Meeting with Norway, Kamau Muiruri [i love reading books .TXT] 📗

Money: Learn the currency as soon as you arrive. It is called Kroner and a single person can spend from about Kr 400 a week on food. To manage money does not mean that you should not spend it but there are ways of getting best out of what you have. Tips: Do not take Norwegian money for your home currency for if you do, you might never spend it coz it seems so expensive. A bottle of cola would seem 10 times costly. Avoid being charged for over dues materials e.g. Library books, walk short distances by being habit earlier. Buy foodstuffs and clothes from selected average price stores e.g. REMA 1000(Food, domestic ware) SPARKJØP (clothes) and there are now a range of foreign shops offering a range of food stuffs from Middle east, India, Africa, China etc.

Loneliness: You will most likely be assigned a mentor. Make the best use of him or her by keeping in touch and talking about your progress, fears or some of the things you feel concerned about. Remember that you will miss home and be sometimes home sick especially when winter bits your skin and stays on for too long, at such moments see if you can talk to your leader about your feelings or difficulties. It is not good to keep your feelings to yourself, sharing it with someone else will help to clear up a cloud of doubt and ease your burdens.

Being a foreigner: If it is your first time to be in Norway, then you should be prepared to learn and see new things. You will be asked and you will also ask many questions, some obvious and others extremely awkward. Racism is highly discouraged in Norway but you can meet with the common difficulties of being a foreigner such as being misunderstood and misunderstanding the others. The greatest hindrance for a foreigner in Norway is the language. It may be so boring when you don’t understand anything around you. Sometimes you may go to meetings and come out wondering what was being discussed. However, it is fun to see yourself progressing in learning the language. The best way to get to learn Norwegian is to use children books and to listen to others speaking and just speak like them and do not be afraid of getting something wrong. When you are corrected, you do not forget. Your company is dedicated to make sure that you get the information you need in English. In case you need help with some information you do not understand, do not hesitate to contact the HR dept. If you face a major discrimination, discuss it with your leader or someone you trust but do not over react.

Clothing: People dress casually even at work and church. In winter you need warm clothes. There is a saying in Norway that goes like this “The problem is not cold, the problem is wrong cloths”. Often, clothes are expensive but you can buy cheaper and affordable clothes from given shops. However, during parties, weddings, Christmas eve, 17th may, everyone is expected to be formal with men putting on their suits and ties. The best thing to do when you are invited to an occasion is to ask what code of dressing is expected. It is better than to be in an occasion feeling out of place the whole time.


Food: Food in Norway is diverse. It is also expensive compared to most countries. A high portion of food supply is imported. However, it is of high quality. Due to low temperatures, vitamin D, which comes from the sun, is rare. To supplement it, it is advisable to eat more fish and you can buy the vitamins from shops. There are special dishes in Easter, Christmas and New Year eve. At Christmas time, a rice porridge known as Julgrøt is usually served. Many foreign people do not like it after the first taste, but to encourage everyone to take their share, there is a nut which you can find in your share and get a present. That is nice and fun thing to do when together.

Mannerism and formality around the table is important. E.g. when invited to the dining table, do not waste time, if you are not sure how to eat something; ask or wait to see how others do it and copy, when you finish eating do not leave the table before everyone else, when the eating is over, help to clean up.


Chapter 3

COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES

Many people assume that everyone is "just like me" or any country is just like theirs unless they look different. To make the assumption that we are all alike would be the same as to assume that all cars are alike or all mothers-in-law act the same way. Needless to say, these are not true or fair statements. Assumptions about cultural background influence how people interact with each other. Culture refers to the many diverse ways in which human practices and beliefs differ among groups. Culture includes religious, social, political, and family customs. It is not uncommon for different cultures to have different values related to allocation of time, family conversations, or views of education. Many of these practices and beliefs may be different than your own. Frequently, many people find cultural conversations very uncomfortable. For someone to be more comfortable, they must first know what their beliefs are and be accepting of their own actions and ideas. There are several steps to make conversations across cultural lines easier.

Build Mutual Understanding To build a mutual understanding, it is necessary to respect differences and listen for more than words. Listen to ideas, viewpoints, and experiences. Have true respect for other individuals. Do not judge or question, but listen to life experiences and values and try to understand what is happening. Remember, you cannot judge because you have not "walked in their shoes." And that the idea is not to make them act or believe your way. Your way are as strange as other people ways are strange to you. Cultural relativism is treating other people's way as equally as yours.

Listen With an Open Mind When learning about a culture, put your feelings aside and listen. It is a teachable moment for both parties to engage in telling their stories. Sometimes we offend people and do not even realize that it has happened. Simple statements like"Norwegians are realy strange", "these people" or "Africans are all alike except you of course" can be very offensive. Many times these statements create misunderstanding between individuals. The more culturally diverse situations you are in and the more you know about other cultures and their people, the better you become at bridging differences. You may find that there are agreements on some issues. The best way to undo misunderstanding is to talk about the issues. Avoid mean spirited remarks and narrow viewpoints.

Do Something After learning more about cultures and people from different backgrounds it is important to help others understand the differences. Each person needs to realize that having a different background or culture is just different. You can help improve communications across cultures by taking action. The simplest support of other cultures is to correct false statements that people make about them and interrupt jokes or stories with the truth. You can also involve people from diverse cultures in your groups or ask them to present their cultural knowledge to others. Usually people are more fearful of the things they do not understand so help to inform them.

Focus on Relationships Move beyond the words and into the quality of communications. Everyone has heard it said that to have a friend you must be a friend. Relationships involving different cultures take time, work, patience, and understanding. In relationship building, find other people who are interested in different cultures and value diversity. It will be easier to understand when several people talk about what they are experiencing. Overall, to become more proactive on building bridges between cultures, bring other people into your conversations. It may be easier to express a viewpoint when several people understand the culture. The more you learn about other cultures the more comfortable you will be in diverse situations.

Imprint

Text: All material on this book are a copyright of the author and may not be used without prior permission. copyright © Kam.Resource.Center
Publication Date: 08-11-2008

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To all who inspired my first time stay in Norway