I\u00b4ve been asked many times if Norwegians are cold people-you know, hard to warm up to. \u00a0I\u00b4ve also been told by many people that this is the case. \u00a0I have found that the answer to this question depends on where in Norway you are. \u00a0I also don\u00b4t have a perfectly clear answer because when I lived as a student in Oslo, we international students stuck together pretty closely. \u00a0Had it not been for several previous trips where I met family that I am still in touch with and a half Norwegian, half American best friend who introduced me to his good friends who I am also still in touch with, perhaps I would have had a difficult time getting to know Norwegians.<\/p>\n
Back to the comment regarding where in Norway one might be…now that I\u00b4ve spent some time up north, I\u00b4ve come to the conclusion that IN GENERAL people up here are much more outwardly friendly than in Oslo, for example. \u00a0I took many bus rides and train rides in Oslo and walked around a lot downtown and I can probably count the number of times on one hand that a stranger spoke to me, or even looked at me. \u00a0Honestly, eye contact is pretty uncommon in Oslo if you are just walking around or using public transportation.<\/p>\n
In small towns up north, and even Troms\u00f8, however, strangers are much more likely to just strike up a conversation. \u00a0Like I\u00b4m used to back home in MN. \u00a0One reason why I feel quite at home here. \u00a0So I\u00b4ll give you an example of what I mean- it was so funny. \u00a0I was with two friends in a grocery store in a small town (maybe 9,000 people) a couple hours from Troms\u00f8 looking at the beer cooler trying to decide what we should get for the night. \u00a0I had forgotten what some of the beers tasted like and there were new ones I hadn\u00b4t seen. \u00a0So we were taking our time you might say. \u00a0This older man was pushing his cart by and noticed us, one girl and two guys looking at the beer cooler. \u00a0He started laughing and telling me that it was my decision and I should just choose what I want and they should pay for it. \u00a0He made this comment in about 5 different ways and was laughing the whole time, but was dead serious. \u00a0Then he turned to the guys and said in nord norsk, “d\u00e5kker m\u00e5 bynne \u00e5 bli vant til det, fordi det e alltid damene som bestemmer. \u00a0Dem bestemmer og du betaler. \u00a0Hahahah…”<\/p>\n
It was absolutely hilarious. \u00a0I looked at my friend (who is from this area), he looked at me, and at the same time we remarked “That would never happen in Oslo.” \u00a0The best part was we saw him a few minutes later at a gas station and he continued to converse with us. \u00a0 Oh, it was priceless.<\/p>\n
Also I was on the bus this morning and there were plenty of open seats by themselves and this older lady decided to sit right by me and wanted to talk about the weather. \u00a0That also never happened to me in Oslo. \u00a0If there are a couple empty seats, people would rarely ever sit next to another person.<\/p>\n
So, again, just want to make it clear that my conclusion is general, but it is definitely something that I have noticed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u00b4ve been asked many times if Norwegians are cold people-you know, hard to warm up to. \u00a0I\u00b4ve also been told by many people that this is the case. \u00a0I have found that the answer to this question depends on where in Norway you are. \u00a0I also don\u00b4t have a perfectly clear answer because when I…<\/p>\n