Blog Posts tagged with "bridge"

As I mentioned in my vlog last week I was in Bergen, Norway during my official co-hosting duties with the Norwegian Chief of Defense, General Harald Sunde, for the Northern European Chief of Defense (CHOD) Conference. As "The Fjord Capital of Norway", Bergen is often described as "a city with its feet in the sea, its head in the skies, and its heart in the right place." What I didn't mention in the vlog is I found myself in a situation that affected my head and heart before the conference had even begun.

Here I am meeting The Shellman for the first time.

The night before the conference, our Norwegian host invited us to join him for dinner at a restaurant isolated on one of the beautiful fjord islands along the waterways in Bergen. Cornelius at the Island sits among the fjords, and they are proud to serve some of the best seafood in the world. The owner of the restaurant is a third generation shell farmer, having been in the business since 1975. He is known by his famous nickname, "The Shellman," and had several varieties of live seafood on display that he had caught himself in the local waters just prior to our dinner.

At the start of the dinner, the Shellman was describing the seafood from the region and he picked up a raw crab from a bowl that was next to him and said that one of the most flavorful ways to eat the crab was eating him right away…uncooked, shell and all. He demonstrated after his next breath and ate about half of the very fresh crab. It was quite a surprise to everyone at the dinner and we watched in amazement as he chewed through his raw, shelled crab. Then he turned to me and offered the same deal. The famous saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" applies also to Bergen and the Bergensers, so I jumped at the chance to experience this wonderful delicacy that I now think of as "the ultimate sushi".

After the great Norwegian dinner that doubled as a culinary lesson, General Sunde addressed our international group by highlighting a point that I have always held high: the importance of culture for greater understanding. After enjoying the beauty of Bergen and their seafood, the general surprised us next by adding the sense of sound to our experience by introducing Norway's famous cello player, Johan Sebastian Blum, who played a collection of some of Norway's most famous melodies. It was truly a moving experience, and while I listened to the music, I was inspired by the general's effect to magnify his point on the importance of culture through several examples.

I have often talked about the power that comes from understanding a country's culture. At EUCOM, I've tried to find ways to increase our understanding of European culture throughout our organization as we continue our important work on building and strengthening our relationships with partner nations. A few examples are:

- Our Next Generation Advisory Panel (NGAP) of young European civilian leaders from several European countries that I meet with on a regular basis;

- The Notable Author series, that brings important historical context in an open forum for discussion with our staff;

- Our Academic Outreach division, which recently brought an expert on Russian and Central European security issues as a part of the EUCOM Forum for International Affairs Speaker Series;

- The EUCOM Strategic Languages Program has joined our headquarters with the Defense Language Institute for foreign language training to staff members.

The Shellman gives me the thumbs up as I try the raw crab.

I encourage all of you to help build bridges by looking for your own opportunities to understand as much as you can about another country's culture. And if you ever get to Bergen, Norway - try the crab….it's great!

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe