The beginning!

Hei! Üpris piinlik, kuid jah, siin ma olen, veetnud Norras juba terve sügise ning alles nüüd tabab mind suur soov hakata blogi pidama. Siinkohal kutsun endale appi vanarahva, kellel oli kombeks öelda parem hilja kui mitte kunagi. Viimase järgi ma ka toimin.

Kuigi tõesti, kasutan igat võimalust, et oma ebatavalist blogialustamist õigustada, arvan ma, et oma kogemustest on kohati isegi parem tagantjärele rääkida. Mul on olnud rohkem aega neid seedida ning näha, kuidas need mind ka edaspidi mõjutanud on.

 

Päris algus

Olin ausalt öeldes juba valmis selleks, et ma ei saagi lennuki peale. Mu lend lükati kaks nädalat edasi, sest mulle poldud endiselt pere leitud. Ei saa neid väga hukka mõista, sest ka mina mõtleks kaks korda järele enne, kui võtaksin enda juurde elama kellegi Helery Pikk-a. Keda huvitab, võib järele vaadata nimelt mida “Pikk” norra keeles tähendab. Kui teil halb päev on, mõelge selle peale! Olin hiljuti ühel matkal, kus kohtusin ühe väga meeldiva meesterahvaga, kellel kohe silmad põlema lõid, kui kuulis, et ma Eestist olen. Ta nimelt teadis kaht eesti jalgpallurit. Üht sellepärast, et ta on hea mängija ning teist sellepärast, et ta nimi on Artur Pikk. Mõni hetk on elus ilusam kui teine…

Aga kui jätta naljad, oli algus minu jaoks päris keeruline. Mul oli raskusi Eestist ja eesti keelest lahtilaskmisega ning igatsus näris hinge. Ma polnud end kunagi elus nii üksildasena tundnud ning kõik tundus töötavat minu vastu. Iga päev oli mingil määral võitlus ning enda sundimine. Sundisin end inimestega rääkima minema, sundisin end energiline ja lõbus olema, sundisin end sundima. Samuti tundsin, et minu õlgadel pole mitte ainult mu enda maine, vaid ka Eesti oma. Enamike jaoks olen ma ainus eestlane, keda nad kunagi kohanud on, seega kujundan paljude jaoks Eesti stereotüübi.

Iga algus on raske. Ma sattusin ju ikkagi kohta, kus iga viimne kui üks oli minu jaoks võõras ja tagatipuks sellele rääkisid nad hoopis mingisuguses teises keeles ja veel lisaks sellele kõik erinevat moodi! Norra on nimelt kurikuulus oma sadade dialektide poolest ning selle järgi, kuidas keegi räägib, saab panna paika tema sünni-maakonna, -linna ja teate ma arvan, et kui väga tahta, siis vast isegi -tänava 🙂

Ja see pole veel kõik! Norras on kaks erinevat kirjutatavat „keelt“- Nynorsk ja Bokmål. Ehk norras on kaks erinevat viisi kuidas kirjutada ja kumbki neist pole ei õige ega vale. Kuigi Bokmål on rohkem levinud, ei ole Nynorsk-i siiski unustatud ning koolides õpetatakse mõlemat.

Kiire näide

Eesti: Ma olen käinud Norras kaks korda

Nynorsk: Eg har vore to gonger i Noreg

Bokmål: Jeg har vært to ganger i Norge

Nagu te juba ette kujutate on keele õppimine ühele (Norra) vahetusõpilasele paras õudusunenägu, kuid õnneks on palju sarnasusi inglise keelega ja teadvustades endale vahetevahel eesti keele keerukust lõpetan kohe vingumise!

Bryggen- vanad kaupmeeste majakesed Bergeni kesklinnas

Olen ennast sisse seadnud Norra suuruselt teise linna, Bergenisse, kus on esindatud pea igapäevane vihm (näiteks alates 29. oktoobrist 2006 kuni 21. jaanuarini 2007 sadas Bergenis vihma iga päev, 85 järjestikusel päeval 🙂 ) ja üks Norra vihatumaid dialekte, mis oma häälduselt sarnaneb saksa keelele. Bergen meenutab veidi Tallinnat, sest on ka ise vana Hansalinn, kuid nende kahe linna sarnasus leiab kiire lõpu, kui mainin, et Bergen on linn seitsme mäe vahel, millest pea igaüks on kõrgem kui meie Suur Munamägi. Bergenlased on äärmiselt uhked oma dialekti ja kultuuri üle ning hetkel käib ajakirjanduses  (loodetavasti siiski) naljavõtmes artikkel, kus Bergen soovib lahkuda Norra Kuningriigist ning kuulutada välja oma linnriigi.

Selleks korraks on vast kõik! Ma võtan nüüd ennast kokku ja proovin hakata regulaarselt, see sõna kõlab juba hirmutavalt, blogi pidama. Vaatame, kuidas välja kukub!

Oma järgmises postituses räägin oma elust ja seiklustest siin lähemalt ning vastan meeleldi ka teie esitatud küsimustele!

Snakkes!

//

Hei! Yes, maybe the fact that I have been in Norway for three months and just now felt like starting a blog is a good idea, is a bit embarrassing, but hey, I’m here now so better late than never, right?

 

The very beginning

Honestly, at the beginning of August I was worried that I was never going to fly to Norway, because my flight got cancelled. It turned out that they still hadn’t found me a host family and I can’t blame them really… I’d also think twice before letting someone named Helery Pikk live at my house. Feel free to look up what “Pikk” means in Norwegian, a good laugh is guaranteed. I was on a hike the other day and there I met a very nice gentleman who got really excited when I told him that I was from Estonia. He told me that he knew two Estonian football (soccer?) players. One of them he knew, because he was good at what he did and the other one purely for the fact that his name was Artur Pikk. That conversation took an interesting turn…

But leaving all that aside, the beginning was challenging to say the least. I missed my friends, family, country and language. I was especially surprised about the language part. Not hearing my mother tongue and not being able to speak it became gradually unbearable. Because I enjoy writing and literature, especially in Estonian, letting go of it was very very difficult for me. Not being able to find the right words and phrases in Estonian felt devastating. It is something that I’m still struggling with now. Not thinking and speaking in Estonian almost feels like I’m losing a part of my identity…

I think every beginning is challenging. So was this one. I knew no one, understood nothing, was very scared and excited at the same time. It felt like I was always about to hold an important speech in front of a big crowd, even though I might have only been talking to three people at once. I felt like I had to prove myself to everyone and while introducing myself to others I felt like I didn’t only introduce myself, but also my country. For most people I am the only Estonian they’ve ever met. So I set the stereotype, I paint the image. And all of that wore me out quite quickly. The last weeks of October were perhaps the hardest times of my experience so far. I was tired, I felt that I was changing so much every month, even week, analysing my actions and thoughts became impossible. There was just too much going on. I think there somewhere in October, there was a turning point. I spent some time alone and reset some of my goals and figured out what I wanted out of all of this. Without that period in late October I would not be where I am now- happy with a few rainy days now and then.

Speaking of rain, the situation here is quite depressing! Bergen is one of the rainiest cities in Europe. From October 2006 to January 2007 it rained 85 days. Nonstop. This September was also one for the books- it rained almost every day, but I managed to survive. The other thing I’d like to point out about Bergen is how patriotic the people here are. They are proud of Bergen and Bergen’s dialect and their traditions. Recently there was even a humorous article in the local newspaper about how Bergen wants to leave Norway and become an independent state. I have to say that the patriotism is quite contagious 😀

 

The language

The Bergen dialect or Bergensk is a special one. It sounds like German because of the uvular R. It was difficult to get a hang of at first and the fact that everyone speaks differently doesn’t really make it easier either. Norway is the kingdom of dialects and even native speakers sometimes have trouble understanding the different dialects, which don’t only differ in pronunciation and vocabulary, but also grammar. But there’s more! There are also two written languages in Norway: Bokmål and Nynorsk. So just to clarify, everyone speaks differently, there are two different official ways to write, and usually people just write in their own dialect anyway. Let me demonstrate. The word “I” in bokmål is “jeg” and then depending on where you live you can also say/write it in one of the following ways: Eg, e, æ, æg, æi, æig, ej, i, eig, jæ. Good luck to me and all of the other exchange students!

 

Difference between Nynorsk and Bokmål:

English: I have been to Norway two times

Nynorsk: Eg har vore to gonger i Noreg

Bokmål: Jeg har vært to ganger i Norge

 

 

That’s it for this time I believe. You can be sure that this is not going to be my last post, so stay tuned!

Snakkes!