We don’t know the Norwegians very well. We take them a bit for Swedes, we believe that they invented Ikea, we don’t know if they are in the EU or not (no they are not), in short, they are a little blurry in our eyes . So we get to know them. And we realize that they do a lot of things that we don’t do, and that we will never do because it’s not at all in our culture. Sometimes it’s bad for us, and sometimes it’s good.
1. View anyone’s tax return
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It’s been around for over 200 years in Norway. I’m not saying it’s good or bad (but it’s good anyway), I respect your desire to keep this to yourself. Still, it would be nice to know what your friends earn to see if they don’t give a damn about you when they ever want to pay for their rounds at the bar.
2. Never yell at children
No one, not parents, not teachers, not any adult, ever yells at kids. Norwegians consider it unnecessary. And they seem to be right, since the country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. While at home, on the bus or in the street (or in Super Nanny) it’s not uncommon to see little Kilian and little Gwendoline being yelled at. Often they end up becoming serial killers who eat people’s noses.
3. Always be courteous while driving
In the Scandinavian country, all cars automatically stop to let pedestrians pass, even outside zebra crossings. Residents respect speed limits to the letter and generally drive about 10 km/h below the maximum authorized speed. You still have to know that serious speeding there can land you in jail, so it’s calm. And finally, no one is complaining. And that feels good.
4. Have small prison-villages
Speaking of prisons, some in Norway have no walls and consist of small villages where three or four inmates live per house. The goal is not to punish but to reintegrate. Because yeah, that’s the real purpose of a prison. As a result, the country has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world.
5. Wear your seatbelt on the bus
When the bus is equipped with them, everyone attaches correctly, whereas with us it is almost never done. It’s true that it’s boring to have something that hugs your waist and prevents you from moving during the whole trip. But being dead is boring too, so I’m wondering.
6. Never (almost) never be formal
Voivodeship exists in Norwegian, unlike English, but it is very little used. Basically, they mainly use it with the administration and the police. In business, and whatever its size, we address our boss and we call him by his first name. In France, we will rarely hear: “Hey Gérard, you will think about my raise, huh? And you will kiss your wife! »
7. Only have beer as alcohol in supermarkets
Yes, it’s the only alcoholic thing you can find in supermarkets, and its sale is no longer authorized after a certain hour, like 3 p.m. For other alcohols, you have to go to specialized stores run by the State, which have even more difficult opening hours than supermarkets. And it’s very sad. If ever this kind of rule happens to us, we all move to Belgium.
8. Spending quiet days when you’re in elementary school
Norwegian children spend only 4 to 5 hours in class in primary school. They don’t have to do any homework until they start middle school for the sake of equality, because not all kids have parents who can help them do the exercises at home. For grades, it’s the same, we don’t give any until the end of primary school, so young people aren’t disgusted with school too early. I think we were born in the wrong country.
9. Go wild camping almost anywhere
Norway was already well ranked in our top of the best destinations to go camping, and that’s quite normal, since there you can pitch your tent (and not your aunt, otherwise you’ll go to prison) anywhere, as long that it is more than 150 meters from a dwelling. In France, it’s misery to go wild camping legally, and yet it’s great. Afterwards, of course, you have to avoid rotting nature by leaving shit lying around everywhere, but you know that.
10. Make it dark at 3 p.m.
I tried many times in France, but impossible, the Sun remains there, well in place. In Norway, in winter, there is a period when the night falls very very early and when it is never really day. Hard hard.