Hi Florian,
How are you? We have a few questions to you regarding your study exchange in Norway.
Could you tell us in brief about the subjects you are currently taking?
I'm attending four classes here in Norway : Sales Management and Selling, Entrepreneurship, Negotiation and Norwegian language and culture. So far I've found most classes to be interesting, but the Norwegian is giving me a bit of trouble because of how different it is from French.
What did you expect about life in Norway? Was it different from expected, if so – how?
I was expecting life in Norway to be more expensive than the one I led in Belgium. Most products in stores are indeed more expensive but if you look for deals and cheaper products, you can get by easily. As a proud Belgian beer lover, I was also expecting beer to be very expensive as well and unfortunately, that is the case.
Norway is also surprisingly green compared to Belgium. I was told about how environmentally-friendly Norway was but I didn't expect this much. Forests as far as the eye can see, huge fjords and vast natural areas can be found all around the country and even urban areas (Oslo, Drammen, Hønefoss) are fairly green. It really is a beautifully preserved country.
I was also expecting a colder weather than we have in Belgium. As of mid-october, I can say that that is the case. Temperatures in Norway reached 0 degrees celsius already while Belgium is still enjoying a 15-20 degrees daily weather.
Because of what I'd read from previous exchange students from my school, I expected Norwegians to be a lot colder and less sociable than Belgians. This is partly true : Norwegians like to have their own space more than we do but they are still very sociable and I haven't had any problems meeting people or making friends. The two buddy weeks we had before classes started really helped include us into the local student life.
Why did you chose to study in Norway?
Having lived in Africa (Ghana) for 10 years and in central Europe (Belgium) for the last 10, I had already seen a lot of both continents and had never been up north. I was really eager to score an exchange program in either Norway (1st choice) or Sweden and didn't want to go anywhere else, so I didn't pick any other countries even though I was allowed 5 choices. My gamble paid off (luckily) and I was offered a program in my first choice school.
I was also, of course, very interested in the program USN offered. Studying both marketing in Belgium and international marketing in Norway seemed like a perfect way to broaden my education and give me extra opportunities for my future career.
Anything you want to share with other students and employees that you think they should learn about your home country?
Belgians are very open and sociable people. All of us can seem pushy or rude to Norwegians because of the way we interact with other people: we talk to people we've never met when we're on a bus or a train, we start up conversations with random strangers to break the silence, we say hello every time we see someone we even barely know... That's just the way we are. Just know that we are in no way willingly trying to be rude or annoying!
Any other feedback you would like to share with us?
I've been loving my experience in Norway so far. Except for Belgian beer, I haven't really missed anything from my home country. People are nice and courses are interesting. I couldn't have asked for a better school for my exchange program and don't regret my choice one bit. Thanks to USN for having me!
Thanks for reading me! Ha en fin dag!
Florian De Groote.
