Familiar or unfamiliar?

So, for my third blog entry, I was asked to write about familiarizing the unfamiliar. For a long time, I’ve been thinking on what to write, I still don’t really know. Norway and Switzerland are not very different from each other. Yet, there were still some smaller striking events that I would like to point out. 

Bokmål, Nynorsk and Samisk – the three languages of Norway

Similar to Switzerland, Norway has also more than one official language: Bokmål, Nynorsk and Samisk (which is the language of the Sami, the indigenous people who live in the north of Norway, Finland and a part of Russia). Bokmål and Nynorsk are somewhat similar while Samisk is totally different. Both, Bokmål and Nynorsk are only written language, the spoken language is a mix between these two and characterized by many dialects. Bokmål is used by over 80% as their written language. It is comparable to the “high German” we use as formal language in Switzerland.

Norway – an expensive country

For a long time, Norway has been, and still is, one of the richest countries in the world. This is mainly due to frequent occurrence of oil and mineral resources. It allows the country to set high standards in every area, including the everyday life. As one can imagine, life in a country full of high standards is very expensive.

But as a Swiss woman, I should be used to high prices, right? According to several statistics Switzerland is one of the, if not “the”, most expensive countries in the world and Norway follows shortly behind.

Familiarizing the Unfamiliar – How an unknown city can become your new home

So, after five months of new experiences, of creating memories and being exposed to a ton of newness I am back in my usual environment. Back home, time seems to have stopped the moment I left and everything still seems the same: it appears as if nothing and no one has changed. Obviously, that is not true and reflects only my point of view. Still. Exploring a new environment and meeting lots of new people requires lots of adapting and it takes much more space in your memory than simply following your daily routine.

Reflection on language – English in Norway

As I’m staying in Bergen, the national language is obviously Norwegian. But I already knew before coming here that almost all Scandinavian people are fluent in English.

The equality of men and women in Norway

In this blog contribution I’d like to focus on some very current topics: the equality of men and women as well as the acceptance of same sex couples. Here in Norway I was astonished how normal it is for couples to show their love and affection for each other in public places.

When it comes to gender …

During my stay in Norway, I saw something every day on the streets of Bergen (Norway) that made me wonder. At the beginning, I could not explain what it was because I did not know it myself.

Hvordan går det? Bra!

During my stay here in Norway I get in touch with many different languages. Italian, German, Spanish, French and Finnish just to name a few, and of course Norwegian and English.

When the Swiss “z’vieri” becomes the Norwegian “kvelds”

Has anyone given any thought in advance to asking at what times people normally eat in Norway? I honestly didn’t.

Perceived differences between my home university and the university abroad

In this blog contribution I compare the university system or some aspects of the University of Bergen (Norway) with my home university in Berne.

I experienced the university system in Bergen as being different from ours in Switzerland. After the two introduction days in the very beginning of January, my first course called ‘childhood and parenting in diverse contexts’ began just the following week, on January 9, 2017. In Switzerland we usually start only in the middle of February. However, not every course I attended started that early. My other psychology lecture began towards the end of January. In the beginning I thought that’s really early and wondered if the semester would last until the end of May like in Switzerland, because then it would be much longer. When I looked at the schedules of my courses, I realized that they stopped at different times and also much earlier than they do at my home university. Of course the end of the semester also depends on which lectures one attends.