Dayenne during her internship in Trondheim, Norway!

Hey! Where are you from? Where do you study/live/work?

Hi! I’m from the Netherlands and I study Crossmedia Communication in Rotterdam. For my graduation project, I did a 3 to 4 month internship in Trondheim, Norway.

What was the first thing you thought when you arrived in Norway?

That it was so clean and tidy! It wasn’t until after 6 weeks that I heard the first siren, and there was hardly any litter on the streets. I immediately noticed that people are very conscious of their environment. Also, how quickly it got dark. I arrived in January, and by 3:30 PM it was already dark. The days were very short at first.

What was the most shocking difference between the Netherlands and Trondheim?

There is so much space! Although I lived and worked in a city, within 10 minutes I was in a nature reserve or on a mountain — you don’t really have that in the Netherlands. The space stood out even more because there are relatively fewer people living there; it was pleasantly quiet everywhere. Another big difference was the prices. I knew Norway was expensive for food and drinks, but I was still sometimes shocked by the prices, especially for alcohol. And lastly: the temperatures. I saw nothing but snow for 3 months, and one week it was as cold as -23°C, which was really extreme cold — I’ve never experienced that in the Netherlands!

What does your typical workday look like?

The workdays in Norway were a bit shorter than in the Netherlands, which I really liked because I spent the whole day behind a computer. I usually arrived at my internship around 8:30 or 9:00 AM. Often there was a meeting or discussion about what needed to be done that day. Everyone got to work, and around 11:30 AM we all had lunch together. It was often warm food, and usually a lot, which was really tasty. Then I worked until around 4:30 PM. I didn’t have a ton of work, but I noticed everyone felt that way a bit. They were all very relaxed, which I wasn’t so used to from my previous internships.

How is the work atmosphere at your internship company?

Like I said earlier, it was very relaxed. People decided for themselves when to come to work, and there was very little stress. Everyone got along really well with each other.

Have you ever felt homesick? How did you deal with it?

Not exactly homesick, but I really missed my boyfriend. To make that easier, we watched series together on Netflix and video-called at the same time, so we could still do something ‘together’ in a way. After a few months, I was happy to go back to the Netherlands, where everyone speaks Dutch comfortably!

Do you feel at home in Trondheim? Why (not)?

Kind of, I really liked how chill the people were and how much beautiful nature surrounded the city, but the locals were a bit closed off. It was hard to make real friends with Norwegians themselves; they kind of had their own lives, so I felt a bit like an outsider.

Is there a typical local dish you REALLY can’t eat (or really like)?

Norway doesn’t really have typical dishes that are strange or different, but I often bought Polarbrød, which is super tasty bread! I do miss that here in the Netherlands. It’s a kind of sweet/soft pita bread you can eat as everyday bread.

Give us tips about who you should befriend abroad. The Russians? The Irish? The Chileans?

It doesn’t really matter much, people living abroad for study or work are generally super friendly! I do often find Germans really fun to hang out with.

Describe the people of Trondheim in three words.

Enjoyers of life, Norsk (typical haha), Hip

What did you learn from your experience abroad? Was it the beloved community you liked? The cheap cocktails? The beautiful nature? Or was your experience less than expected? Details, we want details!

I learned that it’s a bit less easy than it seems! Trondheim and Norway were super beautiful; the nature is truly amazing, but there wasn’t much to do for people from other countries, so sometimes it was hard to make friends. I did learn to really make an effort though, because when you’re there alone you basically have no other choice — so it’s very good for your social skills! I noticed that people from other countries really quickly like it when you want to do something together, which I didn’t expect.

I also lived differently there than in the Netherlands — meat and alcohol were really too expensive, so for a few months I lived vegetarian and very healthy, which I definitely noticed on myself alongside all the hiking of course! It was a wonderful experience to live in such a beautiful country for a while.