Different questions about Norway.

Kohagura wrote:

Hello. I'd like to know if anyone has had experiences with multiple areas in Norway, and if you can tell what it's like. What are some differences of the cities and towns, other than geographical/climate/weather differences?

Also, what job would be easier to find in Norway? I am currently skilled with cartoon/manga drawing, fashion design, and the game design industry. My cohabitant is working in a degree for Cisco, would that help in Norway?

How are east Asians(Japanese, Chinese, etc) generally looked at in Norway?

...Also, I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask, but are there laws on shotacon/lolicon(cartoon/anime/manga innuendo/porn involving minors)? If so, what would be the legal age?

Thanks.

Hi Kohagura!

I don't have experience with multiple areas, but I do have experience with one or two.  If more than I answer your question, you'll probably get a wide impression of things.

I live in Bergen.  It's a city of around 250,000 people.  Here, people speak in Bergen dialect which has been selected as the ugliest dialect in Norway.  There's a university, a thriving communist culture, a good music scene (all types of music, from classical to world to modern rock), and since there is a university, some reasonably priced pubs.  It gets a bit tourist-y in summer, and it rains a lot, but you get used to it.

I've also spent time in Oslo.  Oslo is a big city.  You can tell because there are more advertisements and neon signs, and things are open on a Sunday.  Generally speaking, Oslo is the political and economic centre of Norway (except maybe for Oil, that would be Stavanger).  Things in Norway go pretty gently, so Oslo probably will seem like a really slow town compared to, say, New York City.  Bergen is slower still, but not as slow as, say, Ørsta (municipality out in the country).

I'm a "second city" kind of person, so I like Edinburgh better than Glasgow, and Bergen better than Oslo.

IT professionals are needed all over Norway.  Trondheim, for some reason (probably google) has a bit of a computer gaming industry.  If you wanted to draw manga or do fashion design, then Oslo would probably be the place to go.  Norway only has around 4.5million people, so Oslo would probably be the best place in terms of finding a large enough audience to support your work.

The current bogeyman is Muslims, so I wouldn't worry to much about racist attacks if you're east asian.

As for the lolicon, Norwegian wikipedia says:

Alle bilder eller videoer som viser pornografi av personer i en barnslig sammenheng (som også inkluderer, for eksempel, enn voksen modell med barnslige klær/leker/omgivelser) blir betraktet som barnepornografi. Lolicon viser bilder av mangafigurer og blir derfor ikke sett på som barnepornografi og er lovlig* (selv om dette ikke er blitt lagt frem av norsk rett). Så langt har denne loven bare blitt brukt for å dømme individer som har vært i besittelse av ekte barnepornografi.

Or,

All pictures or videos which show pornography involving people in a child-like manner (which also includes, for example, an adult model wearing children's/child-like clothes, toys, etc) is seen as child pornography.

However, Lolicon shows pictures of anime characters [sic], og is therefor not seen as child pornography, and is legal (even though no case has yet to come before a Norwegian judge).  So far, the law has only been used to prosecute individuals who produce real child pornography

http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loliconhttp://www.lovdata.no/all/tl-19020522-010-023.html#204a

Of course, Wikipedia is not a lawyer, and could be wrong, so take that all with a pinch of salt.

Wow, thanks alot. This reply is very helpful!
I also tend to like second cities. I currently live in San Francisco(actually Daly City, in a suburban area), so I think I would want to move to a city that isn't too metropolitan, but still has some nice shops.
How is the availability for part-time or full-time retail jobs? I think I might start off with such a job.

Hello,

I think moving from San Francisco to any Norwegian "city" would be quite a big change. I would definitely recommend Bergen if you're going to move here. Although, as sctld said, it might be easier to find work in Oslo. I've never been to Oslo but everyone I have spoken to, including people from Oslo, have told me they don't like it. Not sure why.

I guess retail jobs come up fairly often, but I don't know how easy they are to get if you don't speak Norwegian. Having said that, I don't see a great deal of interaction between the people in shops and the customers. Regarding Norwegian, I don't think it's too difficult to learn, but the big problem is the significant variation in regional dialects. Then just to mix things up, two different ways of writing (though you only need to learn one). Still, these problems can be overcome.

I live in Haugesund , which is just to the south of Bergen. I guess it's fairly typical of a Norwegian town. They would call it a city, partly because it is from a Norwegian perspective and partly because they don't have separate words for town and city. There are 30,000 people in Haugesund itself and about 40,000 in the surrounding area. Not the most exciting place to live but not bad. One of the problem I find is that it's very difficult to go anywhere else. The numerous fjords and islands mean that it can take a long time to travel relatively short distances. Travelling also costs a fair bit.

This post has really just been me rambling. Perhaps some of it will be of interest.

One last comment on Bergen. There are actually 2 universities. The Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration has university status. As I'm associated with it, I thought I would just defend  it, even though it's completely irrelevant to the discussion.

David

I see. I am currently learning Norwegian(bokmål), and it seems really quite easy in comparison to learning a language like Japanese(which also has many dialects) or French. It is also fun to learn, I think.

Although I live near San Francisco, the particular area that I live in isn't really a big city like San Francisco itself. I think I'd enjoy living in a smaller city. I don't really go out much, like I've never had any alcoholic drinks, never went to pubs/clubs, and never smoked... To be honest, I only ever go out to shop, or to meet a friend.

I think it's nice to hear all you have to say about Norway, so I don't mind at all if the post is long.

Kohagura wrote:

I see. I am currently learning Norwegian(bokmål), and it seems really quite easy in comparison to learning a language like Japanese(which also has many dialects) or French. It is also fun to learn, I think.

Although I live near San Francisco, the particular area that I live in isn't really a big city like San Francisco itself. I think I'd enjoy living in a smaller city. I don't really go out much, like I've never had any alcoholic drinks, never went to pubs/clubs, and never smoked... To be honest, I only ever go out to shop, or to meet a friend.

I think it's nice to hear all you have to say about Norway, so I don't mind at all if the post is long.

Norwegian is definitely easier than Japanese, for English speakers.  But I can't stress enough dmcart's warning about not just the number of dialects (over 400), but the diversity of the dialects.  Many of the Norwegian dialects are found in isolated areas up in the mountains, and they've become very very different from standard Bokmål (even Oslo dialect is different from Bokmål - who says 'kastet' anyway?).  Let's compare bokmål and nynorsk (nynorsk, as I'm sure you're aware, better represents the dialects of the west and south of Norway than the dialects of the east and north):

I     jeg      eg
We    vi       me
Come  kommer   kjem
How   hvordan  korleis
Much  mye      mykje

Those are pretty common words, and they're all different, and that's before we start to talk about dialects (as in, this is just the writing system).  In Norway, everyone speaks in their own dialect, and they normally won't change it just for your benefit.  My Norwegian is pretty good.  I've been mistaken for a Norwegian, on more than one occasion, even after I'd opened my mouth, but I still have work colleagues I can't understand (one form the north especially - hestanj?  baljlj?  uh....?).

I don't really have any recommendations on how to prepare for this, beyond maybe reading about the dialects, and the history of the Norwegian language.  Most of that information is available in Norwegian, and some of it also in English.

Do you watch lots of Norwegian TV / listen to a lot of Norwegian music with audible lyrics?  That could help a lot too.

In addition, the tones also vary from dialect to dialect, too.

I don't have any Norwegian shows that I can watch, but sometimes friends recommend some nice Norwegian bands that sing in different Norwegian dialects. I like Norwegian folk music, but I find it harder to listen to the lyrics, so I've been listening to alt rock type of music more.
If there are any Norwegian shows or movies you can recommend, that would be nice too. I don't know if they sell/rent any here, but it's worth checking. I like cartoons alot, so that would also be nice to recommend, though I generally don't like romance.

Without wanting to discourage you, Norwegian people can be welcoming but dealing with The State in Norway may well leave you kind of "stateless". If there was a big manga scene in Norway to serve, that might make sense but I don't see that and how you could make a living and compete with Norwegian manga artistes, I don't know. The Norwegians are well looked after by their state but as a foreigner, you can end up freezing and starving. Even being offered a good job is no guarantee of a good life once all the deductions have come off your salary and you've discovered how expensive things can be.

A few people I know have left Norway feeling they had the best of it during the late 80s and 90s. It doesn't "feel" like it used to here.

I'm not living in Norway but I've been coming here regularly for work since 2007, splitting my time between Oslo and Trondheim.

As a second city person myself (although I currently live in the "first city" of Iceland), I seriously considered moving to Trondheim last year. The people I work with who live there all seem to be quite proud of their hometown and have plenty of options in the music & culture scene, plus great access to mountains for outdoor activities.

It seems to be relatively international-person friendly because of the large university presence, and is just such a wonderfully charming town compared to Oslo (in my opinion at least, but I'm a sucker for some nice old buildings).  I've got some Norwegian friends who've lived in both Oslo and Trondheim and spoke fondly of the Trondheim times.

Kohagura wrote:

Hello. I'd like to know if anyone has had experiences with multiple areas in Norway, and if you can tell what it's like. What are some differences of the cities and towns, other than geographical/climate/weather differences?

Also, what job would be easier to find in Norway? I am currently skilled with cartoon/manga drawing, fashion design, and the game design industry. My cohabitant is working in a degree for Cisco, would that help in Norway?

How are east Asians(Japanese, Chinese, etc) generally looked at in Norway?

...Also, I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask, but are there laws on shotacon/lolicon(cartoon/anime/manga innuendo/porn involving minors)? If so, what would be the legal age?

Thanks.

Hi Kohagura,

I think I'm the first Asian to reply to you
I'm a Chinese Singaporean trying to find a job here in the media industry. Norwegians here are pretty open to Asians, having grown up with Vietnamese immigrants and South Korean adopted children. However sometimes there is a slight coldness I've experienced at first meeting, but at the second meeting with the same person, Norwegians open up and they have a wicked sense of humour sometimes, so don't get too offended.

I tried recently to apply for a job at the Japanese Embassy, because I have some Japanese language skills, but I've found that learning Norwegian is a *very* important part in finding a job here even if you know English. There are some Chinese here from China too, and they usually work in restaurants and some retail (Asian shops).

Weather in Oslo:
now 5-6 degrees, winter and snow lasts long in Norway, from October - March. They consider Easter holiday (beginning of April) to be the proper start of Spring.

Cities in the mountains are colder: first snow starts in October in Kongsberg, an engineering city. It is usually one-two degrees colder than Oslo.

Incidentally, I'm doing some research in setting up a business in Norway. As a manga artist, do you happen to know what are the most popular kawaii Japanese stationary in Japan? I'm looking for unique products, mostly cards, cute stuff, stationery.



hugs,
adri

Little Pixy Boots wrote:

Hi Kohagura,

I think I'm the first Asian to reply to you
I'm a Chinese Singaporean trying to find a job here in the media industry. Norwegians here are pretty open to Asians, having grown up with Vietnamese immigrants and South Korean adopted children. However sometimes there is a slight coldness I've experienced at first meeting, but at the second meeting with the same person, Norwegians open up and they have a wicked sense of humour sometimes, so don't get too offended.

I tried recently to apply for a job at the Japanese Embassy, because I have some Japanese language skills, but I've found that learning Norwegian is a *very* important part in finding a job here even if you know English. There are some Chinese here from China too, and they usually work in restaurants and some retail (Asian shops).

Weather in Oslo:
now 5-6 degrees, winter and snow lasts long in Norway, from October - March. They consider Easter holiday (beginning of April) to be the proper start of Spring.

Cities in the mountains are colder: first snow starts in October in Kongsberg, an engineering city. It is usually one-two degrees colder than Oslo.

Incidentally, I'm doing some research in setting up a business in Norway. As a manga artist, do you happen to know what are the most popular kawaii Japanese stationary in Japan? I'm looking for unique products, mostly cards, cute stuff, stationery.



hugs,
adri

Thanks for the info.
I've also been taking a class on cosmetology/hairdressing at the college where I currently live(Daly City/Skyline), because I am having a struggle with art-related contract jobs, so i think that it might be a little easier with more job options.

I haven't been to Japan in a few years, but by going to stores in Japantown in nearby San Francisco, it seems there's lots of cute-looking character-themed stationary items(characters ranging from animals to foods and inanimate objects). Basically anything with a cute simple face on it, hihihi.

Personally, I like when they have stuff that makes use of the shape of the character for the functionality, like I remember they had this empty plush cat with a long torso(much like longcat) which could open up with a zipper and store pencils or something.

I'm also sure that things from popular anime shows would probably get good sales from fans of the show, but I have heard that anime is still new to Norway, and there's just small groups of anime fans. If Norway has anime conventions, I'm sure setting up a vendor there would be good.

This is kind of on the same subject. I am from the U.S. and 3 years ago I made a cake for one of my high school classes and I am pretty sure it is from Norway. It starts with a K and I cannot remember the name of it. I also could not find the recipe. i remember some of the ingredients are Vanilla sugar, 6 eggs, flour, and sugar. It is a layer of cake, then a layer of meringue then another layer of cake topped with fruit. If someone could tell me what the name of that cake is it would be greatly appreciated. It has been bugging me for weeks. I cannot remember the website it was on but even if I could I am sure it has been taken off by now.

Thank you all for your time.

Moonspell wrote:

This is kind of on the same subject. I am from the U.S. and 3 years ago I made a cake for one of my high school classes and I am pretty sure it is from Norway. It starts with a K and I cannot remember the name of it. I also could not find the recipe. i remember some of the ingredients are Vanilla sugar, 6 eggs, flour, and sugar. It is a layer of cake, then a layer of meringue then another layer of cake topped with fruit. If someone could tell me what the name of that cake is it would be greatly appreciated. It has been bugging me for weeks. I cannot remember the website it was on but even if I could I am sure it has been taken off by now.

Thank you all for your time.

Probably a kransekake? Oh, I'm not really sure...