Europe,  Norway,  Storytime,  TDM,  Travel Journal

[story time] My One Year Internship in Oslo (Norway)

Today, we are going to take a trip back in time to 2008. I’m going to tell you about my gap year / one year internship in a great company in Oslo, Norway

Why a gap year in Norway?

For those of you who went to high school, you must have been familiar with the notion of a gap year. Between the 2nd and 3rd year of school, any student can choose between: continuing immediately with the 3rd year, or taking a gap year, to do what they want to do: travel, do an internship, or create their own business

In addition, in order to graduate, we all had to have

(1) TOEIC over 750
(2) have spent at least 4 months abroad (internship, exchange semester)

As I didn’t have enough money to finance my 3rd year, to survive a few months of research for the first CDI and to pay the fees related to the exchange semester… the best option I had was to ask for a gap year to do a one-year internship abroad

And why Norway? At that time, I was terrible at English and I was afraid that I would be made fun of in an English-speaking country. So I limited my research to the Scandinavian countries because I knew that they all spoke very good English in those countries, and I also wanted to see how those countries managed to be so rich and developed

How did I get an internship in Norway?

At that time, I was part of an international association, which had a branch in my school: AIESEC, whose main activity is to find internships in France for foreign students, and to send French students to do internships abroad

Excuse me for the very down-to-earth summary, but the association is more “meaningful” than that, there is a real philosophy and a desire to change the world, and make its actions more impactful, but this first of all involves opening oneself up to the outside world, through internships abroad for example

I was part of other associations but AIESEC was my favorite, I met such nice, open-minded people. I regularly consulted the internships available on the AIESEC platform and I saw an internship… too good to be true, in Oslo, Norway, for one year. They were looking for a native English-speaking intern, but fluent in French. The remuneration was very high

At that time, I told you that I was not very good in English (when I took the TOEIC mock test, I had a pathetic score of 700/990, very insufficient). And having little self-confidence, I skipped that announcement and told myself that I had no chance. By chance, A., being part of the same association noticed it too and being aware of my desire to do an internship in Scandinavia, he showed it to me. I told him that I had no chance. But he insisted, saying that he didn’t understand why I didn’t want to apply for the job of my dreams

Even though I had absolutely no hope of being caught, his words made me think. I told myself that I absolutely had to try for the whole thing. I spent several days writing my CV and cover letter in English. I harassed my English teachers for proofreading. They spent several hours with me correcting spelling mistakes and advising me on how to better “sell” myself to the employer

And surprise, I was answered a few days later, offering me an interview in English via Skype. Crazy with joy but dead worried, I then listed all the possible questions, wrote down all the answers in English until they were perfect, and practiced in front of the mirror. And during the interview, I had my answers printed out in front of me, and when I was too stressed, I read them but in the most natural way possible so that the employer wouldn’t suspect that I was reading. I was also very afraid that I wouldn’t understand their questions, but I worked so hard on my English that even with Skype I was able to understand everything

After this first interview, I had to wait a week. The answer came: second telephone interview. Same technique, I practiced to death
A week later, another email arrived: an English essay to be written in HTML format. Again, my teachers helped me correct the spelling mistakes. They too were as stressed about the result as I was, and were surprised at how cumbersome the recruitment process was, for an internship of only one year. I was almost at the end of my life, having worked day and night on this file, without having a plan B

Until an email fell: I was taken for the internship

I went to see the director of studies to tell him the news. He was much less excited than I was: the salary was high, but it’s Norway, and on top of that it’s the gross salary. He was also very worried that I couldn’t return to France (I only had a residence permit at that time and an absence > 6 months from France meant that I wouldn’t be able to return). Then, the school assistant found a law stating that I was entitled to a return visa

Just with the coaching of the teachers, my repetition of Questions/Answers in front of the mirror… in one month, I went from a crappy TOEIC score of 700 to 810 (first test in real conditions), then 955 out of 990 for the final test. So before leaving for Norway, I fulfilled one of the requirements for graduation: to have at least 750 on the TOEIC. Two birds with one stone!

The other members of the association helped me a lot afterwards to finalize the file. And I remain very grateful for the help I received from my teachers and the members of the association. Thanks to them, I was able to obtain this internship which changed my life

My installation in Norway

It is thus to the angels that I arrived at the beginning of June in Norway, and experienced one of the two sleepless nights of the year (where we see the sun for 24 hours). As the internship was done within the framework of the association, the members of this same association in Norway came to pick me up at the airport, and found me free accommodation for the first week. They then showed me a lovely house, where I could rent a 20m² room for 4000nok/month (600€ at the time). My roommate, who was the daughter of the landlord, shared this big house with me and her dog

My roommate, adorable, made me make a key to the house in the colors of the Norwegian flag. I liked this key so much that I still keep it 😀
Even though the room was a little far from my business and more expensive, I got along so well with my roommate, and I loved my room so much with the toile de jouy decor that I never looked to move

Inside my room, I had a fireplace. In the kitchen too. There was also an electric heating system, but when it was too cold, I liked to light the fireplace. This is a luxury that my colleagues’ modern apartments did not have. Firewood was sold in all the supermarkets, even the small ones, and a gentleman would come by the neighborhood, like the ice cream shop (ding ding ding), around Christmas, to sell us wood, not expensive at all

As you can see on the picture, I had a King size bed. But it was actually two single beds side by side with their feet tied together with a rope. On top, there were two single mattresses and a kind of double mattress/cover. So, if I had the misfortune of sleeping in the middle of the bed, I would have back pain the next day. The Norwegian double bed is always like this: two single beds side by side. They go even further: each one has its own comforter. This way, nobody steals the comforter of the other one (this is important when you live in such a cold country)

Talking about house/apartment and all that, a colleague told me how it was like when you wanted to sell an apartment in Norway. Usually everyone goes through the agencies. But going through an agency is like having a Stéphane Plaza team. They come and hide the ugly knick-knacks, take out of their bag a breakfast and some pretty dishes, a sheepskin rug (it’s always very trendy in Norway) and take wide-angle photos to make any potential buyer drool. And all this is included in the agency’s margin once the house is sold. Take a look at the Norwegian real estate ads, you’ll see, everything is well decorated, the ads are great, the pictures are beautiful

Administrative procedures

Thanks to my French residency card, I very quickly received a Norwegian residency card, followed by an11-digit social security number (6 digits of which corresponded to my date of birth, and 5 other random digits). This number is of unparalleled importance, because without it, I couldn’t do anything in Norway: open a bank account, go see a doctor, have a telephone subscription, etc. I had to go to the hospital and get a social security number

My roommate told me that it was because of this number that she learned her date of birth 😀 But that she has already been asked for her date of birth, and she gave all 11 digits at once

It was not easy to get a bank account in Norway. Normally, you had to reside for at least 2 years in Norway, or have a lot of money, or have a very good job. It took me 2 weeks to get the 11-digit number, but a few months to open an account. During this time, I was not paid. I don’t know how I did it, I think the company accountant was kind enough to make a transfer every month for my roommate, but I had to transfer money from France via Western Union. I couldn’t take a phone subscription either, so I bought a prepaid card at Lebara, which had in addition to the advantageous rates to call JB in France

The company

I think working for this company was one of the happiest times of my life. After a long recruitment process, I joined this international company, which had won, 3 years earlier, the title of “2nd best employer in Norway”. Being inexperienced, I didn’t realize at that time how exceptional the working environment was, I was very happy about it, but I wasn’t 100% sure how lucky I was

It was a company founded by two engineers so exceptional that they knew how to surround themselves with exceptional people. Each of the employees was admirable, super strong in his field, recognized by the industry, and was also humanly open and approachable. I respected and admired each and every one of them. Although my recruitment process (internship) seemed very long, the recruitment process for a permanent contract could take several months. Between the numerous interviews with each of the team members, a trip to Oslo, the interview with HR… it’s not surprising to have this level of intelligence concentrated on the 4 floors of the company

I wasn’t a geek but since my parents are developers, I always liked to ask technical questions to engineers and developers. At no time did they look down on me, they put themselves at my level to explain their work in detail and were always available and smiling. I also very much appreciated the discreet support of my colleagues (from other departments). When they heard that I was leaving the company (because I wanted to go to Australia to continue my studies), they thought that I was not being kept by the management so they went to see my manager to tell him good things about me <3

Well, let’s get back to the company. The offices were not equipped like Google’s (with the slide, sleeping rooms etc.) but they did their best to make us happy at work. In fact, a full-time person was hired to look after our well-being. We had access to the canteen, which served breakfast, lunch and snacks. We had to pay a symbolic sum of 30€/month for all this. And of course, I benefited a lot from it 😀 The chef, who was Vietnamese, cooked divinely well and knew how to alternate between Norwegian, Italian, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisine. It was very rare to eat the same thing two days in a row

In the offices, we could set up as we wanted. A professional came to the offices to adjust the height of the tables to our height, he ordered special chairs for those with back pain, several of my colleagues sat on Pilates type balls to work

Every Friday, there was an osteo who came by, for 30€ he put the bones back in place (the rest was paid by the company), we had a room to sleep if we were tired, games available at the canteen (table soccer, playstation…) and many outings in the country to unite the team. During these parties or weekends, other international teams were also invited, so we could meet our American, Japanese, English colleagues..

We were given free Norwegian lessons twice a week. But each time, it was the same people who started the beginners’ courses again. The company being international, and the Norwegians made a great effort to speak, even among themselves, in English so that the international colleagues would understand… I must admit that I was more focused on learning English than Norwegian. Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are quite similar, although any Norwegian will tell you that the Danish speaks with a potato in his mouth, while he will find the Swedish accent “cute”. Being less wealthy than Norway, Sweden sees many of its inhabitants immigrating to Norway

For English, it is true that Norwegians speak good English. English-language films and series are never dubbed on TV or in the cinema, but subtitled. English is taught earlier in school too. Norwegian also has some similarities with English, which makes it easier to learn (compared to French)

I was part of a team of 8 trainees from 8 different countries, including Australia and Canada, so I can tell you that I progressed enormously in English. We were supervised by a manager who was often absent. But we helped each other a lot and the objectives were achieved. Towards the end of my internship, I was then supervised by two other managers, who were more present. One of them was of Japanese origin and it was he who taught me how to be a perfectionist at work

I never wanted to move to Norway actually. It was never part of my project, despite the exceptional environment and adorable colleagues, I always knew that snow and cold could never be my friends

The Climate

I came to Norway in June and had a great summer with my colleagues. As soon as it was sunny, everyone would go to the park and barbecue (you could buy ready-to-use barbecue plates, very handy). The Norwegians were swimming in the lakes at 20°C (too cold for me), 30°C in the shade for them it was already a heat wave

But in October, the first snowflakes fell. Everybody told me it was exceptional that it snowed so early, but since this year, every year the snow was coming earlier and earlier

What is magical is the management of snow in Norway. From the first flakes, and even in small streets like mine, the next day there was a man coming out of nowhere, putting salt on. Buses and subways were running as usual. Like… nothing happened

So over the 12 months in Norway, I had to endure the snow for 6 months. Including one week at -20°C, where I had to go to the office as usual

Legend has it that during the first year in Norway, foreigners will all break a leg or an arm while sliding on the ice. But I was too poor to afford to go to the doctor (even though it was largely covered by social security), so I did everything I could to not break anything at all. And I held on! I did NOT EVEN fall on my butt! Ah!!

There were very hard times when I couldn’t see the sun when I left home or when I came home. The sun appeared faintly during my working hours, before disappearing immediately. One time I went crazy. It was snowing a lot and I had to join friends. I was lost, it was snowing, I was cold, it was already dark, I was desperate. There was no 4G at the time, so I called to cancel the dinner when the host insisted on picking me up on the street. And I came home crying. I couldn’t take it anymore!

Throughout my stay in Norway, I had the time to write to each of my friends telling them to call me back at the end of my internship (in June, when it is nice and warm), to remember the winter. Because I knew that if I had to make a decision in June, I was going to stay in Norway:D

Also, in order not to fall into depression, I did like all the other Norwegians: buy a very strong light to imitate the sun (light therapy) and take omega 3 tablets. It is also for this reason that many Norwegians go to the gym, 3 times a week. Well, the other choice is also to drink a lot of alcohol, and there is no shortage of parties. But alcoholism and suicide remain a taboo subject and I only learned years later that two of my colleagues were victims of it

Since they go to the gym and are naturally endowed with a model’s physique, they are very, very beautiful (beautiful). Curiously, being surrounded by hotties on legs, I did not develop a feeling of inferiority. On the contrary, if my mirror wasn’t there, I could have believed that I was as tall, slender and blonde. I was very amused to realize it, but I think that if so much beauty didn’t destroy my self-confidence, it’s because NO ONE, absolutely no one, allowed himself to make a single remark about my physique. They have never seen my short stature as something abnormal, my black hair and brown eyes like an alien’s, they have never looked at me by scanning me from top to bottom. While in other countries, many people have taken the liberty of making fun of me for my short stature (I am Asian for those who don’t know it), and curiously, the smaller they are, the more likely they are to make fun of me

Salary & Cost of Living

As I told you above, my salary was very high compared to France for an intern, but the salary given in the ad was the gross salary. I was then deducted 25% of the amount, corresponding to the payment of taxes withheld at source. After the payment of the rent, and a large part put in a savings account to finance my future (my studies in Australia, my tuition fees…), I had 500€/month left for everything

You’re going to tell me, ohlala you’re rich. But with 500€/month in Norway, my purchasing power was 150€ in France. The poor Kinder Bueno there, he already cost 4€. So I had to find an alternative. That’s when I went to look for a Vietnamese supermarket

So in this supermarket you could find not very noble pieces of meat (meaning more bones than meat), which are much cheaper than in Norwegian supermarkets. Since I was mainly making soup, it didn’t bother me more than that. I made a lot of rice (hearty and cheap). In the Norwegian supermarket, I bought mostly frozen salmon (not expensive at all because Norway fishes and exports millions of salmon every year). As for the vegetables, well, as they were expensive, I was rather counting on the company canteen to eat my 5 fruits and vegetables a day. But I could consider myself luckier than JB who, at that time, in France, was only eating instant noodle packets at 0.7€ each

That’s it, 500€/month just to feed me in the evenings, on weekends, pay for transport and telephone

The other trainees had another method: they carpooled to go shopping once every two weeks in Sweden. Even if petrol was very expensive (while Norway exported some), it was cheaper to go to Oslo – Sweden than to go shopping in Norway😀 Well, there was a lot of alcohol and a lot of meat in it

So with my salary, I was able to put some money aside for my exchange semester in Australia and I was so happy about it. I have never earned so much in my life. Unfortunately, because of the financial crisis and the oil price which was decreasing day by day, the Norwegian krone lost 10% in one year. This also impacted my colleagues in other offices because their salaries (even if they are American) were calculated according to the Norwegian krone. Since then, the Norwegian krone has never recovered and compared to 2009, it has lost 20% of its value vs. the euro

In spite of my young age, I always knew how to manage my money. I regularly watched the NOK-EUR courses to be at least aware of the ideal moment to make the transfer, looked at the general conditions to transfer a maximum of money to France with a minimum of fees, I was very strict about the amount to save etc. My mother always made me aware of money management (without making it a daily conversation at the table either). Having grown up in a country with double digit inflation, she always told me that I had to have different currencies, follow the courses, she taught me how to save (I’ve told you about it here). Thanks mom!

I asked the Norwegians how they could bear such a high tax rate (my colleagues on permanent contracts paid up to 50% tax on their gross salary + a fortune for their car, license, house etc.) and they were all positive about it. They told me about the free tuition (even at university), their medical coverage, their 1 YEAR maternity leave (paid at 80%), dads have a very long paternity leave too, with the possibility to stay one more year without losing their job (Norwegians usually take advantage of it to have 2 children at once). The idea was: we give a lot, but we also receive a lot

What’s impressive is that everyone’s tax returns were available online the following year. With just a few clicks, you could see how much our CEO was earning or how much our office neighbor was earning. This transparency is really exceptional, and I think it must help a lot for gender equality

Moreover, this equality between men and women can be seen everywhere in everyday life, from very very long paternity leave to paying for a restaurant (half and half) even for a date, not to mention flirting

The evenings, alcoholic or not

Alcohol was expensive, so the common rule at every Norwegian party was: everyone brings their own drink. And with the money recovered from the bottles left by the guests (there are machines to recycle the bottles and you get 1nok to 1,5nok/bottle), the host could finance a part of his next evening. As there was nothing to do in Oslo, there were a lot of parties. I had to spend 2 to 3 times a week at my colleagues’ homes, which allowed me to visit a lot of apartments 😀 and to realize that the apartments were as well decorated as at IKEA and above all very spacious

One memorable evening we did together was to watch a Bollywood movie. There were only 4 main characters, but there were so many twists and turns that the host (an Indian colleague) had to pause the movie several times to explain the scenario 😀 like “who is he again ?”

While looking for the address of the Vietnamese supermarket, I came across a forum of Vietnamese people in Oslo and made friends with them. They were all PhD students, and contrary to what you might think, the Vietnamese communities abroad were generally not for mutual aid (financial, advice or other), but for… eating together 😀 Every week, there was a Vietnamese dinner cooked and organized by about ten people, and we all sat on the floor. It was really fun, they were adorable and very cultured

JB in Oslo

JB also came to Oslo to visit me. He visited the company’s premises, attended the Norwegian high-alcohol parties, and we used to take the free bus from IKEA, just to eat an ice cream at 10nok (the best and cheapest in Oslo). 2h round trip 😀

Conclusion

I can tell you even more about Norway, but this text is already very long

The secret of Norway’s wealth was unfortunately not related to their ability to undertake or anything, but the discovery of oil
The Norwegians saw their country suddenly become rich, but they remained humble and kind as before, leading a very simple life (by the way, the most famous Norwegian recipe was just to cook for hours some pieces of lamb with salt, pepper and cabbage). The Norway of 2009 (I don’t know if it has changed since then) was for me the proof that paradise could exist on earth, that humans could live in harmony together. To be kind (without it being a social convention like in Japan), to be REALLY kind, honest, to respect each other, to help each other, to give the best of oneself whether it is at work, at home or with one’s friends. A perfect little world (if we forget the presence of snow 6 months a year)

I think I went there during the heyday of Norway and the heyday of my business, both of which would later run into some economic problems, and I followed it all with a lot of sadness, but that’s life

This experience changed my life because it allowed me to have a great level in English. It opened all the doors for me, I was able to apply or join international companies very easily later on. I am very grateful for the help I received in applying for this position, grateful for the welcome of my colleagues at this great Norwegian company and grateful for the many hours of discussion with my roommate

Unfortunately, France has changed its system of residence permit for students and after this internship, I couldn’t return to France to finish my studies. That’s when I decided to go to Australia for an exchange semester and get a big slap in the face (more on this next episode)

I came back to Norway once, but on a cruise with JB

Thank you for reading me until the end, you were very brave 😀

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