Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Living In Norway

What's it like living in Norway? When foreigners hear "Norway", they might think : cold, polar bears, and beautiful mountains. Others might not even know anything about Norway! However, if that's the case, I hope you'll learn a bit more about Norway after reading this blog post! I'm a student from Oslo, and I've lived in Norway nearly all my life. I started in kindergarden when I was around 4, followed by elementry school, secondary school, and now high school. Norway is a small, but great country to live in, although we sometimes tend to forget it. 

In Norway, we have everything we need.Thanks to the oil we've found outside our coast, we are one of the richest countries in the world. Tourists who travel to Norway come to see the beautful scenery, but are shocked by the high prices here. Oslo was recently announced as the the most expensive city in the world! 

For a year, my family lived in Australia. When people heard I was from Norway, they'd ask: "Can you speak Norway? Or Norwish? Or what language do you speak there?" In Norway we speak Norwegian! It is closely related to Swedish and Danish, and speakers the three languages should be able to understand each other well..However, out of personal experience, this is not always entirely true. I think a lot of Norwegians find it hard to understand Danish, and the other way around. 

Norway is divided into 19 different regions, and in these regions you will find dialects of the Norwegian language. I speak what we call "Bokmål", and it is what everyone else around Oslo also will speak. Norwegians from Stavanger, in the region Rogaland will speak with a "Stavangersk"-dialect. It's quite fascinating to listen to, as I'm not really that used to it!




12 comments:

  1. Yes it is interesting with the different dialects in Norway. It is not necessarily easy to understand them all. And Danish might be difficult for some to understand too. Perhaps mostly the younger generation?

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  2. Hi! This is JiSup from Guangzhou, China! I was surprised when i found out someone commented on mine! At first there was a bunch of spam so i was thrashing all the comments when i came across yours! I am also delighted because i was the only student in my class who got a comment from Norway! Norway seems like a great country! I would always picture Norway as a beautiful country! I have never been to Norway or Australia before!

    Objects in China aren't expensive at all! Beats headphones costs only 200 rmb! (190 NOK) You can find fake items everywhere and why buy a real one if there's one that looks exactly alike?

    I never knew Norway was one of the most expensive countries in the world! Korea (my home country) is also suffering due to the economical downfall these days. Everything is so expensive!

    I was also confused about the language spoken there! In China, the two languages most commonly spoken is Mandarin and Cantonese. Even if you know Mandarin, Cantonese is extremely difficult to understand. Cantonese is a very fast and loud version of Mandarin with different tones.

    Just like Norway, China is divided into provinces! There are 22 provinces in China and each province is different. Especially the language spoken and the food is different. The language in different provinces are so different that it is impossible to understand each other!

    Norway seems like such a fascinating place and i would like to visit Norway someday!

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  3. Wow, Norway is so fascinating. I really like your blog!

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  4. Thanks for your replies:) I like your blogs too!

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  5. Dear sara,
    I think you have really good English and norway looks fun!!!
    Hong kong is also really fun and there is also a lot of hills and mountains.

    From,
    Holli

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  6. Dear Sara,
    I really like your blog. I would really like to visit Norway sometime. Hong Kong is a really good place to live. it has lot's of hiking trails and shops.

    From,
    Andrew

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  7. Thank you so much Holli and Andrew!! Yes, you should definitely visit Norway someday. I'd like to travel to Hong Kong, it sounds very fascinating:)
    Sara

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  8. Sara
    I just noticed your blog and realized we are right next to each other on the list :) Looks like we're both 17!?
    I have a good time learning about Norway, it looks like a great place to visit. Are there a lot of trees there near the mountains or are there a lot of cities too?
    I live in the United States, in a state called Michigan, which is very close to Canada compared to other states.
    Hope to hear from you soon!

    Sarah

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  9. Thanks Sara, I'm learning a lot from your blog, there were many things that I did not know about your country.

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  10. Dear Sara, I'm Italian and few years a go I travelled all over Norway. I've been really impressed by the beautiful sceneries, the genuine people, the nature, the Fjords and especially by the Lofoten islands, probably one of the best places I've seen in my life and among all my travels in the world. I've seen many other countries all over the continents but I still remember Norway as one of the most beautiful.

    Hope to come again soon.
    Greetings from italy!
    Enrico

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  11. where is this picture, the city or whatever

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