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Interviews

From Kentucky to Skien: My New Norwegian Home

Hi. My name is Evelyn. I’m from Kentucky, USA and I now live in Skien, Norway.

1. Why did you move abroad?
I just can’t get enough of snow!  No, really, I actually moved abroad to be with my husband. We were in a long-distance relationship and for us personally, it just made more sense for me to move than him to uproot his already established life.

2. How do you make a living?
Currently I’m a language student. I probably won’t begin work until either our daughter (who will be born in September) is old enough for me to not stay at home with her or I’m finished with language courses.  I go to these language courses a few hours a day, 4 days a week. They have been a huge help with learning Norwegian, but as anyone studying a language knows it takes a lot of time and it really doesn’t happen overnight. I do feel better knowing I’ve learned a lot more Norwegian than I did when I first arrived in Norway – AND I just had a conversation with a 9 or 10 year old the other day!!! Small things like that give me some hope when I’m feeling frustrated with learning the language.  

3. How often do you communicate with home and how?
I communicate often with family from home. Either by Facebook, Skype, email or all 3.

4. What's your favorite thing about being an expat in Norway?
I really love going on a hike and being in a place which looks like you’ve stepped inside a postcard. I think Norway is an extremely beautiful country. I also love how since it is a small country, traveling to another country is similar to traveling to another state in the US. I’ve been able to see many new places I would have never even dreamed of seeing before.

5. What’s the worst thing about being an expat in Norway?
I feel a little guilty when I complain, but the very worst thing besides being so far away from friends and family is the weather. There’s a saying here that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” So, just dress like the weather is out to kill you and you’ll probably be fine.

Like everyone else learning a new language, I have my days where I’m really ambitious and I really find learning the language fun, but other - or well, most days, I’m extremely frustrated with learning it. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, but it takes patience to learn a new language. However, I firmly believe Norwegian prepositions are the source of all evil’s gift to immigrants learning the language. I’m not exaggerating!

6. What do you miss most?
I really miss family, but that’s just a given and it’s expected. At this time, I’m 5 months pregnant and I would seriously consider giving up my right arm for some food from Taco Bell. I’m really missing Taco Bell. Being more realistic (and knowing I will be able to stuff my face with burritos on my next trip to the USA), considering my own circumstances of being an expat (I know every expat’s story is different) I miss my independence most. I’ve been in Norway for nearly a year and I have to rely on my husband greatly. Of course I still live my daily life without his help. I can go to a store, order food, go to the post office alone, but there are still a lot of things about Norway I’m learning and if I need help I have to rely on him to fix whatever problem it is. Of course I appreciate my husband being supportive and trying so hard to make my adjustment here as easy as possible, it will be great when I learn enough about life and the language here to not rely on him so much.

7. What did you do to meet people and integrate in your new home?
I didn’t really have to do much. Being married to a Norwegian, my social net was already established and it didn’t take too much to integrate. I’m friends with my husband’s friends’ wives and I take Norwegian courses so, I’ve met a few good friends from there.

8. What custom/ habits do you find most strange about your adopted culture?
I really don’t find a lot strange about Norway. There are a few things of course, like when I first moved here I thought the outdoor kindergartens and babies napping outside were odd, but after reading into it and observing it more that’s no longer a concern for me. I guess if anything still strikes me as strange it would be certain types of food here. There’s a lot of fish here – fish cakes, fish heads on ice, tørrfisk which is some type of dry fish you can find hanging from the ceiling of some grocery stores, fish soup, dried salmon, lutefisk, fish pudding (no idea what that is) and fish burgers among other forms of seafood. If you’ve constantly grown up around seafood I’m sure that’s fine, but I have to turn my head every time I walk past a Norwegian deli with fish and had to avoid certain places completely the first few months of this pregnancy due to the seafood being widely available.

9. What is a myth about your adopted country?
There are a lot of myths I think. I’ve heard everything from “They’re all socialists” to “Norwegians are rude” to “Aren’t they all a bunch of blonde peasant fishermen?” Honestly, I’m not one to talk politics and I’m not too certain what a “socialist” even is, but Norway does have an excellent welfare system. Women get 1 year paid maternity leave, men get paid “Daddy leave” and are encouraged to take a large part in child rearing, healthcare is inexpensive and if you pay more than 2000 NOK (about $340 USD) within a year, you receive a card in the mail which allows you to not pay for any more medical expenses, pregnant women as I found out do not have to pay anything at a regular doctor visit. There are many labor laws here and the work place is ran on a flat hierarchy, which is great as the laborers are protected, get paid high wages and it is a boss’ or “superior’s” job to work with everyone – and also 5 weeks vacation a year. Public and higher education is inexpensive as well, of course there are a few fees and students have to purchase books for higher education. I love this aspect of Norwegian society as it just brings about a more caring atmosphere.

As far as rude Norwegians go, I think there are rude people everywhere, but I think the general consensus is Norwegians are reserved and there’s no empty small talk among strangers. You’re probably not going to be spoken to by a stranger in public – unless that stranger is drunk or crazy. There is the tall, blonde haired, blue eyed stereotype when people think of Norway and Sweden and as far as I can tell there are a lot of blondes and well, everyone is taller than me unless they’re a 7 year old, but there is also a lot of diversity as well. Norway is a very rich country and has a high income per capita as well as no national deficit.

10. Is the cost of living higher or lower than the last country you lived in and how has that made a difference in your life?
The cost of living is higher in Norway than in the USA. Well, actually Norway has one of the highest cost of living in the world. Norwegian wages are pretty high, but so is the cost of living and my rule of thumb is to just double everything. When the wages are doubled and the cost of living is doubled, the actual cost of living evens out between life in the US and Norway. The biggest difference it’s made in my life has probably made me a tad bit better at math. Almost every day I’m converting currency in my head and trying to get a grasp of the cost of things here.

11. What advice would you give other expats?
Just go in with an open mind. No matter how similar things are, there will always be things that are different. You will find things “weird” or “strange”, but just take it and roll with it. It always helps to read up about another place before visiting and more importantly, before moving there. It always helps to talk to other expatriates living in the country, but of course it’s best to experience everything yourself. Otherwise you could get a biased perspective of the country you’re moving to. For example, what one person says as, “Everyone is rude” another person may think, “People are generally reserved.” Observe what you can, experience it, live it, then figure out what you think about a different way of life. I think it’s very individual how well a person thrives in a new country and I also think it takes a lot of effort on the expat’s end to make their living in a new place tolerable. I think that’s the best advice I can give other expats.

12. When and why did you start your blog?
I started my blog a few months before I moved to Norway. I was in the moving process and I was also visiting Norway for the first time. I just thought it would be a fun way to talk to other expats, go on my own personal musings and share that with whoever is interested and document my life in Norway.

Evelyn's blog, My New Norwegian Home

Guide to Oslo

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 Author: texkourgan |  2013-06-20 11:43:41