Sexual politics, Culture, and Justice in Norway
This past August and September I had the chance to explore Norway as a part of a UW Study Abroad Exploration Seminar. One thing that I have learned since arriving back in the States is that I don’t, has command of the English language to paint the picture of all my experiences abroad. Even though I kept a journal of each day, which I highly recommend to everyone who leaves the borders of the Pacific Northwest, the best I can do is provide a few key points of my pre-departure, arrival, and my last few days back.
Pre-departure
In my most comfortable pair of sweatpants and phone in hand, I sat inside the SeaTac airport for hours before my flight. I listened to music, I messaged family and typed out my own thoughts onto my phone. Prior to arriving at the airport, I had thought of study abroad as a half-empty promise that I had tricked myself into believing. A promise similar to the promises our parents would tell us as kids to keep us quiet in hopes that we would forget they were made. Somehow, I managed to keep myself from believing any of it was happening. Having spent nearly twenty-two hours up, my mind hadn’t been prepared to get launched across the pond to the land of the Vikings, the Nobel Peace Prize, and the world’s highest quality of living. Rather than feel a swell of excitement I was feeling more anxiety, guilt, homesickness, and sleep deprivation.
Arrival/ Day 1
After a lot of dairy writing and flying, I landed in London and hopped from London-Gatwick airport back into the air, headed straight for my would-be home for the next month—Oslo, Norway. Upon my arrival, and what felt like three days in the air, I changed and brushed my teeth in the public restroom (which is probably only socially acceptable in an airport setting) and headed to the express train. For hours I walked in circles trying to follow the directions printed on my map, which was slowly fading and disintegrating in my hand from the downpour of rain that welcomed my arrival. For about an hour I didn’t speak a word to another human being. The reason for this was partly because I thought I knew where I was headed and partly because I had been hearing this strange song-like language being spoken all around me and I had developed a fear of speaking English.
As if to throw me a bone, I was lucky enough to run into the assistant professor who guided me to the hotel, a mere three blocks from the station. After a quick check-in with the hotel receptionist, I dropped off my luggage and slumped onto the bed and napped the rest of the afternoon, waking up to witness a pair of men doing donuts on Lime Scouters at 2 AM.
Though I roomed all by myself most of the time in Norway, once my classmates began to file in I would frequently check-in and bug my other them, asking them about their thoughts, feelings, and first impressions in this wildly different place I kept waking up in. Sometimes we would play 100 questions, sometimes impromptu karaoke, other nights we would host sleepovers and
What I came to realize was that so much was happening to this small group of people, but each person experienced it differently from the other, and I wanted to know how others processed all this information.
For each week that passed while I was abroad, It felt like I had lived a months’ worth, but each day had some general layout.
Morning
Mornings were times for recovery, a jog throughout the city, 7-11 runs for pastries, and early morning lectures in the Stue/Living room or a traveling lecture that occurred while on buses or trains toward governmental organizations or other cities.
Afternoon
We would usually end class sessions with a visit to a nearby restaurant, after which people would separate into groups. Some would visit museums or visit with foreign exchange friends, others wanted to visit the stores nearby our apartment, and some would take siestas or watch Netflix. The afternoons were open for nearly everything. The goal at the end of the day was to gather as many different experiences as you could so that you could share it with the class. It’s a very different form of learning and sharing of knowledge than what I was accustomed to.
Evenings
Evenings were often relaxed, usually, it involved writing down notes and events from that day or going to the store to find food and chocolate needed to keep me over for the next week or few days. However, among the Norwegians, there was a ritual that started each Thursday and would end on Saturday, where people could be seen putting on their best clothes while balancing a glass of their favorite beverage in the other.
My first night I learned that the city won’t sleep until 2 or 3 Am and often it was difficult to sleep when an entire karaoke bar is singing Hakuna Matata. Rather than get angry or get grumpy, it’s best to put on your best clothes and see where the night takes you (and make sure to bring a walking buddy!).
Day Two: A look at the intersection of Culture and Sexual Politics
The second day was a proper introduction to Norway, in my opinion. We completed miles upon miles of walking with our first destination bound for a famous park known for its statues, Vigeland Sculpture Park. The history behind the park speaks for itself. A park dedicated to what it means to be human and the many emotions, accomplishments, and trials that we all have or will face. Being an outsider to this park, you’d be quick to judge all the nudity everywhere, but after watching some media and learning a bit of history, the meanings behind a lot of things begin to change. Nudity began to represent a sense of purity; there was nothing to hide behind and one’s emotions were worn on their sleeves. In Norway, nudity isn’t seen as being overtly sexual as it is seen in the US and the rights of people weren’t questioned as stark as the US either. Norway has had a history of commerce and conquest during the early days of the Vikings, and as a Viking, you were respected based upon your skill and your craft. Moving forward, we would see the rise of the Nordic model, aka the “welfare state”, in which the betterment of all, whether that be policies, taxation, or healthcare, would be favored and seen as a benefit for the individual, allowing for social mobility and equality not seen in many other countries outside of Scandinavia. Through this Nordic model, one could see how mobility as almost a right to the person living there. It was amazing to see the subtle shifts in attitudes and the value assigned to certain things that clashed with our traditional thoughts, one example of this was the paternal leave, where a new father is awarded paid vacation time to spend with their child. This seemingly simple stroll through this park and many others brought about a sense of awe in the way that Norway has been able to bridge gaps between genders and people as a whole.
Though most of what I had said earlier seems too good to be true, there are some problems in Norway that they haven’t quite solved one hundred percent. Immigrants, new or old, have been having difficulties being fully welcomed into Norwegian society. Those newly immigrating to Norway, called “new” Norwegians, may be able to speak, write, and understand Norwegian in their new country, but for as long as they live in Norway, they may never really be able to make friends with a Norwegian. An example of this that I was able to find was that of my Swiss friend studying in Oslo, who had lived in Oslo for three years. She had mentioned that her only friends that she has been able to make were other exchange students, who often cycle out of the university every quarter. This wasn’t because she hadn’t tried to make friends with everyone, but because the students who were Norwegian had a network of friends that they were raised with since their early years of schooling.
A more dramatic case of this can be seen on a near day to day basis in Oslo. Walking down the marketplace you’d most likely be encountered by a person asking for change, targeting people who are thought to be foreigners, while avoiding the ones who seem to be Norwegian. The Romani people in Oslo usually are unable to speak much Norwegian or English, causing massive problems in representation in any form of government or even in the healthcare system, resulting in a rise in illness due to a lack of health literacy.
Words of Advice
Usually, I don’t find myself in a position to be giving advice to others, but I thought it would be nice to think about the things I would tell myself if I could go back in time before the study abroad began.
- Start your program the moment you’re accepted
- Like I had mentioned before, I didn’t believe I was able to go abroad until my feet had touched down in Oslo and I couldn’t read a word. Events and deadlines move fast, so to encourage yourself and eliminate that fear of where to go and where to find the money for it, ask for help. People know people and some people know scholarships and others know what you should put into a scholarship. Take that first step!
- Learn to listen well
- Unplug and listen to what your surroundings sound like and take a mental note. What do you hear? What don’t I hear? When talking with people listen to their thoughts and compare them to your own. What are they trying to tell you?
- Write it down and save a picture
- As the old saying goes, if you didn’t write it down, it didn’t happen. Whether it be for your own well-being, your own note-taking, or for a blog somewhere on the internet, a diary and a quick picture of the surroundings is all you need to remember and relive the days. Even what seems to be mundane can be a fond memory and a learning experience, though you don’t know it at that moment.
- Take healthy risks
- If you have two left feet, but you are invited to dance, then go dance. If you have a fear of talking to people, but you have a good enough excuse to start talking, introduce yourself. These small moments lead to lasting memories. If you get embarrassed, think of embarrassment as your superpower. It makes you interesting, willing to take risks, and somehow manages to exude confidence all at the same time.
- Pack light and leave some room in your suitcase
- Most people won’t use all of the things they bring and some things you will be able to live without. Leaving an extra bit of space in your luggage allows you to pack items that you will horde and want to bring back as souvenirs or the clothes that you ended up buying to match the weather. This way, you won’t have to plan on purchasing a last-minute bag of luggage because your first bag was over the weight limit.
- A bedroom is meant for sleeping
- Don’t spend your days watching TV all the time. You can watch tv at night. Go out for a walk or bus ride instead with a classmate or meet up for a drink (coffee or a cocktail, whichever is the norm near you) with that person from Tinder. There are many stories to be made and many more to be told.
- Ask questions to everyone about everything
- When you touch down wherever you end up going, you will notice every minute detail stick out at you and you will begin sounding like your five-year-old self asking “—but why?” For the people that live there, it may be a fun talking point to go over these questions and see where it takes you.
- When you ask questions—you learn about yourself. You will learn about all the many tricks that make you a foreigner in other peoples’ eyes.
- Stay in contact with family
- Though homesickness may not be that bad for the most seasoned of travelers, its still a good idea, both for your mental health and that of loved ones, to stay in contact with people back home. A simple picture or a small video can relieve many fears and be a good way to journal as well.
- Get a credit card/physical currency and know your conversions
- That small croissant from 7 Eleven will cost you more than 50 cents. A credit card can be used without racking up currency exchange costs. Sometimes the luxury of a debit/credit card won’t be available or maybe you need to catch a bus or other expenses, so have some backup currency on hand.
- Go in without expectations
- Planning to have certain expectations of a program will damn you to be disappointed in some way and potentially rob you of the positive learning experiences to be had. To go abroad doesn’t mean you will find all of life’s answers, nor does it have to be related to your major entirely. It is more a personal adventure that you can share if you so choose.
Brian Mendoza, Summer 2019
