AboutRoy Helge Rasmussen Expertise I live in the southern part of norway and can find my way around most of the country. I will answer questions about social life, culture, language and politics to the best of my knowledge. I am not so good at travel tips outside the south-eastern parts, although I will try to answer.
Experience I live here and have been guiding members of my family around when they visit from abroad for years.
Expert: Roy Helge Rasmussen Date: 4/21/2008 Subject: Moving to Norway as a PhD student
Question QUESTION: Hi
I'm going to move to Norway as PhD student at NTNU, I'm from Iran and will go to Trondheim. You previous answers were quite comprehensive, would you please help me with these questions:
1- As a person with Middle Eastern background, do you think that I might face any problem in Norwegian society? (can you compare the situation with other European countries?)
2- My salary is about 350k NOK(before tax of course) and I'm single. What level of living should I expect?
3- I'm not a religious moslem, however I don't use to drink alcohol (I don't smoke as well, I mean its not a religious belief ), Does it mean a negative social behavior there? (especially when you are from a moslem country)
ANSWER: 1) Not more than elsewhere. You will probably have to answer the same questions about civil liberties in Iran, and the religious political system until you're sick of it, but if you can endure that, you'll probably be ok. If you're genuinly interested in learning how people think, then I believe you'll do fine. But this is the same for any person moving to a different culture. The iranian community in norway is quite large, so there'll be thing to do when you feel homesick, but don't rely on an iranian (if such a thing exist) network for all your social needs. Learn about the locals, how they think, what they feel, what they fear, and you'll come home a much richer person. Good people and a-holes are everywhere, noone but you can sort them out. Especially pride issues can be quite different from what you're used to, and the management culture. Don't assume, ask and ask (and not only other iranians) until things make sense, and your life will be so much more enjoyable.
2) That salary is decent enough. If you only have yourself to support you'll do just nicely. This is about the salary of a schoolteacher, or a nurse, or a common clerk. The cost distribution is different though, so be careful with how much you spend until you get a feel for what is expensive and what is not so expensive. You'll have to forget most of what you know about cost levels anyway, so start learning from basics from day one. Services will be generally to expensive for everyday use, so you'll have to learn to cook and clean as one of the first things you do.
3) Not smoking is the norm these days. All public establishments, restaurants, schools, offices, bars and pubs are now smoke free in norway. If you'd been a heavy smoker, that would have been a much more difficult adaption. Not drinking is a matter of personal choice, and teetotalism is actually getting more popular again with the increase in muslim population in norway. Just tell people that you dont drink, and order a Coke or something else. Having strict dietary rules is much more difficult in a social context. If you can eat anything you'll have a much easier time socializing with locals. (You don't have to LIKE the food after all.) I have an Indian friend who worked a few years in Bhutan, the poorest country in the world with building telephone infrastructure. He went there not eating pork, to avoid conflict with the muslims, and not eating beef to avoid ticking off the hindu and a lot of other rules. He came back eating anything served on a platter that looked like it could be chewed. Life is much easier now he told me.
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QUESTION: Dear Roy, your answers were impressive, it seems that you know Iranians well ;) Would you please tell me more about this sentence:
" ...Especially pride issues can be quite different from what you're used to, and the management culture..."
(I assume that you had some experiences regarding these issues, isn't it?)
Answer I don't know Iranians in any particular, but every nation, every region and every social group has its own rules and social norms that must be understood to avoid uneccesary conflict.
When do people get hurt? When do they feel they are loosing face? When should you back off and when should you press on a point? There are as many answers to this as there are people on earth. The best answer is almost always to ask one more time, just to be on the safe side, at least in europe this holds true.
But advice needs to be tailored to the cultural bias of the listener too. My wife is japanese and one of her biggest problems with scandinavian culture is be straight forward enough, to stop trying to anticipate what the person she is talking to is thinking. For my american friends I advice completely the other way - I urge them to START trying to anticipate what people are thinking so that they do not need to offend when they don't have to.
Observe, ask and ask until you find the logic behind what you feel is completely illogical and stupid behaveour. When you understand the underlying motives that drive people, and the philosophy they live by, then you will also be able to like them much more easily.
Coming from the middle east, one of your social hurdles will most likely be to accept gender equality. If you cannot accept a female boss, you need to get used to it fast or get lost.
Also, you will be driven up the walls with twerps starting sentences with things like:"Here in norway, we........." This can't be helped and you will probably have to live with it for a while. You will just have to learn to shut your ears and think of something else while it lasts ;-)
I have an eastern european colleague who has never come to terms with the scandinavian management culture. He has this idea that a real manager/boss must be an authoritarian father-figure that knows everything better than everybody and who yell at people to make the work faster. I real life that is the most effecive way to commit social suicide in the workplace for a new manager. Many french and british managers coming here to do business have learned this the hard way.
A good scandinavian manager is one that is good at personal skills, is always up front with the paperwork and keeps out of the way of the people actually doing the job. The employees on the other hand are expected to work efficiently without supervision and do their share without being told to. If everybody just does what is needed, then life runs smoother and everybody are happy. At least when it works and most people participate.
