So, im sitting here in bed, my girlfriend hooked on a Call of Cthulu campaign book (If you don't know, its best not to ask... its scary), listening to Billy Joel and wondering what to sort out for breakfast. It was then that I realised... I have a blog...
So... Hi! Again!
So first off, what has happened since my last post? Many many things! But to help me remember them all Ill segregate them nicely below.
Norwegian, the wall hath cometh!
Okay, after the norsk kurs, trinn 2, me and some friends got together and formed a study group. Very useful. At the moment we are reading through Brumm Bjørnen, also known as Whinni the Poo! Thats right, Im reading a kids book. But, the important thing is we are reading it together, to each other. This means we are exercising utterance, word recognition in sight and sound, sentence conjugation and then finally, learning new words. The real trick is remembering the bloody things! The best way I find is to use them in conversation as many times as you can.
New words today?
å rope
verkelig
egen
altfor
Sopp
Mygg
Høylydt
Ill tell you what they mean later. The important thing is that I remembered them!! I do find that a good nights sleep helps.
Now the wall as mentioned in the tag line, hath indeedth cometheth! There is a point apparently, in every language learners life when it seems that nothing more sticks. This is where I am. I am having so much trouble making new words stick its annoying. Im this close to getting myself checked for senility. Still, I am making progress, just very slowly! Any tips would be most appreciated! Still, as a running joke between my other two study group friends, between the three of us we make a decent Norwegian student!
Job searching!
"Ahh, but you must be able to speak Norwegian to do this job."
"Men, jeg kan snakker litt norsk. Jeg har bare slutt trinn 2 av norsk kurset fra folkuniversitetet."
"Ahh, but you must be able to speak fluent Norwegian."
"Ahh. Right then."
This is me for the umpteenth time trying to secure a job over the phone. It seems simply knowing enough Norwegian isnt enough. I can understand. As a country Norway has spent too long allowing English to become a rival language. Now, they only want fluent Norwegian speakers and there isnt enough people who can fit in all the jobs available. Its weird. Even in this climate Norway has loads more jobs available than Britain. Still, it is something they need to do else in thirty years Norwegian might be a minority language. Pain in't ass mind you, for me.
After many emails, phone calls, actual visits, the only real hopes I have rest in my friends who have connections at their own workplace. So... its like most countries then.
11th hour....
Because of the EU agreement between Britain and Norway, I had 6 months free visa until I had to leave. Of course if given a job offer or contract I could then apply for a work permit and stay for good. Unfortunately for reasons above etc, it hasn't happened. SO...by November it looks like I may have to go home for a few months before I can return. A three month break as I understand it. I'm not giving up though, and still apply for everything I can.
Of course if I do manage to pull it off, well, that trip back would become one awesome holiday wouldn't it?
I wont lie, its emotionally charged situation. Still, I refuse to be stressed by it. I will endevour and try and if I get sent packing, I will try again. So there.
That said, wouldnt it be funny if it was at the last minute?
More soon!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
http://www.udi.no/upload/English/FactSheet/FaktaarkEuEosEngelsk.pdf
ReplyDeleteIt's Ok you just have to take the boat to Denmark or a trip to Sweden. Keep a record of the ticket to show you left the country and you're OK, no need to leave for 3 months
å rope - to shout
ReplyDeleteverkelig - Virkelig - real
egen - own
altfor - allfor
Sopp - Mushroom
Mygg - insect (midge)
Høylydt - høylytt - loud
The only tip is stick with it and continue to imerse youself with reading and listening and when you can speaking and writing. Use the words in context, just like a child does when first learning a word as the association makes it stick. For nouns look at the object when you say the word, don't do it in the abstract. For verbs see the motion/action if you can.
lykke til
I don't know where you are but there is a barnehage in Fredrikstad looking for bilingual - mostly English speaking staff. It's Do-re-mi and is registered on finn.no.
ReplyDeleteI met one of the English assistants who recently arrived from the UK. I believe that they take on a lot of staff who work there to learn Norwegian and then move on.....
Hey found your blog from browsing around. I just moved to Norway and will be here for a year since my company sent me out here.
ReplyDeleteWow! Just noticed the comments left here! Thanks for the advice Max, I figured out the first bit recently and jumped around like an idiot.
ReplyDelete"The time required out of the country is indeterminate." What is the point of that?
Those words do get used. Of late it seems I get more practice with the words I do know and it gets harder to add new words. Is this normal?
Migrationdiary, thanks for the tip off, Ill check that one out when I get a chance.
Writer, where abouts you live?
I live in Høvik, about 20 minutes bus ride from Oslo. This is also because I go to work in Sandvika.
ReplyDelete