RUSS are perhaps most readily
identified by their business cards, aka russekort: a small snapshot on
the right of the card identifies them, and a few quotes or jokes on the
left complete the package. Little kids go CRAZY over these cards: they're
the hot collector's item, from May 1 to May 17…although I must admit,
I was a bit over-enthused about these cards considering my age…
The RUSS have rituals, as well. They are required to complete certain
tasks, so as to increase their RUSS-status. The tasks are just silly little
pranks or trinkets; I once saw a RUSS cross-country ski through the vinmonopolet
(the Norwegian equivalent of an ABC store).
On May 17, the RUSS just have it out. May 17 is the constitution day, and the night before the RUSS stay up all night, and have the party of the year. There are also parades for the RUSS, courtesy of their respective hometown or high school. The parades involve the RUSS piling into their vans, and driving (slowly!) down the main street in town. People line up on the sides to watch this spectacle-even for a non-Norwegian speaker, the skits and signs they made were hilarious!
All in all, I have to admit that I am very pleasantly surprised by the traditions of the RUSS. Although I mocked it at first, and called the whole scene a shenanigan, I can't help but wish that I was a RUSS when I was in high school. To compensate, I'm considering painting my bike red.