RECEPTION BOOKLETAIESEC NORWAY AIESEC NORWAY 2013 AIESEC NORWAY RECEPTION BOOKLET Index: 1. Before Arriving to Norway 2. What to do once you are in Norway 3. Intern’s cultural experience in Norway 4. About AIESEC in Norway 2 Before Arriving to Norway Arrival Info Before you arrive to Norway, you should have a phone number or e-mail contact from your Norwegian buddy, responsible for you. You should get directions on arrival and information on when you will meet the person who is responsible for you. It is very important that you tell us the flight number and time of arrival before you leave your home country. If any delays occur, get in touch with us as soon as possible. More importantly - if you change the date of arrival, you must tell us. If you can’t reach the local committee responsible, please call your local committee (make sure you write down important phone numbers before you leave). Someone from AIESEC either at the airport or downtown will meet you. If you are going to meet him or her downtown, make sure you have a description of what bus /train you are going to take. Stick to buses or train, as taking a taxi in Norway is quite expensive. You will be then taken to the accommodation that has been arranged for you. Work Permit and Visa Procedures The office administering work permits is the UDI office, or Norwegian Directorate of Immigration. AIESEC will help you with the procedure for obtaining a work–and residence permit. The procedures keep changing and it is important that you, at all times, listen to the AIESEC entity which is responsible for you, and deliver the documents required. EU/EEA resident’s procedures: You can pre-register before coming to Norway online at https://selfservice.udi.no/. The registration is not necessary before arrival. You don’t need a visa in order for you to come to Norway. Upon arrival, you need to register with the police (SUA in Oslo or the service center/ police in other cities in Norway) and personally hand over your documentation. The documentation you need is: • • “Offer of employment” or work contract Passport or valid identification You’ll receive a registration slip right away. You don’t need to re-register later, if you are from a EU/EEA country. After 5 years you can apply for a permanent residence. 3 How to apply: As EU/EEA procedure, you can register online. Then you need to hand in an application with the following documents: • • • • 2 passport photos Passport or valid identification Work contract or “offer of employment”- paper Application for residence What to do once you are in Norway 1. Register at the police station or SUA in Oslo 2. Apply for a tax number at Skatteetaten or SUA, depending on city you are in 3. Start a bank account – can only be done once you have your D-Number (personal number) 4. Register for a doctor with the Legevakt or at www.helfo.no Once you are working and living in Norway, you need to pick up a personal doctor. You will get notification from Legevakt as soon as you receive your personal number by post mail. If you haven’t received it, you can register online at http://www.helfo.no. Rate your choices from 1 to 3 depending on your priorities, and send it back. You will receive a confirmation after that, confirming your choice. You will need to know your postal code in the city you live in, and your fødselsnummer (personal number). Outside EU/EEA trainees: Please contact your account manager for details about your visa and documents required from you. The procedure will take, at least, 4 months from the moment the application is handed in. You cannot enter Norway or start working before you have received your visa. Upon arrival, you need to go to the police, to pick up your work and residence permit. Trainees from Scandinavian and Nordic countries: Are also required to bring a valid passport for the duration of their traineeship, but they do not require a visa. 4 Travel and Health Insurance For European Union and EEA nations: Please bring an E111-form that is stamped by the Social Security Office in your home country. This proves that you are a member of the national health services, in your home country, and are entitled to the national health services in Norway. All trainees are advised to take out private travel and health insurance policies. This will cover theft of luggage/personal items and repatriation costs, in case of illness In many rental contracts you will be required to pay a deposit, usually of 2-3 months rent, approximately 10,00020,000kr. Carry enough money with you before arriving here: 10,000-15000 NOK will be adequate (you can look up exchange rates at www.xe.com/ucc). Flats / Apartments You can rent furnished or unfurnished flats, which can be found in apartment blocks, apartment houses, and sometimes in private houses. Be aware that unfurnished usually means nothing is included, except the walls, wires and sockets so you may need to buy furniture by yourself. In some apartments, it is common to share them with someone else, either trainees, Norwegian students, or other Norwegians or foreigners. Many Norwegian students live at student villages, which are located off-campus. This is because accommodation is cheaper than renting a house near the city center. Though a little bit far from the city center, it is worthy for many foreign students who come here. The monthly rent for any type of accommodation depends on the size and the type of flat, and often location. When you move to your new apartment it is your responsibility to keep it clean and take care of the equipment in the house. Rental contracts generally last for one or two years. If you are staying temporarily, you should discuss with your landlord to arrange a special contract for you. Rent is usually paid the first of every month. 5 Accommodation The local committee responsible for you will help you get housing, before you arrive in Norway. Sometimes it gets really difficult to get housing in Norway, especially during July, August, September and October when the demand of accommodation is too high because the new students are coming into the city. However, AIESEC will help you get at least temporary housing for you and help you find a permanent housing solution once you are here. If you are not satisfied with the accommodation AIESEC has provided you, you will be required to look for new accommodation yourself. Student Housing Is the best housing alternative, available in Norway. In Oslo and Trondheim, AIESEC has agreements and partnerships with two local student housing organizations. These apartments are usually located in the city center, and offer all the standards of living Norwegian students require. In both cities, the apartments come furnished, but without linen, cooking equipment and a dishwasher. The typical apartment is made for one person, is around 16 square meters, contains a small kitchenette, a private bathroom and a small living room/ bedroom. It is also possible to get a single room where the kitchen is shared with up to ten other residents. The costs for these student apartments are, in 2013, NOK 6000. The cancellation period for the apartment is 2 months plus the remaining part of the month when you cancel the contract. AIESEC Norway will book a student apartment for all interns who do not want to find an apartment on their own in Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen. Budget and Money Bank Account In order to obtain a bank account in Norway, you need a personal ID-Number. When you get your personal number you are eligible to open a bank account with any bank here in Norway. Some of the choices are: Gjensidigenor, Spare bank 1, Den Norske Bank, Postbanken (post office bank accounts), Nordea and Skandiabanken. Please note: During your first few months, you will need to keep your money by yourself until you get your personal number, to be eligible to open a bank account. Money The prices of various commodities vary. The information we give is only meant to give you an idea about the living costs in Norway. The salary of your traineeship is sufficient to live very comfortable. However, please bring some extra money with you, for the first month: rent, traveling and other necessities, around 10,000-15,000 NOK. Please Note: • Norway is one of the most expensive countries in the world, and also one with the best living standards. Your salary will be adequate to the price level. 6 • In Norway we use KRONERS (NOK), not EUROS or AMERICAN DOLLARS. Please change your money into Euros or American dollars, before you come, if your country’s currency is not usually exchanged abroad. Some Prices: ITEM APPROXIMATE PRICE (NOK) APPROXIMATE PRICE (EUR) Norwegian Transport System Public Transport In the cities (Bergen, Trondheim, and Oslo) or whichever city you will be working and living in, you will find buses, trikks (trams) and taxis. In all cities, tickets are quite expensive, between 35 (for the train) and 35 kroner (for the bus), per ticket, which is usually valid and usable only for one hour. If you use any of these transport systems on a daily basis, it is much cheaper to get a monthly pass or a weekly pass. It’s also easy to explore Norway by using public transportation, like bus and train, but be aware that in some rural areas there might be only one bus a day! Remember to check the schedules before you start your journey! Some websites to help you plan your journeys: Oslo: www.trafikanten.no Trondheim: www.atb.no Bergen: www.skyss.no Some general examples of tickets prices can look like: • • • 7 1 liter of Milk Bread Cheese, 1kg Ground Meet, 0,5kg Coffee, 1kg 20 Cigarettes Bottle of Wine Movie Ticket Pint at a Club Coffee at a Café Cheap Restaurant Meal Bus Ticket Jeans Shoes Sleeping Bag Car rent, per day Gasoline, 1 liter 13 - 15 15 - 30 60 - 150 32 - 50 15 - 30 55 - 60 60 - 110 110 - 150 60 - 80 30 - 50 150 - 200 35 - 40 300 - 600 350 - 1200 200 - 600 600 10 - 14 1,7 - 2 2-4 6,6 - 20 4,2 - 6,6 2-4 7,2 - 6,6 6,6 - 14,5 14,5 - 20 6,6 - 10,5 4 - 6,6 14,5 - 26,4 4,6 - 5,2 39,8 - 79,3 46,2 - 158,6 26,4 - 79,3 79,3 1,3 - 1,8 Monthly card: 640kr Weekly card: 200kr Single journey: 30-40kr See the city booklet, for more information about your city. Please note: For travel around the city you will be living in, you can buy your tickets from the train, bus stations, Narvesen kiosks, or from ticket booths located in the various bus or train stations in the city. The various forms of transport have their own schedule and strive to be punctual. Punctuality is challenged a lot in the winter months and you should always plan more time for travel in these months. The Norwegian Language The Norwegian language is a major part of the Norwegian’s identity. There are two official languages in Norway: Norwegian and Sami. Norwegian is spoken and written throughout the country, while Sami is most common in the far north, where the Sami traditionally live. Norwegian has two official written forms, “Nynorsk” (New-Norwegian) and “Bokmål” (Dano-Norwegian). When Norwegians speak, they use their dialect, depending on where they come from. This does not mean that they do not speak English. They speak English as well, mostly when communicating to foreigners. Some Norwegians are quite shy and do not want to speak it, usually teenagers and old people. Even though most Norwegians speak English, many fluently and most at least at a good level, we would strongly advice you to learn Norwegian during your stay in Norway, in particular, if you are staying longer than 6 months. The reason is that although Norwegians will speak English to you individually, they will not switch to English in a large group and you will have missed on jokes and other cultural innuendos. In addition, Norwegian is the business language and understanding basic Norwegian will help you to manage your bank account, on the net, get through voice messages for public services, understand an e-mail from your colleague or order a cup of coffee at a café. Norwegian Schools: http://www.alfaskolen.no/ http://www.rosenhof.oslovo.no/ http://www.folkeuniversitetet.no/ Please note: In some institutions, there are long waiting lists. Immigrants are given first priority, so remember to book early your course! Norwegian on-line courses: http://www.sofn.com/norwegian_culture/languagelessons_index.jsp You can check out some useful Norwegian words, here: http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/norwegian.php http://home.online.no/~otjoerge/files/word.htm 8 Interns cultural experience in Norway The information given is based on some of the interns’ experiences in Norway, which vary among trainees. Conversation Personal topics such as employment and social status should be avoided. Good topics of conversation include hobbies, politics, sports and travel. Since living standards are so high, salary, income and personal investments or expenses CAN BE topics of conversation, since this information is even publicly available! General Protocol Norwegian people are strong on punctuality and precision. Should you be unable to keep appointments, cancel and postpone it by phone or by email. Expect business to be slow during Easter, in July and early August. This is the time they take holidays and are usually off work. Sometimes it feels like the whole country goes to sleep around these periods. Making an invitation Something that might seem odd to you is the way Norwegians make an invitation. A Norwegian invitation might sound something like this "If interested, my birthday party is on Sat 18th. Address Bogstadveien 10", or 'We will be having a vorspiel (pre- party) at our place on Fri. You are welcome if you want to come.’ A strange combination of politeness and respect for other people's personal space means that you are not exclusively enti- Politeness If you come from a country where saying “Sorry!”, “Excuse me!” or “Please” is common courtesy/survival technique, you might find Norwegians a little rude or indifferent. This word does not exist in Norwegian, because in order to be polite you modify the way you say the sentence, not add a word as in English Greetings In Norway, greetings are usually fairly brief and with a firm handshake. A loose handshake is considered impolite. 9 tled to someone's time, and you must respect their free will of accepting or not the invitation. This also means that, whenever an invitation is made, there is no 'yes I am coming' or 'no, I am not coming'. There is no obligation for the invitee to accept the invitation, and there will be no hard feelings if that person decides not to make it. Nor do they have to apologise for not coming. Nor are you supposed to demand the reason why someone couldn't come. It is very important to note however, that a Norwegian will not make an invitation unless they mean for you to come (unlike other cultures). Norwegians may even be telling you about an event or a party but if they do not mean to invite you they will never do! On the other hand, you can always be assured that every invitation you are made is a sincere wish for you to be there. Norwegians and Alcohol Due to the exorbitantly high prices of alcohol in this country, alcohol use is heavily regulated, and an occasion to have alcohol is highly valued. The weekend drinking culture can come as a shock to some. Having to plan how much alcohol you will drink, before the shops close on Friday afternoon, is something you’ll probably have to do while you are here! (Alcohol is very expensive once you get to the pub). Attending a Party in Norway Alcoholic drinks are not provided for, in a Norwegian party. People buy and carry their own drinks (usually in a plastic bag!). Small bites are usually provided for at the party. The reason is that alcohol drinks are very expensive in Norway; therefore a host cannot manage to provide free alcohol to everybody. So, don’t expect anyone to provide you with this in a party. Buy your own. Toasting Toasting is very common in Norway. You should always make eye contact, raise your glass upwards to eye level, and say ”SKÅL”, make eye contact, drink and then place the glass down, although making eye contact can be challenging with too many people. 10 Some useful things to know about parties: A vorspiel (a word that means foreplay in German) is the equivalent of a pre-party. Vorspiels are usually held by ‘someone’ before the actual party, with a smaller group of people, to ‘warm up’ for the big event. It is especially popular if you are planning to go out clubbing. A vorspiel can start as early as 5pm and as late as 9pm, and usually ends at around 11pm or midnight. Then comes the party or fest – our trainees often mention that Norwegian parties are boring, because people are not dancing but merely sitting and chatting. However, the atmosphere does start getting livelier later on in the evening! A party can start at 10pm and last until 3am. A nachspiel is an after party (translates to ‘night-play’) and usually happens if a group of people is still in the mood for more partying. Not everyone is invited to a nachspiel, although some nachspiels are ‘open’. A nachspiel usually starts at around 3am and can last up to 7 a.m. A trip to the kebab shop between a fest and a nachspiel is not uncommon! Skepticism towards foreigners Norway is a young country, that has been relatively ‘untouched’ by foreign influences (especially outside the Oslo area). In addition, Norway became its own country less than a century ago. This influences the way foreigners are regarded in Norway. Many foreigners in Norway, in particular from developing countries, are either refugees or asylum seekers. Norwegians are very proud of the fact that Norway is open towards anyone that needs to flee from their country if they are in extreme need. For example, during the Balkans conflict, Norway was one of the few countries accepting refugees from that region, with open arms. This might have an impact on the way you conduct every day business, your social life and if you are trying to work with the local systems. Our best advice is that you try to become as local as possible, by learning the language, and being patient if you encounter situations, whereby your status as a foreigner counts more than for example your educational experience. One important thing to add though: this is exactly the reason why AIESEC is doing exchange, so that Norwegians can learn from other cultures and vice versa! 11 Janteloven One of the most intricate but essential parts of Norwegian (and Scandinavian) culture is an invisible law called the Jante law, a book written by Aksel SANDEMOSE 1899— 1965 (a famous Danish/Norwegian writer), basically talking about a small village called Jante, where certain laws exist: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. You shall not believe you are somebody. You shall not believe that you are as worthy as us. You shall not believe that you are any wiser than us. You shall not imagine that you are any better than us. You shall not believe that you know anything more than us. You shall not believe that you are more than us. You shall not believe that you are good at anything. You shall not laugh at us. You shall not believe that anyone cares about you. Although not all Norwegians believe (or care) about the book, the underlying principles of the janteloven apply in everyday life and in every Norwegian's behaviour, especially in business life. For example, praising someone by telling them they are better than someone else is a ‘violation’ of janteloven. Of particular importance is not talking about yourself as if though you are better than someone else. Remember this is not a ‘rule of law’ but rather a pattern of behaviour. The concept of “Harry” Although originally a boy’s name, Harry depicts the Norwegian adjective for what is distasteful, vulgar or ‘not cool’. If someone is dressed ‘harry’ they have bad taste in clothing, if a pub is harry it is probably a brun-pub (brown-pub), where blue-collar workers hang out and where beer is cheep. Wearing white tennis socks, jeans and moccasins and trying to pick up a girl is VERY HARRY, so avoid this at all costs. 10. You shall not believe that you can teach us anything. The Janteloven can be summarized into believing that no one should feel as if though they are better than other people, by ‘sticking-out’ from the crowd. 12 About AIESEC in Norway AIESEC Norway was one of the founding countries of AIESEC. Presently AIESEC Norway has 4 LCs and 1 Official Extension, in the 3 largest cities in Norway. The organization has around 80-100 members and leaders, during the school year delivering hundreds of exchange experiences. AIESEC NHH was one of the founding AIESEC LC, located in Bergen. It is the oldest Business School in Norway and has been a leading teaching and research institution, in the field of business administration. AIESEC BI (Norwegian School of Business) was established in the 1980s. BI is a Norwegian private business school, specializing in international business, leadership and economy. AIESEC Trondheim is a city-based LC, covering two universities in Trondheim: Norway School of Technology and Science (NTNU) and Trondheim Business School (TØH). AIESEC UiO is the biggest LC in Norway. The LC is based in Norway’s largest and oldest university, University of Oslo, with over 30 000 students. AIESEC UiB is an official extension of AIESEC NHH, opened in fall 2011. The OE is located at Bergen University. 13