Hi all! Can't believe what a great find this expatblog forum is! I'd like some advice and/or links to help me with some things...
I would like to move to Oslo to do my masters (or depending on how long from now, perhaps PhD) in psychology at the University of Oslo. I have found out that they offer scholarships to students from 3rd world countries (like South Africa, where I'm from), and so I'm really excited about applying for this and having that help to cover my living expenses. Both in preparation for living in Norway, and in order to help my application for such a scholarship, I want to start preparation as early as possible.
One of the most important things will be to start studying the language. As I've spent the last 3 years learning Japanese while living in Japan, I think I should be able to handle Norwegian! (And I also speak Afrikaans, which seems to have a lot of similarites to Norwegian). Does anyone have any recommended sources to learn Norwegian from? (free sources of course being preferred, although paid sources are an option).
Also, I have come to discover that having an interest in the culture can really speed up language learning - for example I love Japanese anime, which is great incentive for me to learn more Japanese). Is there somewhere I could read up on potentially interesting Norwegian art forms / customs / pasttimes that would both help me learn the language and look good on a scholarship application?
I am also concerned about the amount of money it would take to start a student life in Oslo - any tips or info on this? The Oslo Uni website had a simple breakdown of costs, but I'd love something more detailed.
Last, I'm looking into eventually working as a psychologist in Norway. Thankfully I've read that Norway has a shortage of psychologists (thankfully for me, not Norway! ) I'd like to find out about how one becomes registered as a psychologist in Norway, what kind of training is needed, what opportunities for English speaking psychologists there are, etc. Any info on this would be appreciated!
Any and all help would be amazing! Looking forward to seeing what you have to say!
P.S. Obviously feel free to reply to 1 or 2 points only if you don't have info on the others! Don't be intimidated by my gush of text :S Hehehe