" What brings me to Norway? Some days I would have to answer, ""temporary insanity"". I am working at an international marine molecular biology institute affiliated with the University of Bergen; been here for five months. Prior to this, I was living/working in Cambridge, Massachusetts in a research facility at MIT ( I also grew up in MA ). A colleague from the MIT lab accepted a position in Bergen and I asked to come along for the ride, help him start his lab, etc. I attended a week long conference in Oslo during June. The Bergense might stone me to death if they knew, but.............I would much rather be in Oslo. This city kid finds life without a subway to be disquieting. What brought you to Norway? Mary Laplante "

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" I moved to Molde in May this year with my husband, who''s lived in the States for 12 years, but he grew up in this area. We''re giving Norway a try -- he wants to get reaquainted with his family, and I want to get to know them better. He''s working, but I''m not. I''m taking Norwegian language classes for now. I''m a writer (studied journalism at the University of Nebraska), so I''m doing freelance stuff right now. I hope to get some work in Norway as a photographer because I figure it will be a good many years before I can communicate better than a 3-year-old in Norwegian. Hope to hear from one of y''all! Becky Gjendem rtgjendem@c2i.net "

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" Hi Becky, I''m in Bergen and know what you mean about the message system - it''s tough to know who''s out there. I moved here at the end of April ( from Boston) to start a new job, getting a friend''s laboratory up and running. I had never even thought about moving to Norway so this whole experience is a bit daunting. Funny, my goal is to be able to speak Norwegian as well as a 3-year-old. And photography has been something I have considered as a means to keeping my sanity on these long rainy Sundays. Where is Molde in relation to Bergen? I can''t seem to find it on my map. Mary Mary Laplante "

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" Hi Mary, Great to hear from you! Molde is north of Bergen. Population is about 22,000, so it might not show up on a not-so-detailed map. It''s north of Ålesund and south of Kristiansund. Looks like we arrived here about the same time. We made an effort to come during the summer so we wouldn''t be thrown into the depressing darkness of winter, which I''m still dreading. I''ve lived in the Midwest, so I''ve experience cold winters. But we lived in Florida for the last five years or so. I got spoiled with sunshine and heat! And it never got as dark in the Midwest during the winter as it does here. We''re trying to find a place to buy a sunlamp to use over the winter. We haven''t had any luck in Molde yet. I''m going to Ålesund tomorrow and will check there. I haven''t been to Bergen yet, but I''ve heard the rumors that it rains there ALL THE TIME. I can''t say that it rains much less here, but according to folks who don''t live in Bergen, it''s much worse there. <grin> Do you have a lot of folks around you who speak English? Are you taking a Norwegian class? How''s it going with the job? I''ve recently started an American club here. I was surprised to find a good number of Americans in this area. Well, I''ve found a dozen or so. With spouses, we''ll have about 15 at our coffee on Sunday. It''s been fun so far. Becky "

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" Becky, Hello there! I''ve written to Mary a few times and am glad to hear from yet another american in Norway. My name is Nicole and I live in Oslo with my Norwegian hubby. He was in the US for 7 years with me before we moved here. It''s been a little over 1 1/2 years (moved here in January 1998. I am working for Storebrand Insurance in their int''l energy division. I have managed to become fluent in Norwegian, the key is to only speak norwegian to your husband. We didn''t have much to say to each other for the first month or two, but it slowly improved!! Norwegian classes help. I am sitting here in my office with my Bio Desktop sun lamp shining away. I have big time winter depression, so it does help. I actually mail ordered it from Molde, so you''re in the right city! But, I think I*ve just thrown out all my info. I''m still looking and will forward the nurses name and phone number if I find it. You and Mary must both let me know if you ever make it down to the capital city. I have one american friend! (that''s why my norwegian is so good!) Nicole "

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" Hi Nicole, How nice to hear from you, too! I''d love to get the information about the sun lamp if you still have it. You ordered it from a nurse? Hmm. My next-door neighbor is a nurse at the hospital. I''m going on a hike with her in about 30 minutes. Maybe I''ll ask her about it, too. My husband gets to Oslo once in a while for work. I hope to get down there with him one of these times. He usually only goes for a day, but if he''d go on a Thursday orFriday, we could make a weekend of it. I''ll be sure to let you know if/when that happens! You''re welcome in Molde, too, if you ever get up this way. The west coast is quitepopular with the tourists, so even though it''s not a very big town, most of the folks in the shops can speak English. They''re used to dealing with English-speaking tourists here. I belong to a study club with some other language students. That really helps get over the fear of speaking Norwegian to real Norwegians. <grin> Plus, my neighbors (all Norwegian) have been wonderful to me. They spoke English to me when we first moved here, but now they help me practice my Norwegian. They''ve been quite patient with me and great teachers. What''s it like to work in Norway? Do you speak only Norwegian at work? Becky "

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" I speak Norwegian with my co-workers, but we work mostly with the London market, so all correspondence goes in English. We also have one other American and 3 english people here, so I speak english with them. I found the Bio Lamp stuff: Bio - Lys Klinikken Gerd Mago Kringsjåveien 8 6400 Molde 71 25 13 58. They have 2 different kinds, a huge TV type screen that you sit infront of for an hour each day, and a desk top work lamp like I have which gives the same effect if you sit under it for a whole work day. She also does lys-behandling (light therapy) at the office, and you can do that, rent a lamp or buy a lamp. My desk top lamp was NOK 1600. Well worth the price for me! I am dying to travel a little more around Norway. I''ve never been north of Geilo (ski resort town). The prime minister (Bondevik) comes from Molde. You must be learning Norwegian with a strange accent. If my husband and I manage to become mobile again (we are expecting a baby in early March), I would love to see more of the western coast (I''ve been to Stavanger and Bergen, but never farther north). I''ll let you know if we ever decide to make the trip! nicole "

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" Becky, Molde, of course, now I remember - the jazz festival. There was something familiar about the name. I worked the Bergen Nattjazz this May. It''s amazing how popular the genre is here. <bold>Nicole</bold>, thanks for posting the information on the sun lamp. I never appreciated the sun as much as I have here. My friends back in the states could not believe I had a tan this summer. Now that the Bergen autumn has set in, the endless rain of winter can''t be far behind. I''ve heard constant warnings that the first winter here is the toughest because of the short daylight period - if you see much daylight at all through the cloud cover. Most of the non-tourist Americans in Bergen seem to be associated with the university not surprising - but there really are not that many. The Brits and Australians, on the other hand, have quite an extensive support network. I have been tempted to join them but am still attempting to throw myself headlong into the Norwegians! January will be the beginning of my official language courses. I''ve opted for the university program as I can attend free of charge I feel sadly unfamiliar with other parts of the country. So far I have only been on regular tours of various small airports (courtesy of mother nature). I just realized the potential length list reply list could attain..time to get back to work. Mary "

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" Hi Mary and Nicole, Thanks for the Bio Lamp info. I''ll try to get my hands on one soon. Bondevik was here for the jazz festival in July. He led the opening parade. I also ""almost"" sat next to him at a concert (he was across the aisle a few seats up from me). I was impressed. <grin> They don''t have a bunch of Secret Service guys talking to their hands and following them around over here. That''s kind of refreshing. Yes, I''m probably learning a weird accent, although the teachers try to keep us from speaking dialect. Although there''s no getting around that in the real world. And when you consider that my family swears I picked up a touch of a Southern accent while living in Florida, I suppose I sound quite strange. One of my teachers knew right away that I was American. Must be the way I pronounce my Rs or something. I found the vowel sounds the most difficult. And the only way I seem to get them correct is when I get angry enough and feel like I''m making fun of the person trying to teach me. That''s when I get, ""Yes! That''s it!"" Go figure. I''ve got to go. I''m going to a neighbor''s to learn how to make a Norwegian cake. I haven''t had much luck with that yet. I''ll teach her later how to make peanut butter cookies. What a trade, huh? Becky "

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" I lived in Stavanger for three years. What made me lealy uncomfortable was the weather. It was always raining and windy. I had a realy good job there but I can`t go back. In general I had a low quality of life there. The people are funny too. Have fun with the ""pinnekjot"" but leave before its too late. "

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