Social Infrastructure

Since arriving in Norway a week ago, many thoughts have come to mind, but few have developed far enough to serve an entire blog entry quite yet. For now, I have been thinking a lot about people - and the concept of culture and language as social infrastructure. I'll start with my first impressions of Norway provided by my first perceptions of Norwegians.

I believe that there should be a word in our language (or all languages) for the way a society presents itself in public - not just physical appearance, but something that encompasses cultural nuances such as eye contact, acknowledgment of others, body language, friendly or shy postures, etc. I cannot think of a good term to take all of this into account, but I hope someday to find some sociologists who can describe it better.

So with or without a good vocabulary for the phenomena/cultural norm, 'meeting' Norwegians on the street has presented a paradox in comparision to the personal exchanges I have found thus far. In public, Norway's "street face" reminds me of New York - people here are likewise inwardly focused and show little to no reaction to the strangers around them. It struck me as odd because this is Trondheim - a small town of 160,000 people with little crime and no reason to fear each other. What is more is that the weather has been quite beautiful, but the attitude of the people still reminds me of New York in the winter - when the cold weather and drear forces people to concentrate inwardly and be even more detached from their surroundings. I think back to where I grew up in North Carolina where even in the very antisocial setting of remote 'neighbors' passing each other in their cars it is customary to wave or nod. While Trondheim is not so rural and pedestrians abound, the scale of the city and the great amount of greenspace would have lead me to expect to encounter more nods, smiles, or waves between people.

None of this is to say that Norwegians are a cold people. Many self acknowledge their country's introverted nature when it comes to meeting strangers (strangers being other Norwegians or internationals alike). It has been my experience over the past week that once you approach any Norwegian with a question or to start a conversation, their reaction is incredibly warm, friendly and helpful. This is quite the opposite from New York, when you sometimes are lucky to find a response when asking for help from someone on the street.

My position in a very international student setting has brought another layer of contrast to the Norwegian behaviour visible down the hill in the city. It seems that the incredible mix of cultures truly works against the individual cultural norms that each holds, and the resultant becomes an overall solidarity that is most friendly and outgoing. Granted, with any of this there are deviations to be found across the board, but I am quickly finding that if someone smiles or nods along a sidewalk here, then they too are an international (likely student) and even the very subtle acknowledgement reinforces the similarity of our positions in this place.