Fears Of Racism In Norway

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The amount of emails I get per week from people, almost scared about moving to Norway, due to fears about racism and if they will be targeted, is pretty upsetting to be honest.

So many people say “I am black, will I be accepted” or “I wear a turban, will I be picked on” or something similar.

They mention that “someone told them..” that Norway was racist towards foreigners and they would love to live and work in Norway, but will they live in fear.

Sounds horrible doesn’t it?

You would think in 2012 that people would not think about how a person looks and judge them, but instead judge them on their actions.

So many people are genuine about wanting to live in Norway, as a Norwegian, to learn the language to integrate into society, to give something to Norway.

Of course there are also the same amount who just want to move there to sponge of the state and it is these who have tarnished the others.

To be honest, I didn’t experience or see much racism whilst I was out there, but then I am just a white male, so would be accepted in visual terms.

However, my problems came when I couldn’t speak the language, then some people started to act differently towards me, seeing me as “foreign”.

So I can understand in a small way how some of these people must be feeling, if Norway is perceived as a racist country.

All I can advise is try to become “Norwegian”, learn the language and try speaking it if only a little, look hard for work, learn about the culture, religion and one small thing is “smile”.

I know that sounds silly, but if you are foreign and you walk about looking angry, it gives off the impression that you don’t really want to be there, so people think “why are you here then?”

Also, don’t try and force your culture or religion on anyone as then you will be seen as trying to change Norway to yourself, rather than changing yourself to fit Norway.

I cant change how people think and understand from both sides the position these people are in, with the “racist” people scared about the differences in the foreign people and if these differences will cause them problems and from the foreigners side, who cant understand why someone would hate them, if they have done nothing wrong.

It’s a huge subject, its human nature, fear, ignorance, being judgemental before giving someone a chance… I don’t really have the answers, but perhaps one day we will see that we are all just people, so lets get along.

The other day, I was walking along a street here in Portsmouth and saw a Muslim girl walking towards me, she saw me and crossed the street, carried on walking, then crossed back over once I had passed. I actually felt a bit hurt that she thought she needed to do this, as I am in no way racist. I didn’t look at here in a negative way, but she assumed that I was going to pick on her.

Horrible.

So, if you are worried about racism in Norway, try what I have said above, but I cant guarantee on how people will act towards you.

All I can say is that from conversations with Norwegian friends, they say that if you try to become Norwegian then you will have a better chance at avoiding racism.

Christmas in Norway – God Jul

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It was a shame, but I only experienced one Christmas in Norway :(

Christmas in Norway was a little different to the ones I had in the UK, with the biggest difference that it is celebrated on the 24th, rather than the 25th!

I never really asked why they did that, just accepted as that is what they did (maybe someone can enlighten me).

Not sure if all Norwegian familes celebrate Xmas day the same as mine, so my experience might not be the same as many peoples (everyone is different).

Another difference to a UK Xmas, was that they don’t eat Turkey, where in the UK we have that as traditional once a year. What they had instead was a selection of meats, sausages wrapped in bacon, beef etc.

Same vegetables, but I don’t remember them serving sprouts (wasn’t complaining about that).

With the Xmas meal, for drinks they served Aqua Vit, or beer, but I was encouraged to take an Aqua Vit, for kind of like a tradition. A heavy spirit is also supposed to help with digestion.

After the Xmas meal, we sat around their tree and opened the presents. This was at about 8pm on the 24th, not like 5am on the 25th like for many UK families. Also, it wasn’t a scramble to open everything as fast as possible, but instead to hand them out one at a time and watch the persons reaction (horrible and cringey).

So even if you got something crummy, you had to say “oooh that’s nice, thank you”, although in your mind you’d be thinking “what a load of tat”.

One nice present that I received was a traditional Norwegian jumper. A nice thick wollen jumper, grey in colour I think I can remember and quite heavy, with metal clasps. I think my Norwegian girlfriends mother knitted it for me, so I appreciated that, even if the jumper wasn’t something I would go out looking to buy for myself.

After the presents were opened, a few more drinks, some TV (which I didn’t understand because of the language) then time for bed.

Xmas in Norway was done for me.

One nice thing, which people in the UK always want, is a white Xmas. That is something that is pretty much guranteed in Norway (not always mind) but on my occasion, it was white, snow covering everything and was beautiful to behold. I remember just staring at the snow coming down, laying on the trees and wooden houses and thinking “this is gorgeous”.

So, where ever you are in the world, have a happy Christmas, or holiday depending on your religion and a happy and prosperous New Year to all.

God Jul.

Search Terms For Norway

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I find it fascinating the search terms people use in Google, which find my website and people click. The majority of searches are things like “living in Norway”, “how to emigrate to Norway” and general information, but there are some other “interesting” searches which I thought I would share with you (apologies if it was you using one of these below):

  • why are norwegians so happy
  • why are norwegians so tall
  • is it always cold in norway
  • why are norwegians so happy about living
  • is there always snow in norway
  • norwegians are strange
  • norwegians are racist
  • where did norwegians come from
  • are norwegian people big
  • cost of a fish burger, mcdonalds in norway
  • do any famous people live in norway
  • englishman in norway needs to go to the doctor
  • horrid life in norway

As you can see, some people think Norwegians are giants, some ask about the weather and one of them wanted a fish burger from McDonalds in Norway!

What I normally do is see what people are searching for and use that information to boost my content by perhaps writing a bit about that. Although in some of the cases above I would just leave it!

Also, seeing where people come from in the World and visit my website is fascinating too. In the last month someone from almost every country in ther World has visited my website! I find that amazing, that I have touched the entire World with my little website.

Communication

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Well, I have been very lazy with this Blog, so I am going to force myself to at least write one blog post per month!

One thing I love about my Norway website is the communication I get from my readers.

I get at least 20 emails per week from people across the world, from the USA, UK, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Russia, Brazil to India and beyond!

The majority of emails are complimentary about my website and are appreciative of me pouring my brains out about my experience living in Norway.

I get a lot of varied questions (which on occasion I dont know the answer to) about how to move to Norway and what people should do, where they should go, what will it be like for them and how can they turn their dream into a reality etc. etc.

These are life changing decisions by these people, who are mostly genuine about moving to Norway and becoming Norwegian and not just moving there for an easy ride. So when I reply it is important that I tell them the right thing, as I do not want to ruin what they have with a vision of a “heaven like” move to Norway. There are ups and downs to living in any country and that’s life.

So I help as best I can, pointing people in the right direction to websites about getting visas and the legal requirements and also trying my best to give them a feel of the country through my eyes.

However, I always say “this was my experience and yours will be totally different to mine” which is true, as my Norwegian experience was not a fantastic dream the whole way through, but was hard and difficult at times, but that’s life.

So make sure you make your own decisions about moving to Norway and my replies to your emails are just my experiences, but if they help you in any way then my job is done.

It’s just great that so many different people communicate with me from across the world, all with a dream of moving to Norway and all see Norway as a way to better themselves and give a better life for their families.

So please keep the emails coming, ask any question about Norway that you have on your mind, any concerns, fears, anything you need to know and I will do what I can to help you.

Cheers!

Welcome to my new Blog

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I have put together this new blog, which has now permanently moved from http://mynorwayblogger.blogspot.com/. I decided to build a blog into my main website, so it would be easier to control.

Also, I have opened up the blog to allow other people to add blog posts on Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Nordics and Scandinavia. So we will see what other people have to say about the countries and region.

I hope to blog more regularly with information about Norway and my experiences, but will also add in content to my main pages of http://www.mynorway.co.uk/ when I can think of anything else to say.

If you can think of any subjects which I may not have covered both here in this blog and on my website then please feel free to contact me and I will see what I can add.

I see my Norway website as an ever evolving thing, and will keep on tweaking and changing it, both in design and content until I think it’s right (so will probably never finish it then).

Thank you to all the people who have sent in kind comments so far about my Norway website and I hope I have helped some of you with your opinion about Norway and your decision to move there or not.

Many thanks!