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K7 Bulletin - Tuesday 24. January 2012
intersection
Foto: Vasilisa Sayapina Having fun and making new friends: Welcome to the spring semester at NHH.
NHH is happy to have you Welcome to the Norwegian School of Economics. Get ready for an unforgettable experience and wonderful memories. Doris Baier baier1@gmx.net
At the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) you can meet some of the greatest people and party with them in Klubben. You will also be abel to work with and learn from students in interest groups and subcommittees and further your academic knowledge in lectures.
Mum Norunn If you don’t know who Norunn J. Økland is yet, it is about time to get acquainted with the International Relations Coordinator for incoming students. She is widely known as “Mum Norunn” to students who have experienced her wonderful care. Norunn has seen and experienced a lot of things regarding
international students and would like to give some word of advice to all students. The first thing is; don’t despair over the long and dark hours, it will get lighter soon and there is always cod liver oil (tran) to keep your spirits up. Another advice for students is to be not only outgoing and open for new experiences, but also to include shy students. Some students may start feeling left out and very lonely. You can easily avoid this by simply smiling at a person and asking them to join you for a fun activity. Furthermore, try not to do something only because everybody does it. Especially in the first weeks, it seems like all the cool guys are the ones always drinking and partying but that is not true. Enjoying watching a movie instead of drinking can be pretty amazing as well. There are many other ways to spend a Friday or Saturday evening besides partying and emptying one bottle of alcohol after another. An important point Norunn would like to make is to not judge people without getting to know them. You must not judge people just because you know somebody
similar to them. This may easily happen when you have cultural stereotypes and clichés in mind. Statements about a country or culture that seem funny to you may really hurt another person, so be careful with what you say and do. A final advice Norunn would like to give to all students is to put your heart into everything you do, to not ignore the lonely person standing outside the group, to be yourself and to smile at people every day.
Interest groups and subcommittees As some international students may already be aware of is a great amount of interest groups and subcommittees that exists at NHH. These groups that is run by students, ranges from festival clubs like UKEN to the Photo group. As the president of NHHS, the student union at NHH, Saliba Andreas Korkunc thinks that NHHS can give international students a lot, starting with social contact with Norwegian students. From Saliba’s point of view, by joining groups from NHHS, students get to know a lot of people they would not have met otherwise and that it is a good way to enjoy your hobby with
other students. In Saliba’s opinion, international students can contribute a lot to interest groups, starting with their different cultural view of things. International students may see a problem in a different light and therefore provide different solutions than Norwegians. By becoming part of a NHHS group and interacting with Norwegians, international students not only learn more about Norway and the Norwegian culture but they can also teach Norwegians a few new things. International students joining a group have another positive aspect for Norwegian students since it encourages them to speak English. This is a good practice and may prepare them for later working life in a multi-cultural environment. As you can see, NHH has a lot to offer not only academic-wise. Students can ofcourse also arrange their own events and trips. So take care that you do not miss out on any of the opportunities offered to you, and make the most of your time in Norway.