ROOTSPROUT
Mythbusting Norwegian Shyness Elina Turbiná Journalist
Dear Norwegians, treat this as an open letter to you. Ever since my first visit to Norway three years ago, every single conversation with a new group of people would resort to the time-old legend about these “shy Norwegians”, that supposedly make up majority of the population. “Oh, they would be so happy to talk to you and get to know you but only if you initiate the conversation” or “Don’t look, talk or add them on Facebook after a party, that weirds them out” - these, and many other words of wisdom I’ve encountered so far, paint a picture of this completely isolated society that I should acquire a VIP pass to get into. And it’s utterly confusing to me, as I have personally learned that Norwegians aren’t as reserved as they think. 4
Edition 02 Volume 76
Pauline Hovland Illustrator
Post-soviet introversion So, I never talked about this in Tuntreet, so this is, like, a super fucking vulnerable moment for me...* but I am from Latvia. It is a little country squashed between Estonia and Lithuania. We’re like three high-school friends in a bar, collectively suffering from midlife identity crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union. I’d say we’re quite reserved, and not super good at expressing our feelings. It is to the point of Latvia marketing itself by using a hashtag #iamintrovert to show off our quirky restrained culture. For some reason, being socially reserved is treated like something very precious in the Nordic countries, and it truly amazes me. (Un)friendly mentality While doing my high-class research (googling the phrase “Norwegian
shyness” and seeing what comes up), I’ve encountered many foreigners wondering about the nature of Norwegian “unfriendliness”. Expat Insider Survey from 2016 concluded that Norway is the fifth least friendly country to move to in the world. What the hell? Am I in the wrong Norway? The amount of times Norwegians smiled at me on the streets, on campus, or in the laundry room is definitely more than fingers at my disposal. Sometimes they even smile at me with their teeth! What! In Eastern Europe you would be instantly labeled as crazy and highly dangerous if you did such a thing. And saying “thank you” so excessively to strangers? Nobody says that to cashiers back home. I feel a warmth here that my culture has yet to learn. How can this be a characteristic of an unfriendly
