The coming winter is going to be long and cold. Actually as every winter in Norway. From my first year in Norway I write winter strategies. This year I asked on Facebook for ideas but got not so many. So here are my ideas
How to brighten up the winter.
Outside activities (for those who don’t ski;)):
•Scating
•Walking in the park with camera and a thermos of hot cocoa
Learn something new.
•A new language? I am going to read lyrics to latino songs and learn Spanish, yeah!
•A new hobby? My dream is to buy a new camera and learn to take good pics with it
Remix your style.
•Go through your closet and remix your clothes, try to find new matches and take photos of them. Think of new details that will pull your outfits together and give them a fresh look
Cozy little things.
•Go to IKEA, buy a new plaid, candles and other nice cozy stuff
Good movies.
•Find all the movies you’ve wanted to watch, old and new, and do that on long winter evenings: with a candle and a nice cup of tea. To make it better: invite a friend.
Don’t stop the music!
•Fill your room with good rhythms and don’t forget to move!
Aromatherapy.
•Find a new tea with a nice aroma, burn aroma candles and check the stores for a new perfume
Shopping.
•Don’t miss the season sale! Starts right away after Christmas
Theme-night with a friend.
•It can be cooking together, baking pancakes, make-up night, or karaoke. Whatever you like to do – do it together.
New food.
•Go to the immigrant food stores at Grønland and find something new: a tea, spices or sweets
fredag 26. november 2010
fredag 29. oktober 2010
My New Norwegian Name
All the time I have been so proud to own my long Russian last name with four consonants in the beginning of the word (so that no one can read it fast at the first time). It is not famous (though in my city there is a block that bears the same last name as mine), it is not specially nice sounding or anything, but it is just me. A part of me like my curly hair. And I said that I am going to have that last name forever. But I think the time is coming when I will change it. And no, don’t congratulate me, I am not getting married.
It is a fact that Norwegian employers are skeptical about foreign names. I don’t have statistics on it, but everybody knows that if an employer sits with a huge pile of CVs, the easiest way to start is to sort the foreign names into the pile B (that means: these can be thrown away at once). Because if it is not a job that needs special skills, it is always easier to relate to a person with the name Helene Hansen than Volha Shcherbachenko, for example (just guessing if it is a male of a female can consume much energy). And of course, if the job has to do with clients, they would be much more at ease talking to blond girls and boys, than trying to figure out the strange name on the badge, accent and skin color. I have worked in service for more than two years now, but some clients still ask me: “Do you speak Norwegian?”
That is why I don’t like sending my CVs, but bring them personally to the boss. If they say no, they say NO to this smart and pretty face of mine, not to my difficult name (and it is difficult, trust me!). For getting job in the shops this strategy worked. But think of more serious jobs, after I am done with me education – they would not allow me to pop into boss’s office with my CV. So it would be smart to change the last name. And in Norway this procedure doesn’t take much time or money – so why not?
After a while I even reconciled that I would lose a part of my identity. My difficult proud last name. Though I used to say that if the world remembers Shakespeare, they could remember me. But I am not Shakespeare, and do I have time to risk? So I could offer my last name for brighter future in Norway. Another problem that I face: no Norwegian name suits me!
Ok, my first name is Marina. What can go with it and sound nice? Marina Hansen, Marina Jensen, Marina Pederson? – no, no, no! Marina Blomqvist? Marina Engelstad? - noble last names, but they don’t work with mine. Marina Stoltenberg (prime-minister’s name)? well, that would do…and maybe, I would be asked if I am related to Jens Stoltenberg, and I would look all mystically about it and say: “I don’t wish to talk about family sercrets…”
Here are the names that work easily with my name: Marina Rinaldi (well, this is glamorous, I know), Marina Fellini, Marina Bertolucci, Marina Antonioni (this is ambitious too). Italian names are perfect for me, it is like sound of music! Marina is a Latin name, that’s why... I could even be a simple Marina Gomez or Marina Gonzales. But how to adapt my lovely Latin name with the sound of the warm sea in it to Scandinavian, rough and tough, language of Vikings???
If you have some ideas of last names that will suit me, let me know.
It is a fact that Norwegian employers are skeptical about foreign names. I don’t have statistics on it, but everybody knows that if an employer sits with a huge pile of CVs, the easiest way to start is to sort the foreign names into the pile B (that means: these can be thrown away at once). Because if it is not a job that needs special skills, it is always easier to relate to a person with the name Helene Hansen than Volha Shcherbachenko, for example (just guessing if it is a male of a female can consume much energy). And of course, if the job has to do with clients, they would be much more at ease talking to blond girls and boys, than trying to figure out the strange name on the badge, accent and skin color. I have worked in service for more than two years now, but some clients still ask me: “Do you speak Norwegian?”
That is why I don’t like sending my CVs, but bring them personally to the boss. If they say no, they say NO to this smart and pretty face of mine, not to my difficult name (and it is difficult, trust me!). For getting job in the shops this strategy worked. But think of more serious jobs, after I am done with me education – they would not allow me to pop into boss’s office with my CV. So it would be smart to change the last name. And in Norway this procedure doesn’t take much time or money – so why not?
After a while I even reconciled that I would lose a part of my identity. My difficult proud last name. Though I used to say that if the world remembers Shakespeare, they could remember me. But I am not Shakespeare, and do I have time to risk? So I could offer my last name for brighter future in Norway. Another problem that I face: no Norwegian name suits me!
Ok, my first name is Marina. What can go with it and sound nice? Marina Hansen, Marina Jensen, Marina Pederson? – no, no, no! Marina Blomqvist? Marina Engelstad? - noble last names, but they don’t work with mine. Marina Stoltenberg (prime-minister’s name)? well, that would do…and maybe, I would be asked if I am related to Jens Stoltenberg, and I would look all mystically about it and say: “I don’t wish to talk about family sercrets…”
Here are the names that work easily with my name: Marina Rinaldi (well, this is glamorous, I know), Marina Fellini, Marina Bertolucci, Marina Antonioni (this is ambitious too). Italian names are perfect for me, it is like sound of music! Marina is a Latin name, that’s why... I could even be a simple Marina Gomez or Marina Gonzales. But how to adapt my lovely Latin name with the sound of the warm sea in it to Scandinavian, rough and tough, language of Vikings???
If you have some ideas of last names that will suit me, let me know.
torsdag 19. august 2010
don't trust the sale signs
the little supermarket ICA got a sign "-25% på alle varer". hm, on everything. the shop closes for reconstruction in few days, so the shelves are more than half-empty.
I have a week of partying with my buddy group, so I have to buy more than one can of apple cider. grabbed a 6-pack. checked out the price - 200 kroner. oiii. but if it is -25%, I actually save 50 kroner. not bad. paid. hm, I expected to pay less. checked the receipt - the lady charged me the normal price. WTF?
went to the sign, read it again. the little letters at the bottoms said: "not for alcohol, tobacco and medicines". lesson: ALWAYS READ LITTLE LETTERS AT THE BOTTOM!
I have a week of partying with my buddy group, so I have to buy more than one can of apple cider. grabbed a 6-pack. checked out the price - 200 kroner. oiii. but if it is -25%, I actually save 50 kroner. not bad. paid. hm, I expected to pay less. checked the receipt - the lady charged me the normal price. WTF?
went to the sign, read it again. the little letters at the bottoms said: "not for alcohol, tobacco and medicines". lesson: ALWAYS READ LITTLE LETTERS AT THE BOTTOM!
onsdag 11. august 2010
One Rainy Day
Today I got the feeling that I died and saw the hell.
But before I just looked out of the window into the gloomy rainy day, and realized that summer moved on. Only on 11th of august when temperature in my home town in Ukraine holds at +40 the whole week and there are forest fires all over Russia. In Norway from now on it is only autumn. Maybe, with some sunny days, but still. In Barcelona there was autumn look in the shops, even if there was +30 outside. Here in Oslo the autumn look is already taking the streets, and I start to think of packing my summer things away. Sad.
As my Facebook status I wrote: “saving the rainy day with Latino music and a red skirt”. Went out with iPod in my ears and red umbrella. Got on the subway and felt the breath of winter. All the signs were there: bleached faces, depressed eyes. Suddenly all the features of Norwegian culture were explained by this weather. The skeptical mouth twist of grown-ups, the habit of not meeting the eyes on the street (because all the deal is to watch your way and get safely through the rain), the rich number of iPods on the subway – because music kills a bit of depression, and fills in the dullness of the day. The dress code: rain boots, huge jackets, sport pants and shoes. Of course, it is much easier to look nice when the sun is shining, but try to keep style when rain gets into your shoes. Today my ballerina shoes were full of water, my legs and feet wet – so in this battle the red skirt has lost. Next time I wear rain boots, because being pretty and wet is no fun.
I was at the buddy workshop today, and we were talking about what we can teach international students about Norwegian way of life. What puzzled me most: Norwegians say that internationals must be taught about Norwegian way of drinking and that many foreigners get shocked by the extent of alcohol consumption in Norway. Well, this is clear too. What do you do when the weather sucks the most of the year, everything is so expensive and there is not so much to do than buy some bottles and throw a home party? But still I thought that Russia is famous for drinking – well, I find out that Scandinavia beats even Russia in this thing.
Getting on the bus, cold and wet, I do what people here do: don’t meet the eyes, plug in headphones into my ears, try to ignore the water streaming down the bus window. Now I wonder: what is weather going to be like next week when I have to take my buddy group around the campus and city? And what do I want to teach them about Norwegian way of life – and what to be silent about and let them discover by themselves?
But before I just looked out of the window into the gloomy rainy day, and realized that summer moved on. Only on 11th of august when temperature in my home town in Ukraine holds at +40 the whole week and there are forest fires all over Russia. In Norway from now on it is only autumn. Maybe, with some sunny days, but still. In Barcelona there was autumn look in the shops, even if there was +30 outside. Here in Oslo the autumn look is already taking the streets, and I start to think of packing my summer things away. Sad.
As my Facebook status I wrote: “saving the rainy day with Latino music and a red skirt”. Went out with iPod in my ears and red umbrella. Got on the subway and felt the breath of winter. All the signs were there: bleached faces, depressed eyes. Suddenly all the features of Norwegian culture were explained by this weather. The skeptical mouth twist of grown-ups, the habit of not meeting the eyes on the street (because all the deal is to watch your way and get safely through the rain), the rich number of iPods on the subway – because music kills a bit of depression, and fills in the dullness of the day. The dress code: rain boots, huge jackets, sport pants and shoes. Of course, it is much easier to look nice when the sun is shining, but try to keep style when rain gets into your shoes. Today my ballerina shoes were full of water, my legs and feet wet – so in this battle the red skirt has lost. Next time I wear rain boots, because being pretty and wet is no fun.
I was at the buddy workshop today, and we were talking about what we can teach international students about Norwegian way of life. What puzzled me most: Norwegians say that internationals must be taught about Norwegian way of drinking and that many foreigners get shocked by the extent of alcohol consumption in Norway. Well, this is clear too. What do you do when the weather sucks the most of the year, everything is so expensive and there is not so much to do than buy some bottles and throw a home party? But still I thought that Russia is famous for drinking – well, I find out that Scandinavia beats even Russia in this thing.
Getting on the bus, cold and wet, I do what people here do: don’t meet the eyes, plug in headphones into my ears, try to ignore the water streaming down the bus window. Now I wonder: what is weather going to be like next week when I have to take my buddy group around the campus and city? And what do I want to teach them about Norwegian way of life – and what to be silent about and let them discover by themselves?
fredag 25. juni 2010
Home Trip
Why is it so hard to go home and then come back again?
Last time I was at home a one and a half year ago. So I prepare myself for cultural shock and wonder what kind of surprise Ukrainian fashion has got for me this time.
The whole trip takes me more than 13 hours. I come to Doneck, pass the passport control, pick up my baggage – there is no belt, just a trailer where you find your bag and pull it down. I meet my mom and at once she gets into quarrel with taxi drivers. They follow us all the way to the bus stop. I am exhausted by the trip and don’t understand why so much drama about a bloody taxi which we don’t need. Well, welcome to Ukraine. And this is only a start.
I feel like I fell from another planet into this city. Everything is so strange to me. People talk too loud, and their Ukrainian accent is too intense for me. Eyes are annoyed by the clothes of bright colors which I never saw in Oslo: yellow, blue and pink. I am like a newborn baby, depending on my family to provide me with cash, food and water. And I don’t know at all how things function in this place. There is no running hot water. There is too much noise and life. Our flat is in the 5th floor, and the windows are open all night because it’s warm. Even after midnight I hear people chatting or dogs having a fight.
On my first day I go to the dentist, then buy a mobile card and do some shopping. Still with a headache after the trip, feeling alien and still in shock. I go around with iPod in my ears trying to create my own world, where some things are familiar to me. I don’t understand what is expensive and what is cheap in this place. Shop assistants look like I distract them from the most important task in their life and their face says: “if you aren’t buying, better melt away”. So I melt away. It is too warm, too full on the streets, people stare too much. And then the biggest shock: clothes and faces. In the past 4 years I was in Ukraine only in winter, so summer fashion is like a discovery for me. Girls look more like prostitutes or striptease dancers. Guys look like they were just let out of the prison. And commercials are way too sex-obsessed. Talks are coarse to my ear, and everyone swears too much. And every person you know is asking: “so did you find yourself a Norwegian husband?” Everyone almost shouts into mobile, and there are many mobile talks on the bus.
But I learn fast. I recollect that cars will not let you go on zebra crossing, so if you want to live, better wait. And that our bus drivers feel like in Formula 1: they can start with people still getting on or off, and they will compete with other busses on the road. So if you stand on a bus (which is mostly the case), better hold with both hands. And still take care of your bag, since transport is the most popular place to say good-bye to your purse and mobile. I learn to always carry with me toilet paper and anti-bacterial napkins. And to ignore the look and the smell of public toilets. To double-check the change and expire dates on products. To share drinks with my friend from one bottle and one cup. Never to drink water from the tub and always care that we have 5-liters bottle full at home. I learn that running water is turned off at 11pm, and can be turned off during the day. Shop assistants still look at me like I am a bum, but I learn that their month salary is just a bit more than the price of the shoes they are selling – so I just ignore their looks. I learn that you can get a really huge fine for crossing the street at the red light, so I wait even if the street is empty.
So I overcome the shock and start enjoying cheap fast food, some nice shops, milkshakes, REAL taste of vegetables and fruit, evening walks when the heat is gone. I get used to the rubbish on the streets flying in the wind, crowds of street dogs and rudeness of people. I get used that people stare at me – so I stare at them. I am still not used to the most unexpected cuts in girls’ clothes, but that can be fun. I go around with my best friend and camera, laughing, taking pictures of the people and posters, checking out funny items on the market. Hearing from time to time “such an idiot” at our backs, but this is mostly about him, not me ;). I get used to the noise outside my windows at midnight. I get used to the fact that people think I am still under 20. And to the judging look in the girls’ eyes.
And then I fall in love with the land when I go on the hill in Ukrainian step and see the sunset. I fall in love with smells, and the warm wind, and birds’ singing, and wild flowers. And when the +40 heat goes away, I am back on the streets, going my old routes, recollecting my past, and trying to find a part of me in these old buildings and roads. I get nostalgic, listen to Ukrainian radio which is full of 80s and 90s songs, stand on the balcony and smell the night air after the rain. One of the best smells, which takes me back to my youth and to my young dreams.
This place is mine. I feel so much myself with my friends who share their food and drinks without a second thought. I know how things function here (and how they don’t, which is often). And even if many things make me crazy – still they are familiar. And the feeling of total strangeness goes away. The feeling which I’ve been living with through so many years.
This is why it is so hard to go back to Oslo. Even if everything functions much better there. And toilets are so clean and have paper. And people are so polite and quite. Where no one gives you a second look, and you feel all right in your old jeans and shoes. But suddenly I miss that crazy place called Lugansk. Not because I didn’t have enough time to buy nail polish, eat more fruit and fast food pancakes, walk more in the old town, take more pictures of advertisements and girls (though these are good reasons too;)). But because there I felt like a foreigner only for the first two days. And here in Oslo I am reminded of it daily.
So here is the lesson I’ve learnt: home is a place where the feeling of extreme strangeness goes away. And friends are the people who help with that and give you the feeling of belonging together.
Last time I was at home a one and a half year ago. So I prepare myself for cultural shock and wonder what kind of surprise Ukrainian fashion has got for me this time.
The whole trip takes me more than 13 hours. I come to Doneck, pass the passport control, pick up my baggage – there is no belt, just a trailer where you find your bag and pull it down. I meet my mom and at once she gets into quarrel with taxi drivers. They follow us all the way to the bus stop. I am exhausted by the trip and don’t understand why so much drama about a bloody taxi which we don’t need. Well, welcome to Ukraine. And this is only a start.
I feel like I fell from another planet into this city. Everything is so strange to me. People talk too loud, and their Ukrainian accent is too intense for me. Eyes are annoyed by the clothes of bright colors which I never saw in Oslo: yellow, blue and pink. I am like a newborn baby, depending on my family to provide me with cash, food and water. And I don’t know at all how things function in this place. There is no running hot water. There is too much noise and life. Our flat is in the 5th floor, and the windows are open all night because it’s warm. Even after midnight I hear people chatting or dogs having a fight.
On my first day I go to the dentist, then buy a mobile card and do some shopping. Still with a headache after the trip, feeling alien and still in shock. I go around with iPod in my ears trying to create my own world, where some things are familiar to me. I don’t understand what is expensive and what is cheap in this place. Shop assistants look like I distract them from the most important task in their life and their face says: “if you aren’t buying, better melt away”. So I melt away. It is too warm, too full on the streets, people stare too much. And then the biggest shock: clothes and faces. In the past 4 years I was in Ukraine only in winter, so summer fashion is like a discovery for me. Girls look more like prostitutes or striptease dancers. Guys look like they were just let out of the prison. And commercials are way too sex-obsessed. Talks are coarse to my ear, and everyone swears too much. And every person you know is asking: “so did you find yourself a Norwegian husband?” Everyone almost shouts into mobile, and there are many mobile talks on the bus.
But I learn fast. I recollect that cars will not let you go on zebra crossing, so if you want to live, better wait. And that our bus drivers feel like in Formula 1: they can start with people still getting on or off, and they will compete with other busses on the road. So if you stand on a bus (which is mostly the case), better hold with both hands. And still take care of your bag, since transport is the most popular place to say good-bye to your purse and mobile. I learn to always carry with me toilet paper and anti-bacterial napkins. And to ignore the look and the smell of public toilets. To double-check the change and expire dates on products. To share drinks with my friend from one bottle and one cup. Never to drink water from the tub and always care that we have 5-liters bottle full at home. I learn that running water is turned off at 11pm, and can be turned off during the day. Shop assistants still look at me like I am a bum, but I learn that their month salary is just a bit more than the price of the shoes they are selling – so I just ignore their looks. I learn that you can get a really huge fine for crossing the street at the red light, so I wait even if the street is empty.
So I overcome the shock and start enjoying cheap fast food, some nice shops, milkshakes, REAL taste of vegetables and fruit, evening walks when the heat is gone. I get used to the rubbish on the streets flying in the wind, crowds of street dogs and rudeness of people. I get used that people stare at me – so I stare at them. I am still not used to the most unexpected cuts in girls’ clothes, but that can be fun. I go around with my best friend and camera, laughing, taking pictures of the people and posters, checking out funny items on the market. Hearing from time to time “such an idiot” at our backs, but this is mostly about him, not me ;). I get used to the noise outside my windows at midnight. I get used to the fact that people think I am still under 20. And to the judging look in the girls’ eyes.
And then I fall in love with the land when I go on the hill in Ukrainian step and see the sunset. I fall in love with smells, and the warm wind, and birds’ singing, and wild flowers. And when the +40 heat goes away, I am back on the streets, going my old routes, recollecting my past, and trying to find a part of me in these old buildings and roads. I get nostalgic, listen to Ukrainian radio which is full of 80s and 90s songs, stand on the balcony and smell the night air after the rain. One of the best smells, which takes me back to my youth and to my young dreams.
This place is mine. I feel so much myself with my friends who share their food and drinks without a second thought. I know how things function here (and how they don’t, which is often). And even if many things make me crazy – still they are familiar. And the feeling of total strangeness goes away. The feeling which I’ve been living with through so many years.
This is why it is so hard to go back to Oslo. Even if everything functions much better there. And toilets are so clean and have paper. And people are so polite and quite. Where no one gives you a second look, and you feel all right in your old jeans and shoes. But suddenly I miss that crazy place called Lugansk. Not because I didn’t have enough time to buy nail polish, eat more fruit and fast food pancakes, walk more in the old town, take more pictures of advertisements and girls (though these are good reasons too;)). But because there I felt like a foreigner only for the first two days. And here in Oslo I am reminded of it daily.
So here is the lesson I’ve learnt: home is a place where the feeling of extreme strangeness goes away. And friends are the people who help with that and give you the feeling of belonging together.
onsdag 2. juni 2010
Where Is Poland?
Watching some bits of Eurovision again. Got puzzled by one thing: where is the song from Poland? didn't they send any this time?
Oh, I know the answer. They sent too many talents to Norway (and other places) to work on construction sites, that there were no talents left for Eurovision selection. As I go around in my neighborhood,I notice that the summer start must be perfect season for house painting and other improvements in Norway. Everybody seems to do something for his house. And I hear lots of Polish speech around those houses. This is where all the talents are ;)
I wonder also who was building Telenor Arena for hosting Eurovision Show in Oslo. there must be lots of Polish workers making a contribution. So all Europeans must say: thank you, Oslo, for wonderful show. And thank you, Poland for your handy men ;)
P.S. if you try to guess if i am Polish - no, i am not ;)
Oh, I know the answer. They sent too many talents to Norway (and other places) to work on construction sites, that there were no talents left for Eurovision selection. As I go around in my neighborhood,I notice that the summer start must be perfect season for house painting and other improvements in Norway. Everybody seems to do something for his house. And I hear lots of Polish speech around those houses. This is where all the talents are ;)
I wonder also who was building Telenor Arena for hosting Eurovision Show in Oslo. there must be lots of Polish workers making a contribution. So all Europeans must say: thank you, Oslo, for wonderful show. And thank you, Poland for your handy men ;)
P.S. if you try to guess if i am Polish - no, i am not ;)
fredag 21. mai 2010
About Sausages and National Pride
Emergency call from my best friend. An hour ago. “OMG, I just have to tell you what happened right now!” Wow, sensation? Right now she is at work at school – what could possibly happen there?
Today is Friday – a day when one of the teachers cooks for all. From the celebration of 17th of May there were lots of sausages left. So she just cooked a bunch of them, plus salad, bread, ketchup and mustard. On entering the kitchen everybody got happy. “It smells so good! It smells 17th of May” (The National Day of Norway, remember?). The joy was real, common, village-like, that is: shared by everybody. Except my friend who is not happy about sausages and was eating her sandwich. I guess, her face spoke better than words – and it added the note of dissonance in the common symphony of joy. As one of the teachers noted: “Ah, so delicious with sausages”, and after seeing my friend’s face, “or not?”
My friend’s comment: “People!!! Couldn’t you invent something more for your National Day than cooked sausages and making it the highlight of the day?!”
As an American friend put it in the congratulation sms on 17th of May: “Happy pølse n lompe day!” (pølse is sausage, lompe is sausage bread, like pancake). The essence of the day, indeed.
After some giggles – some questions:
1.Why is The Sausage so central to Norwegian culture? (why not fish? This is a nation of fishermen)
2.How are foreigners to behave if they don’t like sausages?
3.What is the smell of the National Day in your country?
P.S. for students of culture and communication – this is an example of the symbolism of smell. Væresågod! Håper, det smaker ;)
onsdag 19. mai 2010
Us vs. Them
Why are we, foreigners, so negative about Norwegians sometimes?
I was sitting in the university and studying with my classmates. The subject is introduction into culture and communication. And we were discussing questions of identity. Identity is not some essence in our being, but it is constructed – often in opposition “us against them”. And then a thought hit me:
We, Russians and post-soviets, are often so negative about Norwegians. But personally for me: is it easier to identify myself with any Russian than with any Norwegian? Would I throw myself around the neck of every Russian bum or farmer – just because he is Russian? Who is closer to me: Norwegian student or a Russian truck driver? Is this grouping “us, Russians – against them, Norwegians” really so actual? The divide is maybe not as great as we imagine. And of course, there are differences in culture. But there is more than that. It is hard for me to understand many Norwegians. But to understand many Russians is not easier . Their Russianness alone doesn’t make them my brothers and sisters.
People are people anywhere. There are stupid people, smart people, nice, mean, happy, unhappy. The problem is: when I am in my country, they are just people to me. And I can laugh of their stupidity, or get annoyed at their unkindness. But when I am in Norway, they are not just people. They are Norwegians. And when I laugh of them, I make often a note “this is so typically Norwegian”. And some get provoked. “Are Norwegians really like that?” Come on, I laugh at my country men too. Not only at Norwegians.
But I should take more care when I talk of Norwegians in terms of “us vs.them”.
I was sitting in the university and studying with my classmates. The subject is introduction into culture and communication. And we were discussing questions of identity. Identity is not some essence in our being, but it is constructed – often in opposition “us against them”. And then a thought hit me:
We, Russians and post-soviets, are often so negative about Norwegians. But personally for me: is it easier to identify myself with any Russian than with any Norwegian? Would I throw myself around the neck of every Russian bum or farmer – just because he is Russian? Who is closer to me: Norwegian student or a Russian truck driver? Is this grouping “us, Russians – against them, Norwegians” really so actual? The divide is maybe not as great as we imagine. And of course, there are differences in culture. But there is more than that. It is hard for me to understand many Norwegians. But to understand many Russians is not easier . Their Russianness alone doesn’t make them my brothers and sisters.
People are people anywhere. There are stupid people, smart people, nice, mean, happy, unhappy. The problem is: when I am in my country, they are just people to me. And I can laugh of their stupidity, or get annoyed at their unkindness. But when I am in Norway, they are not just people. They are Norwegians. And when I laugh of them, I make often a note “this is so typically Norwegian”. And some get provoked. “Are Norwegians really like that?” Come on, I laugh at my country men too. Not only at Norwegians.
But I should take more care when I talk of Norwegians in terms of “us vs.them”.
mandag 17. mai 2010
Amigos Forever-2
And about friendship again.
I have a Latin-American friend who grew up in Norway. So he must be a bit Norwegian also, at least more integrated than me. And he says: “I don’t want to live in Norway. Æsj! Too cold”. Well, is it the only reason to move from here?
“No. all my friends are foreigners. So what’s the point to live in a country where all your friends are foreigners? Maybe, it’s smarter to move to the place where they have their home?”
Hm. My friends in Oslo are mostly foreigners too. And yours?
I have a Latin-American friend who grew up in Norway. So he must be a bit Norwegian also, at least more integrated than me. And he says: “I don’t want to live in Norway. Æsj! Too cold”. Well, is it the only reason to move from here?
“No. all my friends are foreigners. So what’s the point to live in a country where all your friends are foreigners? Maybe, it’s smarter to move to the place where they have their home?”
Hm. My friends in Oslo are mostly foreigners too. And yours?
And this is how they see us ;)
"visste du at du bør vaksinere deg før du dra til Øst-Europa?"
English: "did you know that you should get vaccinated before you go to Eastern Europe?"
a commercial in the drugstore, summer 2009
AMIGOS FOREVER?
”Do you want to stay in Norway?”
When asked this question by Norwegians, I would usually go: “well, I don’t know. I have to finish my studies first, and then maybe…”.
This is wrong answer. Why?
Well, first why I used to answer like that. Because when I lived in Germany, one Persian lady told me: “Of course, you don’t feel discrimination here. Because you are staying only for one year program, and then you leave. And Germans are happy to hear that you don’t intend to stay. So they treat you better. But try to stay here, especially in a small place, you will meet quite different attitude”. So I , following that pattern, didn’t want to scare Norwegians with answers like: “yes, I am gonna stay here, buy a house, compete with you for jobs and kindergarten places, and get on your social system”. I’d better keep a low profile.
So why was that wrong? As somebody explained me: it takes years to build a friendship or any kind of relationship here in Norway. So when you say that you are going to study here and then maybe leave after a couple of years – you become uninteresting for Norwegians at once. Because why should they care to invest themselves in you, to start building friendship – if you are maybe leaving anyway in some years? Well, it is a good point. And again this is not a southern country when you become a friend after a day, a lover after two, and divorced after three.
So – are you going to stay in Norway? Now I say: “Yes!!!!!” but do I really mean it?
The soundtrack: Alex C. Feat Yasmin K. - Amigos Forever
When asked this question by Norwegians, I would usually go: “well, I don’t know. I have to finish my studies first, and then maybe…”.
This is wrong answer. Why?
Well, first why I used to answer like that. Because when I lived in Germany, one Persian lady told me: “Of course, you don’t feel discrimination here. Because you are staying only for one year program, and then you leave. And Germans are happy to hear that you don’t intend to stay. So they treat you better. But try to stay here, especially in a small place, you will meet quite different attitude”. So I , following that pattern, didn’t want to scare Norwegians with answers like: “yes, I am gonna stay here, buy a house, compete with you for jobs and kindergarten places, and get on your social system”. I’d better keep a low profile.
So why was that wrong? As somebody explained me: it takes years to build a friendship or any kind of relationship here in Norway. So when you say that you are going to study here and then maybe leave after a couple of years – you become uninteresting for Norwegians at once. Because why should they care to invest themselves in you, to start building friendship – if you are maybe leaving anyway in some years? Well, it is a good point. And again this is not a southern country when you become a friend after a day, a lover after two, and divorced after three.
So – are you going to stay in Norway? Now I say: “Yes!!!!!” but do I really mean it?
The soundtrack: Alex C. Feat Yasmin K. - Amigos Forever
The question is...
17th of May. The perfect day to start this blog. 17th of May is the National day of Norway. And on this day I feel like foreigner stronger than ever.
The whole Norway marches proudly in parades. I sleep till 11, then lie in front of TV, watch parade in Oslo and understand: how far I am from this nation. I never marched in their parades, I never ate sausages and ice-cream on the 17 of May, I never had their national dress bunad. So how hard it is for me to understand them, and for them – to understand me.
Feeling my room with Italian music and speech (the favorite of the week: Eros Ramazzoti). Eating pancakes with sour cream and honey for brunch.
Abonner på:
Innlegg (Atom)
