THINK LOCAL
Norwegian
“Why not give it a go” Eight year resident Unni Holtedahl gives her insight into living and working in the Grand Duchy. Text by Aaron Grunwald Photography by Steve Eastwood
Originally from Gjøvik, 120 kilometres north of Oslo, Unni Holtedahl moved to the Grand Duchy in 2005 after studies in France and working as a tour guide in the Norwegian capital. After three years as a full-time mum to two daughters, she was a freelance journalist before founding expat website Clew.lu, which launched on January 1.
Unni Holtedahl Found her voice
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AG: What brought you to Luxembourg? UH: That was, like many others, my husband’s job… in banking. AG: What was the biggest culture shock? UH: It surprised me that I got ‘famous’ in the maternity ward because I said that I wanted to breastfeed for a year. AG: What inspired you to start Clew.lu? UH: As I used to write for a Swiss online expat magazine, I saw that there could be same kind of ‘niche’ market in Luxembourg as well, so I thought, ‘why not give it a go?’ Then I started talking to people about it and they all thought it was a good idea. It was surprisingly easy to find good contributors in Luxembourg. There are so many talented people, with passions, in Luxembourg that have the time and willingness to share it. I found a lot of good people, and that made it possible. AG: Are you still looking for contributors? UH: [I’m] definitely always open to good people and good ideas. AG: What are the most popular topics on the site? UH: Since our target group is mainly women, ‘women’s stuff ’ is popular. Like food, fashion, health in particular, but also the purely expat related topics [such as] dealing with the expat blues or other things that might be difficult for an expat. AG: Did you get the expat blues when you moved here? UH: Life with a new baby isn’t that easy necessarily, and then in a brand new country and winter came along and the streets got more or less deserted, you see fewer people, it was a little bit hard, yeah. Then you miss your home country, I think many of us get a notion of that.
AG: How did you cope? UH: I did nothing special to deal with it; I let time deal with it basically and talked to people and made friends. AG: What do you miss about Norway? UH: I will always miss knowing all the codes, the cultural codes. You know how everything works, how everything is done, how to behave and act in every situation. And that’s always a relief when I come home, even after all these years. You know the codes that you grow up with and they won’t be the same in a new country. AG: Was it more difficult figuring out the clues here than when you studied in Normandy? UH: I was so young, living a happy student life. I didn’t care the same way, I feel. I don’t remember thinking about it in that way. AG: Do you think you’ll go back to Norway? UH: The plan is to move back one day, yes. Like many others we ended up staying much longer than we had thought. AG: What tips do you have for newcomers? UH: If you’re not working when you come here… find your thing. Whether it be sports or music or voluntary work. Don’t be afraid if it will be in Luxembourgish because I find the Luxembourgers are amazingly flexible and speak in several languages if that’s needed. AG: Did you join a group when you arrived? UH: I did; I immediately joined [singing group] Voices International. AG: Any other advice? UH: I would say, consider learning the language because you might end up staying longer than you think. .
march 2013
05/03/13 17:39