Thinking back on all those years living in
a country in many ways very different from
Norway, I know that the fact that I stayed
on and felt more and more connected to
the land, to the many different people I met,
was not - in my case- the result of any official
integration program.
In my case, it was people
inviting me into their homes,
telling me their life stories,
letting me eat their family food,
letting me celebrate holidays with them,
having patience while I was improving my
new language,
being friendly on a bus, on a chance meeting,
letting me meet their friends and family
members,
trying to explain customs I did not know....
I will have to add to this list, as I remember more.
In short, people were very friendly and open
to me and made me feel welcome.
Some of these good people became my
friends for life.
Others perhaps for some years.
Most of them perhaps for just the few minutes
or hours we spent together.
All of them together gave me the
emotional ties to my other country.
I am grateful to each of them for that gift.
As the years went by, I was able to give back
of this sharing to people I met.
People who, just like me, needed a friend
in their new country.
Sometimes, here in Norway, I find myself
in the same double-sided situation.
I hope this "training" I got as a newcomer in
another country, perhaps is helpful
to those immigrants I meet.
But I know that I also need to be befriended
by people living here.
We all need human interaction.
We can both be givers and takers.
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