| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Country houses to offer taste of many cultures
Public can mingle with jet-setters at some of the centers
By Stephen Speckman
Deseret News staff writer
Call them cultural microcosms, places where both the public and privileged are invited to sample foreign cuisine, talk international business and visit with folks from other lands.
Country houses or centers have begun setting up shop around Salt Lake City and other nearby cities. Depending on how beckoning the welcome mats, they can be a glimpse into another way of life without leaving Utah.
In places like the Nagano country house, 14 E. Broadway, anyone can walk in, order some authentic Japanese cuisine and learn about an Asian culture. And from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning, they're giving away free samples of miso soup — the goal is to each day give away 1,000 cups of the salty concoction made with rice, barley or soybeans.
"We'd like as many people to try it as possible," said British-born David Chandler. He and his Japanese wife, Taiko, made the trip from Japan as volunteers at the Nagano hospitality center.
Houses for New Zealand and Chile will be stationed on the second floor inside an Olympic merchandise store at 78 S. Main in Salt Lake City.
Korea has invaded 45 E. Broadway with high-tech displays and plans to show traditional dancing inside and just outside its center. Giveaways of country souvenirs will also be held.
"We want to invite some VIPs to come here," said John Kim, who came from Seoul.
He, like other country-house representatives, are hoping for new business contacts. Korea and Austria also are showing off their countries' finer points as bidders for the 2010 Olympic Games.
Goongjin Nam, minister of Korea's Department of Culture, will help officially open the center to the public Saturday.
But in order to visit places like Austria's country house and Japan's site — separate from Nagano — you'll need an invitation, which in many cases essentially means you have to know somebody or be an accredited journalist.
Another 14 country centers, representing Europe, Asia, New Zealand and the Americas, will operate in places as small as a private home to as large as the always popular Dutch Heineken House, which will host private parties at a golf course clubhouse in West Valley City.
There are at least six country houses, though, with public access either at some point during the Games or throughout the Olympics.
For more information on country houses, stop by the visitors information center on Main Street between 100 South and 200 South or visit the Web site www.countrycenter.net. Once at the Web site, just click on country centers and choose a country to learn about — the country centers with a +CCN next to the name actually have a place here during the Games.
E-MAIL: sspeckman@desnews.com
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February 9, 2002
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