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Discovering Norway



When you are standing on the bank of the river and looking at the forest on the other side, it’s hard to believe that it is another country there. Somebody near you is joking: let’s greet a Russian hare or a Russian squirrel. It may seem that nothing is changing on the other side of the river. It may also seem, though, that everything changes.

For me the north of Norway became a special world, where the comfort of armchairs and the light of candles save people from evening darkness. Here it’s necessary to compete with the severe climate and to win. Here it seems that hurry and bustle have been left somewhere behind the border.

It is my first trip to Kirkenes with the international youth club Solveig. We have spent three days at Pasvik Folkehøgskole, quite close to Russian-Norwegian border. During these days we visited Barents secretariat, learned everything about printing newspapers at the editorial office of “Sør-Varanger Avis”, examined complicated constructions of the electric power station and asked questions about bears at the ecological center. During the days we discovered Norway, and all the evenings were spent with Norwegian students.

Of course I did not have time to notice all the changes that appear after crossing the border. Nevertheless, during these three days I became completely absorbed by the atmosphere that surrounded me.

Unfortunately, in Russia we don’t have any institution, which is similar to a folk school. I remember that after I finished school it was extremely hard for me to choose the field of higher education. Maybe, if Russian students had the possibility to spend a year communicating, traveling and learning people and nature, it could be easier for them to understand their wishes and to make a choice.

The closeness of the border leaves its imprint in this region: we read Russian street names and hear Russian speech in shops. It seems that somehow Norwegian world is close to ours. Maybe, that’s why it was so appealing for us. We would like to visit it again.

Anna Varfolomeeva

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