Norway as a people

Today was our first full day in Norway. Which, in turn, was our first day in Europe. I have been to Europe before (I did a German exchange program in high school). But this was different. Norway’s culture is just so special. One day, I asked my mom what country she thought “did it best.” Her answer was Norway – and I didn’t fully understand why until today.

Norway’s government, culture, and populace has a purpose. They think everything through. Here’s some examples from Oslo I learned about today.

They make it so almost every café faces south, so there’s minimal shade and maximum sunlight for enjoying a warm cup of coffee in the cold Norwegian climate.
They have a park dedicated to the complex adventure of the circle of life as humans
They have golden tiles where some homes used to be. These were the homes of people who were abducted and taken to Auschwitz’s. The tile holds their name, date of birth, date of death, and the camp, so they are never forgotten.
They have quotes by the Norwegian play-write, Henrik Ibsen engraved in the sidewalks. These quotes are chosen by high school classes to inspire all that walk in Oslo
They send almost all kids around the age of 15 to Auschwitz’s so they come back enlightened, as new people, who understand what bad humans and fascism can do
The first 4-5 years of university is free!! (I wish I had that now as an incoming college student).

There can be so many things added to that list, but what also struck me as the most impressive, is how down to earth and how connected the people are. Our tour guide today, Lori, told us a story about a fascist radical that did, what I will put simply as, a very bad thing. Norway, in response, decided to think together – “what can WE do as a people to show this man he did something wrong that negatively affected lives?” As a result, a mass of people gathered in peace and in agreement, holding flowers in a square, to show this man that what he did was wrong, and Norway won’t stand for it.

That’s impressive to me. In America, only some people agree on things. And it’s only the radicals that are heard. We have a very loud “us vs. them” culture. Norway doesn’t. They have a culture of “how can we best help our people, we are Norwegians together.” Even the exchange of power between different prime ministers involves a handshake, saying something along the lines of “good luck leading the country that we both love, very much” and they share and embrace. How beautiful is that?

And I won’t even get started about the fact that this is a capital city, filled with small shops, absolutely no skyscrapers, and the largest buildings my family can think of are for the people (the opera house, and the national museum.) They could spend their money anywhere else and they chose cultural sites.

So when my mom replied to my question of “who does it best?” with Norway, I didn’t quite understand. But now I do. This country is doing it right. This country is special. It should serve as an example, to everyone, of a country that acts as one, for the people, thinking through everything with peace and prosperity being the ultimate goal. (This is also the home of the Nobel Peace Prize by the way.) As a people, we should stand as one, together, looking out for each other, just as Norway does.

Now on a lighter note, here’s some… maybe alot… of pictures from today!