New flat, new problems...

Far from another moan, the expression "may he live interesting" times comes to mind. On my birthday I got a few presents, non more surprising than to be told by our new landlord that we could move in that evening.
Right there and then, I new something would go wrong. Though bless her, my girl Ingrid was an unstoppable supply of smiles and small giggles.
The single mother who left did so with speed. I can understand why, with two kids, 32m2 was no place for them.
Within five minutes I had already worked out what I affectionately call a "shit list." This is a list of "shit" things that need addressing. One of which was a lack of working lock.
Thankfully the next day I stayed in the flat for seven hours while a locksmith was called and new locks installed. I met the landlord, but did not get a chance to tell him about the other problems:

• shower and taps coming away from the walls,
• toilet seat broken,
• shabby and unsafe shelving in the cupboard,
• painted over light switches,
• exposed electric socket,
• exposed bell (talking visable electric contacts)

The list goes on.
Still, we managed to fix the toilet seat, locks are good meaning we can now leave the place. Then of coarse the hot water stops. Now I realise we are on the top floor, but after leaving the tap going for around five minutes? I could hear Bob Geldoff screaming.

Meh. Ingrids mother keeps telling me to stop moaning and work on it and I am trying to do just that. I think maybe that I am just sorely disapointed with the disapearance of Norwegian high standard of living you know?

Anyway, its cheap, free heating, good position and the kitchen? Oh dear gods the kitchen is awesome. Very Ikea.

Oh, and theres this very strange thing attached to the wall that noone can Identify. Ill get a pic of it for you but it kind of looks like a small slate screen attacthed to an exposed (albiet painted over) cirtcuit board.

Thanks for reading.

R

A curse on both your plumbing!!!

HATE PLUMBERS! They make chains of badness!

Allow me to explain. As you might already know, me and my girl are currently living with her parents. Its not so bad, but we have been led along. Led along by people being led along. Unfortunately for the young mum (two kids), who is currently waiting to move into a bigger home, she is at the un-tender mercies of plumbers.

Ever heard this line?
"Oh yeah, it will be finished today/tomorrow."

We'll they've told her this nearly five times now, and as a consequence she has told us this.
We still have no certainty other than the finality that we will at some point in the near future be moving in!!

ANyway, this post is more of a moan than anything else. Obviously it could have been much much worse, but it isn't, so I'm moaning about this. So there.

Well I feel much better.

On the good front, I got paid recently! With more coming! Its not much, but coming from nothing its a hellalot!!

xx

News from the front...

SO things are coming together albeit very slowly.
Sadly my barnehage job has been delayed while the boss goes on a holiday (she did have two other part timers to sort out, but still...). So, I find myself facing the great enemy: Boredom.

Thankfully I've not been tooo idle. Returning to my Norwegian studies has been easier than I thought, right now I am re-digesting some notes on norsk preposijions (gotta love em) and recalling the worlds I learned through conversation. Im still finding more difficulty in hearing norsk, but I am getting there. As usual, speaking isnt the biggest issue for me. :p

Also, my other job working the doors has offered me some work in the interim, which is nice. Beginning to love drunkan Norwegians, especially when they join me in singing to Billy Joels Piano man. Thanks Jonas, I needed that. Good people there.

The move is going along, today we move the last bulk to my girls parents house. She's got a good family there, honest, loyal and kind. Hell theyre footing the bill for the damn deposit! Litt hjelp min rumpa! Add humble to that list.

So! We should be moving into our new place next week, around the middle. Its going to be damn messy when it starts but there is something pure about actually having a place! After 6 months of living out of a suitcase and not buying a single luxury item (well, maybe alchohol...), I really appreciate the small things.

Thanks again to anyone following my little misadventure, especially those that leave me little comments. Its good encouragement. I'll try to return the favour.

R

2 jobs down and a new place!!!!!

OK! Luck has finally struck and while I'm dragging my legs around thanks to a series of child induced colds and chest infections; im smiling.

Last week I got a call back regarding a Vikar Barnehage job (Read: 0 hour contract), in the same week I was given a night job by a good friend of mine (Who can be swayed by bourbon, not the biscuit).
Top this off with a new flat for me and my girl to live in which we move to in the coming couple of weeks! Not forgetting that in November I'm going home for a few days (with an empty suitcase!).
I'd like to thank Thomas for that second job as a door man, Suzanne for that tip off about the barnehage work and finally for my beautiful norsk girlfriend who has put up with me in more than one way!
Ive always said this would be about baby steps but this step felt like a big one!

Also, I would like to thank the kind encouragement I recieved here. ALthough I had intedned to post far more here and join in the social end of this, events conspire against me. Thank you all and yes your stuck with me. Muhahahahahaha.

Ahem.


More soon!

11th hour? Not quite yet...

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!

Something useful: How to start with Norwegian, by someone who has!!!

Right! Something more useful now, some tips from me to anyone who finds this page on Google (Which is unlikely since I dont pay them). AHem, first I'll go through the torrent of books I have bougt on the subject, whats good, whats an emergency supply of toilet paper, you know.

Then, a list of tips I have received from very helpful friends.

**************************************************************

DISCLAIMER!!
This advice is no sure method! I suggest no such thing and will warn any English speakers now that learning Norwegian is very hard because most of the blighters know English in the first place! Well, English or American English (which I prefer to call FREEDOM SPEAK! apologies to any Americans reading this, if you managed to leave the land of freedom for some enlightenment.... I love you!). Indeed, it takes effort to attain what some language learners call "Immersion method" which basically entails a massive language barrier and only your wits to breach it. In essence, Its too damn easy to switch to the Queens sprakken!!!
Of course any side affects such as spontaneous enlightenment, flight, the ability to summon annoying children that say "why?" as many times as is inhumanly possible, cannot be attributed. Blame TV. I do.

**************************************************************

The Books!

Language books are evil. There is no two ways about this statement. The are expensive, call to question your intellect and effectively reduce you to the literal and spoken age of a four year old. Picture yourself for the first few days pointing at objects in abject bliss shouting "en Bil" at a passing car and "en brun bil!" at a passing Volvo. To the owner of the poo brown Volvo that passed me yesterday, your days are numbered.

Language books, for those of you who arnt familiar, are those shiny tombs of intellect that sit on the shelf in that part of Waterstones or Ark (i Norge) where you must were glasses and be carrying another such book to get in. In other words, find the graphic novels and then turn 180, and keep going until you reach the other side of the shop.

Be prepared to pay through every orifice people. For some strange reason, language books see fit to charge as much as a £100 pound (1000 Kr) for the privilege of learning another speaky speak. For some reason there are so many professional tourists out there (Def: Been the world over, but each visit was only for the length of a package holiday, and often just was a package holiday.) that the demand for such books goes up and hence the prices. I always thought education was meant to be free really but apparently thats socialism or something.


Teach yourself Norwegian.

This was my first book. This one made me feel all smart and invested and I admit, it was very useful. Its exercises and explanations were all semi academic (ie, not to smart, not to dum), and despite not even being in Norway it helped me prepare. However, once I got here I quickly realised I had been fooled. The book is out of date. Not like, smell bad, through away off more its granddads lingo. Language is alive, and books are designed to last. So it shouldn't be a surprise to see that the advice, grammar and many of the pronouns are no longer used by the current generations in Norway.
For example, De is the Norwegian word for they, but its use is also in a kind of royal you (or french Vous) which isnt used anymore. Also, the letter writing advice would get you called in for an interview just to check your age!

Usually priced at around £45 pounds, with CD, I would aim to get this cheaper. Its advice is mostly sound, but there is better...



Norwegian in 10 minutes a day.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. If something is cheap and seems to good to be true, it will be cack and make you cry blood! Although it read well like a proper high school book, unfortunately it had some severe problems.
Not only did it contain many cultural errors (For example saying Jeg vil har det, is really like saying "Peasant! Give me that!" quite impolitely. Well its not that bad, but does make you seem like a poor tourist. For the record its best to say Kan jeg få det? Or even speaking in English until your sure.
Although a suitable exercise book and Ok for learning the basics quickly, DO NOT approach a Norwegian with this as your only tool. You have been warned.


På Vei.

Now this is the stuff. If you can get it. Abroad its very hard to find unless you know someone in the country, though I have heard you can buy it off the internet from Norwegian book handlers. Still it is worth the money. I got the Work book (Arbeid bok), the text book (tekstbok) and Id recommend the word book (Ordbok).
Its a lot but you get the professional set to get you started. It isnt easy because it is mostly in Norwegian but in the end, you would be surprised how helpful.
Strangely though, the CD that comes with the work book is for use with the text book, yet you also need another CD I have yet to find for use with the work book. Confused? Me too. But it is the set that a lot of Norwegian courses use over here, so there must something in it.


http://pavei.cappelen.no/

A great website that funny enough goes with the above set, is the free http://pavei.cappelen.no/ .
You can use this to play around with the language and although its more of a source of exercise and language level checking, its still useful to learn from. Give it a go! See how much you pick up!


A good rule of thumb in all of this is if the book is from Norway itself, it will more likely be uptodate and the real deal. Always avoid books designed for the aforementioned professional tourist.

Right, Im tired now, and Ive got to get my tooth drilled out again. The fun never stops! Next time Ill set up a list of bullet points of helpful advice I have gotten from friends here. If anyone wants to post a comment on the books listed here or can recommend any, feel free.

xx

Further investment and THE PLAN....

Hello again.

Yes indeedy, after my very somber post last time things have once again began picking up! Although still jobless and with income from a very unreliable job, I still have faith in what I am doing. OK its more of a "leg in a bear trap" attitude really, but it works the same!

SO... what have I been doing, and what will I do next!

I just today, signed a moderate sum of money on a norsk kurs with Oslo Folkuniversitetet, trinn 2. Very delightful group of people, who tell me that not only can I back out before with only a 500Kr penalty, but I can also change level if it feels wrong. Not bad for private. Well, public charge 5000kr to the English, probably because they only want the smart money making ones. Ha! Try and stop meh!

This course though, digressing a tad, is on monday, tuesday, onsdag, and thursdag. err. You know what I mean. 48 hours of hard core Norwegian action. Four lessons a week from 1 OClock.

Just what I need. Heck, even my lovely girl Ingrid has started me on a diet of Norwegian TV! Also, my very own private teacher will be helping me get to a point where level 2 will be possible. I get a nice certificate after it too!
Lastly, with the remaining spare time I figure I will work voluntarily with the Salvation Army, and do my money earning football job in the evening. Ahhhhh Routine, where have you been!


I dare to reckon....... this will all put me in a place where getting a contractual job is possible, if not easy!
Well, nothings easy, else it wouldnt be worth it. Still, if my only problem is the language, then the answer is simple... the language must die.

Anyway, enough positive thumping from me, I'll be back soon with something a little more visual, and maybe something a little more bloggy!

Who knows?
Who knew?

Klem!

R