Home is where your heart is

When I am outside of my country I always try to become a chameleon. Vanishing within a city seems to be the best tactic to observe everything while remaining invisible.
Due to this method, I actually observed a lot during my trip to Oslo. Oh, the leisure and carefree life style I found there! People always maintain their fitness: they walk around in their running shoes, always with a steel water bottle at their side, ready for a jog or a walk in the woods. The people are so beautiful, but at the same time are as cold as their country.
At first, I thought that all Norwegians are of this type, and that all the men would be athletic, handsome demi-gods. This was before I had met some of my neighbors, however. One of them turned out to be a short, plump, young man, whose wife was not a Scandinavian. The first thought about him was: "He must also be some other nationality", because of his rotund figure and unkempt hairstyle. I was surprised to learn that he was a native Norwegian. I didn’t know much about him at first, only that he enjoyed drinking soda, adored board games and hated winter sports.
One evening, in a far away art pub after a wonderful concert, given by an underground Oslo folk band, I was left waiting for the last tram for a long while. At last the tram arrived. When I entered and went to pay the driver for my ticket I was suddenly hit with a strong realization. I stopped. To say that I was surprised explains nothing, because I realized that the tram driver was my plump neighbor. For a moment I became tongue-tied (knowing that I would quite possibly have to share a long, awkward ride with the person I had previously thought to be so odd and distant)! After some time I found that conversation came quite easily as we drove all night long through Oslo. It turned out that he was not only studying theology, but also wanted to become a priest and serve in a church! Imagine to yourselves: a future priest, driving a tram through the streets of Oslo. Isn't it a wonder? He turned out to be a good-natured and friendly person, which was in contrast to my other neighbors who did not even have a habit of saying ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’ and would just pass through.
This is how I learned my first lesson about Norway: never make any judgments about Norwegians or the country of Norway upon first impressions! Anything that seems so unremarkable and grey has the possibility to become a marvel. Thus, in Oslo you never know what is waiting for you around the corner.