I was asked to write a short article in English for the
Norwegian magazine Our Amazing Norway,
which is a magazine written by expats for expats. It published its first issue in 2011. The topic I was asked to write about, interestingly
enough (some of my friends might say ironically enough) was ‘figuring out the
Norwegian workplace’, something I’ve written extensively about in this blog. Of
course I haven’t figured out the Norwegian workplace completely nor have I
figured out what Norwegian bosses want. It’s well nigh impossible to come to a
complete understanding of either, firstly because there is no such thing as
perfect knowledge, secondly—workplaces are different depending on whether you
find yourself in the public or private sector, and that would be true in any
country. But I was able to give some comments, ideas and tips about how to deal
with a new workplace and a new boss in a foreign country.
The magazine itself deals with the daily lives of expats who
find themselves in Norway, in a foreign country with very few guideposts on how
to survive here if you are a newcomer. You’ve got to be tough and to figure
most things out on your own—that was my experience when I moved here over
twenty years ago. I wish this kind of magazine had been around when I first
came to Norway; perhaps some of my ‘trials and tribulations’ would have been
less in number, or less intense in degree, had I been able to read about how
others tackled their new workplaces and a new country. The
founder and publisher of Our Amazing Norway is
Marius Slavinskas, himself an expat, originally from Lithuania. He’s lived in
Norway for eighteen years and is married to another expat, an American from California.
So we all have something in common—our expat experiences—and those are definitely worth
sharing. We ‘speak the same language’, so to speak.
Our Amazing Norway is published twice a year; my article will appear in the June issue. Check out the magazine online: http://www.ouramazingnorway.com/. They’re also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ouramazingnorway. I’m so looking forward to the upcoming issue and to seeing my article there. I’ll let you know when the article is published; you will be able to purchase the issue if you so choose or perhaps you’d like to subscribe to the magazine.
I have other news that involves my photography, but I’ll
save that for another post, after I find out a bit more of what type of project
might be involved.
And finally, I am well into my novel about being an expat
and my memories of growing up in Tarrytown and New York. I realized the other
day that I finally understand the reason for my extensive photographic
documentation of most aspects of my life and that of my family and friends
since my early teen years. I was waiting for the day when I would write a novel
about my life as an expat from New York. Many of those photos will find their
way into my book, along with the stories that accompany them. I’ll update you
about the novel’s progress from time to time.
