2013

"Gelukkig nieuwjaar!" is what I said to my brother a year ago, when the large clock arrow surpassed the smaller one and ushered in 2013. I can't remember whether we concluded it with a glass of champagne, but I do know that we tried to call our parents several times without succes. They were out exploring the winter in Norway, and at that time watching the fireworks from the 'Elgeseter bru' in Trondheim. My mom always dreamed of a life in Norway, and with the current economical crisis in the rest of Europe, a realistic chance of pursuing that dream was closer than ever. My dad however wasn't too compliant with that idea, but after a more realistic look on the possibilities in the future, he agreed that the least he could do was consider it as an option.

I dressed myself in a sporty and comfortable outfit while I took a bite from my breakfast. It was early in the morning and I had to go to work. I took the mountainbike and enjoyed the beautiful sunrise that covered the empty fields around me in an orange glow. After I returned from my sabbatical year in Canada, I got a job as a travel advisor in a city 15 kilometers from my hometown. I was working there little over a year when my parents came back from their winter trip to Norway and called for a family meeting.

My dad was convinced that for the purpose of a better future, a move to Norway was necessary. Although it was far from easy for him, he said that he would give a 100% to realize it, but only if we did the same. And so we agreed that we would continue our lives in a Nordic country.

I was the happiest kid in the world when I heard that my parents rented a house in Denmark for two weeks in the coming summer holidays. It was 2004 and I had never been to another country but our own. Maybe that is the reason that started my urge to travel, and why people always asked where I was at the time I talked to them on facebook or any other digital way of communication.

Only a couple hours away from the year 2014. It's hard to realize that it has been 10 years since my first trip to another country. How many days did I spend abroad over the past 10 years? Let's see:

2004
Denmark, two weeks

2006
Belgium, one week

2007
France, eight weeks

2008
Spain, two weeks
France, five months
England, one week

2009
Italy, one week
France, five months
England, one week
Costa Rica/Panama, three months

2010
Costa Rica, two months
Germany/Czech Rep., two weeks

2011
Spain, three weeks
Canada, eight months

2012
Switzerland, one week
Spain, one week
Florida, two weeks
Dubai/Nepal, three weeks

2013
Mexico, two weeks
England, one week
Sweden/Denmark, one week
Norway, nine months

Conclusion: I spend approximately 3 years and 4 months abroad in the past 10 years.

Today is December 31st, 2013. I have been living in Norway since April 8th 2013, so from now on, I will call The Netherlands 'abroad'.

But let's go back to the moment that I saw this country for the first time. It was on April 8th, as I mentioned above. We drove away from our home in The Netherlands towards Kiel, where we would continue our journey per ship towards Norway's capitol Oslo. We came across some viking ships along the way, but they turned out to be harmless, or was it the alcohol? Anyway, around ten o' clock in the morning did we enter Norwegian soil and so the journey 'home' started. We drove a long way when it got dark, and we decided to spent the night in a cabin along the way. When we arrived at our home the next day, the moving truck wasn't there with us, so we had to wait a little while.

My first days in Norway consisted of exploring the area and joining my mom for groceries, mainly to check out if there were any good looking girls behind the counter. After a while I started to think about my own future and possibilities in Norway. The fact that I didn't speak Norwegian wasn't really helpful in my search to a study or job. Several local people advised me to do a year of folkehøgskule (folk high school), because it is the best way of learning Norwegian quickly according to them. I did some research and found one that seemed pretty interesting. My initial plan was to study film at the university in Trondheim, and this school also offered a film course. It got even better when I read that it was one of the few schools that also offered a Norwegian course for foreigners. Considering the fact that this school was only a 3 hour drive from my parent's place, my decision was made.

During a meeting of Dutch people in this area, a guy named Menno offered me a job to help him during the summer as a gardener. I never liked that kind of work, but I also realized that it was my only opportunity to earn some money. I spent weeks looking for a job in both Norway and other countries, but surprisingly without succes.

After a couple weeks of work, in the end of July, I drove our Dutch car back to The Netherlands. I had three weeks off and decided to visit some friends back home. My trip brought me through Sweden and Denmark. It was a long road trip on my own, especially in Sweden. I made a stop in Copenhagen, and I must say that it is one of the more beautiful cities that I have visited. I had planned to spend the last night somewhere close to the German-Danish border before reaching Holland, but I couldn't find a affordable place to sleep. It was a sunday evening and there was minimal traffic on the road, so as soon as I entered Germany, I turned up the volume of the radio playing Metallica, opened a can of energy drink, and speeded up towards 180.

During my time in Holland, I went to see a football match between SC Heerenveen and AZ with my brother. After the game we drank a beer in the players lounge and there I encountered the new signing from Norway, Magnus Wolff Eikrem. He was surprised by my approach in Norwegian and we talked a bit about football. Maybe next time we could do that in Norwegian, or Dutch.

Time flies, and before I knew it, I was on my way towards Surnadal, praying to have a funny roommate and not a dork. Well, I am not religious but it seemed like they were answered. My first months at school were both interesting as well as difficult. Because everything is in Norwegian, I miss a lot of information and continuesly need translations from other students. One of my intensions for next year will be to only communicate in Norwegian, so hopefully I will need less translations by then. Furthermore on the folk high school, a school known to provide a year of fun, where students come to enjoy a good time instead of absorbing info from books and writing a thesis, where some girls only applied to maybe stand a chance at dating one (or more) of the muscular tea-kwon-do students, and where guys applied in the hope of starting their own american pie adventure. And occasionally, we also learn something.

I can describe the year 2013 as the year in which we made the couragious move to Norway. This year has changed the future for all of us. I don't know in which direction, but maybe 2014 will tell me that. I'll just have to wait and find out what the world has in store for me.

So here from Norway, I wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!