Hallo fra Norge

Welcome on board Tim!

How long have you been living in Norway? Is it complicated to learn Norwegian?

All the best,

Julien

Thanks ya'll! (sorry, I let the southerner in me slip out)

Julien - I've been here five years now, and it's only the beginning.

Generally, Norwegian is a fairly easy language to learn, but that is my opinion. If you only plan to live in one part of the country your entire life and have little contact with others from other areas, then it'll be easy. Otherwise, it's one of the biggest challenges I've ever had. Like any other country, it has different dialects, but the dialects are very nearly each their own language. That is no exaggeration. Not only are the pronunciations different, but often words and phrases are no where near the same as the other. For instance: the word what is hva (vah) on the eastern side of the country, but on the western and other areas it's kva (kah). It takes a lifetime, I believe, to learn to speak Norwegian with the different dialects, grammar and expressions with fluency.
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Jon - My experience? Wow, does this forum have enough GB space for me to tell all that? I think if anyone reads my blog after awhile, they'll see my experience is a mix of trying NOT to do things as I remember from the U.S., but at the same time not forgetting, either. What I mean is trying not to compare the two countries. It took me a year or two, but I now become frustrated with those that do the same. I often would think, "Well in the states we did . . . ." - but I would have to remember that this is not the U.S., nor are things and customs the same.

I know what you mean about reading the Norwegians. I don't think that even Norwegians can read one another. However, I have learned how. While being on a temporary disability, I had a significant amount of time on my hands, which means I plenty of time to sit and watch. I would sit at the center (mall, if you like) and watch singles, couples, families, children, whomever. My attention seemed to focus on the elderly and children, because they both come from changing generations. The middle-aged spend their time concerned with the two on either end, which makes them more difficult to read. But I love talking to the elderly, because they still remember the their grandparents talking about the separation from Sweden, and WWII. When you ask them about them, rather than about history or where the tourists places are, they'll open like a flower in spring.

Jo, jeg snakker norsk. Prater du mye på norsk, eller bare no' order? Hva dialekt snakker du på, bokmål, nynorsk or lokale norsk?

Dude, your (our) country is fading fast. I don't like to approach politics much, since I have such strong feelings about them. But it's our fault, and no one else's. We became uncaring, unfocused and let the gov't officials slowly sap a little from us inch by inch until we wound up with folks such as Wolfowitz, Bush and the Patriot Acts. But our country is still there. Don't let idiots like Michael Moore fool you with his sappy, whiny propoganda, though. He might have many elements of truth in his stories, but none of his stories are his concern. True, he's no Bush, but he's his own agenda, and I've yet to figure out what it is from that little weasel.

I've also given up on most of the democrats as well. To me, they're no better than the republicans or neo-conservatives. They submitted, didn't fight and hid their heads in the sand, leaving us, the citizens, who used to be the government, to fend for ourselves, being ignored. I hold no political party. I am ME.

Off my soapbox now.