I've mentioned it before, but it can be rather difficult to meet people in Norway. While people at work are friendly, work and after work are very different, and coworkers rarely seem to go out together for drinks or anything else. In America especially, but also in many other places, if you go to a bar by yourself, you can probably still find people to talk to. In Norway? Not so much.
So how do you meet people? I'm still trying to find out, but I do have some advice that I have come up with or received from others:
If all else fails, you can still try and talk to random people, just don't be surprised if they look at you like you're crazy.
So how do you meet people? I'm still trying to find out, but I do have some advice that I have come up with or received from others:
- Use opportunities at work. As I mentioned above, it's fairly rare that coworkers go out together after work in Norway, but it does happen, and when it does, take advantage of it. Just know that Norwegians can really put away their alcohol! Also, depending on where you work, you might find people who get together to play sports. Where I work, for example, there's a small group of people that play floor hockey every week. It's a friendly game where the teams are chosen pretty much randomly every time, and it's a nice way to get exercise while interacting with people outside of work.
- Online groups can be helpful. I just found out about the New to Oslo Yahoo group and attended a gathering on Friday night. The folks at this meeting were mostly American, but included people from Spain, France, and a couple of other countries as well, and they've all been through this or are going through it, so it's nice to have people who can sympathize with you. There is also an American's in Norway group on Facebook, which has some traffic even if it isn't a hive of activity.
- Here's some advice I've received: if you do start meeting Norwegians, don't tell them you don't know how long you're staying or that you don't know. Let them assume you plan on being here more or less permanently, otherwise they don't seem to be as likely to take the time to get to know you or consider you a friend.
- Learn Norsk! This takes time, of course, but it's worth it to try. For one thing, it's a matter of respect. --Norwegian is their native language, and even though they may speak English very well, you should at least be willing to try and learn it if you're going to live here. But I also think it's related to the point above. --It shows you're serious about living here.
If all else fails, you can still try and talk to random people, just don't be surprised if they look at you like you're crazy.
The people in Norway seem to be very indifferent. Is that because of the weather? Will you feel isolated living there? In comparison, it is easy to make friends with people from other European countries.
I think to an extent it's always going to be isolating if you live in a country where you don't speak the language. --Obviously I'm taking classes, but it's not exactly a fast process. But yes, I think it is a bit harder in Norway than in many European countries.
I don't know what your plans are, but obviously what brings you to a country will have a huge effect on meeting people. If you come over here for college, for example, you'll meet people much faster - school always brings people closer together. It also depends on just how outgoing you are. I have to work hard at it since I'm more or less a typical computer geek which means I can easily find myself sitting in front of my computer instead of going out.
If you're naturally outgoing, you might get frustrated for a bit, but whereas it's taken me 6 months to start meeting people, you could probably do it much faster.
Hi,
What I'm curious about is that is it possible for Norwegians to be more enthusiastic with us once we become friends with them? and~ How do they treat foreigners? Will they keep a distance with foreigners?
I doubt you'll meet many, if any, Norwegians who will be purposefully rude to you. Just remember that what we might mistake for rudeness - ignoring people on the streets or trains, not making eye contact, not really talking to you, etc. - isn't their idea of being rude, to them, they're being polite by not bothering you.
At parties, however, they'll be more than happy to talk to you, and once you make friends, you're pretty much friends for life. And if you come and live in Norway, you will make friends - it might take a while, but then again, if you're lucky or very outgoing, you could have a group of friends within a couple of weeks of getting here.
Also, once your friends, the biggest sense of distance you'll feel is the language barrier. Although most of them are happy to speak to you in English, they'll often switch back into Norwegian without thinking if they're speaking to someone else in the group, which can make keeping up with a conversation a bit difficult. Obviously I don't hold that against them, and it gives me an incentive to try and learn Norwegian faster.