Canadian integration specialist Julien S. Bourrelle says that moving to Norway has been the most challenging experience of his life. «I fucking love Norway,» he exlaimed during his Career Day presentation.
By NANCY LE and JOCELYN TAKNÆS (photo)
After much time spent evaluating Norwegian culture, Julien published the book «The Social Guidebook to Norway» and also founded the Mondå project, which is aiming to make Norway more integrated. Wednesday, Julien came to HiMolde and had an extraordinary presentation Karrieredagen – hosted by student organizations Start HiM and Karriereforum – about Norwegians: who they are, what their typical characteristics are, and how you deal with them were revealed clearly and cleverly.
«Norwegians are like coconuts». They are a little shy and hard to approach at first glance. However, if you are able to break the shell, there is a sweetness inside.
- Open the conversation with a specific topic
The most simple topic is “What do you do?” Norwegians rarely talk with others if they don’t have any specific topics to talk about. Joining a quiz game is also another good choice (Kompagniet in Molde has quiz nights on Wednesdays).
- Join in any frame activities
One of the easiest ways to find friends in Norway is joining sport clubs, dance clubs, hiking groups or organizations. These are places Norwegians are willing to socialize and again you have a common topic to talk about.
- Use compliments
Sentences that Norwegians use to compliment others can be strange to foreigners. Some examples are “Your eyes are very blue” or “You have a new hair cut”. You can give compliments in your way, but acknowledging how Norwegians give compliments is necessary because it is a sign that they are interested in you and want to talk to you more.
- Accept pain and sufferance
Norwegians love nature. They may ask you to take a «morgenbad», or a morning plunge into cold water. Or they might invite you for a cross-country skiing trip that lasts three days with only cold food for meals. This is the pain and sufferance. However, they are ways we can build trust and respect with Norwegians.
- Smile and use body language
A smile can break the distance between people.
«It is not about diversity. It is about benefiting from diversity”. Acknowledging, conforming and adapting is a good path for international students to stay in Norway. However, for Norwegians, awareness of cultural differences is also useful in understanding behavior from another culture.