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.

The question is: how long? How long should I live here to become a part of this culture and country? How long will it take me to feel a bit Norwegian, to integrate it into my identity? Or will I live here for 20 years more and get the same question all the time: “where do you come from? Do you like it here?” (Trives du I Norge?). I don’t want to be a foreigner all my life.