My two weeks at the barnehage are now over and I'll just be going on Thurs & Fri from now until christmas. Back to the norskkurs on Monday for a well earned rest! I have spoken sooooo much norwegian for the last 2 weeks but I still get to a point where I hit a wall and have to revert to english. Will I ever get over the wall? It also suddenly hit me this week that this is my life now. A norwegian life. It's hard to be yourself when speaking a new language and I feel that when I speak norwegian I lose some of my personality. It's not really me. I can't crack jokes or express myself the way I can in english and it is sooooo frustrating! I was also told this week that when I speak my accent sounds a bit danish, and considering I cannot understand danish at all I found this rather odd!
Lisa- take the Danish comment as a compliment (no matter how 'rough' the Danish language is!) I get that now and then too (and once in a while Swedish) and it just means that you and I do not carry the dreaded English-speaker accent. Well done! p.s. that whole "lose oneself while speaking Norwegian. you're not alone. but it gets better...
ReplyDeleteI think that's quite normal. I have many friends who were mistaken for danes while learning norwegian (and they were not...)
ReplyDeleteLykke til!
Funny the timing on that "lose a bit of yourself" comment. I had dinner with another barnehage mother and her kid on friday, and any social interactions leave me so nervous for that very reason. i wonder "How could/why would they possible like me, because this is not the REAL me?!"
ReplyDeleteI feel your frustration! Since it bugs me that I cant express myself I don't speak much norsk with people. It feels like my tongue is tied...
ReplyDeleteI know that frustration - the first few years I lived in England I didn't feel like I was myself, I couldn't make comments, or jokes, or by the time I had finally figured out in my head what I should say and how, the conversation had moved on! You will get there, and one day people will laugh at a joke, because the joke is funny, not because you said it funny - and you will feel great! Hang on in there! :-) (btw - people would always mistake me for being irish... )
ReplyDeletei am still impressed - to speak a new language with another accent- amazing!
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