My mornings here generally started by browsing the websites to get information on both Norway and Nepal. But the language barrier really made my job difficult as I almost lived like an illiterate. Though my three-week Norwegian language course helped me understand a few words, I hardly could comprehend full sentences and try to look instead at pictures and familiar words in Norwegian newspapers to get a sense of what is happening around me. Thanks to Aftenposten daily's English website, I could at least inform myself to some extent of Norway's social and political events.

My stint at Framtiden I vare hender basically focused on writing stories for their bi-monthly publication Folkevett (Common sense). As I did not get regular space in the magazine, I had the freedom of working on my ideas. Some of the activities I was involved in were traveling different places inside Norway, visiting various organizations and meeting new people in new places. The three weeks long preparatory course in Bergen, the second biggest city in Norway after capital Oslo, was really an eye-opener into the Norwegian society, which helped me live alone in a new environment.

Traveling has always been my priority in life, as it makes you understand and deal with a new society. This too continued during my stay in Norway, the most important one being the trip to Sami land in Finnmark in Northern part of the country. Koutekino is the heartland of Samis, the minority ethnic community, having their own language, culture, history, lifestyle and fashion. Knowing and experiencing the existence of ethnic community like Sami in one of the most developed nations was really surprising. These Samis even have their own parliament in Kharashok, which came into existence in 1889 after a long struggle against the regime in Oslo.

A country of beautiful fords and serene natural settings, Norway is popularly known as the land of the midnight Sun. This prompted me to take a trip to the North where Sun never sets in the summer. Even in Oslo, which is in the south, Sun sets only at around 11 p.m. and again rises after three, four hours. The more north you travel, the day becomes longer and night shorter. From this trip to the north to the trips to Floroe, Olusan and Snillfjords, from Trondheim (known as Paris of the north Europe) to Bodoe, traveling was always a pleasure. And a three-day trip on a cruise ship from Bodoe to Hammerfest, the northern most cities in the world, was no doubt a lifetime experience. It's not everyday that you get the chance for a cruise through the beautiful fjords. From visiting Christian missionaries in Kristiansand and Sarandal in western coast to a skiing trip to Lillehammer, near Oslo, my stay allowed me to travel throughout Norway. And the most exciting trip was to Svalvard Island, a no-mans land that is under the Norwegian administrative control but without any nation's full control. Adventurers begin their trip to the North Pole from here where about 2,500 people live. When I reached there, the temperature was minus 31 degree Celsius with almost 100 kilometres per hour wind.

Sangeeta along with some school children protesting against some commercials in the text books in Norway

Overall, after traveling throughout the country and meeting different people and community, my stint in Norway not only helped me get insight into the Norwegian society, but also made me more confident and had positive impact on my mindset.

Sangeeta Lama
Sangeeta is a Nepali journalist participating in an exchange programme between NEFEJ and Framtiden I våre Hender (Future In Our Hands), a Norwegian organisation.