I have high expectations for my future life in Norway. I read a lot and try to learn a little bit of the language in order to facilitate my integration in the Norwegian society.
A neighbor of mine recently told me she had already been to Norway and told me of a curious episode that happened to her. She told me she saw a bracelet in the street and asked why no one took it. They said that the person that had lost the bracelet would eventually return to the same site and find it there. Having heard this, i almost bet that this kind of attitude does not happen in Portugal very often. I think that a person in the same situation here would even be mocked by other friends if he/she would tell them they left the bracelet alone. It is almost like the birth of a culture of “every man for himself”. This may seem exaggerated, and not all people have this kind of behavior, but those who do, no matter how few, sometimes exercise a great negative influence on society.
I had a bizarre episode where in a dinner with friends I discussed with one of them the advantages of changing the Portuguese society into a more truthful one, and how we could achieve this goal by providing future generations with good examples. In this conversation, I was surprised by my friend’s answer when he tells me I should not think this way, and that to be a successful person I would have to use deception on others before others would use it on me.
Unlike this kind of attitude, I hear that in Norway the situation is exactly the opposite. People, despite their cold temperament, are more human to each other than people from other countries said "civilized". My Norwegian teacher used to tell me that people from her home town are so good and kind to each other it almost makes her cry. It must be a pleasure to live amongst such noble people.
A neighbor of mine recently told me she had already been to Norway and told me of a curious episode that happened to her. She told me she saw a bracelet in the street and asked why no one took it. They said that the person that had lost the bracelet would eventually return to the same site and find it there. Having heard this, i almost bet that this kind of attitude does not happen in Portugal very often. I think that a person in the same situation here would even be mocked by other friends if he/she would tell them they left the bracelet alone. It is almost like the birth of a culture of “every man for himself”. This may seem exaggerated, and not all people have this kind of behavior, but those who do, no matter how few, sometimes exercise a great negative influence on society.
I had a bizarre episode where in a dinner with friends I discussed with one of them the advantages of changing the Portuguese society into a more truthful one, and how we could achieve this goal by providing future generations with good examples. In this conversation, I was surprised by my friend’s answer when he tells me I should not think this way, and that to be a successful person I would have to use deception on others before others would use it on me.
Unlike this kind of attitude, I hear that in Norway the situation is exactly the opposite. People, despite their cold temperament, are more human to each other than people from other countries said "civilized". My Norwegian teacher used to tell me that people from her home town are so good and kind to each other it almost makes her cry. It must be a pleasure to live amongst such noble people.
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