Norway, Get Back to Basics

Norway is a very proud country and boasts being the best for many things. Some of the claims I’ve heard since moving here include: having the purest water in the world, the best milk in the world, best prisons and then if I remember correctly it apparently falls in the top 3 for the best roads, best army and richest/most expensive country in the world. There are probably many more obvious ones I’ve left out, but then again I don’t tolerate much boasting so I dare not ask again. If you want to know more about this particular subject, simply strike up a conversation with a Norwegian and I’m sure they will happily tell you why their country is the best in the world.

When I decided to move to Norway, everyone I spoke to told me all the amazing things they’d heard about it (mainly about how beautiful it is) and said that they had either been and loved it or were dying to visit. It was then that I decided I was going to find out what’s wrong with Norway. That sounds really cynical, but if you think about it, you rarely hear anything bad about Norway. It’s very expensive, but people often justify it by saying that the quality of life is so much better as a result. It is an amazing place, but there’s got to be something wrong with it, right?

Now I’ve only been here just over a month, which is not nearly long enough to fully evaluate the country, but I can definitely say 1) there’s a lot of paperwork 2) it’s very expensive and 3) there’s a contradiction in people’s values. Yes, I’m being rather vague and bold with number 3. If you are Norwegian and you get offended easily, then I don’t recommend reading on.

The image I had of Norwegians from my own experience and from what I heard before moving here was that Norwegians enjoy the simple things in life. Many families own a “hytte” which is basically a cabin in the woods. The general rule is: the simpler the better. My family owns one which doesn’t have any electricity or running water and there is nothing surrounding it apart from forest and a lake- pretty idyllic really.

Some friends here organised the ultimate day out for me and a friend visiting from England. They took us to their house to get kitted out in the appropriate winter attire before whisking us off on a snowmobile up into the snowy mountains. The others made their way on skis and met us at the hytte.  When we went inside, it was so warm and “koselig” (cosy) with the fire burning and we were greeted with a cup of coffee and a table full of Norwegian snacks. We all sat there telling stories and laughed a lot together.

It started to get dark, so we headed back to the house where we had a typical western Norwegian Christmas dinner (prepared especially for us in January). The meal consisted of pinnekjøtt (dried and salted lamb), potatoes and kålrot (“rutabaga” in English- whatever that is?!) with gravy. It was very simple, but incredibly tasty! It was then of course followed by coffee and dessert and more great chats with great people. Days like that make me think: This is the life, Norwegians have got it right.

Sadly, most days aren’t like that. And although it’s very Norwegian to enjoy the outdoors and to make everything “koselig” (if you want to know more about how to do that: check out this brilliant blog). I’ve found that on most days, Norwegians are so caught up in social media and the latest gadgets and trends that they become disconnected from those around them, in order to be connected with those who aren’t. Maybe Norwegians make for good long-distance partners? It’s a working theory.

This isn’t a new trend by any means, it’s probably found in most western countries, but I’ve noticed it especially here. Norwegians aren’t the most talkative of people, so when they’re more engaged with what’s happening on their phones than what’s happening around them- it’s quite noticeable. It’s even more noticeable when you’re the kind of person who would rather spend quality time with people without any disruptions (which means mobile phones are preferably out of sight).

There’s this tension between valuing the small things in life and then missing them completely because people are fixated on their phones instead. It’s a knock on effect in social situations too. It usually takes only one or two people to be on their phones, the majority aren’t really talking, people start to feel uncomfortable/bored and therefore take out their phones too. I noticed in a group of about 20 hanging out the other day, just over half had their phones out at the same time.

Maybe it’s a generational thing and maybe I’m very old for a 21 year old, but I think there’s something wrong when people don’t even know how to talk to each other anymore. I wish Norwegians would go back to basics a bit more in that aspect- please put your phones down and reengage, because it’s getting terribly lonely in the real world.