A Frog in the Fjord
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My name is Lorelou Desjardins. I am The Frog in the Fjord: a French lady who lived in Denmark for a bit before moving to Norway for good. This blog is about all these new realities foreigners like me face when trying to adapt to a new culture, language, country and most of all to new people.
A Frog in the Fjord
4d ago
Are you wondering why your Norwegian neighbourhood is empty, your colleagues have disappeared and your local train has been replaced by a bus coming a few times per day with the name “Buss for tog”? Welcome to fellesferie!!! One of the many perks (or annoyances, depending on how you see it) of living in Norway ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
1M ago
Picture credits: Lorelou Desjardins It is finally summer in Norway and I wanted to buy fresh vegetables. I came home with enough to make a good salad, but when I took a closer look at my basket (see my picture), I realised it is obviously not coming fresh from the farmer’s market. Every single item ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
2M ago
Skam deg! Shame on you! There are surprisingly many words and expressions in Norwegian that are related to shame. Skamløs, å bli skamfull, bringe skam over noen, leve i skam, gjøre noe for skams skyld, det er både synd og skam, bite hodet av all skam, skamme seg over noe.. Even the housing market has ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
6M ago
When I had my baby in Norway, I thought “this country is the best to be a mother, and the best to raise kids”. At least that is what every single Norwegian person I met told me. But “best” is a subjective concept, is “best” the same for a French parent, an Indian one, and a Brazilian one? As a foreigner, raising a child in ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
7M ago
Pine trees, snow and lakes, how different are really Norway and Canada? Quite a bit actually! Canada’s territory is huge. Norway is less isolated Canada is almost as big as a continent. It is 6000 km from one side to the other, and it takes a plane 9,5 hours to fly that distance. There are several time zones in Canada, whereas Norway is a long ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
7M ago
You might have been invited to a Christmas dinner, Christmas “frokost” or lunch, a vacation or a cabin trip during Christmas time in Norway. How to act, what to say? Don’t panic. The good news is that if a Norwegian family has invited you to their close intimate Christmas family dinner, it means they count you as a very close friend or part as their ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
8M ago
Winter is here, and it is time to have a “koselig” time indoors, with a good book in your hands nd a pledd on your knees. Here is a list of 12 books I recommend to read to learn about Norway. These are mostly books of fiction, such as novels, and most are written by Norwegian authors. Norwegian literature is a lot about the sea ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
9M ago
Some of you think winter has come already in Norway. Haha you fool. This is just the beginning. A little snow does not make a Norwegian winter. It is going to get colder, and it is going to get darker. You’re going to need a bunch of things to survive this, and keep your emotional and physical health intact. Remember that last year it snowed ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
10M ago
From left to right, Norway is shaken by an earthquake of political scandals If you’ve been following the news in Norway, you might have noticed that there are a lot (really a lot) of articles in the past few months about politicians doing stuff that makes them resign or be sacked. In early July this year, Bjørnar Moxnes, leader of the party Rødt (far left ..read more
A Frog in the Fjord
1y ago
Since I moved to Norway, foreign friends have come and gone. Students, people with short contracts, people who can’t stand the cold and the rain. People who meet someone and want to try other countries, travellers. But it is really in the past 2-3 years that I’ve noticed a pattern of people leaving despite a well established life here. Foreigners with good jobs, often with ..read more